Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Bayern are champs of Europe. Very impressive campaign: they won all eleven matches. And won without Robben or Ribery.
Kingsley Conan is the starman. Supposed to be the golden one at PSG and Juventus, Bayern showed patience in him. They stuck by him (one perspective) after the assault charge.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Betterread
Bayern are champs of Europe. Very impressive campaign: they won all eleven matches. And won without Robben or Ribery.
Kingsley Conan is the starman. Supposed to be the golden one at PSG and Juventus, Bayern showed patience in him. They stuck by him (one perspective) after the assault charge.
I feel like we've been waiting a decade for Coman to have his breakout game. Picked a good time for it.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
M2
Time for completely unfounded speculation. City once again goes out without getting particularly close to the title. Their ownership has more ridiculous money to spend and it just got freed of FFP restrictions. Meanwhile Barcelona got annihilated, Messi is 33 and out of contract after next season. If he's looking at his supporting cast and thinking a rebuilding project will eat up the rest of his late prime, this could be the perfect fit of an iconic player ready to force a move and a club willing to pay anything for him.
Looks like your unfounded speculation may be turning into a real possibility....at least they're looking at it. Not sure it will be feasible.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/manchest...i-deal-sources
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MWM
I'm only half-crazy.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Messi now tells Barca he wants out. Going to be interesting to watch.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MWM
Messi now tells Barca he wants out. Going to be interesting to watch.
And he might be able to leave on a free transfer - https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-t...-leave-sources.
Quote:
Reports from Argentina claim Messi believes a clause in the contract should oblige Barcelona to let him leave for free. However, as reported by ESPN earlier this year, the club maintain that particular clause expired at the start of the summer.
The debated clause was included in the last contract signed by Messi, in 2017, and stipulated he could leave for nothing at the end of each season as long as he communicated his decision to Barca before June. Any rival club wanting him would have to pay a €700 million release clause.
A source at Barcelona has told ESPN they firmly believe that Messi's window to leave for free this year has passed, but other reports say Messi's legal team are arguing the extension of the season altered the expiry date of the clause.
It's also being reported incoming manager Ronald Koeman informed Messi that the star treatment would be ending, stating "that's the end of the privileges." https://en.as.com/en/2020/08/25/foot...80_504946.html
My take on Barca during the recent half decade is the team has been built to cater to him. It used to run through Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets. Everybody got a taste. Everybody had ideas. Now the team aggressively seeks to play it into Messi. They only ask one question, and the answer is Messi. Can't fault them for that because he's amazing, but it turns the team into his support staff. In tight games, either Messi saves them or they don't get saved.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MWM
Messi now tells Barca he wants out. Going to be interesting to watch.
I can only see three clubs being able to sign him. Man City, PSG and Juventus unless he is willing to take a drastic pay cut. Not even sure Juventus are a realistic option.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
EnglishRed
I can only see three clubs being able to sign him. Man City, PSG and Juventus unless he is willing to take a drastic pay cut. Not even sure Juventus are a realistic option.
I figure ManU always has money. And I have every confidence Mourinho would be camped out on Daniel Levy's doorstep asking for Messi money. If Chelsea hadn't already spent barrels of cash I'd put them in the mix. I wonder if any of the hedge fund money behind Milan or Roma would come after him. The whole thing probably hinges on him being able to activate that release clause.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Or negotiate it down, especially since the "free or 700 million euros" thing amounts to a mutual agreement to avoid prolonged transfer speculation and give Barca time to replace him before the next season if he goes. But circumstances change. Whenever new management gets there, they would be wise to find out what other superclubs are willing to pay and proceed accordingly.
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Hope you excuse the shameless plug for Leeds here but feelgood story of the day....
Leeds' 24 year old midfielder Kalvin Phillips has been called up to the England squad for the first time despite never having played Premier League football. Kalvin was born in Leeds grew up a huge leeds fan and joined the clubs academy aged 14 after impressing a scout watching a local youth game. As he grew up in a relatively poor area, the child of a single mum who had to work hard to pay for Kalvin to travel from the inner city to the clubs training ground on the bus as he made his way through the age groups, he made his full debut for Leeds in 2015 as a box-to-box/attacking midfielder. Once rated as pretty average he has really improved under Marcelo Bielsa, turned down a transfer to the Premier League that would have quadrupled his wages to stay with his boyhood club last off-season and has become one of the best CDM's in England. He's now closing in on 200 appearances for Leeds, is nicknamed 'the Yorkshire Pirlo", and through hard work has gone from a fairly average young player to become a huge part of the team and England international, the leader of a very exciting crop of local youngsters who have come through the academy to the first team, including Jamie Shackleton who joined the club as an 8 year old!!
Re: 2019-20 Euro soccer thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
EnglishRed
Hope you excuse the shameless plug for Leeds here but feelgood story of the day....
Leeds' 24 year old midfielder Kalvin Phillips has been called up to the England squad for the first time despite never having played Premier League football. Kalvin was born in Leeds grew up a huge leeds fan and joined the clubs academy aged 14 after impressing a scout watching a local youth game. As he grew up in a relatively poor area, the child of a single mum who had to work hard to pay for Kalvin to travel from the inner city to the clubs training ground on the bus as he made his way through the age groups, he made his full debut for Leeds in 2015 as a box-to-box/attacking midfielder. Once rated as pretty average he has really improved under Marcelo Bielsa, turned down a transfer to the Premier League that would have quadrupled his wages to stay with his boyhood club last off-season and has become one of the best CDM's in England. He's now closing in on 200 appearances for Leeds, is nicknamed 'the Yorkshire Pirlo", and through hard work has gone from a fairly average young player to become a huge part of the team and England international, the leader of a very exciting crop of local youngsters who have come through the academy to the first team, including Jamie Shackleton who joined the club as an 8 year old!!
Very exciting. Your club also signed a Spanish international in Rodrigo Moreno. Hoping Leeds stays up. They wear all white and I'm used to rooting for that kit.