Pay That Mendes His Money: The Summer 2021 Transfer Thread
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I imagine ESPN's production team has some materials prepared to market the league that featured Messi. Even if ESPN only expected (or planned) for Messi to play another couple of seasons in Spain, that's a 1/4 of the contract length.
https://sambadigital.com/espn-signs-eight-year-deal-with-laliga-bringing-top-tier-spanish-soccer-to-the-us/
Yes, but we got glimpses of how complex this stuff actually is when Ronaldo moved to Juventus. Cash flow and FFP rules have to be maneuvered in the context of Messi's many, many endorsement and image rights deals.
Yes, shirt sales explode, especially short-term. But clubs only earn a small percentage of each sale after the initial advance is recouped by the kit maker. How many shirts do you really need to sell to move the bottom line? And given that Messi is as much a global sports branding agency as he is a footballer, does he request a cut of every jersey sold with his name on it as part of his deal with the club? In this case, Nike and Adidas might have an interesting role to play in greasing some skids. Nike surely wants to keep selling jerseys with Messi's name on the back (advantage Spurs...and City and PSG), but Adidas already has his boot contract - how much would they pay to sell his club jersey alongside his national team jersey and signature cleats, too?
You can probably attract more sponsors and sign deals in parts of the world you haven't yet tapped with Messi on board, but that all takes some time plus all your prime sponsorship slots are already contractually tied up. Maybe those prime sponsors will agree to renegotiate if they can get Messi to directly plug their product, but now Messi will need to sign off on that earning himself a cut...if he doesn't already have a conflict with another product in the same field.
And on and on it goes. Messi will bring a team of lawyers to the negotiating table and they will expect to be part of every club decision that generates revenue from his likeness. Your club might generate more revenue from Messi if he helps sell more tickets, place higher in the league, go deeper in the UCL, July tour of Asia, etc. than any of the off-pitch stuff.
Edit: PSG is the shadiest club in the world when it comes to FFP. When they signed Neymar, they handed him a separate €20m contract to be an ambassador to World Cup 2022, which was not counted against the club's expenditures despite clearly being part of his deal to join PSG. No doubt, PSG would be even more creative in luring Messi to Paris - picture Qatar Air 747s with Messi's face painted on the side.
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Would rather have Jack anyway he’s such a manc (sarcasm)
After last season I just don’t buy this is anything but a way for Barca to put pressure on La Liga. City at least seem to have realized that Lucy always pulls the football away
After last season I just don’t buy this is anything but a way for Barca to put pressure on La Liga. City at least seem to have realized that Lucy always pulls the football away
If it is a ploy to put pressure on La Liga, its a pretty desperate one that seems unlikely to work. Tebas has stuck his neck out there consistently about saying that the league's rules need to be enforced. I can't see him completely reversing course a week before the season starts in the most obvious way possible.
I have no idea what happened but I wonder if its somehow linked to the possible deal between La Liga and the American private equity company. Two possibilities come to mind. The deal as it stands would limit the degree to which the funds could be spent on salaries and players, and Tebas has reiterated that this isn't a way for clubs to avoid dealing with their salary cap issues. So maybe Barcelona was betting on a different arrangement that would give them more leeway? Real Madrid also came out today saying that they strongly oppose the deal. So maybe that is its death knell and Barcelona know that without this deal they'll never be able to pull off whatever tenuous financial arrangement they were hoping would allow them to keep Messi.
I have no idea what happened but I wonder if its somehow linked to the possible deal between La Liga and the American private equity company. Two possibilities come to mind. The deal as it stands would limit the degree to which the funds could be spent on salaries and players, and Tebas has reiterated that this isn't a way for clubs to avoid dealing with their salary cap issues. So maybe Barcelona was betting on a different arrangement that would give them more leeway? Real Madrid also came out today saying that they strongly oppose the deal. So maybe that is its death knell and Barcelona know that without this deal they'll never be able to pull off whatever tenuous financial arrangement they were hoping would allow them to keep Messi.
I'm confused about FFP admin. In the MANC case, UEFA was the "plaintiff" (I think). Here, it's La Liga. What am I missing or remembering incorrectly?
The La Liga stuff isn’t FFP. It’s just their league rules. There are no FFP issues with Barca at this time which is also sort of ridiculous and shows how pointless FFP is because they’ve spent themselves into oblivion
I'm torn between wanting Messi to just go to City to catch more games with him despite in meaning that City has probably locked up the league for the next 3 years and him going to PSG where I'll catch like 3 games a season.
As committed FPL players will tell you, Kane and Son consistently overperform xG. Spurs have basically been two guys who pull moments of magic out of their ass, a good keeper, and guys.
Exactly, those guys are amazing and they've needed every one of those moments of magic just to average about 60 points the last two years. If Kane and Son were 24 and 25, you could raise the level of the rest of the team and then you'd be cooking. But they're 28 and 29 and most likely to be easing into the decline phase of their careers very soon. Meanwhile, the top four teams are engaged in an almost unprecedented arms race as talent pours into the league from a financially distressed Europe, so catching any of them in the next year or two just looks really hard. You've got to know when to hold em and know when to fold em.
Private equity enters La Liga and the first cost cutting casualty is Messi. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not
Also rough for ESPN if he heads to PL and NBC gets a boost.
Also rough for ESPN if he heads to PL and NBC gets a boost.
For those who were questioning why City were after Grealish and Kane this article highlights how much weaker City was in attack last season
https://www.fotmob.com/news/1jxivaemcrpb71lsslgnl8uxgn-Manchester-City-2021-22:-Does-Grealish-signing-and-Kane-pursuit-mean-a-shake-up-for-Guardiola?
https://www.fotmob.com/news/1jxivaemcrpb71lsslgnl8uxgn-Manchester-City-2021-22:-Does-Grealish-signing-and-Kane-pursuit-mean-a-shake-up-for-Guardiola?
FWIW, the Grealish deal happened because Grealish had exactly one of these sorts of clauses in his Villa contract: a 100m release clause could be triggered by a bid from a team participating in the CL if Villa were not in the CL.
Lukaku to Chelsea for €115m.
Assuming this pushes Werner out wide, competition for minutes is going to be intense for Pulisic.
Assuming this pushes Werner out wide, competition for minutes is going to be intense for Pulisic.
So Chelsea sold Lukaku for 28m when he was 21, and are now buying him back for 100m when he's 28. That is ... not great business.
Yep already asking if he would play as wing back depth. But Lukaku was needed with Werner inability to finish consistently. Ziyech, Mount, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Havertz lots of options for Tuchel.
That was a tough time when we were dumping so many young players. Lukaku, Salah, De Bruyne.
On the one hand, incredible scouting and recruitment. On the other hand, Mourinho…
after flopping at Utd...not sure if his return will be better at age 28 - this isn't Serie A...or maybe go back to blue will inspire him
Since selling Lukaku for ~30m in 2014, Chelsea have bought the following strikers:
Diego Costa (34m) (later sold to Atletico Madrid for 54m)
Michy Batshuayi (35m) (still on the books, they collected a few million in loan fees for him)
Alvaro Morata (59m) (later loaned/sold to to Atletico Madrid for a combined 48m)
Olivier Giroud (15m) (later sold to AC Milan for 900k)
Timo Werner (48m) (still on the books, disappointing first season)
Kai Havertz (72m) (still on the books, ok first season once he got over COVID)
Lukaku (100m)
Some of those guys have been played well for Chelsea, but it sure seems like Chelsea could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and money if they had just kept Lukaku in the first place.
Diego Costa (34m) (later sold to Atletico Madrid for 54m)
Michy Batshuayi (35m) (still on the books, they collected a few million in loan fees for him)
Alvaro Morata (59m) (later loaned/sold to to Atletico Madrid for a combined 48m)
Olivier Giroud (15m) (later sold to AC Milan for 900k)
Timo Werner (48m) (still on the books, disappointing first season)
Kai Havertz (72m) (still on the books, ok first season once he got over COVID)
Lukaku (100m)
Some of those guys have been played well for Chelsea, but it sure seems like Chelsea could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and money if they had just kept Lukaku in the first place.
Imagine Messi playing in the Europa Conference League and just notching double hat tricks every match.
Yes. I imagine Spurs simply called his agent and said "Please" and were turned down.
Hitchens probably owes Paratici $5 for losing the bet that there was no way he would actually do it.
View: https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1424696258879492101
Aguero out 10 weeks
this was convenient....
Aguero out 10 weeks
this was convenient....
Sadly this has been the problem for Aguero. Constant long term injuries. Of course all the Messi stuff makes you wonder how convenient this is but this has been happening to him non stop the last few years
Shaqiri has agreed to become Lyon’s top paid player, but Liverpool are holding out for a bigger fee. Seems like this one will get sorted, but with some complicated payment schedule plus performance clauses.
The Athletic report Willock has agreed to terms with Newcastle. Appears that young Joe is good at hold up play, too.
The Athletic report Willock has agreed to terms with Newcastle. Appears that young Joe is good at hold up play, too.
Feels like the Kane chatter has picked up again, with a couple places reporting a new bid from City around £120-130m or direct talks between the clubs.
Spurs have been linked mainly to two strikers, Martinez and Vlahovic, and the former's agent is talking about staying at Inter and signing a new contract while the latter is reportedly being pursued by Atletico. So it makes sense to me that this would be the time to stop posturing and either get the Kane deal done while you still have a shot at those main targets or just decide firmly not to sell and move forward planning to have Kane in the team.
If I had to guess, I'd say it happens and its a deal around £125m plus add ons like Golden Boot, winning the PL and CL, etc that could take it around £150m. That way Levy can say that he got the fee he wanted, while City can say they held to their own guidelines.
Spurs have been linked mainly to two strikers, Martinez and Vlahovic, and the former's agent is talking about staying at Inter and signing a new contract while the latter is reportedly being pursued by Atletico. So it makes sense to me that this would be the time to stop posturing and either get the Kane deal done while you still have a shot at those main targets or just decide firmly not to sell and move forward planning to have Kane in the team.
If I had to guess, I'd say it happens and its a deal around £125m plus add ons like Golden Boot, winning the PL and CL, etc that could take it around £150m. That way Levy can say that he got the fee he wanted, while City can say they held to their own guidelines.
View: https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1426217413855547398
I'm sorry, Vestergaard for only 15million? thought Southampton could get way more for him
I'm sorry, Vestergaard for only 15million? thought Southampton could get way more for him
Vestergaard had only one year left on his contract, which likely kept the fee down.
He is also 29 and has been pretty inconsistent since coming into the league. He lost his place in the Soton team for a long stretch of the 19-20 season. He was good last year by all accounts but its not like he has been a rock for them.
Tammy Abraham to Roma for €40 million.
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1426654772069900291
Have fun with Jose.
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1426654772069900291
Have fun with Jose.
Wow ! €40m for Tammy Abraham????? I would have thought something in the 25m neighbourhood would be an excellent deal for Chelsea.
Plus a buy back not terrible. If he gets really good you pay 40m for him to get developed. If he plateaus you get a decent fee up front. Nice business.
That may be true. But I don’t think he would have featured anyways. If City up their offer then it gets done. The question for Spurs is, holding out for a better offer kind of precludes bringing in a replacement this window.
I don't think so. Kane missing training meant he wasn't going to start and it's probably a sound decision not to have him on the bench anyway. Spurs weren't going to sell him before this match and risk having him play against them. The result also added some spice to a situation that really didn't need any more.
So if Pique, Alba, and other Barca players reduced their wages or renegotiated their contracts sufficiently to allow the club to register Memphis and Garcia, why couldn't they have done this a couple of weeks ago and kept Messi? Is it just a matter of Messi's wages being so much higher?
Per this video (Spanish), it's a little more complicated.
Even if Messi had played for free, the league would have calculated his cap "hit" as 50% of his previous contract. I'm not sure that enough players could restructure meaningfully to make the numbers work under those circumstances.
Yeah, it seems that since Messi was signing a "new" contract as opposed to renegotiating, the rules accounting ability was limited. Messi's wages were reportedly $50M (E) last year, so it can't be less than $25M this season. With the captains (Pique, Busi, Alba, and Roberto) reducing their wages though, it seems like it should be close. That raises the more interesting issue of whether Grizi was asked or offered to reduce his ASTROFUCKINGNOMICAL wages too.
Seems super late in the window to be hearing about this now, but Lewa wants out of Bayern?
View: https://twitter.com/skysportsnews/status/1428252915458785281?s=21
City shrugging their shoulders and snapping him up for 2/3 the Kane price would be pretty funny.
View: https://twitter.com/skysportsnews/status/1428252915458785281?s=21
City shrugging their shoulders and snapping him up for 2/3 the Kane price would be pretty funny.
Turns 33 in two days. 100m seems like a crazy price despite the talent.
He's a player I'd love to see more of so a PL move would be fun to watch, but not sure which clubs he'd be a fit with.
He's a player I'd love to see more of so a PL move would be fun to watch, but not sure which clubs he'd be a fit with.
are we sure he will fit the PL style? by the time Bastian Schweinsteiger came to Utd, he was broken down and too slow
maybe the challenge would be go to Brentford and helping them win the league...
maybe the challenge would be go to Brentford and helping them win the league...