The Arms (Errr, Legs) Race: 2022 Summer Transfer Window
- Thread starter Morgan's Magic Snowplow
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I think it’s clear he’s an incredibly talented child. He’s done well with a coach that can work with that and failed when he’s been expected to act like an adult. It’s absolutely on him and his mentors that he hasn’t figured out to function in professional football without catering.
Real Madrid fans having a meltdown over Mbappe not coming is enjoyable. It's such a shame that money means more to players than glory (glory that can only be achieved at Real Madrid, who definitely have never convinced a player to come to their club because they offered them a lot of money).
https://theathletic.com/news/kylian-mbappe-will-sign-new-contract-with-psg-despite-real-madrid-talks/FqNPKnlj4MbE/
I really, really hate this … when you have unlimited resources you just keep throwing more and more money at a player until he crumbles.
Is this the right move for Mbappe? It’s only a three year deal so he has time to move on later but still … even if PSG manage to win the UCL it won’t be the same - in terms of his legacy - as with Real.
edit: as the story goes, back in the 70s when the WHA (hockey) formed, their teams were offering ridiculous offers to NHL stars … one of whom was the Bruins‘ Derek Sanderson. As well as a massive pay raise, one of the clauses was he only had to play home games. So - of course he signed. It was virtual career suicide of course but who could resist?
edit#2 IIRC , in a later interview Sanderson said he just kept asking for outrageous stuff just to see if they (I think it was Philadelphia?) would agree … and they never said no to anything. He was probably the highest paid athlete in the world with that contract.
further edits : I think the “home games only “ thing may have been something they agreed to but he didn’t insist on.
Being a Boston-centric board I’m sure a lot of folks hereabouts remember him. He was a good player … but had an outsized reputation as a flamboyant playboy.
He only played 8 games before getting hurt.
Philly bought him out the next year
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/17/archives/sanderson-will-take-1million-wha-blazers-to-free-star-from-5year.html
I really, really hate this … when you have unlimited resources you just keep throwing more and more money at a player until he crumbles.
Is this the right move for Mbappe? It’s only a three year deal so he has time to move on later but still … even if PSG manage to win the UCL it won’t be the same - in terms of his legacy - as with Real.
edit: as the story goes, back in the 70s when the WHA (hockey) formed, their teams were offering ridiculous offers to NHL stars … one of whom was the Bruins‘ Derek Sanderson. As well as a massive pay raise, one of the clauses was he only had to play home games. So - of course he signed. It was virtual career suicide of course but who could resist?
edit#2 IIRC , in a later interview Sanderson said he just kept asking for outrageous stuff just to see if they (I think it was Philadelphia?) would agree … and they never said no to anything. He was probably the highest paid athlete in the world with that contract.
further edits : I think the “home games only “ thing may have been something they agreed to but he didn’t insist on.
Being a Boston-centric board I’m sure a lot of folks hereabouts remember him. He was a good player … but had an outsized reputation as a flamboyant playboy.
He only played 8 games before getting hurt.
Philly bought him out the next year
https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/17/archives/sanderson-will-take-1million-wha-blazers-to-free-star-from-5year.html
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Not really criticizing Mbappe … but when you’re already rich beyond anything you’d ever need one would think glory and legacy would be the prime motivations. And being the biggest fish in a backwater league doesn’t get you there IMO.
I guess the question is more about why it’s better for his legacy to win the 14th UCL in club history for Real rather than win the 1st UCL in club history for PSG, especially for someone born in Paris and raised in the Paris suburbs. It’s like saying LeBron’s legacy was enhanced more by winning a title with the Lakers than with the Cavaliers.
True … but Cleveland wasn’t owned by a fucking country.
Edit: this is the problem isn’t it. If Mbappe was choosing between Real or Barcelona (or even Liverpool) … clubs that are ridiculously famous AND wealthy then sure … but, I just can’t get past the ownership. And this goes for City and now Newcastle. I dunno, maybe if some nice benign country (Norway? Denmark? ) bought a team.
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I have no criticism of Mbappe. He should get everything he can manage to get & sign the deal that he thinks will make him happiest. Madrid, PSG, Liverpool (they said it was gonna happen!)…careers are short & unpredictable.
But again the Qataris throw up two big middle fingers to UEFA and laugh at their attempts at FFP while UEFA & FIFA officials thank them for the privilege of being humiliated.
the only saving Grace here is that PSG seem fundamentally incapable of building a competent club structure that would allow them to maximize their financial might with UCL results.
If FFP is fundamentally unworkable, then so be it. Kill the fiction. But stop pretending like It’s some moral mission to save the sport while lapping up Qatari cash as fast as it spills out.
But again the Qataris throw up two big middle fingers to UEFA and laugh at their attempts at FFP while UEFA & FIFA officials thank them for the privilege of being humiliated.
the only saving Grace here is that PSG seem fundamentally incapable of building a competent club structure that would allow them to maximize their financial might with UCL results.
If FFP is fundamentally unworkable, then so be it. Kill the fiction. But stop pretending like It’s some moral mission to save the sport while lapping up Qatari cash as fast as it spills out.
FFP is dead … long live the new FFP
https://theathletic.com/news/uefa-approves-new-financial-regulations-to-replace-ffp-new-squad-cost-rule-of-70-per-cent-of-revenue/nStOjscm115G/
This is pretty vague but it seems even worse to my eye.
I have a suspicion the new football regulator in England (coming this summer) might be more problematic for EPL teams.
This is the crux of it. You don’t need to see financials to know that some sides aren’t passing the sniff test. These signings are becoming the equivalent of comparing superyachts- who can spend the most?
It’s difficult to see PSG winning the CL. They have no way of testing and honing their play against elite sides other than a couple of borderline meaningless round robin games before the knockout rounds. Now, is there was some sort of league filled with super teams…
Remember, PSG didn’t join the Super League. The Qataris are so deeply embedded in UEFA/FIFA, they’d lose influence moving to a Super League.
Also PSG don't need the money. The prime movers of the Super League were RM/Barca/Juve, who need the cash. That's never a problem for PSG.
Why are we supposed to root for Mbappe to go to Real Madrid?Many of you love to go on and on about government owned clubs and sports washing. Aren’t Real Madrid one of the first government owned clubs? Haven’t they built a gigantic worldwide fan base on the backs of being guaranteed by the Spanish government? Haven’t they then used that tremendous financial advantage to grow their name and brand to a point where nobody could compete with them for a while and they just signed galactico after galactico? Are they not, in essence, the original sports washing project and now becaus it has been a long enough time everyone forgets how they grew and now their success is “legitimate” and they should be able to buy Frances biggest star because they want to?
This is the part of this line of thinking I have never understood. I get that Qatar have really barely even tried to comply with FFP at times but nearly every current “big club” in football went through periods of building their brand by being the biggest spenders in their league. Then, because that spending was a long time ago, they argue their should be aowed to continue to spend more than anyone else because their spending is now “legitimate”. Real Madrid ame La Liga are losing their shit today because they preferred the world where they got to poach anyone they wanted for huge money knowing nobody could ever outspend them. Until people who could did just that.
Real Madrid are a supporter owned club. I think they have 90,000 or so socios who have an ownership stake. There are many who accuse Madrid of getting preferential treatment during the Franco years, but I don’t believe the government has had actual ownership role with the club. I will say that these supporter owned clubs, including Barcelona, seem to get preferential treatment from local governments and institutions, and they leverage this as much as possible (access to land and other assets, ability to get loans etc). Speaking specifically about the Spanish giants, they were able to build themselves up financially by selling ownership to socios/cules and used this money to their advantage. For more on the rise of Madrid and Barca, check out Sid Lowe’s book “Fear and Loathing in La Liga”. I do think that there is a fundamental difference though between how PSG have risen lately with state money and how Madrid rose by encouraging members to join.
Financially, Madrid have shown themselves, at least recently, to be a somewhat profitable club. I’m sure there is some funny accounting out there, but they’re not in Barcelona situation either. Looking at the Barcelona situation, a lot of folks seem to think that their current situation has been caused by their massive debt, but that’s not entirely the case. For example, Barca were unable to pay Messi because they ran afoul of the financial rules in Spain- to oversimplify that they were spending too much on salaries compared to the amount of money they were bringing in. Until they fix this situation, they are limited to spending one dollar for every four dollars saved, so if Barca want Lewondowki at $20 million, they need to shed $80 million. My understand, and someone can correct me if I’m wrong, is that this is how Spanish soccer has been applying FFP rules in Spain and that these rules are not being applied in other countries in the same way. And there are many in Barcelona who would argue that Barca were targeted to force the club to vote for other league-wide financial deals. Whatever the case, it does look to me like the Spanish clubs do follow some financial rules that PSG, Man City, and other don‘t, even if those rules are imperfect and not always applied.
To your overall point though, for me the biggest problems in soccer is that these clubs at the very top of the pyramid are just way too wealthy compared to everyone else and that they spend money at a much larger clip. So I‘m less concerned about the gap between PSG and Real Madrid, and more concerned about the gap between Real Madrid and Getafe.
People can say they are upset about sports-washing and the ethics of a corrupt, undemocratic company using oil money to masquerade their human rights violations; but most of the complaints I here from other fans about PSG and Citeh are from fans of other big clubs that are upset that someone else has gotten a seat at the big boy's table when it comes to bidding for the top talent in the world. We then get fed these ridiculous arguments that the player "doesn't want to win at a REAL club" and that they are "all about the money" as opposed to wanting to make a billion dollars at Real Madrid, or Man U, or Barcelona make somebody more pure.
You see these same kind of arguments when a good player elects to stay at a smaller club instead of transfering to one of the largest 8-10 clubs. The fans of those clubs will say that the player "Doesn't want to win" and "isn't competitive." It's just bitter, entitled noise.
PSG & Qatar are a different case than the typical mega-clubs, even City. (Jury is still out on Newcastle, but worth watching given how the Saudis have tried to buy their way into the World Cup & Club World Cup.)
The Qataris have used PSG & BeIN to secure highly influential spots in FIFA and UEFA. They have used these to secure media rights for these competitions and a World Cup under the patently and boldly false pretense that it would be hosted in the summer. Oh, and then they built their stadiums using modern day indentured servitude. We don’t even need to get into the sport washing aspect of this or how owning soccer clubs has become a dick measuring contest among petro-royalty.
the point is that Qatar have bent UEFA & FIFA to serve their venal, deadly lethal desires.
The Qataris have used PSG & BeIN to secure highly influential spots in FIFA and UEFA. They have used these to secure media rights for these competitions and a World Cup under the patently and boldly false pretense that it would be hosted in the summer. Oh, and then they built their stadiums using modern day indentured servitude. We don’t even need to get into the sport washing aspect of this or how owning soccer clubs has become a dick measuring contest among petro-royalty.
the point is that Qatar have bent UEFA & FIFA to serve their venal, deadly lethal desires.
Leonardo is out and Luis Campos is reportedly the new sporting director of PSG.
They could get pretty frightening if they're run competently at director level. I'm a huge believer in Campos but I do think there is some uncertainty regarding how he'll fit in at a mega club spending mega dollars. The guy has made his name identifying and nurturing cheap talent and turning such players into stars to be sold. But the PSG job is very different.
It will be interesting to see what they do now in the transfer market, as well as what manager they bring in if Poch gets the axe (which seems fairly likely). Zidane is the favorite but many people think he would prefer to take over the France job after the next world cup. Conte has been rumored as one backup option, Gaultier's name also has been thrown around given his relationship with Campos at Lille.
View: https://twitter.com/Tanziloic/status/1528371247570161666
They could get pretty frightening if they're run competently at director level. I'm a huge believer in Campos but I do think there is some uncertainty regarding how he'll fit in at a mega club spending mega dollars. The guy has made his name identifying and nurturing cheap talent and turning such players into stars to be sold. But the PSG job is very different.
It will be interesting to see what they do now in the transfer market, as well as what manager they bring in if Poch gets the axe (which seems fairly likely). Zidane is the favorite but many people think he would prefer to take over the France job after the next world cup. Conte has been rumored as one backup option, Gaultier's name also has been thrown around given his relationship with Campos at Lille.
View: https://twitter.com/Tanziloic/status/1528371247570161666
Villa sign Boubakar Kamara, DM from Marseille, on a free. Seems like a smart move and maybe a precursor to selling either McGinn or Luiz this summer. Definitely a signing indicative of the huge financial gap between the two leagues, to have a player eagerly jump from the second or third biggest club in Ligue Un that will play CL next year to a side that just finished 14th in the PL.
Villa have been impressively proactive with signings the past couple years, signing Buendia very early last summer too.
View: https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1528732144322990081
Villa have been impressively proactive with signings the past couple years, signing Buendia very early last summer too.
View: https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1528732144322990081
That is a GREAT singing - a 22 year old regular starter from a Big 5 UCL qualifier.
I hope Villa don’t move McGinn - that squad was at its best when it was playing his attitude. Kamara and McGinn could play together - Kamara is a high percentage, conservative passer who intercepts a lot passes; McGinn is a aggressive progressive passer who has a really high tackle rate. Stevie has options now and the someone to rotate with McGinn. Excellent stuff.
I hope Villa don’t move McGinn - that squad was at its best when it was playing his attitude. Kamara and McGinn could play together - Kamara is a high percentage, conservative passer who intercepts a lot passes; McGinn is a aggressive progressive passer who has a really high tackle rate. Stevie has options now and the someone to rotate with McGinn. Excellent stuff.
Atletico fans were very eager for the club to attempt to sign Kamara, so it's also possible that Villa could have financially outmuscled a Spanish club and a French club to sign him.
Yep
Rumour had it they were in for him. Guessing Plan B is Yuri Tielemens - or maybe Declan Rice if they want to pay the English tax.
Reports are that West Ham just offered Rice a new deal at £200k/week for 8 years! His current deal has 2 years left to run plus a club option for another. And Moyes out here talking about Rice being worth £150m. It’s going to take an insane offer to pry him loose.
(Looks over at ManU…)
Another curious Liverpool rumour - supposedly they’ve been linked with Juventus’ Mattijs De Ligt.
This is curious as Liverpool already have 4 first choice CBs and he only arrived - with much fanfare - in Turin a couple of years ago. Is the bloom off the rose already?
This is curious as Liverpool already have 4 first choice CBs and he only arrived - with much fanfare - in Turin a couple of years ago. Is the bloom off the rose already?
I think DeLigt could move but that sounds like made up nonsense from a Liverpool perspective. Cb is hardly a position I’d expect investment in that club
That would be a hard pass. He’s really good mind you. If they decide to go big I hope they are saving up for certain Dortmund MF.
Not made up by the Liverpool press - they just like to report any and all rumours they can find. It makes no sense at all - but I’m more curious as to while Juventus might be shopping him. He was supposed to be VVD reborn.
Hard agree. But the chatter is that Bellingham & Dortmund are looking to a summer 2023 transfer. I’m sure a bunch of clubs will make inquires and try to turn his head, but Dortmund are patient and savvy.
unless you’re talking about our young Gio!
To be clear wasn’t saying it was made up by Liverpool press. Just saying it seems made up because it makes no sense from a Liverpool squad building perspective.
I think De Ligt has lost some of his shine and Juve have some real work to do. There’s a version of that where it might make sense to cash in on De Ligt to some prem team like Chelsea looking to make a splash to fund more transfer activity. I’m sure Socrmaniac has thoughts as he follows Juve but De Ligt hasn’t had the huge impact he was expected to deliver iirc
De Ligt is a handball meme machine. I can’t be bothered to look it up, but my memory tells me he’s conceded roughly 600 penalties with his arms.
He’s got a lot of Van Dijk’s physical gifts with an absolute vacuum between his ears.I think he can be effective for awhile through sheer athletic ability but will fade quickly as he ages out of what mistakes his body can cover for uis brain.
He’s got a lot of Van Dijk’s physical gifts with an absolute vacuum between his ears.I think he can be effective for awhile through sheer athletic ability but will fade quickly as he ages out of what mistakes his body can cover for uis brain.
Ahhh - no - Mr Bellingham.
The thing is Liverpool are kind of overstocked with young attacking MFs . Jones, Elliot and now Carvalho all in need of minutes- to the extent that Ox is on the block.
It does make sense to see how they progress before spending a fortune on Bellingham
Villa continues to move quickly in the market.
From what I've seen, good physical defender who loves a rash challenge. He somehow managed to give penalties away in the (one-legged) quarters, semis, and final of the Europa League a couple years back...yet Sevilla still won.
Makes me wonder whether Sevilla still plans to sell Kounde to Chelsea.
View: https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1529854749138378753
From what I've seen, good physical defender who loves a rash challenge. He somehow managed to give penalties away in the (one-legged) quarters, semis, and final of the Europa League a couple years back...yet Sevilla still won.
Makes me wonder whether Sevilla still plans to sell Kounde to Chelsea.
View: https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1529854749138378753
Ah, I see that now. Looks like Joe was trying to do a dance between Villa and Pool, but now Stevie G has paired off with another.
I wouldn't blame Gomez at all if he started looking for a starting EPL role now that he's 25. He's 5 years younger than Matip and VVD, but there doesn't seem to be a clear path for Gomez to join the top pairing. I certainly hope he stays, but it's very understandable if he wants a move.
Many outlets are reporting variations of Mané to Bayern after the final. I think it’s a good time to part company with him. I’d expect his production to see a bump that will make fans rue his departure but realistically he wouldn’t match it in the EPL with Pool.
With most big clubs, you can point at the same hot, young players at smaller clubs to fill positions. I haven’t the clue who Liverpool will sign anymore. They’ll find a stat that says some guy only home fans have heard of has a heel turn that would be advantageous with the spin that Robertson puts on his ground passes, sign him, and he’ll add ten goals.
With most big clubs, you can point at the same hot, young players at smaller clubs to fill positions. I haven’t the clue who Liverpool will sign anymore. They’ll find a stat that says some guy only home fans have heard of has a heel turn that would be advantageous with the spin that Robertson puts on his ground passes, sign him, and he’ll add ten goals.
It will be interesting to see how quickly the Mane deal gets sorted. My impression is that Bayern did not appreciate how Liverpool went about the pursuit of Thiago and I wouldn't be surprised if they attempt to return the favor given the similarities in the situations of the two players (ie, one year on contract, player pretty clearly wanting out, and club pretty clearly wanting to sell rather than lose the player for nothing). I think they'll make a lowball offer in the same range of 25-30m and let Liverpool decide whether they want to take it and move on or drag things out.
Why does Mane want out? I don't follow Liverpool closely, so from limited vantage point, the situation seems great there for everyone.
He probably wants to lock in one more big 3-4 year contract and Liverpool is too smart to give him one at 30.
I think the writing is on the wall for Mane. Liverpool have been very engaged with Salah over the past year, but not Sadio. Liverpool jumped on Diaz in January, have Carvalho incoming, and Jota is wrapping up a 21-goal campaign.
If he has an offer on the table from Bayern, he should probably jump on it.
If he has an offer on the table from Bayern, he should probably jump on it.
Perisic has quietly been a really good player for a long time in Italy and definitely a Conte guy. Also very two footed and can play either wingback role.
Not sure I'd want to give him fairly large wages/bonus on a two year deal to see if it translates to the PL at age 33-35 though.
Not sure I'd want to give him fairly large wages/bonus on a two year deal to see if it translates to the PL at age 33-35 though.
Hey man I'm excited! It would seem to me like Kane, Son and Kulu are the everyday starters up front, but if we are upgrading from Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn to Bale and Perisic, I'm all for it. Squad rotation is going to be crucial next season as they take on UCL play; and that has been a notable drawback for Spurs teams in the past.
A few articles I read talked more about Perisic pairing with Sessegnon at wingback and allowing Reguilon to move on.
Also, some numbers:
View: https://twitter.com/NathanAClark/status/1524804892686225411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw