2020/21 Premier League & General Football Discussion

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Your Opinion: Messi or Ronaldo?

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Maguire given a 21-month and 10 day suspended sentence, his legal team will appeal due to the fast moving nature of the case and the fact that the court issued the charges and provided the evidence late in the day, leaving the defense team with not much time to prepare.
 
Maguire has released a statement confirming he is appealing the decision:

“Following the hearing today, I have instructed my legal team with immediate effect to inform the courts we will be appealing, I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter - if anything myself, family and friends are the victims.”

Manchester United have released a statement of thier own:

"Manchester United notes the verdict of the Greek courts today. Harry Maguire pleaded not guilty to all charges made against him and he continues to strongly assert his innocence," reads the statement, posted on Twitter by journalist Andy Mitten.

"It should be noted the the prosecution confirmed the charges and provided the evidence late on the day before the trial, giving the defence team minimal time to digest them and prepare.

"A request for the case to be adjourned was subsequently denied. On this basis, along with the substantial body of evidence refuting the charges, Harry Maguire's legal team will now appeal the verdict, to allow a full and fair hearing at a later date."

Maguire's lawyer has advised that there is video evidence shot by somoene outside of the police station showing the three defendants being mistrated by the police.

_______

In other news, Lionel Messi has handed in a formal request to be released by Barcelona. The club have confirmed the request, but beleive that the agreement to release him has expired. Legal bods are looking at the details of the agreement.
 
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On a serious note, he deserved so much more than an exit like this. Come to think of it Xavi was probably the last legend to get the good ending he deserved. Thanks Bartomeu, you absolute shameless prick.
 
In other news, Lionel Messi has handed in a formal request to be released by Barcelona. The club have confirmed the request, but beleive that the agreement to release him has expired. Legal bods are looking at the details of the agreement.
I've just heard an interview with football journalist Guillem Balague talking about some of the politics going on at Barcelona. Very murky. The matter of having to inform the club that he wants to leave was supposed to be at the 'end of the season', which will be the bone of contention. Is the end of the season now, after the last game of the season, the Champion's League Final, or July 10th of a normal season? Some Lawyers are going to be making a lot of money. Another problem Messi has is who can afford him. Balague said he spoke to PSG officials and they said they were not interested. And he has said he has had indications from Cit€h that they are also not interested. A buyout clause of €700 may do that. ;) If true, that probably leaves a Chinese club, and when Messi gets 10+ or more goals a game, how would that taint his legacy!

Apparently he used to have a contract where he could walk away for nothing at the end of each season. ;) :lol:


With regards to Maguire, I've just read a bit about it on the BBC site and it all sounds messy, confusing and contradictory. Some more Lawyers about to get rich. :rolleyes:
 
@redhed17 from what I've read the clause allows Messi's contract to be terminated unilaterally with immediate effect. THat would make him a free agent so there would be no transfer fee required if the clause is legal to be excerceised now.

So I think if he ends up leaving and available on a free a lot of clubs could be interested, but his salary is €500k per week plus his image rights etc. Unless he's willing to take a cut you're elimiateing most clubs right there. You have United who are prne to offering stupid money (Sanchez) but even €500k is more than we've ever paid anyone before. Do we really want to open that pandoras box?

He's 33 now, so I can't see him being offered a salary equal to what he's on right now by anyone outside of maybe China, it's a big ask to expect him to be worth that salary in 2 years.

A lot of lawyers getting rich right now.
 
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He should go to Juventus. Pair him up with Ronaldo.
That sounds epic but I don't think it would work out too well.

I could imagine they would try too hard to best one another rather than gel.
 
@redhed17 from what I've read the clause allows Messi's contract to be terminated unilaterally with immediate effect. THat would make him a free agent so there would be no transfer fee required if the clause is legal to be excerceised now.

So I think if he ends up leaving and available on a free a lot of clubs could be interested, but his salary is €500k per week plus his image rights etc. Unless he's willing to take a cut you're elimiateing most clubs right there. You have United who are prne to offering stupid money (Sanchez) but even €500k is more than we've ever paid anyone before. Do we really want to open that pandoras box?

He's 33 now, so I can't see him being offered a salary equal to what he's on right now by anyone outside of maybe China, it's a big ask to expect him to be worth that salary in 2 years.

A lot of lawyers getting rich right now.
Ah, I caught the end of the interview, so maybe his fee would be €700 because Barca deem his request to be outside of the period, the 'end of the season' when he can tell them he is leaving for free, and so a fee would have to be paid.

500k a week of anything is mental and not sustainable by any club, especially the way world of sport is being affected by global events atm.

He should go to Juventus. Pair him up with Ronaldo.
It would be those two, and no money for anyone else. :lol:
 
That sounds epic but I don't think it would work out too well.

I could imagine they would try too hard to best one another rather than gel.

A decent manager would be able to make it work. And besides, both of them have nothing left to prove. Give the fans 2 seasons of world class football and retire.
 
A decent manager would be able to make it work. And besides, both of them have nothing left to prove. Give the fans 2 seasons of world class football and retire.
It would be great if it could work, but just cramming two world class players together is no guarnentee of anything. They both operate as free roaming forwards and occupy the same spaces. I think you would have a more formidable attack by partnering one of them with a players who will play the secondary role and support the main forward.

We're also talking about two players with huge egos, I can't imagine either would be happy not being the main man at the club and the highest paid player.

I'm not saying it couldn't work period, but I don't think it would. I could be wrong, we might never know, but it would be cool to get the chance to see if it would work or not.
 
It is not confirmed yet, but Bartomeu could resign so that Messi did not leave.
Bartomeu, the current President of Barcelona, would not like to be the one who made Messi leave by the looks of it if that turns out to be true. Probably wise, but not a good position for the head of a club to be in when a player has so much 'power'.
 
Under the Webster ruling, any player can unilateraly walk away from their contract after a fixed period from the starting date of the contract, regardless of the overall duration of the contract. You don't need a special clause for that.

It's actually been a bit of a transfer time bomb since 2008 when the legal case was closed. It's not known what the long term effects could be because so few players have exercised their right under it so far but a high profile test case involving Messi, should it actually come to that, would demonstrate an unprecedented age of player power. And more scope for agents to pull the strings elsewhere.
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/53910492

Paris St-Germain and Man Ure, How come they are not throwing Liverpoo into the mix.
If wages came down I don,t think any club would turn him away. Its all about getting the finances in order?
Plus Man Ure just offloaded Alexis Sanchez who was costing them a reported £500 a week. (alexis sanchez wages at man utd)

Either way in my opinion he,s staying at Barca. Or if, in the unlikely event a move does come off then am backing PSG. :)
 
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/53910492

Paris St-Germain and Man Ure, How come they are not throwing Liverpoo into the mix.
If wages came down I don,t think any club would turn him away. Its all about getting the finances in order?
Plus Man Ure just offloaded Alexis Sanchez who was costing them a reported £500 a week. (alexis sanchez wages at man utd)

Either way in my opinion he,s staying at Barca. Or if, in the unlikely event a move does come off then am backing PSG. :)
I didn't think the Sanchez deal was so good, :eek: but £500 per wouldn't go much towards offsetting Messi's £500k+. ;) :lol:

There are possibly only a few clubs able to afford Messi. Teams funded by oil, a single wealthy individual, or effectively a country. Teams that fall into that category, imho, are PSG, Man Cit€h, Chel$ki, Real Madrid and any Chinese club. There may be more, but those are the ones that come to mind. Man Utd are separate from those, again, imho, in that they have built up money over decades of success, and being in the most lucrative league for TV rights to become one of the largest clubs by most measuring methods in the world.

At the moment Man Utd are trying to build, seemingly on the cheap after spending huge amounts since Ferguson retired on players, and managers. A Messi signing could hinder their ability to improve other parts of the team. Being mentioned as a possibility though puts in people's minds that they are still an option when they probably aren't.

PSG will spend spend spend to get the Champion's League, Neymar and Mbappe is evidence of that. Could they afford Messi too! With that amount of money behind them anything is possible. Similar with Cit€h, though it curious they are not being mentioned as much. Real Madrid always seem to find the money, though with Barca to Real, I would fear for Messi's safety. Yes, some players have done that, but Messi would be a step above anything that would have gone before.

With Chel$ki, Ambramovich seemd to take a back seat for a few years and tightened the wallet. He has spent some so for this next season, but a lot of that was the Hazard money which they were not able to spend because of a transfer ban. I think the huge spending by Ambramovich may be over.

A Chinese club would just have the money if needed, though their deals have tailed off a bit.

Liverpool seem to trying to build success from a sustainable model now, and buying players in a more thought out long term fashion. Yes, Allison and van Dijk stand out against that, but they can thank Barca and Coutinho for making those transfers affordable. ;) Klopp builds a team and slots people in, with Messi it is building a team around Messi. Plus I don't think Liverpool are at the financial level to be in the conversation, without a sponsor adding extra finance in some way, Nike to contribute for the additional merchandise sales for example, though I doubt that would happen. Mbappe would be a wiser move for something like that considering Messi's age.

And there's another thing, Messi's age, 33. How many years would a club get out of a deal to try and recoup the money spent! Some teams, mentioned above who are financed more by money away from their popularity don't have to take that into account as a consideration, most well run teams do.

Messi is too big for more than a few clubs in the world unless he took a huge pay cut, and even that would be if they somehow got him for a Neymar type fee, or even better free. And even fewer clubs could afford a fee too much above that.

I doubt he will move if he gets the changes he wants at Barca, but even if he doesn't I can't see anyone actually paying for him post Pandemic, with sport finances in limbo atm, and business plans taking a hit.

It is interesting to watch from the outside, though I think the BBC at least are going a bit OTT on their site with the number of articles. You would thing he had been transferred, retired, or died with that amount of coverage. :eek: :lol:
 
Harry Maguire has been granted a full retrial in Greece in a more senior court, this also quashes the original convection of the 21-month suspended sentence and he has no international travel restrictions.
 
United are unlikey to be in the race for Messi IMO, his wages along would throw us off balance, and it looks like we're all in for Sancho, which is a deal I hope we can get over the line, but it's no guarentee.

Chinese clubs have stopped buying big players because the Chinese governmnet started charging a 100% import tax on the players contracts. So if you bought a player for £50m you would have to pay an additional £50m in taxes. This was introduced in 2018, but I don't know how Cihnese tax law would impact if Messi was availalbe on a free.

Apparently Barcelona have slapped a £200m price tag on him, resolution over his free transfer clause pending. But Article 17 of FIFA's Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (AKA the WEbster clause) could see him being able to buy himself out of his contract for significantly less than that.
 
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Still think Barca are the favourites to keep him, but I,ll stick with my opinion that if a move does come off then it will PSG?
Not just for the money or who could afford him but more suited to the slower pace than going to the premiership.
Possibly Inter may be a surprise or Juve, But kinda sticking them as a bit of an outside chance of getting him.

More than likely its a change at the top of Barca and Messi signing a new contract. :D

Anyway find a nice read for anyone interested. Don,t know what research was put but its another journalists opinion about City and FFP and maybe many a club would struggle full stop taking Messi? (Apart from PSG lol :))
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...lost-appeal-against-European-ban-CRUSHED.html

The Neymar saga, Thats why I belief if any realistic dealings of Messi going anywhere its PSG?
Plus this article kind of gets near the monies which is surrouding Messi and a potential deal.
https://theconversation.com/could-n...pped-by-financial-fair-play-regulations-81982
 
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Quite like this.


It's the wise way to go down if you can plan long term, Southampton are known for it. How many players have Liverpool got from them over the last few years. ;) :lol:

And there are teams around Europe too, like Lyon, Ajax. Chel$ki had a load of kids that they bought and sent out on loan, before selling, though in most cases not for large fees. Their route to the first team was limited though until their transfer ban and Lampard becoming manager. They are making up for that transfer ban now though. ;) :lol: They went through a period of buying high, and selling lower to maintain the success, and Cit€h seem to be doing something similar. But if losing money is not a problem, then meh! :rolleyes:

Liverpool have also been planning long term and there are a load of kids they have been getting over the 4-5 years. Some of them are also getting a chance in the squad, and sometimes the first team. They will sell those that they think will not get into the first team though. Ibe and Solanki are notable sales where Liverpool made a lot more than they seem to have been worth up to now. :) Ibe was seen as a better prospect than Sterling at one point. :eek: Sterling was another where Liverpool made a lot of money, £2m-£49m. Liverpool have also made profits on first team players like Sterling they have sold. Suarez was bought (with the Torres money ;)) for £22m and sold for for £65m. And Coutinho was bought for £8m, and sold for £130m. :eek: I hope that there will be less sales of first choice players because they are successful, and players want to stay there.

You can only solely rely on that business model for so long until it may bite you on the behind. Sell too many first team players and yes, you may get a lot more than they may have been acquired for, but it could affect the stability and performance of the team. You need to re-invest some of the money to improve your own team. Leicester have been bringing players in to improve the squad. Southampton have fallen foul of that and been relegated. Players may not be as attractive from the lower division. ;) It is a balancing act that, but a way for some teams to stay profitable.
 
Prepare for Messi in the light blue jersey. It seems he wants to go to Guardiola.

At 33 he will get the most amazing sweetheart deal for 2 years of occasionally competitive football in history.
 
He will end the first season before it is actually over because some defender who has had enough of his dribbling will launch an attack on his ankles.
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53884053
Celtic already out of the Champions League. 9-times consecutive league champions fail to qualify for the Champions League for the umpteenth time. It's basically like the Prema Powerteam expecting to win the F1 title in their dominant F3 cars. Never going to happen. Celtic need to be beaten to a title soon so they can actually bother to improve and become competitive in Europe, it's getting embarrassing.

Or move to the English Premier League and face some real competition to force them to improve sooner, but that's a debate I've started this time every season pretty much when Celtic bomb out of the European Qualifying stages to a team I can't pronounce.
 
Celtic already out of the Champions League. 9-times consecutive league champions fail to qualify for the Champions League for the umpteenth time.

Or move to the English Premier League and face some real competition to force them to improve sooner
Mmm, Celtic to the Premier League, er no thanks. I always find it amusing that if Celtic, or Rangers, would be at the Premier League level if they were to be allowed to play in an English league, when as you say, they can't get past the early qualifying stages of the Champion's League. :lol:
 
Chelsea's amazing transfer window continues, they signed left back Ben Chilwell from Leicester for £50 million yesterday, they signed Malang Sarr on a free today and will send him out on loan, Thiago Silva is having a medical at Chelsea today ahead of a free transfer from PSG...and the Kai Havertz transfer is making progress.

Spurs are in talks with Wolves over the transfer of Matt Doherty for £15 million, they have rejected a bid from AC Milan for Serge Aurier.

Gareth Barry has retired at the age of 39, he is the record Premier League appearance maker with 635 appearances, he played for Aston Villa, Man City, Everton and West Brom which is were he played his last few seasons, he won the League and FA Cup at Man City and won 53 caps for England.

The Community Shield takes place at Wembley this Saturday between Liverpool and Arsenal.

Paul Pogba has tested positive for Covid 19 and has been withdrawn from the France squad for the nations League games next week, also a man in his 20s has been found dead near Man United's training ground, this coupled with the facts that United haven't made any signings yet and our captain is in some bother in Greece means its a brilliant Summer for Man United. :rolleyes:
 
Paul Pogba has tested positive for Covid 19 and has been withdrawn from the France squad for the nations League games next week, also a man in his 20s has been found dead near Man United's training ground, this coupled with the facts that United haven't made any signings yet and our captain is in some bother in Greece means its a brilliant Summer for Man United. :rolleyes:
And.... Rashford is an injury doubt for England due to an ankle problem.
 
Arsenal won the Community Shield beating Liverpool 5-4 on penalties, it was 1-1 after regular time with Aubameyang and Minamino getting the goals.

I didn't watch the games as I was in work so I cant comment on how it went, I heard Klopp made a few changes to the team though.

Its Arsenal's second trophy in 28 days.
 
Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Van De Beek from Ajax for €40m plus addons.

Finally get our first signing done, it wen't from United being interested this morning to preparing an offer early evening to agreed with Ajax and personal terms a few hours later.

That's the smoothest and fastest non-deadline day deal United have done in years. Has someone kidnapped Ed Woodward?
 
I first heard about our interest for Van De Beek on Friday on Twitter.

I'm very happy with this, I don't know a lot about him in real life but I have signed him on my United Football Manager save! And he is doing really good for me there. :lol:

I hope this opens the floodgates for us to sign more players, we still need another winger and a centre-back.
 
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