This silly season, the majority of transfer talk has been focused around one name: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Reportedly, the striker is on the verge of joining Manchester United and is asking for an annual salary of $16.7 million. So, what is Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s current worth? How much money does the Swedish captain earn in a season?
Javier Mascherano is reportedly in talks with Juventus regarding a potential summer transfer from Barcelona.
There was a lot of excitement when Marco Fabian made his move to Eintracht Frankfurt last summer. It was hoped that he could follow in the footsteps of his childhood friend and fellow Chivas youth graduate Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, who has been setting the Bundesliga on fire this season for Bayer Leverkusen.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been in the news a lot the last couple of days. But who am I kidding? Zlatan Ibrahimovic is always in the news. I mean, come on, he’s Zlatan.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's contract is up at PSG, and he will leave the Parisian club this summer. Where he will land is a matter of great speculation, with China, Manchester United, AC Milan and LA Galaxy being floated as possible destinations for the big Swede. Seemingly in anticipation of this last possibility, the Philadelphia Union have placed a "discovery" claim on Zlatan.
If the Philadelphia Union discovered Zlatan then so did I, but this is beside the point.
A week after Bayern Munich was knocked out of the Champions League, ending their hunt for the one trophy capable of satisfying them, the club has announced they have signed both Mats Hummels from Borussia Dortmund and Renato Sanches from SL Benfica. The transfers, both reportedly worth around €35 million, are a reminder that Bayern Munich are still the kings of Germany, and arguably the highest profile club in the world. Order, you could say, has been restored.
Outside of Leicester City, one of the most improbable feel good stories of the year is the rejuvenation of French winger Hatem Ben Arfa's career. On January 4, 2015, Ben Arfa was released from his contract with Newcastle United, making him a free agent. Now, a little over a year later, he’s on the verge of signing for Barcelona as a vital back-up for their heralded front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
Let’s just get this out of the way: it is unlikely that Lionel Messi will end his career in China. He has gone on record multiple times saying that he wants to end his career at Barcelona, with the only other possibility being a return to his native Argentina. But should the landscape of Lionel Messi’s life change enough, and not in unheard-of ways, it is possible for him to move to China at the end of his career.
After this winter's mass exodus of attacking talent to the Glorious People's Republic of China, we were left with two feelings: confusion at what had just happened and wonder at what will come next. Here are 10 players we think have a good chance of landing in the Far East.
Christian Benteke
He's been disappointing since he came to Liverpool, and elling him to China might be the only way for the Reds to make their money back.
Mario Balotelli
See above.
Hulk
It's pretty safe to say that unless you're a Chelsea fan, you probably hate Diego Costa. His mastery of the dark arts of football tends to rub a lot of people the wrong way. He is the pantomime villain of the Premier League, the Loki of the world's game, the Iago to the Othello that is the Premier League referee.