How Not To Run A Club: Valencia CF And Peter Lim
Javi Gracia's Valencia fell to a 2-1 defeat against Granada on Wednesday, the side's second consecutive loss.
FULL-TIME pic.twitter.com/iZr8NS9AwP
— Valencia CF (@valenciacf_en) December 30, 2020
Javi Gracia's Valencia fell to a 2-1 defeat against Granada on Wednesday, the side's second consecutive loss.
FULL-TIME pic.twitter.com/iZr8NS9AwP
— Valencia CF (@valenciacf_en) December 30, 2020
The mercurial Mario Balotelli needed just four minutes to get off the mark for new club Monza against Salernitana on Wednesday in Italy's Serie B.
Balotelli had been without a club since the summer, when his contract with Brescia was terminated as a result of several missed training sessions. Serie B side Monza swept in to offer the forward a deal until the end of the season in early December. Monza is owned by Silvio Berlusconi, who previously owned AC Milan where Balotelli enjoyed some of the strongest spells of his up-and-down career.
In a 90-minute broadcast special that aired on both Telemundo and Universo on Sunday, Lionel Messi spoke with Spanish journalist Jordi Évole over what transpired this past offseason, how things are currently looking at Barcelona and what the future holds with his contract expiring next summer.
United States international and twice World Cup winner Alex Morgan has ended her loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur and will return to the U.S., the Women's Super League (WSL) club said on Monday.
Lionel Messi has admitted the ill feeling between him and Barcelona over his attempt to leave the club in the close season has affected his form this season, in which he has posted his lowest goal and assist tallies in 13 years.
Messi caused consternation at Barça when he sent the club a burofax (official notice) that he wanted to leave in August, but then president Josep Maria Bartomeu blocked the move and the Argentine committed to stay this season to avoid a legal battle. He has less than seven months left on his contract and is able to negotiate with other clubs from January.
RB Leipzig made the first daring move of the winter transfer window on Thursday with the signing of Dominik Szoboszlai from Red Bull Salzburg. The Szoboszlai transfer fee is rumored to have been priced around $25 million with the Hungarian agreeing to a five-year contract.
Dominik Szoboszlai today flying back to Salzburg with his family and his agent @esterhazymatyas after signing as new RB Leipzig player.
2020 has been a tough year financially both for clubs and for players.
The economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen transfer values deflate, with the value of many players decreasing independent of their form on the pitch by 10-20 percent.
For clubs this means their assets are worth less to go with a sharp decrease in revenue caused by matches without fans. For players, this means their skills are worth less as well as a decrease in salaries.
Due to the scheduling havoc wreaked by COVID-19 and the resulting extension of the 2019-20 season, the summer transfer was extended until Oct. 5, but when does the January transfer window 2021 open? It’s been a wild ride, but some semblance of normality has returned to European football with the January transfer window set to open on Saturday, Jan. 2 and close on Monday, Feb. 1.
Has the January transfer window changed?
Mesut Özil hasn’t featured in an Arsenal game since March 7. The German midfielder has been shunned from the first team and was even left out of the Gunners’ Premier League and Europa League squads. With no playing time in sight, perhaps an Özil MLS move could happen in the near future.
According to an ESPN source, the 32-year-old said he is open to the idea of playing in the U.S. with an MLS club. His ludicrous £350,000-per-week contract with Arsenal ends in the summer, meaning a free transfer to MLS would be a real possibility.
Modern football is dominated by attacking players.
There are the creators. Mo Salah, Timo Werner, Richarlison. Guys who can generate something from nothing but are average finishers that need a lot of the ball to score.
Then there are the finishers. Romelu Lukaku, Aleksandar Mitrović, Chris Wood. They aren't productive 40 yards from goal but give them one chance inside the 18 and they'll take it.