🚨 Christian Falk's Fact Files - Arteta wants Leroy Sane, Man Utd & Alphonso Davies latest, Sebastian Hoeneß future, Van Dijk to Bundesliga? and more
🚨 Christian Falk's Fact Files - Arteta wants Leroy Sane, Man Utd & Alphonso Davies latest, Sebastian Hoeneß future, Van Dijk to Bundesliga? and more
Today's exclusive transfer round-up from Bundesliga insider Christian Falk, featuring Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen and more
[From left to right: Mikel Arteta, Premier League & Bundesliga clubs, and Virgil van Dijk]
Today’s top stories
The latest on Manchester United and Real Madrid-linked Alphonso Davies…
What it will take for Premier League to lure ‘brilliant’ coveted Bundesliga defender to England…
And further updates on Sebastian Hoeneß, Virgil van Dijk, Mathys Tel and more!
Ballon d’Or Rankings: Reaction from Germany
The Ballon d’Or was also a big topic in Germany. Harry Kane won the Gerd Müller Trophy and was present at the ceremony. Vinicius Jr wasn’t there - and we all know why! Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, former Bayern CEO, held a speech. Bayern are still very, very disappointed and angry that Jamal Musiala (21) wasn’t even on the list. Yesterday, there was a match against Mainz in the DFB Pokal and Max Eberl was complaining again, unprompted, about Musiala not being on the list. So you see how it works in Germany. They’re still wondering what happened because, for Bayern Munich, it’s very, very bad, as it is a big argument for other clubs to entice Musiala away from the Bundesliga (and its perception of being a “farmer’s league”) and bring him closer to the Ballon d’Or list. That’s not good for Bayern.
Regardless of expectations around the result, Bayern still sent Harry Kane and Rummenigge. That’s why, in Germany, it’s seen as impertinent and incredibly entitled that Real Madrid didn’t send their players because Vinicius Jr. wasn’t going to win. There are big arguments also for Rodri, who was the standout star of the 2024 European Championship. So everybody is wondering! Toni Kroos was the most highly-ranked German on the list (ninth place). In his mind, I think he thought he had a slight chance, though he knew in the end he wouldn’t win it. He said everything that has to do with the Ballon d’Or is over the top and exaggerated: “The Ballon d’Or is not important to me. If someone from Real Madrid wins it, I’m fine. Vini deserves it, Jude deserves it and [Dani] Carvajal deserves it, but I don’t care.” This is a shared feeling in Germany. Nobody cares about the award because the whole situation is just very strange.
BAYERN MUNICH
We talked before about Newcastle not being a concrete option for Leroy Sane because they’re not playing Champions League football at the moment (and look unlikely to in future, at this current stage). However, there are fresh rumours around Arsenal - we heard that Arsenal are interested. We should take this seriously! Already when he was playing at Manchester City, his family wasn’t feeling so happy in Manchester and always dreamed of potentially living in London. Arsenal, then, would fit perfectly within his and his family’s ideas. The first opportunity is getting a new contract at Bayern Munich but they’re not close and from January 1 he can of course sign wherever he wants. Mikel Arteta is thought to be very keen on him; he was interested last year when there was no chance to get him, but now there is a chance. The Gunners play Champions League football and Arteta knows Sane from his days working with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. So you see there is a connection. This is the first big opportunity, besides Bayern, which could allow Leroy Sane a pathway back to the Premier League.
💬 Should Mikel Arteta sign Leroy Sane for Arsenal in the January or summer transfer window? Tell us YOUR opinion in the comments!
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