🚨 Antony BACK at Man United, Lamine Yamal's new deal, Newcastle ace OUT until 2024, Chelsea's BAD news, Klopp's praise, and more

Today's Daily Briefing, featuring Arsenal, Man City, Real Madrid and more!

Sep 30, 2023

Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing, delivered ad-free and straight to your inbox as always. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Today’s top stories:

Man United to invest in a big-name defender in 2024
Why did the Declan Rice deal to Bayern collapse?
Claude Makelele confirms he’s leaving Chelsea
Plus more from Liverpool, Inter Milan, and PSG

Arsenal

Why did the Declan Rice to Bayern deal collapse? FC Bayern president Heiner: “With the Declan Rice deal, given our financial possibilities we had to set other priorities. What remains is the club. That's why you have to make decisions in the interests of the club.”
Arteta on Kai Havertz: “We're trying to help him as much as possible, give him confidence and minutes to exploit his talent. There are so many parts of his game that he's doing exceptionally well and others that he needs to keep improving. We are with him.” (press conference footage courtesy of Hayters)

Atlético Madrid

Diego Simeone on Samuel Lino: "We knew Lino was an option after Carrasco's departure. We're happy about him. Lino is a player who destabilises, assists, and should score, and we're going to demand a goal from him."

Barcelona

Lamine Yamal signed his new Barça deal in July, ahead of the summer pre-season tour. Formal signature and announcement ceremony will take place on Monday, October 2. Barça will confirm Lamine's new deal, valid until June 2026, the limit for 16 year old players.
Back in 2016, Sergio Ramos, then as Real Madrid captain, was pictured in the tunnel at Camp Nou holding nine-year-old Lamine Yamal’s hand. On Friday night it was 16-year-old Lamine’s header which bounced off of Ramos to give Barça a vital 1-0 win over Sevilla (footage courtesy of Gol).

Bayern Munich

Official: Director Max Eberl leaves RB Leipzig with immediate effect. Concrete candidate as new FC Bayern director to work together with Freund.
Why did the Declan Rice to Bayern deal collapse? FC Bayern president Heiner: “With the Declan Rice deal, given our financial possibilities we had to set other priorities. What remains is the club. That's why you have to make decisions in the interests of the club.”

Burnley

Vitinho has signed a new long-term deal until June 2027.

Chelsea

Claude Makelele confirms that he's leaving his role at Chelsea: "I decided, by mutual consent, that it‘s time for me to seek a fresh, new challenge." Makelele follows Bruno Saltor who left the club last week.
Carney Chukwuemeka returns to full team training.
Mauricio Pochettino on Ben Chilwell’s injury: “It’s bad news — the doctor told me it’s not a good thing. It doesn’t look good, we’re really sad.” (press conference footage courtesy of Hayters)

Pochettino: “I am working to identify what we need for January on transfer market. I’m more involved in transfers, I’m on it.”
Pochettino on Madueke filmed partying while injured: “It’s a thing that he needs to avoid, all the players need to know that we are Chelsea players and should try to avoid this thing. It wasn’t a big issue but we need to avoid this type of situation, it’s really clear.”
Chelsea and Man United are on the trail of football’s next big thing. Who is he? Find out more here.

Inter Milan

Lautaro Martínez’s agent: “He received several bids… but the player always tells me: Inter, only Inter. Lautaro has a special feeling with the club and fans. He loves Inter, the group and the project. We’re gonna discuss a new deal, the feeling is great.”

Liverpool

Liverpool players hilariously troll each other as their EA Sports FC24 ratings are revealed (footage courtesy of LFCTV)
Jurgen Klopp on minority stake being sold by (Liverpool owners) FSG: “If somebody comes in and helps us, then absolutely great. It’s not that we need a budget for £200m to spend on the team. It’s good news. It’s money that will be well used, for sure.”
Klopp: "This team gives me completely new energy. It’s great, this team has a completely new set-up. I loved everything about the seven years before but looking at these faces every day to see how much they enjoy the new challenge gives me energy as well."
Jurgen Klopp also paid tribute to Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham team, Liverpool’s opponents on Saturday evening (press conference footage courtesy of Hayters)":

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola is under no illusions as to how difficult Man City’s game against Wolves on Saturday afternoon will be (press conference footage courtesy of Hayters):

Manchester United

Antony is back in training and available for selection, Manchester United statement confirms: "Since allegations were first made in June, Antony has co-operated with police inquiries in both Brazil and the UK, and he continues to do so. As Antony’s employer, Manchester United has decided that he will resume training at Carrington, and be available for selection, while police inquiries proceed. This will be kept under review pending further developments in the case. As a club, we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation, and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse.”

Ten Hag on Antony: “He will return to training on Saturday. We made the statement so I refer to the statement, everything has been made clear in the statement. We will focus on the games. He will do as well.”

What do you think of Antony’s return to Man United? Have the club made the right call? Let us know in the comments!

Monza

Official and confirmed. Papu Gómez joins AC Monza as a free agent on a one-year contract.
Time to break out the dance moves again for Papu Gómez. Baila Como El Papu (Dance like Papu) footage/audio courtesy of Autogol vs Dj Matrix:

Newcastle

Harvey Barnes has been ruled out until 2024. “He's going to be out for around three months. No surgery required which is good news but his foot is now in a boot. It's an injury underneath his toe,” - Eddie Howe.

The clock is ticking but not long to wait until Bruno Guimaraes puts pen to paper. New contract details here.

Nice

OGC Nice statement on Beka Beka after a serious personal issue for the player occurred: “We’re above all relieved that everything ended well today for Alexis. It was taken care of. We will continue to respect medical confidentiality and we ask everyone to do the same and respect their privacy. We support him.”

Paris Saint-Germain

Nasser Al Khelaifi: “Kylian Mbappé is a PSG player. We are happy to have him and we will have him! He loves this club and he’s a fantastic player. He's the best in the world. We are happy.”

RB Leipzig

Official: Director Max Eberl leaves RB Leipzig with immediate effect. Concrete candidate as new FC Bayern director to work together with Freund.

Real Madrid

Carlo Ancelotti: “David Alaba's injury is not very serious, he could be ready against Napoli. International breaks are the problems. The players are tired and there's no time for recovery.”
Rumours on Jerome Boateng as an option for Real Madrid are completely fake.
Eduardo Camavinga has agreed a new deal with Los Blancos. All the details here.