🚨 Boehly bites back, Echeverri arrives at Man City, Tottenham shock, Müller in Bayern talks, West Ham ease to win & more
Plus all of the other stories making the news in the world of football...
Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)
Today’s top stories:
Milan closing in on new deals for Pulisic and Reijnders
Juventus director confirms that Thiago Motta’s job is not in danger
Plus more from Leeds United, Manchester United and Real Madrid
AC Milan
Milan perform tactical experiments for Bologna visit.
AC Milan director Geoffrey Moncada: “Yes, we are closing in on new deals for Pulisic and Reijnders.”
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta appears clearly rattled as Arsenal title hopes all but over.
Harsh reality is that Arsenal haven’t been in the title race for some time.
Mikel Arteta will be frustrated but everyone at Arsenal must share the blame.
Arsenal narrow down the list of sporting director candidates.
Ben White’s potential England comeback is no surprise.
Barcelona
Vitor Roque to Palmeiras. Deal now in place between all parties as Real Betis have approved the move. Barcelona will receive €25m plus €5m and a sell-on clause, Betis will get higher rights for Ez Abde as compensation. Roque signs a five-year deal at Palmeiras.
Robert Lewandowski equals personal goalscoring record at Barcelona.
Ronald Araujo: “I signed a long contract here at Barça for a reason. I want to stay here for a long time.”
Bayern Munich
Thomas Müller on his future: “We are in talks. We're talking about the sporting perspective and the financial package. I’m still having a lot of fun playing football.”
Chelsea
Todd Boehly on fan criticism: "I think it is just par for the course. The reality is that the sooner you learn you can’t keep everyone happy all the time then freedom comes from that. You are just trying to execute a plan but recognise things aren’t linear. As long as you are trending in the right directions then you feel better. I think the trend is in the right direction and that’s the thing that matters. In June, it will be three years and it isn’t a lot of time as a 60-year-old, especially in an industry with so little downtime."
Todd Boehly on Chelsea’s power dynamics: “The British press exaggerates a lot and leaves things out. We’ve agreed on a strategy… and stuff’s getting done. I don't look in the rear-view mirror.”
Chelsea are not planning to change their management structure, happy with current directors and planning with them. No negotiations taking place with other directors. “I want to extend Luis Campos’ contract,” PSG’s Al Khelaifi said about Campos’ future despite Chelsea links.
Enzo Maresca’s goalkeeper plan makes zero sense.
Inter Milan
Liverpool’s Mo Salah in talks with Inter as a free agent.
Juventus
Juventus director Giuntoli: “Thiago Motta’s job is not in danger. We believe in this project as we are creating value and it’s an important plan for the club. For sure, we agree with Thiago when he says the performance against Empol was unacceptable.”
Empoli admin disappears after historic feat vs Juventus.
Leeds United
Paraag Marathe to the Financial Times Business of Football Summit on the Elland Road expansion plans: "Our goal is to expand Elland Road. There will probably be a couple of phases that ultimately take us to 53,000. The first phase will likely be 47,000 then up to 53,000. Of paramount importance is to keep the cauldron and electricity of the stadium the same as it is today. Elland Road is a stadium managers and players of other clubs don't like playing at. It's been called a cauldron and a hurricane of noise. It is really important for us to get more of our supporters into the stadium, and make it even more difficult for other clubs to come and play in, but we want to preserve some of the magic of what Elland Road is. We have done a lot of the pre-development work, in picking architects and working with the local council. There are probably some announcements to come and I am really excited about that."
Liverpool
Liverpool’s chase for preferred defensive option could be derailed by Man City.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola: “We will not be the old Manchester City this season because the old City was too good... but we will be back. The Champions League spot would be a good result for us this season.”
Claudio Echeverri has arrived as a new Manchester City player [pictures from Manchester City]:
Claudio Echeverri: “I cannot tell you how excited I am to be here in Manchester and to finally be able to call myself a City player. Football has been my life, my dream was to play for one of the best teams in Europe and today I'm closer to that dream. Manchester City are one of the best in the world. Not only do they win trophies, they play so beautifully. They're an example to everyone, they show people how to play football in the best way.”
Manchester United
Rúben Amorim: “Bruno is a special player... always available. I really like his character and he's a very important player for us. When it is difficult, he is always there.”
Huge financial issue ahead for Man United if they dispense with Rúben Amorim.
Newcastle United
Eddie Howe: “Lewis Miley can be anything, in the respect that he could really take his position, solidify that position and be there for a number of years. He has all the technical capabilities and mental capabilities. I see a bright future for him.”
Liverpool and Newcastle target Serie A wonder kid despite recent transfer.
Premier League
West Ham United vs Leicester City (2-0): After flying out of the blocks in the first couple of minutes at the London Stadium, Leicester offered precisely nothing in the opening 45. West Ham didn’t need to break sweat to go in two goals up at the break thanks to Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen. The Foxes at least upped the tempo in the second half but it still wasn’t enough to claw themselves back into the match [pictures from TNT Sports]:
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti speaks about abuse suffered by two Real Madrid players.
Dani Ceballos has suffered an injury to the semi-membranosus muscle with involvement of the tendon in his left leg. He will miss the two games against Atlético Madrid in Champions League and be out for approximately two months.
Kylian Mbappé is back training with Real Madrid after atooth extraction on Monday.
Vinicius Jr: “I want to make history at Real Madrid, reaching 500 games at the club. It is an unexplainable feeling to be captain of the best club in the world for the first time at 24 years old.”
Santos
Neymar: “I helped Messi take penalties! We were in training, he asked me… How do you take penalties like that? I was like: Are you crazy? You’re Messi if I can do it, you can too. Then I taught him and he trained.”
Neymar: “I can confirm the Olimpico goal was on purpose. I was thinking to myself… man, if I score this their fans are gunna see! I scored and then I turned around to them like: well, now what?”
Neymar: “Real Madrid’s offer was a blank cheque, they told me I can have whatever I want... but I wanted Barça with my heart. I’d have made 3x more money at Real Madrid. Florentino always liked me, but Ronaldinho played at Barça and I wanted to play with Messi.”
Neymar: “I almost went to Bayern… because of Pep Guardiola. After I won the Puskás Award, my dad kept calling me at 2AM. I answered, he told me to open the door…. I was in my boxers. It was my dad, Pep Guardiola and the translator! Pep told me: I want to sign you and bring you with me, to whatever club I go to. I will make you the best player in the world. He shows me a paper, opens his laptop, tells me where I’d play… Pep also said: if you don’t score 60 goals in a season, I’ll change my name. I was saying… okay, but what team? Pep said: I can’t tell you yet because it’s not out yet but I persuaded him to tell me. He said: I’m signing with Bayern. I know it was a cold city but I will take care of you. In the end I decided to join Barcelona.”
Tottenham Hotspur
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire on Tottenham being the most profitable club in the Premier League era [pictures via Rio Ferdinand Presents]: