Recent content by Lmarco

I'm not sure if my biggest worry is about rebuilding the squad or the club itself. Anyway, concerning the squad i'm really worried about the lack of quality and experience that could further arise with the contracts coming to an end next June (De Gea, Matic, Bailly, Fosu Mensah, Young, Gomes)...

This will be a very, very long season as could be foreseen after the shambles of this summer transfer period. But hey, kids are promising.

A bit of storytelling there with this Ajax youngsters theme. Last season they added only experienced players with Blind (29), Tadic (30), Labyad (26) and Magallan (25), to a side that had played the Europa League final in 2016-2017. Most youngsters were not making their debut but had been...

Turning 27 in December though.

I can't seem him staying at United past Euro 2020 to be honest. He'll be 27, having stayed 4 years at Juventus and 4 years at Man Utd. He won't stay forever if there's no title and also no Champions League with at least some real performances in this competition. He won two titles in first year...

Well, next summer will be interesting because Matic will be out of contract (unless the bonus year is activated) and Pogba will just have one year left which could trigger a transfer. Basically, the midfield could need a complete revolution with just Fred, McTominay and Pereira left as "senior"...

Which is my point, they were surrounded by players knowing each other, mostly experienced, and Winks was in his 3rd season, having played more than 50 games as a pro including European games and England caps. So it's just basically one young player (Skipp) making two starts at home vs random...

But Winks and Skipp were the only really young players from their Academy they had to rely on. Apart from them, they used Lloris, Rose, Davies, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Foyth, Sanchez, Aurier, Trippier, Dier, Dembelé (until January), Wanyama, Sissoko, Erikssen, Moura, Son, Kane, Llorente...

Would like to but can't see this happening. Aulas had allowed only three main players to leave and it's been done : Mendy to Real (48M€ + 5M€ bonuses), Ndombelé to Tottenham (60M€ + 10M€ bonuses) and Fékir to Betis Seville (20M€ + 10M€ bonuses). Adding Ferri (2M€ at Montpellier) and Martins...

Selling Pogba and Lukaku might be the more reasonable option, to give De Gea his pay rise and invest in rebuilding this team With Valencia, Herrera, Mata and Darmian out of contract this summer, it could be a good transition year with a few other big contracts terminating in 2020 (Bailly, Rojo...

Maybe it's time to accept that this club is no longer the myth it used to be and that it needs intelligent rebuilding regarding its football core. How many supposed top players bought for a fortune that do not deliver, do not make any progress, do not bring intensity and confidence? How many...

L'Equipe sources saying that Varane is apparently thinking about his future, doing as usual in his very quiet planned life, thinking everything thoroughly after 8 years and 14 titles there and having not been allowed to have a real break after the WC. He's supposedly wondering if it would not be...

One can clearly view part of the QTA contract as far excessive and unrealistic but the context surrounding PSG cannot be forgotten. This was a club from the most visited city in the world which had no viable commercial/marketing strategy linked to this very status and attractivity. The stadium...

And where did you see any proof of bribery ? They approached an official institution for a mutual agreement like in any legal conflict nowadays and UEFA made the mistake to bow down. Untouchable status ? PSG have seen their QTA sponsorrship and other Qatari sponsorship reduced heavily, they got...

Not sure what all the fuss is about with 'oil money'. It's a global epidemy of fiscal tax avoidance, doping, state-funded sponsorship, children slavery and so on. Everyone watching and paying for modern football is supporting its business model and excesses. Barcelona => Neymar transfer fraud +...