La Liga
HIGHEST-PAID FOOTBALLER IN THE MAKING: MESSI TO EARN £14,200 AN HOUR AT MANCHESTER CITY
Even as Jorge Messi, the father and agent of legendary Lionel Messi lands in Barcelona this morning for a crunch talk with Josep Maria Bartomeu, the president of Barcelona over the footballer’s future, it is gathered that Messi has already reached an agreement with Manchester City.
He has reportedly agreed a record £623million deal to join the English Premiership top flight club.
According to Record Sport, Messi has agreed financial terms on a five-year contract worth a total of €700m (£623m).
The incredible deal would make the Argentine the highest-paid individual in the history of the sport.
It equates to £14,200 an hour, £341,000 per day, £2.4m every week and a whopping £10.4m per month.
Messi is set to spend three seasons at the Etihad before joining City Football Group’s Major League Soccer side New York City FC for two years.
It is also reported that Messi could be offered an equity stake in CFG as part of his package.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been at loggerheads with Barcelona since he handed in his transfer request to leave on a free.
New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has decided that if Messi does not want to stay at the Spanish giants it would be better to get him out as soon as possible.
And Barca presidential hopeful Victor Font insists current president Josep Maria Bartomeu must honour his pledge to allow the Argentine superstar “to leave whenever he wants.”
Messi’s father and representative, Jorge Messi, yesterday flew by private jet from his home in Argentina city Rosario to Spain for showdown talks with Barcelona chiefs today.
And Font declared: “A couple of months ago the president said players have earned the right to leave and retire whenever they want.
“Now, because of these very exceptional circumstances, he has to honour that commitment.”
When asked whether Messi had been betrayed by the club, Font added: “There is an inconsistency, probably due to mismanagement by the current board, trying to hide behind these wrongdoings.
season
“That’s why it’s extremely important for the history of the club that we do what it takes.”
Barcelona claim Messi, 33, is on STRIKE after failing to report for a Covid test and pre-season training.
But the superstar no longer considers himself a part of Koeman’s squad following a bitter row over his contract.
His legal team claim he is now a free agent after faxing his transfer request and can leave without his huge 700m euros buy-out clause being paid, while Barca and LaLiga insist the contract terms are still in force.
In a Sky Sports interview Font added: “I’m sure what Messi has decided has not been a last-minute decision, it’ll be something well thought out.
“I really hope the decision can be changed, but it doesn’t seem likely and if that’s the case the focus should be on getting the transition that Messi deserves.
“We need to ensure the legal battle between the club and Messi stops. We sit down, we talk. Let’s make sure we don’t get into an even worse situation.”
It equates to £14,200 an hour, £341,000 per day, £2.4m every week and a whopping £10.4m per month.
Messi is set to spend three seasons at the Etihad before joining City Football Group’s Major League Soccer side New York City FC for two years.
It is also reported that Messi could be offered an equity stake in CFG as part of his package.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been at loggerheads with Barcelona since he handed in his transfer request to leave on a free.
New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has decided that if Messi does not want to stay at the Spanish giants it would be better to get him out as soon as possible.
And Barca presidential hopeful Victor Font insists current president Josep Maria Bartomeu must honour his pledge to allow the Argentine superstar “to leave whenever he wants.”
Messi’s father and representative, Jorge Messi, yesterday flew by private jet from his home in Argentina city Rosario to Spain for showdown talks with Barcelona chiefs today.
And Font declared: “A couple of months ago the president said players have earned the right to leave and retire whenever they want.
“Now, because of these very exceptional circumstances, he has to honour that commitment.”
When asked whether Messi had been betrayed by the club, Font added: “There is an inconsistency, probably due to mismanagement by the current board, trying to hide behind these wrongdoings.
season
“That’s why it’s extremely important for the history of the club that we do what it takes.”
Barcelona claim Messi, 33, is on STRIKE after failing to report for a Covid test and pre-season training.
But the superstar no longer considers himself a part of Koeman’s squad following a bitter row over his contract.
His legal team claim he is now a free agent after faxing his transfer request and can leave without his huge 700m euros buy-out clause being paid, while Barca and LaLiga insist the contract terms are still in force.
In a Sky Sports interview Font added: “I’m sure what Messi has decided has not been a last-minute decision, it’ll be something well thought out.
“I really hope the decision can be changed, but it doesn’t seem likely and if that’s the case the focus should be on getting the transition that Messi deserves.
“We need to ensure the legal battle between the club and Messi stops. We sit down, we talk. Let’s make sure we don’t get into an even worse situation.”
Raphinha knew there was no reason to panic as Barcelona struggled to break down Espanyol on Thursday and said it was only a matter of time before the “golden feet” of Lamine Yamal steered them to a title-winning victory with a glorious goal.
Yamal, 17, took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner to break the deadlock early in the second half.
The stunning strike set Barca on course for a 2-0 win that secured the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid seven points back with only two games left to play.
“We didn’t have many clear chances but we have a kid in there who sometimes pulls something out of the golden feet he has and he gave us peace of mind to stay in the game more calmly,” Raphinha said.
“In January some people were saying we would fight to be third. We have confidence in ourselves. That’s the key. We trust in the work and in what we know we can do.”
Raphinha has scored 18 league goals this season, including a brace in Saturday’s crucial 4-3 win over Real Madrid, and was quick to credit the trust shown in him by coach Hansi Flick.
The Brazilian tripled his goal tally from last season and also has the third-highest number of assists in the competition with nine, three less than leader Yamal.
“The most important thing was the confidence of the coach. Knowing at the start of the season that he was counting on me, a person who controls the team … it changes you in the end,” he said.
-Reuters
Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the next Real Madrid manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media reported on Monday.
Alonso, 43, is expected to replace current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up for the vacant Brazil job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, soccer sources told Reuters.
Despite the Italian having a year remaining on his contract, Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.
Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, multiple media reports said.
Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.
Reports of Ancelotti’s likely departure come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophyless season.
The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles, the latest of which came last season.
He is the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Arsenal and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.
-Reuters
Schmuelgen/File Photo
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It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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