FOOTBALL UPDATES

Compiled by Miracle Ogunde

-Chelsea players, especially the French, are very ANGRY by the racist chants of the Argentinians and by Enzo Fernandez.

-Top 10 favourites for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, according to bookmakers:
◉ Vinícius Júnior 🇧🇷
◉ Rodri 🇪🇸
◉ Dani Carvajal 🇪🇸
◉ Jude Bellingham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
◉ Lamine Yamal 🇪🇸
◉ Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
◉ Toni Kroos 🇩🇪
◉ Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷
◉ Phil Foden 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
◉ Harry Kane 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

-Sarina Wiegman is among the candidates to replace Gareth Southgate as England manager.

-Federico Valverde made more final third entries (55) and player more accurate through balls (6) than any other player at the 2024 Copa America.

-The French Football Federation announce they will take Argentina Football Federation to court for ‘abusive remarks of a racial and discriminatory nature’
The French FA – Fédération Française de Football – has officially responded after footage of Argentina players singing racially oriented chants aimed at France players emerged last night on social media.
On the back of their 2024 Copa America title at the expense of Colombia, Argentina players were heard singing a derogatory song mocking the origins of Les Bleus.

-Kylian Mbappé has equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the highest player presentation attendance ever, with 80,000 people.

-Best long pass completion rates at EURO 2024 (30+ attempted):
◎ 80.6% – Toni Kroos 🇩🇪
◎ 65.7% – Kyle Walker 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
◎ 64.7% – John Stones 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
◎ 59.6% – Fabian Schär 🇨🇭
◎ 55.9% – Virgil van Dijk 🇳🇱

-England assistant head coach Steve Holland will depart after Gareth Southgate’s resignation.

-Most big chances missed at EURO 2024:
◎ 7 – Kai Havertz 🇩🇪
◎ 6 – Romelu Lukaku 🇧🇪
◎ 5 – Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹

-Eddie Howe is ‘open’ to the idea of becoming England manager.

TRANSFER RUMOURS

-Álvaro Morata confirms he’s joining AC Milan: “I’m gonna undergo medical and then yes, I will join AC Milan”.

-Aston Villa want MORE than initial €55M bid from Al Ittihad for Moussa Diaby.

-Atletico Madrid’s number one target to replace Alvaro Morata is Julián Álvarez. He would become one of the pillars of Diego Simeone’s new project.

-Pep Guardiola is expected to decide on his Man City future between December and February of next season. Guardiola remains unsure and so is minded to take the decision midway through the season.

-Manchester United are highly unlikely to make a move for Gareth Southgate should they need to replace Erik Ten Hag.

-Marseille reach agreement in principle with Mason Greenwood to sign the forward from Manchester United. The 22-year-old still needs to travel undergo a medical and sign the contract but this marks a significant step after the deal was struck between Marseille and Man United last week.

-Liverpool are working on a deal to sign Gonçalo Inácio, who has a release clause of £50m.

-Bayern Munich are trying to sign BOTH Désiré Doué and Xavi Simons. If either transfers falls through or both, Bayern Munich are considering their next steps which could potentially involve Dani Olmo.

-Hansi Flick has given the green light for Barcelona to sign Mikel Merino. The club thinks they can recruit him for around €20M.

-Fenerbahçe have confirmed an agreement has been reached with Al-Ahli for the loan of Allan Saint-Maximin.
He will be in Istanbul tonight to complete his medical checks and sign a contract.

-Al-Nassr’s move to sign Ederson from Man City is currently OFF. The Saudi club think Man City’s request for €60M is too much and are now focused on signing Athletico Paranaense’s Bento.

-Manchester United are negotiating personal terms with Leny Yoro’s representatives.

-Leicester City are showing interest in AC Milan’s Alexis Saelemaekers. Milan have received the first proposal from Leicester City for Saelemaekers. There is no agreement yet, but negotiations are ongoing.

-Kasper Schmeichel is set to join Celtic this week, as the Danish goalkeeper prepares to complete his medical.

-As it stands, Joshua Kimmich wants to fulfill his contract at Bayern Munich until 2025.

-Liverpool have ended their pursuit of Lille’s Leny Yoro (18) due to the defender’s desire to play for Real Madrid.

-Real Madrid are getting serious about Trent Alexander-Arnold. His Liverpool contract ends in 2025 with no extension yet. The player is interested and they’ve been in contact for months.

-Houssem Aouar has signed his contract as new Al Ittihad player.

-Leroy Sané has no intention of leaving FC Bayern this summer! His aim is to extend his contract beyond 2025.

-Paris Saint-Germain are offering about €45M including bonuses for Desiré Doué while Bayern Munich plans to return with a new offer starting at €30M plus €5M. The player has not made a final decision yet.

-Roque from Barcelona and Bakayoko from PSV, potentially could MOVE to Saudi Arabia this transfer window.

-Arsenal’s move for Riccardo Calafiori has slowed down. Basel’s sell-on fee is proving to be a main point of contention.