Matt Ryan – Michmutters

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Transfer news, rumours, Willian to Fulham, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Chelsea, Marcus Rashford to PSG, latest, updates

Transfer news, rumours, Willian to Fulham, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Chelsea, Marcus Rashford to PSG, latest, updates

A Brazilian winger with over 250 Premier League appearances to his name could be returning to the English top flight, while Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel revealed his admiration for a top transfer target.

Catch up on all of the transfer whispers doing the rounds in the latest edition of the Rumor Mill!

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Kyah Simon stars in Spurs’ kit launch | 00:20

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BRAZILIAN STAR LINKED WITH PL MOVE AFTER MESSY EXIT DUE TO DEATH THREATS

Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Willian quit Corinthians on Saturday (AEST) following the Brazilians’ Copa Libertadores elimination against domestic rivals Flamengo, after claiming he and his family received death threats on social media.

“Willian asked us for his (contract) termination. We are sad not to have him any more and also because it didn’t go the way we expected. But we have to keep those here that are happy,” said club president Duilio Monteiro Alves.

It was only a year ago that the 34-year-old only rejoined the club where he made his professional debut in 2006. Local media have linked him with a move to promoted English Premier League side Fulham.

Arnold on WCQ: ‘That knocked me about!’ | 05:56

The return to Corinthians in Sao Paulo quickly turned sour for Willian both on the pitch where he scored one goal in 45 matches, and off it.

“Whenever Corinthians lost and I didn’t play well, my family received threats and insults on social media. My wife, my children, recently they also started attacking my father, my sister,” Willian told the Globo Esporte website.

“I didn’t play as well as I expected but I was never a player who scored 20 or 30 goals a season,” he told ESPN Brasil on Wednesday.

Willian, who also played for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and Russians Anzhi Makhachkala, leaves the club three days after they were eliminated from the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals by Flamengo, 3-0 on aggregate

Mat Ryan joins FC Copenhagen | 02:10

TUCHEL ‘VERY, VERY CLOSE’ WITH TOP TRANSFER TARGET

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said he will always have a “close bond” with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as speculation links the Barcelona forward with a move to Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are looking to reinforce their forward line after the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.

Aubameyang, who only joined Barcelona in January, would appear to fit the bill with both Premier League experience from four years at Arsenal and the time he spent under Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund.

The Gabon international scored 79 goals in 95 appearances under Tuchel.

“This is totally separate from anything that is happening now, but I enjoyed a lot working with Auba while I was at Dortmund,” said Tuchel on Friday at his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s visit of Tottenham.

“Some players stay your players because you were very, very close, and Auba is one of those players.

“There was always straight away this close bond. They always stay your players in a way.”

A behind-the-scenes documentary on Arsenal’s 2021/22 season has revealed the scale of disciplinary breaches that saw Mikel Arteta freeze Aubameyang out of the Gunners’ first-team squad.

However, Tuchel said “there was never an issue” with Aubameyang’s discipline during their time in Germany.

Chelsea has been linked with a move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)
Chelsea has been linked with a move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)Source: AFP

RED DEVILS BOSS QUASHES TALK OF STAR WINGER’S SHOCK EXIT

Erik ten Hag expects Marcus Rashford to remain at Manchester United despite rumors this week that Paris St Germain have made contact with the forward’s representatives.

Rashford’s form dipped dramatically last season as he scored just four goals in 25 Premier League games, which has led to him being dropped from the England squad just months before the World Cup.

The 24-year-old, who has one year left on his contract with a club option for a further year, has twice scored in wins against PSG in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes.

But Ten Hag said he is too important to lose despite his struggle for form, which continued in a 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton in the Dutch coach’s first match in charge last weekend.

“He’s really important,” Ten Hag said. “You have seen from the first day I’m here, I’m really happy with him, I don’t want to lose him.

“He’s definitely in our plans at Manchester United.”

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Barcelona signings, news, debt, how did Barcelona sign players? Spotify sponsorship, Frenkie de Jong latest

Barcelona signings, news, debt, how did Barcelona sign players? Spotify sponsorship, Frenkie de Jong latest

Barcelona’s attempts to establish themselves once again as a force in La Liga and the Champions League this season have seen the heavily-indebted Catalans gamble with their future to enable a striking summer spending spree.

A year after being forced to let Lionel Messi go as eye-watering reported debts of 1.35 billion euros (A$1.96 billion) crippled the club, Barcelona have spent 153 million euros (A$222m) on transfer fees alone to strengthen their squad, with Robert Lewandowski the most notable new arrival.

“This is a really exciting season. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to make all the fans happy,” coach Xavi Hernandez said before last weekend’s 6-0 friendly win over Mexican side Pumas UNAM.

“That means winning trophies. That is our main objective.”

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Mat Ryan joins FC Copenhagen | 02:10

After three years of struggles, on and off the field, the summer has seen hope return to the Camp Nou, with president Joan Laporta talking of an exciting “new era” when the club unveiled Lewandowski as a Barcelona player.

“Euphoria” was the headline on the cover of local daily Sport the same day. Even partisan Madrid-based sports daily Marca admitted that Barca were “frightening” in the wake of their drubbing of Pumas UNAM last weekend, when Lewandowski scored his first goal since his arrival from Bayern Munich.

Yet how Barcelona have gone about raising the funds to sign Lewandowski, as well as centre-backs Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen, AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, and Leeds United’s Brazilian winger Raphinha have raised eyebrows.

Faced with severe limits on spending in order to comply with La Liga’s financial controls, Barcelona knew they needed to raise money quickly to be able to invest in any signings and, crucially, to register any new players.

MORE NEWS

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Manchester United set sights on Rabiot | 03:09

– PULLING ‘LEVERS’ –

They quickly set about selling off assets to bring in money by activating a series of what have been called economic “levers”.

The club sold 25 per cent of their domestic television rights for the next quarter of a century to US investment firm Sixth Street for some 400 million euros.

Barcelona sold 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios, which manages the club’s digital business and audiovisual productions, to Socios.com for 100 million euros on August 1, and then another 25 per cent to US investment firm GDA Luma for 100 million euros more.

In the space of a few weeks, 600 million euros had been brought in to fill the coffers.

The aim was to clean up the club’s finances, make it possible to increase the salary limit set by La Liga and allow the new signings to all be registered for the start of the season.

On top of that, Barca signed the biggest sponsorship deal in their history with Spotify, bringing in a reported 435 million euros for the music streaming giant to feature on the club’s shirts and to have naming rights to the Camp Nou.

All up, that series of deals totals 1 billion euros – so Barcelona look well placed to become serious title contenders again as they prepare to host Rayo Vallecano this weekend.

Only time will tell if mortgaging part of the club’s assets in exchange for an immediate influx of cash will bear fruit.

Chelsea sell Werner back to RB Leipzig | 01:19

– DE JONG TO LEAVE? –

Yet, Barcelona are still waiting for La Liga to allow them to register their five new signings, although they hope to be able to do so in time for the season starting this weekend.

They are also hoping to further ease their financial problems by reducing their wage bill.

The Catalans have been trying to persuade Frenkie de Jong to leave, with suggestions even made that a contract he signed in 2020 was not legal. The Dutch midfielder says he wants to stay.

FULL STORY: Barca threaten legal action over contract drama — Rumor Mill

Martin Braithwaite, Samuel Umtiti and Memphis Depay are also candidates to depart the Camp Nou, with the latter reportedly a target for Juventus.

On top of that, efforts have been made to persuade certain players, including Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets, to accept wage reductions.

Barca’s “economic miracle”, as the press have called it, still has to be transformed into a footballing miracle.

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Sports

Qatar makes late schedule change to FIFA Football World Cup

Qatar makes late schedule change to FIFA Football World Cup

The World Cup’s start will be brought forward by a day to allow hosts Qatar to play the opening game, sources told AFP on Wednesday, just over three months before the competition gets underway.

Qatar will now play Ecuador on November 20, 24 hours earlier than planned, in a move that FIFA’s ruling council was expected to confirm soon, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

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The change will see the tournament, which was switched to November-December to avoid the Gulf country’s searing summer heat, keep to its tradition of the hosts playing the opening match.

Senegal and the Netherlands had been scheduled to play the first game on November 21, followed by England against Iran and then the official opening match, Qatar’s World Cup debut, that evening.

“There were discussions and agreement between the two respective teams and there was a request from CONMEBOL — the South American confederation,” one World Cup source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as no official decision has been announced.

“We wanted to follow the tradition that either the reigning champions or the host country be involved in the opening match,” the source added.

FIFA and the Qatari organizing committee declined to comment on the change to the mega event that ends on December 18.

But another tournament source said action would be taken to help fans with tickets for the November 21 game.

“Any disruption will be dealt with so the impact is minimal,” the source told AFP.

Under the change, Netherlands v Senegal in Group A would be moved from 1pm local time on November 21 to a 7pm start. “It is a better slot for both teams for television and other areas,” said the World Cup source.

England’s Group B match against Iran is not changed.

Companies with major deals linked to the World Cup expressed confidence that the unusual schedule change could be handled smoothly.

“It is something we will deal with,” said Jaime Byrom, chairman of Match Hospitality, which has a deal with FIFA to organize hospitality packages for World Cup matches and has locked in 450,000 tickets for the tournament.

“It is really not — compared to the other challenges that we could have faced or have faced in the past — a particularly large problem,” Byrom told AFP.

“We have to focus on those customers who are most affected and I guess in this case we will be looking at our Ecuadorean customers who are traveling from overseas, and making sure that they are on time for the match.”

Some pundits ridiculed the schedule change, asking why the move hadn’t already been considered.

New York Times reporter Tariq Panja tweeted: “Qatar and FIFA has had 12 years to plan for the 2022 World Cup now with just over 100 days and — with tickets sold, travel booked — they now want to start the tournament a day earlier so Qatar could play the first game (which could always have been the case). But here we are.

“What I suspect has happened here is that because it’s ‘only’ Ecuador and not a big European country, it has probably been easier to switch the game. What has never been made clear is why Qatar had not been placed in the opening game as per the original schedule.”

Journalist Grant Wahl wrote: “This late change to accommodate Qatar (and cause problems for Ecuador, including its fans) is of a piece with what I saw during the bid process for World Cup ’26 cities: FIFA does so much by the seat of its pants these days.”

The opening match is scheduled to be held at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt stadium, one of seven new venues purpose-built for the tournament since Qatar was controversially awarded the World Cup in 2010.

The wealthy Gulf state is preparing a spectacular opening ceremony in the stadium, whose structure was inspired by traditional Arab tents.

Moving forward the opening match will also mean changing the 100-day countdown that had been scheduled to start on Saturday, with special events across the tiny nation of 2.8 million people.

After a row over the bidding process, Qatar has faced criticism over labor rights and its treatment of the LGBTQ community. But FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the tiny, gas-rich state will host the “best ever” World Cup.

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Sports

Mat Ryan joins FC Copenhagen

Mat Ryan joins FC Copenhagen

Socceroos captain and goalkeeper Mat Ryan has moved from Spain to Denmark in search of regular first-team football ahead of this year’s World Cup.

Ryan, 30, has left La Liga club Real Sociedad to join Danish Superliga champions FC Copenhagen on a two-year deal.

“I’m really looking forward to becoming part of a big club like FC Copenhagen, which has a fantastic reputation throughout Europe,” Ryan said in a club statement.

“The team has great quality and the ambitions for the club are high in terms of winning titles and competing in the biggest tournaments in Europe. I will work hard to contribute to that.”

Ryan signed with Real Sociedad in July last year following a spell at English Premier League club Arsenal, where he was on loan from Brighton.

However, he only made nine appearances in all competitions last season, playing second fiddle to Sociedad’s first-choice gloveman Alex Remiro.

With the World Cup starting in November, Ryan could ill afford further time on the bench, and jumped at the chance to join FC Copenhagen, who recently lost goalkeeper Kamil Grabara to a serious facial injury.

FC Copenhagen sporting director Peter Christiansen said: “After Kamil Grabara’s injury, we have been looking for an addition to the goalkeeper position, and we are very satisfied with the solution, which both in the short and long term ensures increased competition and quality in that position.

“Maty has played many games in some of the world’s biggest leagues and still has plenty of hunger to do well at FC Copenhagen and for Australia in the World Cup.

“We are looking forward to having him in the team and are sure that he will strengthen our squad.”

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