WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORIES
Mino Raiola starts Erling Haaland gesturing?
First up, Guardiola:
As for Mr Guardiola, I’ve closed the book already a long time ago. Everybody knows what I think of him personally and he can say what he thinks for me personally. For the rest, I think he’s a great trainer. And that’s how it is. I will not shut up for anybody. I’ll give my opinion, I think that it is my right.
Fairly strident that. Mino has no time for Pep the man. The trainer, who is on for a potential quadruple, he quite reasonably has time for. Raiola then segued from Pep to United with the skill of a man potentially trying to send a message ahead of a busy summer of transfer wrangling over his prized asset, Erling Haaland.
With Mr Ferguson or Guardiola, I have this problem — and I think that it is changing now — that (they believe) we should submit to them because ‘otherwise, tomorrow, you don’t do a player with Manchester United’. I don’t give a f**k if I never do another player with Manchester United. I’m not in their hands. I’m independent. We have only one party that we take care of: our players. And as long as our players like us, you do what you have to do.
Now, there could be some genius at play here. Raiola, in pure Raiola terms, has softened relations with Guardiola – paying him a professional compliment wrapped in a personal attack. Thus, while he dislikes the Catalan coach in the extreme, in a professional capacity he respects him. Thus opening the door to him putting personal grievances aside for the betterment of his client, Haaland.
Is the above conjecture? The answer to that is, it is international week. You’re welcome.
‘Why not?’ – Salah hints at Liverpool exit in interview – Euro Papers
Mongolia 0-14 Japan
Type ’14’ and ‘Japan’ into Google and, usually, the auto-fill will produce ‘Japan 14-day itinerary’ and, alas, ‘Japan 14-day quarantine’, with the second result potentially making the first redundant.
The new Inter badge…meh
There seem to be more effective ways of broadening a club’s appeal. Winning the Champions League would be a very effective method – granted, that is fairly difficult, but the last time the club got past the group stage was in 2012 – so maybe improve that.
Anyway, back to the view on the badge. It is, in this humble and often incorrect opinion, a downgrade.
HAT-TIP
This section is usually reserved for an interesting interview or a piece of long-form journalism published in a more traditional form.
However, today it is a Twitter thread explaining the origin of the Qatar 2022 WC boycott movement that has garnered quite the momentum during the international break.
RETRO CORNER
It is Sergio Ramos’ birthday. 35 years young and still scoring goals and putting in reducers.
COMING UP
It is all or nothing for England today at the U21 Euros. And on the basis of their performances thus far, it is probably going to be nothing. They take on Croatia and need a favour from Portugal.
Andi Thomas, a man whose appeal is broader than your average Champions League-winning football club, is here on the ‘morrow.
