Association Football 2023/2024 Discussion Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

With the summer transfer window half over, the three major championships having been played (Euros, Copa America, Gold Cup), the focus now turns to the club season for the next year (with a break for some in the winter for the Africa Cup of Nations in January).

UEFA Champions League and Europa League play is already underway, and there's a couple of good matchups here in the third qualifying round.

Monaco/Sparta Prague, Genk/Shakhtar Donetsk and Spartak Moscow/Benifca headline the Champions League round.

The inaugural Europa Conference League is in progress, having made it to the third qualifying round as well, and the Europa League kicks off this week.  

[Suburbia]

Harry Kane, England's best player and one of the best players in the world, may want to join Manchester City with Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne, in which could be a superteam of the ages...

https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/08/03/harry-kane-tottenham-training-transfer-news/

[beesley]

Harry Kane, England's best player and one of the best players in the world, may want to join Manchester City with Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne, in which could be a superteam of the ages...

https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/08/03/harry-kane-tottenham-training-transfer-news/

On top of that they look likely to sign England midfielder Jack Grealish today.

[NewYorkExpress]

Harry Kane, England's best player and one of the best players in the world, may want to join Manchester City with Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne, in which could be a superteam of the ages...

https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/08/03/harry-kane-tottenham-training-transfer-news/

On top of that they look likely to sign England midfielder Jack Grealish today.

If Manchester City doesn't repeat the success of Arsenal's 2003-2004 team, then they should probably fire Pep Guardiola.

[Suburbia]

Harry Kane, England's best player and one of the best players in the world, may want to join Manchester City with Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne, in which could be a superteam of the ages...

https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/08/03/harry-kane-tottenham-training-transfer-news/

On top of that they look likely to sign England midfielder Jack Grealish today.

If Manchester City doesn't repeat the success of Arsenal's 2003-2004 team, then they should probably fire Pep Guardiola.

This. This could be the 1998 Yankees or 1996 Bulls---greatness. Pep needs to check their egos---all of those guys are world-class players, internationally acclaimed (Kane, Sterling, De Bruyne, Grealish)

[Santander]

Man City's first XI is still not as good as PSG's with their summer additions, especially if they can bag Theo Hernandez. And is Man City even better than Chelsea? I don't think so, except perhaps in depth.

If you want to see a super team, look at Ancelotti's Milan sides. I mean, just look at how disgustingly good this team was:


Of course, they lost to to that Liverpool team of Stevie G and 10 farmers... (okay, Xabi Alonso was good too) Doesn't make Man City or PSG's failures in the Champions League look so bad by comparison.

[Alcibiades]

Man City's first XI is still not as good as PSG's with their summer additions, especially if they can bag Theo Hernandez. And is Man City even better than Chelsea? I don't think so, except perhaps in depth.

If you want to see a super team, look at Ancelotti's Milan sides. I mean, just look at how disgustingly good this team was:


Of course, they lost to to that Liverpool team of Stevie G and 10 farmers... (okay, Xabi Alonso was good too) Doesn't make Man City or PSG's failures in the Champions League look so bad by comparison.

In a similar vein, I’ve always found this photo amusing (to think this was only the bench!):

[Santander]

If Chelsea buy back Lukaku, they can both humiliate Man Utd for letting him go and strengthen their challenge for the title. They just need like, one really solid defender to pair with Thiago Silva. Rudiger, Zouma, Azpilicueta (as CB), Christensen, are all very good depth options, but I think those are the 3rd or 4th-best central defenders in a title-winning team. I rate Tomori very highly and think they let yet another loan army player go without giving him a fair chance. Lenglet is available at a cut price but is not really an upgrade over their existing options. Koulibaly, perhaps?

In any case, even with money to spend, they weren't as stupid as Arsenal who paid £50m for Ben White (Brighton's second-best English defender), which is almost as stupid as paying £80m for Harry Maguire. Godfrey and Tomori both sold for half that price, and are better. Upamecano sold for a lot less and is a lot better.

[Orwell]

Man City attempting to buy a world class starting 11, not too long ago they were the local underdog club. How money and power corrupt.

[Santander]

Man City attempting to buy a world class starting 11, not too long ago they were the local underdog club. How money and power corrupt.

They succeeded at buying a world-class first XI 10 years ago, lol. Their second XI would have a shot at qualifying for the Champions League if they were a separate team.

[Suburbia]

Man City's first XI is still not as good as PSG's with their summer additions, especially if they can bag Theo Hernandez. And is Man City even better than Chelsea? I don't think so, except perhaps in depth.

If you want to see a super team, look at Ancelotti's Milan sides. I mean, just look at how disgustingly good this team was:


Of course, they lost to to that Liverpool team of Stevie G and 10 farmers... (okay, Xabi Alonso was good too) Doesn't make Man City or PSG's failures in the Champions League look so bad by comparison.

In a similar vein, I’ve always found this photo amusing (to think this was only the bench!):

What year was this?

[Alcibiades]

Man City's first XI is still not as good as PSG's with their summer additions, especially if they can bag Theo Hernandez. And is Man City even better than Chelsea? I don't think so, except perhaps in depth.

If you want to see a super team, look at Ancelotti's Milan sides. I mean, just look at how disgustingly good this team was:


Of course, they lost to to that Liverpool team of Stevie G and 10 farmers... (okay, Xabi Alonso was good too) Doesn't make Man City or PSG's failures in the Champions League look so bad by comparison.

In a similar vein, I’ve always found this photo amusing (to think this was only the bench!):

What year was this?

2008, I believe.

[Santander]

Messi reported to be leaving Barcelona. (confirmed by club) Good for Barcelona - now they don't have to do a fire sale to get rid of their prize assets. Now offload Griezmann and their wage bill almost looks like a normal rich club's.

[Suburbia]

The greatest soccer player alive, Lionel Messi, has ended ties with FC Barcelona, after 17 years.

https://www.mediaite.com/sports/breaking-global-soccer-icon-lionel-messi-leaving-barcelona-after-17-years/

Where will Messi land? Well, that’s the question on every soccer head’s mind at the moment. Given his outsized largesse, he will demand — even at this late stage of his career — a lot. The clubs that can afford him are likely those owned by mega-wealthy Emirates and/or oligarchs. So Manchester City, Chelsea, PSG, and perhaps Man United are the likeliest destinations.

If he goes to Manchester City to join Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne, it could be the greatest soccer team in HISTORY and one of the greatest sporting teams of all time.....same thing if he goes to Manchester United, the mighty Utd. to join Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, again one of the GREATEST squads.....

[Santander]

If he goes to Manchester City to join Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne, it could be the greatest soccer team in HISTORY and one of the greatest sporting teams of all time.....same thing if he goes to Manchester United, the mighty Utd. to join Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, again one of the GREATEST squads.....

Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford? lol.

[Suburbia]

If he goes to Manchester City to join Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne, it could be the greatest soccer team in HISTORY and one of the greatest sporting teams of all time.....same thing if he goes to Manchester United, the mighty Utd. to join Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, again one of the GREATEST squads.....

Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford? lol.

They're pretty good

[NewYorkExpress]

The greatest soccer player alive, Lionel Messi, has ended ties with FC Barcelona, after 17 years.

https://www.mediaite.com/sports/breaking-global-soccer-icon-lionel-messi-leaving-barcelona-after-17-years/

Where will Messi land? Well, that’s the question on every soccer head’s mind at the moment. Given his outsized largesse, he will demand — even at this late stage of his career — a lot. The clubs that can afford him are likely those owned by mega-wealthy Emirates and/or oligarchs. So Manchester City, Chelsea, PSG, and perhaps Man United are the likeliest destinations.

If he goes to Manchester City to join Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne, it could be the greatest soccer team in HISTORY and one of the greatest sporting teams of all time.....same thing if he goes to Manchester United, the mighty Utd. to join Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, again one of the GREATEST squads.....

I can't think of a single club other than the Manchester City/PSG/Chelsea trio in Europe who can afford the wages Messi would want.

Manchester City might actually need a striker since Sergio Augero left, PSG would need to move one of Neymar/Kylan Mbappe to make room, and while Messi would be an upgrade over Timo Werner, I think Chelsea has enough great attacking players as is. They need defensive players.

Messi likely either heads to MLS, or returns to Argentina (he's said he wishes to retire as a member of Newell's Old Boys before) in my opinion.

[Donerail]

Messi to the MLS is probably not gonna happen but would be very funny, especially because he'd be playing in a country that Ronaldo is legally unable to enter

[Santander]

PSG is the only club that really fits from a transfer policy perspective. It's quite telling that PSG, Barcelona, and Real Madrid dominate the transfer record table. Man City and Chelsea have money, but signing an aging superstar and paying him €500k+ a week wages does not fit the way they do business. I don't think any player at either club earned the kind of obscene wages players like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, and Griezmann are on. They splash the cash on young players and occasionally stars in their peak. Of course, English taxes are a bit lower than Spain's (not that Messi pays taxes, but Man City doesn't want to upset De Bruyne and others), and Messi was on the brink of actually moving to Man City last year, so maybe it could happen.

China isn't handing out megacontracts anymore, and neither is Russia. Maybe Al-Sadd to reunite with Xavi, but I don't see him doing that for at least another couple of years. At that point, MLS, Japan, or a return to Argentina are definitely on the table.

[NewYorkExpress]

First of the Big Five leagues kick off tomorrow, as Nantes travels to Monaco.

Saturday gives us the English Community Shield, with Leicester City taking on Manchester City as the marquee match in my opinion.

[Suburbia]

Messi to the MLS is probably not gonna happen but would be very funny, especially because he'd be playing in a country that Ronaldo is legally unable to enter

Hold up.....please explain to me why Cristiano Ronaldo is not allowed to enter the United States, when I think he has apartments in NYC, what is happening?

[Donerail]

Messi to the MLS is probably not gonna happen but would be very funny, especially because he'd be playing in a country that Ronaldo is legally unable to enter

Hold up.....please explain to me why Cristiano Ronaldo is not allowed to enter the United States, when I think he has apartments in NYC, what is happening?

He allegedly raped a woman and then paid her a massive sum of money to sign an NDA. It's an ongoing story; it's why Juventus didn't play any exhibition matches in the US a couple years ago, for instance.

[Suburbia]

Messi to the MLS is probably not gonna happen but would be very funny, especially because he'd be playing in a country that Ronaldo is legally unable to enter

Hold up.....please explain to me why Cristiano Ronaldo is not allowed to enter the United States, when I think he has apartments in NYC, what is happening?

He allegedly raped a woman and then paid her a massive sum of money to sign an NDA. It's an ongoing story; it's why Juventus didn't play any exhibition matches in the US a couple years ago, for instance.

Oh boy, this stains Ronaldo's legacy if true. One of the greatest ATHLETES doing this? Wow.

https://apnews.com/article/soccer-courts-sports-434c9153700b4cedb435a1a6c10ff1da

Other than that, Messi should come to play for Major League Soccer. North American soccer needs a boost. If David Beckham and Robbie Keane can do it, so can Messi.

He should come play in Miami---he would draw a lot of crowds from the Latin American area---and Florida has no income tax. Messi would be beloved, he'd draw more crowds than the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins combined.

[Suburbia]

In other news, Jack Grealish is now a member of Manchester City.

https://www.si.com/soccer/manchestercity/news/official-jack-grealish-completes-british-record-100-million-move-from-aston-villa-to-manchester-city

Grealish's England teammate, Jadon Sancho, who was racially abused after England's Euro 2020 loss signed with Manchester United, joining his England teammate Marcus Rashford a few weeks ago

https://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4421917/manchester-united-sign-jadon-sancho-from-borussia-dortmund

[Lechasseur]

First of the Big Five leagues kick off tomorrow, as Nantes travels to Monaco.

Saturday gives us the English Community Shield, with Leicester City taking on Manchester City as the marquee match in my opinion.

Go Leicester !