General Football/Soccer Talk

[formx]

That reminds me of the story that Liverpool could have signed Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003, but we didn't because he wanted high wages.

Wait I thought that was Arsenal?

[shadowgrin]

Both.
Liverpool didn't want to 'overpay' for wages of a young player.
Arsenal and Ronaldo agreed on the wages but his team backed down on the agreed transfer fee.
Then Manchester United tripled that transfer fee and it's history.



Luis Suarez price tag for transfer is reportedly set at £80 million by Liverpool. (value of him alone, not with transfer trade)
If Gareth Bale can cost as much I think that transfer fee for Suarez is justified.

Alexis Sanchez is also rumored with Arsenal...

So if Barca buys Suarez alone without giving away Sanchez that means...

[Phil89]

Barca can't afford Suarez with just cash. They will probably try and add a player to lower the fee, like when they sent Eto'o to Inter as part of the deal for Zlatan. I'd love Sanchez, but apparently Arsenal and Juventus are frontrunners for him.

£50m plus Sanchez (value him at £30m) would be a good deal. If Sanchez is not an option they will probably try and use Pedro instead.

So potentially Barcelona signing Suarez and Real Madrid signing Falcao. Good luck to the defenders in Spain


In slightly happier news, Adam Lallana is official a Liverpool player.

[shadowgrin]

Chelsea officially confirmed an agreement with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa.

Kaka signed with MLS expansion team Orlando CIty. lol
In a similar setup with David Villa, Kaka will be on loan to Sao Paolo until the team becomes active in MLS in 2015.

How convenient that Suarez today released a public apology to Chiellini, just a couple of days after it was reported that Barcelona wouldn't bid for him unless he did.

'Suarez had the honour to come out and apologise for his actions and now it's time for him to begin the recovery process,' Zubizarreta said at the Nou Camp.

But, on the day he was unveiled, new man Rakitic also had his say.
'To have the character and strength to apologise in front of the world shows what a noble person he is,' the Croatian added.

Barca is just getting ridiculous now.

[Phil89]

I'm waiting for some of their players to come out in the media and say that Suarez is being held hostage in Liverpool, like they did with Fabregas. Damn weasels.

I find it hilarious that they think they can lower Suarez's price by manipulating things with the media. The only person who counts is the Liverpool owner and he clearly will tell them to shove it up their ass if they try low offers.

For me it's £80 million cash or £50 million + Sanchez. Anything else and he isn't going anywhere.

[shadowgrin]

A couple of teams being cock blocks to Liverpool...

Xherdan Shaquiri to Liverpool rumored to be almost a done deal until Bayern decided to include him in a transfer trade plus £30 million offer to Juventus for Arturo Vidal.

Arsenal reportedly have made an official offer for Alexis Sanchez, holding up the negotiations between Liverpool and Barcelona for the Suarez transfer.


Divock Origi (Lille) - £6 million - Liverpool
Report saying it's a transfer and stash, where he will be loaned back to Lille if the transfer is done.

Jackson Martinez (Porto) - £35 million (buyout clause) - Arsenal
Highly unlikely to happen imo. Can't trust people where both names are last names!

William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon) - £37 million (buyout clause) - Manchester United, Real Madrid, Monaco, Chelsea, Juventus (if Vidal leaves probably).

[Phil89]

A couple of teams being cock blocks to Liverpool...

Xherdan Shaquiri to Liverpool rumored to be almost a done deal until Bayern decided to include him in a transfer trade plus £30 million offer to Juventus for Arturo Vidal.

Arsenal reportedly have made an official offer for Alexis Sanchez, holding up the negotiations between Liverpool and Barcelona for the Suarez transfer.

Vidal as a replacement for Tony Kroos who is heading to Real Madrid?


Apparently Barca have made a £72m cash bid for Suarez, but Liverpool want £80m. That's after the first day of negotiating.

I also read that Alexis Sanchez prefers to go to Arsenal, but Liverpool are offering Barcelona more money for him. Looks like if Liverpool can convince him to join he will be used in the Suarez deal. But if not he will be sold to Arsenal and the money used for Suarez.

If Arsenal get Sanchez and Juventus get Shaqiri, I'd want Liverpool to try and sign James Rodriguez. He is the perfect x-factor type of player to replace Suarez.

Or just used the money that Rodriguez would cost to fix the left hand side with Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfburg) and Antoine Griezmann (Sociedad).

Divock Origi (Lille) - £6 million - Liverpool
Report saying it's a transfer and stash, where he will be loaned back to Lille if the transfer is done.

Hadn't heard of him before the world cup. Looks like a decent prospect though.

Jackson Martinez (Porto) - £35 million (buyout clause) - Arsenal
Highly unlikely to happen imo. Can't trust people where both names are last names!

Would be a great signing. He just scores goals for fun.


Keep gettin' them cheques Porto [/Jalen Rose voice]

William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon) - £37 million (buyout clause) - Manchester United, Real Madrid, Monaco, Chelsea, Juventus (if Vidal leaves probably).

Seems to be a Pogba type midfield beast. £37 million is a lot for a young player who hasn't really proven anything yet though.



Rumours that Liverpool want to sign Dejan Lovren and he wants the move. We may as well just buy Southampton football club

[Phil89]

Another Liverpool signing. German midfielder Emre Can joins from Leverkusen for a reported £10m.



Hopefully Rodgers can work his magic on him like he did with Sturridge and Coutinho and get the best out of him.

The team's hair gel budget just doubled.

[shadowgrin]

Arsenal's hair gel budget for Olivier Giroud alone is more than Liverpool's, too bad I can't say the same about Giroud's talent.

[SoF'nAwesome]

This nigga hates all Arsenal strikers past or present...RVP, Giroud

You should have died after Henry left.

[shadowgrin]

You should have died when your mother found out she was pregnant with you.
Too bad those guys that beat you up didn't get the job done.



In football rumors...

Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid) : £40 million : Manchester United
He apparently prefers that club over Arsenal and Chelsea even if the latter has Mourinho.

Arturo Vidal also prefers Manchester United if he is transferred.

HAMES Rodriguez prefers Real Madrid, doesn't want to go to EPL if sold. Replacement for Di Maria?

Monaco management saying Falcao and James Rodriguez will not be sold. Can't blame 'em.

Balotelli apparently desperate to move to EPL that rumors linking him to teams could have been started by his own camp lol.
Could be true since Wenger himself denied a Balotelli to Arsenal done deal when that rumor was still hot.

Loic Remy (Queens Park Rangers) : £8 million : Arsenal
Matheu Debuchy (Newcastle) : £10 million: Arsenal
Could be a done deal once the World Cup is over for France.

Sami Khedira (Real Madrid) : £23 million : Arsenal
Same as above, just waiting for World Cup to end.
Wenger rumored to have asked Ozil to convince his German teammate to move to Arsenal.


I'll stop hating on Liverpool for a season if they stop the Sanchez pursuit so he can finally go to Arsenal, the transfer wait for Arsenal is making me impatient lol.

[Phil89]

Apparently Barcelona are now ready to meet the £75m release clause for Suarez.

Liverpool are interested in Sanchez (separate deal), but it looks like he is going to choose between Arsenal and Juventus.

According to twitter rumours: Liverpool are closing in on signing Lazar Markovic from Benfica for £25m. And have agreed terms with Shaqiri, but now need to agree a transfer fee with Bayern.

Also, Southampton have supposedly rejected a £20m offer from Liverpool for Dejan Lovren. I think that is a great offer for him, but maybe they are sick of Liverpool buying all their players.

Good to see we are active in the transfer market. I just hope we can replace Suarez better than we did with Torres. Andy Carroll lulz

[Phil89]

I'll stop hating on Liverpool for a season if they stop the Sanchez pursuit so he can finally go to Arsenal, the transfer wait for Arsenal is making me impatient lol.

All the twitter "experts" seem to think that he will sign for Arsenal. Damn. He would have been a great replacement for Suarez.


Liverpool look close to signing Divock Origi (£10m) and Lazar Markovic (£25m).

Judging by the few Youtube clips I've seen, Markovic seems to be faster than any human being in history. He just glides past defenders. Maybe the defenders in the Portuguese league are really slow though.

[shadowgrin]

"The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by both the Uruguayan player Luis Suárez and the Uruguayan FA.

"The terms of the decision taken by the FIFA Appeal Committee were communicated to the player and the Uruguayan FA today.

Suarez has the option of making a further appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Now for some rumors!

Hames Rodriguez available for £70-£60 million says Monaco.

Arturo Vidal's £40 million transfer to Man Utd could be aborted by Juventus because Chelsea is going after Paul Pogba for £60 million.

Angel Di Maria set to Man Utd transfer for £40 million...that was until PSG offered Real Madrid £48 million...must be PSG's way of binge shopping because of David Luiz.

After Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal and Liverpool at it again...both going after Jackson Martinez and his £35 million buyout clause.

Xherdan Shaqiri to Liverpool apparently halted by Bayern because Roma is also interested in buying.

Sami Khedira to Arsenal is held up by his wage demands, he apparently wants more than the £150,000 per week wage he currently receives at Real Madrid.



Arturo Sanchez officially confirmed by Arsenal, same time as the release of their new kits.
Transfer fee was reported to be in the range of £30-£45 million, with a wage of £150,000 per week.

Sanchez in Arsenal training kit.

Arsenal funds Bale transfer by taking Ozil
Arsenal funds Suarez transfer by taking Sanchez
Arsenal likes to hurt their rivals

"I'm delighted to be joining Arsenal. I look forward to finishing 4th & joining Man City next summer."

New Arsenal kits.

Haven't watched the coverage of the kit unveiling yet but when the Sanchez signing was announced during the event those three apparently were giddy like schoolgirls upon hearing it.

Seems like he already got the superstar treatment as he's been given 17 despite being Monreal's current number.

[Phil89]

Congrats. Must be a weird feeling to see Wenger actually spend money on a quality player.


Apparently the £20 million deal for Markovic is separate to the Suarez money. So we still have £75 million+ to strengthen the squad.

I'm just hoping we have better scouts than Spurs. Although maybe their failure was more to do with their manager being useless than the players he signed being rubbish. I have faith that Rodgers will make it all work.

[Phil89]

Now it's official..



£75m in the bank and a huge hole in the team.


Although, one difference from the Bale/Spurs situation is that we weren't a one-player team. Sturridge scored 24 himself last season.

Right now I think it's Chelsea and Man City favourites for the league, with Arsenal third after signing Sanchez. Fourth probably depends who Liverpool sign and if Man Utd keep splashing the cash.

[stereoxide]

Sad to see Suarez go. I hope Liverpool really reinvest the money wisely and not splash them on random players like Tottenham did with the Bale money.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Neymar, Messi & Suarez? Damn, worst nightmare came true for RMad.

Seems the "not winning anything since 2008" really woke up Barca.

[Phil89]

Won nothing since 2008? 16 trophies isn't quite nothing.

I think that possible transfer ban in the future has made Barca roll several transfer windows into one before it happens.

What does Real Madrid do to respond?



Interesting that all the record transfers go to the big two in Spain. If they want your player they will usually get him.

[SoF'nAwesome]

The first time they haven't won a major trophy since 2008.

Madrid will make a move, no doubt. The Di Maria replacement. It may well be one of the young ones that shined at the WC.

[Phil89]

Oh, I get it now. Yeah they will want to challenge for trophies this season with those 3 superstars up front. No excuses.

There was talk of Falcao and James Rodriguez going to Real. But apparently Monaco aren't willing to sell.


Lazar Markovic is allegedly in England today to finalise his move to Liverpool. Don't think I've been this excited about a transfer since we signed Torres in 2007. Kid has real potential to be a star.

Twitter says we are interested in Benzema as well. I wouldn't be against that if he doesn't cost too much (£40M is the rumour). May end up being like the Alexis Sanchez deal (We help them raise funds to buy Falcao or Aguero by signing Benzema).

[Phil89]

So, Man Utd basically get the equivalent of selling Suarez every year for the next decade with their new kit deal with Adidas.

Sportswear giant Adidas has signed a £750m deal to make Manchester United's kit for 10 years from next season.

It comes after US rival Nike decided to end its association at the end of the 2014-15 season.

Nike has been paying United £23.5m a year, and the new deal is worth a world record-breaking £75m ($128m) a season to the Old Trafford club.

Champions League winner Real Madrid's £31m-a-year deal with Adidas was previously the biggest club deal.

Decent day for Liverpool as well. Iago Aspas has been loaned to Sevilla with the option to buy (What a pointless signing he was) and Lazar Markovic completed his medical and will apparently by unveiled tomorrow. £20m fee.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Wow. 23.5 to 75

How is Liverpool planning to replace the Suarez role? Sturridge?

[Phil89]

Liverpool can't replace his talent, but they will hope to replace his goals and assists with guys like Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic. Linked to Wilfried Bony for £20 million as well. He scored 25 goals last season, but I'm not overly excited by that rumour.

Alexis Sanchez would have been perfect. But he chose Arsenal.


Sturridge should be the main guy up front now. Sterling and Markovic speeding down the wings, with Lallana or Coutinho playing behind Sturridge should all be goal threats.

I don't think we will have problems scoring goals this season. So to improve we need to sign some quality defenders.

[Phil89]

Liverpool complete £20m deal for Lazar Markovic.


Some encouraging quotes on twitter from a couple of guys who have followed his career so far:

Jan Hagen @PortuBall · 13h
LFC now got one of the biggest talents on the planet. I'll be very surprised if Markovic doesn't dominate European football in the future.

Jan Hagen @PortuBall · 13h
Markovic can of course make an impact right away, and I expect him to. His pace, technique and football smartness should suite the PL.

Jan Hagen @PortuBall · 12h
Everyone who have watched Markovic on a weekly basis are unanimously agree that he's destined for greatness. They who hasn't doubt it. Hmm.

Jan Hagen @PortuBall · Jun 28
You know what? I'd say Markovic' first season at Benfica was better than James' at Porto. Both arrived at 19. Markovic is something special.

Tor-Kristian Karlsen @karlsentk · 20h
I've followed his career since making Partizan debut, talent and potential obvious from the point of breaking into the first team (1/5)

Tor-Kristian Karlsen @karlsentk · 20h
Top European sides were monitoring him back then, most of those impressed by his great ability though some concerns re "frail" physique(2/5)

Tor-Kristian Karlsen @karlsentk · 20h
In terms of potential there's no doubt in my mind that Markovic is among the top 3-5 greatest talents in European football (3/5)

Tor-Kristian Karlsen @karlsentk · 20h
Main characteristics: great ability on the ball (close control, touch), explosive/very quick in one vs one situations, intelligent (4/5)

Tor-Kristian Karlsen @karlsentk · 20h
Transfer fee may seem high but if player develops according to expectations/potential, he could (should) be worth x2 in 18-24 months (5/5)

So.. I'm happy with the signing. Needed something positive like this after Suarez leaving. Hopefully he can flourish in Brendan Rodger's system