Stories By Jonnie Gorrie

• Sport

  2022 World Cup: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo set for one last dance

  It does not take a genius to point out that the duopoly Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have had on football has come to an end. While both remain crucial players at some of Europe’s biggest clubs, the world awaits to see just how intense the rivalry between Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland can get, with hundreds of thousands of social media bots at the ready.

• Sport

  Chelsea FC: Vision 2030 is a statement of where Blues are in new era

  Chelsea are not a club renowned for their long-term planning. Even in the post-Roman Abramovich era, the club continue to make what appear to be fairly rash decisions, such as signing Pierre-Emerck Aubameyang and then sacking Thomas Tuchel with almost the same breath.

• Sport

  FC Barcelona: The glory has grown grotesque

  Barcelona’s creative accounting is the biggest story of the summer so far.   In a post-Covid word, paying big money for (and to) Robert Lewandowski seems crazy enough even at a club with healthy finances, though selling off ever-growing slices of the club’s future in order to do so is beyond negligent.

• Sport

  Thomas Tuchel’s major Cristiano Ronaldo win underlines significant change under Todd Boehly

  Thomas Tuchel has won an early battle at Chelsea, one that could indeed set the tone for the rest of his managerial tenure at Stamford Bridge.   During the Roman Abramovich era, the club were not exactly renowned for their stability.

• Sport

  Bale, Lewandowski, Mane: Leaving a big club is proving painful process

  Leaving a big club in the modern era looks a painful process.   Such is the money on offer at the world’s leading teams, trying to get anybody out of a contract appears to be one of the most difficult phenomena of football in the 2020s.

• Sport

  Stars have aligned for Spurs

  Tottenham, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son are entering the proverbial “last-chance saloon.”   While, clearly, all three of those parties could well go on to have success without each other, the window is certainly closing on the possibility of them having it together.

• Sport

  Manchester City face uncertain road ahead this summer

  There is a certainty to Manchester City. A club built with the long-term in mind, very rarely do they stray from the principles Pep Guardiola has drilled into them. Even when trailing Aston Villa by two goals in a game they simply had to win, very little changed, aside from perhaps the urgency with which it was done.

• Sport

  History not on Haaland’s side in Man City signing

  On the face of it, Erling Haaland’s imminent arrival at Manchester City is a scary prospect for the rest of European football.   Even before Sergio Aguero’s exit, much was made about Pep Guardiola’s striker-less formation.

• Sport

  Will Mo Salah find what he’s looking for in the transfer market?

    Liverpool, a club famous for them, are on the brink of their best-ever season.   Whether or not Jurgen Klopp’s side add either – or both – the Premier League and the Champions League to their trophy haul should not have a bearing on how this team are viewed.

• Sport

  What does Klopp’s contract extension mean for other Premier League clubs?

  Jurgen Klopp’s decision to extend his stay at Liverpool by another two years will come as bad news to the teams looking to break into the Premier League’s title picture.   An obvious thing to say perhaps, but it’s worth considering the likely lay of the land in the years to come.

• Sport

  Pochettino’s next move pivotal in career

  During an era in which Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are redefining what it takes to succeed at the top of the game, it is hard for any other manager to make an impact.   Antonio Conte, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann are probably in the tier of coaches below the Manchester City and Liverpool managers, while the world awaits the arrival of Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United.

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