Apparently, it’s no secret that Messi is most likely to join PSG as rumours suggest agreements have already been finalized, and soon Messi, along with his father, could fly to Paris soon to complete the negotiations and join PSG.
Interesting reports have emerged already that says Messi will be wearing the legendary number 10 at PSG as well. Its current holder and Messi’s best friend Neymar Jr is willing to give his number 10 to its rightful owner.
Widespread rumours have already emerged that Neymar is willing to play with Messi ever since he left Barca and now the dream could be fulfilled. Di Maria could give up his number 11 for Neymar and we could see Messi and Neymar, the duo that we wanted to see forever.
Many Qatari journalists and ones closer to the Qatar royal family have confirmed Messi is coming to Paris and they are ready to welcome him in a grand way.
The brother of Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Zani has already declared: “The negotiations are officially concluded. And it will be announced later.” So, most likely Messi will wear the PSG shirt with his number 10 on back, confirmation and finalisation is looking very much possible in the coming days.
Before every new season, fans are excited to see new arrivals in their clubs, and who doesn’t want a big name in their team. With the transfer fees reaching ridiculously high levels, often clubs looking to sell, make huge asks. Major funds are involved in major transfers. There is no bargain (except a handful few) these days.
While the buying club gets the player they desire, the seller club (often forgotten) makes a huge amount of money. More than often the seller clubs win the transfer window. Interestingly enough, Transfermarkt released a list of European clubs to have banked the most in the way of fees since 2011 on Reddit.
Which club raised the most revenues in the transfer market since 2011?
1st: Benfica
Benfica leads the list, having made a remarkable €1.05bn over the last decade. The Portuguese giants raised the huge sum much courtesy to their headline departures in the likes of Joao Felix, Ruben Dias, and Ederson in more recent times. Then again the likes of Angel di Maria, David Luiz, and Nemanja Matic in the mid-to-late-2010s, contributed much to the revenue as well.
2nd: Atletico Madrid
Atletico managed to raise €1.02bn by the sales of players like Antoine Greizmann, Sergio Aguero, Rodri, Diego Costa, and Thomas Partey to name a few. But their successes in the decade have also seen them largely reinvest the revenue as well. Their biggest departures consist of the most elite names in the footballing world.
Which club raised the most revenues in the transfer market since 2011?
3rd: Chelsea FC
In the last decade, Chelsea has won 2 Premier League titles, 2 FA Cups, 2 Europa League, 2 Champions Leagues, and the League Cup. They have always been glorified for the huge money investments they make in bringing top players to the club. But it seems that they’re much better at sending players the other way round as well. Sales of big names like Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Oscar, and David Luiz have helped them raise €1bn in transfer fees.
4th: AS Monaco
The French side, AS Monaco, made a huge €968.2m through sales. This was highly contributed by the transfers of Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar, Fabinho, and Benjamin Mendy to name a few. Monaco knows business when opportunity strikes.
Which club raised the most revenues in the transfer market since 2011?
5th: Juventus
Juventus used to rule transfer windows at the beginning of the said period. Sales of Paul Pogba, Joao Cancelo, and Leonardo Bonucci brought in big money. They raised almost €963.1m.
6th: Barcelona
Barcelona is next on the list having made €925.4m. The Catalan giant raised a lot of this through the sales of big names like Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas, and Arthur. But the biggest contributor was Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. This transfer still holds the record for the costliest ever.
7th: Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund raised €876.5m by the sales of big prospects like Aubameyang, and Dembele to name a few.
8th: AS Roma
AS Roma has raised €848.5m which is impressive for the club.
9th: Real Madrid
Real Madrid quite uncharacteristically sits at the bottom of a top 10 list. Their numbers are largely aided by the gains of the Cristiano Ronaldo deal in 2018. Ninth on the list, Real has raised €829.5m.
10th: FC Porto
Porto completes the top 10 list with a total of €772.1m. These were the masters of the transfer market as it statistically stands.
PSG superstar Neymar joins the list of high-profile PES Ambassadors consisting of FC Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, who also have a partnership with KONAMI.
Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford are also on board with KONAMI. Neymar becomes the latest player to join them.
Neymar will promote the eFootball PES 2021: Season Update as he is set to feature in the Iconic Moment Series on the MyClub mode.
The Brazilian expressed his delight in a post to his followers on Twitter, which reads: “So excited to announce that I’ve partnered with KONAMI as an Official Ambassador for #PES2021 and beyond. We’ll have an iconic PES moment soon, so come and play!”
There is yet to be an announcement of the official release date for PES 22, but it has been reported by Goal that the game could launch on 7th September.
However, Neymar’s deal with KONAMI should not concern the fans of the EA Sports FIFA franchise as this deal doesn’t appear to be an exclusive image right. So Neymar will definitely feature in the upcoming FIFA 22 video game releasing on 1st October.
Barcelona announced on Monday that they had come to an agreement with Neymar about the legal battle that they have been involved in ever since the Brazilian left for PSG.
The legal battle, that has been going on for months, saw Barcelona ask Neymar for €17 million while the player demanded over €47 million from the club. This primarily arose due to the misinterpretation of various renewal bonuses and tax issues in the contract of the player. The announcement made on Monday sees both parties now remain on friendly terms following their confrontation.
The club released a statement related to the issue, stating: “FC Barcelona announce that it has ended out of court in amicable fashion the various labour and civil litigation cases that were open with the Brazilian player Neymar.
✅| Official: Barcelona and Neymar have signed a transactional agreement to end the legal cases between the two parties. #FCB 🇧🇷
ℹ️Legal cases that were closed: three claims related to labour and a civil case. pic.twitter.com/oTwfuoSqpa
“As such, a transactional agreement between the club and the player has been signed to end the legal cases that were pending between the two parties.”
The French Giants signed Neymar in 2017 for a world record fee of €222 million, which stands to this day. The winger recently signed a contract extension with PSG after years of speculation regarding him possibly being interested in a return to Camp Nou.
This legal issue was one of the main reasons why a transfer back to Barcelona did not go through. And with the dire financial situation of Barcelona, it is unlikely that they will ever be in the place to sign the forward again, especially given that he is currently 29 and has four years remaining on his new contract with the Parisians.
Paris Saint Germain have opted to make a significant alteration in their squad planning strategy by deciding to give a shot at retaining Kylian Mbappe. Since their priority is to keep the Frenchman at the club beyond the summer, and in turn for a long term, they would attempt offloading players in order to compensate for the finances that would cost them if they manage to keep the blistering quick striker at the Parc Des Princes.
The club spent 1.25 billion euros on transfers between 2011 and 2020, but only 62.5 million euros last year and 76 million euros this summer. The new additions include top-drawer signings like Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum, and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
via The Real Champs
Pochettino said about the recent transfers made by his side, “the new signings have a winning personality. They have won many titles, but not at PSG. They will do everything possible to lift trophies here too.”
Paris have recently renewed contracts of the important players in their squad, namely Neymar, Keylor Navas, Angel Di Maria, Juan Bernat, and Julian Draxler. Although they look to secure the same for Mbappe, they understand that the process is going to cost them a hefty amount. They have in mind to offer him a similar salary as Neymar. To achieve this without breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, they will have to get players on the market. The funds from those sales would help fetch what they aim.
PSG want to offer Mbappe same wages as Neymar (image via Marca)
PSG intends to cut ways with as many as nine players. The team’s three goalkeepers will be Donnarumma, Navas, and Sergio Rico, therefore Alphonse Areola is anticipated to leave, with the club valuing him at 15 million euros.
Pochettino’s right back options include Abdou Diallo, Thilo Kehrer, and Colin Dagba. The first two are worth 25 million euros each and could be sold this summer, while another defender, Mitchel Bakker, has already signed a seven-million-euro deal with Bayer Leverkusen.
PSG would demand 40 million euros for Mauro Icardi, while L’Equipe reports that Pablo Sarabia might leave for 22 million euros and Arnaud Kalimuendo could fetch 10 million euros.
This summer, Lionel Messi and Giorgio Chiellini finally ended their dream of winning a major international trophy. While Messi finally lay his hands on Copa America with Argentina, Giorgio Chiellini’s spectacular performance for Italy saw them claim Euro 2020. Both the legends of the game ended a career full of heartbreak with their nations this summer.
While both of these players enjoy their vacations after finally tasting victory, there are a lot more modern greats who never tasted glory with their national teams. Here, we’ve tried to make a team of some of the greatest names in this century who never won a senior international trophy. (We’re not considering age-restricted events like the Olympics, Pan-American Games, and youth competitions).
Best XI of 21st century who have never won an international trophy
Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas (Costa Rica)
Keylor Navas has won many titles in his time at Real Madrid including the Champions League and in his time at PSG. The Costa Rican has astounding reflexes to make some of the most difficult saves. But for all his goalkeeping genius, he has never won an international accolade with his country. His 3 clean sheets and 3-man of the match awards in 5 appearances at the 2014 World Cup were also not enough. The closest he’s come is the 2 runners-up places Costa Rica managed in the now-defunct UNCAF Nations Cup (2009, 2011).
Others on the waitlist: Jan Oblak, Thibaut Courtois, David de Gea
Right-back: Javier Zanetti (Argentina)
Javier Zanetti dominated the footballing world for nearly two decades. His expertise in the right side of the pitch for Argentina and Inter Milan was absolutely incomparable. But even with his consistency and 143 caps for Argentina, he secured no senior trophies.
Others on the waitlist: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gary Neville, Cesar Azpilicueta
Centre-back: Rio Ferdinand (England)
A player, on whose back England’s “golden generation” was built. Rio Ferdinand is no stranger to winning trophies when it comes to his club career at Manchester United. Although unfortunately, his defensive excellence was also not enough to win one of the best Three Lions’ side a taste of glory.
Others on the waitlist:Ricardo Carvalho, Nemanja Vidic, Roberto Ayala
Centre-back: Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands)
Virgil van Dijk is an outrageously brilliant defender, perhaps one of the greatest of the modern era of football. His prowess on the deck and in the air turned Liverpool and the Netherlands into a force to reckon with. Yet the Dutch have failed to win a trophy with Van Dijk who is at the peak of his career.
Others on the waitlist:Sol Campbell, John Terry, Walter Samuel
Left-back: Ashley Cole (England)
Another extremely consistent player from the golden generation of England. He was world-class as a defender and dangerous when he penetrated down his flank. Yet, no trophies.
Others on the waitlist: Eric Abidal
Best XI of 21st century who have never won an international trophy
Defensive midfield: Claude Makélélé (France)
Claude Makelele was a brilliant midfielder. He took France almost all the way in their 2006 World Cup miss. He remains one of the game’s great defensive shields to have never tasted international glory.
Others on the waitlist:Ivan Rakitic, Owen Hargreaves, Edgar Davids
Central midfield: Luka Modric (Croatia)
Luka Modric is a Ballon d’Or winner. That pretty much explains his brilliance on the pitch. After a heartbreaking exit in the Euro 2008, he, along with Ivan Rakitic, led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final only to lose to a brilliant French side. Having numerous titles at club levels, the midfield maestro still misses an international trophy.
Others on the waitlist: Clarence Seedorf, Paul Scholes, Michael Ballack, Deco, Frank Lampard
Attacking midfield: Juan Roman Riquelme (Argentina)
Riquelme was a force to reckon with during his time at both Boca Juniors and Argentina. Being Argentina’s main man, he was often pointed out for being too slow. But his elusive and phenomenal passes made up for that. His set-piece prowess was second to none. Yet despite all his genius, he couldn’t win Argentina any silverware. (Not counting the 2008 Olympics win.)
Others on the waitlist: Rui Costa, Kevin De Bruyne, Wesley Sneijder, Steven Gerrard
Best XI of 21st century who have never won an international trophy
Right-wing: Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Arjen Robben is a footballing legend. Recently taking retirement from football for the second time he was once one of the most threatening players. He nearly always looked unplayable but even with many chances ahead of him, he couldn’t take the Dutch over the line.
Others on the waitlist: Mohamed Salah, David Beckham, Figo, Gareth Bale
Left-wing: Neymar (Brazil)
Neymar’s skill and production are second to none. One of the most underappreciated players of his generation, the Brazilian has managed even more goals for Brazil than Pelé! Yet, he has never won a senior trophy with his country. He could have actually won the 2019 Copa with Brazil if he wasn’t ruled out due to an injury.
Others on the waitlist: Pavel Nedved, Ryan Giggs, Eden Hazard, Sadio Mané, Franck Ribery
Striker: Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
65 goals in 105 caps for Ivory Coast. Two-time African Footballer of the Year. The colossal Didier Drogba is one of the greatest (and most lethal) strikers the footballing world has seen. He led Ivory Coast to 3 consecutive World Cups (their only 3 World Cup appearances). Drogba lost not one but two Africa Cup of Nations finals on penalties. He remains one of the most influential and potent strikers to be trophyless on the international stage.
Others on the waitlist:Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andriy Shevchenko, Wayne Rooney, Romelu Lukaku, Michael Owen, Robert Lewandowski, Raul, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Harry Kane, Alan Shearer
Best XI of 21st century who have never won an international trophy
Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid seem to be a match made in heaven as their admiration for each other go a long time back.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has been a long admirer of the Frenchman and wanted to bring him to the club since his Monaco days. But Mbappe wanted to remain in his homeland for a bit more time and signed for PSG.
Mbappe’s contract with PSG ends next summer, so PSG are looking to sign a contract extension as they face a risk of losing the brightest young talent for free next summer.
🚨| In the meantime, PSG is preparing one final offer that would be the same as Neymar's current contract with a salary of €30M – something Real Madrid cannot match. @DeportesCuatro
Reportedly, PSG are offering Mbappe €30M wage, the same as Neymar, which Real Madrid can’t offer him. PSG are hoping this would be enough to keep the World Cup winner at the club.
However, Mbappe has already made his admiration for Real Madrid public. It seems only a matter of time since both are united. PSG may try to keep him at the club, but Mbappe would like to play for Real Madrid in order to take the next step in his glorious career.
The long wait of Lione Messi for an international trophy has finally been over as Argentina finally beat Brazil 1-0 courtesy of Di Maria’s solitary goal in the Copa America 2021 final.
Lionel Messi and Neymar played together in Barcelona and formed the famous trio of Messi-Suarez-Neymar and achieved huge success at the club level. The former teammates met again in the Copa America 2021 final as Messi was on the search for his maiden international trophy.
One of the most iconic moments of the final was Lionel Messi and Neymar sharing an embrace and having a lengthy conversation after the match. Football has always been so much more than just a game.
Neymar has posted on Instagram paying tribute to one of the greatest players, Lionel Messi. He wrote: “Losing hurts me and it’s something I still haven’t learned to live with.”
“Yesterday, when I lost, I went to give a hug to the greatest and best I have ever seen play in football history, my friend and brother Messi. I was sad and I joked to him ‘you son of a bitch, you’ve beaten me!’
“I’m very sad to have lost, but this guy is awesome! I have great respect for what he has done for football and especially for me.
“I hate to lose! But enjoy your title. Football was waiting for you for that moment! Congratulations brother.”
Lionel Messi has been at his very best as he led Argentina to the finals of Copa America. His counterpart Neymar was equally instrumental in Brazil’s run to the final. However, it was Messi who ended his international trophy drought as Argentina beat Brazil by Di Maria’s solitary goal.
But the CONMEBOL committee struggled to pick a winner when it came to the Messi vs Neymar battle for the MVP award. They have decided to give the award jointly to Messi and Neymar.
#GET | Messi y Neymar los mejores jugadores del torneo continental.
— Evolución es CONMEBOL (@EvolucionCSF) July 10, 2021
CONMEBOL said in a statement: “It is not possible to choose only one player, because this competition has two best players,”
“They demonstrated in each match their different qualities that make them players of integrity, with technical and tactical quality, for their intelligence with and without the ball, and their decision making, which is always decisive.”
“Both are finalists with their national teams, they have performed at a high level, being key players in the goalscoring charts in this tournament.”
In, they are leaders in assists – the Argentine has five and the Brazilian has provided three – which demonstrates how decisive they have been on the pitch during this CONMEBOLCopa America 2021.”
This is the first time that this award has been split between two players. Messi and Neymar are truly the best South American players of their generations.
Footballing great Lionel Messi, who is currently a free agent as of 1st July, is largely regarded as the greatest player in the history of the sport. He has already broken and created countless records, including earning a record six Ballon d’Or honors. With the colossal number of individual and team accolades under his belt, he has had an extremely successful career to this point.
via Planet Football
The Argentine has been a subliminally influential player for Barcelona throughout his career. He scored 69 goals, and also provided numerous assists in the last two seasons throughout all competitions. According to Whoscored, the 34-year-old forward ranks fourth in Europe’s top five leagues for best minutes per goal contributions over the last two seasons, with an average of 69.5.
via Sempre Inter
Luis Muriel of Atalanta tops the list with 53.6 minutes of goal contribution. He has had a renaissance of a career after moving away from Spain. The Colombian is followed by Bayern Munich’s talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski, who is on 60.8. The Polish skipper was 2020’s best player, having won every possible trophy, and being the top scorer of every competition he played in. In 2020-21, he broke the 49-year-old Bundesliga record set by the legendary Gerd Muller.
via CNN
On the third spot, comes Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe with 68.5 minutes per goal contribution. Lionel Messi sits on the fourth spot in this very ranking. The Barcelona legend propelled his side to a Copa Del Rey title in 2021.
via PSG talk
Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland comes fifth with 72.3 minutes per contribution. Neymar, the Brazil and PSG superstar, is at sixth position on the list with an average of 82.8 minutes per goal contribution. It is only astonishing given how productive he has been for the club in terms of goals and assists when fit. The former Barcelona winger has been injured for a significant amount of time with his PSG side.
