Summer Transfer Superthread

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117829537#Comment_117829537

The whole thing is weird... why are they so desperate to get rid for the year? Like, it sounds like they still want to replace him (with Sarabia perhaps) so its not like its purely cost-cutting to get his wages off the books either. And he's played in all 3 of their games so far, starting 2 of them, so he's not totally on the outs either... I dunno, just seems odd.

DM_7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117829973#Comment_117829973

Looks like he wanted a move as much as anything to play midfield.

At one stage he was a key player in their midfield and approach, playing the 'inverted' positions with Koke - he was wide right and Koke wide left, moving inside. In more recent times he has been a utility player, at the weekend for example he was playing left wing back when he came on.

He is probably 5th or 6th choice for midfield. Llorente has overtaken him, Koke is now at base of midfield, Lemar has attacking midfield role, they just signed De Paul for midfield after signing Kondogbia last winter.

Edit: they also have Herrera.

Niska

Antoine Griezmann returning to Atletico Madrid

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1432785781140164610

Antoine Griezmann has full agreement on personal terms with Atletico Madrid and it’s now matter of last details between Atléti and Barça to complete the deal. Final stages. 🚨🇫🇷 #Atleti #FCB #DeadlineDay

Barça are progressing in talks to sign Luuk de Jong from Sevilla.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830159#Comment_117830159

Its a loan deal.

Griezmann was a disaster at Barcelona, couldnt hit a barn door, it goes without saying but he should never have been bought.

I think he is finished.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830190#Comment_117830190

Think a huuuuuge part of that was because of playing him just about everywhere except his best position. It was an especially stupid buy amongst all their stupid buys - he's perhaps the second best player around at playing the Messi role, which is pointless when you have Messi. So he ended up getting shunted around all over the place when you really want him in that central free role at the middle of everything, harrying, and dropping deep, and getting back in to finish at the end of a move. Think he'd have done really well there this year had he stayed, but his wages are waaaaay too big for them to manage with the state they're in (just another part of the stupidity, paying him probably 40% more than they needed to).

Good move for Atleti, and I'm especially delighted he didn't end up at City - think he'd have been a real difference maker for them had they gotten him.

The Big Easy

Barca of the last few years must be the worst run club in history and there's been a few contenders

Cookiemunster

What an utter shambles of a club.

https://twitter.com/liam_twomey/status/1432800452438003718?s=19

pjohnson

I'd love AndersonIsGod's@Andersonisgod input on the dream strike force of Braithwaite and De Jong

Downlinz

Memes aside an attacking 3 of Dembélé, Depay and Aguero with Fati developing in the background is still potentially excellent.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830329#Comment_117830329

A complete shambles.

The presidential election in 2015 took place the month after Barcelona won the Champions league so Bartomeu was elected on the back of that.

He was Rosells understudy, a guy who had to resign due to fraud and money laundering charges and served 2 years in jail.

Bartomeu would never have been president but for Rosell having to resign, Bartomeu was a complete liability and out of his depth.

Only for Messi he'd have been in charge until this summer.

I'd love AndersonIsGod's@Andersonisgod input on the dream strike force of Braithwaite and De Jong

The front 3 will be Depay,Fati and probably De Jong.

Dembele, Aguero and Braithwaite will feature too.

Edit: It seems Aguero is going back to Man City !

PsychoPete

Aurier terminates his Spurs contract, he's been a bit of disaster anytime I've watched him play

Agent Coulson

https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1432822430821765125?s=20

....

FrankN1

How have Arsenal managed to afford approx 120m pounds on signings and on dross

Cookiemunster

Looks like the Greizmann deal hasn't gone through. He stays at barca for now.

FrankN1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830770#Comment_117830770

Same for Saul...50/50 now

JPA

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830770#Comment_117830770

They have until tomorrow night in Spain.

Mr.Nice Guy

So a year after Barca gave Suarez to Atletico who went on to help them win the league, they go and sell them Griezmann. This is like failing a test when you have the answers.

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830770#Comment_117830770

According to Romano the deal hasn't collapsed and deal will be done

adaminho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830893#Comment_117830893

https://twitter.com/TransferNewsCen/status/1432848252198658054

Done

Agent Coulson

A blast from the past Saido Berahino a man who might have blocked Harry Kane first full season progression in the Spurs team if he had gotten his move to Spurs all those years ago joins Sheff Wednesday in League 1 from a team in Belgium.

The Big Easy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830662#Comment_117830662

Not to mention their treatment of Fati is bordering on negligence.

He was only a kid and they overplayed him, rushed him back from injury and botched his operations. Can't really believe how they've handled him and it remains to be seen how he is on his return.

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830791#Comment_117830791

Not that it makes a difference, but the Spanish window closed at midnight CEST last night. They obviously have a system like England where a deal can be completed once it's in the works when the window closes. There's a reason they were also scrambling to get deals done last night.

eagle eye

One guy saying James was never good enough for United. Well I think he's massively talented and never really was given a chance at United.

Somebody else saying Griezman is finished when it's been clearly evident that the Barca system doesn't work for him.

So my predictions are that James will be fantastic for Leeds and end up at another big club in a couple of years while Griezman leads Atletico to another league title.

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833325#Comment_117833325

James has one thing going for him and that's speed. He's not good enough for a team fighting for Europe.

Actually he's really good at running into defenders as well.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117830798#Comment_117830798

Laporta seems to be uncovering how bad the debt situation is almost daily. 1.35bn as of March and counting. Its mostly short term debt too, so they'll need to get mortgage that I presume and cut the bollox out the squad and wage bill. One thing for sure, they are finished as a super club for a while

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833428#Comment_117833428

I remember when United signed James , there was a debate who will be better James or Wilson at Liverpool ,

Strangely they both country men & both have what the other one doesn't but both need what the other one has ,

James needs Wilson football ability & brain

Wilson needs James speed and aggression

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833325#Comment_117833325

Yeah, really think we’ll see a huge resurgence in Griezmann - with Messi taking up his position at Barca, he was left doing all the stuff that you don’t really want him doing, and not able to do the stuff that made him worth a tonne of money. Just the dumbest buy, that was demonstrably not what they needed right from the get-go there.

James I’m not sold on yet, but he definitely needed to work under a manager that could develop him since he was nowhere near the final product. Not hard to imagine that Bielsa will leave nothing for James to have to figure out himself - he’ll have every decision he should make in every moment drilled into him. And his presence and pace alone automatically forces teams to sit a bit deeper, letting Bamford and Raphina get on the ball closer to goal, quicker. I’ve a feeling almost immediately we’ll see fairly simple repeated patterns from him - “on the ball run to here, cut it back to here”. 25m is a lot given his stagnation, but I guess ya gotta trust Bielsa on this stuff!

Liam O

I thought Harrison was excellent for Leeds last season and James should only be played off the left if he is going to be any type of attacking threat. Would be harsh to drop Harrison though I suppose it provides more options and Harrison seems quite versatile. James I think has scope to have a decent attacking output cutting in from the left if he can get a bit more consistency in his final ball.

yourdeadwright

Reports say United 3 summer signing combined will earn more wages this season than 13 entire Premier league squads ,

Leicester & West ham included in that list,

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833646#Comment_117833646

And? Utd have one of the lowest wages to turnover ratios around. Liverpool had a larger wage bill in the last published figures.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833678#Comment_117833678

There's the whole 'PL bonuses' rabbit hole to go down, but even ignoring all that, it's still quite an interesting factoid. Utd are loaded, and it doesn't matter - they can afford it. But it's an interesting sign of the rapidly growing gap between the bigger teams and the rest. How sustainable is this for competition going forward I wonder?

It's sort of like watching the difference between a sprint, a 1500m, a 5000m, and a 10,000m... there's always been a quality gap obviously, but it feels like we're moving into the equivalent of the longer races, where the gap is getting more and more stark and ugly. In a sprint, ultimately everyone looks credible, even if just the first few had a real shot at winning. But in a 10000m, even though they're all pro athletes, the difference is so stark as to feel like a bunch of totally separate races taking place within the one event. A few lads miles off ahead, then a few more, and all these massive gaps that make everyone else a total irrelevance to everyone but themselves.

What's the PL equivalent of getting lapped?

davemckenna25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833646#Comment_117833646

Would be interesting to see this report, would you have a link?

Personally I'd call bull on it but without figures it's no more than empty speculation. Doubt official wages have been released so people just make up the figures to suit their narrative.

What with Liverpool having a wage bill higher than Utd in 19/20 (last official figures), by £41m, £284m vs £325m, if you were to factor in new signings by both clubs and renewed contracts which must be on bigger terms, then I don't see the wages being off each other by alot this year but do expect Utds to be higher.

All the new contracts will have hit Liverpool in the pocket heavily and I believe this is shown by their lack of activity in the transfer market.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833325#Comment_117833325

The Barcelona system wasnt ideal for Griezmann but he didnt cover himself in glory.

Big ego, rubbed other players up the wrong way.

His decline had already started before he joined Barcelona, his last season at Atletico was statistically his worst there.

Over 30 now, I think he is past it.

Barcelona should have done this deal weeks ago and they could have kept Messi.

Seemingly if Barcelona get 40m for Griezmann in a years time its only an 8m overall financial loss on him.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833892#Comment_117833892

Id believe Ronaldo & Varane's reported wage they will be at least close but surely Sancho isn't picking up that wage ?

DM_7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833646#Comment_117833646

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1430775488100933636?s=20

9/20 wages. How much are Ronaldo, Varane and Sancho supposed to be on per annum?

The larger thread shows the disparity within leagues. Juve compared to others, PSG, top is Spain v bottom.

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1430775533508382724?s=20

Liam O

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833937#Comment_117833937

All well and good what you'd believe, do you have an aul link there though to what you were referencing and felt it was enough to post here?

theoneeyedman

I think I'm right in saying the Liverpool figures include a lot of big bonuses for winning the Champions League in 19 and EPL in 20. Their contracts tend to be built around big bonuses and a lower 'wage' rather than a big contracted 'wage'

davemckenna25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834131#Comment_117834131

Once again do we know that this is actually true or just another rumour. Can't see players on £1m bonus each for winning the league when its worth feck all extra in prize money. Id say the wages to bonus ratio is similar with the top few clubs...but that is only my guess as like everyone else we just don't know.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834199#Comment_117834199

We largely know it from the published accounts, where you see the entire wage bill go up after PL winning, without new contracts having been signed. Swiss Ramble did a great breakdown... there's not many i'd trust more than them for financial reporting.

And I could absolutely see that sort of bonus being in place for a team for whom the holy grail was nailing a league title again. It was worth soooo much more to the club than just the prize money.

In the grand scheme of things though, it's all a bit moot. They're all paying massive wages regardless of how its structured, and how it breaks down year by year and success by success - over any 2 or 3 or 4 year period, those few top clubs are spending oodles more than everyone else. Man City way off in front as you'd expect, with the other 3 jostling around similar figures. I'd expect Chelsea and Utd to have pipped ahead of Liverpool again, but probably not by a huge amount with the new 'pool contracts getting sorted - particularly if Mo's gets over the line soon.

Liam O

I'm sure it's just Liverpool that set their wage structure up like that and not literally every other top team 😜

pjohnson

Ronaldo, Sancho, Varane all getting 1m a week according to some "reports" I'm sure. Like all United players.

davemckenna25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834266#Comment_117834266

Swiss rabble said that Liverpools contracts are heavily leaning on bonuses?

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834081#Comment_117834081

I didn't see the original source but from Twitter the figure of the 3 combined over a year that is doing the rounds is 62.4 million

As i said in the original post its just "reported "

davemckenna25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835236#Comment_117835236

Well then, if a random person put it up on twitter it must be true, sorry for ever doubting you....

But given that in the 19/20 season swiss ramble had Leicester's wages at £157m and West Ham at £127m maybe I was right to doubt you and the reliability of the "report".

Widdensushi

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/man-utd-transfer-ronaldo-sancho-24876324 that's one source, not saying it's reliable but....

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834492#Comment_117834492

More or less, yeah; "Despite the revenue fall, #LFC wage bill rose £16m (5%) from £310m to £326m. Highly incentivized bonus scheme for winning the Premier League, Champions League, etc."

From this monster thread on it all; https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1387289838781714432

And we can also add to that the knowledge we have ourselves that the key players hadn't signed new deals in that time (hence why so many are getting renewed now before it gets too late), leaving the increase to be primarily from the highly incentivized bonus schemes Swiss Ramble mentioned.

As I mentioned though it's all kind of neither here nor there, however anyone structures them, or what wins or losses occur in one year versus the next, all the big lads are ultimately spending an absolute fcktonne regardless in the grand scheme of things. They'll jocky for position year on year, but there's none of them paupers when it comes to wages. Leaving the rest of the league (and quite a few other leagues) in the dust, in a not entirely good way.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835586#Comment_117835586

Its not a random person theres numerous rags now reporting it but they obviously lifted the story from else where

Why is everyone so techy about it i made sure to say "reports" what ever United decide to pay someone its not a go at you or a reflection of your character, as the young lad says its all breezy

davemckenna25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835620#Comment_117835620

Just from a quick look did Minamino not sign that summer and add to the wage bill, plus Origi, Philips, Matip, Gomez and Milner not renew contracts which would all have added to the wage bill.

£16m isn't that much, Minamino alone is quoted as on £3.9 a year. Give the others an average of 40k a week increases and the £16m is nearly used up.

https://www.spotrac.com/epl/liverpool-fc/contracts/

davemckenna25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835672#Comment_117835672

No one is techy about it, just pointing out how it is completely wrong and way off the mark it is. But that was obvious before doing any research on it.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835747#Comment_117835747

How much are each on a week so?