Offering Paul Pogba to his club’s rivals is a classic, aggressive Mino Raiola trick. But does this join up some of the dots when it comes to the deterioration in the player’s form?The first time Zlatan Ibrahimovic met Mino Raiola, the agent who has looked after his business for the last 15 years, was when a journalist friend, Thijs Sleiger from Voetbal International, had set them up with a meeting at the Okura hotel in Amsterdam. Ibrahimovic’s former agent, Anders Carlsson, had blown the previous arrangement by offering his client, then a player at Ajax, a move to Southampton (to which the young Zlatan apparently replied: “What the fuck! Southampton! Is that my level?”) The next guy, Ibrahimovic had been...
The French midfielder sat out the dying moments of the thrilling 3-1 victory at Arsenal but will be sorely missed for the Manchester derby and beyondA French midfielder with massive presence sent off in an intense match between Manchester United and Arsenal reflected on his emotions in the dressing room, mind whirring while the latter stages of the game was played without him. “It’s tough, especially in a big moment like that,” he said. “You feel like you let the team down. There are so many emotions going through your mind, and everything is negative – I was so mad about the red card.” As it happens, those words belong to Patrick Vieira, who experienced the frustration of being dismissed –...
Mourinho is apparently a happy manager and can be delighted with Lukaku’s start but expect frustration if at least one more signing is not made swiftlyTottenham Hotspur are “big favourites” for the Premier League while Manchester United have only a fighting chance and are inferior to Real Madrid and Barcelona. Related: José Mourinho: Manchester United are not at Real Madrid or Barcelona’s level Continue reading...
The 2016-17 season still had its drama – moments of brilliance and booming narrative arcs to be resolved – but it was less title race than well-ordered title jogFarewell, then, to the year that almost was. This was a Premier League season that sparked with a controlled excitement, never quite caught fire but still dished up another digestible slice of high-end product.Things kept on almost happening. Leicester City almost completed the most dramatic title-plus-relegation act of all time. But then it was all sort of OK. Marco Silva almost pulled off a minor managerial miracle – but somehow not quite. To great fanfare Tottenham Hotspur pulled to within one victory of being quite close to creeping up on Chelsea’s shoulder at...
The £90m French midfielder has had a tough time in England this season and he struggled again to justify his lofty valuation against Celta VigoIt cannot be easy wearing the tag of world’s most expensive footballer, and it may turn out the detailed transfer fee revelations of the past few days prove a blessing in disguise for Paul Pogba.Since Manchester United brought him back in such costly fashion last summer there has been a background muttering for most of the season to the effect that he does not actually look like a £90m player. José Mourinho keeps saying that he will, one day, while United’s many detractors and even one or two of their supporters feel that pushing the boat...