All posts by n8rngtd.top

Virgil van Dijk is being driven “crazy” by a Lionel Messi jibe at Liverpool, with Mohamed Salah and Alexis Mac Allister tormenting their captain.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Dutch defender faced Argentina at 2022 World Cup
• Involved in fiery quarter-final contest
• Continues to be reminded of events from that day

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, commanding centre-half Van Dijk formed part of the Netherlands squad that came up against Argentina at the quarter-final stage. A fiery encounter saw 18 cards handed out, as the Albiceleste prevailed on penalties, and arguments carried over into the tunnel.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Messi famously clashed with Dutch striker Wout Weghorst, branding him a “fool” during a spicy clash in the tunnel, and Mac Allister has – with the help of Egyptian colleague Salah – been quick to remind Van Dijk of that fact at every opportunity.

• WHAT MAC ALLISTER SAID

  Mac Allister, who savoured global glory in the Middle East alongside Messi, has told programme of winding up a club colleague at Anfield: “Me and Salah, all day long are saying 'Anda Pa Alla Bobo!' [What are you looking at fool] to Van Dijk. We are driving him crazy and we also do that among ourselves.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  The incident in question was captured by cameras on Netflix’s ‘Captains of the World’ documentary, as Messi refused to shake Weghorst’s hand, and will go down in World Cup folklore – with Van Dijk unlikely to escape the episode any time soon due to antics of his supposed friends on Merseyside.

Chelsea could accept a ban from UEFA competitions next season if they qualify for the Europa Conference League, according to a new report.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Chelsea could qualify for Conference League
• Would bring them under European Profit and Sustainability rules
• Chelsea may accept ban instead of playing

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Per , Chelsea are only currently bound by the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR), which allow for losses of up to £105m ($133m) over three years. They met that objective last season and have maintained they will again meet the threshold this year. However, if they were to qualify for the Europa Conference League by winning the Carabao Cup this weekend, they would then be bound by UEFA's PSR rules.

  Under those regulations, Chelsea can only lose up to £68.5m ($86m), a significant squeeze on their current obligations, and it has been speculated that the club could now look to avoid playing in Europe altogether next season.

Advertisement

• THE EXPLANATION

  As Kieran Maguire, a financial expert, explained to , Chelsea could receive more financial freedom if they follow AC Milan's example. The Serie A club breached FFP three times, per UEFA, and the two parties reached a compromise that allowed the Italian side to sit out one year of Europa League football in 2019. Normally, clubs would be banned for two years for such an offence but Chelsea may find it productive to try to strike a similar deal with the European governing body if they beat Liverpool this weekend. The Conference League winners last season were West Ham and they were paid £16m for their win; Chelsea earned £82m by reaching the round of 16 of the Champions League last season.

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT KIERAN MAGUIRE SAID

  Maguire said: “It could be in Chelsea’s interests to do the same as Milan. We’re moving into the realms of three-dimensional chess here, which some clubs are capable of playing.

  “By the time you pay the players’ bonuses for qualifying for the competition, transport, accommodation and other costs, you’re only making a small amount of money from the Conference League. You’ll struggle to get a decent number of fans to attend Stamford Bridge if the opposition is modest. That isn’t a criticism of them. It’s modern-day economics.

  “If they are exceeding the UEFA limits, the question becomes: ‘Do we want to go and play in the Conference League next season?’. Because they won’t make any money from it.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  If they beat Liverpool this weekend, the Blues will qualify for the Conference League play-offs. They are currently 10th and any chance of qualifying for Europe through the league appears remote.

Phil Parkinson is “very excited” about the Kop End projects that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are piecing together at Wrexham.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Welsh outfit updating famous stadium
• Set to welcome more supporters through the turnstiles
• Atmosphere will improve again as a result

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  SToK Racecourse is in the process of undergoing a serious facelift, with a tired old stand behind one of the goals about to be brought into the 21st Century. That redevelopment remains a work in progress, with a stop-gap solution being sought for now that allows more supporters to head through the turnstiles.

Advertisement

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  A temporary stand has been constructed in North Wales, with the hope being to offer a pre-Christmas boost to loyal supporters when a further 2,289 tickets are made available for a derby date with Newport County on December 23 – with an increased capacity then set to be enjoyed through to the end of the season.

• WHAT PARKINSON SAID

  Red Dragons boss Parkinson has said of ramping up what is already a passionate atmosphere: “I'm so pleased, when the supporters arrive at the ground there's a different feel to the place. We're very excited about getting the supporters in there. When you look at it, there's a lot of people who support the club who have been unable to get tickets and this enables over 2,000 [to be] in the ground, but also it enhances the atmosphere around the stadium and that's what the Racecourse is all about.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Wrexham’s capacity is about to nudge above 12,000 for the first time in 16 years, with the new 5,500 all-seater Kop End set to replace a structure that has been out of commission since 2007. Red Dragons supporters have had plenty to get excited about of late, leading to regular sell-outs, and the club are currently flying high in League Two as they push for back-to-back promotions.

The ultimate piece of Lionel Messi memorabilia is about to go on sale, with a match-worn shirt from the 2022 World Cup final being put up for auction.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• All-time great inspired his country to glory in Qatar
• Jerseys worn along the way going under the hammer
• Record held by Michael Jordan could be broken

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner completed his remarkable medal collection in Qatar when inspiring his country to World Cup glory. Messi walked away with the Golden Ball award as player of the tournament and registered seven vital goals.

Advertisement

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Six jerseys that he wore en route to lifting the most famous trophy in world football are now going under the hammer. Sotheby’s are preparing to auction shirts that Messi wore in the first half of a final showdown with France, a semi-final clash with Croatia, an epic quarter-final against Netherlands, Argentina’s round-of-16 match versus Australia, and two of the Albiceleste’s three group-stage games.

• Getty
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  A portion of the funds raised will go to charity, with it suggested that records could be broken if the collection is sold for upwards of £8 million ($10m). The current record for sports memorabilia stands at £8.1m ($10m) – with Michael Jordan’s iconic Chicago Bulls jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals selling for that figure in September 2022.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• WHAT THEY SAID

  Sotheby’s have said of the collection that they are preparing to part with – as bids are invited between November 30 and December 14: “These match-worn shirts are artefacts of Messi's legacy. They symbolize the culmination of a career filled with hard work, and an undying passion for the beautiful game. Messi's 2022 World Cup journey was about more than just winning; it was about inspiring generations of footballers and fans. In the years to come, these shirts will serve as a reminder of Messi's greatness and the indelible mark he left on the world of football. Worn through the first half of each respective match, they are symbols of triumph and perseverance.”

Chelsea could be punished by the Premier League over payments made during the Roman Abramovich era, which may have breached Financial Fair Play rules.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Chelsea's finances under scrutiny
• Payments made worth "tens of millions of pounds"
• Punishment could include points deduction

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  A recent investigation by has uncovered a number of payments worth "tens of millions of pounds" made over the space of a decade, diverted through Abramovich's offshore vehicles. Beneficiaries of said payments, according to the report, include Eden Hazard's agent, as well as an associate of 2017 Premier League title winner Antonio Conte. It also allegedly involves the transfer dealings for Willian and Samuel Eto'o.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The files were voluntarily surrendered by Chelsea's new owners after they found "incomplete financial information" relating to Abramovich's tenure, which earned them an £8.6million ($10.7m) fine from UEFA. In the long term, however, the ramifications could be more significant. continues that if said payments are found to be in breach of their football rules, such as FFP, then the Premier League could impose strict punishments on the Blues – including a potential points deduction.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Chelsea won 18 major trophies during Abramovich's tenure, which was the most of any English club during that 19-year period. That haul includes five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues, two Community Shields, a FIFA Club World Cup and a UEFA Super Cup.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  The Premier League's investigation is ongoing, meaning the payments must first be found to be in breach of FFP before punishments are decided. With the threat of a potential deduction, Mauricio Pochettino's Blues will look to put some more points on the board after the international break, when they take on injury-hit Newcastle on November 25.

The Athletic’s Crystal Palace reporter Matt Woosnam has told Football FanCast that Patrick Vieira was not the club’s first choice to become their new manager and believes he has accepted that.

The Eagles have appointed the former Arsenal midfielder as their new manager after the departure of Roy Hodgson from his role at Selhurst Park.

Palace endured a long and drawn-out hunt for their new boss, attempting to appoint various managers before eventually settling on bringing in the Frenchman, who has managed New York City FC and Nice prior to his appointment in south London.

There were talks with Nuno Espirito Santo, who has ended up becoming the new Tottenham Hotspur manager after leaving Wolves, while a deal to appoint Lucien Favre, the former Borussia Dortmund boss, also fell apart at the eleventh hour.

Since Vieira’s appointment, Palace have been aggressive in the transfer market, bringing in Marc Guehi from Chelsea and Michael Olise from Reading, while they are also said to be in talks to sign Joachim Andersen from Lyon after his loan spell at Fulham.

And Woosnam believes that Vieira would admit that he was not at the top of the Eagles’ list.

He told FFC: “It wasn’t straightforward, I don’t think it ever is unfortunately. It was a difficult process in the end, obviously initially with Nuno Espirito Santo, where everything seemed to be quite close and then fell down quite late in the process which put Palace back.

“They identified their preferential targets quite quickly after that but the process takes time, but unfortunately it fell down quite late with Lucien Favre, so Vieira was always under consideration but he was never their first choice.

“He would admit that, and he would concede and understand that and appreciate that.”

Many Wolves fans have been flocking to social media to react to a transfer update involving Adama Traore.

Speaking on his podcast The Transfer Window (via Talking Wolves),  football journalist and transfer expert Duncan Castles has claimed that Leeds United have offered £30m to sign the Spain international in the summer window.

However, he also claims that Traore is not interested in a ‘sideways’ move.

Described as ‘so talented’ by former Midlands club manager Nuno Espirito Santo back in November, the winger is capable of winning matches on his own, and so to sell him to a direct rival in the Premier League does not seem like a wise idea.

Granted, Traore did endure a disappointing 2020/21 season by his standards, but the campaign before he scored six goals and made a further 12 assists in 54 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt), which has not been forgotten by the Molineux faithful.

Wolves fans on Traore transfer update

These WWFC supporters gave their reactions as the exit rumour was shared on Twitter, with some loving his comments about a ‘sideways’ move, while others think £30m is simply not enough to sell their prized asset:

“I like this”

Credit: @cal_wolvesfc

“ADAMA HAS BRAINCELLS”

Credit: @Finsabu

“If that’s true that’s brilliant! Well done Adama you just went way up in my valuation! Legend!”

Credit: @stevebird1877

“£30m throw the dart again!”

Credit: @metalliam

“£30m? Jog on.”

Credit: @vexrob

“Cost you £30 million just for the baby oil supply that comes with him”

Credit: @Julian_Cassell

In other news, find out what leaked kit image has Wanderers buzzing here!

The Welcome to Wrexham documentary has earned plenty of plaudits, but it is now being mocked for a wildly inaccurate map of British football clubs.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Dragons star in their own show
• Hollywood co-owners at the helm
• Geographical mix-up causes amusement

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The series, which is produced by Dragons co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, has lifted the lid on goings on in North Wales since a stunning takeover of the club was completed in the spring of 2021. It has followed Wrexham’s adventures on and off the field during a memorable era in the club’s long and distinguished history.

Advertisement

• FX/GOAL composite
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Reynolds and McElhenney have often been the stars of the show – as they are most comfortable on camera – but household names have been made of the likes of star striker Paul Mullin and local pub landlord Wayne Jones.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Welcome to Wrexham – which airs on the FX network – has helped to raise the Dragons’ profile, particularly in the United States, but “questions” are being asked of a bizarre map that has features in series two which is supposed to highlight where certain teams are based in the United Kingdom.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  The map in question has led Premier League outfit Brentford – who are based in west London but sit in the North East according to the Wrexham doc – to quip on social media: “We’re just a bus stop in Hexham.” The likes of Blackburn, Newcastle, Everton, Cardiff and Swansea will also be taking issue with their supposed geographical locations, with fans across the British game being given a good laugh at Wrexham’s expense.

Cristiano Ronaldo made a young Al-Nassr fan's day when he met up with him ahead of their AFC Champions League clash with Persepolis.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Ronaldo met up with fan
• Posed for picture
• Signed boy's Al-Nassr shirt

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The youngster was sporting an Al-Nassr jersey with Ronaldo's name on the back and was escorted into a room where the Portuguese superstar was waiting. Ronaldo posed for a picture and signed the child's jersey.

Advertisement

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The meeting occurred ahead of the Saudi Arabian side's opening Champions League match against Iranian side Persepolis in Tehran on Tuesday. Ronaldo's side are on a five-game winning run heading into the tie.

• WHAT THEY SAID

  "Hey! How are you?" Ronaldo asked when the boy walked into the room. "Are you good? Give me a hug!"

  The young fan even showed off his impression of Ronaldo's famous goal celebration.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Al-Nassr will hope to get their Champions League campaign off to a strong start. They are in a group with Persepolis, Al-Duhail and Istiklol.

Brighton and Hove Albion are preparing an official bid for Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, as reported by the Daily Express.

The Lowdown: Celtic set for change as 2021/22 gets underway

Facing a rebuilding job of sizeable proportions, new Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou could be desperate to offload wantaway players in order to generate funds to build a team capable of challenging for the Premiership title this season.

Kristoffer Ajer is seemingly on the verge of a move to Brentford, whilst Ryan Christie has been linked with Sampdoria in recent weeks.

Could Celtic now be set to lose another key player after recent developments?

The Latest: Brighton in for Edouard as White windfall nears

Brighton are now the latest club to be monitoring Edouard as their summer recruitment drive intensifies. The Seagulls are said to be formalising an offer for the 23-year-old, owing to the sizeable £50m windfall which is expected to arrive once centre-back Ben White finalises his proposed move to Arsenal [Daily Express].

Interestingly, the Premier League outfit will need to pay significantly more than Leicester City’s £13m plus £5m in add-ons for the £19,000-a-week Frenchman, with the Foxes eventually abandoning negotiations in favour of a swoop for Patson Daka [Daily Express].

The Verdict: Celtic should sell Edouard this summer

All things considered, this news could come as a positive to the Celtic hierarchy due to the financial circumstances surrounding the Edouard conundrum.

Free to leave Parkhead as an unattached player in June 2022, the Hoops will surely look to recuperate a profit on the £9m they shelled out for the former Paris Saint-Germain ace in 2018 in order to avoid losing him for nothing next summer.

Edouard enjoyed a stellar 2020/21 season, registering 28 goal contributions in 40 games with 22 goals and six assists [Transfermarkt].

Furthermore, his propensity to be heavily involved in attacking play is clear for all to see. Across the campaign, he averaged an impressive 3.5 shots on goal per match, creating a regular threat for opposition defences [WhoScored].

Once labelled as ‘magnificent’ by former Hoops manager Neil Lennon [Glasgow Live], Celtic will hope to receive a considerable transfer fee for their prolific centre-forward.

In other news, Celtic have opened talks with this England international.