⚽ General Football News - 2020-21 Season Open Thread

Barcelona stars ‘will earn £112m LESS this season’

Barcelona’s deal with current stars to take wage cuts and ease their financial crisis following the Covid-19 outbreak could see the Spanish giants still paying back players up to four years after leaving the club.
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After months of negotiations and being open to taking cuts, Barca players agreed late in November to take a wage deferral that amounted to around £112m in lost earnings, having rejected an initial offer of £170m and then £130m to try and cover a financial black hole at the Nou Camp.

But the nature of the money saving measure in the short term has been disclosed, with the playing staff taking the £112million hit for this season, and then to be paid back in full over the next four years, regardless if they are still with the club, according to Marca.

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Edin Terzic gets off to a winning start at Borussia Dortmund - very different from Saturday’s performance: quick tempo, pressed high and direct in the opening 20 minutes. Had just 24 hours to prepare for tonight’s game vs Werder Bremen.

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:x: 2-0 vs Liverpool
:handshake: 3-3 draw vs. Southampton
:handshake: 0-0 draw vs. Man United
:handshake: 0-0 draw vs. Tottenham
:x: 1-0 loss vs. Everton
:x: 2-1 loss vs. Wolves

Chelsea have failed to beat every team they’ve faced this season who sit above 12th in the Premier League table.

:grimacing::grimacing::grimacing:

IMG_20201216_115432

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OFFICIAL: Slaven Bilic has been sacked as West Brom manager.

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Manchester United to provide 80,000 meals for vulnerable families. Following Rashford’s lead United going big in their help for their community.

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OFFICIAL: Kai Rooney, son of Wayne, has signed a contract with Man Utd.

(:camera: via WayneRooney)

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Who tops the latest POWER RANKINGS after another week of Premier League action?

Each week throughout the 2020-21 season, Sportsmail brings you a Power Rankings table, listing the top-10 hottest players in the Premier League.
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As the stories of the season unravel, the rankings will provide a form guide with players moving in and out of the top 10 depending on both their performances in the previous fixtures and also in recent weeks.

After another action-packed weekend of Premier League football, none of the traditional big six teams managed to win.

Liverpool and Tottenham were held to draws by Fulham and Crystal Palace, the Manchester derby ended 0-0, Chelsea were beaten by Everton and Arsenal lost at home to Burnley. Meanwhile, both Leicester and Southampton continued their fine starts to the season with victories.

With all of that in mind, how do Sportsmail’s latest batch of Power Rankings look?
10. Che Adams (new entry)
9. Wilfried Zaha (non-mover)
8. Kevin De Bruyne (down one)
7. James Maddison (new entry)
6.Mohamed Salah (non-mover)
5. Son-Heung min (down two)
4. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (non-mover)
3. Jamie Vardy (up two)
2. Bruno Fernandes (non-mover)

  1. Harry Kane (non-mover).
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Bayern Munich became the only team unbeaten at home for all of 2020.

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Robert Lewandowski has scored more goals against Wolfsburg than any other bundlesliga team.

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Barcelona ‘ready to sell’ Philippe Coutinho and set transfer deadline.

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Barcelona are ready to sell Philippe Coutinho and have set a transfer deadline for one to be completed.
It will come as good news to a club such as Arsenal, who are desperate for a player with creativity.

That was the verdict from technical director Edu, who tried to sign Coutinho in the summer.

Barcelona had no interest in letting the Brazilian go at the time.

The playmaker had just helped Bayern Munich win the Champions League on loan and Ronald Koeman wanted to give him a chance.

But it has not quite worked out for the ex-Liverpool star, who has scored just twice in La Liga.

However, his form is not the sole reason why Barca are prepared to sell Coutinho.

According to Sport, the Catalan giants are looking to offload the 28-year-old due to financial problems at the club.

Prior to the coronavirus crisis, Barcelona were in a sticky situation with a serious lack of funds and that has only been exasperated by the current predicament.

Coutinho, who was signed for a fee of up to £148m, still retains a high transfer value.

Though they would have little chance of recouping the amount they spent on him in Janaury 2018, he is currently valued at £54m - according to Transfermarkt.

And for a player that is not first-choice, Barcelona chiefs believe they should cash in to get the best out of the market.

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Did u Know? Milan’s Leao scored the FASTEST GOAL in the history of Serie A at 6.2 seconds

Milan’s Rafael Leao scored the FASTEST GOAL in the history of Serie A at 6.2 seconds

The Portuguese striker has set a new record for the fastest-ever Serie A goal having found the net after only six seconds at the Mapei Stadium.

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Luis Suarez scores brace to become top scorer

Luis Suarez scored a brace for Atletico Madrid in their 3-1 win over Elche on Saturday, which puts the Uruguayan at the top of LaLiga Santander’s scoring chart.

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Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the top scorer for:

:white_check_mark: Real Madrid
:white_check_mark: Portugal
:white_check_mark: Europe’s top 5 leagues
:white_check_mark: Champions League
:white_check_mark: UEFA Euro
:white_check_mark: FIFA Club World Cup
:white_check_mark: European competitions
:white_check_mark: FIFA competitions
:white_check_mark: UEFA competitions
:white_check_mark: Europe World Cup Qualifiers
:white_check_mark: Euro qualifying

THE GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL TIMES :raised_hands:

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ON THIS DAY: In 2019, Liverpool became the first English team to complete the continental treble.

:trophy: Champions League
:trophy: UEFA Super Cup
:trophy: Club World Cup

The first time they’ve ever won the Club World Cup.

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On this day in 2012, Leo Messi scored his 91st and final goal of the year—a record that may never be broken.

And he did it in 69 games :exploding_head:

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TOP GOALSCORERS IN TOP 5 LEAGUES

:trophy:🇽🇪 English Premier League
-Mohamed Salah - 13 goals
-Son Heung-Min - 11 goals
-Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 11 goals
-Jamie Vardy - 11 goals
-Harry Kane - 9 goals

:trophy::es: Spanish La Liga
-Gerrard Moreno - 8 goals
-Lago Aspas - 7 goals
-Mikel Oyarzabal - 7 goals
-Karim Benzema - 7 goals
-Luis Suarez - 7 goals

:trophy::it: Italian Serie A
-Cristiano Ronaldo - 12 goals
-Romelu Lukaku - 11 goals
-Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 10 goals
-Andrea Belotti - 9 goals
-Ciro Immobile - 8 goals

:trophy::de: Germany Bundesliga
-Robert Lewandowski - 12 goals
-Erling Haaland - 10 goals
-Andrea Silva - 9 goals
-Wout Weghorst - 9 goals
-Lucas Alario - 8 goals

:trophy::fr: France Ligue 1
-Klyan Mbappe - 11 goals
-Boulaye Dia - 9 goals
-Memphis Depay - 8 goals
-Karl Ekambi - 8 goals
-Gael Kakuta - 7 goals

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Ronaldo and Lewandowski have scored 91 goals combined in 2020.

The same amount Messi scored on his own in 2012 :exploding_head:

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The Most valuable Leagues in the world.

Thoughts on this? :thinking:

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Andre-Pierre Gignac has became thge first-ever European to win CONCACAF Champions League since the format switched. It’s astonishing that it has never happened before.

Gignac achieved when Liga MX club Tigres UANL won CONCACAF CL defeating LAFC in final. He also won Golden Boot for the league overtaking his counterpart from the final Carlos Vela.

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Most assists in Europe’s top five leagues this season:

:black_flag:󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harry Kane (10)
:belgium: Kevin De Bruyne (7)
:fr: Kingsley Coman (7)
:de: Thomas Muller (7)

Kane leads the way.

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