Weekly Football News Catch Up: January 22: Neymar Names Biggest Flop In Football History; Real Madrid To Offload 4 Players Season Ending; British Billionaire To Buy Manchester United; Others

Neymar Names Biggest Flop In Football History

Paris Saint-Germain forward, Neymar has come under fire from French football pundit Daniel Riolo, who calls him the biggest failure in the history of football.

Sunday’s match between PSG and Rennes ended in a 1-0 loss for PSG, who started Neymar alongside Lionel Messi.

Riolo criticized Neymar after PSG’s defeat to Rennes, claiming that he only played well in the first half of the current campaign because he had the FIFA World Cup of 2022 to prepare for.

Riolo said, “He made fun of all the PSG supporters by having a good half-season because he had a World Cup to prepare for.

“In terms of recruitment, transfer, salary, it’s the biggest flop in the history of football.”

Neymar had 15 goals and 12 assists prior to the 2022 World Cup break, but he has only added one more assist since the league resumed.

Mourinho Mocks Chelsea’s €100 Million Signing

Jose Mourinho, the manager of Roma, has taken a shot at Chelsea’s €100 million (£88.5 million) purchase of Mykhailo Mudryk.

Arsenal’s attempt to sign Mudryk was thwarted when the Blues reached a deal with Shakhtar Donetsk to pay £62 million upfront and an additional £26.5 million in add-ons.

Chelsea has now spent around £400 million under new co-owner Todd Boehly.

Following Roma’s 2-0 win against Fiorentina, Mourinho said: “We need to find a solution, we can’t just buy Mudryk for €100m!”

“I worked at clubs with sorts of practically limitless funds. There are more and more clubs nowadays that fit that profile, but it’s not our profile. We work, we give our all, we work with the characteristics we’ve got.”

Mourinho led Chelsea for two different periods under former owner Roman Abramovich, who was quick to pay enormous transfer sums for players.

Real Madrid To Offload 4 Players Season Ending

Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of Real Madrid, has identified the four players he believes are unimportant to his objectives this year.

Diario AS (via Madrid Xtra) reports that Ancelotti has no plans for players like Eden Hazard, Jesus Vallejo, Mariano Diáz, and Alvaro Odriozola this season.

This is true despite the Italian having one of the smaller teams in recent Real Madrid history.

According to the report, Los Blancos only have 19 players on their roster this season.

The four in question have scarcely played any games under Ancelotti. Their current future at Real Madrid is in jeopardy due to their disinterest in Ancelotti’s.

Hazard is the player in the ranks with the most reputation.

The Belgian player transferred from Chelsea to Real Madrid in 2019, in a transaction of around €115 million.

However, Hazard’s inability to duplicate his Premier League performance in Spain is a result of his frequent injuries and inconsistent play.

He has only played seven times for the defending UEFA Champions League champion this year.

Vallejo, Mariano Diaz, and Odriozola, on the other hand, have combined for the club this season in just eight appearances across all competitions.

British Billionaire Formally Joins Enters The Race To Buy Manchester United

A company owned by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos, has formally entered the race to purchase Manchester United from the Glazers.

“We have formally put ourselves into the process,” an Ineos representative said in a statement to the PA news agency (via the Independent) after the news was confirmed.

Man United had formally acknowledged in a statement in November of last year that the team has been put up for sale.

According to the statement, the board was exploring various strategic options, such as fresh funding or a full sale of the club.

The Glazer family’s 18-year ownership of the Red Devils would come to an end with the proposed sale.

As an alternative to a complete sale of the Premier League giants, they may explore investments.

Sergio Busquets Rejects Big Offer To Move To Al Nassr

Sergio Busquets, the captain of Barcelona, reportedly turned down a chance to play alongside former Manchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr.

Busquets had been recently connected to a move to Al-Nassr.

The player reportedly declined an offer that would have earned him a cool 20 million euros, according to Catalunya Radio.

The Spanish midfielder’s plans for next season are yet unknown, but he appears set to finish the season at Barcelona.

Busquets’ present contract with Barcelona will come to an end on June 30 of this year.

The 34-year-old has not yet made up his mind about the future or committed to a new deal with Barcelona.

Both Xavi, the manager, and Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, have expressed a desire for Busquets to stay at Camp Nou, but it’s likely that the veteran player will have to accept a wage cut to do so.

Inter Miami is also rumoured to be interested in Busquets in addition to Al-Nassr.

Jesse Lingard Shades Manchester United; Says They Are Far Behind

In an explosive interview, English footballer Jesse Lingard attacked his previous team Manchester United, claiming the organization is ‘behind’ other premier league powerhouses.

The attacker from Nottingham Forest who left United in July of last year launched an attack on the team, saying they are lost in the past and have lost all control ever since Sir Alex Ferguson left.

He said in an interview with The Diary of a CEO Podcast that United briefed the media against him after a loan agreement with Newcastle fell through in January.

The arrangement, according to Lingard, “was done” until United’s Director of Football John Murtough called to say he would no longer be departing and questioned as to if his motive for leaving was to take “days off.”

“I wanted to go on loan in January, because I wasn’t playing – again – and Newcastle was on the cards,” Lingard told the podcast.

“The deal was done and everything, but obviously the United squad wasn’t big enough.

“So, they let a couple of players go out on loan, but when it came to me, John Murtough rang and said ‘No, you’re not going on loan.’

“I was like, ‘Well, he’s gone on loan – let me go and enjoy my football as I’m not playing here.’ He asked ‘What do you want, days off?’ and I said ‘No, I just want to go and play football.’

“So, then they stopped the loan – I was pissed – and when he said ‘Did I want days off’, so I messaged him and said ‘I am going to take two days off now, just because you said that’.

“Then they put out ‘Jesse’s asked for two days off in the media,’ I was like ‘what?’ I went on Twitter straight away and put the facts out there.’

After spending 23 years at Manchester United, Lingard eventually departed the team in July 2022, making an unexpected move to the newly promoted Nottingham Forest.

Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge when Lingard first joined Manchester United, but he feels the club has declined since he left the position.

“There was no control. When Ferguson was there, it was full control. A fortress – everything went through him. Contracts, commercial deals, everything.

“Of course, generations change, players grow up and people have a voice. When things are getting said about you that are not true, you are going to voice your opinion.

“It wouldn’t have happened back in the day – it would have been squashed there and then with Sir Alex. But now, people have got platforms to voice their own opinion and write what they want.”

The 30-year-old feels that United cannot compete with its modern rivals.

He said, “They’re so behind on everything. You see City’s facilities, Tottenham’s facilities…people are miles ahead. Even the social side of things.

“I went to them in 2017 about YouTube and doing content – I just wanted them to get up to date with everything and the new things that are happening. You have to be relevant and stay relevant.”

In addition, Lingard used his close friend and former United player Paul Pogba, who had little impact during his time in the team, as an illustration of how far the team had descended.

“There was no control, no structure, people doing what they want – it was like a free-for-all,” he said.

“People saying stuff that had never happened at United, people saying stuff on Twitter, what happened with Paul – he got a lot of scrutiny but the guy is one of the best midfielders in the world.

“I’ve known him since he was like 16 – the kid has got talent, one of the best midfielders in the world and still he can’t perform at United. So there’s something wrong in some ways if he can’t perform. Then during the season he goes to France and sees how he plays there. I can’t say what it is. I enjoyed my time under Jose there.

“We don’t know [who’s calling the shots],” Lingard revealed. “And of course now they want to sell the club. We were just behind on a lot of things. Players didn’t really take a view.

“You want that modern things, you want the things that are popping off at the time but we don’t know who calls the shots on the training ground and that sort of thing. Flash training ground, best facilities, no one talking in the press about the team.”