ponsaelius

No player is ever untouchable at Atalanta. They are ultimately a small club (although without doubt the best run club in Italy with the best academy) and their model is that they do sell. They generally sell on their terms though as they don't have any financial issues. I think with Scalvini they would rather keep him and hope he develops further rather than sell at a perceived dip in value.

Definitely agree on a limit on squad sizes of players owned by the club over the age of 21 - I have said this for years. A limit on transfers per year would also make sense. Unfortunately with multi club ownership they're basically already ahead of the game on any of these rules being brought in. It is a shambles though. These clubs have got themselves into position of power with huge spending headroom through previous baked in growth and revenue from pre-PSR days. It then gives them freedom to sign numerous players at the right age/price they don't need or even plan on playing, just because they're a good investment, to then be punted on for a profit. And accumulating so many players in a market where everybody is after the same profile means they actually control supply.

The Al Ahly - Porto highlights are nuts

I wouldn't take any of those 'injuries' before last season listed on Transfermarkt with any seriousness. Just a very young player having their physical load managed in a good team. Up until last season he had played a lot of football for a player of his age anywhere, nevermind in a league that notoriously doesn't trust young players. I agree it's a risk as to whether he shows he can recover from last season's injuries. I would also say that up to now he's only really played in a back three.

Where have you got those stats from? From age 17-20 he played over 100 games which is almost unheard of in Italy for a young player to be trusted to that degree. He did have however just have two serious injuries. An ACL he got just before the Euros then a serious shoulder injury literally just after coming back. It's definitely a risk to sign any player who has basically missed a year of football - but we did it with Tino to success.

40 year old Cazorla on minimum wage 15 mins away from getting promoted to La Liga with his local club Oviedo

People had exactly the same attitude about the European Cup once upon a time. Same also goes for the actual World Cup. The sport has become the undisputed global game ever since Rous and the old colonial attitudes were booted out because FIFA have continually pushed its global appeal and spread. Hard to separate that reality from the level of corruption that has developed over the same time but it's absolutely true. A Club World Cup once every four years in principle is anything but a shit idea imo. Far more palatable to me than an expanded and bloated CL calendar or money-spinning friendlies between clubs from the same league that are already now the norm anyway.

It's been planned for a while tbf. Not really any excuse for it to be so slapdash from a production point of view. My only other bugbear is the inclusion of Auckland City. They're clearly the only completely non competitive outfit, which is inevitable given they're entirely amateur. Including an Oceania team is tokenistic and silly. Theres a pro team in Auckland that plays in the Aussie A-league that would batter them (plus one in Wellington). Think the OFC champions should have to play off against an Asian team and/or the NZ A-League sides first. Gives them participation, without actually having to have a team there getting battered stupidly.

I think it should be played a bit later and basically allow it to be effectively the pre-season for the UEFA clubs (as intertoto was for us) would make more sense. Maybe a Eurocentric view admittedly.

Not watched a full match but begrudgingly quite enjoyed watching the highlights of the CWC. The fans of South American, Japanese and African clubs have been really impressive. The principle of it is good, and I do think having this proper tournament once every four years is better than the truncated (and basically tokenistic) mini version in the middle of every season. Main issue is the distorting finances behind it and also I just can't see how the scheduling isn't just too much for players.

Would cost daft money unfortunately with how long he has on his contract and the fact they're already getting big money for Mbeumo. 50-60 million easily.

Starting to feel like we're very slow off the blocks like.

Better than Guehi (never seen him actually play)

Ranking is based on last four seasons performance ranking but you can't have more than two teams from one country (unless they all won the CL/Libertadores/equivalent - as is case of the Brazilian teams). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_FIFA_Club_World_Cup_qualification Working down you ultimately get to Salzburg in 18th due to process of elimination. I'm sure they'll make sure to close that loophole next time and allow more teams from one country.

Yeah the Brazilian teams are last four winners of the Libertadores.