Football News: Review Of The Day 12th November 2021

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Review of the Day

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Contracts

Veteran former Real Madrid and Napoli centre-back Raul Albiol has signed a contract extension with Villareal to take him to 2023.

Also extending his deal with Villareal, this time until 2025, is experienced midfielder Manu Trigueros.

Sheffield Wednesday's Liam Palmer has extended his contract until 2023.

Transfers

KV Oostende have agreed a deal to sign New York Red Bulls right-back Kyle Duncan in the January transfer window after his current contract expires.

Arsenal's Matteo Guendouzi has publicly stated he wants to leave the club and make his current loan move to Olympique Marseille a permanent deal. The French international told RMC Sport: "Today, I am on loan and still bound by my contract at Arsenal, but I'm totally focused on what to do with Olympique de Marseille. And yes, it's a club with which I want to project myself into the future and I want to join in the long term. These are discussions that I had already had with the club before signing and I feel very comfortable there. And that's why I want to continue to have fun at Olympique de Marseille. Marseille are the biggest French club, they are a very popular club abroad. I was already followed when I was at Arsenal, but I have felt my notoriety climb since I have been at Marseille. I am greatly proud to be there, I am in one of the best squads in the world, I learn and I progress. I hope to be here for the long term, to make as many squads as possible, to win trophies with the team. The most important thing is to be here long term."

Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo has changed agent. The former Barcelona player has joined Federico Pastorello, who also represents Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.

Injury Round-Up

Stoke City and Australia's Scottish centre-back Harry Souttar looks to be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after being stretchered off late in a World Cup qualifier against the mighty Saudi Arabia. The 23-year-old suffered what is believed to be a serious knee injury.

Germany's Julian Draxler, Leon Goretzka, Manuel Neuer, Marco Reus and Antonio Rudiger are out of the final World Cup qualifier against Armenia on Sunday. Goretzka is out due to a horror tackle when he received a studs up challenge at head height during Germany's 9-0 smashing of Liechtenstein.

Mallorca's US international Matthew Hoppe has been ruled out until January with a muscle injury.

Managerial Changes

Cardiff City have confirmed caretaker manager Steve Morison will remain in charge for the rest of the season. Former Bluebirds player Mark Hudson has returned to the club to work as a first-team coach under Morison.

Steven Gerrard has jumped ship from Rangers, despite saying he would never leave the club mid-season like Brendan Rodgers did to Celtic, to take charge of Aston Villa, despite also saying he would never manage a team that would have to face Liverpool in league competition. Gerrard is also taking his coaching staff of Michael Beale, Gary McAllister, Tom Culshaw, Jordan Milsom and Scott Mason with him.

Frank Lampard has removed himself from contention to take over at Norwich City.

Disciplinary Charges

Neymar has somehow escaped a red card after aggressively chest bumping the referee in anger at a decision made while playing for Brazil.

Xavi's new regime has already moved to improve discipline at Barcelona with French forward Ousmane Dembele fined for arriving 3 minutes late to training on Friday.

Pedro Cortes, a former president of Valencia, has been charged with sexually abusing an underage member of the club's youth team last year. It is alleged he touched the youngster inappropriately while driving in his car. Cortes was president of Valencia from 1997-2001.

Prem To Take Lengthy Mid-Season Break

Next season will see the Premier League take a break of over 6 weeks to accomodate the World Cup, which is being played in Qatar between 21st November and 18th December 2022. The Premier League has announced they will halt after the weeked matches of 12/13 November and resume again on Boxing Day. The season start has also been moved forward a week to 6th August and will finish a week later than usual on 28th May. Both the Champions League and FA Cup finals have been pushed back to June 2023.

Hoeness Hits Out At Al-Khelaifi

Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has hit out at Paris Saint-Germain and their club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in a podcast on his life. Hoeness is asked by an interviewer if he sees anything of himself in Al-Khelaifi: "No, I don't think so; I don't know if he likes football. The difference between him and me? I worked hard to make my money, and he received it as a gift, he insists. We put it at his disposal, and he doesn't have to work for that. When he wants a player, he will find his emir. They will lose again against us. Not always, but from time to time. And that must be our goal. And when we win against [PSG and Man City], that makes me very happy (...) That's what stimulates me, show them: 'Your sh**ty money is not enough.' What is currently happening in Paris is one-year planning. This is not my universe. I see things from an economic point of view. not all my stake at once, just to come and congratulate me for a year or two and after me the flood. When we make decisions, we have to make sure that we still have security in three or four years, that everything does not collapse suddenly."

Bayern In Dispute With Own Fans

Bayern Munich fans have been involved in lengthy protests against sponsorship of the club by Qatar and their annual winter training camps in the Middle Eastern country. On Saturday, a huge banner was unfurled which read "FUR GELD WASCHEN WIR ALLES REIN" (We'll wash anything clean for money) with a depiction of club CEO Oliver Kahn and club president Herbert Hainer putting bloodstained clothing into a washing machine with suitcases full of bank notes around them. Former Bayern CEO Karl Heinz Rummenigge has defended the link up in a way which shows how much the point behind the protests against the club's sportswashing of Qatar's billions has missed him: "We at Bayern Munich have made good money from this contract, money which is necessary for us to pay for the players we need to provide quality on the pitch. I have often flown to Brussels to speak with NGOs about what else we can do and how they see things. They all confirm to me: keep going, don't let up. Of all the Arab states, you have to say that Qatar has made the biggest improvements." In the past club members have tried to have the club's statutes altered to force the club to consider the UN's Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights when signing sponsorship deals, but the attempts were blocked by the club. Bayern have also refused to attend an event in Munich organised by a Bayern club member to discuss the working conditions for migrants in Qatar, even blocking the organiser from attending games due to his ongoing protests about the links. Another Bayern club member, Michael Ott, has now submitted a motion to the club's AGM which demands the club commits to not extending its current sponsorship deals or enter into further deals with Qatari companies.

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Written by Tris Burke November 12 2021 17:11:41