Manchester City – CaughtOffside

Monday a big day for the career of talented Man City forward

Darren Looney — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 09:32:28 +0000

Man City’s Julian Alvarez will make his move to Atletico Madrid official on Monday as the World Cup winner will put pen to paper at the La Liga giants.

The Spanish club reached an agreement with Man City for the Argentina star last week with Atleti set to pay a guaranteed €75m plus €20m in add-ons for the forward.

Alvarez will replace Alvaro Morata at the Metropolitano Stadium following the Euro 2024 winner’s move to AC Milan this summer and the addition of the Man City talent to Diego Simeone’s squad is a huge coup for Atletico Madrid.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Monday is a big day for this transfer as Alvarez will undergo his medical in Madrid and will sign his Atletico contract. The Argentina star will tie himself to the La Liga club with a five-year deal as the forward looks to become the main man at one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

The Argentine has been on holiday over the last week following his participation in the 2024 Olympics and is unlikely to be ready to start in Atletico Madrid’s opening La Liga clash against Villarreal on Monday, August 19.

Man City’s Julian Alvarez is close to completing Atletico Madrid move

Man City’s Julian Alvarez has made a huge decision to leave Manchester

Alvarez’s decision to leave Man City seems like a strange one and it is a choice that will define his career.

The World Cup winner wanted to be more involved in big games with the Premier League champions and if that didn’t come this season, it would have the next as Kevin De Bruyne is likely to leave the Etihad Stadium.

Being only 24, the player has plenty of time and the Atletico move would have always been there.

The forward has sacrificed trophies for minutes on the pitch but will back himself to guide Atleti to titles and that is where the Argentina star can make this transfer a huge success.

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“The decision has been made” – Man City star drops major update on his future

Charlie Patrick — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 22:10:03 +0000

Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has confirmed he will stay at the club following the win over Manchester United in the Community Shield.

City picked up their first piece of silverware of the new season as they beat United 7-6 on penalties after the game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Following the game there was more good news for City as Ederson confirmed he would be staying at the club despite being strongly linked with a move away.

Ederson confirms he’s staying at Manchester City

Ederson had been strongly linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League for the majority of the summer with both Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad expressing interest and some reports had suggested he’d agreed personal terms with Al-Nassr although a fee was never agreed between the clubs.

The 30-year-old also came out on social media to deny suggestions he was affected by praise Stefan Ortega received at the back end of last season as the German came in to replace the injured Brazilian.

On City’s pre-season tour of America Guardiola had expressed his desire for the Brazil international to stay and Ederson has now confirmed he will remain at the Etihad.

Ederson has decided to remain at City despite being linked with a move away.

“The decision has been made,” he told ESPN Brazil.

“I will stay at Manchester City this season, I spoke to Pep and it was crucial, I’m happy to stay, fully focused on winning more titles here.

“I also spoke to the board, directors, teammates and I’m staying.”

Ederson has been at City since 2017 after joining from Portuguese giants Benfica and has been a mainstay for Pep Guardiola between the sticks.

The keeper has won six Premier League titles, the Champions League as well as multiple League and FA Cups.

Manuel Akanji names Man City’s shock best penalty taker after Community Shield win

CJ — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 16:47:09 +0000

Manuel Akanji earned some redemption with the winning penalty to deliver the Community Shield for Manchester City on Sunday.

Akanji missed from the spot as Switzerland lost to England on penalties in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals this summer.

However, the centre-back stepped up and made it 7-6 for City against arch-rivals Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday, following a 1-1 draw in normal time.

“I let the others shoot first because obviously when you miss a penalty, you don’t go into the next one with that much confidence. I told Ederson I would shoot it down the middle in training so I did it and it went in,” Akanji told ITV (via BBC Sport) after the match.

“It wasn’t easy. We played well, United got a bit better before it went to 1-0. Then it was a great cross from Oscar [Bobb] and Bernardo’s header.”

Man City 1-1 Man Utd player ratings: Akanji redemption as Red Devils keep unwanted Community Shield record

Who is Man City’s best penalty taker?

Although Akanji scored the winning penalty, there’s no doubt goalkeeper Ederson was City’s star man in the shootout.

The Brazil international took a while to get going but denied Jadon Sancho with United’s fourth effort.

Ederson’s best moment was yet to come, however, as he stepped up and emphatically beat opposite number Andre Onana with City’s fifth spot-kick.

After the shootout, Ederson was Akanji’s shock pick as Man City’s best penalty taker — though given his ability on the ball, that shouldn’t be too surprising.

“Ederson is probably the best penalty taker in our team, Erling [Haaland] as well. When Ederson takes the penalty I know it is a goal,” said Akanji.

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Man City 1-1 Man Utd player ratings: Akanji redemption as Red Devils keep unwanted Community Shield record

CJ — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 16:22:48 +0000

Manchester City won the Community Shield for the first time since 2019 with a 7-6 penalty shootout win over Manchester United following a 1-1 draw at Wembley on Sunday.

Following a slow-burn first half and a host of missed chances after the break — including a big one from Marcus Rashford — substitute Alejandro Garnacho gave United the lead in the 82nd minute following a driving run at the heart of the City defence.

However, that lead would last just seven minutes as fellow sub Bernardo Silva headed home City’s equaliser at the far post to force a shootout.

Bernardo missed City’s first spot-kick, but Pep Guardiola’s men remained perfect from there, with Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans missing for United.

City have now ended a run of three straight defeats in the Community Shield, while United remain the only side to lose four in a row (1998-2001).

Here are the full player ratings as Manchester City lifted yet another trophy.

Man City vs Man Utd player ratings — Community Shield

Man City (4-3-3)

Ederson – 7/10 – Could do nothing about Garnacho’s goal, wasn’t really tested otherwise. Sent Onana the wrong way in the shootout after denying Sancho.

Rico Lewis – 7/10 – Search ‘Rico Lewis’ on X and you’ll see a lot of divided opinion on his performance here. For the record, he was pretty solid.

Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – Desperately tried to block Garnacho’s shot for the goal but couldn’t make up the ground in time. The goal definitely wasn’t his fault, though. Gained some redemption for his penalty shootout miss against England at Euro 2024 by scoring the winning effort here.

Ruben Dias – 5/10 – Didn’t cover himself in glory on the goal, allowing Garncho to go by him and cause a terrible mix-up with Gvardiol. An excellent penalty in the shootout, however.

Josko Gvardiol – 4/10 – As above.

Mateo Kovacic – 8/10 – Probably Man City’s best player. Moved the ball quickly and tried to drive through the lines, while always looking alert to loose balls. Needed Rodri next to him, in all honesty.

Nico O’Reilly – 6/10 – Didn’t quite get into the game as much as he’d have liked, but O’Reilly will be happy with what was a solid debut.

James McAtee – 8/10 – Misplaced just one of his 30 attempted passes and almost got on the scoresheet, but was desperately unlucky to see his curling effort hit the post.

Oscar Bobb – 8/10 – Direct and electric, always looking to make something happen. Final ball was sometimes dreadful but he got it right to set up Bernardo’s equaliser.

Erling Haaland – 3/10 – No shots, no chances created, no impact. At least he scored in the shootout.

Jeremy Doku – 7/10 – Looked lively with his pace, especially in the first half. Lacking a little with his final ball.

Substitutes

Matheus Nunes (63′, for O’Reilly) – 5/10 – Didn’t get going in the final third and picked up a yellow card. Emphatic with his penalty, which even drew a visible reaction from Guardiola.

Pep Guardiola when he saw that Matheus Nunes penalty pic.twitter.com/pq1zWJVxKL

— CoffeeJezus (@CoffeeJezus) August 10, 2024

Savio (63′, for Doku) – 7/10 – Involved in the build-up to Bernardo’s equaliser and gave City fans promising glimpses on his debut. Sent Onana the wrong way with his penalty.

Bernardo Silva (80′, for McAtee) – 8/10 – With five touches of the ball, birthday boy Bernardo Silva managed to level the match with a header and complete 100% of his passes. Couldn’t follow that up in the shootout, missing City’s first penalty with a tame effort.

Kevin De Bruyne (90′, for Bobb) – 6/10 – Didn’t have time to get involved in normal time, but sent Onana the wrong way in the shootout.

Nathan Ake (90′, for Gvardiol) – N/A – No time to get into the game.

Man Utd (4-2-3-1)

Andre Onana – 5/10 – Had precious little to do until Bernardo’s goal in the final moments, which Onana could do nothing about. Denied Bernardo in the shootout but perhaps focused a little too much on his antics than keeping Man City players out for the rest of the contest.

Diogo Dalot – 8/10 – Put in a huge shift defensively and always looked to push forward in support of the attack. Just about squeezed his penalty beyond Ederson.

Harry Maguire – 7/10 – Clean with the ball and looked solid defensively. Only a couple of difficult moments and hopefully a sign of things to come this season.

Jonny Evans – 7/10 – Made it through the full 90 minutes and proved he can once again be a steady option for Ten Hag when required. Well, that’s as long as they don’t let him take any more penalties. A truly dreadful effort.

Lisandro Martinez – 7/10 – An old-fashioned full-back performance from a player out of position but kept things tight with three tackles, two clearances and 100% success on ground duels. Scored his penalty in style.

Casemiro – 8/10 – Looked like a completely different player to last season after what must have been one hell of a summer break. Made a match-high seven tackles, while also making eight recoveries and seven passes into the final third. At the heart of much of United’s best play. Cold as ice with his penalty.

Kobbie Mainoo – 7/10 – Tidy with the ball and worked hard without it, but his Euro 2024 exertions quickly caught up with him after half-time.

Amad Diallo – 6/10 – Lively around the box but his decision-making let him down. Could have scored in the first half but instead tried squaring it to Mount.

Mason Mount – 6/10 – Showed a few flashes of quality in tight spaces but still some way off being fully sharp.

Marcus Rashford – 5/10 – Missed a glorious chance in the second half, scuffing a left-footed effort inside the box onto the post.

Bruno Fernandes – 8/10 – Had a beautiful goal disallowed for offside before going on to provide the assist for Garnacho’s goal. Carved the Man City defence open a few times with his precision passing. Scored in the shootout.

Substitutes

Scott McTominay (59′, for Mount) – 4/10 – Missed a massive chance to kill the game late on but went with his right foot when the left-footed shot was the easier option. Barely touched the ball otherwise. Good penalty in the shootout.

Alejandro Garnacho (59′, for Diallo) – 9/10 – Like Bernardo for City, Garnacho completely changed the game from the bench and deserved his goal. Made no mistake in the shootout.

Toby Collyer (59′, for Mainoo) – 6/10 – A clean and composed debut.

Facundo Pellistri (59′, for Maguire) – 2/10 – Fell asleep at the far post to allow Bernardo his header for the equaliser.

Jadon Sancho (83′, for Rashford) – 3/10 – Didn’t get into the game and was denied by Ederson in the shootout.

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Man City eyeing up a move for Frenchman who earns €20m in wages

Saikat Chatterjee — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 13:17:24 +0000

Manchester City are interested in the services of Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are always on the lookout for opportunities to further bolster their squad. While they already have a lot of quality in the final third of the pitch, according to a report from Bild, City are now considering making a move for the services of Kingsley Coman.

The French international has been an integral part of their first team since joining them back in 2015 from Juventus. It was an initial two-year-long loan spell that became permanent in the summer of 2017. Over the years, he has featured in 294 matches for the German giants and has contributed towards 129 goals (63 goals, 66 assists).

While Coman has played a big part in all the success they have had in recent seasons, he has slowly gone down the pecking order. Injuries have forced him to miss a significant amount of games in recent seasons and while he still has three years left on his deal, Bayern are looking to get him off their books following the arrival of Michael Olise.

The German club are open to a permanent switch as well as a loan move. Due to his lofty €20 million a year salary demands, Bayern are looking for a club that is willing to pay a significant part of his wages and Manchester City are one of the clubs linked with the 28-year-old.

Where will Kingsley Coman ends up?

Coman has already turned down the opportunity to join Fenerbahce. While Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are considering luring him away from Bayern, Manchester City could now look to enter the race for his services.

Pep Guardiola is a big admirer of the former Juventus winger and he is considering signing the French winger on a season-long loan. Since they can surely afford to pay a significant part of his wages, City have a strong chance of securing his signing. However, things are still in the early stages and there is nothing concrete to suggest that he will be playing for the Premier League giants next season.

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Multiple Champions League winner turns his nose up at Man City interest

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 06:36:58 +0000

When Man City come calling invariably they get their man, however, some times having all of the money in the world doesn’t guarantee success in the transfer market.

The reigning Premier League champions have money burning a hole in their collective pockets after the sale of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid, and with the new season just a week away, it’s clear that Pep Guardiola’s side need a high quality replacement.

Such transfers are often hard to come by, particularly at a competitive price, but the Cityzens clearly knew who they wanted to replace the Argentinian.

Rodrygo turns down Man City

Unfortunately for them, as AS report, Real Madrid’s double Champions League winner, Rodrygo, isn’t interested in leaving the Spanish top-flight champions.

At 23, the Brazilian is one of Los Blancos recent success stories along with the likes of Vini Jr. and Jude Bellingham, and with Kylian Mbappe now being added to the mix, it’s clear that Rodrygo fancies Madrid’s chances of doing some damage domestically and in Europe again next season.

Rodrygo has turned down Man City

Given he’d be likely to have to play second fiddle at City, it’s no real surprise that he’s turned down a move to the Etihad Stadium.

Being handsomely paid often appears secondary to players who just want to be out there on the pitch.

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Take Alvarez as the perfect example. According to Capology, he was earning a whopping £100,000 per week, but that still wasn’t enough to keep him at a club that are going to continue going from strength to strength.

Even the pull of working for Pep Guardiola, arguably the greatest coach of his generation and perhaps the best ever has failed to change Rodrygo’s mind.

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Manchester City could be offered Champions League winner with 54 goals & 41 assists to replace Julian Alvarez

Mehdi Gokal — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 17:07:50 +0000

Manchester City could reportedly be handed an opportunity to sign Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, as the Premier League champions look to strengthen their attack.

With Julian Alvarez on the verge of completing an £82 million move to Atletico Madrid, Manchester City are actively searching for a replacement.

The latest report from GiveMeSport suggest that European giants Real Madrid are seriously considering offering Rodrygo to City as a potential replacement for Alvarez.

Rodrygo’s uncertain future at Real Madrid

Rodrygo has been a key player for Real Madrid since joining from Santos in 2019, making 216 appearances and contributing 54 goals and 41 assists.

However, his future at the club has become uncertain following the arrival of French superstar Kylian Mbappé.

The Brazilian forward, who has been a regular in the starting XI, will now face fierce competition for a spot in the starting lineup.

Despite the uncertainty, the report adds that Rodrygo is keen to stay at Real Madrid and fight for his place in the team.

Rodrygo to Manchester City?

Manchester City’s transfer window so far

Manchester City have had a relatively quiet transfer window so far, with Savinho from Girona being their only notable signing.

However, with Alvarez’s impending departure, Pep Guardiola is reportedly keen on two more signings, inlcuding another attacker to his squad before the transfer window closes.

City’s potential interest in Rodrygo could be a sign of their intent to bolster their attacking options as they aim to defend their Premier League title and challenge for the Champions League once again.

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Premier League legend reveals why transfer windows are “anxiety inducing” for players

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 10:29:03 +0000

There are three more weeks to go of the current transfer window, and that means there’s plenty of time for deals to still be done in the Premier League or elsewhere.

Ideally, transfers should be completed as quickly as practicable after a window opens in order for clubs and players to know exactly where they stand, and for all parties to move forward.

The reality is that there are almost always a number of hoops to jump through to get a deal done and that takes time.

Whether it’s agents demanding a bigger slice of the pie, a player wanting guaranteed match time, or a selling club wanting to ensure there’s a sell-on clause, a variety of separate issues can cause a delay.

Transfer windows remain “anxiety inducing” for players

Delays that can be a real problem for players waiting to move.

“Every transfer window is anxiety inducing for a player,” former English top-flight professional, Stan Collymore, told CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“Lots of dead ends… this club are interested in you, then they’re not, then they’ve dropped out of the race altogether and somebody else has come in.

“How it normally works is players basically have a meeting with the managers who are interested in them to talk about the football side, and then the agent sees what they’re prepared to do or not prepared to do, and there’s a hell of a lot of waiting involved.

“There isn’t enough done for players to be able to guide them through the process beyond just being a player.

“In all honesty, even with clubs nowadays, I speak to a lot of younger players and of course they’ve got agents around them and the clubs try their very best with liaison officers to help players settle in – perhaps a little bit more at a club than they used to – but it’s still not enough.

“That’s because there are a lot more countries to move to, players are being bombarded with all sorts of figures and money talks.

“Are they going to a club to be the best footballing version of themselves that they can be, because that should ultimately will guide everything, or are they going to the club that are going to offer them a few more zeros on their pay packet?

“They must do their due diligence.”

Younger players would clearly do well to take on board Collymore’s advice.

As a ex-player that’s been through it himself, the former Nottingham Forest and Liverpool legend speaks from a position of knowledge and authority.

Just because there’s unbelievable amounts of money involved – which could well sway a young man’s desire to move clubs – the process needs to be taken slowly, with accountability on clubs and agents at every step of the way.

The duty of care that doesn’t appear to be there, as Collymore highlights, and that surely has to be delivered as a formal part of the process.

That way, there’s likely to be less stress on the player and deals can be executed more smoothly as a result.

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Premier League salary cap won’t work says former English top-flight great

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 10:08:43 +0000

The amount of money that’s in football these days is quite astonishing, with the Premier League’s top earner, Kevin De Bruyne, taking home a whopping £400,000 per week according to Capology.

In some respects, if that’s the going rate then you can’t really blame the Belgian for taking what he’s worth, though it still leaves a sour taste.

Those that pay their hard earned each week to watch their teams in action arguable have to scrimp and save to do so, and whilst it’s accepted that a top-flight footballer will always be paid well, there’s a question mark as to whether it’s gone too far now.

Premier League salary cap won’t work – Collymore

The idea of a salary cap wouldn’t necessarily be a bad one, though former Premier League great, Stan Collymore, doesn’t believe a cap on an individual’s wages would work.

He does offer a potential workaround, however.

“The problem with a salary cap for me is it’s got to come from FIFA,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“I think if you have got agreement across the big leagues of England, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, that would go some way to having a salary cap implemented, but of course, all it means is you’ll get more and more players going to the Saudi Pro League and picking up their £500k+ per week. So it kind of becomes self sabotaging.

Man city ace, Kevin De Bruyne, is the Premier League’s top earner on a whopping £400,000 per week

“If FIFA said there is going to be a global salary cap, then I think it could work, but I think that FIFA would also have a fight on their hands from from UEFA.

“We need to get there in some way though I worry that just like the creative accounting of certain Premier League clubs – selling or their swapping their best young kids or assets to get around FFP – the clubs will find a way to circumvent this cap.

“What I would like to see is an organisational cap, which HMRC can then can get involved in.

“The organisation, for example Man City, can only spend across all of its assets – whether it be players, staff or anything else – £100m total per year, and if you go over that then you get fined.

“That way you can have some common sense because then clubs have to look around at where they’re spending every penny.”

The money coming into the game clearly has its benefits.

If one looks at the quality of stadiums and pitches across the English top-flight now when compared to 1992 when the Premier League came into existence, the difference is marked.

There is a certain vulgarity, however, to be paying football players nigh-on half a million pounds per week, when the vast majority of the football going public are likely to be subjected to financial hardship at the present time.

If there’s an inability to progress towards a salary cap on player wages, then perhaps Collymore’s suggestion of an organisational cap would at least be something.

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Community Shield isn’t about Man United vs Man City rivalry; true meaning needs to be promoted again says Collymore

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 09:54:14 +0000

Saturday afternoon sees the latest Man United vs Man City match up in the FA Community Shield, the traditional curtain raiser to the new season.

It’s a last opportunity for managers to take a reasonably good look at their starting XIs and see if there are still any last-minute tweaks to be made before the big kick-off.

The reality is that all it is, is nothing more or less than a pre-season friendly for whom the profits go to charity, and that meaning has been lost according to Stan Collymore.

Community Shield has lost its meaning

“This weekend sees the return of the Community Shield, a traditional pre-season friendly that I’m a big fan of,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“I do think that it absolutely shouldn’t be counted as a trophy, however.

“I think we need to tell the likes of Pep Guardiola that this isn’t something that he can count as one of his trophy wins. It’s not about Pep vs Klopp or Pep vs ten Hag either, because we’ve already had that narrative on any number of previous occasions.

“It was originally called the Charity Shield, and the money raised from the game was given to good causes. It still is. So we should promote that angle way more than we do currently.

“This year’s partner is MIND, and there’s a whole four or five days leading up to it where players, instead of talking about the inane rivalry of Man United against Manchester City, should be highlighting the charity and the issues they face etc.

“Let’s be perfectly honest, it’s the last meaningless friendly before the big kick-off, so moving forward, let’s get back to what the Community Shield is all about. Charity.”

Some fifty years ago, back in 1974, Liverpool’s Kevin Keegan was poleaxed by a right hook from Leeds United’s Johnny Giles in what was then known as the Charity Shield, but that’s about the most intense thing to have occurred in the fixture.

It’s supposed to be a game in which players can ease themselves through 90 minutes without picking up any injuries.

With supporters seemingly looking for any chance for one-upmanship, it’s seen the Community Shield evidently take on a more ‘competitive’ feel, and that’s completely missing the purpose of the game.

There are so many other opportunities for the clubs that compete in the Community Shield to go at it hammer and tongs too, so as Collymore suggests, perhaps now is the right time to rediscover the true meaning behind this curtain raiser.

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