Manchester United are in danger of being without Romelu Lukaku for their midweek encounter with Juventus in the Champions League.
The Belgian forward was excluded from Saturday’s tilt against Bournemouth because of an injury, with manager Jose Mourinho telling reporters that Lukaku picked up an unspecified knock during training on Friday.
“Lukaku yesterday in training, after the press conference – so I was not lying – he felt something that needs to be studied in the next couple of days,” Mourinho said, according to Rob Dawson of ESPN FC.
News of the injury comes just days before United’s crucial Champions League group stage match against Italian giants Juventus on Wednesday. The Premier League side sits five points adrift of top spot in Group H, having fallen 1-0 to the Bianconeri last month.
Lukaku, who was replaced by Alexis Sanchez in United’s starting XI on Saturday, was relegated to the bench ahead of last week’s 3-2 win over his former club Everton.
After scoring four goals in his opening five games, Lukaku has failed to find the back of the net in his last eight appearances across all competitions.
A bombshell revelation from Football Leaks passed through a consortium of worldwide outlets Friday, detailing a series of backroom deals orchestrated by a pair of European giants to circumvent Financial Fair Play (FFP) violations, and secret plans for a “Super League” consisting only of Europe’s heavyweights.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, reigning champions of Ligue 1 and the Premier League, respectively, were reportedly helped by FIFA president Gianni Infantino – then UEFA’s general secretary – to cover up their FFP violations.
According to Der Spiegel, Infantino allegedly held secret meetings with PSG and Manchester City officials and provided them with confidential material while the clubs were being investigated by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body.
The German publication details how Infantino met discreetly with PSG general manager Jean-Claude Blanc in 2014 to discuss how the French club could tweak its contract with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) to avoid serious punishment from UEFA.
Infantino apparently accepted a deal that forced PSG to reduce the value of their contract with QTA – though the resulting figure remained more than 30 times higher than the sponsorship’s “fair value,” established as part of the FPP investigation. PSG was allowed to make up the €115-million reduction with new sponsors, which were again mostly from Qatar, but that wasn’t included in the settlement document. In return, the wording of the settlement was strict enough that UEFA’s reputation wouldn’t suffer.
This, however, was not an isolated incident.
Infantino, along with disgraced former UEFA president Michel Platini, also assisted City in negotiating a similar settlement with the European governing body despite investigators deeming the club’s sponsorship contracts with Abu Dhabi companies as “significantly overvalued.”
“The strategy, as one attorney suggested to Man City leadership, should be to reach a deal the club could live with, but without having to admit any misconduct,” Der Spiegel reports.
Both PSG and City have issued statements refuting the information in the leaks, with the latter adding: “The attempt to damage the Club’s reputation is organized and clear,” courtesy of the BBC’s Simon Stone.
Smaller clubs have been banned entirely from European competition for violating financial regulations. Russian outfit Rubin Kazan were barred in October for two seasons from UEFA club competitions.
‘Super League’ in the works
TF-Images / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The leaks also highlighted a coordinated effort from some of the sport’s biggest clubs to launch a “European Super League” behind the backs of their respective football associations.
As revealed by Der Spiegel, a leaked email sent last month to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez revealed 11 clubs as “Founders” of a “European Super League” that would commence in 2021 – coinciding with a planned demise of the Champions League and allowing the clubs to separate from UEFA’s jurisdiction.
Real Madrid would be joined by Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG, City, Liverpool, and AC Milan as “Founders.”
Five more clubs – Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille, Inter Milan, and Roma – would join as “Initial Guests.”
So here is the first of the new #FootballLeaks stories from @EICnetwork : a suggestion that 11 European clubs have been negotiating to form a Super League. 5 Premier League clubs included. pic.twitter.com/Hq5hQLT71s
— Dan Chapman (@DanFullContact) November 2, 2018
The 11 founders would be spared from relegation at the end of each season. They would hold a 20-year membership as well as potential varying ownership stakes in the league.
Der Spiegel notes Bayern Munich denied knowledge of any such document, while Real Madrid declined to comment.
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, however, did admit early talks of a Super League among Europe’s elite were real.
“(It) is clear, and I also believe that a few of Europe’s large clubs are clearly working on it,” Watzke said.
Eight-time gold medalist Usain Bolt has ended his experiment with Australian club Central Coast Mariners.
Bolt’s representatives were unable to find a suitable commercial partner to supplement a prospective contract, the Mariners said in a statement Thursday.
The 32-year-old was seeking an annual salary of $3 million, according to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Vince Rugari, but the offer on the table was apparently set at $150,000 per year.
The Australian Football Association was prepared to help the Mariners fund a deal, but the total proposal ultimately fell short.
“I would like to thank the Central Coast Mariners owners, management, staff, players, and fans for making me feel so welcome during my time there,” Bolt said. “I wish the club success for the season ahead.”
The former Olympic sprinter, who scored two goals during his short time with the Mariners, had agreed to sit out training while discussing his future. The A-League side expedited contract talks after Bolt received a two-year offer from Maltese outfit Valletta FC.
However, Mariners coach Mike Mulvey made it clear in late October that Bolt would get few opportunities in the A-League.
“You have a look at our front line today and you wonder whether he could get into any of those positions, wouldn’t you?” Mulvey said. “I do appreciate how important this story is for the rest of the world.”
Many questioned whether the addition of Bolt was anything more than a publicity stunt.
Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth made no secret of his impact Thursday, saying their partnership was “mutually beneficial” and one “that brought an increased level of excitement and attention to the Mariners and the Hyundai A-League.”
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci was in Catalonia leading up to El Clasico, a trip that included visits to La Masia, Espanyol’s stadium, and Girona, before concluding with a seat at the Camp Nou for Barcelona’s memorable 5-1 win over Real Madrid. Below, you’ll find the complete collection of stories from the five-day adventure.
Without Messi and Ronaldo, El Clasico peeks into the future
LLUIS GENE / AFP / Getty
“Messi’s spot on the sidelines is just a sabbatical, for now, enforced by the broken right arm he suffered last week against Sevilla, but even he won’t be around forever. Jarring to think about, admittedly, but the impending tilt at the Camp Nou offers a peek into the future. With the Portuguese plying his trade at Juventus and the diminutive Argentine now having to look in the rearview mirror to conjure memories of his 30th birthday, the future’s coming faster than anybody cares to admit.”
[Read the full story]
Party at Camp Nou: Seeing Barca demolish Real Madrid live
David Ramos / Getty Images Sport / Getty
“After Arturo Vidal put the final nail in the coffin, rising up, unchallenged, to head home Barcelona’s fifth and final goal against Real Madrid on Sunday, his teammates joined him to celebrate by the corner flag. As the huddle broke, Pique turned to the crowd and gave a familiar five-finger salute. It was 2010 all over again.”
[Read the full story]
Inside Camp Nou: Sights and sounds from unforgettable El Clasico
David Ramos / Getty Images Sport / Getty
“What’s it like to take a stroll through every nook and cranny of Barcelona’s famed Camp Nou, and then sit alongside over 90,000 fans to watch arguably the biggest domestic match in world football? … Get up close and personal with the pillar of Catalan society by taking in our first-hand look at everything from the Camp Nou museum to the view from the stands during Barca’s beatdown of Real Madrid.”
[Read the full story]
Still to come this week …
A day at Barcelona’s famed La Masia: Learning the ‘Three Ps’
Inside the Catalan restaurant that helped rescue a kidnapped Barca star
Espanyol’s plan to slay the Barcelona ‘monster’ begins, and ends, with their academy
From wedding bells to urns: The circle of life on display at Espanyol
