Sheikh Jassim to buy Liverpool, Man Utd to buy Mbappe and other tabloid wet dreams

Editor F365
Liverpool transfer target Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe has been linked with a move to Liverpool.

Should journalists be encouraging Sheikh Jassim to buy Liverpool and Manchester United to buy Kylian Mbappe? Sounds like self-interest…

 

Kylian me softly…
We know the tabloids are invested in the idea of Manchester United as a superpower but this from the usually sensible Martin Lipton in The Sun is a nonsense. He details how Sir Jim Ratcliffe can get United fans onside and includes this:

What would really make a difference is making it clear there will be a genuine superstar signing in the January market – whatever the cost.

It might not make economic sense. But it would make football sense. The fans need to see things are moving in the right direction.

Sheikh Jassim had his sights set on bringing Kylian Mbappe to United and a big-money arrival of that calibre would definitely give disgruntled fans something to smile about.

Because Manchester United signing ‘genuine superstars’ like Paul Pogba, Ronaldo (the second time) and Alexis Sanchez has gone tremendously well in the past, hasn’t it?

Having famously said that United have “lost the plot” with their transfer business, it seems highly unlikely that Ratcliffe will repeat the same mistakes of paying ludicrous wages for trophy signings. But his well-documented policy of buying young players and spending money on development and infrastructure is no fun if you have back pages to fill and clicks to harvest.

So that’s why we find ourselves in a situation where The Sun are mocking-up an image of Mbappe in a Manchester United shirt despite the fact that a) Manchester United would never buy him and b) he would never join Manchester United.

Urging United to make a signing that would ‘not make economic sense’? Are you sure you are thinking of the fans? It sounds more like The Sun’s dream scenario…

 

London is calling
Monday’s Mediawatch detailed how that Kylian Mbappe to Manchester United rumour was fuelled entirely by a tweet from May, but the story was trending so that means the Trends Writers were sparked into action. Trenders gonna trend.

Arsenal and Chelsea handed Kylian Mbappe transfer lifeline as Man United offer revealed

Yes, that’s exactly what has happened here, football.london. He’s practically in London now. Nailed on.

 

The verdict is in…
A fool might think from the Express headline of ‘Man Utd takeover LIVE: Erik ten Hag gives verdict on Sir Jim Ratcliffe as concerns grow’ means that Erik ten Hag has given his verdict on Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The clues are all there.

But frankly, has he bollocks.

Erik ten Hag will reportedly give Sir Jim Ratcliffe his seal of approval.

Yes, the Manchester United manager will ‘reportedly’ be happy that the man who is taking over the club’s football operations will not sack him but will overhaul the recruitment processes.

That is quite the ‘verdict’.

This development is sold elsewhere as ‘Erik ten Hag’s response to Sir Jim Ratcliffe overhaul plan amid growing Man Utd frustration’ (Mirror). Can you ‘respond’ while saying absolutely nothing? It’s certainly a Reach…

 

Sheikh, rattle and roll
Mediawatch is more than a little uncomfortable with the tone of some of the coverage of the failed Manchester United takeover from Sheikh Jassim.

Should the Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan really be urging the Qataris to go and do their sportswashing in Liverpool instead? He told the newspaper’s podcast:

“The Qataris set aside about $8bn [£6.57bn] for the United project. That money is there and ready to go, burning a hole in their pockets, so what a story that would be [to buy Liverpool].

“From what I am led to believe, they are very, very disappointed and angered at how this has played out.

“What better way to respond than to get United’s biggest rivals from down the road and throw all that money you were going to throw into Manchester United into making them pay for that decision not to sell to you.”

And there we were hoping that Sheikh Jassim would just give up and f*** off. But then we weren’t being fed updates from Qatar throughout this whole process so have absolutely nothing to gain from them being inside one of the biggest clubs in English football.

 

Henry the 13th
Talking of Liverpool ownership, this might be one of the most cynical headlines we have ever seen:

John Henry told FSG ‘bought the wrong club’ on day of humiliation for Liverpool

And that’s how the Liverpool Echo choose to tell the tale of what happened exactly 13 years ago in Liverpool’s first game under FSG ownership. Seems legit.

 

Pricks

Mediawatch Kylian Mbappe

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