On the latest episode of the International News Desk, European football is back, with Manchester United holding Barcelona to a draw at home and PSG falling to Bayern. Lionel Messi's future is up in the air and Saudi Arabia is putting itself on the map! Barcelona have also once again come under investigation after it was reported that the Catalan giants had paid an ex-LaLiga match official, then the vice-president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees, nearly €1.4m from 2016 to 2018.
Messi's future seems to be up in the air with no final answer given yet. Where could the 35-year-old World Cup winner be heading to next? Find out what former Mamelodi Sundowns and Sheffield United goalkeeper Sean Roberts thinks by clicking on the podcast player below!
Messi's future is up in the air after his father, Jorge Messi, recently spoke out and said the recent World Cup winner will not be heading back to Barcelona, saying in an interview that he has not spoken with Barca president Joan Laporta.
Keep in mind that Messi was unable to renew his deal with Barcelona due to LaLiga's financial fair play rules and it would now appear that a return to his boyhood club is highly unlikely.
There is concrete interest coming from Saudi Arabia, but as it stands, the only real offer on the table for the 35-year-old is from PSG, where it would appear that a 12-month deal could be coming his way.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have come under investigation once again after a report revealed that Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, then the vice-president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees, was paid more than a million euros by Barca. With this information having leaked, Negreira has seemingly threatened to blackmail the club!
In recent years, Manchester United have struggled on both the domestic stage and the European stage, with their last trophy coming in 2017, which was the UEFA Europa League.
The Red Devils have had severe fallouts with players, coaches, and management staff, and fans have been growing frustrated with their beloved United. No one knew where the club was headed, but in April 2022, Eric ten Hag took over as manager and with him, he brought a new sense of style, rules, morals, and beliefs.
The Dutch tactician began the domestic league campaign dismally with a 4-0 loss, but since then, he has turned United around.
He brought former Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy in as a forward coach, which has revitalised the Red Devils' attack. Marcus Rashford is in hot form and the club is currently third in the Premier League, only five points behind the log leaders.
The Red Devils recently travelled to the Camp Nou to face off against Barcelona and showed their dominance, but were unlucky to come away with a draw. Just how far can Ten Hag take this team?
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