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I hope someone looks at you as lovingly as the Premier League looks at Ligue 1.
Coming up today:
💋 English clubs + France = Perfect match
🇨🇦 More fallout from Olympic spying scandal
🧤 Why goalkeepers are in demand
👑 Which team is worth $2bn? Have a guess
Why The EPL ❤️ 🇫🇷
What’s so good about Ligue 1?
Ligue 1 often gets an unfair rap. Many dub it a ‘Farmer’s League’, perhaps due to the decade-long, state-backed hegemony of Paris Saint-Germain. But, for me, the division’s official tagline ‘League of Talents’ seems more appropriate.
Over the past decade, France’s top tier has been a happy hunting ground for Premier League scouts, with English clubs spending £1.81billion ($2.34bn) on Ligue 1 players, more than in any other nation. The 145 players who have crossed the Channel is also unsurpassed.
Why is France Europe’s chief talent factory? Well, many of the players are young, hungry and ambitious, with a high technical level but also robustness — perfect ingredients for the Premier League. Oh, and they often are good value for money, too.
So it’s no surprise to see English clubs shopping in France again. Manchester United have just parted with £52million ($67.9m) to sign Leny Yoro (more on him below), Everton have bought Iliman Ndiaye from Marseille and Crystal Palace are set to pluck Ismaila Sarr from the Stade Velodrome, too.
Of course, not all moves have been a success. But for every Nicolas Pepe (Lille to Arsenal), there is a William Saliba and Gabriel (pictured above), from Saint-Etienne and Lille respectively, who now form the foundations for Arsenal’s rock-solid defence.
Mention Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon to Spurs) and I will raise you with Bruno Guimaraes (Lyon to Newcastle), and Amadou Onana, who just joined Aston Villa from Everton for £50million. He also arrived in the Premier League from Lille. The production line continues.
When did this French love affair begin?
Eric Cantona: a man of many talents.
🧵 A short thread on how Le Roi is a natural at whatever he does…#MUFC pic.twitter.com/BE3kcgLM3S
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 9, 2023
Let’s begin with Eric Cantona, Manchester United’s talismanic and charismatic No 7 from the 1990s. His impact is still felt at the club today — Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s holding company, which now owns a 27.7 per cent stake in the club, is called Trawlers Ltd, a nod to Cantona’s famous press conference in 1995. “I inspire a lot of people,” Cantona said in an interview in The Athletic last week.
And we can’t forget the flowing locks of winger David Ginola, either, adored by fans of Newcastle and Tottenham.
There was also the French connection at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Robert Pires and, of course, Thierry Henry. They won a handful of Premier League title’s together — and boy were they great to watch.
Do other nations get a look in?
Spain, to no one’s surprise, has been a popular destination for Premier League clubs, with £1.76bn spent on La Liga players since 2014.
Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino, who scored the extra-time winner for Spain against Germany at Euro 2024 could be the latest to make the journey to England. He is gaining admiring glances from Arsenal.
Serie A has also a popular market and will be again this summer, Bologna especially. United have already paid them €42.5million (£35.8m; $46.2m) for striker Joshua Zirkzee, while defender Riccardo Calafiori on the cusp of joining Arsenal.
Let’s not forget the Bundesliga, too. Last summer, Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea) Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) joined English clubs — that’s from RB Leipzig alone.
News Round-Up
- The spying scandal continues. Canada have removed the coach of their women’s team Bev Priestman for the rest of the Olympics after learning of drone use against opponents that predates this summer’s Games.
- Clamour for Premier League games being played in the U.S. shows no signs of abating. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is the latest to throw his support behind the idea.
- Kanjuruhan Stadium was the scene of one of the world’s worst football disasters in which 135 died in 2022. Work is being done to redevelop the stadium, but the company in charge demolished one of the gates that was due to be retained as a memorial. The company has since apologised.
- Emma Hayes secured her first competitive victory as USWNT head coach as her side strolled to a 3-0 win over Zambia in their Olympic Games-opener. Get analysis on the game in the Full Time podcast and newsletter.
- Bordeaux have lost their professional status after being administratively relegated to the third tier of French football. The club have filed for bankruptcy. A sad demise.
The Boy From Paris ❤️
(Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
Following a well-trodden path
Earlier this week, a viral video resurfaced of Leny Yoro, aged 16 at the time, being laughed at by Lille team-mate Jonathan Bamba for walking home after training.
He may not have had his driving license at that point, but he was already on the radar of their first team and, in May 2022, Yoro became the youngest player to pull on the Lille strip in 44 years, even surpassing the great Eden Hazard.
Many talents have been developed in the Paris suburbs and Yoro has followed a similar path. Saint-Maurice is where his story, told here by Peter Rutzler, began with a young Yoro playing football in the playgrounds opposite his house. He comes from good footballing stock: his three brothers all play football too and his father, Alain Yoro, had been in Lille’s academy himself as a teenager.
But Yoro appears to be the cream of the family crop. Real Madrid wanted him and a move to the Bernabeu looked a forgone conclusion, But Manchester United swooped in for the 18-year-old, and that was that.
Moving The Goalkeepers 🧤
How important is a No 1? And No 2… and No 3…
One tale gaining momentum this summer is the potential parting of ways of Ederson and Manchester City.
Should the Brazilian goalkeeper leave, City have an able deputy in Stefan Ortega. He has been a reliable figure when called upon and would probably be No 1 anywhere else. It was his save from Tottenham’s Hueng-min Son in the penultimate fixture of last season which helped City to win the Premier League title.
Talking of back-up keepers, ex-Liverpool stopper Adrian has spoken exclusively to The Athletic’s Dermot Corrigan. Now at Real Betis, he will line up against his former side in a match in Pittsburgh tonight.
Adrian was behind Alisson and Caoimhin Kelleher in the Liverpool pecking order, a role he was happy to play. And interestingly, third-choice keepers are all the range this summer. Newcastle even have a fourth and a fifth choice for good measure.
They come with many benefits: practically, they can improve training standards by pushing the No 1 and No 2, offering more flexibility with drills and can also help with load management. Financially, they often come cheap, can fill the homegrown quota — both of which bring PSR advantages. Ah.
How To Build A $2bn Team 💰
Real Madrid have become the gold standard in running a club sensibly
Real Madrid won the Champions League, then completed the deal for Kylian Mbappe. Endrick is coming too. These are power moves.
And with their amalgamation of talents, the clever clogs at CIES Football Observatory have valued Real Madrid’s squad at €1.8billion.
Most of their stars, bar Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, will be heading to the the U.S. for their pre-season tour this weekend.
The main link between this squad and the ‘galacticos’ of the early 2000s: president Florentino Perez.
In the previous era, superstars (Zidane, Beckham, the Brazilian Ronaldo et al) were being bought in their prime. Now, Madrid pluck the world’s elite at a younger age every season.
But since 2019-20, Madrid rank only 12th for transfer spend across world football. Frugality has been the name of the game while last season, they surpassed €1billion in revenue.
They have set a gold standard in how to run a club. Barcelona should take note.
It’s Quiz Time❓
James Ward-Prowse scored an ‘Olympic goal‘ (direct from a corner) for West Ham last season, joining Steve Staunton, Douglas Luiz, Dwight McNeil and Charlie Adam as players to have scored one ‘Olimpico’ in the Premier League.
Can you name the only two players to have scored more than one Olympic goal in the Premier League? A clue: the two names are from very different eras.
The answer will be in Monday’s newsletter, and here later today.
Catch A Match 📺
Olympics, men’s soccer (all Saturday, kick-offs in ET/BST)
Argentina vs Iraq (9am/2pm) Peacock, Eurosport 2
Dominican Republic vs Spain (9am/2pm) Peacock, Eurosport 2
New Zealand vs U.S. (1pm/6pm) USA Network, Eurosport 2
France vs Guinea (3pm/8pm) Discovery+, Eurosport 5
(Top photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Read the full article here
