PSG and Inter could thrill us in the Champions League final, but something has already been lost

Before this season's League Cup final between
Newcastle United
and
Liverpool
, the Times (London) interviewed Malcolm Macdonald, the former buccaneering Newcastle centre forward. Macdonald played for Newcastle in the 1974 FA Cup final and brought up the name of Keith Burkinshaw, who was a coach at St James' Park at the time. Burkinshaw moved to
Tottenham Hotspur
, where he became manager and won the 1984 Uefa Cup – Tottenham's last European trophy until 10 days ago.
Burkinshaw walked out soon after a boardroom disagreement. In a famous exchange with the reporter Ken Jones, a former player and cousin of Spurs legend Cliff Jones, both looked back at old White Hart Lane and agreed: 'There used to be a football club over there.'
It was actually Jones referencing a Frank Sinatra song, but the point was made. A year earlier Tottenham Hotspur had been repackaged into Tottenham Hotspur plc, which was subsequently floated on the London stock exchange. Others followed. Now shares in clubs, and clubs themselves, could be bought and sold in a way Football Association rules had previously forbidden. It was a historic moment of change; it continues to shape the present.
As season 2024-25 reaches its European climax with the
Champions League
final in Munich between Internazionale and
Paris Saint-Germain
, the Burkinshaw remark feels as pertinent as ever – not just about Tottenham, but Newcastle, Manchester City and both of these finalists, among others.
READ MORE
Formed in 1908 via a schism inside AC Milan, Inter remained in Italian ownership until 2013 when a trio of Indonesian businessmen bought 70 per cent of its shares. In 2016 those were sold to Chinese group Suning, who then defaulted on a loan. It means US investors Oaktree today own a sporting institution 117 years old. United States ownership of Serie A clubs is up to eight.
PSG were not formed until 1970, via a merger. The French capital did not have an elite football club and the newly renovated Parc des Princes required tenants. Originally fan-owned – annual subscription: six francs – the club moved, some would say stumbled, through various ownerships until 2011 when Qatari Sports Investment acquired them.
Whether six-francs fans wanted it or not, PSG were now part of the Qatari regime's 'National Vision 2030″, a policy aimed at turning the Gulf city-state of Doha into an 'advanced, sustainable society'. Apparently European football was deemed essential to this vision.
PSG had been champions of France twice until 2013. Between 2000 and 2012 seven different clubs had won Ligue 1. Now so much money has been ploughed in that PSG have been French champions 11 times in the past 13 seasons. Qatari-PSG eliminated variety.
At Uefa they were worried quickly. Having seen the inflationary effect of Roman Abramovich at
Chelsea
, then Abu Dhabi's purchase of City in 2008, Uefa began to formulate new financial regulations to prevent the 'financial doping' concern Arsène Wenger raised in 2009. That remark was about the new Chelsea, with the whiff of Lance Armstrong still in the air of sport.
As Miguel Delaney notes in his valuable book on the subject of modern football, States of Play, PSG had an income of €398 million in 2012-13, but an estimated €200 million came from the Qatar Tourism Authority, which was convenient.
Delaney quotes a then senior Uefa spokesman saying of PSG: 'They know the rules are that they have to generate revenues to cover their costs without cheating.'
His name was
Gianni Infantino
.
As president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino announced Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup in 2034, 12 years after it was hosted by Qatar. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Doping, cheating: those are quite the words. In May 2014 PSG's Qatari owners and Uefa reached a 'settlement'. There was a headline €60 million fine and a reduction in Champions League squad-size from 25 to 21 players. Later the same month Man City received the same sanction.
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The new men from the Gulf who ran both clubs were incensed by Uefa's language, but then these are men who are rarely challenged. The Qatari hierarchy in Doha had schemed to get the 2022 World Cup and in doing so had become close to French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Uefa's Michel Platini. They were good at manoeuvring. Even in their anger at Uefa, Delaney writes the situation can be seen as 'two clubs owned by autocracies pressurising a governing body into a secret deal'.
As with Spurs in 1983, Delaney traces this compromise as a turning point. With €50 million raised in finger-clicks, the likes of David Luiz, Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler were added to PSG in the next transfer windows. Then in the summer of 2017 the world record transfer fee was obliterated as Neymar joined from Barcelona for €222 million. Not content with that PSG signed Kylian Mbappé on loan from AS Monaco. 'Loan' is a gentle way of putting it: Mbappé cost €180 million the following summer.
Qatar splashed this €400 million, plus €1 million a week for Neymar and all the rest, shortly after they had been geographically isolated by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and others, who cut diplomatic ties. The projection of Vision 2030 was still working for Qatar, but it was alienating neighbours as well as having a numbing side effect on domestic French football's competitiveness.
Having arranged to parade David Beckham for the last five months of his career in 2013, in August 2021 Qatar brought Lionel Messi from Barcelona to join Neymar. Qatar had already, controversially and undeservedly, been given the 2022 World Cup. The tournament climaxed with Argentina beating France in an unforgettable final; Messi was draped in a bisht over his Argentina colours as he lifted the trophy. Qatar, make no mistake, thought they owned football.
Lionel Messi, then of PSG, gets his hand and lips on the World Cup after victory in Qatar in 2022. Photograph:Who could argue with them?
Their ownership of PSG is 13 years old, indisputable, normalised. 'Ici c'est Paris' is PSG branding, a statement of geographical pride; yet when the club played the French Super Cup against Monaco in January, the game was staged in Doha, not France.
As reported by Doha News, PSG head coach Luis Enrique said before the game: 'We're going to play this match as if it were at home, because we are at home.'
Ici c'est Doha.
Doha News, though, was focused on why so few locals stayed around to watch the trophy presentation. 'Why has Qatar's ownership of PSG not translated to fandom at home?' it asked.
Maybe, we thought, because it's a manufactured enterprise in a city-state of 1.5 million people with no serious football culture?
The bigger issue, of ownership, was not in debate. Burkinshaw had thoughts on all this 40 years ago. Now Tottenham Hotspur send out advisory notes to broadcasters to call them 'Spurs' or 'Tottenham Hotspur' but never simply 'Tottenham'. Even if it's to protect copyright, it's crass and a denial of origin.
Such 'brand' policies help explain why six weeks before Tottenham won the Europa League, their fans were on the street protesting about the running of the club and what it has become, a sports company mes que un club.
'Built a business, killed a football club' read a banner.
James Montague, in another recent book – Engulfed: how Saudi Arabia bought sport, and the world – notes that sports reporting in the Gulf can be curiously strong, given other criticism is not tolerated.
Saudi Arabia came to sport's non-sport potential later than its much smaller competitors, Qatar and the UAE, but the Saudis have rushed to make up for that. They brought out their own Vision 2030 and it now directs much of global golf, e-sports and boxing – Saudi minister Turki Alalshikh bought The Ring magazine; plus football, via its Cristiano Ronaldo-led Saudi Pro League and the acquisition of Newcastle United.
Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Al-Owais saves a shot from South Korea's Jae-Sung Lee during a friendly match at St James' Park, Newcastle in 2023. Photograph: Will Matthews/PA Wire
Saudi Arabia has a long-standing football culture and connections – Saudi Telecom has sponsored Manchester United for years. Saudi Investment Bank SAIB started sponsoring Real Madrid two years ago. The country's right to hold a World Cup, which they will do in 2034, is more convincing than Qatar's. But how they got it – via the tricky chameleon Infantino – is less so, and Burkinshaw might question the Saudi Public Investment Fund's motivation in taking over at St James'.
It was about influence and the hardening of soft power. It involved, as the Daily Mail reported in June 2020, direct contact between then UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Saudi's ultimate leader Mohammed Bin Salman. A purchase stalled suddenly changed gear.
Public delight at St James' baffled and disturbed. But northeast England had long felt a geographic distance from political power, which fed Brexit sentiment. At Newcastle United the feeling was doubled by the deliberately hollow running of the club by previous owner Mike Ashley, for whom it became a commercial billboard. A club's identity is precious, but not impregnable.
Those who disdain Newcastle since the Saudi takeover may be fed up hearing these explanations as to why there is almost no protest in the city – Montague did not find many dissenters; instead a big river of more than 200,000 people flowed through the streets in celebration at winning this season's League Cup.
Equally, Newcastle fans are fed up with hearing about Saudi Arabia's human rights record, or having it pointed out that the League Cup could not have been won without Saudi money, or that the reserve team kit is Saudi green, training camps are held in Riyadh and in September 2023 Saudi Arabia staged two friendlies at St James'. Those of us there for the South Korea game heard the tannoy announce: 'It's been a pleasure to host Saudi Arabia here at St James' Park.'
Everyone got the message. And as each match, each season passes, it all puts the norm in normalisation.
Flowers of variety
There never used to be a football club over there: so in Paris they created PSG. It was not for the same reason Viktor Orban, for example, has built his club, Puskas Akademia, in Hungary but like the former Felcsut FC, Qatari-PSG has been transformed into a different entity.
PSG's identity has become increasingly blurred under in recent years. Photograph: David Davies/PA Wire
And here they are in the last game of the season. We all admire this version of PSG, however – how could you not with talents such asKhvicha Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué?
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In Orban's Hungary, football clubs like Robbie Keane's Ferencváros are no longer just teams
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It makes for a strange end to a curious season, which was somehow simultaneously dull and dazzling. The new Champions League format worked, mainly, and there were great nights for Celtic and Aston Villa. The incredible Inter-Barcelona semi-final made you smile out loud.
In England Liverpool may have walked alone to the Premier League title, yet there were amazing scenes of jubilation at Crystal Palace, in Leeds, Newcastle and at 'Tottenham', in Tottenham. In Scotland 40 years of Old Firm league domination was offset by Aberdeen's Scottish Cup win. Flowers of variety have bloomed. On Saturday night we have an enticing climax.
Qatar has its name literally written all over it – Qatar Airways' press release on Thursday revelled in their sponsorship of both finalists and the tournament itself.
And it's not over. Six years after Jürgen Klopp sat in an Edinburgh hotel preseason and warned of player burnout, bureaucratic ego and sports politics – Infantino – bring us the needless, money-soaked Club World Cup, starting in Miami in a fortnight.
Football in 2025. It never ends. Laugh and sigh.

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Irish Times

2 hours ago

• Irish Times

Letters to the Editor, June 21st: On public service, the cost of living and sunscreen

Sir, – A stream of commentary in the columns of The Irish Times has crystalised a sobering truth, that ' Our administrative and legal procedures simply cannot unblock the logjam in time to prevent serious damage ', as Michael McDowell put it. ('There is a way to break the logjam in infrastructure', June 18th). Before last Christmas, Patrick Honohan, former governor of the Central Bank, wrote in an Irish Times article: 'The issue is not so much what the aims of public policy should be... the problem has been in delivery'; and recently an Irish Times editorial spoke of our 'sluggish' administrative processes. A simple example illustrates the depth of this dysfunction: a friend of mine, an experienced property expert who spent much of his career in the public sector, repeatedly attempted to draw attention to suboptimal performance in a prominent State body (mirroring wider poor performance manifest in the ballooning housing crisis) and to offer solutions. As a last resort, he wrote to Taoiseach Micheál Martin in January and, after several reminders in the meantime, he finally received a reply this week, six months on, saying that his letter had been forwarded to Jack Chambers, Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation. The Office of the Taoiseach publishes a national risk assessment annually which sets out the '24 strategic risks facing the country in the short, medium and long term'. READ MORE Pandemics, war, housing and social cohesion are mentioned, for example, but never mentioned in this annual assessment is the overarching risk, which if not addressed, compounds all other risks, namely, administrative incompetence and inertia. The Civil Service is not up to the job. Just for example, with 15 grades and associated sign-off authorities above the level of Executive Officer, and several more below EO, Civil Service structures are not fit for purpose in this day of digitisation and AI; reasonable public expectations of personal accountability, with consequences, are thwarted when things go wrong, be it in the national children's hospital, nursing homes, the Office of Public Works, policing or the degradation by nitrates of Our Lady's Island lagoon. To achieve progress on his extensive portfolio of responsibilities, radical public service reform has to be front and centre for Mr Chambers. – Yours, etc, EDDIE MOLLOY, Rathgar, Dublin 6. Rent pressure zones Sir, – While most attention has focused on the likely impact of changes to rent pressure zones (RPZs) on future rents, little consideration seems to have been given to their consequences for house prices. Firstly, housing and apartment development land prices will rise on the basis that building rental homes will be perceived as having become more profitable and this will lead to increased house prices, even if other building costs don't also increase. Secondly, as long-term rental yield expectations will have been increased, they will lift the capital value of underlying assets and progressively influence the market for not-for-rent new and second-hand homes. As always, it is not just rental income that's important in property investment but the 'total return' which includes capital appreciation determined by purchase-sale market conditions and timing. Thanks to the RPZ changes, these have suddenly become more favourable for landlords and builders and less so for buyers and renters. – Yours, etc, BRIAN FLANAGAN, Blackrock, Co Dublin. The high cost of living in Ireland Sir, – Your front page article ( 'Ireland second most expensive country in Europe ' June 20th), will come as no surprise to anyone holidaying or on business in mainland Europe this year. We have just returned from Cyprus where a bottle of decent supermarket wine was €5.50 (€10 here), 20 cigarettes were €4.30 (€14.50 here) and a litre of unleaded diesel was €1.32 (€1.74 here in rural Donegal). Against an average monthly rent of ¤2,000 in Ireland, €850 a month could get you a furnished two-bed apartment in Paphos with access to a pool and a five-minute drive from the beach and all shopping amenities. Of course, wages are lower (minimum wage of €6.60 an hour there, €13.50 here) but that's irrelevant if you are working from home for a multinational – your salary is the same wherever you are, or like us, you are on a fixed pension income. Around 76 per cent of Greek Cypriots speak English, all government documents are in both languages, they drive on the left and you can keep in touch with news in English from British Forces radio or the English edition of the Cyprus Mail. Annual sunshine hours are 3,000 against 1,500 in Dublin. After 11 years in Ireland we've had enough and are planning a move. If it wasn't for the cat, we'd be there now. – Yours, etc, KENNETH HARPER, Burtonport, Co Donegal. Sir, – Eurostat's finding that Ireland is the second most expensive country in Europe came as no surprise. Donegal friends of ours recently returned from Venice, and when I asked if it had been expensive, they replied: 'Not really – after living in Ireland, Venice seemed quite reasonable.' When Venice starts to feel like a bargain, something has gone badly wrong. – Yours, etc, ENDA CULLEN, Armagh. Sir, – Your recent reporting on Ireland being the second most expensive country in the EU is a timely reminder of the factors driving up costs for households and businesses. Among these, fuel stands out: not because of global market volatility, but because of Irish taxes. We believe Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe should establish an expert group to review how fuel for transport and home heating is taxed. Its remit should be clear: It should secure fair revenue for the State, support the shift to renewable energy and protect vulnerable consumers from punishing costs. Current policy hits hardest those with no alternative. That's not sustainable – environmentally, economically, or politically. – Yours, etc, KEVIN McPARTLAN, Chief executive, Fuels for Ireland, Dublin 1. Sir, – Your article (' Ireland's grocery prices are still soaring. How can that be? 'June 16th) cites many reasons for the huge grocery price hikes which we've all seen in the past year or so. Aside from geopolitical events, there is one development that I have noticed in all our local supermarkets over the past year: there has been a huge change in the way supermarket food in particular has been displayed. Now acres of plastic doors have been installed for refrigerated and frozen goods. Inside these cabinets every item of food is presented in plastic or aluminium containers and the food is then covered in literally kilometres of plastic wrap. Potatoes, carrots and even onions are in plastic bags, mushrooms, tomatoes and fruit are in plastic trays shrouded in film. Are we all paying for these plastic doors, the food containers, the cling film? I would like to know how much the packaging contributes to the increased costs. We are offered no choice on whether to accept it or not. I would also like to know whether there are any health risks to us from all the plastic. Are we going to be able to recycle all this packaging? I weighed two washed and emptied trays: one plastic (27 grammes), the other aluminium (23 grammes). Our waste company accepts no aluminium trays for recycling, which presents an additional problem, as one aluminium school lunch tray arrives into our house every weekday. I share the outrage of Pricewatch's readers, but it's not just each individual family budget that's being affected. The cost to our climate is going to be heavy: the CO2 generated by manufacture of aluminium and plastic is only one part of it. Washing the items to make them fit for recycling takes energy (which we pay for). More CO2 is then needed to cart the stuff to a central recycling facility, where even more fossil fuel is needed to recycle it. As for the plastic doors, I reckon their lifespan would be 25 years at most, which gets us to 2050. I wonder whether there is any plan to dispose of or repurpose them. It doesn't appear that the supermarkets are taking climate change seriously. – Yours, etc, MARY SIKORA, Rosscarbery, Co Cork. Child poverty is not inevitable Sir, – The latest child poverty monitor from the Children's Rights Alliance is not just a wake-up call, it's a national shame. In one year, more than 45,000 more children in Ireland have been pushed into consistent poverty, bringing the total to nearly 103,000. This is not a statistic. It is a searing indictment of political choices, public apathy, and a system that continues to fail our most vulnerable: our children. Poverty is not inevitable. It's the result of policy decisions that too often favour economic metrics over human dignity. Today, children account for nearly 40 per cent of those in consistent poverty. Thousands go to bed hungry, live in insecure housing, and miss out on the most basic joys of childhood. This, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Government has made welcome commitments, free school books, hot meals, GP access, but these measures, while helpful, are broad strokes. They do not touch the core of the crisis. The housing emergency is pushing nearly 4,800 children into homelessness, and 230,000 more live in material deprivation, families forced to choose between food and heat, rent and clothing. This is not just a policy gap. It is a moral failure. After nearly four decades working in developing countries, I've seen poverty in its harshest forms, from the famine zones of Africa to the slums of Calcutta. I still remember a six-year-old boy abandoned to die in a sewer. He survived, but only just. His story lives with me because poverty robs children of their worth and their future. While the context is different, children in Ireland are being let down in ways that should horrify us. This isn't just about numbers, it's about values. Do we value children only in rhetoric? Or are we willing to invest in their futures? We know what works: targeted child benefit, early intervention, proper housing, and dignified social protection. And yet two years after the ESRI called for a second-tier child benefit, we still wait. Meanwhile, on the world stage, child suffering deepens. In 2024 the UN verified more than 41,000 grave violations against children in conflict zones. More than 4,500 children were killed, many in Gaza, Congo, Ukraine, Ethiopia and beyond. Some 22,495 children endured multiple atrocities, recruited, raped, bombed, starved. It should haunt us. We must stop looking away. Whether in Dublin or Gaza, Galway or Ethiopia, every child matters. Let us be the generation that found its conscience, raised its voice, and acted. – Yours, etc, RONAN SCULLY, Knocknacarra, Galway. Roaming dogs on the beach Sir. – Having visited Seapoint yesterday evening for a swim, I could not believe the number of dogs still roaming freely among swimmers' belongings and in the sea, in spite of signs everywhere saying ' No Dogs'. Also, where we were changing there was a large abandoned dog poo for unaware swimmers to walk into... disgusting. There were many children there yesterday who do not like dogs and I don't think it is fair for them to have to endure this. Where are the dog wardens patrolling this area? They should be there constantly in the summer months. – Yours, etc, EILEEN BANNAN, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Always wear sunscreen Sir, – As an Australian, now happily resident in Ireland, your cover photo of sunbathers ('Hotting up', June 20th) prompts me to share the hard-earned wisdom of my people: slip, slop, slap. More specifically, slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat. There are things to envy about the Australian way of life, skin cancer is not one of them. – Yours, etc, BEN AVELING, Ranelagh, Dublin. Nuclear weapons and disarmament Sir, – How can a country with nuclear weapons insist that another country should not have them? The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is signed up to by 191 countries, including five states that have nuclear arms. This treaty, as well as aiming to prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms, looks to the disarmament of those weapons already in existence. As far as I am aware no such disarmament has taken place since the putting in place of the treaty in the 1970s. Don't those with the power to disarm nuclear weapons not know of the utter devastation caused by the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or of the still evident effects of Chernobyl? No country should have nuclear weapons. The fact that some countries do have them causes others to develop these weapons. Can the double standard be stopped and a serious effort made to comply with the aims of the NPT to stop both proliferation and disarm already existing weapons? The consequences of not doing so are unthinkable. – Yours, etc, MARY FITZGERALD, Terenure, Dublin. EuroMillions dejection Sir, – Unlike Brian Cullen (Letters, June 20th) I had a longer period of excitement as I didn't check my tickets until I heard where the winning ticket was sold. My wish always, if it's not me (we have to live in hope!), is the winner is someone who needs it, remains in good health, takes the best of advice and puts their winnings to good use and gives to worthy causes. Again, unlike Brian, 'who just has to go and buy another ticket', I wonder is it some sort of post big jackpot Lotto dejection/ depression that I did not purchase a EuroMillions ticket in my local Centra this morning as the EuroMillions jackpot is ONLY ¤17 million tonight! – Yours, etc, JOE WALSH, Dublin.

Irish Times

3 hours ago

• Irish Times

Lions v Argentina player ratings: Bundee Aki shows his strength, Fin Smith has a shaky start

Marcus Smith: Scrambled well for a kicked through ball at the end of the first half but wasn't always solid under the high kicks. Caught out of position and didn't read the threat when Santiago Cordero scored his second-half try. 5 Tommy Freeman: Kept busy coming in from the wing and hungry for work from the beginning. Some clever running lines too. Picked it up in the second half and showed what a real live wire he can be at this level. 7 Sione Tuipulotu: Showed his strength going forward for his disallowed try and was always a threat going forward in the carry. Some handling errors and scrappy offloads and an excellent try saving tackle at the end of the first half. 6 Bundee Aki: He was selected for his strength and ability to gain yards in traffic. His first half try was just that as he muscled over with three players around him. Gave way for Elliot Daly in the second half. 6 READ MORE Duhan van der Merwe: He was a mixed bag in the first half, hitting rucks and a great one-handed pass to Tommy Freeman early on. Was an early threat but was turned over going forward for the Albornoz try before half-time. 5 Fin Smith: Shaky start with a few missed high balls but grew into a game that was frantic at times and also disconnected. A busy player but perhaps not as controlling and influential as he would have liked. 5 Alex Mitchell: Provided a good service after box kicking at the beginning which wasn't always profitable. A super one-handed defensive pass to Freeman. Seemed rushed at times moving the ball forward. Replaced after half-time by Williams. 5 Alex Mitchell seemed rushed at times moving the ball forward. Photograph:Ellis Genge: Crushed a few scrums in the first half where the Lions earned three penalties. Good energy too from the loose head prop who trucked some hard yards before giving way to Schoeman after an hour. 6 Luke Cowan-Dickie: Showed great strength for his disallowed try in the first half. Was very active around the park with a few missed lineout throws. Showed good energy while he was on before Ronan Kelleher replaced him early in the second half. 6 Finlay Bealham: Was solid in the scrums and involved around the pitch in a frantic first half. Showed himself to be valuable around the park and in the set piece. Will be pleased with his 59 minutes before Tadhg Furlong came in. 6 Maro Itoje: Quiet enough first half and himself and Cowan Dickie didn't quite get the lineout timing early in the match. Controlled the lineout maul well for the Lions penalty try early in the second half. 5 Tadhg Beirne ran a great line for his try in the first half. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Tadhg Beirne: Never afraid of the grunt work and ran a great line for his try in the first half, taking the ball from a hard flat pass by replacement Tomos Williams. Great lineout take at the end but Lions just off their game to capitalise. 6 Tom Curry: One of the players that showed from the beginning taking up the ball and hitting back Argentina players. Took a few lineouts too. Turned up on the day but a disjointed overall performance negated some of his work. 7 Jac Morgan: Got involved in everything early in the game and won an important runover in the first half that could have been a try. Probably didn't show as much as he is capable of in a frustrating first half. Replaced by Henry Pollo ck 49 minutes in. 6 Ben Earl: Took early carries and showed visibility throughout the first half. He was one of the more solid Lions performers, taking the ball on and curbing the errors that had frustrated Lions efforts. 7 [ Lions left to rue missed chances as Argentina win in Dublin Opens in new window ] Andy Farrell: Spoke about connections during the week and the difficulty of glueing a team together that had not much time to work out each other's way of playing. That disconnect was on show, especially in a frustrating first half. 6 Replacements: Several players made an impact when they came on including Tomos Williams and Mack Hansen who took the ball on several times. Ultimately they didn't get it over the line with plenty of late possession and territory. 6 Which Ireland players will step up for the summer squad while the Lions are away? Listen | 27:53

The Irish Sun

4 hours ago

• The Irish Sun

How record Florian Wirtz transfer could spark £400m Liverpool overhaul as Arne Slot plots Feyenoord-style transformation

ARNE SLOT spent just £10million last summer on Juventus playmaker Federico Chiesa. But the Advertisement 6 Florian Wirtz's £116.5m arrival could be just the start at Anfield Credit: PA 6 Liverpool fancy Newcastle duo Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon Credit: Reuters 6 Reds' manager Arne Slot is prepared for many more ins and outs Credit: AFP German sensation Bournemouth left-back Slot is also While rivals Advertisement READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS Playmaker Wirtz is the headline act in Slot's revolution — one the Dutchman has been plotting over the last 12 months. Slot, 46, paid tribute to predecessor Jurgen Klopp when he lifted a record-equalling 20th league title in front of an adoring Kop back in May. But the former Slot saved his money and waited while winning the hearts and minds of a doubting red half of Merseyside — as well as players, who were unsure of what would come next. Advertisement Most read in Football 6 The Liverpool new boy had 22 goal involvements in 31 Bundesliga games last term BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK At the same time he was identifying who he wanted — and who he didn't. Advertisement Is Darwin Nunez set for £50m Serie A switch? Atletico eyeing Robertson? | Transfers Exposed Of course, Slot had been here before. After his first season in charge of Feyenoord, in 2021-22, he instigated massive changes. He moved on 16 players, including £12.9m Tyrell Malacia to Meanwhile, for around £35m — far less than the mammoth budget he is now armed with — 15 were brought in. Advertisement Slot lifted the Eredivisie title in 2023 and the Dutch Cup last year before making his way to Anfield. And changes were made as he got his feet under the table, although none of them suggested how seismic they would become. Klopp's 'heavy metal football' morphed into far more controlled and muted melodies, the beat about possession, not frantic assault. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister went to double-bass, the pair redeployed from attacking roles to holding midfielders. Advertisement 6 Crystal Palace's FA Cup hero Marc Guehi is on the Reds' radar Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Jeremie Frimpong has also come in from Bayer Leverkusen Credit: Getty Slot got the band playing to a more sophisticated rhythm and turned them into a No 1 hit. Advertisement The campaign morphed into what seemed a perfect symphony but as Liverpool's summer splurge shows, with Wirtz coming in as the conductor of a new orchestra, it was really only the opening overture. Now comes what Slot will hope will be the creation of his very own work of art, led by 5ft 10in Wirtz, who many believe is becoming one of the great maestros of the game. He arrives as a generational talent who not only creates but scores — 44 goal contributions across the last two Bundesliga campaigns, including 21 goals and a league-high of 23 assists. Wirtz's figures are the second most of any player aged under 23 in Europe's top-five leagues, just behind Chelsea's Advertisement Last season, for the second in a row, he was one of just six players to reach double figures for goals and assists in Europe's big-five leagues. Wirtz is his own one–man band. He is almost faultless with both feet and waltzes past defenders because he is so difficult to predict. Over the last two years he attempted a Bundesliga-high of 313 take-ons. And just Barcelona's Advertisement Wirtz created 124 chances from open play in that period, a figure bettered only by Salah (150), Arsenal skipper These mighty statistics suggest the playmaker ranked first in the Bundesliga for through balls (49) and completed lay-off passes (123) last season will be a sensation under Slot as he continues his makeover.