Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao chose to play in France while Robert Lewandowski believes German football is the future
For all the trademark summer excess in English football, there is still one trend the Premier League cannot buck. While Samuel Eto'o opted to swap Dagestan for Chelsea on a free transfer, the wider pattern of the game's most glamorous galácticos choosing to move anywhere but England remains intact.
While Premier League clubs have continued to spend huge sums – £430m already in this window, with the £500m mark set to be passed by tomorrow's deadline – the biggest box office names have again been lured by Europe's other top leagues, whose clubs remain more willing to commit lavish sums to single deals – none bigger than that taking Gareth Bale to Spain.
Among the names to reject England this summer, Napoli's Edinson Cavani drew interest from Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United before joining Paris Saint‑Germain, whose Qatari backers were willing to fund both a £54m fee and lavish wages. Radamel Falcao, also linked with Chelsea and both Manchester clubs, chose a similar financial package in France with Monaco, bankrolled by the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.
Elsewhere, £50m Neymar chose the glamour of Barcelona, plus an enormous contract, while João Moutinho and James Rodríguez ignored English interest to join Falcao at Monaco. Napoli's Gonzalo Higuaín heads the list of stars who opted to snub Arsenal, while Spain's David Villa, available for just £4m, joined Atlético Madrid after his wage demands deterred Spurs and Arsenal.
Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski, meanwhile, weighed up his English options and chose not to move at all, instead signing an extended deal ahead of an expected future move to Bayern Munich – the European champions who also lured Thiago Alcântara, a target for Manchester United, and the game's most sought‑after manager, Pep Guardiola.
Lewandowski later admitted having spoken to José Mourinho and, a year earlier, to Sir Alex Ferguson, but said he saw a brighter future in Germany.
"The Premier League is huge of course, as is La Liga. But the Bundesliga has all the conditions – the stadiums, fans and atmosphere – to dominate for the next five years."
via Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com http://feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663845/s/30a40c00/sc/12/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Cfootball0C20A130Caug0C310Csummer0Etransfer0Ewindow0Epremier0Eleague/story01.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment