Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe may have appeared to hint that he’ll be completing a transfer to Real Madrid when he becomes a free agent in summer 2024, but Fabrizio Romano insists we shouldn’t read too much into whatever the player did at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Mbappe winked when asked by reporters about ending up at Madrid as his next club, but Romano has provided an update on the France international’s situation in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing.

Real Madrid have long been linked as a future destination for Mbappe, but it seems nothing is going to be decided now, even if the 24-year-old is just months away from becoming a free agent.

We’ll have to wait a bit longer before learning what Mbappe decides to do next, as well as Real’s plans for the summer transfer window, according to Romano, who is one of the most trustworthy journalists when it comes to these matters and never one to sensationalise stories.

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“Kylian Mbappe attracted some attention with his reaction to being asked about moving to Real Madrid next summer, but I’m afraid I still have nothing at all to report at this point,” Romano said.

“I don’t expect any big movement now in this moment of the year. Mbappe is focused on PSG and Real Madrid are happy with their current situation, then in 2024 it will become clear what he wants to do with PSG on the contract situation… and at that point, with Real Madrid too.

“We’ll have to wait and see, but there’s nothing happening now, despite stories.”

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Kylian Mbappe smiled and winked when asked by El Chiringuito about a potential transfer to Real Madrid next summer.

The France international is coming towards the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, meaning he could leave the club on a free transfer at the end of this current campaign.

Real Madrid have long been linked with Mbappe, and it seems he didn’t make too much effort to play down the speculation in the video clip below…

? IMAGEN @elchiringuitotv ?

? Madridista, ILUSIÓNATE con el GUIÑO de MBAPPÉ.

?? @10JoseAlvarez: "¿El año que viene al Madrid o no?" pic.twitter.com/W37CHOzxjS

— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) October 31, 2023

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Mbappe is one of the finest footballers on the planet and it would truly be exciting to see him alongside other elite young players like Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior at the Bernabeu.

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Presnel Kimpembe is set to hold talks over a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain soon despite some transfer rumours linking him with Barcelona, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing.

Kimpembe has been a key player for PSG down the years, but he’s close to becoming a free agent at the end of this season, so one imagines there will be some other clubs around Europe keeping an eye on the France international’s situation.

Romano seems aware of speculation involving Barcelona, but he says he’s not hearing anything particularly concrete about that at the moment, and has suggested that Kimpembe will soon discuss a new deal with his current club.

It remains to be seen what the outcome of those talks will be, but one imagines PSG will surely be keen to keep Kimpembe on board, so it could depend on whether or not he wants to commit his future to the club or try a new challenge.

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“Presnel Kimpembe – My understanding for the moment is that Kimpembe will discuss his future with PSG in the second half of this season,” Romano said.

“At the moment, no decision has been made. I’m not aware of anything concrete with Barcelona as of today, they have different priorities.”

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Lionel Messi has been crowned the winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or after a memorable 12 months for the 36-year-old. 

The award is the Argentina star’s eighth, which extends his own record for the most Ballon d’Ors ever won, with Cristiano Ronaldo in second place with five.

This Ballon d’Or comes a remarkable 14 years after the Barcelona legend won his first in 2009 and it shows the incredible longevity of the sport’s greatest-ever player.

Messi beat the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the award, who also had sensational seasons for their clubs and countries, but the award was only ever going to go to one man following a special month in Qatar at the end of last year.

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Messi put together one of the greatest, if not the greatest, World Cup campaigns ever seen to help Argentina to a third World crown in Qatar last year. The 36-year-old played like a man possessed as he reached the pinnacle of football and it left the Argentine with nothing left to achieve in the sport.

However, the forward did not stop there; in his first tournament with Inter Miami, Messi guided the MLS franchise to their first-ever trophy by winning the Leagues Cup. The Barcelona legend scored 10 goals and assisted another across the seven matches to the title, which already makes him a hero in the Magic City.

That is on top of his campaign with PSG, where Messi scored 16 goals and assisted another 16 across 32 matches as the Paris-based club won Ligue 1 by one point.

Overall, it has been a memorable season for Messi and the World Cup winner is fully deserving of his eighth Ballon d’Or crown.

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French fans have not forgotten the actions of Aston Villa star Emi Martinez following Argentina’s World Cup win over France last December. 

The goalkeeper held a baby doll with a picture of Mbappe’s face stuck to it during the World Cup winners parade in Argentina after the tournament and people in France made their feelings clear on the red carpet of the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday night in Paris.

As Martinez arrived, the Villa star had the name “Mbappe” chanted at him whilst others were heard booing.

The goalkeeper didn’t react to his reception as he took photos on his way into the ceremony.

Chants of “Mbappé, Mbappé, Mbappé” as Emiliano Martinez arrives on the red carpet for the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

The goalkeeper mocked the Frenchman in the wake of Argentina’s World Cup victory last December.

pic.twitter.com/xDmKK4nZqK

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) October 30, 2023

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The spectre of a European Super League raised its ugly head again earlier in the week with news that a judgment would be made on it during December.

No one other than those making the judgment can know which way it’s going to land, but it’s safe to say that former pro and now pundit, Stan Collymore, isn’t a fan.

‘No, I don’t think a European Super League is the way forward. UEFA particularly have bent over backwards, with concessions, more games, more money. If you have a European Super League what’s it going to be predicated on?’ he wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.

‘It’s gonna be very, very difficult for clubs such as Villa and Forest, who have won European Cups in the past, Celtic too, to get into if it’s invite only. That will have a massive impact.

‘I could certainly see an example of clubs already owned by oil states or oligarchs or hedge funds, that are now spending €400m on players and are mopping up their domestic league, will just give a cursory nod to the league that they come from whilst going on and playing in the Super League.

‘Any attempt to start to be able to get momentum, however, should see supporters put their clubs under the greatest pressure to say their clubs must not, under any circumstances, enter a European Super League.

‘I think that particularly with the English clubs, if they were to say no again, we will never join the ESL because the whole idea would be dead in the water. There would be no European Super League that would be worthy of the name.’

Supporters came out in force back in 2021 when it was announced that there had been an agreement for the Super League to come into force.

The protests were almost immediate and forced the clubs that had made the agreement to drop out one by one and even go so far to apologise to their supporters.

Only Barcelona and Real Madrid are left from the original 12 clubs and their fate in the project rests in the judges hands.

Even if the ESL isn’t a going concern post-judgement, Collymore believes we’ll see a derivative of it because of the money that is now in the game.

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‘Saudi Arabia, big American banks… the groundwork has already been laid in some respects. The pre-season International Champions Cup in America is their attempt at giving English and European clubs an insight into what potentially is possible,’ he added.

‘Come to America and play in front of 100,000 at the University of Michigan and we can make you richer than than you ever imagined. I could see a situation whereby the Saudis and the Americans, maybe even countries like India or China may want a little foothold.

‘Several entities will be needed to make it possible but just imagine if Manchester United are offered a billion pounds a season to play in any competition. The odds are that their owners are going to go absolutely yes because they then wouldn’t have to worry about whatever money comes into their club.

‘It’s a very persuasive argument.’

Essentially any organisation that has the money could effectively dangle clubs on a string and send them to all corners of the earth in the name of profit.

That’s a worst-case solution for many, who prefer the old traditions of the game which seem all but left in the past now.

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Monday night should see Lionel Messi crowned as the Ballon d’Or for an incredible eighth time.

That’s three more than his nemesis, Cristiano Ronaldo, and at least five more than anyone else.

By whichever metric you choose, there’s a cogent argument that the diminutive Argentinian really is the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time).

Ex-Premier League striker, Stan Collymore, believes that Messi deserves the award because of his World Cup heroics at the back end of last year.

‘If you’re looking for the fairy tale and the guy that’s come in and almost single-handedly won a World Cup then Messi is a worthy winner,’ he wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.

However, given that Man City did the treble last season and were absolutely awesome whilst doing so, Collymore questioned whether two of their players actually deserved the honour in Messi’s stead.

‘However, if you’re looking in terms of numbers, Erling Haaland comes in and breaks the Premier League record – which is very difficult to do – in his first season, then he has a valid shout,’ he continued.

‘What about Julian Alvarez, who won the World Cup and scored goals, and provided assists for Haaland and his team-mates?’

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Like so many, Collymore appears bored by the whole notion of an individual award in what is a team sport, unless there are definable metrics by which a score can be given and the ‘best in the world’ is therefore exactly that because of the highest score.

‘I’m not a big fan of individual awards because they’re so subjective and almost pointless. What’s the criteria? Goals scored? Assists given? Influence over your team or any other metric you ascribe to?’ he added.

‘Then you get people like Pep Guardiola coming out and saying Messi should have his own award, and that will have weighed heavily on the minds of journalists and the people that vote for things like that.

‘[…] Brand Messi and brand Ronaldo have been very, very strong for a long time, but in years to come I would like to see some kind of criteria attached to the award in the same way that you would judge the Golden Gloves or similar.’

What’s almost certain is that no other player will ever come close to matching Messi’s eight Golden Balls, and he will remain forever at the pinnacle of football folklore.

Football will never, ever see his like again.

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There remains a lot of speculation surrounding where Napoli’s Victor Osimhen might end up next should he decide to leave the Partnopei.

The 24-year-old has yet to sign a contract extension with the Serie A champions and, whilst that’s not out of the question, it has led to suggestions he could soon be on the move.

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Speaking to the Calcio Napoli 24 crew on their Twitch channel, he was asked, hypothetically, about a switch.

Without giving anything else away he noted that he’d prefer a move to MLS over the Saudi Pro League, if the terms were the same.

Pictures from Calcio Napoli 24

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During a recent Q&A with Mario Balotelli and others, Napoli hit man, Victor Osimhen, was put on the spot regarding this year’s Ballon d’Or winner.

The ceremony takes place on Monday and it’s believed that Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi has won an historic eighth title.

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However, after ripping up the Premier League’s goalscoring record books and helping to win the treble for Man City, Erling Haaland would seem to be the choice of many.

Osimhen sat on the fence when asked and wouldn’t commit to one or the other saying that they “both deserve it.”

Pictures from Calcio Napoli 24

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Lionel Messi has long been described as out of this world as a football player, and one of his sponsors has taken things up a notch.

Adidas have been part of the Argentinian’s footballing journey virtually since the beginning and only they would dream up a social media campaign that sees Messi end up in space.

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In a cleverly put together sequence, it really does appear as though a billboard of the player has been unfurled hundreds of thousands of miles away.

“I always wanted to go to space,” was Messi’ iconic sign off.

them: how big do you want this billboard to be?
us: yes ?? pic.twitter.com/p1CnjSIFYF

— adidas Football (@adidasfootball) October 24, 2023

Pictures from Adidas Football

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