The Spanish FA has confirmed its proposal on how to award European places in case the current La Liga season cannot be finished.
There are growing fears that the 2019/20 campaign will not be completed due to the indefinite suspension of football in Spain caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
As outlined by Marca and Cadena Cope, the Spanish FA say that the four Champions League places would go to the current top four in La Liga – Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Sociedad.
Real Madrid’s blockbuster move for Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe has been put on hold for at least a year due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
According to ex PSG midfielder Jerome Rothen, the French international was on the verge of agreeing a move to Madrid this summer.
The 21-year old has been linked with a transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu ever since he arrived in Paris, and Rothen indicated a switch was close.
“I know from club sources that Mbappe to Madrid was almost done, he told an interview with Radio Montecarlo, reported via Marca.
This summer’s International Champions Cup was supposed to include an El Clasico match between La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. But unfortunately, due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak in the United States, not aonluy this event, but all international soccer games in USA in 2020 have been cancelled.
Without the lucrative preseason tournament, Real Madrid and Barcelona are expected up lose around €15M in revenue. That is a huge hit for clubs that are all facing the financial implications of the Coronavirus which has halted football across Europe, forcing clubs to lay off non-playing staff and asking players to take hefty pay cuts. Barcelona players for example, took a 70% pay cut.
FIFA have announced contracts will be extended and transfer windows shift in line with the changing fixture list after the COVID-19 crisis. A decison that is sure to be met with lawsuits as FIFA does not have the power to unilaterally extend player contracts.
Nobody knows when the current season will resume, or even if it will resume, so FIFA have taken the step of guaranteeing some elements that were up for debate.
Specifically, that allows player contracts to be extended beyond June 30 to the natural end of the season, and moves the transfer windows to an appropriate time for the clubs and players in this new reality.
UEFA President Aleksandar Ceferin admits the idea of Champions League and Europa League play-offs are “an option,” but either way all leagues “must finish by August 3.”
All football has been suspended in Europe’s major leagues due to the coronavirus pandemic and it’s not clear when, or indeed if, the campaign will be concluded.
What we do now have is a deadline, set by Ceferin during an interview with German television station ZDF.
“It must finish by August 3, both the Champions and Europa League. It is an extraordinary situation we are in, so we are flexible on dates and kick-off times. If the crisis eases earlier, then we can start sooner.”
Zinedine Zidane is looking to sell five of his Real Madrid stars in order to lay the foundations for another spree of signings as Madrid look to ring the changes this summer.
According to AS, Zidane has been told in no uncertain terms that he must sell before he buys, meaning that the Frenchman will attempt to offload some of his outcasts in order to fund big money moves.
It spells what could be the end for Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Lucas Vasquez, who have teetered on the outskirts of the Los Blancos squad for large spells of this season.
The research group CIES Football Observatory have just released its most valuable squads in the transfer market from Europe’s top-five leagues, and it is the current European and World Champions who now sit top the pile.
The Liverpool squad is now worth a whopping €1.4 billion (£1.27 billion), which puts them ahead of every other club on the continent. Second is Premier League rival Manchester City at €1.36b.
Spanish giants Barcelona (€1.17b) and Real Madrid (€1.1b) are third and fourth respectively, with Chelsea shockingly in fifth place (€1.08b) despite having been banned from signing players in last summer’s transfer window.
Spain’s La Liga, the Dutch Eredivisie, Portugal’s Primeira Liga and USA’s Major League Soccer have been suspended over coronavirus concerns.
There will be no action in the Spanish top flight for “at least the next two rounds of matches” as a result of the quarantine of the Real Madrid squad.
Netherlands’ top two leagues have also been suspended for the same period.
The 2020 Major League Soccer season – which started less than two weeks ago – has been suspended for 30 days.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is reportedly ‘doubtful’ to play against Manchester City in the Champions League next week after limping off after the shock defeat by Betis.
The Belgian shot stopper is set to have tests on his left leg on Tuesday to discover how serious his injury is, according to Spanish outlet AS, who say he must wait an extra day to be looked at ‘due to inflammation’ in the area.
Madrid next play against at home against Eibar on Friday night before travelling to the Etihad to face City, and he will be a question mark for both games.
Real Madrid have returned to the top of La Liga thanks to a late 2-0 win over rivals Barcelona in tight El Clasico clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Vinicius Junior and Mariano Diaz’s goals took them a point clear of their bitter rivals at the top of the Liga table and gave them the better head-to-head record, which could be crucial in such a tight title race.
Certainly, there is little to choose between the two teams, as Sunday’s game showed. This entertaining, end-to-end battle at the Santiago Bernabeu between two clearly flawed teams could have gone either way.