Another multi-club deal

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering FSG’s potential Bordeaux takeover, Lionel Messi’s memecoin controversy and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

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Head Start

Liverpool owners in talks to buy Bordeaux

Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is assessing whether to purchase the French Ligue 2 side Bordeaux.

Why? Well, FSG hasn’t hidden its ambition to expand into a multi-club model.

Michael Edwards - who holds a role at Liverpool and FSG - made clear that they must expand if they are to “remain competitive” in the Premier League and beyond because…

• Liverpool can develop young talent in another league.

• Owning a European club helps to circumvent restrictions on obtaining overseas players due to Brexit.

• The Reds will also benefit from shared scouting analysis and data.

It’s not exactly revolutionary for clubs to follow the multi-club ownership model…

… as the number of multi-club investment transactions has nearly doubled from 16 in 2018 to 31 in 2022…

When purchasing a football club, Premier League owners often look at two criteria:

• The club should be big enough so to compete in the top division.

• The club shouldn’t be big enough that it’s too expensive to purchase.

It’s a fine balancing act but Bordeaux might satisfy both conditions. 

They are six-time French champions (big club, tick) but are looking to sell a majority stake to ease financial difficulties (probably not too expensive, tick).

But because of their financial difficulties, Bordeaux risk being demoted from the French second tier to the third…

… and fans of other French clubs haven’t reacted well to being sucked into a multi-club model - Strasbourg, Lyon and Lorient supporters have all protested against Premier League ownership.

Aside from the moral arguments against multi-club ownership, it’s a good deal for FSG (and Liverpool). But there are many more hurdles to overcome before this deal becomes a reality…

… and we’ll keep you posted on any updates.

Plus…

Kieran Trippier is set to start for England against the Netherlands (More)

Manchester United’s £50 million for Jarrad Branthwaite has been rejected by Everton but they’ve had a bid accepted for Lille centre-back Leny Yoro for a fee in the region of £45 million (More)

Barcelona take legal action against anonymous Instagram accounts for spreading fake transfer news and affecting Barça's relationships with some football agents (More)

Marseille have reached an agreement to sign Mason Greenwood from Manchester United, despite a campaign by fans to stop the deal (More)

Poll Time

Euros Stats Zone

Spain 2 - 1 France (Highlights)

_{Lamine Yamal 21’, Dani Olmo 25’ | Randal Kolo Muani 8’}

→ At the age of 16 years and 362 days, Spain’s Lamine Yamal became the youngest goalscorer at a major tournament (World Cup/Euros), a record previously held by Brazil’s Pelé against Wales at the 1958 World Cup (17y 239d).

→ Spain are the first side to win six games at a single edition of the Euros finals.

→ Randal Kolo Muani’s opening goal in the eighth minute of the game was France’s first goal from open play at Euro 2024.

SF: Netherlands vs England (Today at 20:00 BST - Add to calendar)

→ Of all the nations England have faced 20+ times in their history, only against Brazil (15%) do they have a lower win rate than they do against the Netherlands (27%).

→ For the Dutch, it will be a sixth semi-final at the Euros. They have lost their last four, with their one victory coming in 1988 - and they went on to win that tournament.

Messi Memecoin

Lionel Messi memecoin WATER controversy

Lionel Messi has promoted a memecoin called WaterCoin (WATER) to his 504 million Instagram followers.

(In case you’re wondering, Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency and are, more often than not, meant for fun.)

WaterCoin says the project is focused on raising awareness for water-related issues around the world but is scant on details of how the project will achieve its goals. 

Unsurprisingly, Messi’s endorsement to half a billion people has attracted investors to WATER. 

Apart from the fact that it’s basically a worthless investment, critics have pointed out that 30% of the supply of the coin is owned by insiders…

It’s still a mystery why someone on a $54-million-a-year is promoting a speculative memecoin.

Look, Messi technically hasn’t done anything wrong… 

… but financial regulators have cracked down on celebrities who promote cryptocurrencies without disclosing their affiliation, including Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Ne-Yo, and many more.

And while football clubs have dabbled in cryptocurrencies to “promote fan engagement”, a committee of MPs in the UK advised that clubs shouldn’t promote “volatile cryptoasset schemes” to their fans.

Either way, Messi might be brilliant with a ball at his feet, but we’re not so sure about taking his financial advice.

Off The Pitch

🌪️ More than 1 million are without power due to Storm Beryl in south-east Texas and Louisiana (More)

🍿 The sequel to The Devil Wears Prada is in the works at Disney (More)

🍔 US fast food chain to open 60 restaurants in UK (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 A new study finds that Welsh is the UK’s most relaxing accent (More)

🏉 Super League rugby is set to host a game in Las Vegas for the first time in 2025 (More)

🎾 Novak Djokovic accuses the Wimbledon crowd of ‘disrespect’ as he advances to the quarter-finals (More)

Photo of the Day

Record-breaking youngster. Lamine Yamal became the youngest-ever player to score at a men’s European Championship when he netted a wonder goal for Spain. The 16-year-old broke a 20-year record; at Euro 2004, then-18-year-old Johan Vonlanthen scored for Switzerland against France, four days after Wayne Rooney set a record by scoring against the Swiss.

Around The Football World

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Craig Bellamy has been named as the new Wales manager, succeeding Rob Page who was sacked last month (More)

🇹🇷 Allan Saint-Maximim is set to sign for Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe from Saudi Pro-League club (More)

🇧🇷 Former Liverpool and Brazil forward Roberto Firmino has become a pastor of an evangelical church that he founded in Maceio, Brazil, alongside his wife Larissa Pereira (More)

🇦🇺 Daniel Arzani is expected to escape sanction from club side Melbourne Victory after a photo was circulated which showed the Australia international playing for an amateur team in Sydney (More)

🇦🇷 Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni would like to see European Championship teams eventually participate in the Copa America (More)

Extra Time

Gary Neville gets an ear full from Roy Keane in the BBC vs ITV match.

England’s reaction to Ivan Toney’s no-look meme has gone viral.

Zlatan Ibrahimović flyboarding in retirement as you do.

Thiago Alcantara’s highlights from the Champions League.

Podcast: There is nothing wrong with not playing Kane.

Game Face On

Question: Which Premier League side had the most Euro 2024 call-ups?

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Euro 2024: Netherlands vs England (20:00 BST)

Copa America: Uruguay vs Colombia (20:00 ET)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

Brentford F.C.

The Bees have seven players heading to Germany this summer, with Mark Flekken; (Netherlands); Thomas Strakosha (Albania); Christian Nørgaard, Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard and Zanka (Denmark); and Ivan Toney (England).

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day was submitted by Jake K from Norwich: I don’t why they ever bothered changing the 2006 Premier League ball. Crosses and shots have never curved the same since.

Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.