In many ways the story of Chelsea’s acquisition of Ben Chilwell from Leicester City is a familiar one. A big-spending club poaches a young English star from a side that over-performed the season before. Yet the £45 million price tag seems low when compared to the transfers of recent years. Is Chilwell really only a […]
Messi
Why we should scrap the Best FIFA Football Awards
We are a society obsessed with superstars. The brilliant, outlandish consistency of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s achievements have focussed the football world’s attention on individuality and personal success more than ever before. Since 2008 the pair have won five Ballon d’Or trophies each. The previous record was three. Much like in boxing, where each […]
Messi shines to leave the Premier League in the shade
Broadcasters regularly tell viewers the Premier League is the greatest league on Earth. However, as Lionel Messi’s hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League demonstrated this week, for all its riches, British clubs fail to attract the very best players. While Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have been praised for […]
A Catalonian conspiracy?
It’s bizarre that La Liga, which showcases some of the world’s greatest footballers, only introduced the Player of the Month award at the start of the 2013/2014 season – 19 years after it was introduced in the Premier League. Perhaps considering the dominance of Spanish sides in European competition, the provision of individual awards seemed […]