
'97m reasons to take on the world' - Thursday's back pages
Thursday's newspaper back pages hone in on how Manchester City and Chelsea could earn up to £97m in prize money from this year's Club World Cup.The two sides qualified because of their recent Champions League wins and could earn the biggest prize money ever awarded in club football over a seven-game format this summer.It comes amid ongoing talks of the gap between Championship and Premier League teams and the financial differences between many of the top-flight teams.The expanded Club World Cup, featuring 32 clubs, will take place in the United States from 15 June to 13 July.
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Daily Mirror
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arsenal finally seal permanent transfer for signing dubbed 'a scandal'
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The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
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Scottish Sun
36 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
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He scored a beautiful equaliser to make it 1-1 in the first half – a low driven effort any striker, including his 40-year-old teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, would have been proud of. He then stepped up to rifle in an impressive spot-kick in the shoot-out, having given 17-year-old winger Yamal – a Ballon d'Or favourite – a night to forget in Munich, a real schooling in the arts of defending and positional domination. Mendes said post-match: 'It was a clash [with Yamal] like many others I have had during the season. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS RED ALERT Man Utd release 10 players including Eriksen and Evans as summer overhaul begins 'I have faced up to many great players, very technically skilled players who can make a difference, but today I cancelled out Lamine and [did] not let him do what he does best. "This helped the team and I am happy I helped the team to win this trophy. It's all about being consistent. 'I have played many good games and it's about the work I do individually and with the coaches at PSG and Portugal. 'The Ballon d'Or? I play with Ousmane [Dembele] and he had a wonderful season, Lamine also had a wonderful season. But Ousmane will be in the Club World Cup and Lamine won't, so I'm very happy for Ousmane. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'I wish him the best for the Ballon d'Or and I and his teammates will help him get there. 'I play my football; there are players who are closer to that prize. I don't focus much on it.' New footage shows Cristiano Ronaldo's wild reaction to Portugal Nations League win as Man Utd star is 'used as shield' 7 Mendes said he 'cancelled out' Ballon d'Or contender Lamine Yamal on Sunday night 7 Mendes' PSG team-mate Ousmane Dembele is among the favourites for the Ball d'Or He can add modesty to his growing list of attributes, but why should Mendes be counting himself out of the most coveted individual award in football? It is the peak of snobbery in the sport that the grandest of prizes – one that Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated over the years – focuses on attackers and goal-getters. It will likely carry on this year too. Barcelona's Yamal, PSG's Dembele and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah are the favourites. As Jamie Carragher once famously said: 'No one wants to grow up and be a Gary Neville', but is that changing? Full-backs are now sexy, admired, idolised and coveted. Surely the day is coming where someone in that position will win the Ballon d'Or for the very first time. 7 Trent Alexander-Arnold has rewritten the full-back rule book in recent years with his passing ability and goal involvements, and has openly admitted to be eyeing the Ballon d'Or now as he prepares to don the shirt of Real Madrid next season. Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly has emerged as another young full-back prodigy after scoring on his England debut back in March, someone who originally came through the Hale End academy as a midfielder. But Mendes appears to be on another planet right now. Against Spain, he had more successful dribbles, touches, tackles, final-third passes and successful duels in the opposition box than any other Portugal player. He tasted Champions League glory against Inter Milan on May 31, having already pocketed a Ligue 1 and cup double, and could yet lift more silverware at the Club World Cup in the States next month. The Ballon d'Or is often about goals, with Erling Haaland, Vinicius Jr, Robert Lewandowski and Sadio Mane coming close to winning it in recent editions. Yet it is also about big titles, and very few players can rival Mendes in that regard, but because he is a defender, the limelight will likely – and perhaps wrongly – be on others. Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk is the last defender to feature in the Ballon d'Or top three back in 2019, and you have to go back to 2006 for a defender to win it outright – Italy's Fabio Cannavaro after leading his nation to a World Cup win. Time is on Mendes' side to replicate that and Manchester City holding midfielder Rodri's recent win will encourage him. Play a starring role in Portugal winning the World Cup across the pond next summer and full-backs may finally get their moment in the sun.