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Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Marc Cucurella explains what Chelsea must do against PSG as he eyes round three with Ousmane Dembele
Watch Ousmane Dembele when Chelsea take one of their short goal kicks on Sunday night. The Paris Saint-Germain striker's stance will be practically primal, similar to a sprinter eager to eat up his 100 metres, primed to chase that ball as if it is the last one left on the planet. Marc Cucurella cites Dembele as the toughest opponent he has ever faced and the Spaniard says that as someone who has twice stopped the supersonic 28-year-old from scoring when he was in his territory on France's right wing. First in the Euro 2024 semi-final won 2-1 by Spain and then in the Nations League final, a 5-4 victory in which there is a picture of Cucurella shouting down at a decked Dembele like Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston. Now, the trilogy. Dembele will start as PSG's striker in the Club World Cup final being held here in the shadow of New York City but chances are the favourite for the next Ballon d'Or will drift into Cucurella territory on occasion. Chelsea's left back is not frightened, however. In fact, we find him giggling after arriving at the lobby of their five-star hotel, The Peninsula, for this interview. That is because we have asked him how he went from being booed by his own fans for being so bad to booed by opposing fans for being so good. 'They don't leave me alone, no one, never!' Cucurella says of rival sides' supporters, laughing. 'But it's good. I know when they do this, it's because we're going through or if they're going to lose the game.' Cucurella was with Getafe then Brighton before joining Chelsea for £55million rising to £62m, and on his initial issues with the supporters who now cheerfully sing 'he eats paella, he drinks Estrella, his hair is f***ing massive', he continues: 'It was tough at the beginning because I'm not a player that has the quality to take the ball and change the game. I understood that the club paid a lot of money for me so they expect I'm a machine and I score every game! 'Before Chelsea, I played more in small clubs so you don't feel this pressure. So it was like, if we win, I'm very happy. If we draw, it's another point, don't get relegated. But when you come here, you feel like you need to win every game. 'I don't feel like I enjoyed (my early time at Chelsea) because when you join here, it's like, 'You win, OK, it's your job' and you don't celebrate. It's difficult to feel this pressure. I'm the same player I was when I signed but now I have more confidence. I trust my quality. It's an important thing to learn in the big clubs. 'It was difficult because in the first months, I was like, 'Oh f***ing hell'. I enjoyed it more at other clubs because when you win, you are happy all week. But if you are at a big club, you need to understand this. Here you need to win every game because at the end of the season, you want to play for trophies and finals.' Cucurella adds he takes no notice of the barbs aimed at him from the stands, the Sideshow Bob comparisons and all that. Chelsea's players watched PSG's 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the semi-finals but, again, Cucurella insists they are not scared of taking on Luis Enrique's world beaters and he is confident they can pocket Dembele as he has done previously. 'Madrid made two big mistakes in two minutes which changed the game completely and it was hot as well so that put the game in PSG's favour,' he says. Indeed, Chelsea are going into this game with a plan to try to have their share of possession, despite Enrique's side tending to dominate whenever they play. The reason? The humidity will exhaust the side without the ball. Cucurella concedes PSG are the best team in the world but then, anything can happen. 'A final is a final,' he reminds us. 'We are ready for the game. They have good players but we have good players. It will be a difficult match. It will be 50/50. We will have our chances as well. 'When I arrived at this club, it was difficult. We know Chelsea is a big club. This manager has arrived with a lot of energy. We love to learn and he can teach us. We are able to understand his ideas and show it. We had a good season. We wanted the Champions League and did it. We won the Conference League. This is another step for us.' Cucurella can pinpoint the precise date when he began to enjoy his time at Chelsea. It was on March 17, 2024. He had been injured since December, then returned and scored in a 4-2 win in the FA Cup. 'I had time to think about myself and to know me better and what is good for me and what I needed to work on more,' he says. 'This is probably the moment that changed my career. 'Yes, it was a bad moment, it was very tough for me, but after this injury, I scored against Leicester. Then that evening, the national team called me because they had an injured left back (Jose Gaya). 'That summer, I played the Euros, six games. We played amazing football and I was very important. Then I came here in the summer and everything was better. The manager, he brought my best football out of me.' We got to see a more human side to Cucurella in Married to the Game, the television series in which took us inside of his family life. He and his wife, Claudia Rodriguez, spoke tearfully on their son, Mateo, who lives with autism. 'It was very good because, OK, I play for Chelsea. I won the Euros, but we have a lot of problems that a lot of families can have,' he says. 'People think that you have a perfect life, but it's not like this.' Whatever happens, when this Club World Cup is over, Chelsea's players are going to be given 21 days of downtime, so long as it is not delayed by a sudden FIFA directive for the winners to report to the White House in Washington for an Oval Office audience with President Trump. How will Cucurella spend those three weeks? On a Disney cruise with his wife and three children. 'I will need to watch all the cartoons,' he beams. 'Just enjoy what they want to do. Try to spend time with them. The most important thing is that when I'm with them, I don't think about football.' Sunday is for business, however, not pleasure. Cucurella will try to stop Dembele, Desire Doue and all of PSG's other army of attackers from scoring while hoping Cole Palmer and Co can grab the goals that secure Chelsea the shiny FIFA badge which would live on their shirts for the next four years.
Daily Mirror
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd 'ready' to trigger release clause for transfer after Andre Onana injury
Manchester United's latest injury could see them move quickly in the transfer market as they were already eyeing a new goalkeeper to add to Ruben Amorim's squad Manchester United are ready to make a bid for goalkeeper John Victor and the timing could not be better following Andre Onana's hamstring injury. The Red Devils No.1 now looks set to miss the start of the club's pre-season campaign. Ruben Amorim's side have been linked with signing a goalkeeper this summer amid inconsistencies in Onana's performances, and uncertainty over back-up option Altay Bayindir. But the requirement for a new goalkeeper may have stepped up a gear after injury struck. United fear Onana will be out of action for six to eight weeks and as a result is at risk of being unavailable for the opening Premier League match against Arsenal on August 17. The Cameroon international is set to travel on the club's pre-season tour of the United States, but will not play. United have already been linked to a whole host of goalkeepers this summer. Aston Villa star Emi Martinez, Porto ace Diogo Costa and Cruz Azul number one Kevin Mier have all been linked. But Botafogo stopper Victor has emerged as a target that would not come with the same weight of transfer fee. Reports in Brazil claim United are now ready to move for the goalkeeper and have told Botafogo that they are willing to trigger the player's R$44.5 million (£6m) release clause. Victor played a starring role for the Brazilian side at the Club World Cup and is said to have been the subject of an enquiry and a number of meetings. And United now appear ready to table an offer for the 29-year-old. Speaking last year, Victor's agent Pedro Gutierrez admitted that there was already interest beginning to grow in his client. He said: 'I have had many phone calls from clubs in Europe enquiring about John and that is no surprise after what he has achieved with Botafogo. "There has been interest from clubs in England, Germany, Portugal and elsewhere, but John would prefer to play in the best league in the world – the Premier League. Liverpool and Manchester City both have Brazilian goalkeepers in Alisson and Ederson and they have both been successful in England. "John would like the opportunity to emulate those two and become the latest Brazilian goalkeeper to showcase his talents in the Premier League". United's pre-season friendlies get underway on July 19 when they play Leeds United in Sweden. Te club go on to face West am, Bournemout and Evertono in te US.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Club World Cup 'world's most successful club competition'
Fifa president Gianni Infantino says the Club World Cup is "already the most successful club competition in the world", despite widespread criticism of the who has led world football's governing body since 2016, claims the competition has generated more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in revenue, which he says is worth "$33m (£24m) per match".As a result, he believes the tournament has been a "huge success", adding "the golden era of global club football has started".Infantino's words come just weeks after former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the Club World Cup, which this year moved to the summer and expanded to 32 teams, was "the worst idea ever implemented in football".Many matches have been poorly attended, with more than a million empty seats during the tournament, while players like Jude Bellingham, Reece James and Enzo Fernandez have criticised the weather conditions and quality of the pitches in the United midfielder Fernandez said the heat was "very dangerous", while his manager Enzo Maresca complained it is "impossible" to have a normal training at Trump Tower in New York on the eve of Sunday's final between Chelsea and Paris St-Germain (20:00 BST), Infantino said: "The golden era of global club football has started. "We can say definitely that this Fifa Club World Cup has been a huge, huge, huge success. Of course, there are a lot of positives, some negatives. "We respect everyone's opinion. It has been successful. We have had over 2.5 million in the stadium. That's around 40,000 spectators per match - there is no league in the world with that number, except the Premier League which, of course, has home teams and these are neutral stadiums."We heard financially it would not work but I can say we generated over $2bn in revenues with this competition. We earned on average $33m per match. There is no other cup competition in the world that comes close to $33m per match. "It is already the most successful club competition in the world with all different measurements." Fifa will 'definitely use' covered stadiums during day at World Cup In New Jersey, where Sunday's final - set to be attended by US President Donald Trump - will take place, temperatures have reached 38C in recent accepted the high summer temperatures in the US are "definitely an issue" after Fernandez called on Fifa to consider player welfare before next summer's 2026 World this month, players' union Fifpro said it believed Chelsea's game against ES Tunis in Philadelphia, among others, should have been delayed or postponed because of the World Cup is due to take place in the US, Canada and Mexico over the same period next year."Of course, the heat is definitely an issue," said Infantino. "It's an issue around the world. I remember it was the same in the Olympics in Paris and in other football games. "The conditions need cooling breaks, watering the pitch and seeing how we can do things better. But we have stadiums in America that are covered and one in Canada in Vancouver which is covered, and we will definitely use these stadiums more during the day."Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium was the only covered stadium at the Club World Cup but the 2026 World Cup will have a further four options with roofs - Vancouver, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.
