Latest news with #MarcelDesailly
Qatar Tribune
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
beIN SPORTS to deliver unprecedented month of football with live coverage of 14 major finals
Fourteen football finals – one unmissable month. beIN SPORTS, the leading sports broadcaster in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is airing an unprecedented feast of live football action this May, cementing its position as home to both the beautiful game and the sport's biggest and best tournaments around the globe. From the EFL Championship play-off – widely accepted to be the world's most valuable football match – to men's and women's continental deciders across Europe, Africa, and Asia, beIN's unrivalled programming is set to provide a celebration of football like no other this May. With the broadcaster delivering a range of live studio coverage, pre- and post-match analysis from the likes of Arsene Wenger, Marcel Desailly, Ruud Gullit, and Mohamed Aboutrika, and bilingual – often trilingual – commentary, beIN SPORTS is raising the game when it comes to showpiece football this season. The region's leading sports network launched its 'Month of Finals' last Saturday with a nervy French Women's Cup final in which Paris FC triumphed over PSG on penalties in Calais. This was followed by live coverage in Arabic and English of Al Ahli Saudi's historic 2-0 victory over Kawasaki in Asia's AFC Champions League Elite final in Jeddah. Next up is the Qatar Cup final on 10 May, where league champions Al Sadd face off against runners-up Al Duhail in what promises to be another thrilling encounter. The focus now moves west, with the first leg of Africa's CAF Confederation Cup final taking place on 17 May in Morocco between the country's two-time winners RS Berkane and Tanzania's history-makers Simba SC. The return leg in Dar es Salaam is scheduled for 25 May with beIN providing Arabic studio coverage for both ties, as well as commentary in Arabic, English, and French. Also on 17 May, Manchester City will take on Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley as London club Palace seek a first major trophy in their 119-year history. beIN will deliver full Arabic and English studio coverage, with additional French commentary, while the following day brings Asia's AFC Champions League Two final in which UAE side Sharjah FC face Lion City Sailors. Lion City are the first Singaporean side to reach a continental Asian final after their 6-1 semi-final defeat to Hiroshima became a 3-0 victory by forfeit when their opponents were found to have fielded an ineligible player. In the reformatted UEFA Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday 21 May, hosts Athletic Club or European giants Manchester United will take on Norway's Bodo/Glimt or English side Tottenham Hotspur. With a place in next season's UEFA Champions League on the line, all four will be well aware of the financial fall-out of lifting the coveted trophy. Saturday 24 May brings with it not one but six finals in the form of Africa' s CAF Champions League first leg, the French Cup final between PSG and Reims, Qatar's Amir Cup final, Asia's AFC Women's Champions League final, Europe's UEFA Women's Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona, and the lucrative EFL Championship Play-off final, which is worth an unparallelled US$470m to the winners in TV deals, sponsorship, and additional revenue streams. 'No matter where you go in the world – whether it's Calais or Qatar – football is so popular,' said Desailly, who finished his playing career after having won the UEFA Champions League with Marseille and AC Milan. 'This month provides a host of players with the chance to play in a final, to win a trophy, and become a legend at their club. I am very proud to be working with beIN as they bring a 'Month of Finals' to the Middle East and North Africa – a region I know loves football. I can't wait to share some special moments with fans over the next few weeks.' Closing out the month, the UEFA Europa Conference League final on Wednesday 28 May pits either Chelsea or Djurgarden against Real Betis or Fiorentina in Wroclaw, Poland, while the second-most watched football competition in world football – the UEFA Champions League – culminates on Saturday 31 May with PSG or Arsenal taking on Inter Milan or Barcelona at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Ruud Gullit, another two-time European Cup winner with Milan between 1988-90, added: 'This month promises to produce some unforgettable moments in world football and I'm delighted to be involved as part of beIN's team of analysts and special guests. The UEFA competitions will always hold a special place in my heart – winning the European Cup remains one of my career highlights – but I am also excited for the FA Cup, which is a magical competition that I won both as a player and manager.' Don't miss a moment of football's biggest month. Catch every final live and exclusive on beIN SPORTS. Subscribe now at
Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Arsene Wenger: Trent Alexander-Arnold proves era of big fees is over
Arsène Wenger believes Trent Alexander-Arnold's impending move to Real Madrid reflects a new trend in which elite players will no longer be involved in conventional, big-fee transfers. The former Arsenal manager said the biggest clubs cannot afford to pay top fees for players, as well offering them the highest wages, and so begin the signing process by approaching targets long before their contracts are scheduled to end. Alexander-Arnold, the Liverpool right back, publicly confirmed on Monday that he would leave Anfield when his contract expires in the summer, having informed the head coach Arne Slot in March that he wanted to experience a new challenge. Wenger believes the era of the big-money deal is over TULLIO PUGLIA/GETTY IMAGES Wenger, who was speaking on beIN SPORTS alongside the former AC Milan and Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly, said: 'I believe that it shows the trend of transfers now and it shows a new trend in the game. 'There is no transfer anymore for the big, big players. They go all at the end of their contract because the wages are so high that [if] you want to buy Marcel today you have to give him so much money that you cannot pay the transfer anymore. 'So what do the big clubs do? They say two years before the end of a contract we want to buy you, we give you these wages and we will try to make an offer to the club. If it doesn't work, we come back next year and if it doesn't work then, we will take you for free. That is what they [Real Madrid] did with [Kylian] Mbappé as well.' Liverpool first seriously approached Alexander-Arnold over extending his deal in April 2024 — 14 months before it was due to expire — when the club's new sporting director, Richard Hughes, tried to bring stability after a period of unprecedented change behind the scenes. Negotiations continued until March this year with Alexander-Arnold telling Liverpool's official website on Monday that there remained a 'massive possibility' he would have stayed at Anfield. He said the decision to depart had been the 'hardest of his life'. Real have signed a number of players on free transfers in recent years including Mbappé, although he was initially the subject of a £171.7million bid in August 2021 which was rejected by Paris Saint-Germain when the forward had a year remaining on his deal. Mbappé then signed a new contract at PSG which expired in the summer of 2024 after the attacker opted against triggering a final 12 months, paving the way for his move to Real on a free last summer. Similarly, Liverpool rejected the idea of selling Alexander-Arnold to the Spanish side in January when the 26-year-old had six months left on his deal because they were focused solely on winning the Premier League title. Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba also moved to the Bernabeu on free transfers, although that has been supplemented by expensive deals for players such as Jude Bellingham (about £100million) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (£69million). Liverpool had wanted to sign Tchouaméni, the France midfielder, in the summer of 2022 before missing out to Real, and tracked Bellingham extensively before pivoting in the summer of 2023 and signing the trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, who have formed their title-winning midfield, for a combined outlay of £130million. keen to recruit Alexander-Arnold before his contract expires on June 30, in order for him to play in the Club World Cup which begins in the middle of next month.
