Anxiety among the staff of the greats of Europe

The offices of many of the big clubs in Europe were disturbed. Between unfulfilled sporting expectations, changing rooms, demanding owners, changes in shareholding or in the direction of management, the teams are facing a complicated summer. FC Barcelona will return to be subject to difficult limitations caused by its economic situation. Regarding his executive organization, he also registers differences, although in comparison, others in his rank are experiencing a more traumatic transition, even bitter. Recapturing the League for the club, after four years, helps Barça face the future with greater self-esteem.

FC BARCELONA

Deco, prepared for July 1

At the Camp Nou, Mateu Alemany will finally continue as Director of Football, after reconsidering his first idea of ​​leaving, a reconsideration already offered to him by President Joan Laporta when the executive chose to close a phase. Jordi Cruyff, until now, the sports director, will leave and he will do it without noise, without acrimony. Everything indicates that Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco, 45, will become the new sports director of FC Barcelona on July 1, once he has resolved all his issues as a representative of the players he manages, and has- unsubscribe as a FIFA agent. Deco, already teased by Laporta last season, has now decided to accept the challenge after the experience he gained working first with agent Jorge Mendes and then with his own representation company D20 Sports. Deco will propose signings and casualties and decide with coach Xavi Hernández.

2

BAYERN

Kahn and Salihamidizc fell

Even Jamal Musiala’s last-minute goal that gave Bayern the Bundesliga did not change the total renewal of the command structure of the German champions. The sense of the end of the cycle was very clear at the time when the aulic adviser of Munich, full of former legends with voice and vote, cost the heads of the two big men of the past years, Oliver Khan and Hasan Salihamidzic, president of the council manager and sports director, respectively. The removal of a good bet on the bench, Julian Nagelsmann, replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who also lost in the German Cup and in the Champions League, was combined with failed signings such as Sadio Mané in place of Robert Lewandowski, signed by Barça. Jan-Christian Dreesen, until now economic vice president, was appointed in place of Kahn, who was loud and cynical.

3

ajax

Van der Sar left after a disastrous year

The crisis at Ajax took Edwin van der Sar, former legendary goalkeeper for the European champion in 1995 and CEO of the Amsterdam club since 2012. An infamous season -third place in the Eredivisie for the first time since 2009- confirmed the destruction of a project that not so long ago has grown significantly thanks to his hand and the push of Marc Overmars as sports director and Erik ten Hag as coach. The semifinal of the Champions League in 2019 and four Leagues in a row was the culminating point of that beautiful inertia that slowed until the end of Van de Sar’s journey. The departure of Overmars and Ten Hag anticipated the destruction of the project. Van de Sar will stay until August 1 to hand over his work to a still faceless relief. “We live in very good things, but an incredibly difficult time,” Van der Sar admitted. Coach Alfred Schreuder, Ten Hag’s successor, was fired at the end of January. Interim coach John Heitinga did not bring joy back to the team.

4

JUVENTUS

No one is safe in Turin

Punished for the ‘Pulsvalías Case’ with a 10 point penalty in Serie A, Juventus hastened their ballots to play in the Europa League. Nothing and no one seems to be safe in Turin. Coach Massimiliano Allegri will have no guarantee of his continuation, while names such as Fabio Grosso, Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane are ringing up to succeed him. The ‘vecchia signora’ wants to start another cycle which will start by bringing the best sports director in Italy, which could be Beppe Marotta, ex of Juve now at Inter, or above all Cristiano Giuntoli, sports director of Napoli champion of the ‘scudetto’ who seems to have been chosen to lead a five-year plan that is cooling down. Without Guintoli, Juve can rely on Giovanni Manna.

5

NAPLES

There is a ‘scudetto’, no Spaletti

Napoli won their first ‘scudetto’ since Diego Maradona more than 30 years ago, but that does not guarantee stability. The miracle coach, Luciano Spalletti, is taking “a sabbatical year”, as officially confirmed by the president Aurelio De Laurentiis, arguing that he cannot refuse to “do what he wants”, Less understanding presented to his sports director since 2015 , Cristiano Guintoli, which was almost all discussed at Juve but De Laurentiis wanted to insist on the year of the contract left by the executive.
Luis Enrique Martínez seems to be the coach De Laurentiis is looking for, with the aim of keeping the team’s two cracks, Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia.

6

CHELSEA

Pochettino, the last change of course

Mauricio Pochettino is the new Chelsea manager. in principle until 2025, with an option for the ‘blue’ club to extend his contract until 2026. Long is trusted by Todd Boehly, the American owner who succeeded the successful Russian Roman Abramovich, who over of years gained patience and titles. Boehly provides changes at the helm and the Argentine, formerly of Spain, Tottenham and PSG, is the latter. It’s been a tumultuous season ending, after Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter were both sacked within months. Pochettino took the reins of a European champion Chelsea in 2021 and who in 2023-24 will not play continental competition. And Chelsea have spent more than 600 million euros in the recent transfer market. The result, a squad with 33 more players on loan.

7

PSG

With Mbappé, that’s what matters to him

This seems to be the only thing PSG is obsessed with right now: keeping Kylian Mbappé. The 24-year-old striker has confirmed that he will continue in Paris next season. Everything else seems to be a permanent matter, although both the president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and the sporting director, Luis Campos, continue to be in charge, the latter having a contract until 2025. Winning Ligue 1 is not yet well enough for a club that has failed time and time again in the Champions League. There is now talk in the locker room of a team trading ‘glamour’ for solidity, but that is easier said than done. Leo Messi, Marco Verratti, Neymar… It will be necessary to see what they will do with them all. There is talk about throwing the coaches -Luis Enrique, José Mourinho,…- and the players -Marco Asensio-.

8

MANCHESTER UNITED

Suspense because of whose it is, not because of who wore it

Manchester United is a great player in the Premier League and Europe looking north of it for years. In sports management, he seems closer to finding it since he signed Erik ten Hag for his bench, with his successful cycle at Ajax as an endorsement. More suspense surrounds the business owner. All season there has been talk of changing hands at Old Trafford, with INEOS and British tycoon Jim Ratcliffe among possible bidders. The latest, according to The Times and Sky Sports, is an offer of 6,000 million euros that Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani is preparing to buy Manchester United, in the hands of the American Glazer family since 2005.

9

LIVERPOOL

Klopp will try to do it again

Jürgen Klopp closed out his most disappointing season at Anfield since his arrival in 2015. The German coach failed to get Liverpool to qualify for the 2023-24 Champions League, a competition they won in 2019. Although he did not win the titles in the first three seasons as a ‘red’, Klopp has always given the feeling of growing the project. . Until now. Winning the Premier League in 2020, the first in three decades, was celebrated more than ‘orejona’. “I will find time to recharge my batteries and start July with renewed enthusiasm.” If someone has the credit to try him again, it is Klopp at Anfield, despite having hit the bone with transfers such as the 80 million euros paid for Darwin Núñez, although he is still young and the Uruguayan striker may have another chance. This is not the case with Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Milner or Keïta, who have already left Anfield as free agents. Names like Alexis MacAllister sound.