In short
The episode is about football governance and power struggles at FIFA, plus related club-transfer and preseason talk.
Guests
- Gabriele Marcotti (longtime football journalist/analyst; discusses FIFA and club matters).
- Shaka Hislop (former Trinidad and Tobago international; focuses on politics and voting power of smaller nations).
- Ale Moreno (panelist; joins later for additional topics).
Key claims
- UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC call for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to quit, arguing leadership is a duty and that FIFA’s handling showed “failure of judgment,” not just “communication.”
- Marcotti says the plan was “stupid” and mishandled timing: pushing after the World Cup but before elections, giving opponents leverage.
- Hislop warns smaller federations depend on FIFA funding, so threats of breakaway/pulling out could become a “game of chicken.”
- Marcotti argues Infantino may be ousted, but opponents’ leverage is limited by members’ reliance on FIFA money.
Notable examples
- Balogun affair; a Somali referee incident during the World Cup; FIFA’s “FIFA Forward” funding; potential legal action via CAS.
- Marcotti also discusses Chelsea’s veteran signings (Henderson, Welbeck) and Liverpool preseason fitness, plus transfer rumors (Bezos stake in Liverpool; Barcola to Liverpool; Ferran Torres to PSG).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOIntroduction of Infantino's Letter
0:28 to 1:00
Discussion begins on an open letter addressing Gianni Infantino's leadership in football.
Trust and Accountability in FIFA
1:00 to 1:44
Analyzing the failures of communication and accountability within FIFA under Infantino.
“Leadership in football is not about holding or demanding power to be held.”
Infantino's Leadership Blunders
1:44 to 3:05
Exploring the significant blunders of Gianni Infantino's presidency and their implications.
“Now there has been, Gianni Infantino has come backtracked somewhat on this.”
Miscalculations and Alliances
3:05 to 4:33
Discussion on Infantino's miscalculations and the potential strategic alliances he overlooked.
“Even from a purely commercial and business standpoint, it was not a plan that served FIFA's interests.”
Potential Consequences for FIFA
4:33 to 6:01
What could happen if federations pull out from FIFA competitions and the impact on the organization.
“And maybe he could have forged alliances with certain people, people who are aligned with certain other powerful figures.”
Smaller Nations and FIFA Support
6:01 to 8:26
The role of smaller nations in supporting FIFA and the implications of their funding reliance.
“It's obviously one of the levers they can pull.”
South American Reactions to Infantino
8:26 to 11:28
Analyzing South American federations' responses to Infantino's actions and leadership.
“And keeping in mind, just let's look at the Caribbean nations, the CFU, 31 voting members who all benefit and who all rely on FIFA funding.”
Future of Gianni Infantino
11:28 to 14:00
Discussion on the possible outcomes for Infantino's role amid growing discontent.
“I was going to ask you, though, Shaq, do you make those calculations with your algorithm?”
Infantino's Financial Strategy in Football
14:00 to 16:42
Explore how Infantino has increased funding for football development globally.
“Infantino is the man who has greatly increased the amount of money that's available to develop football around the world, in part because he grew revenues.”
Liverpool's Preseason Performance Review
17:31 to 21:18
Analyze Liverpool's recent preseason results and performance expectations.
“Every assist, every stop, every logo three.”
Show all 26 chapters
Potential Club Ownership Changes at Liverpool
21:18 to 24:14
Investigate the possibility of Jeff Bezos and Edward Saverin investing in Liverpool.
“I think what tends to happen is they say we want a group that was going to get and take a minority stake.”
Ferran Torres' Possible Move to PSG
24:14 to 28:00
Discuss the implications of Ferran Torres potentially leaving Barcelona for PSG.
“Let's just get down to just under 100 million if we can right now with Bradley Barcola's name in the frame to be going to Liverpool.”
Ferran Torres: Barcelona’s Stopgap Player
28:00 to 29:49
Discussing Ferran Torres' role at Barcelona and potential transfer to PSG.
“When Lewandowski wasn't available, it was Ferran Torres that was starting, and consistently so.”
Player Perspectives and Market Dynamics
29:50 to 31:29
Examining Ferran Torres' mindset and other players' eagerness to join Barcelona.
“for the foreseeable future, if Julian Alvarez, if they can't get that over the line.”
Young Players Eager to Impress
31:30 to 33:18
Discussing young players returning early to training and their motivations.
“It's a whole body of work and we don't think you're worth what you're asking.”
Gab's Holiday Reflections
33:19 to 34:28
Gab shares his holiday experiences and the impact of work interruptions.
“So I can understand it from their perspective.”
Chelsea's Summer Transfer Strategy
36:13 to 42:00
Analyzing Chelsea's shift in transfer strategy and upcoming season expectations.
“What do we expect from Chelsea this season, Gab?”
Xavi Alonso's Challenges at Chelsea
42:00 to 43:23
Discussion on the pressure and expectations facing Xavi Alonso at Chelsea.
“And he has proven, as he did in Bayer Leverkusen, that he can construct.”
Xavi Alonso's Challenges at Chelsea
43:26 to 43:48
Discussion on the pressure and expectations facing Xavi Alonso at Chelsea.
“So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for.”
Cesc Fabregas and Como's Performance
44:08 to 46:28
Gab Marcotti shares insights on Cesc Fabregas's project at Como.
“Me and Gab, we left out all the communications.”
Squad Numbers: Personal Stories
46:28 to 50:12
Discussion on the importance of squad numbers with personal anecdotes.
“I would have that conversation with him gladly right now.”
Arsenal's Interest in Kenan Yildiz
50:12 to 51:40
Gab Marcotti analyzes Arsenal's interest in Juventus player Kenan Yildiz.
“but it just caused a little bit of a stir, if I can put it nicely, within your dressing room.”
Liga MX vs. MLS Fan Dynamics
51:40 to 56:00
Discussion on the attendance dynamics when Liga MX teams play in the US.
“an obvious guy to pursue Alright for Gab Yildiz again here Start, bench and drop in terms of who has the most potential and likely to have the most successful career individually Esposito, Paz or Yildiz?”
Attendance Trends in MLS vs. Liga MX
56:00 to 56:44
Explore the disparities in fan attendance between MLS and Liga MX games.
Living Arrangements and Team Dynamics
56:44 to 59:06
A humorous discussion about which ESPN FC colleagues they'd choose to live with.
“It was against Chivas and it was mostly Chivas fans.”
Personal Reflections on Home Life
59:06 to 1:02:31
A light-hearted conversation about family life and personal relationships.
“Well, I've already lived with Dan and that was fine.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Get your tickets now for the Dog Stars. It's no surprise how fast civilization can disappear. Out there, just kill or be killed. Jacob Elordi. There are people out there. They need our help. Josh Brolin. Shoot first and inquire afterwards. Margaret Qualley. Okay, tough play. And Guy Pearce. Arm up! The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott. In theaters August 28th. Get tickets now. Ready to R. Under 17, not a minute without parents.
0:58from Jenny Infantino. In this open letter, they say, Leadership in football is not about holding or demanding power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it. When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned. Goes on to say, FIFA treats this as a failure of communication when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment. It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong. There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness.
1:35We call for that unity to be honoured now with leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it. Gabriele Marcotti is joining us now. Now there has been, Gianni Infantino has come backtracked somewhat on this. FIFA have apologised for how this has all been handled, yet still it does feel though, Gab, that the damage has been done. Is this the biggest blunder that we've seen from Gianni Infantino in his presidency?
2:05Bigger than the SoftBank plan, bigger than the FIFA Peace Prize. I don't know. There have been several. I think what makes this bigger is the timing of it, right? Trying to force this through after the World Cup, but before the elections, which he would have probably won. And I think his opponents really saw an opportunity to pounce. I think they'd had enough. And it's just some of the other stuff that went on during the World Cup, from the Balogun affair to the Somali referee who wasn't given a chance to stick around, even in Canada or Mexico. They saw the weakness, and I think they jumped in.
2:53But it certainly was pretty egregious, not just because of the process, but because, as I wrote on the website and as many pointed out, it was just a stupid, stupid plan. Even from a purely commercial and business standpoint, it was not a plan that served FIFA's interests. How did he mess it up so badly, Gab? We see the headlines of him flying too close to the sun. It's a popular one because, you know, oh, look, he hangs out with all these sheikhs and presidents and, you know, he becomes a megalomaniacal and he somehow goes insane. I don't think that's the case. It would be out of character for a guy I've known for nearly 20 years now.
3:42But by the same token, it's really hard to explain. I think the answer might be in some of the people he was willing to sell the 20 % to or certainly lead the round. Some people have basically put that forward as an explanation. Some people have suggested that it was about money and the chance to cash in. He does not make a lot of money for leading an organization as large as FIFA, you know, relative to what some of his peers would make. It's four to five million dollars a year, which is a lot to 99 percent of humanity. But certainly not for somebody who delivers such revenues. Maybe it's that.
4:27I don't think it's that. I think it was just a massive miscalculation. And maybe he could have forged alliances with certain people, people who are aligned with certain other powerful figures. That's the only thing I can think of, because you could have put this through. You could have waited until after you got elected. You could have put this through. You could have said, hey, we want to do this. Let's put it at the tender. You know, these guys are valuing FIFA at 20 billion. Maybe somebody else values them more. Maybe somebody else is a better strategic partner. He didn't do any of that. And I think that is the grossest misconduct here.
5:06And I think that's also why not just UEFA, but as you mentioned there, leadership of CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation felt empowered to come out as strongly as they did. And you talk about them feeling empowered, these three federations. Could they be pulling away from FIFA tournaments themselves and setting up their own tournaments now?
5:28Look, that statement that you read that landed in, you know, a bunch of us, it landed in our inboxes on WhatsApp or this morning. And then moments later came the background briefing, which suggested exactly that. And you see it in, you know, a lot of my colleagues reported on it saying, you know, they're ready to do this. They're not going to participate at the next FIFA competition, which is the under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland in September, just a few weeks away. It's obviously one of the levers they can pull. They have other ones. They can take the case to Cass, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
6:11They can turn the screws on him legally, demand documents, not just related to this, but to the Super League as well. They can try legal action. There's a lot of things that they can do. Certainly that would be kind of the game over, checkmate one if they said, fine, well, then we're not going to play in your competitions. Because then at that point, the competitions would frankly be economically worthless because you wouldn't have, you know, the biggest markets, the biggest economies, the countries that pay the most for rights. not just Europe and North America, but by the way, also countries like Japan, like Australia, like Korea, major economies that sponsors COVID, they'd all be out.
6:54And, you know, he'd be left with a bunch of countries in Africa, Brazil and Argentina, of course, football heavyweights. But, you know, clearly it wouldn't be the scope as before. And then he couldn't deliver what he's delivered until now for the FIFA membership. I think that's the nuclear option. They want to keep it in their pocket. They don't want it to get that far. They don't want to be seen as kind of like the haves going after the have-nots and turn it into some kind of football class war. But of course, everybody knows that that is an option that they have in their pocket. Shaka, you're from Trinidad and Tobago.
7:29And one thing we do know is that a lot of the smaller nations, due to the funding that comes from FIFA, do support FIFA. What have you made of it all? I think while I understand and actually side with the statement of UEFA and CONCACAF and the AFC around Gianni Infantino and everything that's going on with it, I think if they aren't careful, this could just prove one big game of chicken for a lot of those nations for a lot of those reasons. Now, while I gather UEFA are unified in this, I do not see them kind of going nuclear, as Gav described it, in terms of pulling out of all FIFA competitions.
8:11The Women's Under-20 World Cup is just about a month away in a UEFA nation, a smaller UEFA nation, who would benefit greatly by hosting that tournament. I don't see them taking any action, certainly not that quickly, and not one that would impact one of the smaller nations in UEFA who are leading this. From a CONCACAF perspective, while Victor Montagliani signed the statement between him and his general secretary, I'm not sure that if they called an election tomorrow morning, you would get a majority of CONCACAF voting for or voting against Gianni Infantino. And keeping in mind, just let's look at the Caribbean nations, the CFU, 31 voting members who all benefit and who all rely on FIFA funding.
9:02And Gianni Infantino understands that and understands the politics of that better than anybody else. I'm not sure that you get this breakaway, unified CONCACAF in that regard. So now all of a sudden, you've got CAFO unified with their 54 votes. CONCACAF, let's call it 50-50 for this sake, whatever it may be. And all of a sudden now, you are talking Gianni Infantino already has 65, 75 votes in needing 100 or just about. And it becomes a really dangerous game to play in that regard. Now, there's a lot about this that I just, first of all, power is a hell of a drug. That's what I think motivated Gianni Infantino here.
9:58He feels he can do and make these decisions. You saw a botched attempt to get the Israeli FAA president and the Palestinian FAA president together a few months ago. There's just so much about this that just, I feel, epitomizes Gianni Infantino and where he is right now. But I'm not sure what the solution to this is, because I'm not sure that anybody is certain that they have the numbers. So let's get to Comerball, because Gab just mentioned Argentina and Brazil. Now, They initially voiced concerns, but they've since backed Infantino, praising the decision to scrap the commercial project and accept accountability.
10:39Is this, to Shaka's point, a critical pillar of support here? The old handout. The old, hey, we repudiate, we reject this, but, you know, Johnny, all right. You were wrong, but it's all right, guys. It's okay. And let me just tell you, being from South America, that is indeed a typical South American reaction. I'm from Venezuela. I'm from South America. And it feels like this is my cousin making this decision. I go, hey, it's fine, guys, guys. It's not that big of a deal, is it? Come on. We can all make mistakes. It's fine. And this is not the way that you run an organization, nor should it be the way that Comebol reacts to Infantino.
11:26and what everybody has rejected and everybody has repudiated. I was going to ask you, though, Shaq, do you make those calculations with your algorithm? Roughly, yes. Okay. It seemed like it was going through your algorithm. Yeah. You know what I find, and you mentioned Comebol, and I think the same applies to CONCACAF and to some degree to UEFA and AFC and all these big confederations. I understand that Gianni Fantino is radioactive right now, and he should be because what he was trying to do was just plain dumb. and he should be radioactive. But all these people are now sort of become holier than thou.
12:01They're all like, oh, the game is for the people. The game is of the people. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Isn't it Combo and CONCACAF the ones that are taking Copa America outside of South America and bringing it to the United States? Is that for the people? Is that for the people of South America? No, it isn't. So spare me with this sort of virtue signaling that we're having from everybody else around the world. that's like, oh, this is for the people and we do it for the people. And our leadership should reflect that. Well, yes, it should, but it should be reflected by everybody and by every confederation.
12:35We're all singling out Infantino here and all these people are his enemies, more than likely. They're all singling out Infantino and they do similar things on the side. They have similar behaviors on the side. The problem is that this thing goes unreported, underreported, unchecked or underchecked. And guess what happens? Hand out here, hand out there, hand out there and come over and says, it's fine, Gianni. We're good. We have our support. This is how it works. This is how real life works. So let's talk and let's go back to Gianni Infantino then, if we can, Gab, and what his future role will look like.
13:08Is there a chance that someone does oust him or is it likely that he will just be kept in the role?
13:17I think there's a strong chance that he's going to be ousted. I wouldn't have said so until very recently, but given his latest actions, I take on board what Ali says, but you know what? There's degrees of overlooking, and there's a big card that his enemies can play, right? If we come out and we assume, and Shaka alluded to this, that the reality is, you know, three quarters maybe of FIFA's membership, they couldn't run national football programs without FIFA funding. Not just men's women's football, youth football. Maybe they could put out a men's senior team, but that's it, right? So they were heavily reliant on it.
14:02Infantino is the man who has greatly increased the amount of money that's available to develop football around the world, in part because he grew revenues. But all you have to do is go to them and say, hey, look, do you think it was only Johnny that could grow these revenues? You think it was only Johnny that could get the 15 billion or whatever it is they hope to make from this past World Cup? No, no, no. We can do the same. We can release some of those FIFA reserves, which are$2.7 billion in cash plus another couple billion in various financial instruments and financial assets. We can do all this.
14:36And we guarantee you, maybe for the next cycle or for the next six to seven years, we guarantee you the same money that Johnny was going to guarantee you under the FIFA Forward program. Once you do that, and we have the credibility to do this because we are the richest footballing nations in the world. We've shown that we know how to make money. Again, not just Europe, but CONCACAF, but Asia as well. We can do this for you and we guarantee you this. You don't think at that point they might not be open to change their vote and say, well, you know what? I'm the Cook Islands. I'm never going to qualify for a World Cup.
15:12I don't care if you have 48 or 64, 128. I just want to have my money so that I can run my youth football so that I can educate, get my coaching badges for my coaches so that we can play against Samoa once a year. Whatever it is that they do in the Cook Islands. That's all I want. I want money to develop football in my country. I don't care if Johnny's in charge or I don't care if somebody else is in charge as long as I get that money. And I think ultimately that is the card. if they do present a candidate to stand against Johnny or if, as they hope, Johnny steps aside and we get an interim boss until the elections in March.
15:53That is the card that people are going to say, hey, with me in charge, you're not going to get less money than you got under Johnny. We're going to continue to grow the game. What we won't do, we're not going to do favors because we get phone calls from presidents. We're not going to go and do deals with SoftBank, with various private equity people without telling anybody and then saying, hey, look, you better vote for this. The offer is good until tomorrow. We're not going to go and make deals with Joshua Kushner. We're not going to do any of this. Will you back us? We're going to try to run like a normal organization and not like what's kind of been a freak show at the top in terms of image.
16:38And you will still get your money. Is that a persuasive argument? I tend to think that it is for a lot of these nations. OK, good stuff. More from Gab now that he's back from his vacation on the Gab and Jewell show, because that will be returning for the new season. And you can check it out wherever you get your podcasts.
17:10You can count on to fast, dependable delivery. They're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, clickgrainger.com, or just stop by. You know when you're locked in, focused and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment.
17:48You bet. What records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.
18:03Here's a look at Liverpool's results in the preseason so far. two losses and two wins. And after their latest loss to Monaco on Sunday, which finished 3-2 to Monaco, Andoni Iraiola has said his team could not maintain their required level. He said, I think we played really good in the first half, especially the first 30 minutes, but right now probably we don't have much more in terms of the level required to play like this. Gab Marcotti is still with us. We're less than two weeks away from the start of the season. And luckily, Stevie Nicholls not here with his negativity surrounding Liverpool already at this stage.
18:41But is this a message to those players, do you think, Xhaka, that they need to step it up? Or is this a message to those above him that he needs some more players in? That's a one of them. OK. I think this is a message to the players. Quite, quite simply, you say we aren't good enough to play more than 30 minutes at this tempo, this type of football. this is a message to the players in what is ready and pretty much an expended pre-season that there's still a long way to go in this. I'll be honest, at the same time, I am very surprised that Irola is taking that stance in that this team just simply is not fit enough.
19:20At this point, I guess he also has to bear some of that responsibility if that is truly the case. Alec, two weeks before the season starts, how well are you running? As a professional, back in the day. You mean right now? Not right now. This is not great. No, no, no, it's the evidence of that. I'm leaking oil everywhere. Look, I think by this point, you probably are getting to where 45 minutes you're pushing the tempo. and you're starting to build up to the 60-minute mark. You're not quite ready for 60 minutes just yet. So the fact that they're somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes, I wouldn't be so concerned about it.
20:09I think as you build up in the preseason, it's a natural evolution. And as you continue to play matches, then you push it to 60, then into 70, and now you feel like you're ready. And even as you start the season, you're usually not ready for 90 minutes just yet. You're working your way into that. So I think this is a little premature. Just like Stevie's negativity about Liverpool is premature in general, I'm thinking right now it feels like a manager who's a new manager and wants to make sure that he sets a standard. And he lets the players know that there are certain things that are not acceptable.
20:45You're just putting your foot down and sending a message. It's not a strong message per se to the players, but just the message is, this needs to be better. And this is how we're going to get there. This is what we need to get there. And this is why we're going to work, because we're not quite ready yet. It's a new manager trying to make sure that the players know who is making the decisions. Could there be a new name at the top at Liverpool, though? Because reports coming from Liverpool, Gab, is that Jeff Bezos could be buying a stake in the club. What more can you tell us? yes this story was first reported a couple weeks ago it's not just Jeff Bezos it's Edward Saverin as well who was I think he was Zuckerberg's buddy from Harvard one of the original founders of Facebook and then kind of took his money and left the company and they've been brought together by another very wealthy guy Ameh Bhatia, who, of course, was previously involved with QPR.
21:49I think what tends to happen is they say we want a group that was going to get and take a minority stake. I think they talked to a stake of up to 30%. I mean, I'm sure that's negotiable. What's interesting is the valuation, which puts the valuation at around$8 billion, which is enormous, frankly, and saying, hey, do you want a slice of this? So let's not think that because Jeff Bezos is very rich, or I think Amit Batia's wife is an heir to the Metal Steel fortune. That's another kind of top 10 richest people in the world as well. It's not because these guys buy in, then all of a sudden they can go and spend money.
22:29They still have to follow rules. They have a minority stake, but they're kind of dipping their toe in the water. And later on, if Fenway decided they want to sell more of the club, then they're in a position to do that. Let's see if this materializes. I mean, if you have as much money as Jeff Bezos, sure, you can chuck a couple hundred million into Ahmed Batia's pot and take over a minority share. Maybe you go to a couple games, maybe you become a fan, and then if you don't like it, you sell it to somebody else, or you write it off because you're that rich. How long could something like this take, Gab?
23:08I don't think it should take that long. I mean, they do the due diligence. We're talking about a minority stake here, right? So Fenway would, at least in the reports I've seen, would still stay in control. So it would still be Mike Gordon running things with Henry and Warner and the rest of the Fenway sports group leadership group. So it's just a question of, you know, would they try to basically get back some money? They tried this before at a lower valuation, if you remember. Are these strategic partners? Can they offer something that we need that can make our club better? But I don't think it's going to have much of an impact on the club.
23:48And I can't imagine it would take that long. I mean, if that$8 billion baseline is there, I don't know if you're Bezos or Amit Bhattu. You're necessarily going to haggle too much and say, no, we value it at 7.2 or 7.4 billion. Because again, it would be different if they were fighting for control of the club. But at least according to reports we've seen so far, that's not the case. Yeah. And much more measly sums. Let's just get down to just under 100 million if we can right now with Bradley Barcola's name in the frame to be going to Liverpool. If you were this player, why would you want to be going to Liverpool and not sticking it out at PSG where you know there's success that's happened in the last few years?
24:31because you probably think that when you see the landscape of players available to Luis Enrique and the success that they have had at PSG, he's not too sure that he's going to get the repetition and the playing time that he thinks he deserves or thinks that he should have at this point in his career. And as he looks at Liverpool, he thinks that there's a potential for him to compete at a level in which perhaps it means that he's going to get those minutes and that repetition that I was just talking about. This is the only reason that it would make sense from Bradley Barcola to leave PSG and go to Liverpool is saying Look, I've done what I could here in PSG that hasn't been enough for me to be a Consistent player and a consistent starter for this team And as I look around it's Cabrera Scalian is the Mbellion this guy and that guy It probably doesn't seem like I'm gonna get that chance that I think I deserve and so let me go get it somewhere else The money is available from Liverpool Let me go find something at Liverpool and find that game time, that playing time at Liverpool that I think I'm going to get.
25:28Yeah, and one of the other reasons that we're talking about this is because we are seeing Ferran Torres, it seems likely, coming in to PSG. Gab, why is this happening?
25:41I mean, we're at a level of speculation, but I think if you're Ferran Torres, you've got a year left on your contract. If you're Barcelona, and you're still, by the way, you joined the club from Manchester City. So you are on considerable wages. You look at your prospects, you see that, all right, Lewandowski's gone, but Barcelona, you know, they've been linked with Julian Alvarez. They want a big name center forward. And maybe you want playing time and maybe you want some more security. And if you're Barcelona, maybe you say, we're paying this guy starter money, but he's not really the guy we want starting for us.
Read the full transcript
26:20and I would imagine Barcelona talked to him about extending his contract, maybe taking a pay cut, but maybe structured with bonuses to get a few more years. He said no, which he's entitled to, and he's got other offers out there. Well, then you'd much rather take$40 or$50 million for him, if that's what Paris Saint-Germain are willing to put on the table, than lose him for nothing in a year's time. And we're talking about a very good player, talking about a world champion here, right, in Ferran Torres. But I think this only happens if Barcelona don't believe that Ferran Torres is going to be their long-term starting center forward.
26:57That's why they would be available for the move. That's why he'd be okay with going to Paris Saint-Germain, where maybe on paper he wouldn't be an automatic starter either, but he would have a multi-year deal, he'd have more money, And, you know, he'd certainly have more opportunities than he would have at Barcelona if Barca lands somebody like Julian Alvarez or a really top shelf centre forward. So it makes sense for Ferran Torres, from what Gab's saying, does it make sense for PSG and Barcelona if this is to go through? Well, I take a slightly different position. I don't think it makes sense for Ferran Torres to go from Barcelona to PSG if what he's looking is for playing time.
27:39If he's cashing in, then so be it. But if it is about playing time, right now where we stand, it may change. Julian Alvarez may be in Barcelona, but that's a may. It may happen. And if you talk to Atletico Madrid, it's not going to happen. He is the only reference point that they have in terms of players that will play down the middle consistently for Barcelona and score goals for Barcelona if we go back to last season. When Lewandowski wasn't available, it was Ferran Torres that was starting, and consistently so. He, for the foreseeable future, would seem to be that guy at Barcelona. And so I don't believe that this makes a whole lot of sense, as of right now, for Ferran Torres.
28:19As for Barcelona, I'm picking up that phone. I'm talking to PC. You're offering how much? Ferran, you're going. Get. Because I know full well, I know full well, if I'm Barcelona, that Ferran Torres is a nice piece to have. but he's not the angular piece. He's not the guy and won't be the guy. He's a stopgap between whatever they had before in Roman Lewandowski and whatever comes next. He's not the angular piece. And so if you're going to get a big chunk of money, you take it. As for PSG, not quite sure why you would spend this amount of money for Ferran Torres because, frankly, again, he's a nice piece to have.
29:00I suppose if you look at the injury history of Osmone Dembele, then you're saying, well, you know, this guy can come in and do a job for a while if we need him to do that. In that regard, it seems to make sense. It seems like a lot of money to pay for that sort of role. I'm thinking that Barcelona is happy to see Ferran Torres work out the deal with PSG. Where are you on it, Shaq? I agree. I think Barcelona are happy to get Ferran Torres at the very least of their wages, especially with a year to go. You get something in foreign, makes an awful lot of sense. From a PSG perspective, I think Luis Enrique has earned the right to change things and to bring in and maybe take a gamble, if you can call Ferran Torres a gamble, in that regard.
29:43From a Ferran Torres perspective, and Ali says he will be certainly the starter, the centre forward for Barcelona for the foreseeable future, if Julian Alvarez, if they can't get that over the line. And again, Ali's absolutely right. Atletico Madrid, as far as they're concerned, that's not happening but then it becomes a stopgap it's maybe six months that you're that player and if you're Ferran Torres and you recognize that that Barcelona have been willing to kind of limp along with with Robert Lewandowski when they can and they they've got their eyes set on someone else already even if they can't get that player off over the line this transfer window next transfer window you're going to have those same conversations next summer again you they're going to have a lot of those same conversations.
30:28So you take that opportunity to move and you're moving to the European champions. I think from a player perspective, that's an easy fit for a manager showing you that he has faith in you. He wants you as his main man. If I'm Ferran Torres, similarly, I'm taking that. Well, I understand, Shaq, but if indeed you're going to get the opportunity to play and score the goals that you did last season, because Ferran Torres was productive last season and you score these goals and even if it is for six months and then you wait it out until the end of the year it's you're now free free free free free and all of that that comes your way free it's not going to Barcelona it's coming to you I'm just look sometimes I think Ferran Torres changed his perspective on what he is as a player after he scored the game-winning goal at the World Cup and he's like well anything goes now now I'm in a position in which I can demand stuff and Barcelona are like, no, we're not going to change our perspective as to what we think you are as a player because of that goal.
31:32It's a whole body of work and we don't think you're worth what you're asking. By contrast, some players are desperate to get back to Barcelona, so much so that they have cut their vacation short. The likes of Anthony Gordon, Eric Garcia and Juan Garcia are all back early in training with Barcelona. You know who never would do that, LA cut their holiday short. Shaq. Yep. Shaq, you're here, Slav. I'm a rated iPhone. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, boy. Big feet. Oh, all right, Shaq. Okay. I'm sure that was just orange juice. I take my holidays very seriously. Yes. As you should. Yes. Well deserved, Shaq. I mean, if anything, though, you're going the other way and going, can I just extend it by a day?
32:19Exactly, yeah. The plane was cancelled. One more week. One more week never hurts anybody. Once a week. Once a week, my friends. Yeah. What do you think of these players doing that, Shaka? Is it to be admired? Yes, it is. No, no. Keep a straight face when you say this. No, no. Again, I wasn't doing that. Which is why I admire it as much as I do. Listen, it's a big club. Competition for places is fierce. and you do what you can to get off on the right foot. And credit to them. Ale, here's a beacon of positivity, of course. And so you must think this is a great sign that these players are excited to get back and to show the coach what they're willing to give to the team this year.
33:04You know what it tells me? These guys didn't do a whole lot during the World Cup. There was a whole lot of sitting from these guys and watching. And other guys are playing. So let me just say, they're fresh. Anthony Gordon Anthony Gordon got told what he got told by But Anthony Gordon is a new player At Barcelona And he wants to make the impression That hey, I'm ready I'm all Barcelona all the time And look at me Y hablo español And so all of that I understand from Anthony Gordon John Garcia and Eddie Garcia They just sat on the bench for six weeks And it's like yeah, I'm tired of being home. Let's get this thing going.
33:49So I can understand it from their perspective. And I can also understand it as to why Anthony Gordon is trying to make the impression that he does because he knows that it's not just Hansi Flick that is evaluating him. The fans are already evaluating him. Yeah. Gab, you saw Shaka relaxing there. It's something he's very good at. Like the scenes of you in Menorca on your recent vacation. Oh, oh. I had a lovely time out on the boat. ate a lot of nice seafood and spent a lot of time doing a whole lot of nothing although of course Johnny Infantino did butt into my holiday a little bit because I was getting I was getting calls from the boss and stuff so not quite as restful as it might have been and it's another thing I can blame Johnny for yeah, Shaq would have never answered do not disturb my food was off yeah thanks Thanks Jenny for ruining Gab's holiday as well.
34:44La Liga is back very soon. These are the games you've got to look forward to with Real Madrid and Barcelona, both away to start their season. Espanol and Elche for those games, both coverage of these games, ABC, ESPN Plus and Deportes 3pm Eastern. Before that though, you can enjoy these games in La Liga from Saturday right through to August 19th when we will see Atleti in action against the newly promoted Malaga. You can catch all of these games, as always, on ESPN+.
35:17In a sunny Californian suburb, one family's home is unusually quiet. When detectives walked into that house, they said that it was like time just stood still. It's 2010, and the McStay family is nowhere to be found. Inside the home, no clear answer where the family could have gone. Husband, wife, and two children are gone, like, poof, disappeared. The search for the mixed days quickly captures the nation. But for years, the search for answers only brings more questions. Who's ever heard of an entire family going missing? A family of four doesn't just drop off the face of the earth with no contact.
35:54Is this a family on the run? Or is the truth far more sinister? From ABC Audio in 2020, this is What Happened to the Mixed Days. Coming August 11th, wherever you get your podcasts. or subscribe to 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes, early access to new episodes, and so much more.
36:19So here is a look at Chelsea's summer transfer business so far, and there seems to have been a distinct shift in that along with the established model of signing young players with high potential, we're seeing that they seem to have consciously added some proven veteran Premier League names in there with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck. Gab Marcotti still with us. What do we expect from Chelsea this season, Gab? Well, obviously, they did a bit of a U-turn on the policy. All those people complaining about lack of veteran leadership. Boom. Here's Jordan Henderson. Here's Danny Welbeck.
37:00You don't get more veteran leaders than those two. I think Xabi Alonso obviously placed certain conditions when he took over the job and he said, like, you know, no more of this project stuff. Let's get the right balance. So they've obviously abandoned the model, at least partially. Now, they are going to have to extricate themselves from the model because the model is designed to be longer term. and they're already under a settlement agreement with UEFA for violating their version of financial stability rules. They've been fined. If they don't reach certain targets this summer in terms of incomings and outgoings and costs, then they're going to be fined again.
37:49So that whole right-hand side of the graphic that you showed before with the players out, I would expect that to get a whole heck of a lot longer by August 31st. Otherwise, Chelsea are going to have some serious problems. It's interesting you say that, Gab, because we asked you to put together an XI for Chelsea for the coming season of what we've seen right now with these names. Where are the areas of concern where there needs to be reinforcements? I don't think they need too many more reinforcements. I think they need to move somebody out. And that's why I highlighted Enzo. Enzo Fernandez is a Chelsea player right now.
38:27Anything can happen, but I do not expect him to be a Chelsea player when the window closes. I think that's spot in midfield. We might see Dario Osugo there. We might see Romero Lavia if he's fit. We might see Jordan Henderson. We might see Rhys James there. There's a whole... There's Valentin Barco as well. We saw him play left back. He can also play midfield, of course. So there's a whole range of options that can come in there. I put that line up as a 4-2-3-1. Of course, we all know in possession it becomes a back three. That's the way Xabi Alonso likes it. And, of course, the full backs on both sides, whether it's Hato or James or indeed Marco Palestra, who's looked pretty good in some of the early friendlies, they're going to change it and it's going to become a de facto 3-3-4 when Chelsea are attacking again very much in the Xabi Alonso mould.
39:28But to me that's the major question mark right now. I don't see them bringing in another centre forward. I see them shifting a bunch of players out. But really the only starting calibre player that you would see moving out right now is Enzo. When you take a look at that 11 and you take a look at the names who are in right now at Chelsea and who they've already got, Xhaka, what are your expectations for them? What's their ceiling? Chelsea's ceiling, I think, top four at best. And even so, and that is definitely an at-best. I think Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool potentially are better than Chelsea.
40:07and while you look at that Chelsea and that 11, certainly top half of the park, looks decent at the back, I have continued to have concerns Sanchez as well is a goalkeeper who's had his moments in both positive and negative ways and I felt that that was a position that they would address and similarly along the back four for as good as they have been at times for all the problems that Xavi Alonso brings as a manager. I still don't see this Chelsea finishing top four. With no Europe and a good shot at just focusing on the Premier League. They have a chance at a top four, but they're going to have to become a team very quickly.
40:53And I think it's obvious for anybody that has been part of a locker room that when you see a bunch of guys come in and you're kind of trying to figure out where do I fit in because you know that there's a new manager. All these guys have been brought in and say, am I in or am I out? And even if I stay here, am I part of the rotation? Am I having to defend my place? And those guys are coming in with the expectation that they're going to play, but they don't really know what the roles are. And so how do you within a locker room then become a team, which in essence is what Chelsea are going to need to be in order for them to be competitive and for them to achieve, and I think in my mind would be overachieved if they were able to get into a top four position.
41:40And so there's a lot of work to be done here for Xavi Alonso. And I think he's deconstructing before he constructs. I think he is sort of kind of taking pieces away and we don't need that. We don't need this. We are going to bring other guys. We're going to bring other personalities. We're going to bring some leadership. So we're in the deconstruction process so that then he can construct. And he has proven, as he did in Bayer Leverkusen, that he can construct. I don't believe that he will have the freedom to construct without any sort of pressure and the time to construct without any sort of pressure.
42:18There's an expectation because of Chelsea and the brand that they are that first weekend of the season they're going to be ready to go and they're going to be winning matches. And if that's not the case, I do believe that there's going to be some pressure on Xavi Alonso. But I imagine that he does have the support from Chelsea. And therefore, he's going to be able to allow himself to make decisions that make him happy and that make sense in his head. Not necessarily decisions that are going to be short term solutions. We've got more questions for the panel to answer in the latest edition of Extra Time.
42:47You can check it out every single day over on our YouTube channel. Get your tickets now for The Dog Stars. It's no surprise how fast civilization can disappear. Out there, just kill or be killed. Jacob Elordi. There are people out there. They need our help. Josh Brolin. Shoot first and inquire afterwards. Margaret Qualley. Okay, tough guy. And Guy Pearce. Arm up! The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott. In theaters August 28th. 28th. Get tickets now. Ready to R. Under 17, not admitted without parents. This episode is brought to you by Facebook. So you were scrolling on Marketplace, and there it was, the bike you'd been searching for.
43:32You sent a message, and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist. The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook.
43:55Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time. Ale and Shaka are here in the studio and Gab Marcotti is joining us. He's back from Menorca. Did you not get the memo on the color for today? No, I didn't. No, Shaka. Me and Gab, we left out all the communications. Well, maybe there was communication and you tend to ignore the communication. No, I didn't get any. I didn't get any. Gab did pick up his phone, to be fair. Yeah, that's a mistake. That's a mistake, Shaq. That's a rookie mistake. Yeah, it is a rookie. You can't be on holiday ads in your food. Okay, first question is for Gab. How do you see the Cesc Fabregas-Como project performing this year with Champions League football in the mix?
44:39I'm absolutely fascinated to see how it's going to work. Part of me, you can only be impressed but what they've done on the pitch, what he's done, the production he's gotten, not just out of Nico Pass, who's the guy everybody focused on, but obviously from Duvicas to Baturina to all these other guys. But obviously you're kicking it up a notch. And I think part of his success last season, I think he knows this, is Como played a different brand of football than the rest of Serie A, and they took a lot of people by surprise, and it worked very well. against teams that were maybe a little more conservative.
45:19But of course, they're with the big boys now. They're in the Champions League. They're gonna play a lot of teams that are just gonna attack them from the get-go. So they're going to have to adjust. And, you know, playing the sort of transition game that they play when they have played in transition where they commit a lot of people forward and whatnot, that can be really risky against opponents that are more talented with you and that are used to playing a certain brand of football. So Cesc is a very bright guy. I'll be curious to see how he copes with it and how Como are different this season.
45:52Growing up watching the Serie A, and it was a ritual at my house, Formula One, then Serie A because of Maradona, of course.
46:04Como, to see Como playing well and being in Champions League, it's mind-blowing. Because back then Como was at the level of Avellino and Ascoli and whatever these other teams were that were bottom feeders in Serie A. To see Como be what they are, I just said mind-blowing. But my dad, who's no longer with us, he would never believe it. No, Como is good, Papi. Papi, Como? They're good. They're not good. They're terrible. No, they're good, Papi. I would have that conversation with him gladly right now. But it's amazing to see because this was not a team that was part of the conversation as teams that would be competing at the top of Serie A.
46:40You know who can step aside? It's Don Hutchison with the old Serie A knowledge. Ali has just stepped up. Oh, yeah. He counted there. Ali, with Rashford returning to Manchester United and Cunha having his number 10, how important was your squad number to you? And did you have teammates that had issues with their squad number?
47:02uh well i'll tell you a story i i um so i was number 15 for the length of my career and 15 comes from the fact that that was the first number that was handed to me by the priest who ran the soccer program at the catholic school that i played with when i was a little kid so when i was six years old and you made the team in first grade they would give you this leather number that then you had to stitch to the back of your jersey and my number was 15 And since then I always wanted to wear 15 and it got to the point to where I got to the Columbus crew and 15 was taken and At that point I was given number 10 I Didn't care for number 10.
47:44I Didn't want number 10. I wanted 15. So then spinning forward I get selected in the expansion draft I know all these things seem to be trigger words here for MLS This is expansion draft and traded and all these other things. But I got selected an expansion draft to go to Philadelphia. And so the coach in place wanted to give me number 10. And I said, no, I don't want number 10. And I think he didn't like the fact that I didn't take number 10. He wanted me to be number 10. And I'm like, no, no, I want 15. He got 15. Yeah. It was important to me for, there was an emotional component to it. And it took me back to when I was a kid.
48:20And the way that I rationalized it was, when I was a kid, I really enjoyed playing the game. And I didn't play for all these other reasons. I played because I had fun doing it. And that's a feeling that I wanted to have with the number on my back. That's what it meant to me. I don't know if Marcus Rashford has that same attachment with the number. I imagine that he doesn't. Numbers tend to have different importance to different guys. To me, it had a certain amount of importance because of the story that I just told you. I don't know what the case is for Mateus Cunha and Marcus Rashford. Not too much of a fight with goalies, really, is there?
48:50No, but then, well, for me, it was never an issue. I started in English football where the starting XI wore 1 through XI. Oh, very creative. But that's just how it was. So it wasn't as though... Good old days. Yeah, it wasn't as though, you know, very few players knew who, you know, if you didn't start this week, you wouldn't get them between 1 and 11. It was just as simple as that. But then I joined Newcastle in 1995, and now you have squad numbers. I was number 15, just because. Ali. You need a word with him. Just in case Ali came to Newcastle, he wasn't going to get that number. I just made sure.
49:28That was my whole motivation. But Les Ferdinand was number nine in that 95-96 season, where we finished second. We then signed Alan Shearer in the off-season, and the number nine in Newcastle is revered. And Kevin Keegan promised Alan Shearer the number nine. And that kicked off a whole brouhaha. Where Les certainly wasn't happy because he didn't feel like he was consulted or asked about the number, etc. And he had to give up, I can't remember what number he settled for. But he was asked, Les started asking for number 99. But back in those days, nobody took their numbers that high. I can't remember what number he settled for.
50:12but it just caused a little bit of a stir, if I can put it nicely, within your dressing room. Well, at the very least, with Les. But Les wasn't going to win that. No, he wasn't. I mean, Les eventually, I think a year later, moved on to Spurs. But damage was done in how that was handled. He never really, he didn't feel it was handled properly and I agree with Les. Gab, what are your thoughts on the rumours that Arsenal are eyeing Juventus forward, Kenan Yildiz?
50:43He's obviously a very good player. I think Arsenal are pretty well served right now in terms of forwards. I think one of the interesting things about Yield is that part of the debate at Juventus is what is his best position. Is he a second striker? Is he a winger? Is he a number 10 type? and when I look at Arsenal under Arteta I mean they have wingers who are proper wingers he's obviously not a number nine and I'm not sure that you know there's room for him as a number 10 necessarily if you want your number 10 to be kind of an Utegaard type or an Eze type so if Arsenal want to accumulate young talent sure go for it Kevin Yildiz won't come cheap but I think in this setup that they have he wouldn't seem like an obvious guy to pursue Alright for Gab Yildiz again here Start, bench and drop in terms of who has the most potential and likely to have the most successful career individually Esposito, Paz or Yildiz?
51:58So who's the second one? Nico Paz Oh, you obviously start Nico Paz. Esposito, I'm assuming you're referring to Francesco Pio Esposito. It's definitely close between him and Ken Agnildiz. I might fly the flag a teeny bit on this one and I would probably have him next. I would bench him and I would drop Ken Agnildiz. But they're three really exciting talents. You know, honestly, Kay, you let yourself down. And really, you let your husband down, your marriage down. You couldn't do the whole Francesco Pio Esposito the way that... Oh, yeah, sorry. You know, bring it. I'm just saying. I wasn't going to be his brother.
52:45There's literally three guys named Esposito in Syria, okay? The guy's got brothers who happen to have the same last name as he does, Alan. So, you know, I just wanted to be sure that I'm the same dude. I had no issue with you, Gab. I had an issue with Kay and her lack of commitment to Francesco Pio Esplosito. Sorry, Mateo. Nicely done. Velde was upset that Club America fans took over the Portland Timbers' home stadium for their League's Cup match last night. Ale, should MLS players expect their home supporters to outdraw popular Liga MXA clubs for a tournament tailored for Liga MX fans based in the USA?
53:28I mean, this is a story as old as time when it comes to when you bring Liga MX teams to play in the United States against MLS teams, even if it is at the home stadium of the MLS team, the Liga MX team is going to be the home team. It's just, that's just, that's the way it has been and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future. In fact, you can make the argument that that's the way it has been with the national team as well. And so much of the story about the United States playing some of their home games in Columbus against Mexico, it has been because, well, it's cold in Columbus, right?
54:07And there isn't a whole lot of a Mexican community, at least wasn't back then. And you're able to control how many of the Mexican fans get into the stadium because you have a mostly American crowd. And that's where the United States thrive and that's where the Dos Acedo comes from and that whole conversation. It is the same here in League's Cup, and we were joking about it in the show. I said there's a lot of good seats available in Philadelphia for the League's Cup. Obviously, neither the American fans nor the Mexican fans care enough about this tournament in Philadelphia because the stadium was empty.
54:44This, and I'm going to digress here for a second. This League's Cup, the structure of this League's Cup makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever. So it's Liga Aimecic teams playing against MLS teams. And it's not even the same teams that are playing against each other, like group style. No, no. It's randomly they're playing against each other. And so if I'm Nekaxa and I play Philadelphia or I play Seattle and I beat them, I get three points. Those three points then go into a table that puts me with Liga Aimecic teams. So even though I'm not playing against Liga Aimec's team, I am competing on the table against Liga Aimec's team.
55:24And they do the same thing on the MLS side. How does that make any sense? How in the world does that make any sense? You're following Shaq. I have no idea what's going on. I'm just saying, follow the algorithm, Shaq. You beat an MLS team, your points don't count against the MLS team. account for you in a table against Liga MX team? You know what? You should bring that on Football Americas tonight. If I can remember it. I'm just saying. I have no idea what happened. And they've tried this league scope from... They try to shape it one way or another, but I think the point is well taken in that it feels like it's a tournament in which you're trying to create this melting pot between MLS and Liga MX, but ends up being Liga MX fans that come and support their team you get their dollars they bought a hot dog they bought a popcorn they bought a couple of beers and you get their money too and that's it and and then you kind of move on and you try to pretend that this is like well you know this league's coming together everybody wins i don't know that everybody wins in philadelphia nobody care enough to show up and that's an example of many other places that have had the same sort of attendance now there are other places la fc plays against a Mexican team in LA, guess what?
56:43It's packed. It was against Chivas and it was mostly Chivas fans. That is the reality. All three Americans are living together at Middlesbrough right now. So that's Aidan Morris, Sebastian Berhalter, and Max Arfsten. All first names there. Are you happy with that, LA? Don't get mad at me because you didn't say Francisco Pio Esposito. Which two ESPN FC colleagues would you pick to live with for an entire season? Ah, boy. Boy. I'll live in my car. No, come on now. Come on now, Shaq. Come on now, Shaq. There are choices to be made here, Shaq. There are choices to be avoided. Well, absolutely. So by process of elimination.
57:27That's very true. That's very true. I live with Dan. I used to live with Dan. Thank you. And I'd live with you, Shaq. Huh? Come on, Gab. I'd live with you. So you're both going to choose Dan? You can teach me stuff about work-life balance. There you go. That's right. I'll show you how to avoid those phone calls. No, no, no. You picked Dan. You didn't pick Gab. I know, but he picked me. Who, Gab did? I welcome Gab into my house. No, this is like the Leafs Cup MLS thing, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got three points over here. Gab's got three points over there. Dan. Yeah. And? It's got to be Ali.
58:07Oh, there we go. And Shaq, you're my number one pick. By far, you're my number one pick. I feel like Ali would be a little bit strict, though. Definitely. Yeah, Ali would be a little bit strict, you know? I mean, we run a tight ship, Shaq. But, but. Nobody's ever accused me of having a tight ship. No, but we need the balance. Yes, very true. Yeah, we need the balance. Very true. I mean, I'm just saying. To be honest, as I'm looking at the possible list, we're avoiding Stevie for obvious reasons. Yeah. Yeah, for environmental reasons, let's call it. Yes, for all the reasons that you can come up with.
58:43Of course. Craig is not even part of the discussion. That is.
58:49Gab is too far. And plus, he's going to answer the phone when work is called. Yeah, yeah. We don't want that. Frank Leboff action? A whole lot of talking. Yeah. And mostly about him. Stuart Robson? You talk about me being intense. Yeah. That's it. That's it. So what are you doing, Kate? I'm not one of the... I've already lived with Dan. Maybe we should ask Dan about Kate. ESPN FC calling. Yeah, that's true. Well, I've already lived with Dan and that was fine. So yeah, Dan. But we did have the balance because we had a third flatmate on two different occasions and it was a good balance. I'm just saying, I'm going with this three right here.
59:34This is us. This is a good three. Yeah, it's a good three. I go to bed at 9 o 'clock, though. Let me just lay it. Well, that's fine. Gab, so you're going for Shaka. Was it Shaka and Dan? No, no, no, no. As much as I would enjoy some karaoke.
59:56Ali, I'm sorry, but the overcooked steak is just a no-go for me. That's just a deal breaker. Oh, boy. I think it would be a very yin and yang situation if I had Shaka to kind of soothe me and then I had Craig. Oh, God. Oh, no. You're done. I'm moving on. That's it. I'm moving on, guys. I'm moving on. Sorry. I'm sorry, guys. You're on your own. Yeah. I'm moving on. Although you have downsized considerably very recently, Shaka. Yes, I have. It's only just you and your wife again. Yep. After how many years? 30 years! Our eldest turned 30 on Saturday. 30 years we've had kids. It was just two of us.
1:00:46Two dogs. Got two dogs, so there's that. So you come home and she looks like you, you look at her and it's like, alright, sweet. I walk in your door and she's like, ah, you again. Sweet. I'm looking forward to that. That's happening to us in a couple of weeks. Oh yeah, yeah. Ah boy. I think Desha is far more excited to see you than Melissa. Seeing me. I'll be honest. I get that sense when I come home. In that case, it's a pretty low bar. Oh boy. I thought you were playing golf.
1:01:24That's what I'm waiting for. You need more hobbies. You need to get out, boy. That's what you need. You need a flatmate who's out all the time. Then you're fine. Then you've got the house to yourself. When you look at that question. Was that dad? See, that's what we need. He'll be in bed all the time, so anybody should pick Shaka. He's not going to be awake. Shaka would be an amazing one. Beautiful. Take me back.
1:02:28We'll be right back. Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts and start your free trial. Terms apply.
From the publisher
The FC crew react to UEFA, Concacaf and AFC's joint statement which called for Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA president. Gab Marcotti joins the show to break down how the statement has been received and question if any change will happen. The guys also react to news that Jeff Bezos is looking to acquire a stake of Liverpool and explain why Chelsea are signing experienced players this summer.
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