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In short
The episode covers Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Villa Park (Saka strike) and a busy, domino-like transfer deadline day, plus Lionel Messi retiring from international football. Arsenal’s performance is framed as efficient and title-winning: patient build-up, Calafiori’s role in the goal, and Saka reacting fastest to finish. Key claims include Solis nearly being sent off, Arsenal needing more left-side attacking depth (with discussion of potential targets like Julian Alvarez), and Villa’s early-season disruption after losing nine players (including Rodgers, Watkins, Martinez, Conce, Luca Dean, Telemans). Transfer talk highlights Liverpool’s late move for Bradley Barcola, Spurs’ pursuit of Mudrik, and how squad-cost ratio rules drive churn. Messi’s retirement is discussed as a “chapter’s close,” despite his continued effectiveness.
Guests
Barry Glendening, John Bruin, Jonathan Wilson, and Max (host).
Notable examples
Calafiori’s run and weighted pass; Buendia hitting the post; Villa’s zero shots on target; Mudrik’s fit for De Zerbi; Messi’s World Cup final tears and 7-1 Montreal match.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOArsenal's Efficient Victory at Villa Park
0:45 to 4:48
A detailed discussion on Arsenal's recent performance against Aston Villa.
“And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.”
Villa's Struggles and Future Prospects
4:48 to 7:27
An analysis of Aston Villa's current situation and player turnover.
“They've lost nine players in the summer.”
Transfer Window Dynamics
7:27 to 11:20
Discussion on the implications of transfer activity across teams.
“because you would look at it and think they probably could have won the Champions League as well if they'd had a better striking line-up.”
Transfer Market Dynamics: Young Talents and Financial Regulations
14:01 to 18:07
Discussion on the impact of new regulations on Premier League transfers and rising fees for young talents.
“Now, I think the business they've done has actually been pretty good.”
The Financial Implications of Player Transfers
18:08 to 21:09
Analysis of the financial mechanisms behind player transfers and long-term implications for clubs.
“Yeah, I mean, this is the ultimate sacrifice.”
Deadline Day Transfers: Excitement and Expectations
21:10 to 28:00
Insider updates on key transfers and the expectations for players like Bradley Barcola and Mudrik.
“From looking at him through the tinted window, could you see, did he look in good shape, John?”
Transfer Buzz and Team Dynamics
28:00 to 28:40
Discussion about recent transfer rumors and player performances.
“where they've now changed the parameters and he's nowhere near the new parameters.”
Lionel Messi's Retirement Announcement
28:40 to 31:00
Analyzing Messi's impact and emotions surrounding his retirement from international football.
“Part three, we'll talk about Lionel Messi retiring.”
Reflections on Messi's Legacy and Future
31:00 to 36:50
Exploring Messi's influence on football and speculating on his post-retirement life.
“I don't think anyone can argue against that.”
Listener's Heartfelt Journey
36:50 to 38:05
A listener shares their personal journey of recovery and appreciation for the podcast.
“I'm on day 23 now, just got over 800 ,000 yesterday.”
Show all 11 chapters
Listener's Heartfelt Journey
38:08 to 38:30
A listener shares their personal journey of recovery and appreciation for the podcast.
“You can help out David and every penny will help.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00John Brewin:This is The Guardian.
0:30Jonathan Wilson:Then to the actually quite interesting transfer window. Barcola to Liverpool. There's the Gakpo and Dai Mudrick effect. And where does that leave Richarlison? And where does that leave Beto in this list of footballing dominoes? Messi retires from international football. But who's better? Him or... Anyway, we'll answer your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.
0:51Jonathan Wilson:On the panel today from London, Barry Glendening. Welcome. Hello, Max. To East London, John Bruin. Hi. Hi, Max. I'm in Dublin and in, as he just said before we started recording, his second favourite Premier Inn in Birmingham. It's Jonathan Wilson. Hey, Wilson.
1:07Barry Glendenning:Morning. How are you doing?
1:08Jonathan Wilson:And we are live on, not live on YouTube, but we are on YouTube if you'd like to see how wonderfully purply lit Wilson's room is. May I point you in that direction? Let's begin at Villa Park then. Villanelle, Arsenal won. You were there, Wilson. How was it?
1:24Barry Glendenning:it was fine. I think Arsenal were... During the game, I felt slightly frustrated by them. I sort of felt, this is a bit flat. They probably do need that other player on the left, Solis, who'd been so good, both against Manchester City in the Community Shield and against Coventry. Struggled a bit. Might have been sent off in the first half. I think it would have been pretty harsh. But when he was on a yellow, he did stop a break by pulling down McGinn. So could have got a second yellow for that. I think that probably was part of the reason he was hooked at half-time. him and then Eza came on and then whenever Eza plays on the left for Arsenal the same thing seems to happen which is his instinct is to drift in field that's something that when he was at Palace worked really well for him at Arsenal that's not how the structure set up and they became very congested but when you look back on it actually they weren't pretty comfortably uh that 20 minutes after half time I thought they were really impressive just ratcheted up the pressure until the goal finally came which is probably their yeah their second or third decent chance of that spell and you know not many teams will come away from Villa with with a win so if you can get three points without really overextending yourself without I mean okay Buendia hit the bar there's that one break um that Nicholas Jackson led that Hemmings nearly got on the on the end of but apart from that they weren't really under pressure so I think it's it's one of those very efficient wins but nobody's going to remember as you said in the intro nobody will remember come the end of the season but that is how you win titles by by winning those games very efficiently sure i mean
2:52Jonathan Wilson:hopefully barry you remember it this morning i'm struggling we've got to listen we don't need to do a long pod today you've all got to get to dublin but we could do with getting an extra 10 minutes out of this game and i suppose look the goal barry was you know it's the crucial moment and it shows the depth they've got solace comes off as they did congestive midfield but he was key in that goal it's a lovely move down the left and as we established yesterday i also have the worst attack in europe so it's good if bukayo saka is is firing yeah i thought um ricardo califiori
3:26Max Rushden:was probably arsenal's man of the match like yesterday and he played a an important role in the goal it was his lovely darting run in behind that allowed ese to play the weighted pass for him. Then he squared the ball into space in front of a goal. And Saka, I think, knew exactly what he was going to do, reacted quicker and came from behind Mattson to get in front of him and poke the ball home. So it was a good goal. Arsenal were very patient, I thought, last night. I think they could have had a penalty for a Mattson fairly wild challenge on Bruno Himmeres. And then there was a push on Calafiore in the first half.
4:08John Brewin:I think that would have been harsh, Pau Torres,
4:12Max Rushden:but shoved him to the ground in the penalty area. As Wilson alluded to, Solis could have been sent off for a second yellow. I think it would have been. He couldn't have had any complaints about it, but he got away with it. But it was a textbook 1-0 to the Arsenal. They never looked in much danger of scoring. I think if that Emi Buendia shot that hit the post had gone in, the goal would have been disallowed. It was a very efficient Arsenal performance, but you've got to remember this is very much a work in progress for Villa, like their North Stand, which has been rebuilt. They've lost nine players in the summer.
4:53Max Rushden:Six of them started the Europa League final. Some big names gone, Rodgers, Watkins, Martinez, Conce, Luca Dean, Telemans. they've all left the club. They've brought in several new players. Not too many of them look like obvious upgrades, but we'll see what Unai Emery can maul them into.
5:14Jonathan Wilson:John, Baz alluded to it there, but after what happened last week, where they were good for 10 minutes and then were blown away by Brighton, this was a considerable improvement, I thought. And there were signs of some of their new players and some of their more established players gaining an understanding, I guess.
5:29John Brewin:Yes, Hemmings had a fairly decent game, I'd say. you have to say, when I looked at the Villa line-up, it was a bit more familiar than I was used to, that I was expecting, because obviously we've seen the heroes of the Europa League stripped out. But that's, I mean, it did look a bit like a Carabao team from last season, you know, with Nicholas Jackson maybe and Zion Suzuki coming in. But, you know, Ross Barkley's been there a while. Wendier obviously been there a while. Is panic setting in yet at Villa? They have yet to register a shot on target this season, I believe. So, but Dan Bardell would tell us, wouldn't he, that they always start season slowly.
6:14John Brewin:And there's often, because of the financial regulations that they have to negotiate, every Villa season seems to start in some kind of panic and you have to place your faith in Unite Emery. in reference to the stand it did give it an old school look didn't it? It did look like Yeah, it felt very 80s It felt like the Premier League years you know, with that sort of grainy sky mega contrast footage from about 95 or something where, you know, a stand is being redone the Arsenal mural, the Stratford End being redone or something like that it needed a sort of barking Andy Gray commentary didn't it co-coms as the goal goes in but it was and it was a very much an early season Premier League game I think Arsenal feeling themselves out a bit as we are in transfer mode and if you are stupid enough to go on social media to read about transfers there is panic that they haven't signed anyone better than the strike force that they had last season with which they won the league, which I suppose would raise a question because you would look at it and think they probably could have won the Champions League as well if they'd had a better striking line-up.
7:34John Brewin:I've already seen someone saying, we missed Gabriel Martinelli, which, you know, he's only been gone about two minutes. These are the times we're living in, aren't we? The transfer is Panachea for everything. And would they have been better with Julian Alvarez? I suppose Barry made that point. And Saka, who over the last couple of seasons maybe struggled a bit, if they see the best of Saka, then maybe we won't worry so much about Arsenal's attack. And let's hope he is back to his best, because in full flow, he's a delight to watch.
8:08Jonathan Wilson:On the Alvarez thing, Wilson, he wants to leave Atleti. Atleti don't want to sell him to Barca. Atleti want 150 million. I think he went back in training at Atleti. you know by the time he goes out he might be out of training again or back into training again but he's obviously a really brilliant footballer do you see him leading the line for arsenal or is that the wrong phrase because that's not what he would do lead the press he would do
8:33Barry Glendenning:wouldn't he that's that's the press okay yeah i mean i think he if he could bring him in he'd be hugely useful because if you fit on the left he can play in the middle he could he could play if they really needed him to play as number 10. I don't think he wants to come back to England. I think one of the reasons that he left City was that he was pretty unhappy. I think that's partly to do with visa restrictions on his family. So I suspect were he to move to Arsenal, it would be a short-term thing. I can see, because I don't want to sell him to Barcelona, and I get that. He wants to stay in Spain.
9:11Barry Glendenning:I get that as well. So maybe you do a deal where he comes to Arsenal on the understanding he's here for a year because they do need somebody on the left. I think they are. Their squad is the best squad in the Premier League, but all squads can be improved and the area where they most obviously need improvement is on that left side of the attack, particularly with Tross having gone, with Gabriel Jesus gone on his way and with Martinelli having gone. so that that maybe is is a way for all three parties to find agreement but he's not going to do that for 150 million quid there's got to be sort of realism about that whether it's even a loan deal you know but then that you know it doesn't get him out of the problem if adelaide won't send the bar so he'd still have this problem next summer so yeah i i think uh a deal to us i mean by the time people hear this anything could happen so maybe it's it's daft to speculate but that would seem an obvious way around the problem, a short-term move to Arsenal.
10:05Jonathan Wilson:And the limitless amount of money that Barcelona seem to have is waiting for them to pop. But, you know, more from Sid as and when he answers his WhatsApps.
10:15Max Rushden:Well, they have now signed or are about to Gabriel Jesus for, I presume, 15 million or so. So would that suggest that they have given up on getting Alvarez? Jesus landed in Barcelona last night, I think, to do his medical.
10:35Jonathan Wilson:Were you on Flight Tracker? Were you watching him on Flight Tracker, Mary?
10:37Max Rushden:Oh, I'm not that sad.
10:41Barry Glendenning:I mean, logically, yes. But I think the mistake you're making there is applying logic to any of Laporta's teams. Yeah.
10:48Jonathan Wilson:Fair enough. Mikel Arteta, only the second man to have played and managed 250 Premier League matches. Does anyone know the other one? Premier League specifically.
10:57John Brewin:Not Scott Parker. That's a good guess, I think. That's a very good guess, Barry. incorrect
11:01Jonathan Wilson:how patronised Barry was for getting the wrong answer in a quiz any clues any clues
11:10Jonathan Wilson:or he could hit a volley John
11:13Max Rushden:Marrakees
11:14Jonathan Wilson:correct there you go too good a clue but there you go one point to Barry alright that'll do for part one part two we'll do some more transfer stuff
11:31Jonathan Wilson:Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. So we're live in Dublin tonight. This lot, this four, we will all put on our live locations on a big WhatsApp group with all the listeners. And you can see us all triangulate and arrive at Vicar Street tonight. So if you are in that very small niche of listeners who are listening to this before the show and are in Dublin, then there are still a few tickets. So come along. 9th of September, we're live at the Soho Theatre in Walthamstow. Johnny Lou, Nicky Bandini, Mark Langdon, join me and Barry. That's live streamed around the world. Matt says, listening to a Football Weekly pod with Mark Langdon and not hearing a vegetable update is an inherently incomplete experience, like going to a pulp concert and not hearing Common People or Disco 2000 or Do You Remember the First Time or This Is Hardcore or really anything from his and hers.
12:17Jonathan Wilson:No offence intended, of course. I look forward to a voice note on tomorrow's pod, Matt, in Traverse City in Michigan. Saving all the food stuff for the 9th in Walthamstow. So guardian.co.uk slash footballweeklylive. Okay, let's do some transfer stuff. Because often the window is bad, but this window actually, Wilson, is quite interesting, I think. Is it? Do you not think so?
12:39Barry Glendenning:I just find transfers tiring. Sorry. I mean, maybe I should have owned up to that before being booked to do this.
12:47Jonathan Wilson:No, no, no. It's okay. I don't mind you hating it. I wonder if you hate it because, you know, the sort of transfer grifting world that exists is really frustrating. but I sort of think if you look past the here we goes actually the way squads are building and
13:03Barry Glendenning:you know the well but I I sort of feel there's a bit of sort of um the transfers have become such a big thing and I and that maybe it's just coincidence that a load of teams have reached the same point of the revolution but it seems to me a load of transfers are being made to make teams worse not not that the players are bringing in are worse the players were there but just the disruption is making everybody worse so i mean i think villa i don't think villa planned this at all i think villa have sort of been slightly unfortunate that a combination of them looking to rejuvenate the squad after you know sort of phase one winning europa league is over plus huge offer for morgan rogers plus uh teelerman's release clause being triggered plus esri con having a year left and offering 50 million quid for him i don't think they wanted to change eight or nine players, but they're now what should be the sort of, right, they've scaled the first peak.
13:55Barry Glendenning:Can they go to the next one? It feels like they're right down in the valley again and the peak is miles ahead of them. Now, I think the business they've done has actually been pretty good. I think even Mumbai is a great signing, you know, who should arrive this morning. It's not actually confirmed yet, but the word at Villa Park last night was that Mumbai and Howard Bellis will be confirmed pretty early this morning. so that should have happened by the time people hear this but a really really talented 18 year old senegalese forward um 50 million quid for him seems not a bargain but it's a fair price it's a good price and you look at him and uh jackson and uh who's the other young forward they've got majo yeah they could be villa's front three for for a decade yeah you know they won't be because That's not how football works these days.
14:45Barry Glendenning:And they'll be there for about 18 months and then they'll be moving on again. But it's that interesting in of itself that, John, we may be in a situation now where there is just this,
14:53Jonathan Wilson:because it does feel like, it's not just feel like, a lot of sides have a lot of turnover in this kind of, I presume it's because you can sell and put that all on one year's books and buy and put that over five years or something.
15:05John Brewin:Yeah, exactly. The new squad cost ratio regulations have led to this even greater churn of talent that's been going on. And these moves between Premier League clubs, which those are the big deals that we've seen, because Premier League clubs are those that can afford those types of fees. and we've seen all types of moves that in previous years would have felt strange. I mean, it sounds like the Cody Gakpo deal is not happening, but it was very credible until 24 hours ago that Liverpool were prepared to sell Cody Gakpo to appear in Manchester City. And so it's almost as if the new regulations or the switch from PSR to squad cross ratio have changed the transfer market a little bit and what we're seeing this summer.
16:02John Brewin:None of the deals are particularly shocking or exciting to me. I mean, Elliot Anderson's a big fee and he's a very good player, but he is a workhorse midfielder, a very, very good workhorse midfielder. But it's not quite Galactico signing, is it? So Morgan Rodgers, who again is a very, very good player for the money he went for, it seems excessive but this is the world that the Premier League in particular lives in where these fees are very very high for players that maybe because we're familiar with them and maybe because the overall standard of players is higher it doesn't feel as exciting as it you know as the
16:49Jonathan Wilson:the real huge signings of say two million for Gaza or four million for Chris Waddle yeah exactly
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16:55John Brewin:Exactly, exactly. You bang on, you know, where people are getting hugely excited about, you know, Stan Collymore, 8.5 million or something, which just seemed enormous at the time. And, you know, it's front page news. I'm afraid to say Morgan Rogers' move probably didn't move the dial that much in the same way. is that transfer fatigue no because i think transfer still drive huge figures uh neither of jonathan nor i are transfer gurus we're not staying up all night i heard david ornstein who is a very very good journalist on the radio last night was talking about how he's been showering with the foot with the phone in sight so he could see who was ringing or whatsapping does he have a
17:43Jonathan Wilson:Does Ornstein have a moment where he goes, I will answer that? Who, you know, it's, you know, super agent George Mendes. I'll take that. I'll step out of the shower. I'll unlather quickly. Put down the loofer. Dave Bassett. If it's Barry Fry, I'll just carry on washing myself.
18:03John Brewin:Yeah, selective showering.
18:05Barry Glendenning:So he's had to cancel his paddle games for Fortnite, hasn't he? Yeah, I mean, this is the ultimate sacrifice. The sacrifices. Barry?
18:15Max Rushden:Well, a friend of the show, Keira Maguire, had a good article in The Guardian, I think it was last week. It's worth digging out. But he pointed out that the season before last, Arsenal were earning£105 per fan per match. So Spurs were earning£82 per fan in the stadium per match. Villa earned£38 per fan per match. so he he said like only clubs with big stadiums and the commercial benefits that come with those big stadiums can compete for the best talent and the best talent comes from clubs like villa who can't afford to match the wages being offered by the big clubs with the big stadiums and the commercial benefits that come with them you know we're focusing on villa here but they're not alone in the situation they find themselves.
19:09Max Rushden:But they're just stuck in this permanent loop of having to sell, bring in new players that, as I said earlier, don't obviously, on the face of it, look like upgrades. If those players do well, then they have to sell them on again and the Sharks are always circling. So it's difficult to know what Villa can do as long as they're hand-strung by these squad cost ratio rules.
19:36Barry Glendenning:there's an element of truth to that but i think there's also two other things to be considered so one is some measure of restriction on spending is necessary so you can't just have the saudi state come in and blow it out of the water so i'm not saying psr or scr i'm not i'm not saying i mean we'll see how scr works whether that is a better way of doing it in psr psr i think you know you could see flaws with it i think it to seemingly incentivize people to sell their home produced talent is a bad idea i also think look i think i say this as somebody who is not a financial expert but it feels slightly pyramid schemey that the way amortization works that you you you sell a player for 100 million quid you get 100 million quid on your balance sheet that's plus 100 on your psr calculation you buy a player 100 million quid give them a five-year contract that's only minus 20 million so by selling a play of 100 million you can buy five players for 100 million so long as we're all on five-year contracts and on your balance sheet this year that will be neutral even though you're obviously on minus 400 and so the way you fund that is to keep going and then the debt gets worse and worse and as I say I'm not pretending to be an expert in this but I've yet to hear anybody explain to me why that's not true and that seems a very dangerous position to be in and actually I was reading a thing about Italian football you know one of the reasons why Serie A sort of went pop and it basically was that same thing so I'm not saying PSR was right but I think some measure of restriction is necessary and what frustrated me was nobody seemed willing to have that conversation what's the best way of doing this and there's so much self-interest and it seems impossible for anybody to absent themselves from what's good for my club and the truth is that Villa and Newcastle the two clubs who've been most vocal against controls have both basically gone in nowhere in five years to qualify for the Champions League but that's actually suggests that you can keep going you can maybe you do then get to a to a gulf that you go you're a step that's very hard to breach but i'm not sure what clubs want i mean i don't think it should be possible for for a championship club to go in five or it should be extremely difficult for a championship club to go in five years to being in a championship league and challenging for the title so yeah i i i feel some of the some of the complaints are a
22:05Jonathan Wilson:little bit sort of uh lacking context bradley barkler to liverpool can he uh transform the
22:13John Brewin:left side of the attack john bruin well max you hear me yeah um yeah reporting from outside melwood training ground uh yes uh bradley arrived have you seen him have you seen him good yeah uh yeah he passed us in a car at about 10 1 a.m kind of wash bag had he under his arm Louis Vuitton, as you'd expect. Did he look fit?
22:38Jonathan Wilson:From looking at him through the tinted window, could you see, did he look in good shape, John?
22:42John Brewin:He looked very fresh from his summer. Of course, in the France World Cup squad, who came fourth in this World Cup. It's quite fun, isn't it?
22:55Jonathan Wilson:It's actually quite fun to do.
22:56John Brewin:I'd love to do that job. It'd be very interesting. Watch out, John.
23:00Max Rushden:Someone behind you is brandishing a sex toy that they're going to stick in your ear.
23:06John Brewin:I'm not going to turn it down, am I?
23:07Max Rushden:No.
23:09Jonathan Wilson:Okay. They had to move the reporters inside. Yeah, they had to give them access. A great blow.
23:16John Brewin:Yeah, is someone going to have to sit on that Villa reconstructed stand in the next 24 hours, you know, just wearing a hard hat?
23:24Max Rushden:Sky Sports News reporter, yeah, with a hard hat and a high-vis jacket.
23:31John Brewin:Bradley Barcola a huge talent not the best finisher you'd have to say he actually did play quite a lot of games for PSG last season he's been personified as a reserve for PSG now of course one of the reasons for that is that PSG are able to operate that two tier thing where certain players, Marquinhos being the prime example are essentially rested to play in the Champions League They got very successful policies, it turned out for them. Bradley Barkler, it's one of those things they've waited all summer, haven't they? They've been linked with him all summer and then he finally arrives on the last day of the transfer window.
24:10John Brewin:This is how these deals go. I think there's a lot to be excited about. Liverpool's season has been slightly, not disappointing, but quite predictable. if you've watched a lot of Andoni or Iola and you know that he draws a lot of games. I don't think that that's the big problem in Liverpool's team, to be quite honest. I think the issues are maybe in midfield and defence. A bit further back. Yes. Even the goalkeeper, Alisson, who is a brilliant, brilliant player on his day. I think there's a few issues there with his fitness and stuff like that. Is Bradley Barker the cure for all? No. But is a transfer that might make people feel better about themselves for a few days.
24:55John Brewin:And that's sort of almost how it works these days. But eventually we might have to watch him play. And then that's the big problem, isn't it? That these guys actually have to play. And then all fantasy, all dreams are converted to cold reality. Sure.
25:08Jonathan Wilson:Which actually goes back to the fact that, you know, the boys of 66, in our minds, can't be terrible because we never saw Alan Ball have a bad game. Every game was brilliant, wasn't it? So Liverpool haven't bought someone on the right. They wanted Yacouba Minta or Esmail Assar. They're apparently too expensive, unless by the time you list it, they've gone. So that means Cody Gakpo is staying put, which means Man City came in for Ilihanem Dye, which means that he isn't going to Tottenham. And Richarlison hasn't agreed terms going the other way, which means Spurs are then in for Mikhail and Mudrik.
25:36Jonathan Wilson:So I don't know who's done well out of this, Barry. I think it'd be really interesting to see how Mudrik does, because it'd be nice to see him playing football again.
25:43Max Rushden:Well, that's the thing. If he can remember how to play and if he's fit, he has worked with Roberto De Zerbe before at Shakhtar Donetsk. That's when we all discovered this blonde-haired revelation who used to scorch up the left wing for Shakhtar, provide assists, score goals. This is Champions League. We all got our introduction to Michelo. So hopefully he can get his career back in track because he's been out for a long, long time. I've kind of forgotten about him, really. I think Tosin Adirabayo is also going to be joining Tottenham. and Papi Matassar has gone leaving Tottenham. He's going to Juventus.
26:24Max Rushden:And I believe Nick Voltemada is also going to Juventus on loan from Newcastle. But I think Madrid will... De Serbi obviously holds him in high regard if he's worked with him before and wants to work with him again. So that could be good. And then I think because Everton are losing Njai, who I think is a great player looks like Jack Grealish is going back to Everton on another loan deal so yeah it's all just dominoes isn't it
26:56Barry Glendenning:Mudrick has been training in Battersea Park on the track there and apparently looks lightning fast with his sprint work which I don't think was ever the problem I don't think that was the doubt with him
27:08Jonathan Wilson:and you know in Battersea Park if you're comparing it to other people sprinting he hopefully would look quicker
27:17Barry Glendenning:but I sort of I think the Chelsea move was a strange move for him because he needs space to run into I think that's what his great skill is that those brilliant interventions that Barry talks about at Shakhtar, he was always running into space and teams tend to sit deep against Chelsea I admit weirdly not this season where they've had 34 % possession or something but certainly under Mureska where they look to dominate possession It was an odd fit. So I think he should fit Tottenham a bit better. He should fit De Zerbe football a bit better. And I think he was extremely unfortunate that we're suspended over a drugs thing where they've now changed the parameters and he's nowhere near the new parameters.
28:06Barry Glendenning:Right, that's interesting. Yeah, apparently he has been very, very diligent in training during this time he's been out.
28:13Jonathan Wilson:Thinking of blonde fast people down the left for Spurs, maybe the bucket loads that Timo Werner never quite got to will open up for him. Everson look like they're getting following Balogun for$40 million, of which, of course, Donald Trump takes 10 % of that fee. We'll do all the other business on Thursday. But if you are in Dublin, we'll do every transfer as it happens during the live show with a big klaxon. And that'll do for part two. Part three, we'll talk about Lionel Messi retiring.
28:50Jonathan Wilson:Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. So Messi's announced his retirement from international football again. He said he's given everything to the national team, but now has nothing left to give. Time is running short. Chapter's come to a close, and this is one that hurts me deeply. I love, have loved, and will always love being part of the national team. I've given it my all. I have nothing left to give, and besides, there are some really great young players coming through behind me who deserve their chance. Sort of fair enough, isn't it, John?
29:16John Brewin:There was a point, wasn't there, in Messi's Argentina career where it was felt he wasn't Argentinian enough, but yet we always have to make the comparison to Diego Maradona, but he did turn up to every game possible for them and played a ridiculous amount of games for Argentina. and actually became the ultimate in Argentina footballers. And he has had, for Argentina, probably he has had the greatest career of all. He's played in three World Cup finals and you go back to 2014 and it was felt like that might be his last chance. Well, there were another two World Cup finals that came along. I suppose that it is a shame that the last one, We didn't see any of him until the last 10 minutes of extra time due to the tactics that Argentina played.
30:13John Brewin:And we saw tears at the end of that. Now, obviously, his father was dying and we can see maybe why those emotions were apparent. But it seems almost trite to say, but Messi has been the greatest player of the 21st century. Argentina have had the use of him. It took a long time for them to break the duck. They broke it with that Copa America and since then him and Lionel Scaloni have had that great partnership together and Scaloni brought the best out of him. Farewell Lionel Messi. It's interesting that he says all those young players behind him. There's probably an entire generation of players that have had to lose out or two or three generations that have had to lose out to Lionel Messi.
30:59John Brewin:So farewell, the greatest of all. I don't think anyone can argue against that.
31:03Jonathan Wilson:No, and actually it's a really good point in the players behind him because basically it's quite astonishing, Barry, for how long Argentina would just give it Messi. Everyone else, not so much football. And even in 2022, it can't work for him. And it really did. And then even in this World Cup, up to a point it did.
31:23Max Rushden:Well, I mean, this isn't the first time he's retired from international football. And after his first retirement, I think it was 2016 or 17, He came back and went on to win two Copa Americas and a World Cup. And there were concerns about how effective he would be at this World Cup just passed. And he more or less single-handedly carried Argentina through to the final, I would argue. It's a shame they decided not to try and play football in that final, because I think if they had, the outcome might have been different. I suspect this will probably be his second and final retirement but if things aren't going well for Argentina and they build up to the next World Cup and he's still knocking around there could be a clamour for him to come back You know, 26 man squad, just stick him on the bench He doesn't have to run, he's shown that and by God he was very effective in this World Cup
32:27Jonathan Wilson:yeah scored four in a 7-1 win over montreal at the weekend so he has something still to offer the game do you need to write a new chapter of your book wilson is this good news for you god i
32:35Barry Glendenning:hope not it was uh i think i think that book ends quite nicely in 2022 i was about to say you can't just keep adding new chapters to the end of things i mean clearly that is what what the future holds is adding new chapters to the ends of things but no i mean i would have had to if they'd won the world cup in uh this summer but um the sort of the the perfect narrative would have been he he He retired after that final in Doha. But then to have this extraordinary coda where he's gone on and he does exactly the Maradona thing of following up his World Cup glory with a rather less glorious dragging the team to the final four years later, which sort of just cements the parallels between the two.
33:16Barry Glendenning:But he's been a player who, since the 2022 World Cup, every time you saw him, or every time I saw him, I had this sense of this could be the last time I see him. And he's easily the best player of my lifetime. And there is a sort of sense of a reminder of mortality in that. And it's almost a shame that we didn't see his final game knowing it was his last game. Had he gone out to England in that semi-final, I mean, actually, that would have been bad for him because it would have been England, but had he gone out in a knockout game and you know this is it, this is the end, that would have had a lot more emotional heft than a statement the day before the transfer window closes.
34:03Jonathan Wilson:David writes, good luck whatever you're planning to do, Leonel. But yeah, you can see... Well, that's a big question. What is he going to do? We're still playing for a bit, isn't he?
34:12John Brewin:Doesn't he get an ownership thing in Major League Soccer? I think he does, doesn't he, as part of it?
34:18Barry Glendenning:Yeah, but I'm not sure what his life's got apart from football. I mean, his main leisure activity... No, you can't be like Messi. No.
34:24Jonathan Wilson:You know, poor Messi.
34:26Barry Glendenning:Yeah, but he seems to do two things in life. He plays football, or he plays football on the PlayStation.
34:34Jonathan Wilson:So eSports? Well, maybe...
34:37Barry Glendenning:But you lose your...
34:38Jonathan Wilson:That's a young man's game. Yeah, you've done it at 19. You can't do Daley Thompson's decathlon. You can't get perfect 45 degrees on the long jump. Well, maybe he makes vets eSports kind of...
34:50Barry Glendenning:But do you think he might... I mean, I would actually quite happily watch him play Cristiano Ronaldo on FIFA. Watching one of them just getting the Ronaldo character and running with him, and the other one passing the ball, giving it to Giovanni Lo Celso every now and again. But I suppose if he loves football so much,
35:11John Brewin:maybe he would just carry on playing.
35:12Jonathan Wilson:So he could just... You know, Pushkus playing for South Melbourne or whatever it was. Yeah. You know, like that kind of thing.
35:18Barry Glendenning:God, if Messi develops that kind of belly, that would be great.
35:21Jonathan Wilson:Absolutely glorious. I'd love Messi with a big pot, just, you know, driving the next Ange Postacoglu around. That story from that Ange documentary where Ange was driving Pushkas around, but they only had one window handle for both windows. One would wind down the window and pass the handle to Ferenc Pushkas and then he'd wind his window down.
35:41Barry Glendenning:There is a strange sort of arrested development aspect to Messi that John made the point that he was accused of not being Argentinian enough. And yet he seems to have frozen in time at the moment he left Argentina when he was what 11 that his taste you know his accent is still very Argentinian his food tastes are those of an Argentinian child you know he likes his milanesas he likes his plain pizzas um he likes his bright I mean I think he has cut back on that recently but you know by recently last 10 years uh his favorite music is all Argentinian his favorite films are all Argentinian uh you know he's married to his childhood sweetheart which is great but it does suggest that everything just sort of stopped at a moment um is that how stardom
36:21John Brewin:works though jonathan which stardom maybe it is yeah i just about what i mean yeah you've frozen at that point the question then is when you i don't know i i'm still bringing in i'm still
36:32Barry Glendenning:taking in new cultures john i don't know what you mean but the question is now you know when when he does finally stop playing what is what does he do what's left for him i mean it doesn't strike me somebody be a particularly good pundit or a particularly good coach so i don't know i i
36:47Jonathan Wilson:slightly i slightly worry about him if messi can't be happy then i mean what chance the rest of us anyway uh david says hi max this month i've been walking a million steps in a month to raise money for a charity that helps people recover from addictions to alcohol and drugs and rebuild their lives and help families of addicts throughout the month i've gone through the archives and listened to some of my favorite football weekly episodes to keep my spirits up and have you barry Wilson Barney, Lars Philippe, Nicky, John in my ear to make me laugh and smile as I trudge my way around the hills of Surrey.
37:16Jonathan Wilson:I'm on day 23 now, just got over 800 ,000 yesterday. So on track, you were all there for me when I was in my darkest times in the grips of addiction, provided moments of peace in my otherwise deeply troubled and chaotic head. That was three and a half years ago. Thanks to the charity, Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care. I've been sober since today. I have a calmness in my head I never thought was possible. Thank you to all at Guardian for weekly for always being there, even though you didn't know you were. That's David. Well, it's just 800 ,000 steps.
37:42Max Rushden:That's like 20 ,000 steps is 10K, I think. So that's a lot.
37:47Jonathan Wilson:I think he's doing a million in a month. I don't think he did 800 ,000 yesterday specifically. Oh, sorry.
37:51Max Rushden:Yeah, of course.
37:52Jonathan Wilson:That's blimey. I think he's working to a million. He didn't include the link, but thanks to some top production from Joel. I see. Make it about yourself by Googling the words David Surrey, million steps. There is a crowdfunder. So if you just go to crowdfunder.co.uk, Type in a million steps a month. You can help out David and every penny will help. So congratulations to you, David, and thank you for your kind words. It's nice to know occasionally sitting in a shed or a second-rate Premier Inn in Birmingham has some effect. Oh, hang on. That's not fair. Oh, okay. Sorry.
38:24Barry Glendenning:I say it's my second-favourite Premier Inn. I see. I'm not calling it second-rate. No, okay.
38:28Jonathan Wilson:For me, Premier Inns are by far the best of a cheap chain. Right. And what's the tagline for Premier Inns? I'm like, you know what you're getting. That's one of them, isn't it? Which is really damning with fake praise. You get to sleep with Lenny Henry in them.
38:41John Brewin:That's what you get to do.
38:43Barry Glendenning:Yeah. I'd say I've never slept in a bad Premier Inn, whereas I think other of the cheaper chains are quite variable. But, yeah. Right. Premier Inn absolutely has my seal of approval as the best of the cheap British chains.
38:56Jonathan Wilson:Got it. And what has this one in second place compared to the top-rate Premier Inn in Birmingham?
39:02Barry Glendenning:Yeah, so I'm in the one, it's just above the HSBC outside New Street Station. I think it might be Stevenson Way or Stevenson Place. I prefer the one on Exchange Place. It's just a nicer building. And also, there's a great pub in Birmingham that I like to try and get to after games, which is called the Wellington. And basically, the other one's closer to the Wellington. Got it.
39:24Jonathan Wilson:I understand. It's very location, location, location, of course.
39:27Barry Glendenning:Yeah, I mean, you do know what you're getting, so I would not say the insides are radically different. I'd also say the Wi-Fi here is a disgrace. however I paid the£6 for the upgrade so the files will get to Joel
39:39Jonathan Wilson:in time for him to get on a flight to Dublin to entertain the masses of Dublin and so will the receipt lovely okay of course it will that'll do for today thanks everyone see you all later thanks Barry thanks Max cheers John see you later thanks Wilson cheers thank you Football Weekly is produced by James Pike Watson our executive producer is Joel Grove we'll be back on Thursday and we'll see you in Dublin tonight
40:04Max Rushden:This is The Guardian.