Inside Spain is a weekly installment presented by Football España, providing insight into the top stories emerging from the rich and intense climates of La Liga and beyond.
Real Madrid always walks the fine line between fighting for the Champions League and alleging poverty to plead for the European Super League. A discrepancy that was once again exposed this week.
The Super League suffered a blow after the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice warned that UEFA would be within its rights to sanction any club that tried to participate in another European competition. One of their arguments has been that the Champions League does not maximize their income, but this week €60M (€35M + €25M in variables) was spent on a 16-year-old, surpassing Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in signing Endrick Philip.
Their next big debate is whether to go after England star Jude Bellingham or Argentina star next summer, knowing that Liverpool will compete for one, the other or both.
Of course, all eyes are currently on the World Cup, where Lionel Messi has been letting his emotions out in ways most aren’t used to. That was evident when he used a 20-year grudge to celebrate on Louis van Gaal in their quarterfinal last week. It seems to be working, but France will be a different pot of fish on Sunday.
Back in Spain, Luis Enrique has been ousted as Spain manager, to be replaced by former under-21 coach Luis de la Fuente, in an unexpected twist. He seems to be a company man and will not seek the same controversy as ‘Lucho’.
Another former Spain manager, Julen Lopetegui, is trying to bring one of his former charges with him to Wolves. It has not been a good season at Sevilla, and the latest drama is a fight between their star signing of the summer and sports director Monchi.
In Barcelona, ​​Xavi Hernández will welcome Jules Kounde to the team as world champion or runner-up. It doesn’t look like they’ll be doing much business in Catalonia this January due to a lack of funding: they’re stuck with what they have for the rest of the season. That will frustrate Kounde. There is a good chance that the same situation he wanted to avoid at Chelsea could play out at Barcelona, ​​as Xavi may be forced to use the Frenchman at right-back for much of the rest of the season.
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