Champions League

A SERIAL winner, a 38-cap international, boasting more Champions League titles than Lionel Messi and still in his prime years.Also… unemployed.
Lionel Messi has won three Champions League titles – fewer than a recently-released former LaLiga rivalCredit: AFP
Once upon a time, the skilful midfielder was one of the most-sought-after stars in Europe.
The Spain star, still only 30, is one of the most-decorated players in world football.
And yet, at the conclusion of the January transfer window, he finds himself without a club.
The man in question: former Real Madrid maestro Isco.
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Part of Valencia’s talent factory of the 00s, Isco made his name at Malaga before securing a massive move to Real Madrid in 2013.
In nine years at the Bernabeu, the midfielder contributed to over 100 goals in 353 games.
Isco won a staggering five Champions League crowns, as well as three LaLiga titles until he departed in 2022, joining Sevilla.
The 2012 Golden Boy was once on the radar of every Premier League “Big Six” side.
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Isco won four Champions League crowns with Real Madrid during his nine-year stayCredit: AFP or licensors
Isco lasted just four months – playing only 14 LaLiga matches – at SevillaCredit: AP
But interest cooled in his later Los Blancos years, with Sevilla taking a chance on him in August 2022.
After just four months and only 14 LaLiga games, his contract was terminated.
On deadline day, Isco was on the brink of a free transfer to Bundesliga high-flyers Union Berlin.
But the deal collapsed as the club cryptically claimed: “We have our limits.”
Fabrizio Romano has since revealed the “deal collapsed because financial conditions of the deal changed after the medical tests.”
According to Spanish pundit Anton Meana, the late shock is a blessing in disguise for Union Berlin.
Meana brutally claimed: “I think Isco would have been a problem for Union.
“I don’t think Isco is up to that level of football, I don’t think he suits the Bundesliga, and even less so Union Berlin.
“I think that Union have come out of this winning from all of the noise this generated on social media.”
As a result, Isco currently finds himself unemployed.
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He has been linked with a move to Turkey – with the transfer window open until February 8.
But for now, the man who was one of Spain’s brightest young talents faces the very real possibility of being tossed on the scrapheap. More

IF THERE is a possible threat to the supremacy of the European club game, then it surely comes from the Americas.The club game in South America has at least as much tradition as Europe, and until 30 years ago was equally as strong.
Clubs like Seattle Sounders from the Americas could pose a threat to Europe’s eliteCredit: Getty Images – Getty
In the days when the main source of revenue was ticket sales, then the big clubs in Uruguay could compete with anyone.
Then the TV age began, and Europe understood it first, selling its product all over the planet and opening up a huge gap.
Since then, South American football has become an export industry, with the players crossing the Atlantic at an ever younger age.
In recent years some of the giant Brazilian clubs have been learning more about making money from their massive fan bases.
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But the model is still based on selling the best players to Europe, and even so, their financial resources have made it hard for the rest of South America to compete.
The last three finals of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League, have been all Brazilian affairs. This is a problem.
A solution could come from the north. Major League Soccer is a rising force – it scouts South America very well -and now, for the first time, the champions of CONCACAF (North and Central America plus the Caribbean) are from the United States.
Over the next few days Seattle Sounders will be representing the region in the Club World Cup.
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Football in the United States has momentum behind it but lacks credibility. South American club football has credibility to burn.
In between them is Mexico, whose clubs have massive followings. Why not put them all together in a giant Pan-American competition?
One answer is the distances involved. The Americas are vast.  Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is in a different hemisphere from Mexico City.
The distance between them is further than that between London and a number of cities in India.
And that is only half way on the trip to Canada. Logistical problems make it hard to organise a Champions League for the Americas.
But how about a quick tournament between the best teams from the Libertadores and the Concacaf Champions League? 
That has always seemed more viable – and last week  an important announcement was made.
Current Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo could play in a Final Four competitionCredit: Getty
The game in South America has since become an export business – with players like Maximo Perrone moving to the Premier LeagueCredit: Reuters
Starting from next year, there is an intention to stage a Final Four competition, bringing together the best two teams from South America and from Concacaf.
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This has the potential to be very important. Where and when will it be played? How will it fit in to an already over-crowded calendar?  It is too soon to say.
But if this competition takes off then we could be looking at a sport changer, an event that shakes the domination that Europe has enjoyed over the last few decades. More