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      Surprise Chelsea star is AXED from Champions League squad as three new transfers signings make list and four miss out

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      PIERRE EMERICK-AUBAMEYANG has been axed from Chelsea’s Champions League squad – and then jetted straight to Milan.The Gabon striker, 33, is left out in order to accommodate the club’s recent arrivals.
      Chelsea have named their Champions League squadCredit: Reuters
      Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been axed from Chelsea’s Champions League squadCredit: Getty
      Chelsea’s record January transfer outlay led to them bringing in EIGHT new players in.
      However, Uefa rules mean that they are only able to include three of their signings in their Champions League squad for the knockouts.
      Chelsea forked out a whopping £107m upfront with a potential further £4m to follow in add-ons to Benfica for Enzo Fernandez.
      And the most-expensive player in Britain has been included along with Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix.
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      Therefore that means that fellow new boys David Datro Fofana, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, Gabriel Slonina and Benoit Badiashile have all missed out.
      Jorginho’s deadline day exit to Arsenal did free up one place in the squad – which was only initially a 24-man one for the group stages.
      But another player also had to be omitted to make room for the trio which has led to Aubameyang being left out.
      However, despite his lack of match action under Graham Potter, the former Barcelona man was still expected to get the nod in favour of Hakim Ziyech.
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      The winger saw a deadline day switch to PSG fall through and he was the favourite by many to be a casualty.
      But the 29-year-old is in – causing more frustration for Aubameyang.
      The striker only moved to Stamford Bridge in September but has scored just three goals and started nine matches since Potter took over.
      And he appeared to take the latest snub badly as he was pictured in Milan with his brother on Friday night – which his teammates were facing Fulham.
      Chelsea face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last-16 with the first leg taking place in Germany on February 15.
      Fernandez, Mudryk and Felix have all featured in the competition already for their previous employers but are all available to play for the Blues. More

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      Fans all say same thing as Zlatan Ibrahimovic is LEFT OUT of AC Milan’s Champions League squad list

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      FANS have all said the same thing after Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed out on AC Milan’s Champions League squad.The legendary striker, 41, is still on the books of the Italian champions despite failing to make a single appearance this season due to a knee injury.
      Zlatan Ibrahimovic has not made the cut for AC Milan’s Champions League squadCredit: Getty
      It was hoped Ibrahimovic was on the verge of recovering in time for the second half of the campaign.
      But it appears the Swede remains some way off a return after he was once again axed from Milan’s squad for Europe.
      This prompted a mass reaction online from fans, who suggested that Ibra may be “finished” as a result.
      One said: “Zlatan is finished, he should retire already.”
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      Another declared: “Wrong. Zlatan has left AC Milan out of his list.”
      One noted: “Damn bro really fell off.”
      Another added: “Zlatan should stop forcing it, he’s made his point. He should go back to Stockholm and enjoy.”
      Indeed, reports from Italy claim Ibra could call it a day at the end of the season following a magnificent career.
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      Ibrahimovic wasn’t the only Milan star to miss out on Pioli’s Champions League squad, with the Serie A champs playing Tottenham in the next stage.
      Full-back Sergino Dest has been dropped after a disappointing loan spell from Barcelona.
      He’s been replaced by Malick Thiaw, a 21-year-old German centre-back signed from Schalke last summer.
      And there is also no place for crocked goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who is still struggling with injury.
      But because he is sidelined, the Frenchman could yet be added to the squad 24 hours before the Spurs match. More

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      Karim Benzema and Eder Militao BOTH go off injured for Real Madrid two weeks before Liverpool Champions League clash

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      REAL MADRID have suffered a DOUBLE injury scare ahead of their upcoming Champions League clash with Liverpool.Los Blancos, who defeated Jurgen Klopp’s side in last season’s final, face the Reds again in the first leg of the last-16 at Anfield on February 21.
      Karim Benzema has provided Real Madrid with an injury scareCredit: Getty
      Defender Eder Militao also came off injured for the Champions League holdersCredit: Getty
      However, they could be sweating on the fitness of their talisman striker Karim Benzema.
      The French star limped off in tonight’s LaLiga clash with Valencia.
      And defender Eder Militao was also forced off during the same game.
      Brazilian Militao was forced off after just 36 minutes at the Bernabeu after falling to the turf in agony.
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      Initial reports are claiming that he has damaged his right groin or that it could be a potential adductor injury.
      But it will be French striker Benzema that will have boss Carlo Ancelotti feeling the most anxious.
      The 35-year-old, who was forced to pull out of his country’s World Cup squad through injury, pulled up after accelerating clear of the defence on the hour mark.
      He then left the field with appeared to be a right hamstring problem.
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      Despite the double blow, Madrid were still able to close the gap at the top of the table.
      Second half goals from Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior sealed a 2-0 win over Valencia.
      They now trail leaders Barcelona by five points after 19 matches. More

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      Kylian Mbappe suffers heartbreaking injury and will miss PSG clash with Bayern Munich in Champions League

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      KYLIAN MBAPPE is set to miss PSG’s huge clash with Bayern Munich in the Champions League due to injury. The French star sustained a thigh strain during yesterday’s 3-1 win at Montpellier.
      Mbappe was seen hobbling after the game against Montpellier yesterdayCredit: AFP
      He now faces three weeks on the sidelines and will miss some crucial games, according to Get Football News France.
      By far the biggest is PSG’s last 16 game against Bayern with the French giants still chasing their first Champions League trophy.
      It has become almost an obsession for Paris Saint-Germain but they have fallen short repeatedly over the last few years.
      Mbappe, widely seen as among the world’s best players, would have been as a key factor in overcoming the German opponents.
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      But with only 12 days until the first leg at the Parc des Princes, PSG boss Christophe Galtier may now need to rethink his plans.
      Mbappe also faces missing league games against Toulouse, Monaco and Lille while a cup game at Marseille next week may also be beyond him.
      There are also questions over Neymar’s fitness after he missed the game against Montpellier.
      Between them the pair have contributed 34 goals in all competitions this season.
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      PSG and Bayern’s game is one of several mouth-watering games in Europe’s top competition set to take place later this month.
      Liverpool also take on Real Madrid in a repeat of last year’s final, while Dortmund take on big-spending Chelsea.
      The Europa League is also set for one of it’s biggest knockout games ever. More

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      Clubs from the Americas could pose a threat to the European elite – as South America’s giants play Concacaf’s finest

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      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

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      Benfica XI of former stars would fight for Champions League after selling £600m worth of talent in the last decade

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      BENFICA’S business model of buy low, sell high has delivered domestic success but the £600million-plus worth of talent leaving the club could have deprived them of greater glory.A stunning array of star players have passed through the Lisbon club’s doors over the past decade, showcasing their eye for a gem.

      Enzo Fernandez joined Chelsea for a staggering £107mCredit: Reuters
      An impressive XI can be constructed from former Benfica men – with plenty left spare.
      The 2019 summer deal for Joao Felix, with Atletico Madrid paying Benfica £115m, remains their biggest sale but a mega 15 players left for between £20m and £35m in the past decade.
      Then comes the British transfer record fee of £107m paid by Chelsea on deadline day in January 2023 to trigger Enzo Fernandez’s release clause after a long drawn-out saga.
      The loss of Darwin Nunez back in June 2022 comes in as the next most expensive exit, as Liverpool could end up forking out up to £85m for the striker.
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      Jurgen Klopp’s side paid £64m up front for his services, but they could be required to stump up the extra £21m in future to meet projected value.
      Manchester City’s defensive stalwart Ruben Dias is next after arriving in a £64m deal to shatter David Luiz’s £22m effort.
      His team-mate goalkeeper Ederson follows with a defence of Nelson Semedo, Victor Lindelof and Fabio Coentrao banking Benfica £87m combined.
      A pairing of Axel Witsel and Renato Sanches join Fernandez in central midfielders with all three sold early on in their careers for huge profits.
      And with £30m Angel Di Maria joining Felix and Nunez in attack and completing the £587m starting XI, there isn’t even space for £27m Goncalo Guedes or Nemanja Matic.
      The Serb bruiser left for Chelsea in 2014 for a ‘measly’ £21m, meaning he misses the cut for this line-up along with £13m playmaker Bernardo Silva.
      The exit fees for Lazar Markovic, Nico Gaitan and Enzo Perez also exceeded £20m – and yet aren’t enough for our XI.
      Nuno Tavares swapped Benfica for Arsenal in the summer of 2021 but fails to make our XI as his bargain £7m fee is no match for the £27m banked when Coentrao joined Real Madrid back in 2011.
      Up front, Felix partners Nunez to oust Wolves’ £30million buy Raul Jimenez.
      Had all these players stayed, it isn’t hard to imagine Benfica reaching the latter stages of the Champions League and even threatening to win the competition.
      Add in the likes of Jan Oblak, Joao Cancelo and Luka Jovic and suddenly the team looks nigh-on imperious.
      Sure enough, the Portuguese giants do have two European Cups to their name but a decade that saw them reach just two Champions League quarter-finals and lose a pair of Europa League finals could have been very different.
      Benfica sold Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid for an eye-watering £115mCredit: Reuters
      Darwin Nunez’s move to Liverpool could rise to £85mCredit: Getty
      Ezequiel Garay and Nemanja Matic left for big fees yet are nowhere near the top of the rankingsCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd More

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      Chelsea set to leave £116.5MILLION worth of talent out of Champions League squad with six stars missing the cut

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      CHELSEA boss Graham Potter is set to leave £116.5MILLION worth of talent out of his Champions League knockout squad.And that includes FOUR new January signings, who need the Blues to make the top four or win this season’s competition to avoid an 18-month wait to play in it.
      Mykhailo Mudryk is expected to be included in Chelsea’s 25-man Champions League squadCredit: Getty
      Graham Potter may need to have a difficult conversation with Hakim ZiyechCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      Then to top it off, Potter looks on course to add insult to injury for unwanted winger Hakim Ziyech by telling the Morrocan he is being booted OUT of the 25 who can play against Borussia Dortmund later this month.
      Chelsea spent a British record fee of £107m to capture Argentina ace Enzo Fernandez.
      He arrived at the 11th hour on deadline day to follow Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk, French defender Benoit Badiashile, Ivorian striker David Datro Fofana, English winger Noni Madueke and teenage Brazilian Andrey Santos alongside loan capture from Atletico Madrid Joao Felix.
      But Uefa’s Champions League regulations only allow clubs to change THREE of their senior list of players for the knockout stage.
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      And with none of the arrivals meeting the requirements to go on the ‘List B’ of junior players – meaning Charlie Webster, Lewis Hall and injured Armando Broja will remain on that list – Potter faces the unenviable task of having to give the bad news to the unlucky quartet.
      It seems likely that Fernandez, Mudryk and Felix will be the trio given the green light with Chelsea having to hand Uefa the updated squad list by midnight on Thursday.

      The departure of Jorginho to Arsenal means Chelsea have 23 senior players currently registered, but adding the three new names forces one player to be excluded.
      And while his proposed loan move to PSG fell through to mean he will stay at Chelsea for the rest of the season, Ziyech appears the most likely casualty.
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      That means Ziyech will likely join January arrivals Fofana, Madueke, Badiashile and Santos in watching their team-mates in Champions League action from the sidelines.
      The unlucky group is completed by 18-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina who has now linked up with Chelsea after spending the first half of the season back on loan with Chicago Fire.
      Ziyech is valued at £18m, Fofana cost £10.5m, Santos was £11m and Slonina arrived for £7m.
      On top of that, the Blues shelled out a whopping £35m each on Badiashile and Madueke, totalling the massive £116.5m.
      Chelsea look in serious doubt of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
      They currently sit tenth in the Premier League, ten points off the top four, so either need a dramatic turnaround in domestic form or go on and win the Champions League for the second time in three years to guarantee their place in the 2023-24 competition.
      Winger Noni Madueke may not get another taste of European football until SeptemberCredit: GettyChelsea’s likely updated Champions League 2022-23 squad

      GOALKEEPERS: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Betinelli, Edouard Mendy
      DEFENDERS: Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana
      MIDFIELDERS: N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Denis Zakaria, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Enzo Fernandez
      FORWARDS: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kai Havertz, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk
      LIST B: Charlie Webster, Lewis Hall, Armando Broja More

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      Chelsea set for huge transfer exodus with SEVEN first-team stars on chopping block after £606m spree

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      CHELSEA are set for a summer sales extravaganza – to help balance the books after their unprecedented spending spree.New Blues chief Todd Boehly has overseen deals which could add up to a staggering total £606m this season.
      N’Golo Kante could be among Chelsea players set to leave Stamford BridgeCredit: Getty
      Chelsea star Marc Cucurella may also have to leave after the January splurgeCredit: Rex
      While offering long-term contracts to stagger payments – in accounting terms, over up to eight years will offset the official cost of the deals – Chelsea do have to start shifting some excess players to meet Financial Fair Play regulations.
      And the need to sell will be heightened if Chelsea do not get back into the top four and miss out on the minimum £80m income from TV and gate receipts of reaching the knockout round of next season’s Champions League.
      Chelsea’s January splurge of up to £329.9m, capped by the British record £107m capture of Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez, was on top of the huge summer outlay.
      It meant the Blues spent more last month than ALL the clubs in the other Big Five leagues – Spain, Germany, Italy and France – COMBINED.
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      Fernandez’s fee plus salary will add around £19m per year to Chelsea’s outgoings, estimated to bring them to a likely paper “loss” of around £180m in 2022-2023.
      Prem rules limit clubs to losses of £35m per season over three years, with Uefa regulations allowing clubs to lose £26.5m over the same period, set to rise to £90m from next term.

      But accountancy loopholes and “allowable losses” of £30m each year for spending on youth and women’s football and community projects mean Chelsea’s likely figures would still, just, be inside the permitted Prem loss level.
      And while they are on course to bust the Uefa limit by around £22m this season, Euro chiefs only expect around 15 per cent of any fines – PSG had to pay only £8.4m of the £56m punishment levied in September  – to be paid up front if clubs show they are taking steps to address the matter.
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      For Chelsea, that would mean selling the players who do not appear to have a future under Graham Potter – and it was notable that all seven of the players signed on full contracts last month were 22 or under.
      Keeper Edouard Mendy, now second choice, summer defensive flop Kalidou Koulibaly, Hakim Ziyech, potentially N’Golo Kante, Marc Cucurella and home-grown midfielders Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all potential discards.
      Any money raised by the sales of Gallagher or Loftus-Cheek would also see their full fee go straight into the accounts to help balance the “amortised” fees owed for this season’s 15 signed players.
      But without the Champions League income – Chelsea have already banked £82m including gate money this season – the finances will require significant sales.
      It cranks up the pressure on Potter and his new recruits, currently 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United in 10th position, to turn the domestic season round – unless they earn qualification by winning the Champions League.
      Chelsea made two of the biggest transfers ever in January 2023 More