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European Leagues

Liverpool agree £111m fee with Brighton for Caicedo

Liverpool have agreed a British record transfer fee of £111m with Brighton for midfielder Moises Caicedo.

After Brighton rejected a succession of bids from Chelsea, it remains to be seen whether the Blues will now match that amount.

Brighton had set a fee in excess of £100m for Caicedo and had said they felt no-one would reach it.

However, Liverpool have now done that, which leaves the 21-year-old Ecuador international free to go for a medical.
Liverpool lost midfielders Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Saudi Pro League last month but signed Caicedo’s Brighton team-mate Alexis Mac Allister in June for £35m.

Former Reds captain Henderson, 33, joined Al-Ettifaq in a deal worth £12m plus add-ons, while 29-year-old Brazilian Fabinho switched to Al-Ittihad for £40m.

Speaking on Friday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “I got told I can confirm a deal with [Brighton] is agreed.

“What did change is that we are a club with not endless resources, so things we didn’t expect, a couple of things happening in the summer [Henderson and Fabinho], stuff like this.

“We didn’t think about that before the summer, to be honest and when it happened, we gave it a go and obviously, the club was really stretched there, to be honest.”

Klopp said he “didn’t know” whether Caicedo was due on Merseyside for a medical on Friday and added he was not sure whether this would be the Reds’ final business in the transfer window.

The fee agreed for Caicedo exceeds the £107m Chelsea paid for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez earlier this year. The Seagulls would also profit if Caicedo is sold by Liverpool because of a sell-on clause in his contract.

Caicedo joined Brighton from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for £4m in February 2021 although he did not make his Premier League debut until April 2022.

He asked to leave Brighton in the January transfer window earlier this year. Arsenal then had multiple offers turned down for Caicedo before the player signed a new contract with the Seagulls until 2027 in March.

Klopp has been looking at various options to rebuild his squad after they finished fifth in the Premier League last season and failed to qualify for the Champions League.

However, the price they are prepared to pay for Caicedo comes as a surprise, as in In April, the club said they would not make a move for England midfielder Jude Bellingham because of the money involved.

The 20-year-old later joined Real Madrid in a deal that could reach 133.9m euros (£115m).

Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, 19, has also been on Klopp’s list of potential transfers, but the Reds have seen three bids rejected by the Saints, who reportedly value the Belgian at £50m.

While all the noise was around Chelsea’s efforts to sign Caicedo, it is understood Reds chief executive Billy Hogan worked quietly behind the scenes to get this deal in place.

Brighton had a figure they wanted for Caicedo – someone they believe could go on to become one of the world’s best – and Hogan’s approach allowed Liverpool to get there.

It left Chelsea out-negotiated and out-manoeuvred and may deliver to Klopp one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League – albeit at a fee that reflects that.
Klopp has spoken previously about the huge sums of money involved in transfers and the implications it might have for the future of football.

In 2016, the German questioned spending £100m on a player after Manchester United re-signed France midfielder Paul Pogba for a then world record £89m.

“The day that this is football, I’m not in a job any more, because the game is about playing together,” Klopp said.

“Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players. I want to do it differently.

“I would even do it differently if I could spend that money.”

When asked about those comments during his news conference before Sunday’s game against Chelsea, Klopp said: “Everything changed. Do I like it? No. Did I realise I was wrong? Yes.

“I’m not blaming anyone but it’s just the market. In the end, we as a club have to make sure that, with our resources, we get the best possible player.

“We aren’t in a dreamland and can’t just point at a player and get them to come in. Sometimes one door closes and another opens up.

“I said that day what I thought and now I realise I was wrong. Easy to admit that.”

In April, Klopp compared talk of big-money transfers with “a five-year-old asking for a Ferrari for Christmas”.

“We cannot have six players in a summer, everyone for £100m,” he said.

“What we need and what we want, we try absolutely everything to get it, but there are moments when you have to accept that this or that is not possible for us – you step aside and do different stuff.”

With Arsenal spending £105m on England midfielder Declan Rice and Klopp in desperate need of reinforcements, Liverpool have joined the clubs willing to go above the £100m mark in order to secure a top player.

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LaLiga

Ancelotti Issues Stern Warning to Players After Madrid Derby Draw

Madrid ‘lacked courage’ against City, says Ancelotti before rematch

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti reportedly tore into his players during halftime of their 1-1 LaLiga draw against Atletico Madrid on Saturday, according to Marca.

Julian Alvarez’s penalty had put Los Blancos behind at the break. However, Kylian Mbappe netted the equalizer within five minutes of the restart, securing a point for the Spanish champions.

The result keeps Real Madrid at the top of the table with 50 points, just one ahead of Atletico Madrid’s 49.

During the first half, Ancelotti was visibly frustrated as Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Jr often crowded the same spaces, leading to disjointed attacks.

The Italian tactician threatened to substitute his forwards if they did not change their approach. He specifically instructed Vinicius to stay wide on the left flank rather than drifting into central areas already occupied by Mbappe and Bellingham.

Ancelotti’s tactical adjustments appeared to pay off, with Madrid salvaging a valuable point in the tightly contested derby.

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Premier League

Everton v Liverpool: 22 Stats To Know Ahead Of Merseyside Derby

Merseyside Derby

Liverpool visit Everton in the Premier League on Wednesday night – read a statistical preview of the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

The rearranged game – which was postponed in December due to adverse weather conditions – is set to kick off at 7.30pm GMT.

Here are 22 facts and figures to know ahead of the 245th official meeting between the Reds and Blues…

This match is Liverpool’s 122nd and last visit to Goodison Park, including two FA Cup semi-final appearances.

This will be the latest in a season that the first derby of a campaign has been played. The previous latest was in 2005 when the Reds won 3-1 at Goodison on December 28.

Liverpool have won 99 matches against Everton in all competitions (drawn 77, lost 68). If the Reds win on Wednesday, it will be the fifth time an English league side has beaten another on 100 occasions since the formation of the Football League in 1888 (Arsenal 111 v Everton, Manchester United 106 v Aston Villa, Liverpool 103 v Aston Villa and Arsenal 100 v Manchester City).

To date, the clubs have won 41 times apiece in their clashes at the current home of the Blues, with 37 draws.

Liverpool have only lost two of their last 27 Premier League games against Everton (won 12, drawn 13), with those defeats coming in February 2021 (2-0 at Anfield) and April 2024 (2-0 at Goodison Park).

Everton v Liverpool is the fixture to have seen the most red cards (23) and been drawn 0-0 the most (12) in Premier League history.

Liverpool have scored more 90th-minute winners against Everton in the competition than any other side against a single opponent (five).

Everton last won consecutive league Merseyside derbies in the 1984-85 campaign.

Liverpool’s loss in this fixture last season ended a 12-game unbeaten away run in the Premier League against Everton (won three, drew nine). They have not lost consecutive visits to Goodison Park since a run of three between 1992 and 1994.

The Reds are unbeaten in their last 19 Premier League games (won 14, drawn five). On both previous occasions they have gone into an away league game against Everton on an unbeaten run of 19+ matches, they have lost (1-0 in October 1978 while on a 23-game run and 1-0 in March 1988 when on a 31-game run).

This is Arne Slot’s first meeting with Everton as Liverpool head coach. Only one Reds boss has won their first ever league Merseyside derby when that match has come away from home, with Kenny Dalglish overseeing a 3-2 victory in September 1985.

The Reds are the only side across the top four tiers of English football who remain unbeaten away from home this season (played 12, won nine, drawn three). Only in 1987-88 (15) and 2019-20 (13) have they enjoyed a longer away unbeaten run from the start of a top-flight campaign.

Liverpool rank top in the Premier League for goals (56), xG (54.7), shots (411), shots on target (159), and big chances (100) this season. They have also spent 47 per cent of their games in the lead, the highest percentage of any side in the division this term.

This is just the third time in the Premier League that Liverpool are facing Everton while top of the table at the start of the day. The others were a 5-2 win and a 0-0 draw in 2019-20, with the Reds going on to win the title that season.

David Moyes won three of his 22 Premier League Merseyside derbies in charge of Everton between 2002 and 2013 (drew seven, lost 12). This is his first match against Liverpool as Toffees boss since a goalless draw at Anfield in May 2013.

Moyes will be taking charge of a game against Liverpool for the 43rd time in his career. Only seven men have ever managed against the Reds more often.

Everton have won their last three Premier League games by an aggregate score of 8-2 – it’s as many wins as they had in their previous 21 league games, and as many goals as they had scored in their previous 14.

Only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (10 each) have kept more Premier League clean sheets than Everton this season (nine), with the Toffees recording shutouts in each of their last two games.

Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in 21 goals in Liverpool’s 12 Premier League away games this season (13 goals, eight assists). It’s the joint-most by a player on the road in a single campaign in the competition’s history, level with Andrew Cole in 1993-94 (12 goals, nine assists).

Ryan Gravenberch can make his 50th league appearance for the Reds.

Luis Diaz could make his 100th start for Liverpool in all competitions.

Alisson Becker has kept seven clean sheets in his 10 appearances against Everton – all in the league.

 

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Serie A

Joao Felix Reveals Why He Rejected Aston Villa transfer 

Joao Felix Reveals Why He Rejected Aston Villa transfer 

Joao Felix has revealed why he turned down a January transfer to Aston Villa in favour of a switch to AC Milan.

Villa boss Unai Emery is a big fan of the Portuguese forward, but Villa have failed in attempts to sign him in the last two transfer windows as he left Atletico Madrid for Chelsea for £45m last summer and then departed Stamford Bridge for Milan on loan before the end of the January transfer window.

Speaking in his first interview since moving to the San Siro, Felix said: “My agent told me about interest from other clubs, but I was already in negotiations with AC Milan. In my mind, this was the only option, I had already decided to come here.”

“For now, I’m on loan until June, we’ll see how it goes,” he added. “I’m liking everything: the club, the people, the infrastructure. My family and I have received a great welcome and I want to be in a place where I feel good. Things can change in football, but if there’s the chance to stay here, I’d like that.”

Felix made a great start to life at AC, scoring on his debut in a 3-1 win against Roma in the Coppa Italia.

“A week has already passed, it’s been fantastic with the two wins and my first goal at San Siro,” he said. “I knew that AC Milan was a big club, but I’m still surprised by the size of it, you understand straight away when you get here. It’s one of the biggest in Europe.

“I fell in love straight away with the atmosphere at San Siro, the atmosphere here is different.

“It was my first match and I didn’t expect the reception from the fans to be so affectionate. Let’s hope we can continue like this.”

 

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