Tension rises, as season winds down

The Independent’s football newsletter [View in browser]( [The Independent]( June 03, 2022 [The Independent]( Miguel Delaney's Reading the Game Written by Miguel Delaney   Tension rises, as season winds down   Showpiece only a showcase for many problems Many who attended the [Champions League final on Saturday]( are relieved, as there is a widespread belief that genuine tragedy was only narrowly avoided. There is gratitude to the calmness of the supporters, whose behaviour in the event ensured it the atrocious organisation did not have worse consequences. It all illustrated one reason why the Stade de France - until quite recently one of Europe’s premier venues, in one of Europe’s premier cities - did not host a Champions League final for 16 years. Figures within Uefa and other confederations see French football as a “basket case” right now, illustrated by its long-running failure to deal with unrest around games in the domestic league. It is why there was some surprise the final was moved there, but that came from some lobbying, not least from some figures at Paris Saint-Germain including Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Real Madrid were not so willing to put the Bernabeu, but that wasn’t down to Florentino Perez’s own poor relationship with Uefa. It goes back further. The last time that the Bernabeu held a Champions League was 2010, and they briefly had the horror prospect of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona retaining the trophy there. City rivals Atletico Madrid have since won the Copa del Rey there, and it has all meant the club hierarchy are not willing to allow themselves to walk into similar in future. That will mean the Metropolitano - which held the Champions League final in 2019 - will become the city’s premier international venue in future. It will surely be better organised, because this is being taken as a “wake-up call” within Uefa. Not much suspense to Pogba's decision [The sign of a change at Old Trafford?]( Not just in terms of Paul Pogba and so many other players leaving, but also in how Manchester United were unwilling to indulge some of the media nonsense that surrounds the French star. Mere hours after it had been publicised that he would be announcing his “decision” - clearly following international teammate Antoine Griezmann, and LeBron James before him - United took some of the impact out of that by releasing a statement confirming that Pogba would be leaving this summer. As regards what next, it is looking highly likely for a return to Juventus. Real Madrid and Barcelona are still interested, but the new European champions would prefer Aurelien Tchouamani, and the Catalan club just don’t have the money right now. Barca are instead facing up to another financial crisis, which is what is pushing Frenkie de Jong - Pogba’s potential replacement - towards United. Defeat not redefining Liverpool just yet Liverpool have no major plans for their forward line this summer, despite new uncertainty after the Champions League final. Sadio Mane is almost certain to go to Bayern Munich, while Mohamed Salah has caused so many ripples by only going as far as saying he will definitely stay for another year. There is a new belief around the Egyptian that his main choice is to remain at Anfield, but that all depends on the offer, and his statement was as much an indication of his availability. News that he would be open to [another Premier League move]( is true, but sources close to the player still insist a dream is to plan in Spain, [preferably Real Madri](d. There could, of course, be an opening there. Any notions that Harry Kane could go to Liverpool are being laughed away, meanwhile. Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League qualification and the impact of Antonio Conte have fully changed his mind. Too much too late in the season Kevin De Bruyne reflected a widespread aggravation within the game over these Nations League fixtures, at least among the top players. The view is they have had a long season and while they obviously want to play for their countries - especially in a World Cup year - an international break of four matches is seen as a bit much. It might help a few mindsets ahead of the World Cup, though. The Finalissima has already proven productive for Argentina, and not just in terms of silverware. It has fostered belief that they can go and [win the World Cup itself](. The mood has definitely changed there. Lukau's future remains uncertain Romelu Lukaku’s return to Internazionale is currently seen as “50-50”. Thomas Tuchel has effectively told new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly that the team would work better with other options - but that is obviously apparent from the way he has used the Belgium. The fact it isn’t Boehly’s regime that paid £100m for Lukaku means it is politically easier to offload him, and the striker himself has been taking a lot of counsel on what next. He has long felt England hasn’t seen the best of him, but circumstances may force a situation where the best possible situation is a return to Italy. There is political intrigue there, too, mind, given how aggravated the club’s support were by his departure. Tuchel meanwhile wants to make considerable changes to his attack, with Mason Mount and Kai Havertz the only players he is fully convinced by. The German believes Chelsea have a lot of players who perform to “seven or eight out of 10 levels”, but not that real elevation in quality that makes the difference in title races. It just might be difficult for anyone to actually pay what Chelsea want in order to make changes.   Top stories [Ukraine bring light and joy to unite country in pursuit of World Cup]( [Man Utd’s summer of change: The six first-team players leaving Old Trafford](   Miguel's Dispatches Two very different experiences in the past few days. As stated above, we are fortunate the Champions League final avoided tragedy, and the events obviously soured the whole occasion. It did not feel like the fixture as it should be, even if that obviously must be put in the context that it could have been much worse. On the night itself, the way these things work is that we naturally divide labour. I was on the phone to people and sources from my desk, while my colleague, our northern correspondent, Mark Critchley, went down to the entrances to see some of the chaos. It meant he came back still able to taste some of the pepper spray. Given some of the debate about journalists going to the Qatar World Cup - which, as I’ve written in this letter before, is not for me a debate in the slightest - it also showed the importance of media being on the ground to offer evidence to challenge official views. The feeling was very different at Hampden Park on Wednesday. It was hugely moving, and rather humbling, to both see the Ukrainian team play like that and then their manager Oleksandr Petrakov speak as he did. The coach sat there for his press conference just looking straight ahead, as if he was still immersed in the emotional intensity of the evening. It was certainly a departure for such an event to feature a manager go into some detail on war crimes, and the room fell silent. That, at once, was a reminder of the importance of football at these times; of why we go. It is to feel life, as Petrakov also said.   Quote of the day "They play for Ukrainians, for people watching back home, for members of our armed forces in trenches or in hospitals. They will say thank you to us and we return this gratitude." Oleksandr Petrakov after his Ukrainian team’s superb win over Scotland.   Reading the game quiz There are 14 players who have appeared in the Premier League and been sent off in a World Cup knock-out game. All are since - and including - the 1994 World Cup. Group stages obviously don’t count. Clue: three took place in the same game. ([You can find out the answers here](. The answer page will be updated weekly and contains answers from previous newsletters, too)   [The new Independent app]( [The new Independent app](   Essential reading [The best moment of the season for each of the 20 Premier League clubs](   [Hungary to have 30,000 fans at ‘behind closed doors’ game with England](   If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's football newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's football newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Football_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. 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