Football Daily - Chelsea saved by subs, Bruno calls out Man United board & Mbappe wins in court against PSG

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

Two subs come to Chelsea’s rescue in the Carabao Cup, and is Bruno Fernandes right to be annoyed?Former Cardiff City striker Danny Gabbidon and ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer join Kelly Cates and Alistair Bruce-Ball to review a 3-1 win for Enzo Maresca’s side in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.Cardiff did themselves proud with their performance, but Chelsea come out on top, and what does that mean for Blues boss Maresca? We also hear reaction from double-goalscorer Alejandro Garnacho and Cardiff manager Brian Barry-Murphy, whose team will return to focusing on their League One promotion bid.Later in the show, the panel preview Wednesday night’s two quarter-finals: Newcastle v Fulham and Manchester City against Brentford.Away from the Carabao Cup, Ally considers the news that FIFA has released a new tier of cheaper World Cup tickets, and how significant that really is. Our pundits also look at the situation of Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United, after the Reds captain revealed the club told him they wanted to sell him in summer.And Julien Laurens joins Kelly to delve into the news that Kylian Mbappe has won in court against his former club, PSG.Timecodes: 00:30 Reaction to Cardiff 1-3 Chelsea 05:00 Was Maresca making a point with his XI? 06:45 What can Cardiff take from this impressive performance? 09:30 What now for Chelsea? 10:10 Interview with Alejandro Garnacho 12:40 Reaction from Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy 15:00 Preview of Newcastle v Fulham — how important is this for Eddie Howe? 20:15 Preview of Manchester City v Brentford 23:45 FIFA introduce a new round of cheaper World Cup tickets 25:29 Kylian Mbappe wins in court against PSG! 29:17 Bruno Fernandes ‘hurt’ after Manchester United ‘wanted him to leave’ in the summerCommentaries coming up this week: Wed 19:30 Man City v Brentford - 5 Live Wed 20:15 Newcastle v Fulham - Sports Extra Thurs 20:00 Sparta Prague v Aberdeen - Sports Extra Sat 15:00 Man City v West Ham - 5 Live Sat 15:00 Brighton v Sunderland - Sports Extra Sat 17:30 Tottenham v Liverpool - 5 Live Sun 13:30 Hearts v Rangers - 5 Live Sun 16:30 Aston Villa v Manchester United - 5 Live

You're listening to the Football Daily podcast with Kelly Kate. Chelsea are the first team to book their plays in the Kerabau Cup's semi-finals. They were three-one winners at Cardiff City, who did themselves proud with an impressive performance. Really special moment for David Turnbull. He got Cardiff back in it at 1-1, but two goals from Alejandro Gonaccio made all the difference in that game. Danny Gabedon is at the Cardiff City Stadium with Alastair Bruce Ball. Mark Schwitzer is with us as well, and we'll get into what. this result means for both teams.

We'll also look ahead to Wednesday night's quarterfinals. Manchester City host Brentford, Newcastle, welcome Fulham. First, though, victory for Chelsea after what's been a turbulent few days for Enzo Moreska, but some of it caused by his own hand. A crucial win, though, for him to keep the pressure off, Ali. Yeah, really important results, Ashley, Kelly, regardless of how they played. And they weren't brilliant tonight, Chelsea. And they got a proper test from a really impressive Cardiff team.

but I think that will make Enzo Moreska feel really good. And you're right, he brought the pressure in the spotlight on himself with those, well, hardly cryptic comments he made about not getting enough backing. He came out with those comments after the 2-0 win against Everton, which sort of firmly put the focus on him in the press conference yesterday and then him and his team in this game tonight. Not swayed at all by that, made 11 changes. The first half was pretty even.

Then he made a double substitution at halftime Enzo Moreska, and it did change things, bringing on the quality of Shualp. Pedro and Alejandro Garnacho. Garnacho opened the scoring for Chelsea. Moment of the night was the equalizer. A fabulous crossing from Cardiff's right back on G. And David Turnbull, only his second goal for Cardiff. You can't score a better one than that.

Took off, diving header and guided it brilliantly into the top corner. But that is actually where Chelsea were really impressive because the stadium was up. The Cardiff fans were up and he felt Cardiff might be able to pull off the upset and then Chelsea steeled themselves, used the quality again. Pedro Netto hit a fizzing shot. took a slight deflection, took it away from Nathan Trott, into the bottom corner. And then as Cardiff were tiring and chasing the game late on, Garnacho wrapped the win up with

his second goal. But, you know, I've heard a lot about Cardiff this season, Kelly and the football they've been playing and everything they say is true, really impressed with them, free-flowing, confident, passing football. Dylan Lawler, the send-a-back made a mistake at one point to concede one of the goals, didn't bother him, just kept going. And I think life has really changed as a Cardiff fan, utterly miserable last season. And for the last few years, very different this time around. even though they're out of the cup and Chelsea are through to the semifinals.

Danny, the substitutes made a huge difference for Chelsea and especially in a week in which the suggestion is that Moreska's comments came because the board think he's not using his squad enough. He made 11 changes for the start of this game and without the substitutes, Cardiff more than matched them. Yeah, they certainly did and that's what the insurance is for on the bench. Sometimes you see managers kind of in this competition

where, you know, they leave the star players at home. They're not even sitting on the bench and almost indicating they're not really too bothered about the competition. But Enzo Moreska, you know, we had a lot of talent on the bench. And I think that is the way to go about it. If you're going to make 11 changes,

make sure you've got some key players on the bench because if the game's not going away, you can bring them on and they can turn the game. That's exactly what happened. Second, our first half, Chelsea weren't really at the races. They were almost playing in third gear, but to have the quality of the likes of Netto's, having a fantastic season.

and Garnacho, who's now kind of finding his feet, they were the difference makers in that second half when Cardiff City started to kind of tie those energy levels, started to drop. So he definitely utilises his squad in Somerska, certainly in the Cup competitions. You know, it's almost two squads, really, two different teams playing for the different kind of competition.

So I think he's utilising the squad. Yes, at the minute, you know, he kind of has a few injuries and maybe there's a lack of balance in certain areas and players he wanted it in the summer which he didn't get, but he used all the squad tonight, and that was the difference. And Kelly, I think last season that was slightly easier to do

in terms of mixing and matching the squad because they were playing in the Europa Conference League. So he effectively had two different teams, whereas this season, with Champions League and obviously this competition in the Premier League, it's been trickier, hasn't it? And trying to find that balance and make the changes. And I think a lot of Chelsea fans,

that would be their criticism sometimes, is that the team just gets changed too much to establish a rhythm. I mean, I'm sure Enzo Moreska would argue against that. He was talking about some of the recent performances where he's keeping a core of the same players in that first team. But it's definitely different this season to it was last season. Yeah, Mark, it does seem to be that the changes or the wholesale changes

aren't working as well as they did for Chelsea in the conference league last season. And in some ways, tonight's performance doesn't really matter that much because they got the win. They're in the semifinal of the league cup after beating Cardiff. But yet in another way, and in a broader sense, which is how we're looking at it because of Moreska's comments, that if the board is annoyed with him for not using his squad enough, has he sort of made a point, do you think?

Well, made a point in such that he's made 11 changes and the first half performance wasn't great. And I think it shows that you need those players who are playing regularly, the better players. I mean, it's clear, you know, there are certainly better players were on the bench. They've come on and made a big difference at half time. Look, you've got to give courtesy a lot, a lot of credit.

They were very, very good, I thought overall. They played some great football. And there's two divisions between the two. The money that's available is unbelievable. So I think Cardiff City were excellent. Chelsea, not anywhere near as good as they could have been and should have been in the first 45 minutes and needed that depth. And ultimately, you're right, it's about getting through.

It doesn't really matter in the end because Chelsea are through. The problem would have been, the bigger headaches would have been, had Chelsea have been knocked out by Cardiff today. What did you make of the performance of Alejandro Garnacho, who, look, a lot of players aren't getting consistent runs in this Chelsea team. We've just talked about that. But what did you make of his performance when he did get the chance to show what he could do?

I thought it was very good. I thought in terms of attitude, I said that before the game began, you know, it's about the mindset of the Chelsea players, how they approach this game. Are they on it? Are they switched on? Are they going to take their chances?

You can't underestimate the opponent. It's because they're two leagues below you. They are at home. They're doing incredibly well. Chelsea made so many changes. You've got to be on it. Those games are so, so tough. and I thought Garnacho coming on.

I was at the game on the weekend against Everton. I thought he's movement, his work ethic. Obviously, I think that's something that is pretty much standard with him. He's got really good movement. Gets himself in a great position. He's finishing on the weekend was really poor. Whereas tonight, I thought he's finishing was very good. His second goal in particular was an exceptional finish.

Danny, both you and Mark have talked about the praise that we need to heap on Cardiff after this performance. Given that they're going for promotion in League 1, on the currently top of the league, four points clear of second place. And you talked about what they can take from this performance, but it's not just this performance. This is how they've been playing this season. They certainly have. And look, they probably have in certain ways a more difficult game on the weekend,

where they didn't defend that well and manage the score in the 99th minute to get a win against Doncaster. But look, very different in terms of kind of level and kind of quality. And we saw that in the second half tonight. But I think the young people, players in particular can take a lot of confidence from the performance tonight. We just spoke about kind of young Dylan Lawler who, you know, stepping into this Cardiff City team. He's one of the players that's kind of benefited from the team kind of getting relegated.

If Cardiff City has stayed in the championship last season, he probably wouldn't be getting the opportunity that he's got this season. We've seen him perform so, so well. He's a well-seeing international already. And tonight, I thought he's magnificent. And what impressed me the most about him was, you know, that Chelsea goal, the first, when it comes from him trying to play out and he makes a mistake and gives the ball away

and Chelsea ends up scoring and he will learn a lot, even more so kind of from the mistakes that you make as a defender. You know, when you come up against top opposition, you just get punished. If he does that at League 1, you might get away with giving the ball away there. It probably doesn't go in the back of the net, but when you come up against top opposition,

you get punished, the ball's in the back of the net. It's something I had to learn being essential defender when I was young as well, you know, the right time to play, why not to being really focused and concentrated all the time. And what impressed me the most about him was after the mistake, because you often see a lot of young players, they make a mistake, and then they cave in the rest of their performance, they really struggle, they lose confidence. But he just shook it off. It didn't

affect him at all. And I think that just shows the mentality he has already for such a young player. And he will learn a lot from that tonight. And you'll be disappointed with a mistake, but he'll move on from it, you'll grow from it, and he'll become a better player from it. So, yeah, some brilliant individual performances tonight from these Cardi City players, being a fantastic night for them. Even though they didn't get the result they want, they give a greater character of themselves. You're seeing the manager and how he wants his team to play. You know, he could have easily changed things tactically tonight coming up against Chelsea and gone a bit more passive, more defensive. Didn't do that.

You know, the belief he has in these young players in his team, they play their football. You know, they caused Chelsea a lot of problems and got themselves back into the game. but it was just that bit of extra quality at the end, that told. So, yeah, so many positives to take from the game. I'm not sure what the manager is going to say after the game, but I'm sure it's going to be nothing but positive stuff about his team. And it's just about kind of resetting now off the back of that really important game for them now against Lincoln coming up who are doing really well also.

And they'll take a lot of confidence from this performance. They really will. And for Chelsea going forward, Mark, they're into the semi-finals of this competition. It's going to be a Premier League opponent. So it's unlikely to be the team that started in this game, against a Cardiff side who, yes, are playing really well, but they're in league one, they're 41 places behind Chelsea. So it's going to be a strong team in the next round.

And there's a real opportunity here for them to get a piece of silverware. Absolutely. Any of the sides that get through the quarterfinals, into the semifinals, they'll be looking kind of in the distance a little bit, thinking, okay, right, we've got one big game coming up and we've got a chance to go to Wembley and contest for the first major silverware of the season. Mark, I'm going to interrupt you there,

because Alejandro Gonachos with George Cummins. Thanks, Kelly. Alejandro, into the semifinals. What did you make of it tonight? Two good goals from you. Yeah, thank you very much. Yeah, we are happy to be in the semifinals. It's one step closer. We want to be there and we'll try to win. What did you make of the match? It was a solid performance from Cardiff, wasn't it? Yeah, yeah, we know already this type of team is always hard to play our way. And, yeah, I think they did a really good job. But I think in the second half, we were a little bit much better. And yeah, we control a little bit more the game and then we won.

goals tonight. Talk us through your goals. Yeah, I'm happy to help. I always try to do with goals, with assists or with just hard work. It's the only thing the manager asks. So I did today with goals and I'm really happy. But you missed a couple of chances, didn't you, against Everton, but today, both in the back of the net. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you have games like Everton that you have to score like two easy goals and then you miss, but in the next game it's important the mentality to try again. And yeah, today with two goals and hopefully more to come. You've been at Chelsea a while now. What do you make of your

start to life at Stanford Bridge? You enjoying it? Yeah, yeah, I'm really happy. I think we have a really good group and a good team, and so we'll try to compete for everything, and I'm really happy here in Chelsea. And the manager, he's had a lot of headlines this week, but just what's it been like working with him this season? Yeah, we

are just focused on football, you know, on hard work every day, with him, with the players, and try to win games. So we are focused on We were focused on Cardiff and now the next focus is on Saturday. Brilliant. Thanks ever so much. Thank you. That was Alejandro Garnacho speaking to George Cummins. He got the first and the third goals for Chelsea. Pedro Neto talking about making it to the semi-final.

Said the manager said in the last 18 months, this is the third semi-final we had with Chelsea. We want to win trophies. Our mindset is to win all the games. And Mark Schwartz, before we heard from Alejandro Garnacho, it's exactly what you were saying. Chelsea, in a really good position now. Yeah, they are.

And that's what it's about. You know, sometimes the performances aren't. quite where you want them to be in games, but it's what matters is the result because I look back at it and go, that was a close call. That was a game and we weren't at our best, but we did enough and we got through that we relied on the bench. Players come off the bench and did their job, and that's what they're there for as well. So I think from that element, there are some positives to take. There's no doubt about it. Chelsea are through to the semifinal, and that's all that matters. There is silverware up for grabs. You know, it's about now next game, worry about the next game,

focus on it. And then once the semifinal comes around, I agree. I think there will be a very different side playing as well. Well, Cardiff beaten, but let's hear from their boss, Brian Barry Murphy. Obviously, hugely proud of the players in the whole club really for the expected that we put on. Just the natural feeling of disappointment or a feeling of what might have been. I've used the phrase in the pressure in there, but I think it's the hope that kills you. Once we scored that goal, a brilliant goal through David Turnbull, I felt as if we were really in our flow and could grab a second, but it wasn't a big, they have a brilliant team and a brilliant manager.

So I said to the players about what credit it was, them that they had to bring on Pedro Netto Alain Garacho and Trevor Shallow would to see the game out and that was a testament to how competitive we made the game and how difficult and we can take an awful lot from it. Tonight's a really proud night for us all

unbelievable. Unbelievable the atmosphere is electric, unbelievable. Ryan, you need that, don't you? You ought to go up and this place is absolutely buzzing tonight and you've put on a show that's what you need to get back into the championship, isn't it? Well, it's an unbelievable club. The energy for the club from the supporters is evident

every single day when you're in this locality and I guess my overriding feeling coming into the game was to give them something to really feel proud of or excited by and the players did that because I don't do it the players did it and try and use that energy and momentum to push the club forward to wrestling when you wake up tomorrow how do you think you'll look back on tonight

because you've really pushed Chelsea haven't you the fact that he's had to bring on the big guns to get into the semi-finals what do you think you'll take away from it when you wake up tomorrow and morning and have a bit more time to reflect there's been some unbelievable moments in this stadium this season every time we play here it feels as if something unpredictable happens we scored in the 99th minute on Saturday and the scenes had to be seen to be believed

and tonight it felt as if that might have been another one of those occasions that was what we were looking for so like I said we're looking for the players to do things that don't seem normal and to push themselves and they're fully on board with that and driving it forward and obviously not a lot of people seeing Cardiff because you've been in league run of late but just a little bit about yourself you know, that's how you want your teams to play.

That's going to be your style and manager going for all, that you want your teams to play like that, ball on the ground and taking it to Chelsea? Well, I think we're a club with a lot of talented young players and really they have the ambition to, I suppose, not to conform to what people think they should or shouldn't do. We're looking to push and do different things and really excite a supporter base that is looking to get behind us

and that's what we've done. Let's turn our attention to Wednesday night's quarterfinals. You can hear Manchester City against Brentford on five live from 7.30. Newcastle against Fulham is on sports extra and then the second half will be on five live. The holders, of course, on Newcastle, Eddie Howe's side came to terms with Sunday's Derby defeat at Sunderland, after which Bruno Gimerich called his team a mess. That was a quote which Eddie Howe then disagreed with in his press conference today. I think Bruno's comments he was 90% right. Initially, I think we weren't a mess. We were very well

organized. We just didn't deliver the performance that we wanted to. I think Bruno's very emotional. And that's part of his success. That's why he's such a outstanding player for us and leader for us. But as I say, it's making sure our messaging is right to the outside world. The mindset now is that we can't affect the past. We can only affect the future. And we need to do that together. That was Eddie Howe talking ahead of their League Cup quarterfinal.

It was a half hour long press conference, which if you don't normally sit through them is a long time for a press conference. He said, Dan Burns injuries, a big blow. The back line, he said, is an issue for them. It's been a tough few days for Eddie Howe and for Newcastle. So, Danny, how important is it now that they get this win against Fulham? They're at home in front of their own fans and that they try and make it to the semi-final of this competition? Yeah, it's really important.

I think maybe where you're showing a bit of inconsistency in the league, obviously the Cup competitions can be a kind of a welcome distraction. Obviously, Newcastle will be in the holders. They'll be desperate to kind of retain the trophy. And, you know, Kelly, this season, and it's been quite interesting with these kind of post-match interviews. It's been a lot of people saying some controversial stuff. And obviously, you know after games, players can get frustrated

and managers can get frustrated. So sometimes, you know, you've seen these managers and players coming out and talking and maybe with a bit more emotion than maybe your manager would kind of like. And anyhow, they're just having to kind of reset things there himself. But, yeah, Newcast, a great opportunity for them to get into semifinal. Fullum or a team that are in decent form in a minute who will be thinking exactly the same as well.

It'll be great for them to win a cup. So it's going to be a difficult game, but it'll be one that they'll want to kind of bounce back from the previous results. So great opportunity for them. I'd love to have seen Eddie Howe's reaction when he got told because that would have been passed back to him, wouldn't it? By the way, Bruno Gimerich has said da-da-da-da-da.

And you think, oh, my God, I've got to go and deal with that now as well. And, you know, it is just setting the emotion at the moment, isn't it? He said that Eddie Howard, didn't he? He said, look, Bruno's a really emotional player. And that's what kind of drives him. But what I think about it as well, with all these teams that we're talking about, I would say bar, Bar, Arsenal and Manchester City, because Astavilla had a poor start of the season.

We're watching Chelsea tonight, listening to Thomas Frank talk at the weekend. Eddie Howe with Newcastle, there's so much inconsistency, isn't there? From one game to the next, from one competition to the next. And that is all that managers are ever striving for is that consistency of performance to bring the consistency of resolve. But there are so many clubs that we expect, I think, more of because of the standards they've set. at the moment, they just can't find the consistency. I think that just shows the nature of the Premier League,

how competitive it is now. You know, there are no easy games, as you say, BBS only really, Arsenal, who've lost a couple as well, who've probably shown the right levels of consistency to kind of go on and win the league. I think everyone else is capable of kind of losing games. You just don't know now going from game to game, what kind of performance you're kind of going to get.

There's so many good teams in the Premier League now, you know, the likes of Bournemouth, the Crystal Palaces of this world, they've all improved, they've all got better. every game is very, very difficult now. So even for the top team to try and find the level of consistency required is they all seem to be finding it quite difficult. So why not? Yeah, turn the attention to the Cup as well.

You know, the likes of Newcastle, Fulham, you know, Man City, we know have been very good in this competition for a number of years now. They should be targeting the Cup competitions and doing their very best to kind of win them because to show that level consistency over 38 games in the Premier League is very, very difficult. Mark, it could be safe. we could be talking about your old club Fulham we're going to be Newcastle's opponents because they're another team really struggled

for consistency and actually not just this season it's been for a little while but they're capable of really good performances and really spectacular results under Marco Silva. They are yes I mean look I think what's really important for Fulham is first and foremost that this recently they've picked up a form of course the massive win at Burnley on the weekend I think was huge because that could have really dented their confidence

So I think off the back of that, a little bit of breathing space between them and the bottom three was really important. Get back to winning ways or continue that little run they've gone. But, you know, it's a tough, it's a tough task going to St. James's Park. When you look at Newcastle, 11 successive Carrable Cup wins on their own, on their own ground, which is going to be tough. They beat Spurs in the previous round. Only Arsenal and Barcelona have beaten them at St. James's Park since September. So, like, it's a tough place to go. I remember playing there feeling so difficult to win games.

So Fulham up against it, it's going to be a really tough game. But I think if anyone can upset Newcastle at home, it's Fulham. What about the game between Manchester City and Brentford? Because Brentford have got almost the identical. In fact, I think pretty much the identical record, maybe just a bit in it in terms of goal difference as Fulham. And they're off to Manchester City, who seem to hit their stride in these kind of moments.

Man City is a tough one, isn't it? I mean, you look at Manchester City all over the park. I've said it for a while I've always felt that Manchester City are there thereabouts for winning the Premier League title they are so good and they know what you know how to deal with

all the managers experience the players they've got and they've got one distinct difference and that's Erling Harlan you've got a player of that quality that ability and you know he has peaks and drops like all players do

but he's just absolutely ruthless and he's going to be really really tough to stop I mean let's see if he plays he starts, but I think you'd be involved at some stage, if at the very least. So for Brentford, it's a tough one, you know, for any team to go to Manchester and try and beat Manchester City, it's very, very tough these days. Danny, let's try and build a bit of jeopardy in then, because as Mark said, it's very tough to make the argument against Manchester City. But there are a few injuries, Rodry, John

Stones, Docu. A couple of players have gone off to Afcon as well. They had to come from behind, having made lots of changes for the win over Swansea. Is there a way? for Brentford to get the win here? For sure. For sure. You know, in a kind of a one-off game, anything can happen. If Man City are not quite on their game, Pec Guardiola wants to rotate

and brings squad players in, then it's possible. I think you look at this Man City team and they look like they're still a bit in transition for me. I think they are improving and getting better and starting to get results

on a bit more consistency, but I still think there are areas in their team that Brentford can exploit. I still think there's a vulnerability about Man City defensively. I think you can get at the still on the counterattack. So Keith Andrews will, you know,

he'll be formulating a plan to give his team the best opportunity in that game. Now, if Man City kind of get dominating the ball and, you know, how he know they can, it's going to be very difficult for them. But at Brentford are a good side. You know, I think Keith Andrews is doing a good job. They've got a really good squad of players now.

Probably, you know, they've lost some key players, as we know, but they've recruited really well. They have a big, strong squad. And, you know, that's the reason why they've got themselves into this situation where they have the possibility to get to the semi-finals. So yeah, if Keith Andrews can formulate a plan and get his team set up correctly,

then they're more than capable of causing problems to Man City. And as we said, it'd be interesting to see what kind of team they put out there. We saw tonight, Chelsea making 11 changes and that benefited Cardiff City anyway, I think. So if Man City do something similar and Brentford goes strong, then that can be a leveler for them. And as I said, a one-off game,

you know, anything can happen if Brentford can turn up and produce the right level of performance. I'm Maisie Adam. And I'm Susie Ruffel. And we host the Women's Football podcast Big Kick Energy. Each week we bring you the latest from the WSL and beyond. Whether you're a lifelong fan like me, or a new fan like me and have recently got swept up

in the lioness's excitement. We've got everything you need to know about the women's game. And chance. We've got chance. Oh yes, we love a chance. And finding ways to shoehorn in some truly. obscure pop culture references. It's actually quite a silly podcast.

Yeah, listen now on BBC Sounds. Yeah, you should. Okay, cool. This is the Football Daily podcast with Kelly Kitts. Let's move on then to some of the other top stories from the day's football. FIFA's introduced a small number of more affordable $60, which is about £45 tickets, for all 104 matches at the 2026 World Cup after criticism of its pricing structure for the tournament. The 45 pound ticket will make up 10% of the allocation for each football association whose team is taking part.

Ali, the big question is what does that mean for England and Scotland fans? Given that Scotland flooded the FIFA portal, I think about 5 million of them trying to get Scotland tickets. Yeah, well, I'm told Kelly, their final group game against Brazil, which has all that World Cup history attached to it, you know, is one of the most popular group games in terms of tickets already being applied for? So we hear this 10% figure and it accounts for all the group games. If you do the numbers in terms of the stadiums they're playing in, I think we're talking about 400 tickets at that 45 pound price. I mean, Chris Sutton and I took a couple of calls from fans on 606 on Saturday

talking about these World Cup ticket prices. And fans have been saving up for a couple of years and making great plans to go. And then the prices were released and basically said, well, we had to shelve the plans. We can't afford it. So this offers some hope, but it is a small number. If you think about the amount of people applying, and that's what FIFA said, it is a small number, but I think for those group games for England and Scotland,

you're talking about 400 tickets for each game at about 45, at 45 quid ahead. Still got to get there, though. And Steve Clark has been warning this week about not going into debt to go and see your football team in action. There will, of course, be coverage of the World Cup across the BBC, and everybody's getting as excited as people at home. Now, Paris Saint-Germain have been ordered to pay former strike at Killian Mbapé 60 million euros in unpaid salary and bonuses.

Mbapé had been seeking 263 million euros in response to a contract dispute and ill-treatment by the club. So ESPN's Julien-Laureen is with us. Jules, it might be helpful to have a bit of background to this. Hello, Kelly. Yeah, you're right. Although we talked about it before on our shows. But basically, when Mbapé renewed his contract with PhD back in 2022, he signed a two. He signed a two-year deal with a third year in option to be triggered only by him,

not by the club or not by both of them agreeing to. And when he was quite clear that towards the end of the 23-24 season, so at the end of his two-year contract that he was going to leave, potentially on a free PSY, well, like, hang on a minute, you know, we can't let you go on a free, let's try to agree something. And it's this tale of basically a gentleman's agreement, which, as we know, unless something is really, and down, black and white on paper, it doesn't mean anything.

So the club was saying, hang on, you told us that you would not leave on a free, that you would let us not pay you some bonuses, some wages, so we could recoup some money for you going to Real Madrid on a free. Kiliang was saying, like, I never agreed to this. So here we go at court, where obviously there was only going to be one winner. The player had a contract. The contract said, this is how much you owed me for my contract.

PhD didn't pay that. So they just had to pay those 61 million euros now. So Mbapé will say that he will say that he, He's won this one and he has won 60 million euros, which is not to be sniffed up. He was looking at what, 263 million euros. So there's an opportunity here for Paris Saint-Gman to kind of spin this a little bit should they want to. But does it damage the PSG brand, do you think? I'm not sure because, again, it was a contract.

I think they tried to go for it in the hope that maybe they would now have to pay the whole 61 million. Because if you look at it, so, okay, I'll spare you some of the little numbers. But basically, $36 million were on a signing-on fee that he agreed. They agreed to pay him when he extended that contract in 2022. There's $3.6 million, which was the pay leave that they didn't give him when he was on the contract. There's $17 million, which is three months of wages. That's pretty much your salary. Nice.

What, your own? Yeah. And then some little things like more pay leave and other bonus there and there. So we get to $61 million. And I think the club were hoping that maybe they could settle in between somewhere. but they knew from the beginning that's how much it was owed to him

in his contract. You don't respect the contract you have to pay for it and BAPI didn't do anything wrong he played he played until the end of his contract that's why they paid him so in terms of image

I don't think there's any damage there they just try to maybe get that less than 61 in the end they will have to pay the full amount but Jules we haven't really seeing anything like this certainly not this high profile before so is there a sense

that a precedent has been set maybe I think their point was like We discussed this. We agreed that maybe if you were to live on a free to go to Real Madrid like he did in the end, but you would do some sort of gesture towards the club by waving off some of those bonuses that we just mentioned, 17 million there, 20 million there, etc., etc.

The club said that Embapé agreed to that in person with Nassar al-Halaifi, the president, giving his words, but again, words is nothing in football. We know that if you don't have something signed up in a contract, it doesn't mean anything. So that was the heart of the argument, really. My word against yours, you promised us that you would wave off some bonuses. Kiliang said, I never did that.

And in the end, the contract was the rule, the ultimate rule that they had to follow anyway. And Jules, as you say, you've been following this a lot, particularly on Euroleagues. And there will be more with Julian Laurent and Steve Crosman on Thursday night from 8 o'clock here on 5 Live Sport. But for now there, thanks, Jules. Brina Fernandez has been interviewed. He said it hurt him when he realized that his club Manchester United, quote, wanted him to leave in the summer. Speaking about when Al-Hallal proposed a big money offer for him,

he said it felt like if you go, it's not bad for us. And just when we thought that it was safe to go back in the water at Manchester United, they're back and they're in amongst the headlines. We thought, Danny, that Manchester United was starting to get a bit of stability. And I know there was a four-all draw last night, but even Gary Neville was saying, do you know what, I can accept this way of playing? But it just, they said they've been sitting on this for a few weeks. the Portuguese channel that interviewed Bruno Fernandez,

but just the timing of it when they seem to be out, the headlines a little bit. Yeah, it just seems like it's one thing after another, doesn't it? With Manchester and either the minute, we all know about their struggles. And, you know, this season, it looks like they're starting to improve, kind of make-strives forward, and then obviously this kind of comes out.

You know, the fact that Bruno Fernandez has kind of done that interview obviously shows that whatever happened in the summer is still kind of affect them a little bit of hurting. him a little bit. And I think he's been a fantastic play. You wonder where Manchester and I would be without him. You know, he has been absolutely outstanding. So you look at it from the clubs,

find view, maybe they thought it was an opportunity to continue to kind of rebuild the squad, you know, get really good kind of money for him. What is he now? Bruno, 31 years of age. I don't think any other club or any other league would probably could pay the numbers that someone in Saudi would. So they probably saw that as a good opportunity

to maybe recoup a lot of men. and continue to rebuild the squad. We saw a similar kind of situation when Cotino left Liverpool for big money to Barcelona and they're able to kind of get the likes of Allison in and Virgil Van Dyke and we've seen what they've done for the club to move them forward. But from a personal point of view, yeah,

I can understand why he's frustrated, why he's sad. I had a similar type of situation, not the numbers that we're talking about with Bruno Fernandez in terms of wages of transfer fee. But I had a similar situation when I was a West Ham player where I'd been at the club for a long time. I felt like I'd given my all, always tried to do my best when I was playing. And after a game, a football actually got summoned to the director's box after a game

and told basically a club would come in to me and I could go if I wanted to, which was a bit of a surprise to me. At the time, the manager didn't know about that either. And in the end, I ended up not going basically because the manager kind of wanted me to stay. And I kind of think about how I felt at that time. And yeah, it was kind of frustrating for me. I felt a little bit kind of let down because of, um, kind of hard work I put only over the previous kind of four or five seasons

and it was something that I had to kind of take on the chin I suppose and reset and refocus and because we still had plenty games to play in that season and I think it does you look at Bruno Fernanz's kind of mentality as professionalism the way he's kind of played this season off the back of that kind of frustration it hasn't really affected him at all he's still been Manchester at his kind of best player so I think that owes a lot to his kind of mentality and professionalism but you could yeah you can understand why you would be a bit frustrated and let down

by the actions of the club for short. And you can understand that if his game had suffered, but as Danny said, he looks as focused as ever, Mark. And I suppose it's the difference between if the club is happy to sell you because then that feels like a financial decision or if the manager wants to sell you

because that feels much more like a football decision. I suppose that affects how he feels about going back and playing for Manchester United. And the word out of the club is that they're not interested in selling him anymore. His contract's not until 2027. Yeah, it's a difficult one, isn't it? I mean, the key is obviously Ruben Abmarin wanted him to stay.

And I think those discussions with Bruno Fernandez would have been key as well. As a player, that definitely hurts. I've been there as well. I know what it's like. You've been in a club for a long time and you basically get shown the door without really any explanation. And then I think it's a lot. How it's been done is always the big one for anyone. loyalty in football we know that there is some but there's not a lot and it's not as much as it's perceived to be at times

I think loyalty has changed a lot over the years with the way that the game is gone so and Bruno knows that himself right you're talking about a player that has been Manchester United for the last what three four years five years he's been their best player I mean over 300 games 103 goals 93 assists where like what you guys are saying where would Manchester United be without Bruno Fernandez I think at 30 years old or 31 years old he is now, he's still worth that and more. I still think he can play for another two, three years minimum at this level and still produce numbers like that. I'd be more interested in building a team around him, trying to get better as a team with a player of his quality in my team.

And that's it for this episode of the Football Daily. Thank you to our guests, Danny Gabedon, Mark Schwarzer and Julian Laurent. Coming up soon on the Football Daily feed, there's a new episode of the 72 plus EFL podcast. And then there's reaction to those League Cup quarterfinals between Manchester City and Brentford and Newcastle and Fulham. This winter, Cricket's oldest rivalry is reignited. England and Australia do battle to compete for the ashes. Hear live ball-by-ball commentary on Fife Sports Extra

and get analysis and reaction of every day's play with the Test Match Special podcast. The Stops out of the ground. Test match special at the Ashes. Listen on BBC Sounds.