Football Daily - Euro Leagues: Rosenior to Chelsea, Strasbourg protests and Lennart Karl's Real Madrid wish

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

As Liam Rosenior agrees to become Chelsea's next manager, Euro Leagues looks at the impact on his old club, Strasbourg, and how he'll fit in at Stamford Bridge.Kelly Cates is joined first by senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel and Doncaster Rovers striker Billy Sharp, who played under Rosenior at Hull City. They discuss his management style, the step up to managing a club the size of Chelsea and his tricky task of winning over the fans. Then Kelly is joined by Mina Rzouki, Guillem Balague and Julien Laurens for a continental look on Ruben Amorim leaving Manchester United - does the Premier League have a problem with Sporting Directors, and could United look to Europe for their new manager?And they cover how Bayern Munich’s star prodigy, 17-year-old Lennart Karl, has openly said that he one day dreams of playing for Real Madrid!Timecodes: 00:38 - Liam Rosenior's Chelsea appointment 05:12 - Rosenior's management style 12:55 - A continental view on Ruben Amorim's sacking at Manchester United 17:31 - Is the Premier League going through a transition on how clubs are run? 28:00 - Who should be the next manager of Manchester United? 37:14 - Liam Rosenior leaving Strasbourg and multi club ownership 44:31 - Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl says he'd like to play for Real Madrid

On the Football Daily podcast, the Euroleagues. Listen on the BBC Sounds. Hello, welcome to Euroleagues. Coming up, we're going to have a continental take on Ruben Amarim leaving Manchester United. Does the Premier League have a problem with sporting directors? And could United look to Europe for their new manager or head coach, depending on whether or not Rubin Amarim is listening? And we'll discuss how by Munich's star prodigy, 17-year-old Lenat Karl, has openly said that one day he dreams of playing for Real Madrid.

Shock. But we're going to start with Chelsea's new head coach, Liam Rossignor. He's been given a six and a half year deal by the club. He will be watching from the stance for Chelsea's game against Fulham tomorrow, which means their FA Cup tie against Charlton at the weekend will be his first game in charge. He spoke this morning during a press conference in Strasbourg about his decision to join Chelsea.

This opportunity for me is something that cannot turn down at this moment in my life. life. For many reasons, one, it's an unbelievable opportunity, an unbelievable club, who are club World Cup champions with an incredible squad and incredible fan base. Secondly, it means I can go home and see my kids, I'm away from my children, I've missed them, and I wanted to make the sacrifice of not seeing them worth it. You know, I cannot lie. My life, my whole life I've worked to be a coach, and it sounds strange, but it's the truth. So now to be presented this opportunity to manage a world-class football club is something I've always dreamed of with that is a mixed emotion of sadness of what I'm leaving behind. I'm emotional. I'm emotional

now. This is the last day, the last time that I will wake up as a Strasbourg manager. The overriding feeling right now is I'm excited, but I'm also really, really appreciative of everything that's happened here. Well, I'm joined now by our senior football correspondent, Sammy Mockbell and Billy Sharp, scorer of over 250 EFL goals and who played under Liam McSignia at Hull. Evening both. Hey, Kelly.

Sammy, let's start by talking about Liam and start by talking about the structure that has led him to this point. Is this a long-term plan for Chelsea and this multi-club ownership model? Yeah, look, I think a lot of maybe outside is looking in, we'll look at this and say he's out of his

depth, you know, what credentials as Lee and Rossini have got to lead a club like Chelsea with the elite talent that they've got at their disposal. But I don't think this is a decision that the Chelsea ownership would have just taken on

a whim. It isn't a vanity project by any means. I think they've watched him very, very closely since his appointment as Strasbourg manager last season. And of course Strasbourg are owned, by Blue Coe, who also own Chelsea.

So they've been keeping a really close eye on him. And by all accounts, they've been mightily impressed with the way he's conducted himself, with the players, certainly in public, and the way he exudes confidence and the way he exudes class. And I think he's got all the, at the moment, he's got all of the hallmarks of being able to be a success at Chelsea. but of course we know football could be

unforgiving and I think proof will be in the pudding ultimately what about the length of the contract we're used to seeing this with Chelsea players

they bring in young talent on long term deals they've done that now with their head coach are you surprised by that or is it just further to their model it's a statement of intent

for sure right I think Chelsea and the hierarchy and the ownership have seen the position now and I think they've sent a message to the footballing community that this isn't a short-term fix

it's something that it's an appointment that they believe in and they've appointed a manager who they believe can build on the successes that they've already had from what I understand and from what you can see that I think there is been probably a lukewarm reception

shall we say from sections of the fan base but the certainly the length of the contract isn't Luke warm at all. It's a real symbolic, not gesture but it's more than a gesture, but I think it's a real symbolic sign that they are all in it.

They believe Liam Resignor is the man to take them forward. But obviously there is a caution we tell and we do have to proceed with an error of caution with that because it wasn't so long ago that Graham Potter was given a five-year deal at Chelsea and he lasted

a little less than I think just seven months. So it's a result business and ultimately whether it's a long six and a half year contract or not, Liam Rossini will be judged on results. Billy, let's address what Sammy's described there as a sort of lukewarm

reception from the Chelsea supporters. What can you tell us about the time that you spent playing under Liam Rossini? What was he like? What are his characteristics as a manager? They've just touched on it there about his confidence his self-belief is amazing.

When he wanted to sign me, it was when I was coming back from the MLS. And I'd been away for four months, and I couldn't play for another club until the January window. And he was really patient with me. And I met him a couple of times face to face. And he went through things with me that no managers have ever done with me when I've signed for a football club. He had it on a TV screen, and it was basically like he'd already signed me, but he wanted to make sure that the fit was going to be right. And he asked me questions about where he saw myself.

playing in certain positions and if I would be comfortable with that and how my feelings were towards that and I thought it was really interesting and having getting to know him more while playing for Hull, he was brilliant for me. I didn't play as much as I would like to have done and you've just said about the goals I scored

and my one regret in my career is not being able to score for Hull City which I'd love to have done that for Liam and Justin who was also gone to Chelsea as well. Liam's a great guy and he's got an aura about him and he brought a real togetherness at Hull and I loved being a part of it

even though I didn't get the goal for Hull I really enjoyed my time there and I've seen as well in the press today about the lukewarm reception but he won't be bothered about that he'll be thriving and he bet he can't wait to get going and the players that he's going to work with

is a dream for him because I spoke to him about many things and he said about he knew he wanted to be a coach, a manager early on in his football in his playing career and you can just tell the way he's the way he handles himself now in the press and the way he is on the side of the pitch and he is an emotional person but when he does lose his head a little bit he can calm himself really quickly and he's got a real good level headed on his shoulders

and I'm looking forward to it, I'm delighted for him. Yeah, the one I wanted to, to ask you a bit more about was when you talked about the players and how excited he's going to be working with them because that's one of the things that I've heard Chelsea fans say, I've read and sort of reports about it and that this is going to be a different challenge as going into the Chelsea dressing room

compared to being at Hull City compared to being at Strasbourg. You've played across the EFL and the Premier League, played at MLS, you played at LA Galaxy, as you said. You know, you've played in lots of different leagues and you've operated in lots of different dressing rooms. Is he going to find that there is a difference, do you think, in that Chelsea dressing room? Yeah, I've been very fortunate in my career.

I've played league two, league one, championship and Premier League. And I think the higher you go and in the dress rooms when you go higher, there is more egos. And there's probably bigger characters that you've got to handle. But I'm pretty certainly, he'll be fine with that. He's got young, hungry players. and he's a young hungry manager who wants to learn, but he also wants to make players better. He's got an incredible squad to work with.

He's got to find a formula which is going to suit his style of play because he has got a style of play, which is a nice way to play. But in the end goal is you've got to go and get results. So I think he'll learn the respect of people like Enzo as well. Enzo is a World Cup winner, and I'm pretty sure that he will like the way the manager will want to play as well.

I have certainly a text today wishing him look but I'm sure he's had thousands of texts and hopefully I can pick his brains

at some point because he's I have seen Cala McFallan say about he's an inspiration and he is because it's something

that I want to do as well after football after my playing career I want to try and be a football manager as well so I'd love to be able to pick his brains

and he's someone who doesn't leave any stone unturned he's very thorough and there's no grey areas with any player on the pitch who plays for him. Tell you what, better getting no response than like a thumbs up emoji or something there, isn't it? That would be the worst. That would be the worst reply that you could get.

Sammy, look, no manager since Jose Mourino's first spell and charges lasted more than a thousand days at Chelsea. So despite the fact that he's got this six and a half year contract, we know that the ownership, regardless of who it is, is very impatient for success at Chelsea. Do we have an idea on how success will be measured? Is it on results which is easy to look at or is it on something more difficult to define like development? I think having spoken to leading individual, should we say, within the Chelsea hierarchy

earlier this season, I think it's safe to say and that there will be an expectation from the Chelsea board in the Chelsea ownership to ensure that the club stay within the Champions League and stay qualified for the Champions League on a longer term basis, on a long-term basis. Because financially for the club, it's so lucrative. I guess it's key for every club, every elite club to be playing in that competition. There will be elements of the ownership looking at the job that Liam Rossini does with regards to maybe rotating the squad

and giving the squad the expensively assembled squad that they've put together there giving players an opportunity to showcase their talents and perhaps not just trying to rely on the same 14 or 15 players week in week out

they've spent a lot of money on talent there at Chelsea and a loss of them are struggling or have struggled to get a look in under Enzo Moreska. So I think the way that he utilises that squad will be scrutinized from the very top of the club.

Joining us on this week's Euroleagues, it is a classic panel. Mina Rizuki, Guillain Balaget and Julian Loron of ESPN. Good evening. Hello, good evening. Happy new year. Bon ane, Felithaño Nuevo. And Bon Natale.

No, Bon Natale is happy Christmas. Happy New Year. Italian, isn't it, Mina. Merry Christmas. Yeah, Merry Christmas. What's happened in New Year? I don't know. I don't speak Italian very well. Oh, I thought we might. I thought we might be able to get that. This always happens. And then people are like, tell me something in Italian. I'm like, I can't. It doesn't matter because Guillaume isn't concentrating on New Year. You've been celebrating Rayas, haven't you? Kings Day. That's right. Today is the three kings. Last night, they left everybody's room full of presents. And we opened them to.

today. Do you have to leave a shoe out? Is that right? You can leave a shoe. You can leave a sock, massive sock, depending on how much you need or want. Part of the thing is that you have to go and see them arriving and they arrive in like 80 different cities in Spain and then full of sweets and then they throw sweets, you collect the sweets, say goodbye to them and then go to bed and expect the best in the morning, which normally is. Yes, exactly. It's a national holiday in Italy as well today for the same reason. Well, there we go.

This way, there's matches. So there's not much holiday spirit around in the Premier League at the moment. Ruben Amarim has left Manchester United. They sacked him on Monday morning after 14 months in charge. The club is sixth in the table. BBC Sport reports that Amarim

had a particularly hostile meeting with the club's director of football Jason Wilcox and reacted negatively to comments made about his tax tactics and formation in a one-all draw against wolves. Then, after their one-all draw against Leeds on Sunday, Amarim said this. I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United.

And that is clear. I know that my name is not Tushel, it's not Conte, it's not Morino, but I'm the manager of Manchester United. And it's going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decided to change. So that was my point. I want to finish with that. I came here to be the manager of Manchester United,

not to be the coach. And every department, the scouting department, the sport director needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on. So he said 18 months there, but actually it's only been 14 months since he was appointed. Manchester United reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change,

they say. Clearly, Jules, there's a breakdown in his relationship with senior figures at the club partly because of results and you could point to that if they've had a conversation about where they want him to be although they're not too far off

fourth place and champions the qualification if it is for at the end of the season and also there seems to be some discrepancy into how they expected Amarim's team to play yeah I think all of that is fair

I think his rigidity tactically especially was a big problem in the end because I think the people at the club above him, like Jason Wilcox, that's sporting director. And you mentioned that very heated meeting that they had on Friday, which is true.

It's not the first time that the relationship was being difficult, that Ruben and Moraym was suddenly, from a Jason Wilcox point of view, being difficult to deal with, sorry, not taking criticism that well. But again, this happens all the time. In every club, in England, in Europe, in France, in Spain, in Italy,

is sporting directors not getting on with their managers anymore. Sometimes it's not even the sporting director who picked the manager because the sporting director can arrive once the manager is already in place. But at some point, they can only be spaced for one of them if they don't get on. It's either the sporting director goes or the manager goes. In this case, it was either Wilcox or Amorim, and they decided to keep Wilcox and to sack Amorim. And I think it's probably the right call because there's a point where I don't think

there was much going in favour of Ruben Amourme. Apart from maybe the table, you're right, in what is overall a poor quality primary league season. The fact that they were still fifth or six level with Chelsea, I guess that could be in his favour, but that was it. From the Grimsby defeat

to his communication, to his decision on the pitch in terms of starting line up, formation, in game management, pretty much everything was really against him. Mina, we were talking about the problems that Amarim had at Manchester United. Was his remit clear, do you think, from the beginning?

I think this is where the confusion starts in the sense that you feel that he was coming in. He was going to have a say over transfers, how to build the team. He said it from this first press conference that I'm coming here and I'm going to have a say over the transfers and I'm manager. He said that when he departed. And yet it seemed that Manchester United when they created everything or when they created this ethos, they said, we are going to have a team, we are going to choose the players, and we're going to bring in someone who brings it all together. But was that made clear, or did they just go for the first coach

that was Trendy, who had an identity, and that was very in vogue, and they wanted to bring that in, because it seems that there wasn't any clarity being made in the beginning as to what it is that they were looking for and whether or not he fit what they were looking for, because he seems to have different powers to what they were willing to give, and that's where it's created lots of problems at the top. it's a lack of clarity to be honest with you and to hire a coach

and then say, well, we know that you play this way but we thought you might mend and you might relent and you might choose to play a different way. Believe him when he said this is the way how I play and this is how I'm going to play. Guillaume, thoughts on Rubin Amarim and the breakdown with senior figures at the club? Is this a...

Jules kind of touched on it a little bit. Is this an issue that English clubs have with the sporting director model? I'm older. enough to remember when, you know, a director of football was a brand new thing in English football. And there was an idea that the, you know, the autonomy of the manager must never be challenged. And this was, this was never going to work. It seems like it's something that most clubs have adopted now, widely.

So it, but is it something that maybe the Premier League clubs in particular have never properly taken to? I think we have to look at case by case. But we've seen in the last week two instances in which managers first. felt that they were red lines crossed. And one, Entomparasca resign, and the other one, Brueena Morin, four, he's sacking, basically. So these are certainly with results and formations

and way of playing and all that. But I think firstly and foremost, in both cases, these are two managers that felt that they couldn't do the job, or coaches, because they're two different situations. And Maureen wanted to be a manager, and they were taking away some of the roles of a manager. Mariska wanted just to be a head coach, but he couldn't do that either. And if you compare to the evolution, you said this has happened in the last few years in England.

But in Europe, clubs evolved from president and head coach, and that was it, to introduce more than two decades ago, I would say, the figure of the sporting director, who is the person that creates the sporting policy at the club, at a time where the finances are out of of paramount importance. Shareholders won dividends. There are fair play limits. When that happens, clubs have decided, first in Europe and now here,

that the sporting director is the one who takes the big decisions. And in England, which is, of course, let's not forget the land of the all of powerful managers, clubs are heading towards that continental approach because owners want to return. So I completely get that. There's a lot of money around.

But what it seems obvious, is that the Premier League is going through a transition of that model and is not fully working in some cases. I see like at least three types of structures in England. One, the presidential one, which is the Chelsea one. Bedkar-evali put the money in or most of the money and says, I want to have a say in absolutely everything that happens at the club. And the coach just doesn't feel that he can do his job

and that some decisions are taken away from him. Then you have the Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa model, which is a strong manager that, and everybody works around his vision. That is the old way of doing it in the Premier League. That has not moved on, really, in a way. And then finally, Liverpool, that have got a structure very close to the European ones. Perhaps there is a fourth one, which is Manchester United. They want to be like Manchester City, but it's not clear how they're doing that.

There's a lot of models that they're working on. and right now the lines are very, very blare. So we are going to a transition towards something that I think every club will do, which is the sporting director model because of these things that we're saying, there's so much money around that the one who takes decisions

has to think of the club and, you know, of raising money for the club. Jules, what are your thoughts on Guillem's comments that we're in a sort of period of transition of how it works in terms of the hierarchy of Premier League clubs? I just think everybody has to find the right way of working depending on who's on your bench depending on what you want from that manager i think i think the liverpool structure with michael edwards and which is used an honest

lot that you know you know well cares as well is work and it's quite similar to be fair to the ones arsenal or amsterdam city or even arston villa which is the more i guess traditional that you see in europe with louis and rick and louis compost at phdg for example the same that you have at bayon Munich with, you know, Vincent Company and Max Eberl, it's the same that you see in Italian clubs as well. We usually have very strong sporting directors who are very good at recruiting, but have to work well with head coaches or managers. And it's the same. We often say this kind of triumvara of your CEO or your president, depending your sporting director and your manager have to be on the same page. If at some point then now, if you pick a coach, for example, before sporting director,

that could cause problems. And if they're not on the same page, if they don't want the same thing, if they're not in agreement with some key decisions here, it will never work. Whoever is on your bench, whoever you're sporting director, whoever you see who,

they could be the best in their jobs. If they're not on the same page, it will never work. And clearly in this case, whether we think Amorim is a good coach and did a good job, if Wilcox is a good sporting director or not, if he's made for a top club like this, if we think that Homer Barada,

is a good CEO or can run a club as big as Manchester United. This doesn't matter so much because if they don't agree on things, it will never work anywhere, regardless of how good or not they are in their jobs. But it's the same in every kind of job or every kind of companies, if you want. So I'm not sure if there's one better than the other in terms of those models that Guillem describes, but certainly nothing will work if you're not on the same page. And we want to get into what Manchester United might do next, which is why, you know, we're looking at how the hierarchy works at Manchester United

because until we know what they want, what they're looking for, until they know what they want and what they're looking for, it's very difficult to kind of hazard a guess as to what they might do next. Yeah, it kind of seems like they're trying to borrow a little bit from everywhere. So it's a case of, you know, the sporting director, but we also want to coach who has a character but also has a style of play, but also willing to listen to our instructions and adapt to whatever it is that we want to say. But also we get to choose the players. Not so much he has a say of it. We have a say of it. And it's trying to mesh too many things. And we're all just going to hire

best of class in everything. The problem with getting the best in class and everything is that you have an ego problem after that. Sometimes it's not actually hiring the best sporting director, the best coach, best everything. It's people who just get along with one another. That's number one. I think that if you have too many cooks, too many of the very best at what they want to do, everyone's going to want to have their say count. And this is where you have problems. You know, you're going to listen to your sporting director or your CEO. Who's going to make the final decision?

Where does the buck stop? And can they all come into an agreement? And I think if you do want to choose the players, which lots of teams do, Real Madrid like to choose the players. They want to go for the very best in Brazil. They want to go for the very best in Spain. And if in doing so, they might not actually suit having a coach who has a very identifiable style of play.

maybe what they really need is a coach who's the pragmatist who can be thrown a team put together by the by the management and then he does something special with them and that's very much sort of the Juventus way back in the day was we were going to choose the players and we're going to prove we're going to bring in a pragmatist who can do the best that he can with the players we've given of course he's going to have a say in the sense of I'd really like a fallback but that's pretty much as much as he gets and the problem is is that everyone wants too much now it's how do we maximize potential to make the most amount of money to create the best football and bring in the most revenues. And I think this is where you get into this heated subject because something's got to give. You can't have the best of everything, because in doing so, you're losing everything in the same time. So if you want the best players and you have to find a guy who's willing to work with that, not somebody who has a very creative style of play and want specific players for it, unless you're going to go all in with him. And that's a risk. Not everyone can do what Pep Guadjola can do. But obviously, being pragmatic these days and playing a style of play that doesn't isn't so identifiable is not really in vogue anymore

everyone wants to have their own style so it's giving a lot of clubs a conundrum do you go all in on this style of play do you know want to invest in amorin and his ideas and whatever it is that he's planning to do what if it doesn't work out what if he can't make it work then what do you do do you have to sack him and start all over again and find a new coach this is why i think pragmatism is the way to go they insist on the idea of transition If you look at the European models, yes, of course, there are divisions sometimes between director of football and manager, but everybody's got a very clear idea of what the roles are, both the manager and the director of football when they get into the clubs, but people around it as well. So sometimes it's a personal clash and you cannot avoid those. But generally, it works, it's smooth.

In England, we've seen something that's very clear in my eyes. the roles are not clear at all. When I got the impression that both Amorim and Enzumariska, when they got to the clubs, they had an idea of what the role was. And as they progressed with it, that idea changed, though it wasn't what they thought,

or perhaps they weren't informed enough. And the fact that the managers started a job not knowing enough about it, while at the same time, Pundits' mismanagers and the big personalities, fans also won perhaps that kind of, kind of structure because they understand it better. It just creates a lot of confusion and it doesn't help, of course, as we send up in the

case of Manchester United, they're not sure what they want. The managers that have been getting in the last three, four years, they're completely different one to the other. So get your idea right, get your structure right, and get the managers. It should be the way. But right now, I think everybody's pulling in completely different. assistant manager at Royal Oak FC. You may have seen me online with Vinyl.

Vinyl sensation. And now the BBC have given me the chance to set the footballing world banter rights. This could be a great opportunity for us, lads, a podcast for the BBC. Can I just say, what's a podcast? Brilliant.

Great start. Well done, Bob. Brilliant. We can completely show utter transparency to Royal Oak fans. I'll use my charm. Gift it, Gab. Games. The Steve Bracknell podcast.

Watch on YouTube. Listen on BBC Sounds. On the Football Daily podcast, the Euroleaks. Listen on BBC Sounds. So let's talk about the manager they appoint in the summer, the long-term manager for Manchester United. Do we know what they want? It's a good question, because I don't think they know what they want either.

Otherwise, they probably would go for that now. It's a great opportunity to them to finish in the top five and getting the Champions League, which I'm not sure. they actually are good enough for it. But because, as we said, because this Premier League season is so tight between 3rd and 14, or 4th and 14,

then you have a chance, even if you're not very good. So let's go for it. And that's why I'm not sure. I really understand why you would go for Olegonastrolsker because it seemed that he's him coming back, you know,

at the wheel again, I'm not too convinced, but let's see. What do you go for somebody who knows the Premier League? I think we are past now, the kind of experiment that we have with Ten Hag and with Ruben Amorim, right?

I think a young, bright, promising manager who comes from another league, another country that maybe doesn't know the Premier League is, I don't think he's going to work. It didn't work before, I can't see why it would work now. So maybe go for more experience, go for somebody who's won things, but maybe not in a league like nothing against the Dutch League

or the Portuguese League, but they're not top European leagues for a reason as well. So whether it's somebody who's a free agent, and waiting for a call, maybe like a Chavi Hernandez that Guillaume knows well, or maybe go for somebody who's already at a club, like a Simone Inzagi. If you can get Simone Inzagi away from Saudi Arabia until Traffield and Manchester United, I think that would be a hell of a coup. I'm not saying that that's who they want and the way he plays maybe or something like that,

because again, we're not really sure and they're not sure themselves exactly what they want. But I think it's been tested, this young and experience, and I mean, even not so young in Ten Hag, clearly didn't work. for more experience, go for a better pedigree, go for maybe a stronger character, but strong character that has won before. Meena, you're not sure about the Inzagi link? No, I mean, listen, it's a weird one because I think he's a great coach, and I think he's done tremendous jobs.

He does get a lot of criticism in the Italian press, honestly speaking. He's fallen out with Zhao Cancelo already in Saudi Arabia, which is all these conversations, but I guess a lot of coaches have fallen out with Zhao Cancelo. But there has been a lot of rumors and a lot of conversations about, whether or not he can relate to his players so well. His English is not great. You know, it's interesting because I was at this World Football Summit, World Sports Summit rather, and there were Newcastle. Amanda Stavely and Meredith Caducey were talking about creating Newcastle and whether or not to go for Una Emery at the time or Eddie How. And I do think having an English

manager actually or somebody who understands the landscape is very important. And I wouldn't have thought so because, you know, I'm not sure that I would. would have picked Eddie How I might have just gone through the I Emery straight away. You know, there were just different conversations going on. I don't know if Simony and Zaghi in particular is ready for England. I don't know whether he can make an impact on England. I think it's a very tough place to go. But I totally agree with Jaws in the sense that they've tried it with youngsters. They've also

tried it with very, you know, very established coaches in the likes of Josie Mrenia. But how many great coaches are there right now that you'd go all in on? Like barring, let's say, Carlo Ancelotti, who's with Brazil, how many coaches can you really think on the top of your head. That's the guy that I would like to go. That's the guy that I'm going to trust. Because sometimes it really is just about one guy who can bring it all together

and lead the team through the darkest times. And you can have the luck of just having this one great manager lead you through it. Other times it requires a whole village. So it's one of those where I do feel there's a part of it that is they've obviously made a lot of missteps. They've obviously made the bad decisions. But they have actually now tried so many different options

that I wouldn't even know. know where to start. I mean, is it, is it to try to use youth again? Is it to go for a more established coach? Is it somebody who's got an authoritarian about him? I thought it was interesting that Ruben Omoreham, when he was naming the coaches, he said, I'm not Tuchel. I'm not Antonio Conte. I'm like, well, they didn't want Antonio Conte, right? He was too much of a personality. He was too much of an authoritarian. So who do you go for at this point? Because, you know, do you go for somebody like Cholo Simeone and just go all in on him and hope that he will make it through, even if the football is poor.

At this point, the results surely are all that matter. The clue of what they won, if they believe in the original idea that the likes of Barraada and even Jason Wilcox came to Manchester United with, is in the choice of Rubenamorim. I know Wilcoz was a technical director, not director of football at the time. Buena Morim arrived, but he must have been part of the conversation. So what did they look for in Rubenamorim? I don't think young experience is such an important issue when you're looking at that profile.

There's somebody that is a winning coach who has got more than trends, who deals well with youngsters and with big players as well. You narrow down because they will want to look for somebody like that. I imagine it would be terrible if they go like, you know what, that didn't work, let's just try something else. because the choice of Rowena Morin was on the back of a lot of analysis of where football was

or where it's going, the kind of profile of person that is required at a club like Manchester United, they've got to recover all that. Now, who that person will be, I don't know, and it won't be Chavirmand if, I don't think. But in any case, they will have to look for all those things. Not easy, but I don't think it's a bad idea

to take due time with whoever you want to be in. charge until the end of the season because you have a big, much bigger choice in the summer. Kears, Tuchel is going to win the World Cup with England and then it's going to be available because you can only leave when you win the World Cup with England and then he'll be perfect for Manchester United. All right. Before the other leaves, it becomes the England manager. We know that there are people within the Manchester United hierarchy are big fans of another

England manager, a former England manager in Gareth Southgate, which is one of the names that's been mentioned, which is not for discussion on Euroleaks. And quickly then, if it was down to you, if you could one, even if it's a wild card, you can qualify it with that. Who would you put in at Manchester United? Who do you think would be a go? I mean, Deserby's one of them who's being linked again today. It's another manager who's given a sort of fireworks interview after Marseille were beating Tunnel at home against Nantes. He said, I'd like to understand why here in Marseille we systematically experience these roller coaster rides.

It's my 12th season as a coach. Today you have to be more of a psychologist than a coach and he was quite fiery in that interview. What do you think? Someone like that, does that be? I'm not so sure, but I've been very disappointed by him. Not mostly, but at times at Marseille. But funny, we talk about him just very quickly

because when he took his first game in charge with Marseilles away at Cannes 18 months ago, so he said to the players before and he actually showed him the contract offer that Manchester United He blurred some of the numbers, but you could see the logo of Marshall. I mean, I don't know if it's the flex or if it's like, yeah, and he said, look, I'm here because I said no to them. I said no to Marshall United to come here in Cannes, in this dressing room, more than 18 months ago, actually, to be with you Barce here, which some of the players were not too impressed about because they said, why? Why did he do it? Anyway, so maybe there's a bit, he's back in conversation.

For me, Tohull. Wait for him to win the World Cup with England and then go all in on Tohawl. Any further advances to Thomas Tuchel? I think they should go for Antonio Conte. I'm not a fan of his. I always sort of have criticisms of the way that he performs in Europe. But I think he does a great job in sort of building your team at the very basis of it, the foundation of it, get them winning again. And then you can take it from there. But I think that he corrects a lot of wrongs and he knows how to create management teams that work together.

He helps a lot in that. He has a big say in it. Maybe he is the kind of character that is potentially what they're looking for, just because I think that he's strong enough to not take anything from management, but at the same time, willing to bend if it's unite, I think he'll be willing to bend certain things for United. He can be pragmatic. He has a style of play.

I don't know. Maybe Antonio Conte for me. The outstanding candidate is one I am ready, who will not live as Tom Villa. That is the manager that will sort out a lot of things. But I'll give you two other names, one that was interviewed already by Manchester United in the past. And perhaps he's reaching the end of his time at Athletic Club in Ernesto Valverde. And one that is in England from the same region in Donnie Iola, who can, I think, step up to that role if it gets given the time to adjust to be the Manchester United,

which, as we're hearing, it's a bit complicated. He was very much flavour of the month for a little while. And results at Bournemouth mean, his name has gone a little bit quiet around being linked with bigger jobs. But yeah, certainly somebody that was reported. been looked at by quite a few of the sort of top four ambitious clubs in the Premier League. Chelsea have made their decision. They've gone for Liam Rossini, formerly of Strasbourg, as their new head coach. Now, Chelsea supporters may or may not be happy with that appointment is yours, but I tell you who is not happy, and that is the Strasbourg supporters, because they're

losing their manager to yet another club in that Blue Coe Consortium. Yeah, and I think we can all understand frustration that they can go through although I would just like to say before because they had

some of the ultras or one of the groups of fans had some really strong words today including that they feel

their club Strasbourg is in enslavement is that what you say by Chelsea I don't know exactly how you how you say

there are clubs like sporting club the Portugal lost Ruben Amory midway through last season too much

a united it's not just sister clubs or parent club that take away managers from another team that is another of their team in multi-club ownership that does well. However, it's difficult for sure,

it's very frustrating. Liam Rosini has done an amazing job in France in the last 18 months or so in this Strasbourg club that has been chasing their glorious past. They went bankrupt before. They went in the lower leagues and they build themselves back up

until they were bought by Blue Co to have this kind of multi-club ownership with Chelsea. And on one hand, to be fair, it worked for them because without Blue Co, they would not have got Liam Rosini. They would not have got most of the players and the investment. We're not just talking about one player there, one player there.

It's hundreds of millions of euros that Blue Coe have invested in Strasbourg to get better players, to get them into Europe, to get them fighting with, you know, PhD who they've beaten in the past before, Marseille, Lyon, Monaco, all those clubs. Without Blue Co, Strasbourg would probably be Maybe mid-table, maybe would have gone back down to the second division, maybe back up again.

And maybe some Strasbourg fans would rather have that than have the last 18 months with Blue Coat. That has been a bit of a roller coaster. He's a great player. He's going to do well for you. But then we're going to take him away to you to take him to Chelsea and not the manager. So I can understand both sides of it. I can understand certainly the Strasbourg fans' frustration. But it's true that to lose your manager like that in January, when you're into a decent season because they're 7th in Ligian, they are.

They've been the best team in the Conference League so far this season, the top of the league phase with big hopes for the knockout stages coming up in 2026. So I can understand the frustration for sure. It's a really interesting discussion, this whole idea of the multi-club structure. Because, you know, as Jules said, Guillem, you do get the benefits of the investment. You get the benefits of some potentially great players, young developing managers coming into your side. exciting young coaches, but you don't get them for very long?

Yeah, it goes deeper than that. It goes to a philosophical question, who does the club belong to? Is it the fans and their feelings and their frustrations if this happens and they take the plays away or is it to the owner that actually puts the money on the table? And that reminds me of a story that Roman Abramich told me one day that he comes out of Stamford Bridge when he was in charge of when he was the owner of Chelsea. And basically it was a draw, a bad draw against a mother's side. And a fan came to him and says,

what are you doing to have a club? And Robert, Robert, just smile and said, what do you mean, you club? I'm the one putting the money here. It's my club. And I think that gap will never be beaten. From the capitalist financial point of view, it makes a lot of sense to have multi-clubs.

City's doing it as well, of course. Everybody's doing it. Even second division clubs in Spain are looking for all the clubs. loves lower than them to actually do this kind of exchange. In some cases, financial engineering, a lot of things they, you know, it helps them with to maintain the level that in, at least if not improve it. But from the finance problem, it will never make sense. So it's one that depending who you are, you will get a different answer on how good

or bad this is. Yeah, and depending at which stage in the cycle you are as well, you maybe get different answers on that. But I hear that Gary O'Neill, formerly of Wolves, is next in line to replace Liam Rossini. Is that right? Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, that's the other thing. If you are Strasbourg fans. So you lost Liam Rozier, well, we did a great job. And then suddenly you hear this name that you've never heard of because it's not offense to wolves and French people love the Premier League like everybody else. They watch the Premier League. But still, Gary O'Neill made nothing at all to your most average Strasbourg fans right now, right? So I get all

those calls and all those messages and we do all those shows saying who is gary o'neill by the way how do we say his name what does he look like you know where does he go is it coming from um i think it's a good opportunity for him to be fair i like the fact that he's happy and ready to go broad because it's not easy i mean for us it's a bit different because we chose to come to england and it's very different but liam rossini was saying in one of the reasons why he explained this morning in his press conference why he took the Chelsea job as well, apart from the fact that he's one of the biggest clubs in the world, it's a great opportunity from all of that. Of course, it's true. But he also said it gets me closer to my children and to my family. And of course, his children and his family

could have come with him to Strasbourg, but it's not that easy either to move your whole family abroad to another country. So sometimes we don't realize how difficult it could be for somebody to move abroad. And we've been saying long enough for English players or British players in general and British managers, not to do it enough, not to go abroad enough, not like the French or the Italians or the Spanish too. So I'm glad that Gary O'Neill is happy and ready to make that move and to go and test himself abroad. And he knows nothing about Ligand, I'm pretty sure.

Although now he will, he will study and learn. He starts with an effect of a French Cup game at the weekend, and then it's the league, and then it will be Europe again and et cetera, et cetera. But I'm glad he's done. I think Liam Rossini has certainly put everything right on the plate for him, not that they are exactly similar in terms of philosophy, but there's a lot of similarities between them, of course.

So I think he would really love his time in France. If you were to say Gary O'Neill's name the wrong way, how would you say it? When people are saying, how do we say his name? What do they think it might be? You know, it's funny. I can't say his name, although our listeners won't know him,

but there was this guy who did commentary on French games in France because he was about to commentate on one of Sean Dijer, team and he said the Everton manager is it sindish that's how bad things are in France it's not sindish it was shun dais so for Gary O'Neill the Gary is easy of course yeah it's the O'Neill that's probably more struggle like the O'Neil something like that so you know Gary O'Neill I did I did tell you the story Jules about my sister who was over in France and looked up on Google Translate how to ask for her steak well done which she shouldn't have been doing in France in the first place anyway and she asked for steak

So clearly the ways I had experience because he did bring her a well-done steak with that word very well. Just to wrap up on this conversation on Euroleagues about Lennett Carl, this 17-year-old by a Munich player who said a supporters group that he wants to go and play at some stage at Real Madrid. What do you think, Mina, was it well judged? Probably not, to be honest with you. I mean, he's had to deactivate like, I think his Instagram. profile. He's just received a mountain of like comments from unhappy fans who are like, you know, you need to understand that's not something you say and he should be clever about it. And he had gone to the club and he had apologised. He said, I think I said something wrong and I want

to apologize for it. And he's got, he's had a lot of defenders from within the club, from legend Lota Mateos, who said to him, he's 17, he's got courage, he believes in himself. And I think that A lot sometimes gets asked of 17-year-olds, you know, like, I do think at this point we get so bored. I don't know about you guys, but for me, I get so bored listening to these players who are so PR-trained and who say the perfect things where you just feel like authenticity has now become a commodity that we just don't have anymore. And I think it's so refreshing to have. I mean, it's not the best thing to say, like, I'm not going to want one of my players to go out and say it. But at the same time, like, it's Real Madrid. They've won 15 Champions League. You understand, even if you love your club,

even if it's the biggest club like Bayern Munich. People want to change in their life. Casimir wanted to leave Real Madrid. It can happen that you want to change teams and he's a kid and he's watched this team win everything. But at the end of the day, he had a history in which he did try out for Madrid. He did go through it at the time. I mean, at least this is something that was reported by,

in a podcast for Zou-deutschen Zeitung. I don't know if I'm saying that right, but I've given it a go. and it was in the German papers at the time they talked about him having done trials for our Madrid and it didn't work out and it ended up perfectly for him because this was the path that he followed and it was destined that he'd be in Biomedic

and I think he's happy surely he's allowed to have his dreams and he's 17 that is we need to keep remembering he is 17 and not just that since he was seven when he started following football Ramirez I won the championship six times

so of course he was going to to Real Madrid. Laude Mattel said two clever things. One, I would have liked to go to Real Madrid. There is a mystique about the club in the year that it was the best player in the world. They tried at Real Madrid. Had an agreement with them, but Inter didn't let them go. And secondly, for you to go to Real Madrid, he said, actually you will have to do something

extraordinary with Bayern Munich first. So it's true. Everybody's going to win on that one. And let the man dream. The boy. Let the boy dream. Boy! He's only 17.

Guys, thank you very much. It's been a pleasure chatting to you this evening. Thank you, Mina. Thank you, Guillem. Thank you, Jules. Lovely to talk to you, as always. That is it for this week's Euroleagues. Five Live Sports.

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