Few years back I started doing little videos that we called
#CoffeewithGuillem
And now it has grown to be a proper full size show! I love bringing stories, discussing big news, doing mini size interviews, sharing encounters with the biggest names, telling you about my books and
On a train in Doncaster. Young guy (late 20s) in seat nearby heard me sending an audio message in Catalan.
"What the f***. Speak in English-o"
First time I heard that in 28 years in the UK.
Feel sorry for him. He probably only speaks one language
I spoke to Leo Messi earlier today for
@BBCSport
to discuss the transition from Barcelona to Paris: how it happened and how did he feel about the whole thing.
I’ve added some English subs for you. So hear from Messi on his move to
#PSG
.
🎥:
@MeredithRuleman
Atletico dont know anything about Arsenal paying Thomas buy out clause (€50m). They of course do not need to know as that is done directly with
@LaLiga
but after talking regularly about Lucas Torreira, they expect a courtesy call that has not arrived... yet
Honestly?
@LFC
fans!! I know it's only some of you but please... Do you need to do all this? Do you? Is that what you do home? Come on, guys and girls, look after my beautiful city. Or tell the others to look after it.... Pleaseeeeee
Klopp is so right. No other club would have had their fans in the streets after Saturday. They are winners and favourite for next season's competitions because the manager has created a powerful winning culture and very high standards
The story of Nico Williams, who is playing the best football of his career, is a modern tale of human trafficking, hope, emigration and love of strangers
Nico (and Iñaki) parents, María and Felix, travelled from Ghana in search of a better future. They used their savings to pay
Busquets: "the referee told us that Eric Garcia wanted to play the ball and that kills the offside... But he wanted to play the ball because the ball would have reached Mbappe who was offside! It doesn't make sense!"
Neymar has shown again he is, apart from Messi, the player that creates more magic and provokes more chances in the world (what a pass to Mbappe!), plus he has enough personality to take any team on his shoulders. Imagine if had been more accurate today. Extraordinary footballer
This is without any doubt one of the best performances of a foreign team in the Camp Nou for many many years. Struggling to remember a team that was so good in so many ways here
ALL DONE!
@Aubameyang7
will be
#AFC
player pending medical. Fixed fee of £53m with £2.5m adds on if major trophies won, pass CL group stage (so pays itself). Wages not even half what Alexis wanted. Not the only deal
#AFC
working on
🎥
Really? Ronaldo scored two penalties, yes. But Messi had seven shot on target. I thought it was Messi's best game of the season and Ronaldo was efficient but a bit subdued.
Nobody in Europe plays with the assurance, confidence, solidarity, pace, insistence, intensity with and without the ball, and the feeling of having fun that
@LFC
displays constantly
Such pleasure to see a football winning vision applied regularly on a pitch
I have just been told that Florentino Pérez has told the players tonight in the changing room that Mbappé is NOT coming
Let's wait to hear what Mbappe has to say before we confirm anything
For years we have admired Manchester United for their titles, the way they won them, for Old Trafford. In the new regime it is all about winning (but not winning enough). Jose should look at himself, break character and find new ways of winning. He's letting himself down
When Lampard was appointed as the new Chelsea manager, all the vibes were so positive. Tuchel has just arrived and a lot of the focus is on the negative. How can you not be excited about one of the top European managers being part of your league?
What a story. Nico, Iñaki's brother, makes his debut. Their parents came to Spain... walking from Ghana! His dad lost the sensitivity in his feet because of it. Made a life in the Basque country and now this 👏🤩
In case there is still any idiot out there blaming the Liverpool supporters,
@SkyKaveh
explains what happened.
Amazingly poor from French police and Uefa
#UCL
Final delay: How it happened 👇
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol is outside the Stade de France where "the situation has now calmed down."
As Madrid win the penalties, people say what a show of resistance, perfect defending, defensive masterstroke
If they had lost the penalties: Real didn't attack, it is not the way to defend agaisnt City, how can Real play this way
In fact, what happened: City was superb,
This has been an incredible long weekend in Glasgow. I have again enjoyed the hospitality, passion for football, the respect for all things Spanish and the general bonhomie of the town and its people. This is one of my favourite places in the world!
Accompanied by my friend
Wonderful to see teams giving their all to win, to score. What a game at Anfield. Huge credit to both managers who show their respect to fans by demanding offensive football to their footballers
#thankyou
What a privilege to hear the anthem of the
@championsleague
played by its composer (Tony Bitten)! And he’s playing it of the original score! Goosebumps!! And the story behind his creation...Wow! But that’s for the
@ucloncbssports
film we are producing😊😎
🎥 -
@Sticksandglass
Analysis will look at City result, not at the performance
Imagine this: Sterling scores, Ederson holds the ball instead of fumbling it, referee considers that someone who lets the ball pass between his leg is intervening in the move
But analysis will say: Pep’s fault 🤷🏽♂️
If you ever tire of football, the Gods send a Messi, an Ajax, a City-Spurs to remind us that this game is simple but covers all the spectrum of emotions. And it is a wonderful way to spend time. Not many will be able to sleep much tonight for one reason or another
#SuchAHigh
Thomas Partey left Atletico Madrid last season to join Arsenal.
Atleti won La Liga yesterday while Arsenal failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 26 years.
💔
Manchester City have raised the bar. Very high. You now need special brains, lots of energy and club's backing (finances, structure) to try to catch up. It could be a fascinating effort.
Many will say, money is all you need. But as you have seen with United that's not enough.
A lot of teams work very hard. A lot of teams never give up. A lot of players try all their life for a moment like this. Most don't get there. But not many teams, players have got a leader that lives the game with so much emotion. Not many see life as he does. So happy for him
"Thank you football. Thank you my players, they are heroes."
"Without football it is impossible to live."
No, thank you 🙏
Mauricio Pochettino cries during his post-match interview with
@DesKellyBTS
.
This means everything to him...
For being our best player ever and representing a brand of football that made me fall in love with the game again. For showing respect at all times. For THE goal. For always giving me more time than what I asked for. For all that and more, gracias
@andresiniesta8
Met
@mattoriley8
parents last night. What lovely people! Humble and so happy to see the progress of their son. He did not look out of place at all against Madrid and will reach bigger highs for sure. Matt told me after the game there are lots to learn/improve on
#attitude
After some typical last minute hiccups but now resolved, last night all was agreed, done and dusted.
Today it will be announced that
#Rodrigo
is a new
@LUFC
player. €29m + around €10m variables.
You are right getting excited about what he can do for the side, Leeds fans!
People like to say Pep learnt about the Premier League last season. In fact, yes, there was a learning process. The one from the squad to his methods/ideas. City don't play like this because Pep learnt from PL. But because players learnt from Pep
#learning
#process
#notackles
What a place Glaagow is. The people, the bars, the restauranta, the murals, the events, the football!
Wait for the Reels/video of a truly magic weekend!!
I shouldn't need to tell you as you well know I am thankful for your lovely comments about the
#Messi
interview... But thank you 😘😘
Gracias (I gràcies) por vuestro cariño hacia la entrevista con Leo para
@bbcsport
Seguimos...
🗓 October 2017:
😢 Santi Cazorla was told he may never play Football again.
🗓 January 2019:
⚽️ Santi Cazorla scores a brace against
@RealMadrid
.
📅 May 2019:
🇪🇸 Santi Cazorla is named in the
@SEFutbol
squad for the first time since 2015.
🙌 Anything is possible.
Unai Emery
Not good enough for huge amount of
#Arsenal
fans. Their demand for solutions NOW ignoring long term plans means Unai had to look somewhere else for his place in the world. Villarreal's gain!
Remember that when you wish drastic changes after every defeat under Arteta
There is a final verbal agreement between
#Valencia
and
#LeedsUnited
for the signing of
#Rodrigo
Now contracts have to be drawn
What a signing this is for Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa
Alexis Sanchez not fully agreed yet. United favourites and next 2-3 days key (nobody takes City out of equation yet). Meanwhile Arsenal want to close soon deal for Aubameyang, left out of squad today, for €60m
In his head, Cristiano is a Juventus player. Juve has found a financial way to pay for his wages and fee. Real Madrid willing to let him go. No offer has arrived yet to Real, but Jorge Mendes has confirmed to Real that it will. He has never been this close to leaving. Will he?
What a proposition (Valencia's) Rodrigo/Leeds as reported! The player would be more than happy to play for Bielsa and for a club like
#LUFC
. Fast, goalscorer, hard worker without the ball, Spanish international. Perfect for Bielsa if original interest is pursued
Juve had tried to get rid of CR7 for two seasons. From the moment he sensed that, he also wanted to move (lack of love he felt at Madrid also pushed him away). He will earn at
#MUFC
around half of what he was on. Who cares? He's finally going to a place of unreserved devotion
Arthur Melo is physically 100% and is convinced Klopp style will suit him much more than Allegri's (as it happened with Thiago).
He jumped to the chance to move. He was accused of too many conservative passes with
#FCB
but the team lacked depth. Key: time to adaptation to pace
When
@Laliga
was full of foreign coaches (Yugoslavs, Latin American), young ones watched and learnt. In England, 1st reaction to Pep was “he won’t be able to” (arrogance), 2nd “he has to change” (ignorance), 3rd “all down to money” (bad analysis). None conducive to learning
I was invited by
@m8arteta
to his home for an exclusive chat 😌
Arteta talks about his childhood, his career, his family life and becoming the manager he is today.
I must say at times it was a funny conversation, and at times simply emotional.
I hope you enjoy it too ⤵️
Right now
@LFC
makes everybody look slow and unsophisticated. And to reach that level of collective performance, that huge amount of right decisions and accuracy is the hardest thing in this game
#beautiful
#flow
Klopp started taking the team towards more control of games and that helped win the league.
@Thiago6
is a step on the same direction. Injuries to him and others made impossible the adaptation. I feel sorry for those that judge him now as they will be exposed when it all works 🙂
With the display we have just seen, it would have been a shame if it wasn't reflected by the result
One of the best team performances I have ever witnessed
And to get 11 players on the pitch to think the same way, to perform for each other, following an idea and adding their
Great to see that
@mattoriley8
, deployed deeper than usual, became MoM
UEFA's Technical Observer: "He was excellent in central midfield as a playmaker in distributing passes. O'Riley was also defensively balanced, winning back possession and stopping counterattacks."
Wembley. Ball hits post and goes away. Juve through. "Juve' s winning mentally, know how to win, never die attitude"
Wembley. Ball hits post and goes in. Spurs win penalty shootout. "Pochettino project marches on. Young fearless Spurs. Historic result"
One centimeter difference
Emery is a coach first and foremost. He adapts to teams and his players. He's thorough/meticulous which by the way has been missing at AFC for a while. He'll add structure/purpose, players will learn of their obligations and responsibilities, will have 2 come out of comfort zone
This is why many like me think Manchester United deserve much much much much more than this. They have to play better. Propose more football when you spend so much. Old Trafford and United fans deserve so much more
In fact, 1-1 is not even what Spurs deserve. They deserve much more. A lesson in team work, style, personality, belief in the idea. What a display today at the Camp Nou
On Aubameyang. Nothing will be sorted tomorrow but it will be an important day. He wants to go to Arsenal which are willing to pay even €60m. Tomorrow they will find out if Dortmund wants to sell quickly, slowly or not at all. Arsenal optimistic
Finally END of thread. This was only one chapter in the biography. The whole book is several hundred pages and covers Messi’s entire career.
Massive credits to
@GuillemBalague
. Amazing work and congratulations on your new book. Go purchase it here ⬇️
What
#AFC
get with D. Suarez is a hungry player, quality in the last pass and in quick transitions, personality to demand the ball. He improved in his work rate without the ball. His main problem has been the lack of confidence of managers. Unai rang him to tell him he trusts him
About Coutinho. Barcelona will soon make an offer of €110+40. Chairman Bartomeu feels in debt to him for how hard he's trying to go to FCB. Their top players want him. LFC have changed their tone but have not put price to him. They will act when offer arrives. Which it will
Denis Suárez finalistes today in London his loan deal with
#AFC
. He will have to renew his contract with
#FCB
one more year (to 2021). Loan will cost €2.3m. Option to buy from
#AFC
is around €25m but not OBLIGATORY
I see. The team that has got to 4 champions league finals in 5 years are seen the underdogs Vs Liverpool/Roma. A reminder. They got to those finals (winning three titles in the process) with the same weaknesses that everyone seem to have identified. I wouldn't be so confident
I see talk about VAR in ENG has reached a stage that took us a bit longer to get to in Spain. We loved the discussions after some VAR decisions. Then we got bored. Football is error and surprise, emotion and quality. All in same mix. Take some of that away & it's a poorer game
Godspeed my friend
@GrantWahl
If I get asked what journalism is, I'll say your name
Your loyalty, sense of humour, affection, your dress code! will never be forgotten
You have been taken from us far too early. There was still so much to write, live and discuss 😥
Those in England that laugh at the Conference League, do they feel that nothing away from the Champions League and top 6 are worthwhile their attention? How patronising can that be? There is a world out there of fans enjoying foreign trips and meeting other European teams, u know