France Brazil and Argentina have great players but not "top 4" leagues. That is my point. Although PSG is a perennial runner up in CL. Brazilian teams have won the World Club championship . If they paid more France would be a top 4 league. IMHO.
Snarking apart, I'd say that there isn't. Lille have played UEFA ball in 9 out of the last 12 seasons, and 5 of those were in the CL group stages. They've also been champions twice and runners-up once in the last decade. They're also a selling club, meaning that any realistic bid for someone from the "Top 4" is almost guaranteed to be accepted during summer windows. If your goal is winning trophies in the Top 4 and playing UEFA ball, there isn't a better place to showcase your readiness to hit the ground running at that level. That won't happen for most players and, as their mid-20s loom and the move to the world's top 20-25 clubs fails to materialize, they will take the best financial package. However, outside the EPL, there's a massive drop-off between the biggest 2-3 teams in the league and the next 3-5. In Germany, that gulf is enormous: Bayern's average salary is reportedly 3-3.5 times that of Dortmund and Leipzig and 4 times Bayer's. It's similar in Spain; Real and Barca average pay is double Atletico's, and 5-6 times Villareal's or Sevilla's. Lille have weak finances, but they pay key players pretty well by European standards. If Tim emerges as an automatic first-choice, they might offer him a 2-3 year contract extension at mid-to-upper BL1 wages with a reasonable buyout clause. He might take it too.
Yeah I tend to prefer the "top 4" (instead of "top 5") nomenclature, but I think teams like Lille that are consistently in the top half of the table in Ligue 1 can easily be lumped into that grouping.
"top 4" is a pretty blunt instrument. It's hard to make an argument you're clearly better off at Furth or Norwich than Ajax or PSG. Being in a side that consistently goes fairly deep in CL/UEFA offsets a good number of games against mediocre bottom-of-table opponents. Also depends where you are in your career, of course, but there's a lot of good footie to be played if you're a starter on a top team in Ligue 1, Portugal, Ered, even Juliper and a few others.
Meh... Tornio sit smack dab in the middle of the table on 21 pts. They are the definition of average. 16 GF and 17 GA. They do need a jolt in the attack and that's why they are targeting attacking players. Sounds like Weah is a summer target and that $15M price tag might scare off Torino. I suspect a few more suitors will come to the surface between now and January.
Notre Tim Weah est de retour avec ses coéquipiers ! Et il nous raconte sa Coupe du Monde avec les Etats-Unis 🤩 pic.twitter.com/pUFz1j8XfE— LOSC (@losclive) December 14, 2022 Feel free to translate, but on the q.t., so the Mods don't get wise, dig?
Parents were there, he's proud of what he accomplished, his parents too. Scoring in a WC is a dream come true, he thinks the team deserved to go a bit further, but is confident that will happen in 2026. Playing at home one does better, he adds.
"Another Tim Weah is going back on tour with the re-occupiers. And he knows the raccoons are gathering on the cusp of the mound, getting tattoos together." I see why you wanted that on the QT - wow.
I did a quick translation for your guys. Lady: You come back from the World Cup, tell us your experience. Tim: It was good. It was a dream coming true. It was good. I scored a goal, and I am happy. Lady: Exactly, what you feel when you scored? Tim: It is hard to explain. I think that every player wants to score during such tournament. I am happy, I was proud. I was happy not just me but my family too. Lady: We saw your dad coming to visit you. Tim: Yes, he was there with my mom. It was good to see parents were there. I think when you play, you always want your parents there in those games. Lady: And to reach the quarter final is unbelievable? Tim: Yes, it is unbelievable. I think that we deserved a little better. But here goes, it is the life. We learnt, and we will be here again in 2026. I hope that we will go a little further. Lady: That is pretty much in home in 2026? Tim: Yes, it will be in home. That will be good. I know when we play in home, we play different, we play better. I hope it will play out and I thank everyone for the support. Lady: Congratulation anyway, we are proud. Tim: Thanks.
Starts against Napoli: LOSC @losclive Le 11 lillois pour #NapoliLOSC Chevalier, Diakité, Fonte, Djaló, Weah, André, André Gomes, Cabella, Angel, Zhegrova, Virginius
Assist: LOSC @losclive GOALLLLL FOR LOSC! Barely entered, Jo David makes the break on a pass from the head of Tim Weah. A 100% globalist goal! #NapoliLOSC 0-2 | 64' LOSC @losclive Jo Bamba, Momo Bayo et Simon Ramet remplacent Rémy Cabella, Alan Virginius et Tim Weah #NapoliLOSC 0-2 | 72'
If LB is becoming his new home, then I'm not quite comfortable with his continuing stay at LOSC from a USMNT perspective.