Can we get Lewy and Modric….MLSCUP on lock down QUOTE="overlap_old_coach, post: 43663547, member: 361205"]Gotta be honest... I ranked Gmann over KDM, Modric, Lewy, VDK, Salah, Neymar...[/QUOTE]
Tom Bogert was on his Podcast and on CBS claiming that the Saudi's will offer x5 what the Fire can for Lewandowski. A Polish news site Weszło checked with Saudi football sources and reported the rumored €90M Al-Hilal number is basically fantasy, that a realistic Saudi offer may be more like €20M–€40M, and that Al-Hilal may not make an offer at all.
Really hard to believe BigBob and Anna would move to Saudi Arabia...that leaves the equally hard to believe option for his family to stay in Catalonia and he goes alone. A lot of things support a move to the Fire...only 'negatives' are the current US political environment and uprooting his family's life. The clubs that could 'beat out the Fire' are probably LAFC and EU clubs like Juventus and Liverpool...as he could leave his family where there are and fly home regularly vs flying to games in the states. Hoping we can convince him to come to Chicago...but not holding my breath.
So I heard some geniuses claim Saudi Arabia was likelier because he would be able to fly home since it's closer. It's a 6-7 hour flight to Barcelona from Saudi Arabia, not much of an advantage. I feel his entourage and advisers are pushing him to the middle east, he doesn't need the biggest paycheck, but I am sure they would benefit.
The Polish old boys (Jerzy Dudek and friends) played Brazil in a friendly last week, they were supposed to fly to the US for a couple of matches before the WC. That was cancelled due to the political climate, I know this firsthand.
Political climate, UFOs, climate change and the longterm MidEast solution are all popular topics for casual discussions but may not be big deciding factors for him and his family. I would expect schools, crime, cold winters, playing time, coaches, teammates, lifestyle, facilities, salary and taxes to be more important but maybe you are right.
In any destination, I would expect they can afford to live where there are good schools and low crime. Club-wise, he should not struggle to find playing time, excited coaches and teammates. Money won't be an issue (his net worth is projected to be 85m). Lifestyle...right...environment...culture....annnd...politics. This is the deal killer for a Saudi club and a complicating factor for us/MLS.
I would be more worried about LAFC or Miami. Didn't he say he wanted to play in Los Angeles before? Why is it so hard to get big name players to Chicago (specifically for the fire and bulls lol)?
Several years ago, his wife wanted to live in LA, per reports a couple of years ago. For the record, "wanting to live in LA" should be grounds for divorce (not that most states have grounds, other than irreconcilable differences anymore) Wife of Bayern striker Lewandowski says dream is to finish career in LA "We dream of Los Angeles," said Anna Lewandowska, who is a health food blogger and entrepreneur. "That's where we want to develop our brands." "We hope Robert will end his career at a club in Los Angeles and we can say it would be our dream," Lewandowska said. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/wife-bayern-striker-lewandowski-says-dream-finish-career-la As of 2024: Anna Lewandowska (Robert's wife): "Catalonia is our place and I hope that Robert and I settle here and stay for a long time. Our daily life here is completely different from that of Warsaw or Munich. We live near the beach and we spend a lot of time there." https://www.reddit.com/r/Barca/comments/18iyxkx/anna_lewandowska_roberts_wife_catalonia_is_our/
Miami has an Argentinian DP striker and is closing in on a deal for Casemiro...don't see Miami as a competitor for RL9. LAFC only has 2 DPs, and has 3 strong forwards (Son, Bouanga 6G, Martinez 5G)...adding RL9 into the mix, likely moving Martinez to depth would be a nice luxury for their coach. RL9 may be attracted by to the location (warm+beach+branding/market) and pairing up with Son & Bouanga. Whereas we have a huge Polish community, notable club project progress, and Hugo & Zinck...and little competition for being the center of attention, not sure that matters though.
I left out the league's interest in 'waking the sleeping giant' Despite where that quip came from it remains a beneficial outcome for the league. A 'star' like RL9 is big enough that the league may pitch in, like they have with the original DP and Messi. It could bring 'brand' investment/coordination with MLS, Apple, and Adidas...and they may not need to do that if he went to LA. Butttt...hard to give up living on/near the beach, especially when your wife is into that
The wife part is what worries me. Happy wife, happy life. Isn't that why Basti came to Chicago? Because his wife has Serbian family here?
LA has the beach but Chicago has the lake and a better skyline. Close. Two items little discussed would be the GGG/Joe team and the Chicago Polish population GGG is very loyal to his players and honest in his communication with them. Word has it that Franco’s salary was not reduced at all despite his injury. Joe is willing to commit the needed funds for both his players and the facilities needed to keep them stay healthy and perform well. Anna is apparently pretty business-oriented. The greater LA metro area has only about 240,000 Polish-Americans, compared with 915,000 in the greater Chicago metro area. Rather than getting lost in the Hollywood shuffle, she has a built-in marketing edge- a prominent presence in a “pre-screened” population. Couple of Chicago advantages.
Yes, Chicago beaches are seasonal, but... When the weather's good, I'd take any number of beaches (especially a couple on the southside that will remain nameless), with resturant/bars, attached nature preserves, lack of self-important pousers (at least out south), and stunning views of that skyline over the beaches in LA. Jez, our beaches are gorgeous in the dead of winter. F&@k LA
Anyone see today's presser? GGG is definitely pursuing Lewandowski, nothing has changed. Suck it Bogert. Also Neil Goulding reporting on Sportsboom claims Lewandowski Snubbed the Saudi's. Neil seems a little more credible than Bogert since he claims the Saudi offer was £30million and not the bogus £90million we have been hearing. What is Sportsboom? No idea, but the Goulding guy has had only 3 articles this year including the Lewandowski one: Exclusive: Casemiro Set for MLS as Ronaldo Saudi Fallout Ends Manchester United Reunion Hopes and Exclusive: Norwich City's Josh Sargent Sparks Three-Club Battle as Toronto Bid Hits £20m With only 3 articles, all titled Exclusives, two shad some really good insider info and turned out to be 100% credible. I am not sure who is feeding Goulding but he's got a source and this seems like the most credible Lewandowski piece in a while. Also Poland's biggest Sports weekly Przeglad Sportowy sent their reporter to the Fire press conference today, I think they may know that something is getting announced soon.
I hope you are correct. I saw the SportsBoom announcement but did not mention it. They ware a sports “ prediction” ( gambling site”. There was a report written by one guy and supposedly reviewed for accuracy by his his superior.
De Bruyne’s wife liked the weather better in Napoli too. I’ll be happy when we get to a point when players choose MLS for sporting reasons, not lifestyle ones. Nobody chooses the great weather of Manchester or Liverpool.
True. I personally like that we have all 4 seasons. I hate that players always reference the weather for Miami and LA. With the last Barcelona game this weekend, hopefully Lewy makes a decision next week. At this point I just want it to be done so I stop checking here and on twitter
I like the four seasons but near the end of winter and end of summer just not as much. I had plenty opportunities to move but stayed here, around family.