Sports
Granit Xhaka Reveals Key Difference Between Arteta and Alonso
Xabi Alonso has been confirmed as Chelsea’s next permanent manager on a four-year contract beginning on the 1st of July, ending his search for a new role following his departure from Real Madrid.
It’s his fourth managerial position, and his first in the Premier League. A division he graced as a player with Liverpool for five years, and where he’ll now attempt to revitalise a Chelsea squad who’re fresh off a FA Cup final loss and could end their Premier League season without a win since the 4th of March.
Chelsea Appoint Xabi Alonso as Manager on Four-Year Deal
The former Real Madrid head coach has succeeded Liam Rosenior at Stamford Bridge
Before arriving at Stamford Bridge, Alonso built his reputation at Bayer Leverkusen. He guided the club to the Bundesliga title while going the entire league season unbeaten, a feat that had never been achieved in the history of German football.
The squad he assembled and the football he produced turned heads across the continent, and a number of players from that Leverkusen team will be forever associated with his teachings. None more so than Granit Xhaka.
What Xhaka Sees Differently In Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta
The Swiss midfielder, now at Sunderland, was one of the central figures in Alonso’s unbeaten title-winning side, having made the move to Leverkusen from Arsenal in the summer of 2023 for around £21 million. What made Xhaka’s journey particularly fascinating was the contrast between the two chapters of his career.
At Arsenal, he’d spent three and a half seasons working under Mikel Arteta, a manager appointed in 2019 for his first top-flight managerial role, much like Alonso would be at Leverkusen in 2022.
His time at Arsenal was hardly smooth though. There were periods of real tension between Xhaka and the supporters, moments where his future at the club looked uncertain, before Arteta helped transform him into one of the most important players in the squad.
His time at Leverkusen, by contrast, was a revelation from the very beginning, a player totally reborn under a manager who seemed to unlock something new in him.
In 2024, the Professional Footballers’ Association asked Xhaka to explain the difference between the two managers. Arteta and Alonso have been friends since childhood, yet Xhaka’s answer revealed two distinctly different footballing philosophies at work.
Xhaka began rather bluntly:
“Mikel has his philosophy and that’s it.”
He did go on to explain further though: “Even to play always with a back four and never change to a back five for example, or never change like a 4-4-2 with two proper strikers. So you had this 4-3-3, with one six and two eights.”
Alonso, he suggested, operates with more tactical flexibility: “Xabi is a little bit different. I think that Xabi can play a back four, but he can play as well a back five, you know? What he wants is always two No6s, not running everywhere or more of the time be in the position.”
Xhaka was careful not to declare one approach superior to the other, instead framing it as a question of managerial identity: “But I think that if you are a coach you need your own philosophy, your own tactical, your own ideas. Of course, you can always change one or two, but you can’t change so many things about it, you know?”
What This Means For Chelsea
For Chelsea supporters, Xhaka’s insight offers a glimpse into what Alonso’s Stamford Bridge project might look like. A tactically flexible manager, comfortable across multiple formations, with a clear idea of how he wants his midfield to function, it’s a profile that suggests the Blues will be getting something rather different to what’s come before.
Ranking all 20 Premier League Managers by Their Playing Careers
Arteta, Slot, Guardiola, Alonso… all are managing in the top flight now, but how good were they on the pitch?
Whether Alonso can replicate the magic of Leverkusen in west London remains the great unknown, it was anything but that for him in Madrid. But on the evidence of what Xhaka experienced firsthand, some of the foundations might already be there.
Sports
Dana White Reveals Why UFC Legend Anderson Silva Hates Him
UFC CEO Dana White has revealed that one company legend, who is frequently included in the GOAT debate, now hates him so much that he refuses to speak to him.
The veteran matchmaker has been in charge of the world’s mixed martial arts organisation for 25 years, having initially bought into the company in 2001. While Dana hasn’t always been popular with his fighters, he’s typically kept a positive relationship with most of its top stars.
White is on good terms with the likes of Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier and remains cordial with many others, even after having disagreements.
UFC Legend Refuses to Speak to White
However, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Dana admitted that one icon of the Octagon “won’t talk to me to this day” over the way his run with the company ended.
No matter how dominant a fighter is, there comes a time in every competitor’s career when the skills that they once dazzled with have faded.
Across his quarter of a century, White has had to have numerous conversations with fighters who have passed their prime about stepping away from being an active UFC fighter.
Understandably, these are not easy talks to have, but the competitors involved usually realise that their time in the spotlight is coming to an end and generally don’t hold too much of a grudge against Dana for suggesting that they should hang up their gloves.
10 Fighters Dana White Has Banned From UFC For Life – And Why He Banned Them
Don’t ever get on the wrong side of Dana White, or you risk being banned for life from the UFC, just like these select fighters.
Dana White Made A Big Call About UFC Legend – It Ruined Their Relationship
This is not the case when it comes to former UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, though. Widely considered to be the greatest 185lbs fighter the UFC has ever seen, ‘The Spider’ went unbeaten for 16 fights after debuting for the promotion in June 2006, including a record 10 successful defences of the middleweight championship.
Silva was an incredible fighter to watch in his prime, but his style was heavily dependent on his reflexes. When these began to fade with age, Anderson’s aura of invincibility disappeared with them.
After suffering his first UFC loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July 162, Anderson would pick up just one single win across the next seven years.
By the time he fought Uriah Hall in October 2020, Silva was 45 years old. When he fell to a fourth-round stoppage defeat, Dana insisted that he would never promote another fight involving the Brazilian.
White stuck to his word, even though it seemingly ruined the pair’s relationship forever.
“Anderson Silva, he was always a unique individual to deal with, but he lost like eight or nine or 10 in a row, something like that,” White recalled. [Silva actually lost seven of his last nine UFC bouts.]
“That guy won’t talk to me to this day. Because I said it’s over and he was in his 40s.”
Dana continued: “His thing was ‘who are you to tell me that I’m done doing what I love to do?’ [I told him] it’s over. Obviously, they can go fight [somewhere else] and he did. He went and fought a boxing match and he fought a bunch of other fights.
“He can still fight. You just can’t do it here.”
Now 51 years old, Silva continues to compete, alongside training to be a police officer. His most recent fight saw him knock out former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley in a boxing match in December of last year.
It’s now nearly six years since he last fought for the UFC, but he’s still seemingly no closer to forgiving Dana.
Sports
Man Utd Pull Out of Move to Sign Elliot Anderson
Manchester United have pulled out of a potential move to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson following a big U-turn, according to the Mirror.
Man United have made strengthening their central midfield the priority this summer, with one report suggesting they could look to bring in three new players for the position, if Manuel Ugarte joins Casemiro in leaving the club.
The Red Devils want to bring in a top-class replacement for the Brazilian, while two lower-cost options could arrive at Old Trafford in the coming months to boost a squad that will be playing Champions League football for the first time since the 2023-24 campaign.
United had identified Anderson as their number one target for the midfield position, according to GIVEMESPORT sources, following an outstanding season for Forest which has culminated in him becoming a regular England starter ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America.
The chances of the 23-year-old still being at the City Ground appear to be diminishing as his stock continues to rise, although it is also looking like he won’t be wearing a red shirt at Old Trafford next term either.
Man United ‘Concede Defeat’ in Elliot Anderson Transfer Battle
According to the Mirror, Manchester United chiefs are not willing to meet Forest’s £100m valuation of their top summer target, even though he is a player they really want.
The price tag isn’t the only reason for the Red Devils walking away from a move though, with club chiefs believing that the ‘elite’ Three Lions star would prefer to join Manchester City instead of them.
The Premier League runners-up are said to be confident they will land Anderson, despite the fact that Pep Guardiola is set to be replaced by Enzo Maresca at the Etihad Stadium this summer.
The Italian has given the green light to bring the former Newcastle United star to the club as one of his first signings.
Who Could Man United Sign Instead?
With a deal for Anderson off the table, United now have to look elsewhere to complete their midfield rebuild.
Reports on Wednesday afternoon suggest they have agreed a £38m deal to sign Ederson from Atalanta, with an agreement on personal terms with the Brazilian already reached, according to GMS sources.
Two more players could arrive though, with a report in Italy suggesting that Michael Carrick has told the club to sign Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali too, with the 26-year-old one of the best in his position in the Premier League.
The Italy international won’t come on the cheap though, with the Magpies said to value him at up to €100m (£86m).
The Red Devils will look at another low-cost option too, with three Championship players among those linked.
Southampton’s Shea Charles and Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney have been mentioned, along with the recently-relegated Mateus Fernandes of West Ham United.
The Mirror claim that Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Brighton and Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba and Real Madrid duo Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde are also on their shortlist.
Sports
Anthony Gordon’s Wage After Leaving Newcastle For Barcelona Emerges
The summer transfer saga involving Anthony Gordon is already set to come to an end, after Newcastle United accepted a mega-money offer from Barcelona for the winger.
GIVEMESPORT sources understand a deal has been agreed worth in around £70m, plus a future sell-on clause for the England international, who will jet out to Spain to complete a medical before finalising a deal before the World Cup.
That’s despite major interest from Bayern Munich and Premier League clubs about a move, with Newcastle in a position where they were forced to listen to offers after a poor season in the Premier League meant they missed out on European football entirely.
Anthony Gordon Barcelona Contract Details Revealed
According to The Chronicle Live, the Magpies received two rival bids on Wednesday for the 25-year-old’s services – one from Barcelona, and one from Bayern Munich.
But the Bundesliga champions were blown out of the water, and refused to match Barcelona’s bid, which allowed the Catalan club to seal an agreement and get a deal over the line, with a deal worth £69.3m including add-ons.
It’s reported that Gordon has already said goodbye to his teammates, and in a stunning update, he is now set to see his wages doubled to around £300,000-a-week at the Camp Nou.
Gordon was left out of the Newcastle side since the clash with Crystal Palace back in April, with Eddie Howe admitting that they were ‘planning for the future’ with his absence. Now a deal has been agreed, and the club will get the financial injection they were looking for to help them bolster their own squad, while also hoping to keep hold of other stars.
Gordon One of England’s Highest-Paid Players
With Gordon set to earn around £300,000-a-week in Spain as part of his agreement with the club, he is expected to climb the list of England’s highest-paid players as a result.
Currently, the country’s top earner is Ivan Toney, who takes home a whopping £427,670-a-week from Saudi club Al-Ahli. His form has somewhat justified the money, netting an impressive 42 goals in 49 appearances, and earning a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup.
Behind him is Harry Kane, who earns £419,120-a-week at Bayern Munich, while Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham earns around £350,000-a-week in the Spanish capital. But Gordon would slot into the list just behind him, and alongside the likes of Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka once he puts pen to paper on his new deal.
Romano: £75m Newcastle Star Reaches ‘Total Agreement’ to Join Barcelona
Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon is a target for Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Barcelona this summer
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