5 European superclubs who will be relevant in the news in 2017/18
With the 2017/18 season now just weeks away and the transfer window firmly open, all the talk is about the usual suspects when it comes to Europe’s most powerful clubs – who’s signing who, who’s selling who, who wants to go where, why each team will do well in the Champions League, and so on.
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Every season throws up some unexpected contenders – see Leicester City in 2015/16 or Monaco in 2016/17 but realistically almost all of the glory belongs to Europe’s superclubs, who usually remain relevant in the news throughout the season. Here are five so-called superclubs who I expect to be in the news until the dawn of the World Cup in 2018, and why.
#1 Real Madrid
Europe’s reigning champions and the most successful club overall, Real Madrid have been relatively quiet during the summer thus far by their usually loud standards. They haven’t been out to sign a Galactico just yet and while they have been linked with David de Gea of Manchester United and Kylian Mbappe of Monaco, neither deal has come to the fore yet and the players remain at their existing clubs.
The only rumble of news from Real Madrid that hasn’t been purely rumour is the issue of Cristiano Ronaldo and his possible exit largely due to tax fraud accusations. But even that one seems to have gone quiet in the past 10 days or so and president Florentino Perez is now even denying that James Rodriguez will be leaving – surprising given the Colombian has been a bit-part player for a while now at the Bernabeu.
Yes, they appear to be selling Alvaro Morata to Man United, but the reason they’ll stay relevant all season is pretty simple – based on last season’s form, and the emergence of new talent like Marco Asensio, who has starred in Spain’s Under-21 European Championship campaign, it seems that they’ll be the hot favourites to retain both the La Liga and the Champions League.
Right now, the Los Blancos are on top of the world and it’s up to the rest of Europe to attempt to catch up to them.