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Against a backdrop of financial uncertainty, the Blaugrana hierarchy has been undergoing some major surgery in the lead up to the transfer window

In 2021, Barcelona tried everything to re-sign Lionel Messi. They shrunk his salary as much as possible. They asked other senior players to take pay cuts. They even suggested, misguidedly and incorrectly, that he could simply play for free.

Despite all of their attempts, legal and otherwise, Messi walked. He ended up, ill-advisedly, in the clutches of Paris Saint-Germain. Barca, meanwhile, went to work. They fired a flustered Ronald Koeman, gave youngsters a chance, and, uncharacteristically, worked within their financial means to steady a side that was tumbling down La Liga.

That, of course, was never going to be enough. Barcelona had a famously turbulent transfer window, with president Joan Laporta bending the concepts of club financing and sensible sponsorship to reassemble his squad.

But the brain trust who masterminded the signings of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde — the pieces that effectively made Barca a title-winning team this season — is falling apart. Sporting director Jordi Cruyff has left, while director of football Mateu Alemany has returned after handing in his resignation.

Former Portugal, Barca and Chelsea midfielder Deco, now a high-profile agent with little management experience, looks set to be appointed in Cruyff's place. Meanwhile, there are clear signs of disagreement as to who, exactly, the club need to sign this summer.

These recent incomings and outgoings, the constant movement in an already turbulent club, points towards a hectic few months. An institution is splitting right before a transfer window it has to get absolutely right.

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  The Alemany problem

  Alemany wanted out. If rumours are to be believed, he’d wanted to leave for a while. Barca's director of football had been flirting with Aston Villa for a few months, with the English club dangling Unai Emery's expanding project under his increasingly curious nose. But for weeks, he’d rejected their advances. After all, the Spaniard had taken on the impossible task of resurrecting Barcelona in the post-Messi apocalyptic era, developing a dystopian landscape and turning it into the site of the 2023 La Liga winners.

  But he was ready to leave that behind. Villa’s most recent offer, pitched in early May, was too tempting. He announced his intent to leave the club in an unceremonious fashion, with a brief press release. However, he pledged to complete all of Barca's summer transfer business, even that which took place after he had officially left. Such a promise raised a few eyebrows. After all, why would a soon-to-leave executive, soon-to-be-employed by another team, agree to do the bulk of his yearly work for his former employers?

  It looked an awful lot like someone keeping their foot in the door, or perhaps writing down a password or two on the way out — just in case. And it was swiftly revealed why: Alemany retracted his intention to depart last week. His rationale?

  “I’m very clear my place is at Barca, the best club in the world. I’m totally committed to helping this project, which has taken a very important step,’ he said. “Aston Villa has an impressive project and one of the best coaches in Europe, but after personal reflection, this is where I want to be.”

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  The Cruyff departure

  A few days before Alemany's U-turn, another top-level member of the Barcelona hierarchy, Cruyff, also announced his departure. His leaving was perhaps even more unexpected. Cruyff was raised on the club of his father, his Catalonian first name regarded as a show of good faith to the city. In the eyes of many, he was a Cule from birth. For two years, Cruyff was Alemany’s right-hand man, the second part of a canny duo entrusted with reshaping Barcelona. It appeared to be a dream job.

  But Cruyff left the sentiment all of that, and opted to see out his contract with the intention of “pursuing new projects.” The meeting held to confirm his departure was described by the club itself as "emotional", not least because manager Xavi publicly called on Cruyff to stay.

  And it was shortly after Cruyff left that Alemany pledged he would return. Reports have suggested that the two incidents are entirely unrelated. asserted that Cruyff simply believed that his time in the Catalan capital was done, while Alemany felt misled by Villa’s project.

  Perhaps that is the truth, but the fact that Alemany was so eager to return once Cruyff had signed off for good suggests that more might be at play.

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  Recruiting disagreements

  Perhaps there is conflict between the two. Cruyff, for his part, has always been something of a financial realist. He pointed out in November of last year that Messi and Barcelona should reignite their relationship with a "final hug" after the Argentine retires, and has consistently played down the possibility of his signing this summer.

  But if his quotes are to be taken as fact — which has historically been a risk at Camp Nou — he is not the sole Messi-skeptic in the club. Laporta has always vouched for the return of Messi.

  To the club president, Messi is a crucial signing for footballing, marketing, and sentimental reasons. It’s a policy that Xavi has expressed his support for, repeatedly affirming that Messi belongs at his boyhood club.

  Alemany, though, isn’t quite as convinced. After all, this is an executive whose success in the role was measured off his ability to piece together a Messi-less Barcelona. The very absence of the Argentine from the club is why the now-remaining director of football earned such high praise from his employers. Unlike Laporta and Xavi, he has been noncommittal about Messi. He operates in maybes and uncertainties. “We’ll see” is a fundamental part of Alemany's lexicon at this point.

  The disagreement between the two parties seems ominous ahead of the summer where Barcelona are not only expected to pursue Messi, but also potentially axe a number of senior players in order to afford him. The project that Alemany built could be picked apart due to a policy he is fundamentally at odds with.

  There are other smaller recruitment issues here, too, specifically at other positions. Laporta covets Wolves captain Ruben Neves to replace the outgoing Sergio Busquets. Xavi, for his part, has insisted that Neves is not the No.6, or ‘pivot’, that the Blaugrana need. He has publicly praised Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, a breakout defensive midfielder of a similar profile to Barcelona’s departing captain.

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  Deco and Raphinha

  Barcelona have been told, in no uncertain terms, that they will have to slash their budget in order to piece together the big summer they covet. La Liga president Javier Tebas estimates that the Blaugrana needed to get rid of €200 million (£176m/$215m) to even afford to register the three players recently signed to long-term contracts.

  That presents a problem. €200m, it turns out, is not so easily found — especially for a club with no obvious expendable assets in the transfer market. Raphinha, though, is one that could be moved. The Brazil winger has endured a mixed first season at Camp Nou, not exactly delivering on the €65m(£55m/$65m) the Blaugrana paid for him last summer. Although his 14 goal involvements seem impressive, he has consistently drawn frustrated looks and flailing of arms from indignant team-mates for his all-too-common poor decisions.

  But at 26, and with an impressive goalscoring record and game-changing dribbling ability, Raphinha could be an excellent signing for a team in need of a right-winger. It is not impossible to see Barca get north of €70m for him, either.

  It is, in effect, a priority sale, and perhaps an easy business decision. However, it will be made more complicated by the fact that the Spanish champions are reportedly on the verge of hiring Deco as a replacement for Cruyff. The Portuguese has spent his post-playing career setting up an agency, and Raphinha is one of his clients. It was his diligence that ensured that Raphinha would end up at Camp Nou — despite interest from elsewhere.

  For Barcelona, this surely presents a problem. Hiring the agent of your most valuable asset, a player that needs to be sold to ensure the financial stability of the club, seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

The Lionesses were far from their best in Brisbane against Haiti, so what can Sarina Wiegman alter before a tough test against Denmark?

When England opened their Women's World Cup campaign against Haiti on Saturday, many expected the European champions to have too much for the debutantes to handle. Forty-nine places separate the pair in the FIFA world rankings, after all. However, it certainly didn't look like that on the night, with the Lionesses needing a big save from Mary Earps late on to secure a 1-0 win.

It was a sloppy opening performance from the Lionesses, there's no doubt about that. Several players were far from their best as a Georgia Stanway penalty proved to be the difference in Brisbane. That said, the likes of Australia and the United States women's national team are other contenders for the title that haven't come out in top form from the off.

It's not a huge concern for head coach Sarina Wiegman, but she will certainly want to see improvements, especially with Denmark up next, the Euro 2017 finalists expected to be the Lionesses' biggest challengers for top spot in Group D.

So, what could the coach change for that second match? And what can the players improve on themselves? GOAL takes a look…

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  Increase Greenwood's influence

  Ever since Leah Williamson's ACL injury in April, it has been anticipated that Alex Greenwood would partner Millie Bright in the heart of England's defence. However, after playing at left-back in the send-off friendly against Portugal, the Manchester City star was there again on Saturday as Jess Carter lined up alongside Bright instead.

  Carter was one of the Lionesses' best performers on Saturday, with her proving to be a reliable presence while Bright shook off some serious rust. Greenwood, meanwhile, had more touches of the ball than any other player on the pitch, but her influence in possession was limited by the fact she was playing on the left.

  For her club, Manchester City, she is almost like a conductor with the ball at centre-back, spraying passes out wide with that wand of a left foot while also playing a key role in the short-passing game and occasionally driving into midfield, all to help start attacks.

  Greenwood put in a few decent crosses from the left against Haiti, but one can't help feel that her influence on the game is limited in the role she's currently playing. It's unlikely that she'll swap with Carter at this point, but England would certainly be better off if Wiegman could make some tweaks that increase her impact.

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  Free up Walsh

  Also unable to have a greater influence on England's play on Saturday was Keira Walsh, the Barcelona star completely marked out of the encounter by Haiti's smart game plan. She got into things a little bit more in the second half as the opponents tired, but still only had the sixth-most touches of any player, which is quite low for the Lionesses' holding midfielder.

  It's nothing particularly new to team or player, though. Wiegman even noted after the match: "We’ve seen it all the time, they try to take her out. We couldn’t find her all the time."

  So, what could be done to address this? The coach talked about how the team could've been "quicker" in exploiting "opportunities on the side" while Walsh was swarmed by Haiti shirts, for one, but whether someone from central defence can step into midfield or the trio in the middle can rotate more to get Walsh free, Wiegman and co. will need to figure out some way to counter this plan because more and more opponents are going to do it.

• Address the lack of presence in the No.10 role

  Another problem in midfield was in the No.10 role. Ella Toone has struggled to really make her presence known in this position since coming into the starting XI and that was the case again on Saturday, with very few of her involvements in the match coming in those spaces on the edge of the box, in front of the Haiti defence.

  When Lauren James got ready to come on in the second half, one thought it might have been to replace the Manchester United midfielder given James had performed very well in the attacking midfield position against Portugal earlier this month. However, it was winger Lauren Hemp instead who made way. The only other change made by Wiegman was to swap Alessia Russo for Rachel Daly, with all of the Lionesses' midfield options from the bench staying in the dugout.

  Denmark are going to be another tough team to break down on Friday – as are fellow Group D opponents China, judging by the pair's close encounter later on Saturday – so having someone higher up in midfield who can unlock these sides is going to be important, whether that's encouraging Toone to pick up those pockets more or making a change to the line up.

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  Put chances away!

  It's easier said than done but England simply have to be more clinical. A large number of chances came and went on Saturday, with Russo, Hemp, Daly and Chloe Kelly all guilty of not working the goalkeeper hard enough at times. The Lionesses have only scored once from open play since February.

  "We’re missing ruthlessness," Wiegman said. "It’s easy to say, but what does that mean? Sometimes [it's] the connection with the cross, the timing of the cross, where the cross ends in the box and the connection in front of the goal. We were very close a couple of times to scoring. The defence was tough. We’ll keep trying and working on it and start tomorrow again."

  Many were calling for Daly to start ahead of Russo for this game, and there's no doubt there will be even more of that noise now – but everyone knows that Wiegman isn't one to ring the changes. Whoever starts against Denmark needs to bring their shooting boots because it seems chances could be at more of a premium in that match.

With Oriol Romeu having just rejoined Barcelona, GOAL runs through the most bizarre deals in football history

The transfer market is a wild and crazy place. It rarely fails to surprise. Time and time again, a player will enrage one club's supporters by joining their most hated rivals.

But we've arguably grown accustomed to such betrayals in an era in which money makes the football world go around. There's also a twisted logic to such transfers. At the end of the day, we're usually talking about top players moving between top clubs. It's not strange.

Sometimes, though, there are deals that seemingly come out of nowhere, involving players and clubs that are just downright bizarre. You know, the ones that leave you scratching your head and wondering, 'How on earth did that happen?!'

Here at GOAL, we'd argue that Oril Romeu's return to Barcelona after a bang-average career is one such transfer, but there are many, many more…

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  Bebe: Vitoria – Manchester United

  Bebe had only just joined Vitoria de Guimaraes from Estrela on a free transfer and had yet to even make a competitive appearance for the Primeira Liga club when Manchester United acquired the 20-year-old for approximately £7.2 million ($9.4m) in August 2010.

  It was a truly baffling deal, not least because Red Devils boss Alex Ferguson had never even seen the forward play, admitting that he sanctioned the signing solely on the advice of former assistant manager Carlos Queiroz.

  There was even a Portuguese police investigation into the transfer, after it emerged that Jorge Mendes, who became Bebe's agent just days before the move, pocketed Mendes 40 per cent (£2.9m/$3.8m) of the fee, though no charges were pressed against anyone involved.

  The only certainty surrounding a mysterious move was that Bebe was nowhere near good enough for United and he left Old Trafford in 2014 for Benfica, after three loan moves and just two Premier League appearances.

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  Kevin-Prince Boateng: Sassuolo – Barcelona

  Following the sale of Munir El Haddadi to Sevilla in January 2019, it was clear that Barcelona needed another attacker. It was also widely known that the Catalans didn't have much money to spend.

  In that context, it was hardly surprising that Barca decided to bring in a replacement on loan. What was shocking, though, was that they went for Kevin-Prince Boateng, with a view to a permanent transfer for €8m (£7m/$9m) in the summer.

  Then 31, the former AC Milan forward had been plying his trade at Sassuolo when he received the most unexpected of calls from Camp Nou.

  In fairness, Boateng had impressed as a 'false 9' during the first half of the 2018-19 campaign but nobody was in the least bit surprised when he returned to Italy at the end of the season, joining Fiorentina after failing to score once in just four outings for Barca.

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  Andy Carroll: Newcastle – Liverpool

  "I wasn't ready to leave," Andy Carroll has admitted. "It came as a shock. Newcastle was my club. I was 22. I could never get a grip at Liverpool."

  Indeed, Carroll didn't even know who his new team-mates would be, revealing that he had to Google Liverpool's squad on the helicopter ride down to Merseyside.

  Injuries consistently ruined the striker's hopes of striking up a real understanding with Luis Suarez and Co. but the unavoidable truth is that £35m proved a huge waste of money for Carroll, who hit just six Premier League goals in three years at Anfield.

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  Sol Campbell: Free agent – Notts County

  Sol Campbell learned the hard way that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. The centre-back couldn't believe his luck when, in 2009, he was offered the most lucrative contract of his career (£40,000 per week) to join League Two side Notts County. 

  Director of Football Sven-Goran Eriksson had played a major role in convincing Campbell that the club's owners had sufficient funds to take the oldest club in football into the Premier League. 

  However, Campbell realised after one game that they didn't even have the money to pay his wages, so he departed, with early reports claiming that he was not in good enough shape to play for County.

  In truth, though, the former England international was disgusted with himself, later revealing that he had been "a mug" to have believed everything he had been told by Eriksson, executive chairman Peter Trembling and Munto Finance, a Middle Eastern consortium owned by Qadbak Investments, had told him.

Marco Asensio has been a revelation in a central role for Paris Saint-Germain, keeping big-money signing Goncalo Ramos out of the side

Marco Asensio is not a striker. At least, that's what we were told.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, at various points last year, had a hole to fill through the middle. First, Karim Benzema was injured. Then, Rodrygo picked up a knock. Meanwhile Alvaro Rodriguez, despite scoring a memorable last-minute header to equalise in the Madrid derby, wasn't trusted to play 90 minutes as a pure No.9.

Asensio, for his part, never really had the chance to prove himself leading the line. Instead, Ancelotti favoured the Spaniard as an occasional right-winger, an emergency presence who has never quite reached the heights of his early, pre-knee-injury career. It made sense, then, that Asensio was allowed to leave without being handed a new deal. Ancelotti couldn't really fit him in the side, while the presumptive arrival of other key players would have made him an expensive backup.

Now, it appears, Ancelotti might have made the wrong call. Asensio, now of PSG, has been tasked with playing through the middle for Luis Enrique's side — and has done so with aplomb. The Spaniard has scored 2, set up 1, and been a constant source of chance creation in the role where Ancelotti simply would not play him. It has become clear, albeit in just a month of play, that Madrid might have let the wrong guy go.

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  A messy summer in Madrid

  Madrid, of course, weren't to know this at the time. Their whole summer, in fact, was a bit of a mess. Things started well with the pre-arranged arrival of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, but quickly took a turn. Karim Benzema was allured by the big money of the Saudi Pro League, while Kylian Mbappe, a potential target, elected to stay at PSG — and might even extend his stay if the Parisians enjoy a successful 2023-24 campaign.

  Los Blancos, in turn, went after a number of attacking players, but never signed a reliable striker. Joselu, brought in from Espanyol, is the kind of auxiliary option most mid-table sides would love to have. Arda Guler, snatched from under the nose of a complacent Barcelona, is more right-winger than out-and-out striker. Brahim Diaz, finally given a shot to impress after a two-year stint at AC Milan, has much the same problem.

  They reportedly made a massive bid for a yet-to-be-named top-tier striker. But no deal was ever agreed. Bellingham has been the unlikely provider in attack so far, with five in four games for Los Blancos. Still, despite his fine form, there are no guarantees that he can fill such a role long term. This is an elite, do-it-all centre-midfielder who can nick a goal, not a striker who has been used out of place for years. Madrid, then, have a problem.

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  A poor World Cup for Spain

  In a sense, it's hard to criticise them for not finding a solution. Ancelotti, 24 major trophies and all, is a reasonably good manager. When he elects not to deploy a player at any given position, he probably knows what he's talking about.

  Luis Enrique is perhaps deserving of the same tactical respect. Although he is not as accomplished of a coach as Ancelotti, this is still a Champions League winning manager who set up one of the most dominant attacking sides in recent memory in trophy-laden 2014-15 Barcelona. Trebles, contrary to popular belief, are not so easily won.

  But, ironically, Luis Enrique has been here before. He was an ardent supporter of an out-of-form Asensio during the World Cup, and deployed the player as a centre-forward for three out of four of Spain's games — and brought him off the bench in another. In those contests, Asensio had 10 shots, put two on goal, and scored just once.

  He was worryingly uninvolved in play, too. Spain routinely pinged the ball around their opponents, amassing over 60 percent possession in every game. Asensio still didn't see the ball much, amassing his most touches, 53, in a 7-0 battering of Costa Rica to open the tournament. Here was a right-winger awkwardly deployed as a centre-forward, and proving remarkably ineffective in the process. Spain's lack of finishing proved costly in their round of 16 exit, and Asensio was certainly among those to blame.

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  A turnaround for PSG

  Many were puzzled, then, when Luis Enrique once again called on Asensio to start through the middle when he took the PSG job in late June. The Spaniard was deployed as a centre-forward for each of his four preseason starts, and only found the back of the net once — an inconsequential finish during the 88th minute of a 3-0 rout of Jeonbuk FC. PSG, certainly, were short of striking options, but Hugo Ekitike had impressed in brief spells for the Parisians, and seemed more deserving of a look than his Spain counterpart.

  Luis Enrique changed his mind for the Parisians' drab draw to open the season, but moved Asensio back to a central role for their third fixture. The results were impressive. This time, Asensio was immensely influential. With Mbappe on his left and Ousmane Dembele on the right, Asensio roamed and linked play expertly. He wasn't expected to score as much as facilitate, find the right spaces and allow the legs and trickery of Mbappe and Dembele to do the hard work. He scored the opener against Lens — a fine curled effort — and provided two goal contributions a week later against Lyon.

  Asensio's numbers in possession were remarkably similar to those he recorded for Spain nine months before. He amassed 45 touches against Lens, and just 38 against Lyon. But he had space to operate in, and with PSG stretching opponents on the counter, Asensio was seldom forced to play away from goal. The result was the Spaniard at his best — influential when on the ball, and clinical in the right moments. It's exactly the kind of player Real Madrid need.

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  His long term future?

  This could all change rather quickly, though. PSG spent big this summer, and signed two No.9s to round out their squad. Goncalo Ramos — who disappointed on his PSG debut — was brought in from Benfica. Meanwhile, long-term target and friend of Mbappe's, Randal Kolo Muani arrived from Frankfurt. Both are young, proven goalscorers who would start through the middle for most teams in Europe. These are not the players that Asensio should be in the squad ahead of.

  But there's little room elsewhere. Dembele, although injury prone, is probably too talented to drop on the right. Mbappe isn't losing his place any time soon. And Enrique is likely too much of a 4-3-3 loyalist to try Asensio in a deeper role — one he wouldn't be an ideal fit for, anyway.

  Instead, then, Asensio might keep almost €150 million worth of strikers out of the team. Kolo Muani is just returning to fitness, while Ramos will need time to adjust to a new league. And perhaps there's something to be said for depth, too. Kolo Muani and Ramos could be expensive backups, but with Champions League and Coupe de France football — as well as what could be a surprisingly tough Ligue 1 slate — the Parisians will need legs.

  Until then, Asensio will likely be given his chance through the middle. And what seemed an unlikely experiment might just become a long-term solution, as well as a signal to the Spanish capital that they might have let the wrong player leave.

Christian Pulisic is reportedly set to be dropped to the bench by AC Milan for their 2023-24 Champions League opener against Newcastle.

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• American started the season brightly
• Struggled in derby disaster
• Could lose place for Magpies meeting

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The United States international is among those set to pay the price for failing to make an impact in a humiliating 5-1 derby defeat to arch-rivals Inter. Change is on the cards on the back of that disastrous display in Serie A.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  According to , Stefano Pioli has spent the 24 hours after suffering a humbling setback against the Nerazzurri mulling over his options. He is expected to tinker with his starting XI for a home date with Newcastle on Tuesday.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Pulisic is said to be among those under threat, with the USMNT star set to be denied an early reunion with Premier League opponents that he faced on a regular basis across four years at Chelsea. He may figure at some point against the Magpies, but it is claimed that Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze is poised to get the nod on the right wing.

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Fikayo Tomori, who was suspended against Inter, is set to slot back in as Simon Kjaer drops out. Pulisic will be disappointed if he does find himself on the bench, with the 24-year-old having scored in back-to-back Serie A games at the start of the season.

Both moves to D.C. were never built to last, but it's hard not to wonder what could have happened if they did

It's fun to look back on Wayne Rooney's most iconic MLS moment. It's one of the most viral clips in league history, a truly legendary sequence that belongs in any highlight reel put together to illustrate Rooney's career. In that moment, he fit the bill as D.C. United's savior. He was originally brought in by the club to play that exact role and, in that moment especially, he played it well.

Now, as Rooney leaves the club for a second time, it's time to look back at his overall impact on D.C. United. He was brought in twice to save the club, but as he heads back to England once again, it feels like deja vu in the capital.

Rooney achieved plenty in MLS, as both a player and a manager. In both roles, he left D.C. United in a better place than he found it, having been brought in to do just that. He wasn't brought in as a long-term solution either time; instead, his job was to give the club a much-needed shot in the arm.

Still, as he leaves for the second time, it's hard not to feel like American soccer never saw the best of Rooney. He was never given time, and never took the time to accomplish all he could. There are reasons for that, of course, many of which are due to the club's own chaotic atmosphere, but when you look at Rooney's two careers in MLS, it's hard not to feel what ended up being a footnote had the potential to be something far more.

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  Rooney's original arrival

  The younger generation probably can't fathom it, but at one point, D.C. United were the dominant power in MLS. They had iconic players, big wins and major trophies. This was a club unmatched for many years, one that every other team aspired to be.

  By the time that Rooney arrived in 2018, D.C. United were… not that. For years, they'd been near the bottom of MLS. They'd failed to qualify for the postseason the year prior and had not made the playoffs in five of the previous 10 seasons. A club that was once a titan was now in the mid-to-lower rung of MLS.

  Rooney, for D.C., was a big swing that everyone had been waiting for. The club's move from broken-down RFK Stadium to the brand-new Audi Field required a big name, and Rooney was one of the biggest the club could have gotten. After years of watching rivals sign star after star, D.C. finally had a familiar face of their own as they looked to usher in a new era at the club.

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• A short stay, an iconic moment

  During his time in MLS, Rooney did exactly what the world expected he would: score goals. He netted 25 of them in fact, in just 52 games. Some were spectacular, including a goal from inside his own half that will go down as one of the most ridiculous of his career. All things considered, that is really saying something.

  However, it's not a goal that proved his standout moment, but an assist, one that will be part of MLS lore forever. With his side level with Orlando City, head coach Ben Olsen made the unorthodox decision to send goalkeeper David Ousted up for a corner-kick. As Orlando cleared, Will Johnson was left to run free towards the ball with no one in net on the other side.

  But, as you watch the play unfold, you see Rooney sprinting back as hard as he can. There were many miles under those legs, but he had just enough left to chase down Johnson. His thumping tackle took the Canadian to the ground, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

  He wasn't done, though. Rooney then ran onto the ball, picked his head up, and played a crossfield ball 50 yards towards goal. It fell right on the head of Luciano Acosta, the smallest man on the field. The Argentine headed home, D.C. United won the game, bedlam.

  It was a moment that encapsulated the effort and attitude Rooney brought to D.C. United. From the moment he arrived, the former England captain seemingly enjoyed his experience being one of the guys rather than the celebrity he had been since he was a teenager. He went out on the town with team-mates, showed some of the younger ones the finer things in life and, generally, just enjoyed some time out of a spotlight that had been so bright back home.

  Eventually, though, home did come calling, and Rooney couldn't say no. At the time of his departure, Rooney felt like he was hitting his stride with D.C. In 2018, he was the club's MVP and golden boot winner, having scored 12 goals in just 21 matches. He was just as good in 2019, scoring 13 times in total for the club.

  But, just a-year-and-a-half into his three-and-a-half year contract, Rooney left D.C., agreeing a a deal to become player-coach at Derby County.

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  The return

  When he left as a player, it seemed American soccer had seen the last of Rooney. He worked wonders with Derby despite the club being a total disaster. With Rooney having eventually taken over as manager, the club was in administration throughout the 2021-22 season and were deducted 12 points. Despite Rooney's best efforts, the club finished seven points from safety, a legitimate achievement considering the lack of resources available to him.

  When he stepped down after that season, though, the questions began. Where would Rooney end up next? Had he earned a chance to move up the ladder? Would a Premier League club come calling? Rooney's boyhood club Everton were heavily linked with one of their former heroes.

  Rooney did, in fact, join one of his former clubs, but shocked the world by announcing he'd be heading back to D.C. United to continue his coaching career in America. He replaced Hernan Losada, whose tactics and man-management style never caught on in D.C.

  For the second time, Rooney was being brought in to change the fortunes of a club that had fallen on hard times. And for the second time, he provided a shot in the arm, albeit for a short period of time.

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  Another short stay

  It was clear from the beginning that both the club and coach knew this would be a temporary partnership. Upon arriving in the summer of 2022, Rooney signed a deal lasting through just December 2023, while his family never moved to D.C. alongside him.

  His first half-season was essentially a wash. He arrived at a broken club, one that ultimately finished in last place. He would be judged on 2023, on how much better he could make that broken club in a short amount of time.

  And, against all odds, D.C. United were better. Thirteen points better to be exact. Despite a series of challenges, none more difficult than star forward Taxi Fountas' midseason departure due to racism allegations, Rooney kept the club in it through the season. There were some on-field swings and misses, for sure, as Rooney continued to evolve as a young coach but by and large, D.C. were a much better team under Rooney's guidance.

  The club was never able to replace Fountas, though, as he was dismissed outside of the transfer window. An injury to starting winger Martin Rodriguez didn't help matters either. D.C. United's season didn't fall flat until the final weeks, however..

  But it did fall. A 2-4-4 record over the final few weeks saw D.C. United miss the playoffs. Shortly after their final game – a 2-0 win over New York City FC – Rooney and the club confirmed that all involved had agreed to part ways.

  "I've done everything I can to get this club into the playoffs," he said. "It's not a single thing that's happened. It's about timing."

  According to, there were times when Rooney was open to staying. The club, however, took a wait-and-see approach as the coach's fate would depend on the results of the season. After missing the playoffs, his fate was sealed.

  Shortly after, he was confirmed as manager of Birmingham City as, for the second time, he departs D.C. United for a crack at England's Championship. Both of his stays lasted the same amount of time, just a year and a half, and both feel like they ended a bit prematurely, even if, for some, it seemed like the plan all along.

Manchester City star Chloe Kelly was given the team's October Player of the Month award.

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• Kelly voted Man City's best player for October
• Attacker scored decisive goals in WSL
• Was presented with award by team-mate Esme Morgan

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 25-year-old was named the women's team's top performer for the month in a fan vote, beating Khiara Keating and Jill Roord to the award. She scored decisive goals against Chelsea and Leicester as City picked up vital points in the Women's Super League. Kelly has since struck three times and registered an assist in matches against Arsenal and Liverpool in November.

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• WATCH THE CLIP

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The former Arsenal and Everton player has been key for Gareth Taylor's team. City are currently sixth in the WSL, six points behind reigning champions and current leaders Chelsea. Asked by team-mate Esme Morgan to sum up the month of October in three words, the attacker said: "Heart, goals, energy".

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  WHAT NEXT FOR KELLY?

  Kelly will hope to maintain her excellent form when she and her City co-stars take on rivals Manchester United in the WSL on Sunday. That game will be followed by a FA Women's League Cup match against Leicester on November 22.

The Three Lions boss is making a rod for his own back with a contradictory selection policy that is shafting on-form players

England have already qualified for Euro 2024. All the Three Lions need to do in facile fixtures against Malta and North Macedonia is ensure that they will be one of the top seeds in next month's finals draw in Germany.

Fair to say, then, that this could have been a relatively boring international break for England fans – had Gareth Southgate not once again inexplicably overlooked Raheem Sterling, with Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jarrod Bowen the chosen widemen.

The absence of the Chelsea winger from a fifth consecutive squad hasn't just caused controversy; it's provoked all sorts of speculation surrounding Sterling and Southgate.

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  'Something has definitely happened'

  Both Alan Shearer and Michah Richards are convinced that "something has definitely happened" behind the scenes that we don't yet know about, while Rio Ferdinand has even issued a public plea to "free Raheem Sterling!"

  "I don't know what he's done, whose nose he's put out of joint," the former Manchester United defender said on the podcast. "Was it him coming back from the tournament or something like that?"

  Ferdinand was obviously alluding to the fact that Sterling briefly returned to England during last year's World Cup because of a burglary at his family home – and that kind of conjecture does a great disservice to Southgate, who was very supporting of the attacker at the time. However, while such talk is unhelpful, and potentially harmful, it's also inevitable in the circumstances, given Southgate's Sterling snub makes zero sense.

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  Out of favour

  There's absolutely no denying that Sterling made a somewhat subdued start to his Chelsea career, after his high-profile move from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, but he still travelled to Qatar as a trusted member of Southgate's line-up, only to lose his starting spot by the time England were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

  Injury ruled him out of the start of the start of the qualification campaign for the Euros, in March, but it was nonetheless a surprise to see him overlooked for the June clashes with Malta and North Macedonia.

  Sterling may have endured a difficult debut season at Stamford Bridge, but Southgate has become renowned for picking players performing poorly at club level simply because they have served him well in the past.

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  One rule for one…

  Harry Maguire continued to be called up even while spending most of his time on the bench at Old Trafford, Jordan Henderson is still in the squad even though he's now struggling in Saudi Arabia, while it's a complete farce that Kalvin Phillips has held onto his place given he's barely got a run-out for Manchester City in the past two years.

  Phillips undeniably played a key role in England's run to the final of Euro 2020 – but why hasn't Sterling benefited from the same level of loyalty given he was arguably his country's best player at the tournament?

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  Don't change a winning team?

  Southgate has argued that the "landscape" has changed; that the competition for places, particularly in attack, is now fiercer than ever before. However, when asked to explain why Sterling had been omitted from the England squad for the October internationals, he pointed out that the likes of Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen were "both in a hot streak of form". "That's the thinking," the manager explained.

  But this time around, he effectively admitted that he was reluctant to change a winning team. "I can only repeat what I've said in the last few squad selection meetings," he said. "The team is playing really well. It's as simple as that, really.

  "[Raheem] wasn't available in March or June and the team started on a good run. We won in Italy for the first time in 60 years, while the two performances in June were excellent, so we stuck with that group."

Kai Havertz has been struggling as a forward since joining Arsenal, and Germany may have found a new role for him at left-back.

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• Creative influence usually deployed in attack
• Asked to fill in at full-back by international coach
• Impressed enough to suggest experiment may continue

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 24-year-old playmaker, who moved across London over the summer when leaving Chelsea for the Emirates Stadium, was deployed as a makeshift defender by his country in an international friendly clash with Turkey. Despite operating in an unfamiliar position, Havertz opened the scoring after just five minutes.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It seems unlikely that Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be taking inspiration from fellow coach Julian Nagelsmann any time soon, but Germany’s boss has hinted at persevering with an unexpected experiment. Nagelsmann has said of Havertz: “Kai said he wanted to do it, wanted to try it. I don't see this as a risk for him, but as a very, very big opportunity to play a key role at the Euros. For a first time in an unfamiliar position, he did extremely well and probably was our best player.”

• WHAT THEY SAID

  While Die Mannschaft believe they have stumbled across an unlikely solution to their left-back problems, 1990 World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthaus has told of the tactical tinkering: “It can't be a permanent solution, suddenly letting one of the best German offensive players of recent years play full-back. This is also a slap in the face to those who last played there, even if there were problems on the left side of the defence recently. I was surprised that David Raum wasn't in the starting line-up, especially since Benjamin Henrichs played on the other side, who is not a typical three-man chain player but rather has his strengths in the offensive. The national team can actually already play the three-man chain, as Nagelsmann practised at FC Bayern Munich, with three central defenders. But against Turkey there were two central defenders on the pitch, plus an offensive defender on the right and a player on the left who had previously had nothing to do with a three-man or four-man chain. After Havertz's goal, it initially looked as if Nagelsmann's plan might work, but as a coach I have to think long-term, not just from one game to the next.”

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Germany, who are preparing to fill hosting duties at next summer’s European Championship, have another friendly against neighbours Austria to take in on Tuesday. Havertz – who has just one club goal to his name this season – will then return to England, with Arsenal preparing to face Brentford in Premier League action on Saturday.

Loris Karius played in his first Premier League game in six years as he keeps goal for Newcastle against Arsenal at the Emirates.

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• Karius replaces Martin Dubravka in goal
• Only his second appearance for Newcastle
• Eddie Howe has explained stopper's selection

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Eddie Howe selected Karius to play in goal due to an illness being suffered by Dubravka. He has not played in the Premier League since May 2018, when he was still playing for Liverpool, and his first appearance for the Magpies came in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United last season.

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• WHAT HOWE SAID

  Howe revealed on Dubravka: "He has not been feeling very well for a couple of days so hopefully he is on the mend."

  Asked about Karius' selection, he added: "He has trained every day for a long period of time. He had a slight shoulder injury at the start of the season but since then he has been fine. He has played in games behind closed doors so he is match ready.

  "The last game he played of course was the cup final so he is used to big games and at Liverpool he had many big matches so I have no doubt about his temperament and we are relying on his big-game experience."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Karius has been in the spotlight previously for all the wrong reasons, as he made two vital mistakes in the Champions League final when Liverpool lost 3-1 to Real Madrid. That was his final game for the Reds, and he was subsequently sent on loan to both Besiktas and Union Berlin, before making the move to the Magpies as an experienced back-up to the currently injured Nick Pope and Dubravka.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  If Dubravka's illness does not clear up, Karius will hope to play in Newcastle's next fixture, in the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday. Their next Premier League game comes against Wolves next weekend.