Man Utd have taken six years to raise around £200m in player sales but they’re about to match that in one summer, while Jurgen Klopp shows up Mikel Arteta.
 
The Benz
Mediawatch is always intrigued by the back pages of newspapers when absolutely sod all is going on in football. And no, Liverpool getting to another Carabao Cup final to play Chelsea again does not count. Where’s the narrative?

‘MANCHESTER UNITED have snubbed the chance to sign Karim Benzema due to the crazy cost of the deal,’ writes Neil Custis on the back page of The Sun. He’s claiming an ‘exclusive’ despite pretty much everybody on Football X dismissing the prospects of this deal days ago. This is only possible when your readers have an average age of 63.
Online, the capitals are rolled out as we are told that ‘Man Utd REJECT chance to sign Karim Benzema over sky-high wage demands with club careful to avoid FFP rule breaches’.
Are we supposed to be surprised that Manchester United REJECTED the chance to pay about £40m for a few months of a 36-year-old striker? Actually, the recent history of Manchester United and their transfer dealings suggests we probably should.
What’s amusing is to then see this ‘exclusive’ chopped and shopped elsewhere.
‘Man United ‘REJECT the chance to sign Karim Benzema over extortionate wage demands’ – as the club fear breaching FFP rules by signing 36-year-old £86m-a-year striker’ fart MailOnline, who parrot the ‘REJECT’ capitals because of course they do.

Penny for the thoughts of the Mail’s actual Manchester United correspondent who twice wrote on Wednesday that United are not interested in Benzema, writing that INEOS are moving in a ‘different direction’ away from giving ageing superstars massive wages.
Maybe he should have used more capitals. Or claimed an exclusive on common knowledge.
 
Investor wants influence shock!

The back page of the Daily Mail itself is an oddity as this is somehow deemed massive news:The influence of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team will stretch beyond football operations, Manchester United staff have been told.
When the petrochemicals billionaire agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club it was announced that his group would purely take control of matters on the field at Old Trafford.

Except that’s just not true. And was surely never practical. Why would anybody buy a 25% stake in a business that has revenues of over £600m a year and cede all business decisions to the majority owners?
When announcing the investment, Manchester United themselves said that ‘INEOS has accepted a request by the Board to be delegated responsibility for the management of the Club’s football operations’ but also – in the very next paragraph – that ‘the joint ambition is to create a world-class football operation building on the Club’s many existing strengths, including the successful off-pitch performance that it continues to enjoy’.

It doesn’t sound like they were ever going to ‘purely’ take control of football matters. It’s almost like there’s f*** all happening in football.
 
Fool-proof plan
And in the i, there is another Manchester United ‘exclusive’, that ‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe is plotting a £100m fire sale of Manchester United’s unwanted stars, starting with Mason Greenwood’.First, we are eternally amused at the ‘plotting’ and ‘planning’ of club owners to somehow persuade clubs to pay exactly what they want for their unwanted players.
Second, who the hell thought that Manchester United were going to keep hold of Mason Greenwood? Or Scott McTominay? Or Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez?
What the i are ‘exclusively’ describing is a club wanting to sell three players currently on loan and another who is not in their first-team plans.
After the ‘£100m transfer plan’ earlier this week, Mediawatch is looking forward to a summer in which Manchester United will raise £200m from player sales.
For the record, that would roughly equal what they have raised in the last six summers combined. Seems legit.
 
The Art of finding a narrative

There we were thinking there was no real narrative from Liverpool’s advance to the Carabao Cup final with a draw v Fulham but…Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp shows up Mikel Arteta after unearthing two ‘new signings’

The Mirror are absolutely bang on here; Arteta must be incredibly embarrassed as he watched Liverpool edge past Fulham with a team including Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley because the Reds have a raft of injuries.
After all…

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta felt he couldn’t afford to offer several of his academy starlets minutes in a Champions League group-stage dead-rubber at PSV Eindhoven, having already wrapped up top-spot.
Ethan Nwaneri, Lino Sousa and Reuell Walters all travelled but were unused substitutes in Holland. That is seemingly harsh, given there was zero at stake, particularly when you consider Liverpool’s emphatic 4-0 win at Bournemouth last Sunday was the fourth time they’ve fielded six players aged 21 or younger in a league match in their illustrious history.

Hmmm. They only actually started with two players aged 21 or younger v Bournemouth, and Liverpool were 3-0 up by the time three youngsters were introduced.
Oh and a small but undeniably pesky fact: The average age of Arsenal’s starting XI in the Premier League this season is exactly two years younger than Liverpool’s.

Top Card For 2024 With Insane 0% Intro APR - Wipe Out Interest For 15 Months

By Thomas DonaldsonUpdated on January 22, 2024
Thomas Donaldson is CompareCredit.com's credit card expert. His work has been featured by USA Today, NBC News, Business Insider and many more.
Bottom Line:

• 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers will apply. A 3% fee applies to all balance transfers.
• 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel and dining purchases – including takeout.
• Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open
• $0 annual fee
• Click “APPLY NOW” to apply online

Bigtime reward potential doesn’t usually piggyback with long-term balance transfer offers, but this travel card is flipping the script on all sorts of killer combinations. Let’s look at all the angles the Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card uses to save you a bundle while you rack up the rewards.
Why We Rate This The Top Low Interest + Rewards Card
The big story with this card is that it gives you so much time. The 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases also applies to any balance transfers you make within the first 60 days, 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers thereafter. A 3% fee applies to all balance transfers. When you can stop worrying about money going out to pay off interest, you can focus on all the money you’re earning with a truly remarkable rewards structure.
You’ll earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. Forget about timing your shopping or selecting certain stores. It’s easy and it’s all-encompassing. Everything you buy earns you one and a half times the points. And that beats a straight up balance transfer card any day.
More than just a Low Interest card
So many low interest cards offer skimpy bonuses or end up charging annual fees for the privilege of all the time they’re offering. But this card has so much more than its enticing no interest intro offer. How about earning 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening? It’s the kind of bonus that almost always comes with a higher spending threshold, but you can cash in after just $1,000 in purchases — an easy feat these days. Those points can be used to wipe away travel & dining purchases from statements worth a total of $250. It’s big win from a bonus that you can collect so much faster than with other rewards cards.
Can you do any better with a Low Interest + Rewards Card?
Since you stand to cash in with whopping $250 statement credit after minimal spending, take advantage of no interest on balance transfers and purchases until 2025, and can do it all with absolutely no annual fee, we really doubt it.
This card makes just about every operation you want from a credit card even easier than expected. Earning 1.5 points for every dollar you spend means nothing to schedule, swap, or plan when you make a purchase. Saving on interest means more than a year without paying down debt. And 25,000 online bonus points to welcome new cardmembers is the icing on the cake.
Recommended Credit Score
This card is designed for consumers with good to excellent credit, so we suggest having a FICO® Score of 680 or higher to increase your likelihood of being approved. However, some people might qualify with lower scores, and approval is not guaranteed even with a high credit score.

Who Should Get This Card

• The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a great fit for most people. It’s a tough-to-find combo — A bonus worth $250, unlimited 1.5 points, and 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfer made in the first 60 days!
• It’s also a good fit for those who want the added confidence of not having to worry about blackout dates and restrictions when booking your trip
• If you are seeking relief from high interest rates, love earning rewards and have good to excellent credit, this card’s for you.

Apply Now

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on Bank of America's secure site

Interested and want to find out if you're approved?
You could get a decision in 60 seconds or less. Why wait?
The Rest of the Best
If the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card doesn’t feel like the right choice for you, that’s ok. While we feel it’s the best no annual fee travel credit card on the market right now, perhaps you’re looking for something more specific. If so, here are our favorite alternatives.

Discover it® Miles

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Best For: Unlimited First Year Bonus
Leave the fees behind when you take flight with the Discover it® Miles. With no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and a lucrative rewards program, there's a lot to love with this popular travel credit card. This card is ideal for anyone who books flights across different airlines. Earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase.
What really makes this card stand out is the stellar first-year bonus: Discover will match all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. For example, if you earn 35,000 Miles, you get 70,000 Miles. That’s $700 towards travel, which could get you two round-trip plane tickets! This clever rewards structure can be especially beneficial for consumers who don't want to have to spend a hefty amount on their card during the first 3 months in order to receive a sign up bonus. And on the flip side, the fact that the bonus miles are unlimited means that this card can be extremely rewarding if you're a big spender.

Citi Rewards+® Card

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Best for: Points Back on Every Purchase
Sometimes the best travel card is a rewards card! Take the Citi Rewards+® Card for example. It offers generous perks and unique rewards such as – Earn 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter. Plus, earn 1X ThankYou® Points on All Other Purchases. There is also a sizable sign up bonus so you can kickstart your rewards. Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com.
Cardholders enjoy an extra long intro APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. That lengthy intro period could provide the breathing room your business needs if you're paying a high interest rate on another credit card or if you need to finance a big purchase and want to spread the payments out over time. With low interest rates, generous rewards, and no annual fee, the Citi Rewards+® Card has it all!