Sport

City Football Group does a three-way handshake to bring Troyes loanee Sávio from Girona to Manchester in the summer

Controversial or just business Sávvy player swapping?

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 6th February 2024

The transfer window might be closed but Manchester City have managed to secure an acquisition in time for next season as they have reportedly agreed a deal to bring La Liga star Sávio to the club in a few months’ time — but, technically, he’s already on the book at the City Football Group.

For anyone unaware of the City Football Group (CFG) structure, the Abu Dhabi United Group run the football-based holding company which in turn operates 13 different clubs around the world, including Man City, Girona, New York City FC, Troyes AC and Palermo, just to name a few.

All that being said, Sávio, who is currently on loan from the aforementioned French team Troyes, has lit up the Spanish league ever since he joined Girona back in 2022, of which the CFG currently own 47%.

With five goals and seven assists to his name and shining as one of the key players in the club’s remarkable title charge this season, having finished sixth in Spain’s second tier just a short while ago in 21/22 and only just managing promotion through the playoffs, City are now set to bring him to the Etihad.

Since all three clubs are owned by the CFG and the overarching private equity company, very little money is likely to change hands.

While Blues will rightly be excited about the eventual arrival of the 19-year-old Brazilian winger, who claims he had lucrative offers from multiple clubs but refused as he knew “one day [he] would play for City”, football fans elsewhere are wondering if this is all kosher.

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As The Athletic‘s Nick Miller shared in a post via X: “A classic bit of multi-club nimble footwork this. Savio was signed by City Football Group’s Troyes – their record signing, in fact – but has never played for them, was loaned immediately to City Football Group’s Girona, & is now being sold to City Football Group’s Manchester City.

One commenter said, “This has to be illegal there’s no way this is possible”, while another particularly sarcastic remark read: “These negotiations must‘ve been incredibly difficult.” Given all three clubs are affiliated, any money exchanged will go back into virtually the same pot.

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The fact is, no matter how much you want to question how ‘fair’ moves like this are, it’s considered above board and is by no means the first. Former City fullback Angeliño joined back in 2015 and was immediately loaned out to New York FC and Girona before eventually making just six appearances for his parent club in two years and being ultimately moved on.

Chelsea have been accused of similarly monopolising young talent for many years; Watford and Udinese have all used similar player-swapping methods too alongside the likes of the Red Bull football teams.

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Jack Harrison’s case was similar only in reverse; he joined New York through their youth programme and was then officially sold to City in 2018 without playing a single game for them in three seasons after being sent straight to Middlesborough and then successive spells at Leeds United before joining them on a permanent deal.

As Miller went on to add, he wasn’t “even suggesting there’s anything wrong with this per se. Just that this is the reality of being in a multi-club group: the smaller teams are no longer independent entities whose success is the ultimate priority – just vessels through which the ‘parent’ club funnels things”.

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However, as many others online have noted, the implications this has on said smaller teams like Troyes could prove to be damning, especially when you take into account they were relegated from Ligue 1 last season and could potentially even slip into the French third division if their form continues.

City might be getting yet another extremely promising attacking squad member when Sávio joins them in the summer — with the deal supposedly set to be complete by the end of this month — but he will remain with Girona for the rest of the season as they look to win the league for the first time in their history.

Meanwhile, Troyes, of whom City are still the majority shareholder, could go down yet again whilst watching their most expensive player ever move on without ever even pulling on the shirt.

Why Manchester City haven’t yet been given a points deduction but Everton have
With everything else hanging over City’s head at the minute, you can at least see why it’s rubbed more than a few people the wrong way.

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Featured Images — Savio/Girona FC/La Liga (via Instagram)

Sport

Keely Hodgkinson is setting up her own running event next year as she prepares for a world record attempt

Danny Jones Danny Jones Keely Klassic race Keely Hodgkinson world record attempt race 2025

Greater Manchester’s middle-distance running maverick, Keely Hodgkinson, has just been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year and we couldn’t be prouder, but she’s already eyeing up her next accolade: the 800m world record – and she’s hoping to do it at her own brand-new running event.

The Atherton-born athlete was one of Team GB’s shining lights at Paris 2024, storming ahead of the pack to win her first Olympic gold medal in just her second summer games but it’s been an unbelievable calendar year for her as a whole.

She already held the British women’s record before going on to not just defend her title but actually better her time at the European Athletics Championships back in June, with only five people in history having ever run it faster than her.

However, the Tyldesley-schooled track star believes she isn’t too far away from achieving another dream and one which would forever cement her amongst the sporting greats. She’s even creating the perfect opportunity for herself early in the new year.

Hodgkinson is launching an all-new running event of her own called the ‘Keely Klassic’, which is set to take place in Birmingham and will effectively serve as her first real attempt at smashing the 800m record.

Being registered as an official Bronze meeting on the World Athletics Indoor Tour, the day of racing will feature around nine heats involving top athletes, live music and entertainment, as well as celebrity appearances and more.

With the BBC themselves already in talks to broadcast the very first edition of what her teams hopes will be an annual event, it is rumoured to be an hour-long televised show and the headliner will be Keely’s attempt at breaking a 800m record – or two…

As well as aiming to smash Jolanda Ceplak’s all-time best (1:55.82) set on 15 Februrary 2002 – which just so happens to be the day Keely was born and when the Klassic will be taking place – she’s also going to try and surpass the outdoor record of 1:53.28 set by Czech runner Jarmila Kratochvilova back in 1983.

Speaking to the BBC after lifting the 2024 Sports Personality Award, the 22-year-old runner and Olympian said: “I’m pretty close [to the world record], I would like to think. I have seen this year what my body is capable of and I’m excited to push on.

“That world record is something I will always have in the back of my head. But I have so many years to get stronger so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”

She also said she has no fear in making her goals public as it only serves as motivation to push for them under the public eye, having done exactly the same in the lead-up to her first Olympics back in Tokyo.

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The Wigan hero made it clear that the 800m world record was what she wanted next almost immediately after winning gold in Paris back in the summer and it sounds like her preparation and training has now got her into what sounds like touching distance.

Hodgkinson made a point of thanking her coach Trevor Painter on the stage after he name was revealed too, stating, “I wouldn’t be where I am without his guidance that I’ve had since I was 17.”

She only doubled down on her gratitude after the fact as well, adding: “I trust in Trevor and Jenny [Meadows] a lot. I know what shape I’m in before I step on the start line.

“[A world record break] all depends if it comes together and that can depend on many things in athletics”, she insists, but it’s clear that if she does manage to go and smash another feat – be that the indoor/outdoor record in 2025 or another time in the near future – their wisdom will no doubt play a part.

Roll on the Keely Klassic.

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Featured Images — Erik van Leeuwen (via Wikimedia Commons)/BBC (screenshot via YouTube)

Sport

Is Marcus Rashford really gearing up to leave Manchester United in January?

Danny Jones Danny Jones Is Marcus Rashford leaving Manchester United?

Marcus Rashford has been one of the best homegrown talents at Manchester United in recent years and a fan favourite ever since he broke onto the scene back in 2016, but things haven’t been going so smoothly of late and it now looks like he could be leaving the club after nearly two decades.

Despite hitting the heights of 30 goals during the 2022/23 campaign, Rashford‘s output over the past couple of seasons has dipped and he has been known as more of a ‘purple-patch’ player throughout most of his time as a senior player at Old Trafford.

There is nothing United fans want more than to see the Wythenshawe winger rediscover his form and go on another one of those streaks as a fresh chapter begins under the new head coach, Rúben Amorim, but it looks as though Rashford could be gearing up to call it a day in the iconic red shirt.

Now 27 years old and entering what would be traditionally seen as his peak for most footballers, the number 10 told journalist Henry Winter that he is “ready for a new challenge”, which could very well signal a move away from Man United in the upcoming transfer window.

Having spent a day off with the veteran sports writer this week, the pair visited his old primary school Button Lane to hand out hundreds of Christmas presents, watching kids play on the football pitch he helped fund and once again tackle the issue of food poverty in Greater Manchester and beyond.

As Winter goes on to explain in his lengthy post on X, Rashford woke up to headlines speculating that his boyhood club have now put him “up for sale” and are reportedly willing to listen to offers in January.

Although the Manc footballer didn’t categorically outline a desire to leave, nor to stay necessarily, he did say that he feels “next steps” are due but that “when I leave it’s going to be no hard feelings. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.

“If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse”, he continued. “I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me”, adding that he’ll always be a Red, “100%”.

So how likely is it that Rashford will leave the club in January? Well, being left out of the Manchester derby – a decision he made no bones about being disappointed over – clearly signals that Amorim wasn’t totally happy with his overall preparation but the Portuguese manager did respond in a shrewd manner:

Agreeing with the United star, who at one time was considered one of England’s hottest prospects and is still unplayable at times when operating at his very best, the 39-year-old was mindful not to respond defensively to his comments but turn them into what he hopes will be shared motivation.

It’s also worth noting that Rashford wasn’t the only one dropped from the derby-winning team: Alejandro Garnacho, undoubtedly one of the club’s most promising talents who already delivers game-changing performances as his teammate has done so many times, was also left out for one reason or another.

Amorim reiterated that each week can be a clean slate and that he intends to observe everything from how players train and eat to how they dress and carry themselves around Carrington, especially when it comes to “engaging with the [rest of the] squad”, so this seemingly wasn’t an effort target the two.

The 39-year-old also assured that his decision wasn’t a disciplinary issue in any way, as Rashford hasn’t been left out of matchday squads or at the very least benched by former boss, Erik ten Hag, for turning up late to a team meeting and a rogue night-out in Belfast.

All that being said, while it appears there is no personal issue with Rashford, another element that will no doubt factor into whether he decides to leave United will be his increasingly fractious relationship with sections of the fan base, having shared more “despicable” direct messages with Winter too.

‘Enough is enough’: Marcus Rashford calls out fans for ‘months’ of abuse
Rashford has called out abusive supporters in the past and perhaps the endless online vitriol could result in him leaving United.

Read more:

Lastly, it’s also important to consider whether or not he is the right fit for Amorim’s unwavering 3-4-3 system that he is starting to implement on the current collection players.

Rashford has pace, skill, finishing ability and a great passing range, but his best position has always been cutting in off the flanks and unless he can nail down that spot as the left-sided number 10 (a position where there is already plenty of competition), the only other option is as a striker or a left wing-back.

Now, with lots of other attacking and creative midfielders in contention for those players sat just behind and on either side of the number nine, and two big-money forwards rotating up front, it will likely be a scrap every week to get in that starting XI.

Moreover, with Amad Diallo already showcasing exactly the kind of energy levels and persistent pressing that Amorim wants from his two 10s and his wing-backs, in particular – not to mention reaping the rewards for his efforts against Man City and in previous matches – it’s might be a case of can/will Rashford match that amount of running when asked.

Perhaps the better question is, do you think it’s time for Rashford to take on that new challenge away from Manchester United and do you expect to see him leaving in the January transfer window?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — soccer.ru (via Wikimedia Commons)

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