Playing devils advocate but Mbappe is from Paris, winning a Champions League with PSG would mean a HELL of a lot more in Paris rather then being another footnote in Real Madrid or Barca history or another cog in the Man City machine.

I’m sure his wages are the biggest factor but he’s a kid who gets paid more then anyone outside of Saudi, gets to play in his own city, and still be considered one of the best in the world.

Leeds and Leichester have a lot more money then Burnley and we’re both a lot more established in the prem

He didn’t throw away his legacy, no matter what he was the Captain to finally win the prem in over 30 years plus the captain when we won basically everything else during a amazing revival of the team. No one looks down on Stevie for playing in the US or Drogba for playing in China

I think you could argue that Germany have the same issues as England did around 2010ish,

An older “golden generation” both dominated call up and are too old now, leaving a Germany without real leadership and experience in key positions. The Bundesliga in general from an outsider feels like they have been increasing the amount of foreign transfers leading to certain German spots being lesser. And just in general when looking at Bayern the best team, they currently only have German midfielders and forwards and obviously the national tean will be dependent on the best team in their leagues production of players (like every big league including the prem)

I don’t think the term Galacticos fit just since the OG galacticos were big names before they came to Real Madrid and it felt like they were assembling a super team, this current Real Madrid are just building a young team of top talent that they still need to develop for the most part. It’s a great team which I expect to be a force for many many years but like galacticos is a very specific term

Relationism is fun if u have the right players, but most players aren’t good enough to do it at the highest level

What else should u rate teams on tbf, but Bayern 100% up there, evens historically

It’s always an issue and it’s honestly gotten better with VAR leading to less people getting away with bad pen calls, but there used to be some bad bad ones, like 2003 Porto

The thing I like about Joe Allen is, when he’s on the pitch he doesn’t look docile. He doesn’t look vacant. Some players seem to be so naturalistic in their play, like they’re acrobats or dancers or something. Just moving from one position to the next without thinking, all muscle memory. Allen always has this stern concentration. Like he’s thinking all the time. constantly analyzing the game on a higher level. A strategists and a master tactician. Look at the way he watched Bale’s free kick. And the way he celebrated when it goes in. He’s anxious, he can immediately sense the flight of the ball is good, but he also knows that if it rebounds or is deflected, there’s a whole other plan to enact. A new set of conditions that he’s going to have to solve. You never really see him explode with delight. When a goal is scored, no matter how amazing the shot, he always looks more relieved than elated. Because he knows the job is done and the whole process is starting over. I’d be hard-pressed not to put Wee Joe in my All-Time XI. I think he represents my favorite footballing archetype: the professor, the architect. The guy who’s running the whole goddamn show.

Fabragas jumps to mind but there’s been a bunch of talented teens throughout history

Thank you Jordan Henderson