The Athletic FC Podcast

Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by The Athletic's Spanish football correspondent, Dermot Corrigan, to assess the fall-out from Real Madrid's failed pursuit of PSG forward Kylian Mbappe... Dermot explains the origins of Real President Florentino Perez' 'obsession' with Mbappe, as well as how PSG could afford to reject £180M! Plus, the impact of La Liga's salary cap, the chaos in Barcelona and how well Atletico's Saul Niguez will fit in at Chelsea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein, Adam Crafton and our Manchester United writer Laurie Whitwell to take you inside the remarkable 24 hours that saw Cristiano Ronaldo go from the verge of joining Manchester City to completing a sensation return to Manchester United.We hear how the like of Sir Alex Ferguson and Rio Ferdinand played a role in turning the tide, we have insight into how Jorge Mendes put the deal together, plus discussion of where this leaves Manchester City after a summer of missing out on top targets in the no.9 department.All this plus updates on Kylian Mbappe's potential move to Real Madrid in the last two days of the window, Chelsea's pursuit of Jules Kounde which now looks unlikely, and we have news of an off-field depature at Anfield as Liverpool's sporting director Michael Edwards looks set to leave the club at the end of his contract. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365's Steve Freeth to preview another big weekend of Premier League action... Will Arsenal's renewed self-confidence make a jot of difference against Manchester City? And could Cristiano Ronaldo really be about to sign for the 'noisy neighbours'?Plus, why both Leeds and Wolves' bad luck could all be about to change and who'll come out on top in the heavyweight match-up: Virgil van Dijk v Romelu Lukaku! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Chapman and The Athletic's Matt Slater take a trip north of the border as they are joined by Hibs owner Ron Gordon, who has a fascinating story. Arriving in Edinburgh via a life that started in Peru, passed through Laos with the CIA, before becoming a successful media entrepreneur in the US, he joins us with insight into why he bought the club, the challenges of trying to compete with Celtic and Rangers and his thoughts on the growth potential for Scottish football as a whole.We're also joined by the Rochdale chairman Simon Gauge after a tumultuous few months that has seen the club trying to fend off a hostile takeover by two businessmen, but with the takeover having fallen apart we get an update into exactly what went on and have a wider discussion about the threats many EFL clubs face from potential new owners and the challenges the EFL has in trying to adequately assess the suitability of anyone wanting to buy a football club.And staying with the subject of ownership wrangles, Swindon Town have also been the subjected of a protracted row over who owns the club so we speak to newly appointed CEO Rob Angus for the latest and get some insight into what it's like to go from working in banking to all of a sudden being charged with running a League Two football club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes are joined by David Ornstein and Arsenal correspondent Amy Lawrence to dissect a brutally honest interview given to The Athletic by former Arsenal, West Ham and England midfielder Jack Wilshere. You'll hear from Wilshere on the difficulties he's had in trying to find a new club, mental health concerns, regrets, as well as, thoughts on Mikel Arteta, Saka, Smith-Rowe and more... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein, Adam Crafton and Art De Roche to assess the situation Arsenal find themselves in after they were well beaten by Chelsea on Sunday leaving them pointless and goalless two games into the new season. With Mikel Arteta approaching two years in the job we look at the reasons why his team feels further away than ever from being where they need to be, the issues the club have had with recruitment and the structure above Arteta that may also be responsible for the problems.We're also joined by The Athletic's Chelsea writer Liam Twomey to reflect on an impressive outing from Romelu Lukaku on his return to the club and look ahead to a greater challenge in Liverpool at Anfield next weekend.All this plus news of Eddie Nketiah potentially leaving Arsenal this week, Kurt Zouma's impending move to West Ham, and an update on the latest with the Harry Kane situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Dan Bardell and George Elek are joined by bet365's Steve Freeth to preview the second weekend of Premier League action... Will the permanent signing of Martin Odegaard lift the mood at the Emirates or will Romelu Lukaku strike on his own return to Chelsea? As Man United travel to Southampton which of last weekend's sharp-shooters will come out on top - Greenwood or Armstrong? Are Brighton everyone's favourite 'second team', does David Moyes have something over Brendan Rodgers and more... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Business of Sport, Mark Chapman & Matt Slater are joined by Michael Kalt, who was part of the investment group that transformed the Tampa Bay Rays from one of baseball’s worst teams to one of the best and now leads consortiums investing in football across Europe.As well as comparing financial strategies in US & European sport, Kalt discusses how U.S. investors have been seeking out bargains in football, drawn by the game’s ever-increasing global reach and lower valuations.Then , Matt Slater is in conversation with Ipswich Town’s American co-owner Brett Johnson & CEO Mark Ashton to hear about their plans for the club following the US backed takeover. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Dan Bardell and Flo Lloyd-Hughes speak to Liam Twomey about the evolution of Thomas Tuchel into the right man for Chelsea at exactly the right time in his own career... How 'Tommy Tactics' has learned from past mistakes in Paris and Dortmund, organising up to 42 players at one time or another during preseason, Lukaku's return and their assault on Man City's Premier League crown. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Mark Chapman is joined by The Athletic's David Ornstein, Adam Crafton & Jack Pitt- Brooke to bring you the very latest on the continuing saga of Harry Kane's future and the reasons why this transfer window is proving so problematic for all but the biggest Premier League clubs.We also hear details of a new contract for Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, discuss Paul Pogba's options and why Héctor Bellerín still can't leave Arsenal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.