It was an offhand line from a senior European football executive, but one that has been echoed a lot over the last 12 months. “Well, we’ll take them to court.”
It is a threat as potent in modern football as any Jude Bellingham burst, any Erling Haaland finish or any Aitana Bonmati pass. These three players marked themselves out as the stars of 2023, but there has been an element of producing relatively disposable moments in an increasingly predictable sport, before we get to the really meaningful action of what happens off the pitch.
