🚨🎙️ Zinedine Zidane on the Jude Bellingham vs Pedri debate after Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in El Clásico. Reporter: “There has always been controversy surrounding the debate between Bellingham and Pedri. After what we watched yesterday, who do you think is the better player?” Zidane: “Honestly, I’ve always been a huge fan of Pedri, and I won’t lie about that because As someone who played at the highest level and understands how a midfield should operate, there’s no way you won’t appreciate him. But I think it’s finally time we give Jude Bellingham his flowers too. Listen, when you watch these two play, you realise they’re exceptional talents. When I give Jude credit, it’s not necessarily because I think he’s better than Pedri. It’s because of his work rate. He might not have the same natural ability to control a game as Pedri, but the way he gives everything for his team, running, tracking back and helping wherever he’s needed, is incredible. You cannot deny his energy, and I love that about him. But I think people are overlooking Pedri because Barcelona lost yesterday. All respect to Barcelona, but I believe they’re letting him down lately. They’re not doing enough to help him, and if you watched his performances over the last two games, you would understand what I mean. These are the performances we should be discussing, but how can we, as rival fans, defend him when the scoreline has already given people an excuse to overlook his contribution? Watching him yesterday, there were moments when it genuinely felt like he was the only midfielder on the pitch. He made the opposition midfield look helpless, constantly moving the ball, escaping pressure and forcing players to chase him. He drew countless fouls and still provided an assist. Unfortunately, football has become so focused on results that we forget to appreciate individual performances. Of course, winning matters, but some displays deserve recognition regardless of the final score. Pedri’s performance yesterday was one of them. I’m a Real Madrid fan all day long, but that doesn’t mean I have to be dishonest about football. Respect where it’s due. And kudos to José Mourinho and his team for getting the result. If you ask me which player I would want in my team, I would take both. They offer different qualities, and having them together would be incredible. But if you force me to choose one, I’ll go with Pedri. Hardworking players like Jude are extremely valuable, but naturally gifted midfielders who can dictate the tempo, control games under pressure and make football look effortless are rare. Pedri has that gift, and we should appreciate him.”

🚨🎙️ Pau Cubarsí on his heated altercation with Kylian Mbappé after El Clásico: 🎙️Reporter: We noticed an intense moment between you and Mbappé right after the final whistle. What was that about? 🗣️Cubarsí: Yes, I’m not going to pretend everything was fine. It actually started during the game when he stepped on my toe and couldn’t even apologise. I confronted him about it, but the referee came between us, so I left it there and continued playing. Then, after the final whistle, he came towards me and started saying things I honestly didn’t appreciate. 🎙️Reporter: What exactly did he say to you? 🗣️Cubarsí: He told me, “Take your loss, you loser.” Honestly, that made me angry because I can accept losing a football match. We’re disappointed with the result, of course, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to disrespect me. 🎙️Reporter: And what did you say in response? 🗣️Cubarsí: I told him to shut the fuck up! Because if someone is going to lecture me about what it means to be a loser, Kylian Mbappé is certainly not the person I want to hear it from. I reminded him that we have competed on the international stage, and I’ve won both the World Cup and the Euros. Since he came to Spain, we’ve also competed for trophies in La Liga, and Barcelona have won major honours during that time. So, please, don’t stand in front of me after one victory and act like you have achieved everything while I have achieved nothing. I respect him as a footballer, but respect has to go both ways. We lost today, and we’re disappointed. I’m not hiding from that, and I’m not making excuses. But I have never needed to provoke Mbappé or insult him to prove myself. I play my football, I compete, and I accept the results. What I won’t accept is someone disrespecting me simply because his team won one game. You can celebrate your victory without trying to humiliate another player. That’s all I have to say about it.

🚨🎙️ Roy Keane on Manchester United’s first-half performance and Bruno Fernandes being benched: Roy Keane: “This is one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen from Manchester United. Honestly, the moment the lineup came out and I saw Bruno Fernandes and Cunha missing, I immediately thought, here we go again. Are we about to witness another bad decision turning into an even worse one? Rio Ferdinand: “But Roy, we’ve been hearing people say Bruno Fernandes is part of Manchester United’s problem. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to see what they can do without him.” Roy Keane: “Well, let’s see what happens, then. But I’ll tell you something, I’ll never be part of this ridiculous narrative that Bruno Fernandes is the problem at Manchester United. Reporter: “Do you think people are wrong to suggest that Bruno is the problem?” Roy Keane: “Problem? Go back and look at Manchester United’s previous victories. How many times has Bruno Fernandes been heavily involved? How many times has he delivered a masterclass when the team desperately needed someone to step up? He’s been one of the players carrying this team. For me, Bruno not being in his best form is actually one of the biggest problems for Manchester United because it exposes the weaknesses in this team and Carrick’s football. When Bruno isn’t creating chances, making things happen and taking responsibility, suddenly you see how much this team depends on him. And if Carrick genuinely wants to turn this game around, he might have to swallow his pride and bring Bruno or Cunha on. I don’t care who started on the bench. If your team is losing 2-0 at home and you need a reaction, you bring on the players who can make a difference. You don’t sit there waiting for a miracle. And Heaven has been poor as well. Let’s be honest about that. He hasn’t looked convincing, and these are the kinds of performances that cost you games at this level. Carrick needs to look at what’s happening on that pitch and make changes instead of hoping things will magically improve. That’s what frustrates me. We spend all week blaming Bruno, blaming individual players, creating narratives, but nobody wants to question the decisions that put the team in this position. Losing 2-0 at home in a first half like this is a disgrace. The manager has to take responsibility. Having said that, it’s only 45 minutes. There’s still another 45 to play, and football can change very quickly. But Carrick needs to get his substitutions and tactics right immediately. Bring on Bruno, bring on Cunha if necessary, and give this team some life. Because if Manchester United come out in the second half looking exactly the same, then we’ll have a much bigger conversation after the final whistle.”

🚨🎙️ Cole Palmer on his heated altercation with Van de Ven against Tottenham. Reporter🎙️: “Cole, what was the conversation with Van de Ven all about after things got heated between you two?” Cole Palmer🗣️: “Honestly, I’m not going to sit here and pretend everything was okay. It actually started in the tunnel before the match. He came up to me and said Chelsea were overrated. I just looked at him and told him we would see who was overrated after the game. (laughs) But when the match started, I was already frustrated because they were playing very aggressively. Then Fernandes came flying in with that sliding challenge, and I lost my temper. I mean, this is football, not a war. I got up immediately and reacted, but I didn’t even touch him. Suddenly, he was rolling around on the ground like someone had hit him with a hammer, and the Tottenham players started gathering around me. That was when Van de Ven came straight into my face, shouting all sorts of things. So, when you ask me why things got heated, that’s where it came from. Reporter🎙️: ‘What exactly did he say to you?’ Cole Palmer🗣️: “He looked me in the face and called me a one-season wonder, then called me a son of a bitch. Honestly, that really annoyed me because I wasn’t going to stand there and pretend we were friends. I told him to go and f*** himself, that he plays for the worst team in England and should focus on figuring out how to stop fighting relegation every season. (laughs) But look, I’m not proud of how I reacted. When I look back at everything, I’m disappointed because I feel like I let my teammates down. I should have kept my head, regardless of what he said to me. I’m sorry to the team and the fans because the last thing I wanted was to do something that could cost Chelsea. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I have to take responsibility for that.”

🚨🎙️ Tarkowski on his heated altercation with Jordan Henderson and Morgan Rogers. Reporter: We noticed a heated moment between you, Jordan Henderson and Morgan Rogers during the match. What exactly happened? Tarkowski: Honestly, I’m not happy with how heated things became, but when you’re on the pitch, emotions run high. From my perspective, I felt the referee was giving them too many opportunities, and that made things even more frustrating. I made a tackle, got stamped on, and before I could even properly react, Rogers came over telling me to get up and suggesting I wasn’t playing well. Listen, I understand football is emotional. Arguments happen, and I have no problem with that. But when someone comes directly to your face and starts disrespecting you, that’s where I draw the line. What surprised me even more was Henderson getting involved. Instead of calming his teammate down, he backed him up and started talking about me playing for a small club. I didn’t understand what that was supposed to achieve. Does playing for a smaller club mean you suddenly deserve less respect? Reporter: What did you say to him when he made that comment? Tarkowski: I told him that if they were as good as they seemed to think, perhaps they wouldn’t be spending their time playing league football while their teammates are competing in the Champions League. What exactly makes them so special that they can look down on other players? At the end of the day, we’re all professionals. We all work hard, we all compete, and we all have something to prove. You can talk about clubs, trophies and achievements all you want, but none of that gives you the right to disrespect another player. But look, these things happen in football. Sometimes emotions take over, people say things they wouldn’t normally say, and a simple argument becomes something bigger than it should be. I’m not going to pretend I was happy with everything that happened, but I’m also not going to apologise for standing up for myself when I feel someone has crossed the line.

🚨🎙️ Ousmane Dembélé responds to Premier League clubs complaining about PSG’s Champions League advantage. Reporter🎙️: A lot of English fans believe PSG have an advantage in the Champions League because they can rest their players in Ligue 1. What do you make of that criticism? Dembélé🗣️: Honestly, I think people are making this a much bigger issue than it needs to be. Every league has its own challenges, and Ligue 1 is not as easy as some people want to believe. When you play for PSG, every team wants to beat you. They defend, they fight, and they make life difficult for you. So this idea that we simply walk through our domestic games and arrive fresh in Europe is disrespectful to the competition. But what really surprises me is how difficult it seems for some English clubs to accept defeat. When they win, the Premier League is the best league in the world. They talk about its quality, its competitiveness and how difficult it is to win there. But when they lose to PSG, suddenly Ligue 1 is too easy, our players have too much rest, and we have some kind of unfair advantage. At some point, you have to ask yourself whether these arguments would exist if they were the ones winning. And let’s be honest, these English clubs have incredible resources. They spend huge amounts of money, sign top players and have managers who are paid to compete for every trophy. So if you’re telling me you cannot compete in Europe because your players are tired, what exactly are you building your squad for? You cannot spend millions on footballers and then act surprised that you need to rotate them throughout the season. The funny thing is, we didn’t hear this same level of complaining before PSG started beating these teams regularly under Luis Enrique. Now, instead of talking about our pressing, our movement, our tactics or the quality we show on the pitch, people would rather discuss how many days we’ve had to rest. That’s fine, but it doesn’t change what happened during the match. We respect English football. There are fantastic teams and outstanding players in that league, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. But respect has to go both ways. You cannot call the Premier League the best in the world and then constantly look for reasons to diminish the achievements of teams playing elsewhere whenever they beat you. If Ligue 1 is so easy, then come and play in it. If PSG are winning because of our quality, give us credit. And if you lose, have the courage to admit the other team was better. Football isn’t won by the league that makes the most money or the fans who make the loudest arguments. It’s won on the pitch, and that’s where we prefer to do our talking.

🚨🎙️Jurgen Klopp on the Ballon d’Or race and who truly deserves to win it. 🎙️Reporter: The Ballon d’Or is less than two weeks away. What’s your take on this year’s race? Klopp🗣️: “Yeah, it’s that time of the year again when we debate who deserves the most prestigious individual award in football. And I think this year’s race is going to be very tight. There are some outstanding players in the conversation, but when you look beyond the noise, I think there’s one name that stands out. 🎙️Reporter: We have some big names at the top of the conversation. Who do you think truly deserves to win it? Klopp🗣️: “Listen, anyone can be nominated, but only one player takes that trophy home. And for me, it shouldn’t be anyone else other than Lionel Messi. 🎙️Reporter: Do you genuinely believe he deserves it more than Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé? Klopp🗣️: “First of all, Harry Kane has been a fantastic player. He’s done a brilliant job for both club and country, and if he wins it, you can’t say he hasn’t earned his place in that conversation. But if we’re talking about quality, influence on games, performances when the pressure is highest, and the ability to make a difference when your team needs you most, then I think there’s only one answer, and that’s Messi. “And what makes it even crazier is his age. At this stage of his career, he’s still producing performances that make you question what we’re watching. Look at his impact at Inter Miami, then look at what he continues to do for Argentina. This isn’t a player surviving on his reputation. He’s still making things happen on the pitch. “Mbappé is another outstanding candidate. Nobody questions his ability or his goalscoring record. But football is about winning as well as individual numbers. What major trophy has he won during this period that strengthens his case above Messi? If we’re comparing achievements, that’s a serious question, and you can’t simply ignore it. “I think people make the mistake of judging the Ballon d’Or purely by goals. If goals were everything, we wouldn’t need this debate. There are other awards for goalscorers. The Ballon d’Or should recognise the player who has made the biggest overall impact, delivered when it matters, and demonstrated a level of football that separates him from everyone else. “And that’s also why I think people need to appreciate what Lamine Yamal is doing. That boy is an extraordinary talent. You watch him play, and you see something special. He’s already making a difference for Barcelona, and he’s helped Spain win the European Championship. “For me, Lamine is one of the closest things we’ve seen to Messi in terms of natural talent and the ability to make football look effortless. But let’s not confuse potential with what Messi has already achieved. Lamine has a wonderful future ahead of him, while Messi has spent years proving himself at the very highest level. “So, if you ask me who deserves the Ballon d’Or, I’m going with Messi. You can argue about goals, statistics and popularity all you want, but when you look at the complete picture, I think the answer is pretty clear.”