Inside Real's election season 'soap opera', Iraola & the Premier League's Basque Revolution
6/4/202639 min
On Sunday the first contested Presidential elections at Real Madrid for 20 years will take place, so Gabby, Mark & Nedum are joined by Spanish football writer Guillem Balague to discuss some of the false promises being made on the campaign trail...
Will any of Erling Haaland, Rodri, Jose Mourinho or Jurgen Klopp head to the Bernabeu this summer?
And as Liverpool edge closer to appointing Andoni Iraola - four of the biggest clubs in the Premier League will be managed by coaches from the Basque country - what's so unique about football culture there and how...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMark Chapman· Host0:01
[upbeat jingle] This is a Global Player original podcast.
Guillem Balague· Guest0:05
Football in this land is a little bit like a cartoon.
Nedum Onuoha· Panelist0:08
Realistically, Haaland isn't gonna go there, and this is the bit that's gonna get clipped off. When he does go there- [laughs] And do you remember what Luis Figo did before the elections?
Guillem Balague· Guest0:17
Massive cover in Catalan newspaper Sport saying, "It's all a lie."
Mark Chapman· Host0:22
Ooh. We're now in a situation where a, a fifth of the Premier League's managers next season will be Basque.
Guillem Balague· Guest0:28
You know, a lot of what I'm saying about the Basque culture fits the, the Liverpool culture, no?
Gabby Logan· Host0:33
So anyway, closest you've ever come to getting arrested. [upbeat music] Welcome to The Sports Agents. Hello, Chapas.
Mark Chapman· Host0:49
Hi. Hi, Gabby. How are you?
Gabby Logan· Host0:51
Uh, very well indeed. Uh, so should we just set out what we're gonna be talking about predominantly today, and that is a Basque invasion of the Premier League.
Nedum Onuoha· Panelist0:59
[laughs] [laughs] Yeah. I mean, in a slightly more friendly, in a slightly f- friendlier way than the, than the, than the noun invasion implies. But yeah.
Gabby Logan· Host1:08
[laughs] Jürgen Aiola has been confirmed as taking over Anfield. Arteta has won the league with Arsenal. Unai Emery has brought European, uh, silverware to Villa Park. And Xabi Alonso, which was something of a surprise to a lot of people, didn't go the Liverpool way. He's gone to Stamford Bridge, and that means 20% of the Premier League is under Basque rule. I'm, I'm doing it again.
Mark Chapman· Host1:29
You are.
Unknown speaker1:29
[laughs]