Daily Schmankerl: Liverpool eyeing Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard; Lionel Messi out at PSG; Manchester United…

LFC to get involved with Pavard (Empire of the Kop)

Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard will have no shortage of suitors during the summer transfer window.

We have seen Chelsea FC, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, AC Milan, and Inter Milan already linked to the Frenchman, but it appears that we can also add Liverpool to the mix as well:

Benjamin Pavard ‘wants to leave’ Bayern Munich this summer with Liverpool one of the clubs being linked with a move for the versatile defender.
The France international is approaching the final 12 months of his current deal with the Bundesliga champions and he’s already made the club aware of his intentions, that’s according to Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg (via Rousing The Kop).
German publication kicker recently reported that Jurgen Klopp’s side are joined by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan in showing strong interest in the 2018 World Cup winner with Bayern running the risk of seeing him leave the club for free at the end of next season. The report adds that the Anfield outfit have ‘enquired about Pavard’.

Pavard’s versatility and steady performances from this season will clearly make him attractive to many clubs.

Mané to United? (Rousing the Kop)

Sadio Mané sputtered as a replacement for Robert Lewandowski during his first season at Bayern Munich and now could be headed to Manchester United:

Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing Sadio Mané just one year after the Senegal international was sold by Liverpool to Bayern Munich.
According to Tz, the Red Devils are eyeing the 31-year-old winger amid growing rumours that Mané will be sold by Bayern this summer, with the former Liverpool superstar enduring a rough first year in Germany, despite leading the Bundesliga giants to the title.
Mané was involved in a now infamous fight with Leroy Sane in Bayern’s 3-0 UEFA Champions League loss to Manchester City. And since then, the attacker has always felt like he will be out the exit door this summer if an offer came in, something United could now provide.

A move for Mané makes sense on a few levels. Bayern Munich is seeking to bring in a striker and existing wingers like Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, and Leroy Sané just offer more to the team at this stage of their respective careers than Mané does.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 2, Episode 47 (Bavarian Football Works)

What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Bayern Munich somehow won its 11th consecutive Bundesliga championship as Borussia Dortmund suffered through a massive collapse — and somehow that was one of the least crazy stories of the week.

Admittedly, Bayern Munich fans have had a lot to process with everything, so what better way to do it than with the Weekend Warm-up Podcast and at Bavarian Football Works.

Let’s take a look at what is on tap for this week’s episode:

Some thoughts on the title win and the massive fallout that saw CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić get sacked.
Who might be coming in: Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović and West Ham defensive midfielder Declan Rice.
Who might be headed out: Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez, Leon Goretzka, and Alphonso Davies.
Who is likely coming back (at least for a little while): Marcel Sabitzer.
Why this might be the summer that Bayern Munich “goes big.”

As you can see, there is a lot to cover.

United eyeing Gravenberch, too (Sport Bild via @iMiaSanMia_GER)

We have not heard much about Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch lately, but it does appear that Manchester United is willing to give him a new home should he push for an exit from Germany:

Manchester United are interested in Ryan Gravenberch; however, they have yet to make an offer or commit to him. Liverpool have already spoken to their management but Bayern cannot sell the player.

If Joshua Kimmich’s move to the No. 8 goes through, we can assume that Gravenberch might start clamoring for an exit from Bayern Munich more quickly.

Messi’s sketchy options (L’Equipe via 90Min.com)

Lionel Messi is leaving Paris Saint-Germain and his three most likely destination are all wildly different — FC Barcelona, Inter Miami, and Al Hilal. Oddly, Barca and Inter Miami could be working together in a deal that sounds a little shady:

Barcelona are working with Inter Miami to try and facilitate a move for Lionel Messi. The MLS side would sign the Argentine on a free transfer from PSG before loaning him to La Blaugrana.

According to Foot Mercato, however, Messi is also mulling a €1 billion offer from Al Hilal:

However, Messi is edging closer to a deal to join Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal for a contract which would be worth over €1bn in total.

I supposed he could just sign with Bayern Munich as well. Will Leroy Sane give up his No. 10 jersey for Lionel Messi? Yes, I know Messi wore No. 30 at Paris Saint-Germain, but roll with me on this:

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 47 (Bavarian Football Works)

Well who saw that coming? We were hoping for it, but didn’t expect Bayern Munich to deliver in this manner. When it comes to the league, Borussia Dortmund bottled it at the last minute versus Mainz, basically handing us the title — BUT Bayern still had to get the job done versus Koln and they did. It was a touch and go thing, but thank god (and maybe Brazzo) for Jamal Musiala. Anyway …

In this episode, INNN and Fergus talk about the following:

Bayern Munich were completely unconvincing versus Koln and that’s unacceptable.
Talking about the ruthless sacking of Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic by Bayern.
Could Bayern have an FC Barcelona moment someday?
The pros and cons of bringing back Rummenigge and Hoeness.
Is it a mistake to not bring in a new sporting director for the summer?
Wait, why was Oliver Kahn FORBIDDEN from attending the Koln game? What is going at this club?
How is history going to remember Oliver Kahn and Brazzo?
A quick aside — would Matthias Sammer come back as sporting director?
The deep concern about the names rumored as potential future sporting directors.
Dark clouds hovering over the long term future of FC Bayern Munich.
Will the sacking of Brazzo spark concerns in players like Kimmich, Musiala, and Alphonso Davies?

Despondent Reus sent message to fans (@dw_sports)

Borussia Dortmund star Marco Reus was broken after BVB’s collapse last weekend and sent a message to fans to explain why he could not muster the energy or willingness to go see fans after the match:

Benzema choosing between Madrid and Al Ittihad (@FabrizioRomano)

Real Madrid star Karim Benzema might be moving to Al Attihad or he could be staying in Spain. It’s hard to tell at this point. Let’s take a look at how quickly things evolved in the past few days.

Sport1 captured this report:

Is Karim Benzema leaving Real Madrid this summer? The striker’s contract expires and no extension has been signed yet.
In fact, there have recently been many indications that Benzema will be with the royals for another year. But now things could be different.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the 35-year-old has received a huge offer from a Saudi club and Benzema is said to be seriously considering accepting it. The transfer expert also tweeted that the striker wants to make a decision soon.
The Spanish newspaper As had previously reported that the Saudi Arabian first division club Al Attihad should offer Benzema a two-year contract with the equivalent of 200 million annual salaries, i.e. a total of 400 million euros.

Then we had Fabrizio Romano updating things:

The situation evolved further as well:

And one more:

What will happen? Real Madrid fans might have to wait a little longer.