Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Chelsea vying for West Ham’s Declan Rice?; Bayern out on PSV’s Cody Gakpo; Lothar Matthäus digs at FC Barcelona; Cristiano Ronaldo has options (or does he?); and MORE

Bayern to take a run at Rice? (Caught Offside)

Bayern Munich has been strongly linked to RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer for months, but Sky’s Florian Plettenberg recently reported that a deal is no sure thing.

Perhaps, Bayern Munich’s newfound cold feet on Laimer might have to do with its interest in another young midfielder — West Ham United’s Declan Rice. The Bavarians are reportedly going to battle Manchester United and Chelsea FC for the England international:

Bayern Munich have now joined Manchester United and Chelsea in the race to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.

Rice is one of the most sought-after youngsters in European football at the moment. The West Ham midfielder is already captain of his club and a regular for his country at the age of just 23 so it’s no surprise to see some of the biggest clubs sniffing around him.

According to Fichajes, Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in signing Rice, with Bayern Munich also recently entering the race.

In the summer of 2023, Rice will be entering into the final year of his contract. If West Ham is eager to sell him off, that will be the time to do it. While West Ham does hold a club option to add another year to the deal, Rice’s value continues to skyrocket and the timing for a sale could provide the club with a huge financial boost.

Could Bayern Munich really be in the mix? It’s doubtful, but not entirely impossible I suppose.

Report: Bayern not too keen on Gakpo (Sport1)

Despite reports to the contrary, Sport1 says that Bayern Munich is not in pursuit of PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands star Cody Gakpo. Primarily a winger, the Bavarians are too loaded at the position to even think about another talented body into the mix:

According to SPORT1 information, the topic is not hot for Munich. Gakpo comes mainly from the flanks, but Bayern are well occupied there with Leroy Sané, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mané. In addition, Gakpo with a transfer fee of 50 million euros would be too expensive for the German record champions.

The last thing that Bayern Munich needs is another wing. Liverpool FC, Manchester United, and Real Madrid have all been linked to the Dutchman.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 21 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich’s luck has been pretty terrible at the World Cup. For Germany, it has not been much better, either.

For both club and country, Citizen King’s 1999 tune “Better Days” absolutely rings true (and yup, there may have been ample Thanksgiving beers consumed for me to remember that song).

Bayern Munich and Germany could use some new juju to change up the way things have been going, and we’ll see if we can find some reason to get the optimism rolling.

This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at what we can expect from a young and hungry Spain team against an inefficient and unsure Germany squad.
• Bayern’s rumored offer to Gladbach’s Marcus Thuram.
• Could Bayern Munich really expedite their pursuit of Florian Wirtz?
• What Bayern Munich’s backline will look like without Lucas Hernandez.
• Some final thoughts on the series finale of The Walking Dead.

Ronaldo has options...maybe? (90Min.com)

If not for the World Cup, the footballing world would probably be paying a lot more attention to the “Cristiano Ronaldo Free Agent Tour — 2022.”

After getting dumped by Manchester United, Ronaldo has been without a club, but that does not mean there is a lack of interest. Newcastle United, Al-Nassr, Chelsea FC, and Inter Miami are all reportedly interested in the Portuguese star:

Cristiano Ronaldo is on the hunt for a new club after agreeing to part ways with Manchester United immediately, and is currently weighing up two options - remaining in the Premier League with Newcastle United or heading to Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr.

However, other reports claim that Newcastle are not interested in signing Ronaldo, while the likes of Chelsea and Inter Miami are also backing away from a potential deal.

To go to Real Madrid, Ronaldo would — allegedly — be willing to take a pay cut, but it does not sound like Los Blancos are all that interested in their former star:

Moukoko offers a non-committal, committal to BVB (@FabrizioRomano)

Youssoufa Moukoko sounds like he wants to stick around at Borussia Dortmund, but needs to see a plan for it all:

Lothar digs at Barca (Barca Universal)

At some point, there will be a huge comeuppance for all these Germans and Bayern Munich folks bashing FC Barcelona...until then, though it’s open season. This time, it was Lothar Matthäus’ turn:

The former Germany midfielder stated that the England star will leave the Bundesliga this summer and likely move to the Premier League, ‘where all the money is’, before taking a dig at the Blaugrana.

“He’s going to leave Borussia soon, for Real Madrid or a team in the Premier League, which is where the money is,” Matthaus said. “If you don’t have money, the only one who can sign is Barça, who don’t have a euro, but they sign Lewandowski [laughs],”

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Germany 1-2 Japan (Bavarian Football Works)

Well, here we go again. Another World Cup, and the same story for the German national team. Even with Hansi Flick and a whole host of Bayern Munich players on the roster, Germany have succumbed to Japan even after a fortuitous penalty gave them the lead in the first half. Now it looks like this tournament might be another write-off for the Germans.

Here are our talking points from the game:

• This loss is on Hansi Flick.
• Discussing the baffling lineup selection from the coach. Why didn’t Leon Goretzka start?
• Where was Sulinho? What happened to Musiala? The problem of players underperforming.
• The issues with the offense and creativity versus Japan.
• Did losing Leroy Sané sink Germany?
• What should Hansi Flick change versus Spain?
• Is Flick no longer the savior for Germany?
• Our closing thoughts on a final few topics — the new defense, Joshua Kimmich at right-back, Thomas Muller goals, and possible silver linings.

Check this out (@atafball)

Werder Bremen Frauen player Nina Lührßen scored a tremendous goal:

Although @werderfrauen didn’t get the result they wanted against Freiburg, Nina Lührßen delighted the 20.417 fans that packed Weserstadion with this beauty #WatchWithAta #DieLiga

This is wild (@goal)

This Lionel Messi factoid is mind blowing: