Daily Schmankerl: Real Madrid eyeing Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané?; Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t mad at being subbed off for Portugal; Did a cheat sheet help Australia against Denmark?; A bidding war for Jude Bellingham?; & MORE!

Madrid eyeing shock Sané move (The Hard Tackle)

Is Real Madrid planning a big heist of Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané? According to a report out of Italy, Los Blancos have an affinity for the Germany international and want to bring him to Spain:

La Liga champions Real Madrid reportedly want to sign 26-year-old German international Leroy Sane from Bayern Munich next year.

According to a report by Italian outlet Tutto Mercato Web, Leroy Sane is the subject of interest from Real Madrid. The reigning La Liga champions want to sign the 26-year-old German international from Bayern Munich next year.

However, with Eden Hazard likely to leave, Real Madrid might need to sign a wide attacker. Several players have thus emerged on the Spanish club’s radar, with Sane also being a viable target.

But Bayern Munich will likely fight tooth and nail to keep hold of the 26-year-old German international. Sane is starting to stamp his authority at the Allianz Arena. So it will be surprising if he leaves Die Roten next year. Meanwhile, the former Manchester City man is not the only Bayern Munich player on Real Madrid’s radar.

It is extremely unlikely that Bayern Munich will part ways with Sané given his importance to the squad. That said, Sané has two-and-a-half years left on his deal and could be getting the itch to start exploring his options. Maybe he has the same “itch” that drew Robert Lewandowski to Spain.

Cheat sheet? (@gerard_laws)

What do you make of this:

And here was the video of the Australia’s Mitch Duke pouncing on the loose note, apparently after Denmark’s Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) discarded it on the pitch (unfortunately, the video has been disabled, you know...due to express written consent and all of that> it was there originally...I SWEAR):

Upamecano high on Giroud (HITC)

Bayern Munich and France defender Dayot Upamecano is a big fan of French national team striker Olivier Giroud.

“We know he is a quality player,” said Upamecano. “He is a great striker and leader. He is a big talker. He is always delighted to score. I hope he goes on to score more.”

Giroud is not leaving AC Milan, but he would be a decent, short-term alternative in Bayern Munich’s current striker mix, eh?

Weekend Warm-up + Postgame show (Bavarian Podcast Works)

Germany is officially out! Now, who didn’t see that coming?

Japan deservedly qualify, while Spain has Germany to thank for their qualification to the knockouts. Germany however, needs a lot of thought and a lot of changes before the next major tournament rolls in. A team that is a knockout stage regular has now become a regular at being knocked out of groups. How the mighty have fallen.

So is it complacency? Is it abysmal coaching decisions? This podcast looks at a few possible reasons that may be significant to Germany’s derailment as of late. Here’s what we have in store in this special edition podcast:

• Germany’s shortcomings, and the disappointing exit
• Spain looking quite toothless for large stretches
• Hansi Flick’s baffling decisions and stubborn approach
• Complacency being a key issue of this German NT squad
• Why Japan is a great team to root for in this tournament
• Hustle as a Netflix movie recommendation
• Some classical music talk: Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, et al.

Madrid fearing bidding war for Bellingham? (Marca via 90Min.com)

Real Madrid is involved in so many transfer rumors these days that it is becoming hard to differentiate them all. One of the La Liga giant’s longest term attachments has been to Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham.

The problem for Real Madrid is that everyone wants Bellingham...and that has Los Blancos a little bit scared:

Real Madrid are wary that they could be dragged into a bidding war to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, and may switch attentions to Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez. Manchester United have been linked in recent weeks.

As I’ve stated before, Borussia Dortmund needs to make a mint off of Bellingham.

Ronaldo wasn’t angry at coach — or was he? (90Min.com)

When Cristiano Ronaldo was subbed off during Portugal’s 2-1 loss to South Korea, his reaction was...interesting? Fun to watch? Unprofessional? Well, not according to his manager:

Portugal coach Fernando Santos shut down the speculation immediately.

“Cristiano Ronaldo left upset because a Korean player was trying to hurry him off and Pepe even had to intervene,” Santos told the press. “I heard what the Korean player was saying. If you see the images, you see Pepe going after the South Korea player because of that.”

Hey, I was there for that! (@ESPNPlus)

I was in attendance for this one (the crowd was decidedly in favor of North Carolina as you might imagine):

There was a ton of talent on the pitch for the two games, but I came away most impressed with UCLA defender Quincy McMahon (#19).