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#3 Jack Grealish signing for Manchester City for £100 million
Jack Grealish is one of the best creative midfielders in the Premier League. Manchester United have been heavily linked with him in the past but a deal never happened. Manchester United are also Grealish's favourite club as is clear from his tweets from his younger days.
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Pep Guardiola's Manchester City squad is filled to the brim with stars. They have incredible depth in every position and they never shy away from reinforcing their side. Grealish's addition will make the Premier League champions even stronger.
But it's not exactly a move that everyone saw coming. Gundogan had a great season in 2020-21. But the fact of the matter is that both he and De Bruyne are 30-years-old and it was about time City found someone who can carry the torch.
Aston Villa have made some great signings already and the £100 million boost will definitely render them more ambitious.
#2 Sergio Ramos leaving Real Madrid
For young football fans, Sergio Ramos is a name that's synonymous with Real Madrid. After joining the club in 2005, Ramos went from strength to strength and established himself as one of the best defenders in the world.
His contract was up for renewal this summer. However, due to Real Madrid's financial woes, they were simply not in a position to offer him the two-year deal he wanted or perhaps deserved. Paris Saint-Germain swooped right in for the 35-year-old centre-back.
Even though he is on the wrong side of 30, Ramos is still a world-class defender. Ramos would have been happy to stay on at the Bernabeu. He would have kicked on in the Spanish capital had he not held out for a fresh proposal from Real Madrid and accepted the 1-year deal that was on the table.
But Real Madrid's loss is PSG's gain. He will improve their defence and give them time to assess their long-term options and invest wisely in a couple of years.
#1 Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona
After months of incertitude over the situation, Barcelona have finally announced that Lionel Messi is all set to leave the club. The club released an official statement confirming the same on Thursday.
Barcelona and Messi had agreed terms earlier but the club won't be able to comply with La Liga's salary cap if the deal goes through.
"Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of Spanish LaLiga regulations on player registration.
"As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled."
There are suggestions that this is Barcelona's bluff and that they are trying to strong-arm La Liga into submission by threatening them with a potential Messi departure. The Argentine leaving Barcelona will be hugely detrimental to La Liga who have already taken a hit following Cristiano Ronaldo's exit in 2018.
But the sad reality, as things stand, is that Messi looks set to leave the only club he has ever played for. Barcelona, without Messi, will never be the same.
