PRIME TARGET<\/p>\n
Hmmm, should I order in a pizza tonight? How does this basic question translate to the monstrously rich, to those operating in the hundreds of billions? Maybe it\u2019s as simple as this: hmmm, should I join a consortium looking to buy a stake in Liverpool Football Club? Welcome to the world of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and once the wealthiest person on the planet (he\u2019s dropped to fourth \u2013 get the violins out). Bezos, with a net worth north of $250bn, could be on the way to Our League<\/a>, potentially dropping some of his pocket change into the Anfield coffers.<\/p>\n It all seems a lot more serious than that time Elon Musk\u2019s old man blurted out that his son would be interested in buying the club<\/a>, partly because their family has connections to the city and \u201cwe were fortunate to know quite a lot of the Beatles\u201d. There were only four of them, Errol. Bezos, however, is reportedly still mulling over whether he fancies it. Hmmm, should I go for margherita or pepperoni? Thin crust or thick? Leading the pack of potential investors is Amit Bhatia, who is presumably hoping to emulate Raheem Sterling in making a successful switch from Loftus Road to Anfield after announcing his departure from the QPR board this week. It\u2019s time for some top-flight action again, and it sure helps when your father-in-law is a steel magnate worth $31bn.<\/p>\n This developing episode is a reminder of what we\u2019re returning to after the Geopolitics World Cup: back to the playground of the disgustingly rich, a field that includes state-backed investment. Now comes the prospect of someone who thinks the Melania movie was good business<\/a> taking over a grand institution. How\u2019s that gone for you in the past, Jeff<\/a>?<\/p>\n As ever, if we want to find purity in this game we have to cling to what happens on the field, bringing us to Mateus Fernandes\u2019 clean hit<\/a> in a training-ground friendly for Spurs against MK Dons. Collecting the remains of a corner, Fernandes smashed in a volley from outside the area a la Paul Scholes against Villa 20 years ago. \u201cIt was my favourite goal of my career,\u201d cooed Fernandes, and while Football Daily is a little uncomfortable with a pre-season effort being included in career highlights, it was undoubtedly a cracker. Four days on from the end of the GWC, we\u2019re clearly hankering for some action. It certainly beats boardroom machinations.<\/p>\n QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n \u201cWe speak to each other, talk about sights and buildings in our cities, and expect that some day we will be able to return. The club understands how hard things are for young players from these areas, and it\u2019s very happy to give them opportunities\u201d \u2013 the LNZ Cherkasy youth coach Alexei Bulgakov talks to Nick Ames<\/a> about their heady rise from the fourth tier in Ukraine, despite war with Russia, before contesting European qualifiers for the first time.<\/p>\n Photograph: Anastasia Vlasova\/The Guardian<\/p>\n double quotation markJeff Bezos in talks to buy a stake in Liverpool? How soon before Andoni Iraola gets a card saying that one of his new signings is in a box behind the Anfield bins?\u201d \u2013 Simon Mazier.<\/p>\n double quotation markRe: yesterday\u2019s last line (full email edition). The mention of Riga FC reminds me of my visit there in October 2025. After a frankly awful 0-0 draw that clinched the title, they brought out celebratory hoardings declaring \u2018Champions 2026\u2019. Before too many cameras caught it, they put the trophy plinth in front of the offending digit. That said, with a third of this season\u2019s Virsliga to go, they\u2019re in a decent place to reuse the hoarding in all its glory\u201d \u2013 Jim Hearson.<\/p>\n If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com<\/a>. Today\u2019s prizeless letter o\u2019 the day goes to \u2026 Simon Mazier. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here<\/a>.\u200a<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED FOLLOWING<\/p>\n Big Website: on BlueSpace<\/a>, TikBook<\/a>, Instachat<\/a>, you name it.<\/p>\n LIFE\u2019S A BEACH<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u201d MLS creaked back into action last week, even before the Geopolitics World Cup was done. Back in action on Wednesday were Inter Miami, without Lionel Messi, but with Luis Su\u00e1rez, 73, still in harness. The great man scored twice in a 3-2 win over Chicago Fire, though the viral moment came in Rocco R\u00edos Novo\u2019s own goal, the Miami keeper letting a backpass roll through him. Casemiro will be joining the party soon<\/a>, his move to South Beach now confirmed, though not without a glitch. LA Galaxy, previously interested, have made a \u201ctampering claim\u201d. The issue? \u201cContact with Casemiro without first acquiring the player\u2019s Discovery Priority.\u201d Did ol\u2019 Cas, he of five Big Cup triumphs, really require \u201cdiscovery\u201d?<\/p>\n Luis Su\u00e1rez and Robert Lewandowski after the match. Photograph: Leonardo Fernandez\/Getty ImagesNEWS, BITS AND BOBS<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s role in getting Folarin Balogun cleared from his one-game ban at the GWC is set to provoke a formal complaint to Fifa ethics investigators<\/a> from Norwegian FA suits. \u201cWe need our leader in Fifa to say that this was an error,\u201d sniffed federation president Lise Klaveness. \u201cWe all know that this verdict was influenced from external forces and did not have the proper process.\u201d<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s head of football policing wants clubs to shoulder more of the cost for their work outside stadiums. \u201cUnder the current system multi-billion-pound football clubs do not have to pay a penny towards the policing outside their grounds. This means that taxpayers are left footing the \u00a370m bill each season, which simply cannot continue,\u201d said chief constable Mark Roberts.<\/p>\n Future news: J\u00fcrgen Klopp will be unveiled as Germany\u2019s new head coach, with Zinedine Zidane taking the wheel with France next week.<\/p>\n Christos Tzolis has swapped Club Brugge for Arsenal<\/a>, for whom William Saliba will be kept out of initial set-piece routines<\/a> next season due to back-gah. Good news: no surgery required.<\/p>\n Fancy. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Barcelona have snaffled Karim Adeyemi<\/a> from Dortmund.<\/p>\n Manchester United are sniffing around the Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga and Fulham\u2019s Sander Berge<\/a>.<\/p>\n Matt Targett is staying in the north east after his exit from Newcastle, agreeing a deal with Hull City. \u201cIt was during the England game on Saturday night that my [Mr 15%] rang me and said Hull City were interested,\u201d he tooted. \u201cThe next minute I was on a phone call with the owner. He is very invested in the football club and speaks very passionately, so it didn\u2019t take much convincing to join.\u201d<\/p>\n New Rangers boss Derek McInnes is poised to begin the season in the stands after being handed a four-match ban<\/a> for his comments on Celtic\u2019s controversial penalty at Motherwell last season, when he was in charge of Hearts.<\/p>\n And possibly best not to consider how old you will be when this happens: Australia\u2019s Labor party have passed a motion to make a bid for hosting rights of the flamin\u2019 World Cup in 2050.<\/p>\n STILL WANT MORE?<\/p>\n Andoni Iraola has some smart words<\/a> about the secrets of Spain\u2019s dominance, stepping into the Liverpool hot seat and why you should never \u201cbecome the protagonist\u201d in this excellent interview from Andy Hunter, who also has the info<\/a> on those Liverpool minority takeover stories, Bezos, Bhatia and all.<\/p>\n Leandro Trossard has gone where? Harry Winks in Sardinia? Our transfer team offer 10 DONE DEALs you may have missed<\/a>.<\/p>\n Denzel Dumfries, Robert Lewandowski \u2013 again \u2013 and Leandro Trossard there. Composite: Guardian Pictures; Fifa\/Getty Images; Chicago Fire FC\/MLS\/Getty Images; Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Jonathan Liew on sport\u2019s new form of extra time<\/a>: lawyering up, regulations and having Donald Trump on speed dial.<\/p>\n India is ready to ride on the coat-tails of the Geopolitics World Cup as its domestic league gets ready for kick-off. John Duerden reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n And how was the GWC for you? Readers from USA USA USA, Mexico and Oh Canada get in touch<\/a>.<\/p>\n MEMORY LANE<\/p>\n As the transfer window\u2019s curtains are raised, a glance back three decades at a summer of change in the English Premiership, as was, when foreign players were all the rage. If Alan Shearer to Newcastle topped the money charts, there was Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson to Middlesbrough, Karel Poborsky to Manchester United and Frank Lebouef to Chelsea. Probably the biggest of all though, and on a free, the late, great Gianluca Vialli<\/a>, fresh from captaining Juventus to the previous season\u2019s Big Cup, also moving to Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n Photograph: Glenn Copus\/Evening Standard\/ShutterstockHMMM, PIZZA \u2026