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Real Madrid recently held an annual get together of their scouting network across Spain, and as debates continue about the function of ‘La Fabrica’ or the factory as their academy is called, a disenfranchised workforce cannot be aiding the situation.
President Florentino Perez defended their work in the academy, saying it was the best in the world, citing the number of players in Europe’s top five leagues that have passed through the ranks at Valdebebas. Yet their focus has been on producing players that can make it in the top flights anywhere, rather than at Real Madrid in the senior team.
Undoubtedly many of the best talents in Spain are nurtured by Los Blancos, but their recruitment effort is asking a lot of their scouts. Relevo report that their scouts normally earn around €500 per month, and are sometimes sent across the empty plains with little reward. The club pays some of their expenses, such as petrol money, but what they pay has not risen with the prices of fuel lately. Nor do Real Madrid foot the bill for any maintenance or repairs. All of the scouting team are kept on rolling one-year contracts, with no guarantee of their job next year either.
Beyond the finances, the are also grumblings that their reports and information is too often discarded or not heeded, while some areas are visited by the club recruitment department much less than others.
Another frustration is a general lack of thought towards them. During their annual meeting at Valdebebas, the scouts spent time around the facilities and the academy, ahead of Los Blancos clash with Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu. The expectation was that they would then attend the match, but instead the club left them at Valdebebas to watch the game on a big screen.
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What Luis Diaz did during dramatic Bayern thriller will have Liverpool fans groaning in disbelief
Luis Diaz showed Liverpool exactly what they’re missing this season with a man-of-the-match performance against FC St Pauli. The Colombian international produced the decisive moments of the game, supplying the assist for Raphael Guerreiro’s equaliser before scoring after the 90-minute mark to secure three points for Bayern. A top performance from the former Red, which takes his tally to 18 goal contributions in all competitions in the 2025/26 season. How Luis Diaz helped Bayern Munich beat FC St Pauli It has to be said that the one glaring thing Liverpool seem to be missing on the flanks this season is pace. But what particularly stood out when observing Diaz’s involvement in their 3-1 win in the Bundesliga was his superb ability to retain possession. Just take a look at some fan footage shared on CF Bayern Insider’s YouTube: The winger runs into the box, controls a ball lofted over the defence from Kim Min-jae, and holds possession whilst under pressure from two St Pauli players. He is eventually felled, but manages to knock the ball to Guerreiro, who finishes from close range. Then, to top it all off, Luis Diaz sets the home crowd on fire with a match-winning headed goal in the depths of extra time in the second half. Catch Luis Diaz celebrating his goal for FC Bayern below: Would Diaz be an improvement on Cody Gakpo? It’s hard to say whether or not Diaz would be a serious improvement on the left wing. On the face of it, Cody Gakpo hasn’t done a great deal to justify his continued involvement in the first-XI, with only seven goal contributions in all competitions this term. Though, of course, the same could be said for anyone who isn’t Dominik Szoboszlai! Remarkably, even despite the ludicrous number of issues we’re facing all over the pitch, there isn’t as ginormous a performance gap between Gakpo and Diaz as you might expect. Which is made even more surprising by the fact that the latter had admitted he’s benefitting from more space and time on the ball in Germany. * Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo’s stats in the Bundesliga and Premier League per 90 in the 2025/26 season (Fotmob) Diaz wouldn’t fix everything going wrong at Liverpool It would be inexcusable of us to suggest that, had Liverpool retained the Colombian in the summer, we’d be in a much better position. However, likewise, to suggest certain traits wouldn’t have been of any value to Arne Slot during what has been a horrendous run of results would be unfair. Evidently, the Dutch head coach agrees to some degree, given that he had reportedly opposed the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern. If the claim is to be taken seriously, it seems that Richard Hughes went ahead and sanctioned the exit anyway. Regardless, this isn’t to point an accusing finger at our sporting director; Liverpool’s problems on the pitch are arguably not of the Scot’s making. Keeping Diaz certainly wouldn’t have fixed our apparent weakness against long, direct balls. Nor a lack of willingness to throw ourselves into 50-50s on the pitch. But boy, do we miss the 28-year-old’s absolute relentlessness!
Andy Reid’s main flaw will cost Chiefs a trip to the playoffs
The Kansas City Chiefs' postseason aspirations suffered a massive blow after losing to the Dallas Cowboys 31-28 on Thursday. The loss dropped the reigning AFC champions to 6-6 on the season, leaving them with virtually no margin for error. The officiating made numerous questionable calls that may have favored Jerry Jones' team. However, the lack of discipline and numerous penalties have been a hallmark of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid's teams for years. Chiefs' lack of discipline will cost them a playoff spot Per OPTA Stats, the Chiefs committed five pass interference penalties in the second half alone, four of them on defense. That's the most PI penalties by any NFL team in the second half of a game in the past 35 years. When asked about it, Reid said they needed to be better in that regard, something he's said at least a dozen times this season. Then, he actually stood by the way his players tried to cover wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens: "I'm not always going to agree with the calls, but the calls were made," Reid said, per Charles Goldman. "They've got some big physical receivers, and my guys were fighting. You've got to stay aggressive against those guys. That's the way you do it." Granted, some of the calls were terrible, but this has been a frequent talking point with the Chiefs. Even if he actually agrees with the defensive players' approach to covering those two guys — which clearly didn't work, as they combined for 200 yards and one score — the lack of adjustments and accountability will ultimately doom this team this season.
Jerry Jones claims Jets turned down absurd trade offer involving Micah Parsons, Quinnen Williams
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently revealed that he offered Micah Parsons plus a first-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for Quinnen Williams during training camp. Jerry Jones says Jets turned out incredible trade offer for Quinnen Williams “I wanted a one and Parsons for Williams,” Jones said on 103.5 The Fan. That seems like an absurd offer, but Jones left little up to interpretation. “A one and Parsons for Williams,” he repeated. Later, he added that the deal did not go through because the Jets “did not have the cap room to pay [Parsons].” Jones also said something similar to WFAA’s Ed Werder: “We tried at training camp with the Jets to basically make an exchange that was ready to go, heads up, with Quinnen and Micah and a one, and we didn’t get it done.” Parsons, of course, was instead sent to the Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. The Cowboys later acquired Williams before the trade deadline for a package including a 2027 first-rounder, a 2026 second-rounder and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Jones has slowly revealed more and more information about the Parsons trade since it was completed. During a September radio appearances on ESPN New York, Jones said that called the Jets regarding Williams when he was shopping Parsons before the season. The Jets were not interested, he claimed, because they “didn’t have the resources to entertain [the] conversation,” similar to his pronouncement on 103.5. If true, Jets made a big mistake If Jones’ latest revelation is true, that means two things. First, he was willing to sacrifice a massive amount of value to move Parsons and acquire Williams. Second, the Jets made a huge mistake in not accepting the deal. Although Williams is an excellent defensive tackle, Parsons is undoubtedly a better and more valuable player, even at a higher price point. This year, Williams has 2.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss this season; per Pro Football Focus, he ranks fifth among interior defenders with 40 pressures but 38th with a 12.1% pass-rush win rate. Parsons, meanwhile, has 12.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, plus 67 pressures and a 24.3% pass-rush win rate, both top-three marks among NFL edge-rushers. In his career, he has averaged 0.89 sacks and one tackle for loss per game; Williams’ per-game numbers are 0.41 sacks and 0.60 tackles for loss. Those numbers may not tell the complete story of either player, but it seems like the Jets should have taken Jones’ offer. Sure, they would have had to pony up for Parsons’ mega-extension, but they were already prepared to move on from Williams. Adding an extra first-round pick on top would also give the Jets an opportunity to add another starter — if not a star — on a rookie contract. That would help to offset the financial cost of acquiring Parsons. How realistic is Jerry Jones' claim? But Jones’ words should also be taken with a grain of salt. He has spent a lot of time trying to retroactively justify trading away Parsons, especially after using some of the resulting draft capital to acquire Williams. Claiming that the Jets were not interested in Parsons and a first-rounder for Williams serves to downplay the former’s value and boost the latter’s. The idea that the Jets could not afford to pay Parsons does not hold water, either. After his extension, the All-Pro edge-rusher’s cap hit in 2025 is just $9.97M. New York certainly could have designed a similar contract structure and absorbed Perhaps the Jets didn't want to commit so much money to Parsons as they were clearly contemplating a rebuild. Parsons would still be a cornerstone for that effort, but he may not have wanted to weather any losing seasons in the hopes of a future turnaround. But again, adding another first-round pick would have accelerated that process, and a core of Parsons, cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson seems like a solid foundation for the Jets to build from. That is an expensive trio, but having elite players at three of the sport’s most important positions is a good problem to have. Instead, the Jets declined the Cowboys’ initial offer for Williams before moving him and Gardner at the deadline as part of what appears to be a full-on franchise reset.
Dallas Cowboys' chances of beating Lions just increased with an update the NFL world will hate to hear
The 6-5-1 Dallas Cowboys are looking to extend their win streak to four in a row next Thursday when they take on the 7-5 Detroit Lions on primetime television. Though the Lions are known as one of the best teams in the conference, they are struggling to be consistent on offense, and the defense has serious problems, too. There are a lot of factors that go into Detroit's biggest issues on offense, which was known as one of the scariest units in the league not that long ago. But it all starts with the trenches, where they simply haven't been the same. The Lions' offensive line's struggles reached the point where they had to draw former second-team All-Pro center Frank Ragnow out of retirement. However, Ragnow's return is over before it even got a chance to get going. Lions announce Ragnow failed his physical ahead of Cowboys matchup On Saturday, the Lions announced Ragnow's activation to the 53-man roster isn't happening after he failed his physical. "The medical exam revealed a Grade 3 hamstring strain that will keep him from participating for the remainder of the regular season," the team's statement reads. "For that reason, Frank will not be rejoining the Lions." It was already unlikely Ragnow would play in Week 14 due to his inactivity this year. However, the Lions are reaching must-win territory, so it wasn't out of the question. This update confirms it. It's a disappointing update even though it helps the Cowboys' chances of winning. You never want to see a star's return get ruined before it even starts. But it is what it is in football. With that being said, there's no denying it's an objectively positive development for a Dallas team starving for any break it can get as it tries to make the playoffs. Cowboys' rising DL will face struggling Lions OL Over the last few years, the motor driving the Lions' success was its offensive line. Now that it's struggling, Jared Goff's play is showing flaws, and the run game has been inconsistent. On the other side, the Cowboys' defense is quickly improving. Since Quinnen Williams' arrival via trade, Matt Eberflus' unit has shown an ability to pressure the quarterback and stop the run. While it hasn't been perfect, it's that interior defensive line that's sparked quality play. The Cowboys are 3.5-point underdogs against the Lions heading into Week 14 but this advantage in the trenches could position them to pull off a third consecutive upset. window.addEventListener('message', function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll event.data.totalpoll.action === 'resizeHeight') {document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-375').height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-375').contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: 'requestHeight'}}, '*'); This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Nov 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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