Saturday’s European Champions League final at Wembley marks a strange kind of celebration for the Football Association’s 150th anniversary, with the triumphant arrival of two German clubs to compete for this highest prize. Bayern Munich’s and Borussia Dortmund’s accession to the final has dispelled the comforting English line of recent years, that Germany’s insistently traditional football ways, their supporter-owned clubs, thousands of cheap tickets and home-developed young players, brought them little success in Europe.

Talking in London in advance of the final, Christian Seifert, chief executive of the German Bundesliga, was duly modest, acknowledging his league’s imperfections, particularly the concern over Bayern’s dominance, but he acknowledged, overall: “Yes, we are proud that we have two teams in the final. We have the feeling that we did more things right than wrong in the last 10 years.”

Seifert paid his respects to the Premier League as “very exciting and interesting”, although it was noticeable that the strengths he hailed were mainly financial: the English clubs’ booming earnings, particularly from overseas TV rights.

“It is a perfectly marketed product all over the world,” he said, of the Premier League, whose 20 clubs will make around €1bn (£860m) more combined next season than the Bundesliga’s 18. “It is the league with the most financial opportunities in Europe and we will never overtake them financially.”

Yet that financial disparity has not led the Bundesliga clubs to follow English football into selling up to single mega-rich owners, or pricing young adults out of the grounds. Repeatedly, the German clubs have reaffirmed their commitment to the now familiar rule which maintains democratic ownership by fans: that a majority control (“50% plus one”), must be held by members.

“It is a question of philosophy and by far the majority want to stay with it,” he said. There are exceptions, with Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg historically owned by the Bayer and Volkswagen corporations. “Nobody loves a club more than the members, and this keeps supporters with that emotion close to the club. We think it gives clubs and the league stability too, because nobody can come overnight and buy a club.”

The control by supporters of even these two European giants — Bayern 82% owned by their 187,865 members; Dortmund with voting rights controlled by their 30,000 – links directly to the maintenance of ticket prices as low as €13 at Bayern and €11 at Dortmund in standing areas, and cheaply priced seating too.

“This is about giving people who cannot afford the business seats the opportunity to come,” says Seifert. “There is no rule requiring this; it is a feeling of the clubs, to have a mixture of society, the whole society, in our stadiums.

“The democratic control by members also means that if management want to raise ticket prices, the members may say: we want different management.”

Christian Müller, the Bundesliga’s former chief financial officer, now chief executive of Bundesliga 2 club Dynamo Dresden, recalls the commitment to member-ownership weakening 10 years ago when the league felt itself to be struggling in the Premier League’s slipstream. The Bundesliga began then to increase the value of its TV deals, and from 2000 the clubs began to invest in youth academies after the German national team’s failure in the European Championship.

“The clubs realised to be successful is not only a question of money,” Müller said. “The vast majority of people support the 50%+1 rule. Football is considered to be a public good, and people can be truly a part of it, by being members of a club.”

Bayern, without doubt one of Europe’s mighty with €202m commercial income including booming corporate sponsorships, stormed their way to Wembley with a wage bill, a reported £140m in 2011-12, below that of Manchester City, United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Dortmund’s wage bill was £68m for Jürgen Klopp’s fine young squad, £134m less than City spent in 2011-12 and lower than seven Premier League clubs including Aston Villa. While Premier League clubs spent 67% of their huge income on wages, Seifert said the Bundesliga clubs spent only 38% of theirs on players’ wages, despite their lower income.

Seifert recognises the fear that Bayern’s financial muscle, their €368m turnover almost double that of Dortmund’s €189m, will dominate the Bundesliga, a concern deeper now Bayern have snapped up for next season Klopp’s key midfielder Mario Götze, who will miss Saturday’s final through injury. Uefa might consider how it distributes the Champions League income, Seifert argues, so as not to increase the gap, but he is cautious about putting the Bundesliga’s own financial balance into question.

For now, he prefers to argue that Bayern have had a spectacularly great season but that continued superiority is not established. “If Bayern win the league the next two seasons 20 points ahead, I would say yes, something should change.”

Aside from this growing concern over the Bundesliga’s competitiveness, German football has come through self-doubt to a strength, including the national team, now illuminated for all of Europe. They grasped the growth in TV and commercial income while maintaining genuine clubs, owned by their supporter-members, not selling them to speculators, which is anathema to them.

When Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund play their European final under the floodlights of Wembley, the English game, in its 150th year, might consider if the football gods are trying to send it a message.

This article titled “Burgeoning Bundesliga shows Premier League the way” was written by David Conn, for The Guardian on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 19.53 UTC

Paris Saint-Germain have informed Wayne Rooney’s representatives that they would be willing to match his current wages as they seek to convince the unsettled England striker to leave Manchester United for Parc des Princes.

Rooney’s future at Old Trafford has been in serious doubt since Sir Alex Ferguson, speaking immediately after his final home game in charge, suggested the forward had asked for a transfer after nine years with United. The incoming manager, David Moyes, is understood to want to retain the 27-year-old‘s services but the player may now consider his relationship with the club and the supporters to be fractured beyond repair.

PSG, who are braced to lose their title-winning manager, Carlo Ancelotti, to Real Madrid and will consider Rafael Benítez as a replacement, have sensed an opportunity to secure the England international and hope to pair him up front with Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic next season.

The French champions, who are backed by the money-flushed Qatar Investment Authority, made their interest in securing the player known last week and have indicated they would be prepared to match his salary, which amounts to about £300,000 a week.

Rooney, whose wife Coleen gave birth to the couple’s second boy, Klay Anthony, on Tuesday, is reluctant to move abroad, given his young family, and would need to be convinced of the overall quality of Ligue 1. But a move to Paris remains a possibility given the lack of other options on the table.

PSG have prioritised the Englishman over Napoli’s Edinson Cavani, who is a long-standing target for Manchester City, and believe he can still be persuaded to leave for France. Arsenal have also been mooted as a potential destination within the Premier League, though it seems unlikely they would be prepared to stretch to the player’s financial demands. Neither City nor Chelsea are inclined, at present, to revive interest in the striker.

Rooney had met Ferguson last month to discuss his prospects at United after the player was dismayed at falling behind Robin van Persie in the pecking order and his inability to earn regular selection in his preferred forward position. He felt the writing was on the wall from the moment he was dropped for the second leg of United’s Champions League knockout tie with Real Madrid in March and expressed his concerns in the discussions.

He apparently denies making a formal transfer request but the manager’s comments, and the subsequent fallout, have left him concerned as to whether there is any way back at United, even under new management, given the damage inflicted by the suggestions he was keen to leave.

United would still need to be convinced about selling Rooney, who has two years remaining on his contract – the usual point for renewing terms – and Moyes’s input could yet prove key to determining the player’s future. If the player cannot be convinced he can be rehabilitated at the club, the best course for him and the club could yet be for his sale to be sanctioned.

United and Rooney’s representatives could not be reached for comment.

This article titled “PSG lure Wayne Rooney with promise to match Manchester United wages” was written by Dominic Fifield, for The Guardian on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 21.14 UTC

Tottenham Hotspur hope to demonstrate their ambition remains intact despite a failure to reach next season’s Champions League by renewing their efforts to sign the Brazil forward Leandro Damião and seeking to pair him with Valencia’s Spain international Roberto Soldado.

The pursuit of both strikers, coupled with the confidence that Gareth Bale will sign new terms to remain at White Hart Lane for at least another season, would satisfy the manager, André Villas-Boas, who has called for the club to “raise the bar again” before next season. They missed out on the top four this time despite amassing an impressive 72 points.

The Portuguese said in January that Leandro “fits the profile” of a potential recruit and attempts were made during the winter window to secure their long-standing target. Tottenham enjoy a close relationship with the 23-year-old’s club, Internacional, whose president, Giovanni Luigi, suggested this month that Spurs had resumed dialogue over a move for a player who has 16 caps. A price of around £16m has been mooted, with the Brazilian club apparently now braced to lose the player to the Premier League.

Securing his signature would represent something of a coup, though the desire to play him alongside Soldado is particularly eye-catching. The Spain forward, who would have commanded a fee close to £30m a year ago, has been watched by Spurs scouts this season as he has maintained his impressive form at the Mestalla. He could be available for nearer £20m should Valencia fail to qualify for the Champions League.

The 27-year-old started his career with Real Madrid but after a productive spell at Getafe, has thrived at Valencia after joining as a replacement for David Villa. He has 27 goals in all competitions this season. Spurs had also expressed an interest in the Queens Park Rangers forward Loïc Rémy, though it remains to be seen if that will be maintained with the player on bail following his arrest on suspicion of rape, a claim he denies.

The Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, hopes to construct a team around Bale with the Wales international, who is happy to remain at White Hart Lane, expected to sign improved terms that will keep him at the club for next season at least. There will be a buy-out clause inserted which could lead to him moving abroad should an offer in excess of £50m be received next summer; though, by then, Tottenham hope they will have secured passage into Europe’s elite competition.

Bale, who scored his 26th club goal of the season in the 1-0 defeat of Sunderland on Sunday, has expressed his frustration at the club’s failure to reach the Champions League. “It was obviously great to sign off with a great goal in the last minute, but circumstances made it hard to celebrate,” he said.

“To miss out on our objective [Champions League qualification] is very disappointing. It was great to get the win but the clouds just came over and made it a little bit duller, but it’s something we have to learn from, we are a young squad, and we will take it into the future.”

Bale is due to play for Spurs against Jamaica in a friendly in the Bahamas on Thursday.

There will be significant outgoings at Tottenham, too, with a number of senior players effectively available for transfer. Their number include the England internationals Scott Parker and Tom Huddlestone, as well as Emmanuel Adebayor, who managed only five league goals all season following his permanent move from Manchester City. William Gallas, 35, will leave under freedom of contract.

This article titled “Tottenham target Leandro Damião and Roberto Soldado for next season” was written by Dominic Fifield, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 21.30 UTC

Brendan Rodgers expects a quick resolution to Andy Carroll’s future at Liverpool, with the striker’s hopes of a return to Newcastle United receding.

West Ham United have had a £15m offer accepted by Liverpool for the 24-year-old, who was initially reluctant to move to east London on loan last season and who harbours similar doubts over signing for Sam Allardyce’s team on a permanent basis.

The England international has not given up hope of revitalising his career at Anfield, despite being told by the Liverpool manager that he will have few opportunities to do so, but he would consider a move back to the boyhood club he left for £35m in January 2011. Newcastle, however, have not registered an interest and a potential exchange deal involving Hatem Ben Arfa is unlikely as Rodgers’ interest in the French midfielder has cooled.

Rodgers said: “It was just a general conversation in terms of the experience of getting out and playing. He enjoyed that apart from the injury. At the start of the season the whole thing was about going and getting games because he wasn’t going to be a starter here. We will talk again with him and the club to see how it all evolves. It’s one of those situations where it will probably be resolved a lot quicker than that for both parties.”

Liverpool were keen on Ben Arfa earlier in the season and a swap for Carroll may have appealed to Newcastle, who refused to entertain the striker’s £17m asking price last summer and attempted to re-sign him on loan instead. But Liverpool were unimpressed by the 26-year-old France international following his return from a three-month injury lay-off in March and that avenue now appears closed to Carroll.

Carroll scored seven goals in 24 league games for West Ham to earn a recall to the England squad for the friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil, a recall since postponed by a heel injury. As was the case last summer, Carroll has been told he does not feature in the Liverpool manager’s long-term plans and Rodgers wants to invest the £15m fee and a salary in excess of £4m in new faces. Schalke’s Greece international Kyriakos Papadopoulous is his main target to replace Jamie Carragher in central defence next season and Liverpool may have to pay more than £12m for a player targeted by several leading clubs. The Anfield club are also leading the chase for Barcelona’s 16-year-old winger, Sergi Canos, who is also wanted by Arsenal and Manchester City.

On his end-of-season talks with Carroll, the Liverpool manager said: “It’s a difficult one. I spoke to him and we had a good chat. The boy is a talent. It’s just something we need to assess between now and the end of window. In terms of the money, that’s something out of my control. But he’s a talent so we will assess the whole situation. The objective at the beginning of the season was for him to go out and play. He’s gone away to think of what we spoke about and we will talk again through the weeks.”

In contrast to last summer, however, when Carroll joined West Ham shortly before the transfer deadline and Rodgers was unable to sign Clint Dempsey as a replacement, Liverpool want to resolve the striker’s position quickly.

This article titled “Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers expects quick decision on Andy Carroll” was written by Andy Hunter, for The Guardian on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 21.54 UTC

Chelsea’s pursuit of a striker to add to their forward options has led the reigning European champions and Europa League winners to lodge an inquiry with Galatasaray about the availability of their Turkey international Burak Yilmaz.

Yilmaz, whose career has taken in spells at Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor, has enjoyed an impressive first year with Galatasaray and registered eight goals in this season’s Champions League. That haul included a winner against Manchester United in November, a hat-trick in Cluj and goals in both legs of the knockout-round victory over Schalke.

Chelsea, who should confirm the reappointment of José Mourinho as manager by the middle of next month, contacted Galatasaray to discover whether the 27-year-old was available. They were informed it would take a bid in excess of £20m to prise away the forward, who signed a four-year deal with an option for a further season when joining from Trabzonspor last summer. He had scored 33 goals in 34 league games for Trabzonspor the previous season.

That fee may prove prohibitive for a player who has not played for a club outside Turkey, even if he comes highly regarded by the former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who is a team-mate at Galatasaray.

Yet Chelsea’s other options in the market appear relatively limited. Their long-standing target, Radamel Falcao, may yet opt for a move to Monaco, having indicated he will leave Atlético Madrid this summer, while Edinson Cavani is attracting interest from Manchester City. Robert Lewandowski, the prolific Borussia Dortmund forward, is expected to join Mario Götze at Bayern Munich after Saturday’s Champions League final between the clubs.

Chelsea are seeking another established forward to compete with Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and, possibly, Romelu Lukaku next season. The young Belgian may be loaned out again to a rival Premier League club who are competing in European competition – Swansea have been mooted – to gain further experience after a successful arrangement at West Bromwich Albion last season.

Mourinho witnessed Yilmaz first-hand in the first leg of Real’s Champions League quarter-final at the Bernabéu – the Turk was booked and missed the second leg through suspension – and will liaise with Chelsea’s recruitment and scouting department over potential targets.

Yilmaz, whose 24 league goals helped secure the Turkish league title, has indicated a willingness to stay in Istanbul, though the ultimate decision over his future would remain with Galatasaray. “I’m really happy here,” he said this month. “I have a long-term contract here. If an offer is put on the table then it’s the club’s decision which will matter, not mine.”

This article titled “Chelsea ask Galatasaray if Turkey striker Burak Yilmaz is for sale” was written by Dominic Fifield, for The Guardian on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 21.30 UTC

The chief executive of the Bundesliga has issued an outspoken attack on Fifa’s decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, describing it as “hard, if not impossible” to play the tournament in the Arabian Gulf’s fierce heat of summer.

Speaking in London before Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund contest Saturday’s Champions League final at Wembley, Christian Seifert said the Bundesliga and other leagues are “very upset” that they may have to reschedule their domestic competition to allow the World Cup to be played in the winter instead.

He said moving the World Cup to winter could leave Fifa open to a legal challenge, because the countries which made bids for 2022 did so on the basis that it would be a summer tournament, and they could ask for a re-vote.

“If you make a decision which is so far away from a sporting perspective, if it is so politically driven, it is wrong,” Seifert said. “Maybe Fifa should change the claim [on its logo]: this is not ‘For the good of the game.’”

Recalling the successful World Cup in Germany in 2006, with its teeming fan zones and party atmosphere in public spaces and on the streets, Seifert said: “I am convinced it is hard, if not impossible, to play a World Cup in the summer in Qatar. In Germany it was a special atmosphere, but I doubt that could work in 48 degree heat. Summer in Qatar is not the right time.

“The priority is the health of the players, and a decision was made here which ignores the health of the players.”

Seifert is already considering the implications of the leagues having to move their competitions to accommodate a winter World Cup in 2022, if it remains with Qatar. He said if it is moved to the winter, it would affect three seasons of league football, due to the need to negotiate a TV deal to cover the period.

“I am not sure if legally it can be played in the winter; the lawyers will decide in the end if it has to go to a re-vote,” Seifert said.

“Talking to other leagues, I have the feeling they are very upset the decision was taken, that a four-week tournament will affect three years of leagues. This shows me Fifa as a body deciding what is good for the game, ignoring the day-to-day business of leagues.”

This article titled “Bundesliga boss attacks Fifa decision to hold 2022 World Cup in Qatar” was written by David Conn, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 22nd May 2013 16.48 UTC

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This article titled “Phil Neville pitches for the vacant Everton manager’s job” was written by Andy Hunter, for The Guardian on Tuesday 21st May 2013 21.30 UTC

The special one is not bound for Stamford Bridge, according to Phil Neville; he has simply shifted along the M62. It could be bias or the insight from a career played entirely under Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes but either way, the former Everton captain is adamant that the Scot, not José Mourinho, is the perfect fit for Manchester United.

Few are better placed to assess Moyes’s credentials as Ferguson’s replacement than Neville, who worked alongside the Everton manager for eight years after leaving Old Trafford at the age of 28 in 2005. They could be reunited if Moyes opts to bring the 36-year-old on to his coaching staff at United though Neville has told Everton’s chairman, Bill Kenwright, he wishes to succeed the Scot at Goodison Park.

Neville’s immediate future may be uncertain, but his confidence in Moyes’s ability to prove wrong the doubters who would have preferred the more glamorous and proven appointment of Mourinho is clear. “He is the best candidate, 100%,” insists Neville. “You can put him alongside any coach in the world for that job and he is the best candidate. If José Mourinho came to Man United you would think, with his track record, that in maybe three seasons he would be gone. Man United are looking at the next 20 years. They’ve just given David Moyes a six-year contract. It is that kind of club. They invest in a certain kind of manager and that is why he is the best man for the job. There is no one else they could have invested in who would offer the same longevity as the previous manager.”

Mourinho won seven league championships in four countries and two European Cups as Moyes rebuilt Everton over 11 years, albeit without bringing a trophy to Goodison. But Neville adds: “The pressure will always be there at United and David Moyes will have to win games and win trophies. He will do that.

“People talk about José Mourinho being the ‘special one’ but the gaffer has something special about him in his own way. He keeps producing. Every season at Everton people would say he is going to get stale and the club is going to finish in the bottom half but that never happened. He sucks everything out of everyone.”

Neville’s Everton career has also finished but unlike the club’s departing manager, the next step remains unknown. He does not want to join the retirement parade from the Premier League this summer, although he knew his Everton playing days were over following the calamitous FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Wigan in March.

“I was not at the level I expected from myself and if there was ever a painful moment for that to hit home, that was it,” he recalls. “The Wigan game was pivotal because it was not just me I was letting down, but a lot of people. It was the worst three minutes of my career in terms of three goals in three minutes that knocked us out of the FA Cup. I don’t want to rush into retirement and regret it because people say play as long as possible until the legs can’t take any more. I’m not at that stage yet, but I nearly am.”

Stoke City are among several clubs interested in Neville as a player, coach or both, but the plan to leave Everton has been revised since United’s sudden move for Moyes. Wigan’s Roberto Martínez remains the favourite for the Everton manager’s job but Neville, along with fellow internal candidates Alan Stubbs and David Weir, has spoken to Kenwright.

Neville, who is working towards his Uefa pro-licence, said: “It would be a really good job to get. I know there are players who have gone into jobs and failed but I just think I have prepared. I have prepared for the last five seasons and I have got some really nice decisions to make. I am prepared for every eventuality.

“I’ve not reached the end of my career and thought: ‘I know, I’ll be a manager.’ I have had a lot of experience, studying coaching practices. I’ve got files on every training session from the last three seasons. I have been away with the Under-21s. I’m half-prepared for what I am going in to. I pick his [Moyes'] brains constantly. We were out recently and I was asking him what it is like when your team goes on a night out. Do you set curfews? You have to learn these things.

“He has been unbelievable in the way he has opened up. He tells you the pitfalls and his strengths. I grill him. He must think sometimes: ‘Give me a break.’ It’s the same with Steve Round [Everton's assistant manager]. I virtually man-mark him.”

The 36-year-old could follow his brother Gary into the television studio next season if he wishes, as the BBC and BT are keen. But he would prefer the aggravation of management. “There is this preconceived idea that I would follow the likes of Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher and Gary into the media because it’s a really good life. But football is my life. I think it will go full cycle.

“We have to go back towards more English coaches and I think over the next three or four seasons the Carraghers, Owens, Terrys, Lampards, my brother, Scholes, Butt and Giggs will be involved. I think the Premier League will be littered with managers of that ilk in four or five years’ time.”

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

This article titled “Everton’s Leon Osman signs new two-year contract with Goodison club” was written by Andy Hunter, for The Guardian on Tuesday 21st May 2013 21.34 UTC

Leon Osman has signed a new two-year contract at Everton that will tie the midfielder to his boyhood club until the age of 34.

Osman, who along with the full-back Tony Hibbert is one of two players to pre-date David Moyes at Everton, would have been out of contract next summer but has now agreed a deal until the end of the 2014–15 season.

The 32-year-old made 42 appearances for Moyes’s team last season and received full England recognition for the first time in November’s friendly against Sweden, plus the World Cup qualifying win over San Marino.

He scored eight goals for Everton in the last campaign, but missed the final game at Chelsea due to injury. Osman made his full Everton debut in 2003 and has also had loan spells at Carlisle United and Derby County.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010