Chelsea held a guard of honor for Leicester City on Sunday, forming a human tunnel and clapping for the team that dethroned them as champions while they walked out onto the Stamford Bridge pitch. It was an important moment for the Foxes. Not for any sporting or sentimental reason — they'd already lifted the trophy and celebrated with their fans at home the week before — but because it marked final moment where they'd be celebrated. They've had their two weeks of fun, but now the fun is over, and everyone will move on to questions about the future.
We’ve enjoyed Leicester City’s title for 2 weeks. Now it’s time for baseless rumors and getting ahead of ourselves!
The world’s greatest sporting fairy tale is now just another cog in the great Transfer Rumor Industrial Complex.
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Leicester's fairy tale captured hearts as long as the possibility of their failure remained likely. Once that possibility dwindled, neutral fans continued to enjoy the story long enough to enjoy the fun of taking the piss out of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. But no one is fulfilled. No one, save for some lucky Leicester fans, is any happier than they were at the start of the season.
All anyone cares about is what’s next. There is no end of the season, no time off to reflect, no real celebration. It’s always what’s next, then what’s after that, and after that. Can Leicester maintain their top four place? Can they really be competitive in Champions League? Who will they buy with all their money? Can they hold onto their star players?
Because the Daily Mail/Mirror/Telegraph understands, as they always do, that Pep Guardiola is making Riyad Mahrez his top target at Manchester City if he can't convince Lionel Messi to join. A source close to Mahrez told the outlet that playing for Guardiola has always been his dream and would be impossible to turn down. What does this mean for Raheem Sterling? Is his career over before it even got started?
Sterling is among Leicester's targets to replace Mahrez and could even go the other way as part of player-plus-cash swap, though he'd need to take a wage cut. Leicester's other targets are Mario Götze, Kevin Mirallas, James Rodriguez and Georginio Wijnaldum. These are five extremely similar players that definitely belong on a list together.
Manchester United is plotting a swoop for Jamie Vardy. If they can't get Cristiano Ronaldo, Thomas Müller or Harry Kane, that is. Then they'll swoop. Jose Mourinho is said to rate him. Ed Woodward is weary of spending £40 million on such an old player. Or is it £50 million? Wait, the outlet understands that Leicester won't sell for less than £60 million!
And Leicester have signed two new wingers. What a shame, why won't Claudio Ranieri put any trust in Demarai Gray, a huge young talent, or Marc Albrighton, who helped him win the Premier League title? Does the arrival of new center backs mean that team captain Wes Morgan is being marginalized? That's no way to treat your captain. And... oh goodness, breaking news coming into the Sky Sports studios now, Real Madrid have made a bid for Kasper Schmeichel!
This is the summer that millions of people will experience. This is the summer that English media outlets want you to get caught up in. And, try as you might to avoid the rumors and speculation and other general nonsense, there’s a good chance you’ll get sucked into it too, because we can’t just let Leicester be Premier League champions for a year. We have to know what’s coming next.
Hopefully everyone’s enjoyed their two weeks of celebrating the greatest footballing story of this decade. Now, everything is back to normal, and Leicester City is just any other cog in the great Transfer Rumor Industrial Complex. We’re looking forward to the Foxes being called flukes and bottlers when they get knocked out of Champions League and fail to finish top four next season. Which we’re already thinking about.
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