The UEFA Champions League Final is arguably the biggest game in club football, with eyes from all around the world squarely looking on and watching, arguably, the two best teams in Europe go up against each other for the highest glory in football possible.

As we know, we will see Real Madrid take on Liverpool in Paris on May 28, in a repeat of the Final that took place four years ago in Kyiv, Ukraine.

That particular encounter had ended 3-1 in favour of the Spaniards, with Gareth Bale netting two goals on the night, with the Reds’ goalkeeper, Loris Kauris, having what could only be described as a nightmare and effectively ended his career as a shot-stopper at a top club.

Will we see more of the same? Or will we get a completely different final? Let’s take a look at the two teams and what we could expect when the two teams take to the Stade de France pitch in just a matter of days.

Real Madrid’s form heading into the 2022 UCL

Naturally, when you think of Real Madrid, many will immediately associate the Spanish club with being the most successful club in the history of the competition. They are 13-time champions of this prestigious tournament, with their last trophy win being the 2018 edition when they defeated Liverpool.

Los Blancos come into the game as La Liga champions and will be looking to further extend their record. Some will likely be fancying them to be able to overcome the challenge of the English giants, as they have already managed to dispatch two other Premier League sides in order to get to the Final.

Real Madrid defeated Chelsea in the Quarter-finals after managing to get past Paris Saint-Germain, before defeating Manchester City in emphatic and rather incredible circumstances in the Semi-final stage. Given that they have been able to get past three of the most difficult teams in European competition already, many will immediately be fancying that they will take their chances.

However, those who perhaps read a sports blog UK has available to them might be of the opinion that Liverpool could be able to add their second UCL title in three years.

Liverpool has been in exceptional form

Jurgen Klopp’s side has been incredible this season and never look like losing whenever they take to the field, regardless of the competition that they are playing in.

The Reds have already managed to obtain a double after winning the League Cup and the FA Cup in the same way: defeating Chelsea in a penalty shootout. As of writing, they are still competing for the Premier League title – which will come to its conclusion on Sunday – and the UCL would help them to potentially complete the quadruple if they are able to capture the league title.

Indeed, Liverpool’s route to the UCL Final has been a lot simpler than the route that Real Madrid has had to take, as they defeated Inter, Benfica, and Villarreal to reach the showpiece in France.

What do we expect to happen this time around?

As highlighted, the last time these two teams met in the UEFA Champions League Final, Real Madrid managed to come out on top. Do we expect that to happen again?

In truth, it is certainly a possibility as Karem Benzema and Vinicius Jr continue to be incredible in attack for the Spaniards, with both playing extremely well and having very important contributions to the side.

However, it would be incredibly stupid to rule out Liverpool and their chances of winning. The Reds bounced back from that defeat in Kyiv to win the next edition of the UCL, whilst they have been a formidable opponent for every team over the last couple of years with Klopp in charge and an attack that contains Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

One thing we would imagine it would be impossible to see again is a defeat of the same manner. We would be very surprised if there were mistakes of the magnitude made in the 2018 Final, whilst we hope that the game is exciting all the way through.

Top Confirmed Football Transfer Deals in 2022 

When it comes to transfer deals in football, it can either be heartwarming or heartbreaking. Similarly with sports prediction, if you’re tired of unreliable predictions, then it’s time you switch to https://bookmaker-ratings.net.za/, where you can get betting tips with high accuracy. But that’s by the way, because during the transfer window opening, some clubs use it to make money, while others use it to strengthen their playing strategy.

After all, every club manager, coach and even the players have their eyes on the cup. To achieve this, clubs bargain a transfer deal with another club to acquire players. Whether the club will accept an offer or not depends on the value they place on the player as well as how juicy the offer is. The focus of this article is to highlight the top confirmed transfer deals this year.

• Luis Diaz

Columbia professional footballer Luis Diaz has signed a five and a half year contract with Liverpool FC at Anfield. The highly-rated Columbia player, Diaz who completed a deal from FC Porto for a fee of £49 million ($67 million), will improve the already solid frontline of Liverpool. During his time at FC Porto, he played a total of two and a half sessions. He also made 125 appearances and scored 41 goals for FC Porto. Wearing a No. 23 shirt, Diaz plays as a forward and midfielder.

• Bruno Guimarães

Bruno Guimarães, the 24-year old Brazilian soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Newcastle United. He was signed by his former club Olympique Lyonnais for a fee of £33 million ($44 million). At this price, it makes Bruno the second most expensive player in the club’s history. Bruno is perhaps the biggest and most talented midfielder in the market with the Olympic gold award up his sleeve.

• Dusan Vlahovic

Juventus have agreed to sign striker Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina for £62.8 million ($85 million). Dusan is said to receive a gross salary of $7.8 million $35.3 per season and a total of during his contract. The 22-year old highly-rated Serbian player has been a target for Tottenham and Arsenal. However, Juve beat them to it and signed a four and a half year deal with him. Dusan will be wearing the No 7 shirt for the Serie A side.

• Hwang Hee-Chan

Wolves are set to sign a permanent deal for £14 million ($18.9 million) with South Korea player Hwang Hee-Chan when his loan from RB Leipzig expires at the end of his season. The 26-year old forward player has scored four goals in 14 Premier League appearances since his arrival at Molineux. Hwang is currently five months into a season loan at Molineux. Now, Wolves has activated a clause that makes Hwang move from RB Leipzig later on the 1st of July 2022, until 2026.

• Martin Boyle

Hibernian has agreed to sign forward player Martin Boyle to Al-Faisaly after the third bid of around £2.5 million ($3.4 million) plus add-ons. The bid to sign Martin started at $672,000 by the Saudi Arabian club in December, which was turned down. For the second bid, it was increased to $2.6 million, which was also turned down by Hibs until the final offer. Over the past 12 months, his impressive performance of Martin attracted interest from several clubs.

• Lucas Digne

The Frenchman Lucas Digne is set to join Steven Gerrard’s rank as Aston Villa has completed a £25 million ($34 million) deal to sign him from Everton after several days of negotiation. Napoli, Newcastle, Chelsea, and West Ham were also interested in signing Lucas, but Aston Villa beat them to it. Lucas Digne signing with Aston Villa will be Steven Gerrard’s second signing as manager of Aston. After spending three and a half years in Everton, the 28-year old left-back has a total of 113 appearances and will bring such enthusiasm to Aston Villa.

• Chris Wood

To strengthen Newcastle’s striking position, Eddie Howe has quickly replaced injured Callum Wilson with Chris Wood. This deal cost Newcastle a whopping £25 million ($33.6 million) to sign him from Burnley to Newcastle. In his two-and-a-half-year deal, Chis is set to come along with his dangerous attacking threats, and physicality and character like no other.

• Kieran Trippier

Newcastle has signed a two and a half year contract for the England International footballer Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid. This transfer deal cost Newcastle a £12 million ($16 million) plus add-on. The signing of Kieran to Newcastle is the first signing under the new Saudi owners of Newcastle. While many people have high expectations from the 31-year old Kieran, he is as well excited to take up the challenge and fight to keep Newcastle United in the Premier League.

• Nathan Patterson

Nathan Patterson is also moving from Rangers to Everton after a transfer deal worth £16 million ($21.5 million) was signed. In the deal, the right-back player, Nathan Patterson, will be playing for Everton for five and a half years. This deal makes Nathan the second signing of Everton in the January transfer window.

• Ferran Torres

After completing his move from Man City to Barcelona in his five-year deal, Ferran Torres is expected to return to Spain. Barcelona has signed a transfer deal worth a £46.3 million ($61.8 million) initial deposit plus a further £8.4 million ($11.2 million) in add-ons for Ferran. Spain forward player, Ferran, will be playing with Barcelona on a five-year deal. The club has also set its buyout clause of $1.12 billion.

In conclusion, this list does not include the names of every confirmed transfer deal of players in 2022, but it includes the most prominent ones. Take note that not all players are the same. Some players are priced higher than others because of their value.

Being a good football player might not let you become very rich. Recently, athletes have been getting bigger amounts of money, however, talent does not always mean immediate financial success.

Based on celebritynetworth.com, forbes.com, and money.com, here is a list of the wealthiest football players in the world.

5. Wayne Rooney – $ 170 million

The peak of Rooney’s career is long gone, but even now, in 2022, he remains one of the world’s wealthiest footballers. The legendary Englishman made most of his capital playing for Manchester United. Through 13 seasons with the Red Devils, Wayne repeatedly concluded the contract, ultimately becoming the top player in the Premier League. His most considerable contract was worth about 15 million euros per year, and with advertising, he made 23.6 million dollars. In 2020, Rooney joined Derby County, as a player and coach. In January 2021 Wayne announced he officially stopped playing and became Derby’s full-time coach. All the updates on his career are available at Bookmaker Ratings India.

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – $ 190 million

Zlatan is renowned for his eccentric attitude and playing for Inter from 2006 to 2009. From Inter, Ibra transferred to Barcelona and then back to Italy, to Milan. In 2012, Zlatan moved to PSG and has gradually become one of the richest footballers. In the course of the next five years, he acquired roughly 15 million euros a year – first at PSG, then at Manchester United. In 2017, Ibrahimovic settled on a lower pay of 6.5 million euros in Manchester United, and in 2018 he moved to the United States – to the American Los Angeles Galaxy. In 2022, 40-year-old Ibra plays for Milan and still shows a fantastic play for fair money. The Swede’s earnings currently are 6 million euros. Zlatan also earns in other ways, like, for example, advertising for Nivea, Nike, and Microsoft.

3. Neymar – $ 200 million

Neymar, after Messi and Ronaldo, is one of the main stars of his era. However, the Brazilian footballer has not yet opened his potential to a 100%.  After an exceptional playing for Barcelona, ​​Neymar transferred to PSG. There he scored a lot but had a lot of trouble too. On the pitch, the Brazilian footballer often simulates and clashes with the judges, and off the field, he expresses that he wants to go back to Barcelona. Despite his difficult character, Neymar is among the most affluent football players in the world. PSG spent 222 million euros on the player and offered a generous salary – under the agreement, Neymar gets 70 million dollars per year and another 25 million for advertising.

2. Lionel Messi – $ 400 million

Considered by many the best footballer in history. In 2021 the Argentinean became a free agent after he had left Barcelona. Messi joined PSG soon after leaving Camp Nou. The French team offered Leo a $41 million net annual salary. The contract was signed for two years and can be extended for another year.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – $ 500 million

In the summer of 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo became the most expensive player in EPL history when he signed a contract with Manchester United for two years. This way, he returned to England after over ten years with Real Madrid and Juventus. Although the Red Devils are not at their height at the moment, Cristiano Ronaldo should not worry about his funds. Much like Lionel Messi, Ronaldo has got a two-year contract with the possibility of an extension for another year.

The UEFA Nations League is one of the youngest football tournaments, founded just 4 years ago in 2018.

The tournament, split into a league/group system is designed with competitive football in mind – replacing the friendlies that would otherwise occupy the FIFA International Match Calendar.

This year, Ireland is in Group B with Ukraine, Scotland and Armenia battling it out to earn the promotion to Group A.

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League, founded in 2018, is a football tournament held every 2 years with the European men’s senior national teams battling out for the overall title. 

A total of 55 teams make up the tournament, with member associations of UEFA making up the full list of competitors.

The league was created to replace the international friendly games that would previously be found on the FIFA International Match Calendar with the Nations League offering more competitive football. 

When will the UEFA Nations League be played?

The next scheduled UEFA Nations League will be played in three parts with the tournament stretching almost a full 2 years. 

The 22-23 UEFA Nations League league phase is played between June 2022 and September 2022. The Nations League Finals will then be played in June 2023, followed by the relegation play-outs in March 2024. 

How is the Nations League structured?

The Nations League is structured with all of the 55 UEFA teams grouped into four separate leagues, A-D. 

These leagues – made up of 16 teams each (with the expectation of League D) – are dictated by the 20-21 UEFA Nations League overall ranking. Each of the 4 leagues and made up of 4 groups, with each team playing four times within their group. 

The top teams in League A compete to win the overall title of UEFA Nations League champions, currently held by France. This is decided in the Nations League Finals made up of the four teams ranked at the top of the four groups. 

In the lower leagues, promotion and relegation are possible with the bottom team in groups A, B and C relegated to the lower level. The top teams in B, C and D are promoted to the next league. 

What are the chances of Ireland in the Nations League?

In the 22-23 UEFA Nations League, Ireland can be found in League B alongside Ukraine, Scotland and Armenia. 

Ireland is set to play Armenia on June 4th, Ukraine on June 14th and finally Scotland on September 24th. 

The odds of each game can be found in most sportsbooks online with Ireland currently rated at 11/4 from Bet365 to earn their promotion. 

Where to bet on Ireland in the UEFA Nations League

The UEFA Nations League is available to bet on with all major sportsbooks, but not all online betting platforms are created equally. 

Bettors looking for the best odds on the tournament should turn their attention to SBK, a mobile-only sportsbook powered by Smarkets. The sportsbook is rewriting the rulebook of the traditional sports betting site with a transparent approach taken in all aspects of the app. 

The Price+ feature is one of the most impressive on the app, allowing bettors to find the best possible price for the biggest wins. In addition to the fully transparent, competitive odds, bettors are also able to follow others placing wagers in the markets. Whether that’s friends or the top performers on the app, SBK combines a typical sportsbook with a social network for a reimagined app. 

New bettors signing up to SBK for the first time can claim a sizeable welcome bonus with a “Bet £10 Get £30 Free Bets” promo currently running. Read more about the SBK promo code where you can find all information about SBK and how to activate the bonus,

The takeaway

With Scotland, Armenia and Ukraine as the competitors for the 22-23 season, the odds of Ireland earning a promotion to Group A are good. 

Bettors looking to place a bet on Ireland in the UEFA Nations League can find some of the most competitive odds available at SBK. New bettors at the sportsbook looking to sign-up for the first time can claim a “Bet £10 Get £30 Free Bets” offer at the site. 

The latest odds on each Ireland game and future bets available can all be found online on the sportsbook. 

Football is a passion shared by millions of people across the globe. 

But if there’s a problem that only true fans can relate to, it’s the lack of events on cable television.

Regular viewers are happy to watch the classic tournaments like Champions League or FIFA and are enthusiastic about playing at nongamstopbookiesuk.com  . However, those who want to watch international football need to find a cheap and efficient way to enjoy live matches.

Based on dozens of experiments with different platforms, we’ve discovered that the best solution is using a live streaming site. 

Below, we’ve curated a list of the best live football streaming sites and included some tips to help you get started right away.

Let’s begin!

Tips for using a live football streaming site

If you’re completely new to live to stream services, here are some insights that should get you on the right track:

• Avoid completely free alternatives: live streaming services that don’t have a paid subscription generally lack most of the important events, and most of them are loaded with pop-up ads.  You can still use this type of platform, but you won’t be getting access to some of the more exclusive matches.
• Freemium platforms are worth a shot: the platforms that offer you a free trial to test the service are the best since you’re getting a lot of value, and you can see exactly what you will pay for in advance.
• Consider buying a VPN: if you’re from Canada, but you want to watch a game from the UK, it may not be possible without a VPN. This program changes your IP address to match the geo-location of the country where the match is played. Be careful. Not all platforms allow a VPN, so read their policy before proceeding.  
• Watch football matches on an online gaming site –  reputable online bookmakers offer users access to live streams for free, with the option to bet during the game. This option is cheap and gives you a chance to win extra money. We suggest you run an analysis and only sign up on websites tested by industry experts. You will know if the platform is secure and what events are available on the live stream.

Now that you understand the basics of live streaming, let’s have a look at the top-recommended platforms.

Official football live streams

The services below are approved by the officials and have a streaming licence for all of their games:

Sky Sports

Sky Sports is the best football live streaming platform available out there. Fans love it because it offers access to highly curated video highlights and a news section managed by some of the industry’s top sports journalists.

The platform does not require registration to watch most games, but it has ads to compensate. Additionally, you can purchase Sky Sports Premium if you want to get access to even more matches on any device you prefer.

BT Sport App

Bt Sports is known as the “Heart of Sport.” They are similar to Sky sports, but their media coverage mainly focuses on the English and Scottish leagues. 

The platform has a clean interface, and it requires registration to get access to the stream. The content available for free is limited, but you can buy a monthly pass that offers you access to the most critical leagues for only $30. 

They also provide a news channel that offers real-time insights from the most recent games and a podcast where they invite some of the most reputable people from the sports industry. Their vision is to replace the retail contract with a gamified version of a “monthly pass.”

ESPN Watch

ESPN’s free sports streaming site offers a high-quality user interface that makes you feel like you’ve paid for the service.

Note: ESPN Watch is a freemium service. You can purchase an ESPN+ monthly subscription for $5.99 that will offer you access to exclusive content.

The ESPN site is mainly focused on US and Canada sports, but it is still a valuable resource for anyone who loves football. It offers highlights, game commentaries, players and all sorts of helpful information that you can use to learn more about the game.

Although the ESPN channel is available on most cable TV, the online streaming version can come in handy when you’re not home when an important game is on. You can download WatchESPN(available on Android and iOS) and watch the competition directly on your mobile device.

Unofficial live streams 

The internet is a diverse place where you can find hundreds of “unofficial” sources where you can watch football games live. These sources don’t have an excellent reputation in the community (since they’re unlicensed), but they are free and don’t usually require creating an account.

Here is a list of our favourite  unofficial football streaming platforms 

Streamonsport

By using Streamonsport, you get access to a wide range of international events for free.

 You can watch your favourite football games on all types of devices without creating an account. However, some individual streams (especially important events) will require signing to view them.

 From our experience, there are some occasional pop-up ads, but they don’t appear during the match. The site also offers a live chat feature to talk to other soccer fans from around the world.

Facebook Watch Live

Facebook recently introduced the “Watch” feature that works similarly to Youtube. 

Available on mobile and desktop, the Facebook Watch enables users to search for any type of content (including live stream) without any geo-location restrictions. This free platform includes a wide range of unofficial live football streams, but it shows you ads constantly, which can be bothersome in key moments of the game.

Live Soccer TV

Live Soccer TV is one of the largest sites where you can find live football matches for free. They have over 20 million monthly visitors, and their website is more than just a streaming platform. 

They offer a mobile app, the full schedule for all the football matches and impressive streaming quality. If you miss out on a game, you can find it in their archive. 

The best part? 

Live Soccer TV does not require you to sign up, but you will get pop-up ads from time to time (which is normal, given that this is an entirely free service). If the site is not working, you can use a VPN to fix the connectivity issue.

Wrapping up –  Which option is best for you?

Now that you’re more familiar with the best live football streaming sites on the market, you may be wondering:

“How do I know which platform is better for me?”

The answer is: It depends.

If you want access to a wide range of sports events targeted towards your region, go for an official source. 

However, if you prefer watching international sports, you may need to use a VPN. In this case, we recommended going for an unofficial live stream since their policies don’t restrict the use of third-party tools. 

From our experience, the most efficient and affordable alternative is using an online sportsbook that offers live streaming services. Even though their library may not be as vast as the other options, you can make some money by placing live bets as you watch.

Have fun and enjoy a new way of watching your favourite football games