Wednesday cannon fodder: permanent honor cusp

Premier League/England

Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool defender says Ballon d’Or would be ‘big honour’ - BBC Sport
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk says winning the Ballon d’Or would be “a big honour” but believes he can still get even better.

Callum Hudson-Odoi set to agree new £100,000-a-week Chelsea contract | Football | The Guardian
These are the salaries you pay when you can’t do transfers.

Europe

Eugen Neagoe: Dinamo Bucharest boss taken to hospital during game - BBC Sport
Dinamo Bucharest manager Eugen Neagoe is in a stable condition after collapsing on the bench during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Universitatea Craiova.

Gareth Bale’s move from Real Madrid will not be a loan, player’s agent says | Football | The Guardian
Jonathan Barnett said: ‘There will be no makeshift deals’ for the Wales international forward after Zinedine Zidane said the club was ‘working on his exit’.

How Ralph Hasenhüttl inspired Ingolstadt’s rise from the cusp of the third tier to the Bundesliga
Taking Ingolstadt from second-tier depths to the Bundesliga, Ralph Hasenhüttl would establish himself as one of Germany’s most exciting managers.

Gareth Bale: Zinedine Zidane denies showing Real Madrid winger disrespect - BBC Sport
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane denies showing Gareth Bale disrespect, and claims the striker refused to come on as a substitute against Bayern Munich.

MLS/Americas

‘I saw my friends die in the street’: Mohamed El-Munir’s journey from Libya to LAFC | Football | The Guardian
The defender has forged a professional career after leaving the chaos of his homeland. But his thoughts are always with those he has left behind.

Messi gets WC qualifier ban for Copa red card
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has received a one-game suspension from World Cup qualifying after a controversial red card at the Copa America.

Tim Parker Tweets chronicle New York Red Bulls’ full day of flight delays out of Orlando | Pro Soccer USA
Did you know MLS, alone among US men’s professional sports, makes its teams fly commercial?

Rest of the World

The day scoring own goals was the only way to win an international football match
In one of football’s most bizarre incidents, at the 1994 Caribbean Cup, Barbados and Grenada would try to score own goals to qualify for the next round.

Other

‘I’m not strong enough to come out’: Mystery ‘gay footballer’ deletes Twitter account | Football | The Guardian
Acceptance is still further away than many of us would like it to be.