OPINION
Sometimes it feels like the whole of football journalism is built on a foundation of rumours and supposition.
Transfers quicken the pulse in a way that most stories don’t, and everybody – fans, journalists, pundits – are looking for the next big move to freshen things up and command the headlines.
There are, of course, gradations to the extent to which a whisper can be believed, but when a story begins to dominate a back page, things are generally taken up a notch or two.
That’s why Liverpool fans will be having a fair few sleepless nights after seeing Marca’s front page on Monday.
The Spanish newspaper leads with a headline claiming that Zinedine Zidane is intent on snatching Sadio Mane away from Anfield this summer, and they seem fairly convinced of it.
#LaPortada Zidane pide a Mané ?? pic.twitter.com/gOWBhFzlzy
— MARCA (@marca) March 24, 2019
The Daily Mail reported last week that the Spanish giants had relaunched a bid for the Senegalese international, but reliable source Guillem Balague seemed to put pay to those rumours on his personal Youtube channel just a few days ago.
Marca seemed convinced that there is something in the rumours, however, and their refusal to let the story fade away will have nerves jangling on Merseyside.
Mane has been in remarkable form of late, hitting 11 in his last 11 matches, and it’s easy to see why Madrid would be so keen on his signature.
It’s also easy to see why the press might be keen to propagate a narrative that kept fans on the edge of their seats all summer.
Liverpool supporters will just be hoping and praying that there is no substance to the murmurs.
