Is there any team anyone’s hoping we draw in the groups? Personally wouldn’t mind getting PSG. I’ve seen us against just about every other big dog in Europe. Will then be able to tick Mbappe and Neymar off the list of who I’ve managed to watch live.
Jokes aside, a former colleague of mine who now has a role in the office of an envoy to the Middle East reckons it is likely to be about geopolitics, with the EU especially keen on Erdogan gravitating closer to their sphere of influence given the rising tensions with Russia over the last decade. Erdogan is football-crazy, having played professional football in his youth before going into politics. Rumour has it he was even scouted by Fenerbache at one point. If Emmanuel Macron pressurised Mbappe to stay at PSG, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if certain high-ranking EU officials had a quiet word in the ears of certain high-ranking UEFA officials to make sure Turkey is disproportionately favoured with major tournaments.
