European football chief Ceferin plays down fears of talent drain to Saudi Pro League June 19, 2023 Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin insists he is not worried about the Saudi Pro League’s ambitious transfer policy stripping European football of its top stars. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Ruben Neves have already followed Cristian Ronaldo in moving to Saudi, where a major investment programme from the Public Investment Fund is also reported to be [...]
20,000 abusive social media posts made during Fifa World Cup, England v France with the highest proportion June 19, 2023 There were almost 20,000 abusive social media posts aimed at players, teams and officials during last year’s Fifa World Cup, according to a new report by the sport’s governing body and player union Fifpro released yesterday. The 19,600 abusive messages came from 12,600 accounts during the showpiece event held in Qatar last winter. Fifa went [...]
How the Home Office made it easier for English football to sign foreign youngsters June 16, 2023 A little over two years after English football shut the door on a host of foreign talent by implementing strict post-Brexit rules, it prised it open again this week when the Home Office approved a relaxation of the regulations. The biggest change affords clubs more scope to appeal for an exception to be made if [...]
Five talking points from the 2023-24 Premier League fixtures June 15, 2023 The hangovers from Manchester City’s treble celebrations may barely have subsided (hello, Jack Grealish) but the 2023-24 Premier League fixtures have already been released. Here, City A.M. picks out five talking points from next season’s schedule – including some important dates for the diary of top-flight football fans. Man City’s early Kompany reunion The new [...]
Ed Warner: What’s next for the losers in the rush to embrace sovereign wealth? June 15, 2023 City A.M. columnist Ed Warner discusses the recent LIV Golf merger, the Saudi Arabia PIF deal and what comes next for the losers in the rush to embrace sovereign wealth. Elite runners focus on every step of every run. Us mere mortals seek displacement tricks to block out the pain. And so I found myself [...]
From Big Five to Big One: Premier League pulling away from European rivals – Deloitte June 15, 2023 European football’s Big Five leagues are steadily being replaced by a Big One as the Premier League pulls away from its rivals, according to research published today. The total revenue of Premier League clubs reached £5.5bn in 2021-22, around twice as much as its nearest challenger, Spain’s LaLiga, Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance reports. [...]
BBC and ITV to show Fifa Women’s World Cup June 14, 2023 Broadcasting duo the BBC and ITV will show the Fifa Women’s World Cup this year after concerns over whether the tournament would be shown in Europe at all. Fifa had threatened a European blackout if broadcasters were not willing to stump up a desired amount to show the tournament, which kicks off on 20 July [...]
Jude Bellingham signs for Real Madrid in potential English record transfer June 14, 2023 Real Madrid have confirmed the signing of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund in what could become a record fee for an English player. The 19-year-old England midfielder is believed to be costing the Spanish champions an initial €103m (£88m). That fee could rise to as much as €133m (£113m), eclipsing the £100m Manchester City paid [...]
Kylian Mbappe puts ball back in Paris Saint-Germain court over summer sale June 13, 2023 Kylian Mbappe has insisted he does not want to leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer, despite indicating that he will not take up the option to extend his current contract. Mbappe’s stance places additional pressure on PSG to sell the World Cup-winning France forward in the coming weeks – or risk losing him for nothing next [...]
Uefa Nations League Finals: Hasn’t football finished yet? Oh go on then June 13, 2023 If you thought football had packed up for the summer then think again as the longest season ever segues into the coda that nobody asked for: this week’s Nations League Finals. From Wednesday through to Sunday, hosts the Netherlands, Croatia, Spain and Italy are set to convene in the lowlands to duke it out for [...]