GM football fans. It’s Monday, Sept. 22 - The Ballon d’Or winners will be announced today, Mexican football eyes a better investment deal, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY RESULTS
Premier League MD5: Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City. Mikel Arteta is now the only manager to go five games unbeaten against Pep Guardiola in league competition due to a late Gabriel Martinelli equaliser. Meanwhile, Man City have just seven points from their opening five Premier League matches, their worst start to a campaign since 2006-07 under Stuart Pearce. Read the full match report here.
All results: Bournemouth 0-0 Newcastle | Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa | Liverpool 2-1 Everton | Brighton 2-2 Spurs | Burnley 1-1 Forest | West Ham 1-2 Palace | Wolves 1-3 Leeds | Man United 2-1 Chelsea | Fulham 3-1 Brentford (Table)
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
Ballon d’Or Tonight
The men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or winners will be announced on Monday (Sept 22), and the ceremony will begin around 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET. The award covers the 2024-25 season, following a seasonal format, not a calendar year system. Read more on how the winners are decided here.
For the men’s award, there are four major contenders: Ousmane Dembele, Mohamed Salah, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha. According to betting odds, PSG’s Dembele is the strong favourite after winning the Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and Uefa Champions League treble in 2024-25. The Frenchman recorded 37 goals and 15 assists in 60 matches. Dive deeper into why Dembele is the favourite here.
Salah, who had 37 goals and 23 assists in 60 matches, was the front-runner until Liverpool’s last-16 Champions League elimination and their League Cup final loss to Newcastle. Meanwhile, Raphinha’s 38 goals and 24 assists in 64 matches, plus winning La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de Espana, also put the Brazilian firmly in contention.
For the women’s award, two-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati and Alessia Russo are the front-runners. Twice have English women finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings, but after playing a key role in Arsenal’s Champions League triumph and England’s Euro 2025 victory, Russo is in serious contention–read more on Russo’s season here. Other contenders include Alexia Putellas and Mariona Caldentey.
Mexican Football Eyes Investment
The Mexican Football Federation remains optimistic that it can secure a better deal with the U.S. asset management firm Apollo, following the collapse of its $1.3bn investment proposal last year. A key part of the proposal was to centralise media and commercial rights, which is not the current model in Mexico’s top flight.
The original deal failed to gain unanimous approval from the 18 Liga MX clubs. The main opposition came from bigger clubs, reluctant to give up their individually negotiated TV and commercial rights.
Mikel Arriola, president of Liga MX, is confident they can negotiate a better deal as investor interest is growing, thanks to the league’s 160 million fan base spread across the U.S. and Mexico. Liga MX remains the most-watched league in the U.S., averaging 501,000 viewers per match, which has increased investor appetite, despite past concerns over money laundering and corruption scandals.
Bundesliga Ultras Violence
A group of FC Schalke fans reportedly pulled the emergency brakes on a train to stage a brawl with Borussia Dortmund fans. Nearly 300–400 supporters from both clubs clashed in a wooded area near Dortmund, along with some FC Koln fans.
The incident occurred on the train ride after Schalke’s away game when the emergency brake was activated several times in succession, according to police. A large group of Schalke supporters then exited the train on an open stretch of track and ran into a nearby forest. Police officers encountered around 300 people on a forest path, and criminal charges have been filed.
Police have attempted to crack down on premeditated brawls in German football. In October last year, hooligans from third-division clubs Hansa Rostock and Rot-Weiss Essen clashed on a train, causing €118,000 worth of damage, after Essen supporters were ambushed. The attackers, believed to be an organised group from Rostock, threw rocks, fireworks and various other items (w/ video) at the train.
POLL
Micah Richards said the Premier League has never been more competitive than it is right now. Do you agree?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Kylian Mbappe takes his La Liga goal tally this season to five as he scores in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Espanyol (More)
> The derby between PSG and Marseille was postponed on Sunday due to heavy storms and has been rescheduled for Monday (Sept 22), meaning PSG players won’t attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony; read more on the history of this rivalry (More)
> Harry Kane scored his ninth hat-trick in 67 games for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga in their 4-1 away win at Hoffenheim (More) | Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has saved five consecutive penalties, setting a new Bundesliga record (More)
> Jose Mourinho enjoyed a winning return to coaching in his native Portugal after Benfica beat AFS 3-0 (More)
> Former Liverpool women's manager Matt Beard has died at the age of 47 (More)
Americas
> Lionel Messi scores twice and assisted in Inter Miami’s 3-2 win over D.C. United to put them in contention for the MLS’ Supporters Shield (More); see match highlights (Watch) | See every MLS result (More)
> The Kansas City Current secured the franchise's first NWSL Shield with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Reign (More); see every NWSL result (More)
> Neymar suffers another thigh injury to his right leg and will miss Brazil’s friendly matches against Japan and South Korea in October (More)
> USL Championship Eastern Conference leaders Louisville City make it four wins in a row with a 3-1 victory over Las Vegas Lights (Highlights) | Western Conference leaders FC Tulsa drop points again as second-place Sacramento win and have a game spare (Standings)
Rest of the World
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Friday’s Poll: The Ballon d'Or winner is announced on Monday. Who do you think deserves to win the award for the 2024-25 season?
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇫🇷 Ousmane Dembele (24%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal (17%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇧🇷 Raphinha (7%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah (48%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
🇫🇷 M.A: “When people argue about the Ballon d’Or, it usually gets boiled down to one thing: stats, trophies, or aesthetics. But none of those on their own tell the full story. Stats need to be adjusted for role, trophies for team expectations, and aesthetics for match impact. That is why, if you look at the big picture this season, Dembele comes out ahead. In some ways, football could learn from U.S. sports. Their MVP awards are not perfect, but they consider multiple variables like value to the team, context, and role instead of leaning on just one metric. Imagine if the Ballon d’Or worked the same way.”
🇧🇷 C.S: “It's really tight between Dembele, Raphinha, and Salah (It's definitely not Yamal). But I think it has to be Raphinha, he had an insane amount of G+A and was easily the best on his team. This is an individual award, not a team award, so I'm not taking into account PSG winning the UCL, otherwise it'd be Dembele. Salah also had insane G+A, but I think Raphina was just a bit better. Honestly, I could see this going to any of those three, but my pick is Raphinha.”
🇪🇬 S.E: “Mo Salah is the complete package—and he delivers, and has delivered, again and again and again. He passes, he defends, he fights and, oh boy, his left foot scores—often the decisive goal. He has lifted the Liverpool team and so deserves the Ballon d'Or.”
EXTRA TIME
Suspended Chelsea forward considers 2028 Olympics–in sprinting.
Rashford benched by Flick for arriving late.
Player told off for sneaky corner tactic.
Rangers fans throw balls onto pitch in manager protest.
The clubs that have spent the most on their squads.
England’s World Cup 2026 kit leaked.
… and the best third kits of the season.
Are black-market tickets out of control? (video)
GAME FACE ON
Question: Order these players by how quickly they reached 50 Champions League goals (in terms of games played).
Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Championship
Millwall vs. Watford (20:00)
Serie A
Napoli vs. Pisa (19:45)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Van Nistelrooy (62), Lionel Messi (66), Lewandowski (77), Mbappe (79), Ronaldo (91). Source.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
The Premier League has never been more competitive than it is right now. We can’t write off any team at this point in the season.
