GM football fans. It’s Friday, May. 30 - It’s the Champions League final weekend, a new report reveals the first €6bn club, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
UEFA Champions League Final: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Inter Milan, 20:00 / 15:00. This will be the first Champions League meeting between these clubs and only the second final between teams from France and Italy. While PSG have never won the competition, on the four occasions the European Cup/Champions League final has been held in Munich, a first-time winner has been crowned—they will want to join Nottingham Forest, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, and Chelsea in that list. Inter enter the final as slight underdogs, but they were also unfavored in the markets against Bayern Munich and Barcelona. More details on projections below.
TV Channels: TNT Sports (UK) | Paramount+ (US) | DAZN (Canada)
Stream this match lag-free anywhere in the world using ExpressVPN—get 61% off a 2-year plan and 4 months for free. Get ExpressVPN.*
TOP TALKING POINTS
Champions League Final Projection
The 2024-25 Uefa Champions League season concludes in Munich on Saturday (May 31) when Paris Saint-Germain take on Inter Milan. The match kicks off at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 21:00 CET).
Paris Saint-Germain, who have never won the competition, go into the final as favourites. Opta’s prediction model, which simulates the match 10,000 times, gives Luis Enrique’s side a 44.6% chance of winning the fixture inside 90 minutes. Three-time European Cup/Champions League winners Inter Milan, who will be wearing their golden third kit, are given a 29% chance of claiming victory in regular time. According to the model, there’s a 26.4% chance of extra time and possibly penalties.
PSG are aiming to complete the treble and become the first French club ever to do so, having won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France. Meanwhile, Inter hope to avoid ending the season trophyless after being in treble contention just a month ago. Despite a strong Champions League campaign, Simone Inzaghi’s side fell short in Serie A to Napoli and were knocked out of the Coppa Italia semi-finals by AC Milan. Dive deeper into the finalists here.
Both sides have been awarded around €137m in the tournament (see full list) so far, and an additional €25m will be handed to the winner, while the runner-up will receive €18.5m.
Liverpool Parade Suspect Named
Police have named and charged a 53-year-old man with seven offences after crashing into a crowd during Liverpool’s Premier League title parade. Paul Doyle (pictured here) is reportedly a local businessman and a father of three—he is also a former Royal Marine, who is believed to have served in the 1990s.
Doyle faces six charges related to grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving—see the full list here. Merseyside Police say 79 people, including a nine-year-old child, were injured following the incident in the centre of the city. Seven of those remain in hospital.
A neighbour of Doyle told the BBC that, “I see him all the time walking up and down with his two sons and his dog. He's just a normal person." Another said that he was “just a nice fella, just a nice family, nice fella.” His motive still remains unclear.
Club Valuations Soar
Real Madrid have become the first football club to exceed the €6bn valuation mark, reaching €6.3bn (£5.2bn; $6.5bn), according to a new report. The top three clubs remain unchanged, with Manchester City in second place and Manchester United close behind, both surpassing the €5bn threshold for the first time.
The report highlights the Premier League’s financial dominance. Nine of the top 20 clubs are from the English top-flight, with the league’s broadcast, commercial, and matchday revenue far outstripping its continental competitors. Liverpool are sixth (£3.50bn), Arsenal seventh (£3.33bn), Tottenham ninth (£3.04bn), Chelsea tenth (£2.51bn), West Ham sixteenth (£980m), Aston Villa nineteenth (£750m), and Everton twentieth (£560m).
Overall, the report finds that the value of Europe’s top 32 clubs has more than doubled over the past decade (+146%). It concludes that Uefa’s new Financial Sustainability Regulations and stricter domestic licensing standards have boosted investor interest in European football as an asset class.
POLL
Would you consider this season's Champions League campaign as one of the better campaigns?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Ronaldo Nazario has agreed to sell his majority stake in Real Valladolid after fans have protested against the club’s poor performances in La Liga (More); Dive deeper into what’s gone wrong for Ronaldo’s ownership (Watch)
> Welcome to Wrexham documentary has been renewed for a fifth series; broadcast in the US on FX and Disney+ in the UK (More)
> Chelsea and Ipswich have reached an agreement over the transfer of striker Liam Delap, who has a £30m release clause (More)
> Juventus have opened a new memorial to mark 40 years since the Heysel Stadium disaster (More); learn about the incident (More) | Brescia have been relegated to Serie C after they were docked eight points for breaking financial rules (More)
> The FA has agreed a record bonus package with England’s Lionesses worth up to £1.7m if they retain their Euros title this summer (More)
Americas
> Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both found the net twice as they edged Montreal Impact 4-2 (Highlights) | MLS Matchday 17 begins on Saturday (May 31) (See Schedule)
> Neymar will decide his club future after June 12, though Santos are keen to keep the 33-year-old until the 2026 World Cup (More)
> Racing Louisville FC forward Kayla Fischer will serve a three-game NWSL suspension for a hair-pulling incident that resulted in a red card on Saturday (More) | Former North Carolina Courage executive Curt Johnson will be the general manager of the expansion team in Denver (More)
> CF Pachuca have parted ways with manager Guillermo Almada weeks before they kick off their Club World Cup campaign (More)
Rest of the World
> Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City meet in the A-League Grand Final on Saturday (May 31) in the first-ever Melbourne Derby Grand Final in the league’s 20-year history (Preview)
> Al Ahly clinched a record-extending 45th Egyptian Premier League title with a 6-0 rout of Pharco (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: What’s your view on post-season tours — smart business or unnecessary strain?
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 💰 Smart... (18%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😰 Unnecessary... (78%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4%)
Your punditry takes:
💰 S.D: “It doesn’t have to be a strain. Give the starters a run out, then put in the backups. Good for everyone, including fans who wouldn’t normally get to see those teams.”
😰 D.B: “I love football. We all love football. But the more that you delude the product by playing a zillion games through leagues, tournaments, and tours, you make me love the sport less. Give me a couple months off of EPL, so I can savour all that I just witnessed and make me hungry for more.”
😰 J.M: “There are already so many games in the calendar for elite players, to then go on a post-season tour immediately after the season ends, when the players should be getting a well-deserved rest, just seems ridiculous to me.”
✍️ A.D: “I both love and hate it. I hate it because one injury to your key players can effectively ruin the beginning of the season (or more). There are so many games per season across all these competitions that it's only a matter of time before these guys get injured unnecessarily. Adding these games only increases that risk. On the other hand, I love it because, as a US-based fan, when these big clubs come stateside for tours, I get excited to come watch. It is a great way to take the family to watch teams we only get to see on TV. My hope is that these tours help grow the exposure and following of the game in the US.”
EXTRA TIME
Every transfer deal in Europe so far.
Which USWNT players will step up?
One stat that sums up every PL team's season.
USL is setting a new standard for football kits.
… and Man City’s new third will feature raindrops.
Spanish team’s extraordinary final record ends.
Neymar doesn’t know who Florian Wirtz is.
GAME FACE ON
Question: How many players can you name from Inter Milan’s starting XI when they won 2-0 in the 2009-10 Champions League final against Bayern Munich?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
UEFA Women’s Nations League
See all fixtures here.
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Walter Samuel, Cristian Chivu, Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Goran Pandev. Watch the highlights of that match here.
Want more? Try our daily football Wordle – guess the name of a current or former player in six tries. Play it here.
What motivates me the most is to make history with Paris, which is what I came here for—winning their first Champions League title.
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