GM football fans. It’s Friday, Nov. 21 - Premier League clubs will vote on major financial changes, Paramount have shaken up the domestic rights market for the Champions League, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

One-click email share: Send Route One to a friend with this link. (or copy URL here).

Premier League MD12: Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest, Sat 22, 15:00 GMT / 10:00 ET. Forest won 1-0 away and drew 1-1 at home against Liverpool in the Premier League last season. However, the Reds have only one defeat in their last 22 home league games, a run that includes 17 wins. Newcastle vs. Manchester City, Sat 22, 17:30 GMT / 12:30 ET. City have won 12 Premier League away games against Newcastle, their joint-most away victories against an opponent in the competition. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland is one goal away from reaching 100 Premier League goals, potentially breaking Alan Shearer’s record for the quickest to a century. Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Sun 23, 16:30 GMT / 11:30 ET. Spurs have lost seven of their last nine top-flight matches against Arsenal (W1 D1) and won just one of their last 32 league trips to the Gunners (D12 L19). However, Thomas Frank’s side are the only Premier League team still unbeaten away from home in 2025-26. See every Premier League fixture here and table here.

Results…

Premier League clubs will vote on Friday (Nov 21) on financial regulation proposals potentially reshaping top-division spending. It is widely considered the most significant vote since clubs decided to retain VAR in June 2024. If no proposal is voted to be implemented, it’s expected that the league’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) will remain.

The anchoring proposal would create a hard cap set at five times the central broadcast distribution paid to the lowest-earning club, producing a projected £600m squad-cost limit for 2025–26. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham would all face immediate constraints under current revenues. Among European clubs, only Real Madrid and Barcelona would enjoy higher squad cost limits.

The second proposal, the squad cost rule, would limit spending to 85% of football-related income, mirroring Uefa’s existing 70% framework. Aston Villa, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest's relevant costs each exceeded 120% of turnover in 2023-24, indicating potential compliance challenges.

Liverpool, Villa, and Everton are expected to support all proposals, while Man City and Arsenal are expected to reject anchoring. Bournemouth and Brentford reportedly favour retaining PSR. Each proposal requires 14 votes from 20 clubs to pass.

US media and entertainment giant Paramount+ has won the auction for the majority of Champions League broadcasting rights in the UK from 2027 to 2031, marking a major shake-up of the domestic market. Sources say Paramount’s bid was considerably higher than the £1bn currently paid by TNT Sports. Amazon Prime is expected to secure the first pick of Tuesday's matches in several major European markets.

This is the first rights cycle run by Relevent, the American agency now leading Uefa’s sales strategy. Uefa is targeting over €5bn (£4.3bn / $5.8bn) per year in media income from its club competitions, up sharply from the current €3.2bn-a-year under the three-year cycle. With Relevent, Uefa has introduced major structural changes to the rights process, including pan-European packages and a four-year cycle for the first time.

Industry sources suggest the deal could benefit the Premier League, adding another major broadcaster to the football rights landscape and reducing the risk of a shrinking overall UK rights market.

In related news, Paramount is reportedly preparing a $71bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports.

Serie A leaders Inter meet third-placed AC Milan on Sunday, with the rivals separated by two points in a high-stakes derby that could prove pivotal in the early title race. Following some early-season hiccups, Inter have hit their stride in their last three league games, while AC Milan, who are without European commitments this season, boast an 11-match unbeaten run across all competitions. See the Serie A table here.

Second-placed AS Roma, level on points with Inter, travel to Cremonese, who have won only one of their last nine matches. Champions Napoli sit fourth, two points behind Inter. "Heart transplants aren't an option. Each of us needs to rediscover our spirit and our grit," manager Antonio Conte said after their loss to Bologna prevented Napoli from going top. The defeat marked their third league loss of the season and fifth across all competitions.

Over the past five seasons, Inter have been the only team to have always finished in the top four in Serie A. Napoli and Milan won a combined three titles in the same period, but they both also experienced drastic declines, with the former finishing 10th after triumphing in 2023, and the latter coming eighth last season.

> The draw for the European World Cup play-off matches to be played in March have been completed; see the play-off bracket (More)

> Paul Pogba will be included in the AS Monaco squad to face Rennes and is expected to make his first appearance in 26 months (More)

> Turkey’s crackdown on betting in football will widen to include coaches, commentators, and club chairman (More); dive deeper into the behind-the-scenes of the scandal (More)

> Barcelona winger Raphinha is back in full training and is set to be included in the squad against Athletic on Saturday (More); dive deeper into why this is Marcus Rashford’s first real test at Barcelona (More)

> The U.S. men's national team plans to play four friendlies in 2026 to gear up for a World Cup on home turf, with the first two against Belgium and Portugal (More/paywalled)

> The MLS Cup conference semi-finals take place this weekend; Eastern Conference: Cincinnati vs. Miami & Philadelphia vs. New York City (More); Western Conference: Vancouver vs. LAFC & San Diego vs. Minnesota (More)

> The NWSL Final between Washington Spirit and Gotham FC will take place on Saturday (Nov 22) at 20:00 ET (More) | Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga won the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight year, becoming the first player to do so (More)

> FC Tulsa will host Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the 2025 USL Championship Final on Saturday (Nov 22) at 12:00 ET (Match Preview)

> Neymar scored in Santos’ 1-1 draw with Mirassol, but then was responsible for conceding a penalty (More); see Brazil Serie A standings (More)

> Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi was named African Footballer of the Year at the 2025 CAF Awards (More)

Yesterday’s Poll: Was this the best international break in recent memory?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (54%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅‍♂️ Nope (43%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)

Your punditry takes:

One year of Amorim at Utd–how’s he done?

Birmingham’s 62,000-seat stadium plans revealed. (w/ images)

Who are the replacements for Gabriel in FPL?

Dublin zoo names parrot after striker who scored a hat-trick.

Fixing the problems of Europe’s underperforming clubs.

The decline of the open-play goal.

The EFL launches its first-ever sticker collection.

Life on loan as a Premier League footballer. (video)

Question: Name the five Manchester United captains since Wayne Rooney in 2017?

Scroll below for the answer.

Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.

Answer

Michael Carrick (2017-18). Antonio Valencia (2018-19). Ashley Young (2019-20). Harry Maguire (2020-23). Bruno Fernandes (2023-).