Euro 2025 Final Confirmed

GM football fans. It’s Thursday, July. 24 - Barcelona have signed Marcus Rashford on loan, the 2025 Women’s Euro final has been confirmed, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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TOP TALKING POINTS

Barcelona Complete Rashford Loan

Marcus Rashford has officially joined FC Barcelona on loan from Manchester United until June 2026. The Catalan side have the option of signing the England international permanently for £30.5m at the end of the loan period. Rashford agreed to take a pay cut as Barcelona will fully cover his wages, saving United around £15m over the next 12 months. Watch his announcement video here.

Rashford, who will wear the number 14 shirt, signed a five-year deal with United in 2023, following a 30-goal season the previous campaign. He scored eight goals in 43 appearances during the 2023-24 season and was disciplined three times in 13 months by then-manager Erik ten Hag.

Reports suggest that Rashford may not officially become a Barcelona player just yet, with the club still having issues registering players within La Liga’s salary limits. Barcelona are reportedly confident they will make enough space to register the forward before the season starts. In the meantime, he will be eligible to play against Italian side Como in the Joan Gamper Trophy on August 10.

Women’s Euro Final Confirmed

England will face Spain in the 2025 Uefa Women’s Euro final on Sunday, July 27, at 17:00 BST (12:00 ET). This comes after Spain’s first win against Germany in the semi-finals, secured by an extra-time goal from Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati—read the full match report here.

Spain are given the edge over England in the final, with Opta’s model projecting a 51.5% chance of victory. At the beginning of the tournament, both teams were ranked first and second favourites to win the competition. England, who have become the third European team to reach the final of three consecutive major tournaments, lost 1-0 to Spain when they met in the Fifa World Cup final in 2023. However, both nations secured a 1-0 win at home, respectively, when they met earlier this year in the Uefa Nations League.

Viewership numbers have been high throughout the tournament. An average of eight million people in the UK watched England’s win against Italy in the semi-final, delivering ITV’s highest viewership of the year. The peak audience reached 10.2 million, compared to 9.3 million in England’s 2022 semi-final victory over Sweden.

‘Hand of God’ Shirt Auction

The shirt worn by England goalkeeper Peter Shilton in the ‘Hand of God’ World Cup quarter-final against Argentina in 1986 is set to be auctioned. The shirt is being sold by a private collector from the UK and is estimated to sell for up to £300,000.

Shilton was the captain when Maradona scored two of the most iconic goals in football history to win Argentina the match. The first saw 5ft 5in Maradona jump and illegally handle the ball past 6ft 1in Shilton (watch), but it was mistakenly allowed to stand. The second, just four minutes later, is considered one of the greatest of all time, voted Fifa’s World Cup Goal of the Century (watch). In 2022, Maradona’s shirt was sold by Steve Hodge, the England midfielder who swapped shirts with him after the game, for £7.14m.

Other items due to be auctioned as part of the same event include Pele's World Cup winner's medal from 1958, valued at up to £500,000. Meanwhile, Gordon Banks’ 1966 winner’s medal is estimated to fetch around £300,000.

POLL

Do you think the Premier League overspends compared to other European leagues?

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ON THE BALL

Europe

> Arsenal made a winning start to their preseason tour of Asia after Bukayo Saka's 53rd-minute goal earned a 1-0 victory over AC Milan in Singapore (More) | Liverpool have officially signed Hugo Ekitike for £79m, subject to international clearance (More)

> The great-grandson of dictator Benito Mussolini, Romano Floriani Mussolini, has joined Serie A side Cremonese on loan (More)

> Kylian Mbappe will wear Real Madrid’s No. 10 shirt next season; the French forward didn’t ask to wear it, but the club is expecting record sales (More)

> Raheem Sterling is receiving interest from Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen as Chelsea look to offload the 30-year-old (More)

Americas

> Lionel Messi’s favourite goal, which was auctioned as an AI artwork, was sold at Christie’s in New York for $1.87m to a mystery buyer (More)

> MLS All-Stars vs Liga MX All-Stars to conclude shortly after publication (See Result) | Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba did not participate in the match so they could rest; the MLS suspends players who don’t participate without injury-related issues for one league match (More)

> Brazil’s women’s team beat Paraguay 4-1 to reach the Women’s Copa America semi-finals as Yasmim bagged a brace (More)

> USL Cup group stage tie between Union Omaha and Texoma FC will conclude shortly after publication (See Result); Portland Hearts of Pine vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds kicks off at 18:30 ET (More)

Rest of the World

> Host Morocco reaches the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after a penalty shootout with Ghana (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think Marcus Rashford will succeed at Barcelona?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 👍 Yes (45%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅‍♂️ Nope (53%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)

Your punditry takes:

👍 C.V: “I’m an optimist when it comes to football. I hope that under Hansi Flick’s leadership, Marcus Rashford can rekindle his career at Barcelona. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’m here for it.”
👍 O.C: “He is a very valuable player who can play multiple positions. Also, he is a great demonstration of Hansi Flick’s playing style, which demonstrates wingers essentially playing as second strikers by cutting inside during the attack.”
🙅‍♂️ S.H: “Who is he getting playing time over? Raphinha, Lewandowski, and Yamal are leagues ahead of him, so he will likely only see minutes in unimportant league games.”
🙅‍♂️ T.D: “We’ll see glimpses of his talent, but he’s proven that he’s too inconsistent to hold down a position at a top club. For some reason, he’s treated like an up-and-coming talent, when really he’s already shown what potential he’s wasted.”