Good morning football fans. It’s Thursday, July. 30 - European nations discuss boycotting the World Cup, Real Madrid report record revenue across sports, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
TOP TALKING POINTS
Europe’s World Cup Boycott
An emergency meeting between Uefa’s 55 member associations is expected to take place on Thursday to discuss Fifa’s plans to sell stakes in the World Cup. The meeting, which will be held virtually, will see the national associations discuss the prospect of boycotting Fifa’s premier competition if president Gianni Infantino pushes ahead with plans to sell part of the commercial rights to private investors. Read more on the deal in yesterday’s write-up here.
Fifa did not raise the proposals with football associations in a meeting in New York on the eve of the World Cup final, and the English FA confirmed it was unaware of the plans before Tuesday’s announcement. Now, Fifa has told its 211 member associations that they will each receive up to $40m if they agree to the sell-off, but they only have until September 19—only 51 days—to sign up to the proposal.
Uefa accounts for only around a quarter of Fifa’s members. However, the European governing body represents some of the most successful teams at the World Cup, evidenced by six of the eight quarter-finalists of this year’s competition coming from Europe, as well as five in 2022 and six in 2018. Without European teams, the World Cup’s commercial value would likely be significantly lower, undermining Fifa’s search for greater revenue.
Real’s Record Revenue
Real Madrid have posted a record-breaking operating revenue of €1.221bn (£1.04bn; $1.39bn) for the 2025-26 financial year, a 3.1% increase from the previous season. The La Liga side’s earnings surpassed the $1.23bn reported by the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in 2024, which was previously viewed as the world record.
The growth has been largely driven by stadium and marketing revenue up 11% and 6%, respectively, underscoring the importance of stadium renovations in generating non-football-related revenue. The redeveloped Santiago Bernabeu generated €363m for the 2025-26 financial year, more than doubling pre-renovation figures.
The club reported having made a small profit of €26m after tax, their 26th profitable year in succession. For context, only eight Premier League clubs reported an operating profit for the 2024-25 season, per Deloitte. Real Madrid have maintained a profit, though, because their costs have grown more slowly than income. Squad costs, wages plus transfer-fee amortisation, reached €618m, up 37% since 2018-19 against 61% revenue growth.
German Football’s Financing Dilemma
The German Football League (DFL), which runs the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, has held discussions with a U.S. investment firm over a potential €1bn (£855.6m; $1.1bn) loan. The proposal, according to The Athletic, is from Apollo Sports Capital, which recently became the majority shareholder of La Liga club Atletico Madrid. The DFL’s future domestic broadcasting revenue would serve as collateral, with the loan reportedly repayable over 20 years at an interest rate exceeding 5%.
The proposed structure would allow the Bundesliga to secure outside capital without selling equity or giving an investor control, making it more compatible with Germany’s deeply rooted 50+1 ownership model. Under the rule, club members must retain majority voting control, preventing a single external investor from taking over a club. While this structure gives supporters greater influence, critics argue that it can make it harder for clubs to attract the kind of large-scale investment available elsewhere in Europe. This can limit clubs’ ability to compete for top talent or close the financial gap with Bayern Munich, who have won 13 of the past 14 Bundesliga titles.
It’s not yet clear how the loan will be used, though previous DFL investment proposals earmarked outside capital to subsidise overseas tours for member clubs and enhance international marketing efforts.
POLL
Are you satisfied with your team's transfer window activity?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola has told his club that he would like to move to Liverpool, with the Reds preparing a bid around £100m (More) | Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Brighton striker Danny Welbeck, while Jordan Henderson has left Brentford by mutual consent and is advancing towards a free transfer to Chelsea (More); see every transfer in Europe’s top five leagues (More)
> A record number of reports of discrimination were reported across English football in the 2025-26 season, according to charity Kick It Out (More)
> La Liga side Rayo Vallecano won’t be able to use their stadium indefinitely because of the risk of supporters contracting Legionnaires’ disease, a lung infection caused by water containing bacteria (More)
Americas
> The MLS All-Star game versus the Liga MX All-Stars will conclude shortly after publication (Live Result)
> An unusual suspension has been handed to Internacional defender Victor Gabriel for seriously injuring Cruzeiro’s Gabriel Pec, with the ban lasting up to six months or as long as it takes Pec to recover (More)
> Neymar has confirmed his retirement from international duty weeks after revealing he had played his last game for Brazil at the World Cup (More)
> Argentina president Javier Milei has claimed that US Democrats were financing an “anti-Argentina” campaign at the World Cup (More) | Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against the Argentina national team for their actions after the World Cup final (More)
Rest of the World
> Tottenham won another preseason game following a win over Sydney FC 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regular time (Match Report)
> Tunisia have appointed Moin Chaabani as head coach of the national team until 2030 (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: How do you feel about FIFA selling a stake in its commercial business?
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Fine with it (4%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😠 Strongly opposed (93%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
😠 J.M: “Absolutely deplorable idea. If it does go ahead, then I hope Uefa and other continental governing bodies boycott all Fifa competitions and eventually form their own, new international body. Fifa has become so bloated and corrupt, it is probably time to rip it up and start again anyway.”
😠 M.H: “This will likely create undue influence on Fifa’s decision-making by the ‘shareholders’. Fifa should be doing everything it can to distance itself from things like this that stink of corruption, or are easier to be corrupted. The possible awarding of the position to Infantino after he steps down is shady. He’ll probably push for this, knowing he’ll have his payout on the other side - truly seems to show he’s just as bad as previous Fifa representatives.”
😠 K.B: “For all the good that the World Cup can provide (and that was my foremost feeling from the most recent one -- welcoming of fans and teams, positive comments from players and others, mostly great games) the people in charge seem to be the one huge downside; making ticketing decisions that eliminate many of us, pandering to political leaders, and making us distrust the money decisions.”
EXTRA TIME
Opta’s Scottish Premiership 2026-27 season projections.
Thomas Muller’s record-breaking MLS All-Star shooting challenge.
The French national team’s logo has been updated.
How does Tielemans fit at Manchester United?
Cucurella gets tattoo of Spain coach De la Fuente.
Is Kazuyoshi Miura the oldest goalscorer in competitive football history?
Liverpool unveil new away kit.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Which team won the first-ever Women’s Super League in 2011?
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.
He doesn’t believe me when I tell him we were champions.
Answer
Arsenal.