GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Mar. 26 - Sepp Blatter has been acquitted, Trent Alexander-Arnold agrees terms with Madrid, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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UEFA Women’s Champions League, Quarter-finals, 2nd Leg: Lyon Women vs Bayern Munich Women, Agg 2-0, 17:45 / 13:45. Lyon have won all seven of their Women's Champions League games this season, scoring 21 goals and conceding none, while Bayern need a comeback to avoid their third quarter-final exit in four years. Arsenal Women vs Real Madrid Femenino, Agg 0-2, 20:00 / 16:00. Arsenal have won all six European home games this season. Meanwhile, Real Madrid claimed their first-ever UWCL knockout win last week against Arsenal and aim to reach the semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history. See every UWCL fixture here.

Results…

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and France great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges, over two years after they were first acquitted of the offences. The hearing came after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against their 2022 acquittal.

Blatter, now aged 89, was accused of wrongly approving a 2 million Swiss francs ($2.26m) payment to Platini of Fifa money in 2011. He claimed the payment was a consultancy fee paid to Platini for work carried out between 1998 and 2002, which was partly deferred because Fifa lacked the funds to pay him in full.

Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 for eight years by Fifa, though the bans were later cut. The controversy forced Blatter to resign and ended Platini's hopes of succeeding him as the head of Fifa.

Real Madrid are in talks over finalising the signing of Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer this summer. Some sources claim that the 26-year-old has already agreed terms with the Spanish giants and will join on a five-year contract worth around £220,000-per-week.

Alexander-Arnold has been at Liverpool for 20 years, making a total of 349 senior appearances. During his time at the Reds, Alexander-Arnold has won eight trophies, including the Champions League, Premier League and Club World Cup. Watch his best moments in a Liverpool shirt during their first Premier League win here.

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are in contract negotiations with Liverpool. Their contracts also expire at the end of the season, and they’re both expected to sign new deals.

Liverpool, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain are expected to win their respective leagues, according to Opta’s latest predictions. Opta’s model, which simulates each remaining match 10,000 times, relies on odds based on historical and recent team performances.

PSG, 19 points ahead of second-place Marseille in Ligue 1, are the most likely to win their league—Opta gives them a 100% chance. Liverpool (99%) and Bayern Munich (94%) are also heavy favourites to win their domestic titles. In Serie A, it looked close between Inter, Napoli, and Atalanta, but Opta believes Inter’s three-point lead gives them an overwhelming advantage (84%).

The closest title race this season is La Liga. While Barcelona are favourites to win the league with a 72% chance, they are level on points with Real Madrid and four points in front of Atletico Madrid—albeit with a game in hand. All things equal, Matchday 35 (played on 11 May) could prove decisive as Barcelona will host Real.

> Paris Saint-Germain are expected to build a new 90,000-seater stadium in the suburbs of Paris, outside the City of Paris (More/translated)

> Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona midfielder, wants to stay at the club and is in talks over a new contract (More) | Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Tottenham centre-back Christian Romero (More)

> Joey Barton has been given a 12-week suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of assaulting his wife (More)

> Jan Vertonghen, Anderlecht captain and former Tottenham Hotspur defender, has confirmed he is retiring from professional football at the end of the 2024-25 season (More)

> The NWSL and NJ/NY Gotham FC are investigating "hateful language" directed from a fan toward Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda (More)

> Charlotte FC midfielder Pep Biel was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 5 of the MLS season (More); Charlotte rise on ESPN’s MLS Power Rankings (More)

> Iran have become the sixth team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup thanks to a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan (More)

> South Africa’s victory over Lesotho in their World Cup qualifier may be jeopardised as they potentially fielded an ineligible player; they lead Group C (More)

Yesterday’s Poll: Did you enjoy the international break? Why or why not?

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🤩 Absolutely... (25%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⬜️ 🥱 Nope... (71%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (3%)

Your punditry takes:

Ronaldo’s post-30 Portugal record is incredible.

Everything you need to know about the Women’s UCL.

Ryan Giggs owes restaurant staff £40,000.

Can you name every player to play for Liverpool and Real Madrid? (quiz)

Baller League explained–and how much players earn.

… and the highlights of Matchday 1.

Ranking the Premier League's best 100.

The funniest (and weirdest) MOTM awards in football.

Tactical lessons from Tuchel's first games.

Question: Lyon have won the Women’s Champions League a record eight times. Can you name the second-most successful team in the tournament’s history?

Scroll below for the answer.

UEFA Women’s Champions League, QF

*All time in UK. ET -4. CST -5. PDT -7. MDT -6. CET +1.

Answer

Frankfurt. The German side have won the competition four times.