GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Nov. 6 - The player threatened at gunpoint by an agent has been revealed, Ronaldo says he will retire soon, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
UEFA Europa League (Nov 6): Midtylland vs. Celtic, 17:45 GMT / 12:45 ET. Midtjylland have been in excellent form this season, having suffered only one defeat from their first 25 matches across all competitions. Meanwhile, Celtic are sitting 21st in the Europa League standings with just four points from three games. Sturm Graz vs. Nottingham Forest, 17:45 GMT / 12:45 ET. Forest will be looking to end a seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions away from home, while Sturm Graz have collected just three points from a possible nine available in the League Phase. Aston Villa vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Maccabi are going into their fifth encounter with English opposition and will attempt to end their 100% losing streak. Villa have lost only one of their last 27 home matches across all competitions. See every Europa League fixture here.
Results…
Champions League: Brugge 3-3 Barcelona | Man City 4-1 Dortmund | Qarabag 2-2 Chelsea | Ajax 0-3 Galatasaray | Benfica 0- 1 Leverkusen | Inter 2-1 Kairat | Marseille 0-1 Atalanta | Newcastle 2-0 Athletic Club | Pafos 1-0 Villarreal (League Standings)
Championship (Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
FIFA Peace Prize
FIFA has announced the creation of a peace prize, which it plans to award at the draw of the World Cup on December 5 in Washington. The award, called the Fifa Peace Prize, will recognise “exceptional actions for peace.”
Football’s world governing body has increasingly positioned itself as a champion of peace. President Gianni Infantino delivered a speech in September calling for “peace in the world” and said that recent scenes across the world have reduced him to tears. Meanwhile, last month, Infantino was unexpectedly present at the Gaza peace summit in Egypt, sparking curiosity about the football chief’s role in the political gathering.
The announcement of the Peace Prize comes as Infantino prepares for an unrelated meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the America Business Forum in Miami. Fifa recently added another link to Trump by appointing his daughter Ivanka to the board of a $100m education project partially funded by 2026 World Cup ticket sales.
Threatened Player Revealed
Tottenham have confirmed that Italian full-back Destiny Udogie was the alleged victim of a gun threat by a football agent. It’s unclear why the unnamed agent threatened Udogie or why his friend was allegedly blackmailed by the same agent. At the time of writing, there is no suggestion that the agent concerned is Udogie’s agent.
The alleged incident happened during the September international break, when Udogie was not involved with Italy. The Spurs defender and his friend were approached on the night of 6 Saturday when the agent, aged 31, threatened the pair at gunpoint. Read more in our previous write-up here.
Udogie was first named by the Italian sports paper TuttoMercato, prompting Spurs to issue their own statement following their 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League. The north London side confirmed they’ve provided support for “Destiny and his family since the incident and will continue to do so.”
Ronaldo’s Retirement Soon
Cristiano Ronaldo said he will retire “soon” and has been planning for his post-football life for some time. In an interview with Piers Morgan, the 40-year-old forward confirmed he will not remain in football after he retires and that he wants to spend more time with his family. Watch Part 1 of the interview here.
In the same interview, Ronaldo said his legacy would not be defined by whether or not he wins the World Cup. "If you ask me, Cristiano, is it a dream to win the World Cup? No, it's not a dream," Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo is reported to be the all-time leading goalscorer with 952 goals for club and country combined across a 23-year career. However, some believe Brazilian legend Pele to have scored more–dive deeper into the mystery of Pele’s disputed 1,000th goal here.
POLL
Can a player be the Greatest of all Time (GOAT) without winning the World Cup?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Graham Potter picks an injured Alexander Isak for his Sweden squad and leaves out Victor Gyokores (More)
> Wrexham winger James McClean reportedly punched a fan from a rival club after being insulted outside the club’s stadium (More) | Christian Eriksen initially rejected Wrexham’s approach to sign him as he did not want to be part of the club’s documentary series (More)
> AC Milan and Inter Milan have completed the purchase of the San Siro, with the stadium set for demolition (More); dive deeper into the most historic matches to be played at the San Siro (More)
> Inter Milan head coach Cristian Chivu has offered public support to goalkeeper Josep Martinez following his involvement in a fatal road collision (More)
> Angel City investor Monarch Collective has acquired women’s Bundesliga club FC Viktoria Berlin (More)
Americas
> The NWSL's 182-game regular season in 2025 drew an average of 10,669 fans, which was down 5% from last year's record high (More)
> Luis Suarez has been suspended for Inter Miami’s decisive game three play-off match against Nashville for kicking Andy Najar (More)
> MLS side CF Montreal have relieved assistant coach Maxime Leconte from his role following “an internal disciplinary matter” (More) | The New England Revolution have chosen Marko Mitrovic as their new head coach (More)
> The Cherry Bombs will be Portland’s first women’s football team in the USL W, entering their inaugural season in 2026 (More)
Rest of the World
> Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mali and Egypt have all been added to the 2026 Women’s Cup of Nations, despite not qualifying for the tournament (More)
> Saudi champion Al Ittihad beat Al Sharjah of the UAE 3-0 in the Asian Champions League Elite (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think VAR has improved with semi-automated offside this season?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (56%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (40%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 K.M: “Yes it has, I can’t remember the last time an offside caused a long delay or been the subject of fan complaints after a game. Credit where it’s due, the referees have done well to implement it.”
🙅♂️ K.B: “In England, VAR is still a joke, takes far too long to reach a decision and then it is often wrong. Compare this to VAR in UCL matches, where decisions are speedy and mainly correct. Why can't the PMGOL be as efficient? Would it mean they lose the attention?”
✍️ A.P.G: “In terms of the semi-automated portion, yes. However, VAR should be used ONLY to correct OBVIOUS and egregious referee errors. If VAR is looking at something for more than thirty seconds or a single minute, it's not an obvious error, and they need to stick with the on-field decision. It has gotten way too crazy, and the goal posts move week to week with close decisions.”
EXTRA TIME
The best header you’ll see all week. (US link / Canada link)
Why Newcastle fans wear red and white.
Van Dijk and Rooney’s awkward post-match interview.
Corinthians fans come back after a six-month ban in style.
How 20,000 players voted in the FIFPro World XI.
Scotland’s 2026 World Cup home kit leaked.
Remembering when kick-ins replaced throw-ins.
Gareth Bale breaks down his iconic goals. (video)
Is Jobe Bellingham really struggling at Dortmund?
GAME FACE ON
Question: Name either of the only two English players who have been directly involved in more Premier League goals than Newcastle United’s Jacob Murphy (14) in 2025.
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.
The thing about football, the important thing about football, is that it is not just about football.
Answer
Jarrod Bowen (16) and Eberechi Eze (15).
