GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, June. 18 - La Liga tells Fifa to cancel the Club World Cup, Manchester United aim for 2028 title, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Club World Cup: Manchester City vs. Wydad Casablanca, 17:00 / 12:00. Wydad are set to become the first Moroccan team to face English opposition in history, while City have only faced non-European teams twice before. Rodri returns to City’s squad following his return from injury; the Spaniard has only ended on the losing side in one of his last 79 Manchester City appearances. Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal, 20:00 / 15:00. This is Xabi Alonso’s first as Madrid manager, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen could also make their debuts. Madrid have beat Al Hilal in the previous format 5-3 in the final, which was the highest scoring match under the old format. However, while they go into this fixture as underdogs, Al Hilal have netted 95 goals in 34 games to finish their domestic campaign. They are also unbeaten in their last five games.
TV Channels: Channel 5 or DAZN (UK) | DAZN (US) | DAZN (Canada)
Results…
Club World Cup: Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund | Flamengo 2-0 ES Tunis | River Plate 2-1 Urawa Reds
Gold Cup: Panama 5-2 Guadeloupe | Jamaica 0-1 Guatemala
TOP TALKING POINTS
La Liga Against CWC
La Liga president Javier Tebas has urged Fifa to abandon its newly expanded Club World Cup, saying it’s his objective to “eliminate” the competition from the football calendar. Tebas believes there are “no dates” available in the calendar in which to stage future Club World Cups.
Last week, Tebas opposed changing calendar dates for the new season to accommodate Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid’s participation in the tournament. However, some reports in Spain suggest that the Spanish Footballers’ Association has spoken with Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal and Atletico’s Koke on a potential delay in the upcoming La Liga season. It’s not clear whether they will go ahead with changing the season’s start date.
In addition, in response to the Club World Cup, players’ union FIFPro demanded the introduction of a mandatory four-week off-season break for players. This request is part of 12 recommendations based on an independent scientific study, including specific workload safeguards for players under 18 years old. Read all the recommendations here.
Man Utd’s Ambitious Claim
Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has said he believes the club can mark their 150th anniversary in 2028 by winning both the men’s and women’s league titles. He also drew comparisons between Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola, who he said was “allowed to be below-par” in his first season at Manchester City.
These comments follow United’s worst-ever Premier League campaign and their worst overall season since 1973–74. Last season, they achieved just 42 points, 16 points short of their previous Premier League low. They also recorded their worst finish (15th), fewest goals (44), fewest wins (11), and most defeats (18).
However, Berrada has experience with clubs that have quickly turned their fortunes around. In 2002-03, a year before Berrada joined Barcelona, the Catalan side finished sixth, 22 points behind champions Real Madrid. Three years later, they won the Champions League. He also joined Manchester City just under a year before they won their first Premier League title.
Projected Surge in Women’s Football
Women’s football is set to become one of the world’s top five sports by 2030, according to a report by Nielsen Sports. The global fan base is projected to grow by 38% to reach more than 800 million people.
Major women’s tournaments have driven a lot of the interest. In Switzerland, the women’s football fan base grew 22% in 2024 ahead of the Euros, while interest in the UK rose 15% in the two years following England’s Euro 2022 victory. In the US, NWSL viewership increased 18% year-on-year.
Participation is also surging. In China, there was a 300% rise, while in France (150%), Spain (95%), the Netherlands (25%), and the UK (24%), participation has seen sharp increases since 2019.
POLL
Should leagues adjust their calendars to help teams participating in summer tournaments?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Premier League clubs are beginning to announce their pre-season fixtures ahead of next season; track the fixtures as they are released (More) | Referee David Coote has been charged by the FA for comments about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (More)
> Manchester United are considering a move for Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, who is valued at around £60m (More); read more on Ekitike’s play style (More)
> Barcelona’s credit rating has changed from stable to positive due to what the club claims is the “good evolution of the Barca economy” (More)
Americas
> Chicago Fire have released the first rendering of the club’s $650m stadium in downtown Chicago (See Photo)
> Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a signed shirt to US President Donald Trump that includes a “playing for peace” message (More)
> Sofia Cantore becomes the first Italian player in the NWSL after joining Washington Spirit from Juventus (More)
> Atletico Dallas announced the Cotton Bowl Stadium at Fair Park will serve as the club’s home venue starting with its inaugural 2027 season in the USL Championship (More)
Rest of the World
> The Premier League has negotiated its TV rights in the Middle East and North Africa in a new three-year deal worth £550m ($742.3m), a 10 per cent uplift on the previous three-year cycle (More)
> Al Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada says it would have been “counter-intuitive” for his club to sign Cristiano Ronaldo on loan from Riyadh rivals Al Nassr for the Club World Cup (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should more leagues adopt the 50+1 rule like the Bundesliga?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes... (79%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope... (19%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (2%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 T.J.S: “A big reason I’m for the 50+1 rule is that it keeps clubs in the hands of the fans. It protects the team’s identity and stops outside owners from making it all about profit. Football stays more community-focused that way. The more that fans buy into games and their teams, the better the culture is in the stadium and on the pitch!”
👍 T.K: “The fans are, of course, the reason the team and company still exist. The fans not only bring in the revenue for the sport, but also the passion as well. Their money and favour should be rewarded with their decisions as a fan base.”
🙅♂️ M.R: “The Bundesliga’s 50+1 rule would struggle to be adopted by other leagues because it can limit a club’s ability to compete globally. While the rule promotes fan control and club tradition, it also deters ambitious owners willing to inject capital for growth, infrastructure, and talent acquisition. In today’s hyper-competitive football landscape, especially with the Premier League and Saudi clubs' spending, financial flexibility is crucial. Without it, clubs risk falling behind both on the pitch and in commercial value. Bayern’s domestic dominance may be a great example of this.”
EXTRA TIME
Ranking every Club World Cup kit.
… and what’s so special about the tournament’s ball? (video)
What the transfer window has revealed about top clubs' tactics.
The reason Ronaldo paints his toenails black.
How WSL’s expansion will shape the women’s football pyramid.
Analysing Thomas Frank’s challenge as Spurs manager.
Neto’s CWC goal from the ref’s bodycam footage.
Watch Trent’s first Real training session.
GAME FACE ON
For which club have each of the following pairs of players been teammates?
Gareth Bale & Achraf Hakimi.
Ronaldinho & Thiago Silva.
Eden Hazard & Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Club World Cup
Monterrey vs Inter Milan (02:00)
Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca (17:00)
Real Madrid vs Al Hilal (20:00)
Pachuca vs RB Salzburg (23:00)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Real Madrid. AC Milan. Lille.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
Editor’s note: We’ve updated the Wordle so that it reveals the answer if you do not guess correctly within six tries.
The training sessions are high quality, and here the ball moves very fast. It's different from what I'm used to in terms of players and the style of play.
