GM football fans. It’s Friday, May. 16 - Premier League announces team of the season nominees, Real Madrid defender in a potential criminal case, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

FA Cup final: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City, Saturday 17, 16:30 / 11:30. Seven-time winners City are unbeaten in their last seven games against Palace across all competitions—they also hold an aggregate score of 18-4 in their last three meetings with Palace in the FA Cup. Nevertheless, expect a lot of goals from this fixture as 11 goals were scored across this season’s Premier League matches. Palace have also netted two goals in five of their last six encounters with Pep Guardiola’s side. See an in-depth tactical breakdown of this fixture here.

TV Channels: UK (BBC One, ITV) | US (ESPN+) 

Results…

• League One Play-offs: Charlton Athletic 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers (Agg 1-0)

• La Liga: Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona (Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Premier League Nominees

The nominees for the Premier League Player of the Season have been announced. Fans have until 12:00 BST (07:00 ET) on Monday, May 19, to vote–link here.

The eight-man shortlist includes: Mohamed Salah, Declan Rice, Morgan Gibbs-White, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexander Isak, Virgil van Dijk, Chris Wood, and Bryan Mbeumo. While Manchester City have provided the last four award winners, none of their players are on this year’s list.

Salah is the front-runner to win the award. The 32-year-old has broken the Premier League record for goal involvements (46 – 28 goals, 18 assists) in a 38-game campaign, and has two games remaining to match the all-time competition record in a season (47) shared by Andy Cole (1993-94) and Alan Shearer (1994-95). Remarkably, he’s both scored and assisted a goal in 11 matches–the previous record was seven, set by five different players.

Dive deeper into the case for each nominee here.

Madrid Defender Criminal Allegations

Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio could face criminal charges for allegedly recording explicit images of a woman and a minor, and distributing them without their consent. The case also involves three of his youth teammates.

A court confirmed that the investigation had concluded and that the four footballers could face criminal proceedings. According to the judge, there is evidence to support allegations of privacy violations and the distribution of videos without the victims' knowledge or consent.

The case has been sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which can open a trial against the players or request the case to be closed. This decision is subject to appeal.

First-Ever Football Residence

Chelsea FC have unveiled plans for residential skyscrapers in Dubai, which will feature a rooftop football pitch. The towers will house 1,400 homes and are set to be finished by 2029–see concept images here.

The homes, priced from £470,000 ($625,000), will be branded with the club’s logos, the infinity beach pool will have blue sand, and the buildings will light up blue whenever Chelsea scores a goal. There will also be a football simulator downstairs and, on the roof of one of the towers, a full-sized, Chelsea-branded football pitch.

This move is part of a broader trend in which football clubs are expanding beyond traditional revenue streams.

POLL

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ON THE BALL

Europe

> Barcelona have secured the La Liga title with two games to spare following their 2-0 away at Espanyol, completing the domestic treble (More) | Watch Lamine Yamal’s incredible goal (Watch / US readers)

> Premier League Matchday 37 (Fixtures) | Spurs’ Dejan Kulusevski has been ruled out of their Europa League final against Manchester United (More) | Liverpool are in talks to sign Jeremie Frimpong, 24, from Bayer Leverkusen–his release clause is around £29.5m (More)

> The Women’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United takes place on Sunday at 13:30 BST (08:30 ET) (More) | Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams’ husband, has bought an 8-10% share in Chelsea Women for around £20m (More)

> With two matches remaining in the Serie A, two teams are fighting for the title, six sides are trying to avoid relegation, and four clubs are vying for the final Champions League spot (More)

Americas

> All MLS midweek fixture results (More) | Cincinnati lead the Eastern Conference after 13 matches played, and Vancouver Whitecaps lead the Western Conference; See upcoming fixtures (More)

> NWSL leaders KC Current and second-place Orlando Pride face each other on Friday (May 16) at 20:00 ET (All Fixtures); See how each NWSL team compares to their season expectations (More)

> Rhode Island beat Birmingham Legion 1-0 in the Eastern Conference of the USL on Thursday; see upcoming USL fixtures (More)

> Tigres and Toluca drew 1-1 in the Liga MX Clausura semi-final (More) | Cruz Azul and Club America face off in their first leg; the result will be determined shortly after publication (See Here)

Rest of the World

> The women’s A-League Grand Final between Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners takes place on Sunday (May 18) (Preview)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Arsene Wenger has suggested removing Champions League qualification for Europa League winners — do you agree?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 👍 Yes... (45%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅‍♂️ Nope... (53%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (2%)

Your punditry takes:

• 👍 D.G: “The fact that the 16th and 17th placed teams [Tottenham and Manchester United] are playing for the silverware should tell you that neither side will be good enough next year to even get out of the initial league stage of the Champions League.”

• 🙅‍♂️ T.S.O: “The only reason the Europa League has any standing is because the winner qualifies for the Champions League. If you take that away, it immediately becomes pointless. Why would two European teams put out their best lineups to win the second tier of European football with no chance of something better? Money and glory won't be enough for most top teams.”

• 🙅‍♂️ W.T: “The Europa League, though it’s less glamorous, is still a tough competition to win. It forces clubs to adapt to different styles of play in different environments in order to reach the top. Viewed from that perspective, the winners of the Europa League are quite possibly the MOST qualified to compete in the Champions League, no?”

EXTRA TIME

Ajax–one of the greatest title collapses in European history.

This might already settle the Puskas award.

Revisiting past stadium send-offs.

… and visualising the distance between Goodison Park and Everton’s new home.

Why is Son Heung-min filing a blackmail case?

Arsenal’s new 2025-26 home kit revealed.

Team doctor slaps an opposition player.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Arsenal hold the record for the most FA Cup wins with 14 titles, and Manchester United are second with one less title. Can you name the three teams that are joint-third with eight titles each?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur (19:30)

• Chelsea vs Manchester United (20:15)

League Two Play-offs, SF

• Walsall vs Chesterfield (Agg 2-0) (20:00)

Scottish Premiership Play-offs, SF

• Livingston vs Partick Thistle (Agg 2-0) (19:45)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur.

Want more? Try our daily football Wordle – guess the name of a current or former player in six tries. Play it here.