GM football fans. It’s Friday, Jan. 23 - Liverpool have topped the Premier League earners for the first time, the MLS has made major changes to its transfer window dates, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MW23: Bournemouth vs. Liverpool, Sat 24, 17:30 GMT / 12:30 ET. Liverpool have won 12 of their last 13 Premier League games against Bournemouth. Plus, the home side doesn’t fare well against reigning champions, having lost 10 of their last 11 league games against such opposition. Newcastle vs. Aston Villa, Sun 25, 14:00 GMT / 09:00 ET. Newcastle are unbeaten in their last 17 home league games against Villa, winning the last four by an aggregate score of 13-1. However, only Arsenal (21) have won more away league points than Villa (18) this season. Arsenal vs. Manchester United, Sun 25, 16:30 GMT / 11:30 ET. Man United are winless in their last six Premier League games against Arsenal. Meanwhile, while the Gunners haven’t face a single shot on target in their last two league games, Man United had the most xG (4.81) and shots on target (17) last weekend. See every Premier League Matchday 23 fixture here.
Results…
Europa League (Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Top Earners Revealed
Liverpool have become the top-earning Premier League club for the first time, according to analysis by the Deloitte Football Money League. The Reds’ title-winning season generated €836m (£702m), putting the club fifth, behind Real Madrid (€1.2bn), Barcelona (€975m), Bayern Munich (€861m), and Paris Saint-Germain (€837m). See the full list here.
Manchester United have fallen to their lowest position in the Money League, at eighth, a result of the club missing out on European football this year. The club, which has seen broadcast revenue drop from €258m (£216.72m) to €206m (£172.9m), topped the Money League in 10 of its 29 editions, most recently in 2017.
Overall, the revenue of the top 20 clubs went up by 11% to a record €12.4bn (£10.4bn). Commercial revenues grew as clubs began to focus on the increased use of their stadiums and the surrounding area on non-matchdays, as well as securing better sponsorship deals and improved retail performance. The report also attributes the expanded Fifa Club World Cup to helping boost broadcast revenues by 10%.
MLS Extends Transfer Window
The MLS summer transfer window, also known as the secondary window, will extend into September for the 2026 season, as part of the league’s push to align with the European schedule. The secondary window will now run from July 13 to Sept. 2, while the previous window (in 2025) ran from July 24 to Aug. 21. The move creates greater opportunities to acquire high-level talent during the final stretch of the season and the push toward the MLS Cup Playoffs. The primary window will start on Jan. 26 and close on March 26.
The news follows November's announcement that MLS would shift the regular season to a summer-to-spring campaign, beginning in 2027. A large majority of MLS sporting directors say the upcoming calendar shift will be a major boost because it aligns the league’s transfer windows with Europe.
Elsewhere, Fifa has allowed three Canadian MLS clubs – CF Montreal, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC – to adhere to the registration periods established by U.S. Soccer rather than Canada Soccer. The league has also updated its roster regulations—see here.
Champions League Standings
With one remaining Champions League matchday left, only two teams – Arsenal and Bayern Munich – have guaranteed their place in automatic qualification. See the final round of league phase matches in the Champions League here, with all the games taking place Wednesday (Jan 28).
When it comes to a top-eight finish, Real Madrid (15 pts), Liverpool (15), and Tottenham (14) will guarantee a top-eight finish if they win their final game. Meanwhile, a big group of teams from PSG (6th) to Atalanta (13th) are on 13 points, and they all need a win and, most likely, a favourable goal difference to keep their chances of automatic qualification alive. In total, 16 teams are fighting for the final six top-eight spots, with only two fixtures involving those teams playing each other: PSG vs. Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund vs. Inter Milan.
There’s also the potential for all six Premier League teams to reach the knockout stages for the first time ever. Manchester City, currently in a play-off spot, are behind Newcastle and Chelsea only on goal difference as part of a group of eight teams on 13 points.
POLL
Are 'big' clubs hiring managers with too little top-level experience?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Fifa president Gianni Infantino should focus on making "cheap tickets" for the 2026 World Cup instead of "cheap jokes" about British fans, says the Football Supporters' Association (More)
> Changes have been announced for the Premier League's March schedule between Matchweeks 29-31 (More) | Manchester United midfielder Casemiro will leave the club when his contract expires in the summer (More)
> The Women’s League Cup will undergo a major rebranding and format change, which will include adopting a similar format to the Champions League (More)
> Serie A leaders Inter face Pisa on Friday (Jan 23) as they sit three points ahead of AC Milan, who face Roma on Saturday (Jan 25) (More); see the Serie A table (More)
> La Liga will hold a minute of silence before this weekend’s matches in memory of the victims of the two deadly train accidents in the country in the past week (More)
Americas
> FIFA president Gianni Infantino has admitted that many of the people who have applied for tickets for the 2026 World Cup will try to sell them for profit on resale platforms (More/paywall)
> Inter Miami fully acquire MLS Cup-winning goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo with a long-term contract (More); see the MLS transfer centre (More)
> Liga MX leaders Guadalajara will travel to Atletico de San Luis for Matchday 4 of the Clausura; see all fixtures (More)
Rest of the World
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you support expanding VAR to cover second yellow cards and corners?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (59%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (37%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 G.B: “While I don’t like the amount of time it takes to use VAR, it’s good to make sure the game is being officiated as fairly and evenly as possible.”
👍 J.B: “Being down a player is a huge impact on the game. A mistake here is too costly and punishing to a team, wrongly losing a player.”
🙅♂️ J.H: “The game doesn’t need it. It can’t hold up the game, so it doesn’t apply to non-obvious mistakes, so there is a built-in inconsistency. How does this compare with a free kick on the edge of the box, not given, and not under the remit of VAR? It creates more inconsistency and anomalies. Focus on the cheating with severe retrospective action. Allow referees to sanction players who answer back.”
✍️ A.N: “Second yellows, yes. They do result in red cards, and straight red cards can get checked by VAR, so it's only fair that it gets extended to second yellows. Corners, I don't think, are as important to check.”
EXTRA TIME
Why are Prem games producing so many goalless draws?
… and which Prem team has had the most injuries?
This penalty might be worse than Brahim Diaz’s.
What we learned from AFCON 2025.
Trends in women’s football transfer market.
The best stats from this week’s Champions League.
Would Man Utd 2008 really 'batter' Arsenal 2026?
GAME FACE ON
Question: What transfer connection do these five players share?
Michael Owen. Xabi Alonso. Steve McManaman. Jerzy Dudek. Nicolas Anelka.
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.
I am in the most difficult league in the world. It’s a bloodbath.
Answer
They have all played for both Liverpool and Real Madrid.
