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Good morning football fans. It’s Friday, June. 05 - Manchester City considers legal action against Real Madrid president candidate, the Glazer family is considering selling their share in Manchester United, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
TOP TALKING POINTS
Manchester United Sale Talks
Some members of the Glazer family are considering selling their stake in Manchester United after two decades of ownership, Bloomberg reports. The news comes more than two years after the Glazer family, which owns a majority stake in the club, sold roughly 29% to INEOS Group Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is in charge of the club's football operations, for £1.25bn ($1.67bn).
Sources told Bloomberg that several members of the Glazer family are now trying to persuade other family members to join them in selling their stake, though some are opposed to the sale. The family has been at odds with the club’s fanbase ever since their leveraged buyout in 2005 left the team with debts of £525m ($705m) — read a detailed history of their tenure here.
Man United, the only publicly listed Premier League club, saw its New York-listed shares up 7% in extended trading. At the time of writing, the club’s shares are trading at $21, giving the club a market value of $3.6bn (£2.7bn), though the Glazers’ asking price is expected to be much higher given the voting rights that the family's shares guarantee.
World Cup Bottle Ban
FIFA is no longer allowing fans to bring reusable water bottles into stadiums during the World Cup, citing concerns about “risk and injury to players and attendees.” The last-minute U-turn on policy has been criticised by fans groups, including England’s Free Lions fan group, which said that “the immediate thought from supporters is this is just the latest money grab.” Water, sodas, and juices will be sold exclusively by Fifa’s long-time sponsor Coca-Cola at World Cup venues.
In May, Fifa issued a statement to The Athletic, which stated that it would allow factory-sealed or empty reusable bottles when forecasts indicated elevated temperatures. The governing body has not explained why the policy has now changed three weeks later. Fans were also prevented from taking bottles into stadiums at the last World Cup in Qatar, though spectators could bring in empty bottles at the Club World Cup in many of the same stadiums that will be used for this summer’s tournament.
Last month, Fifa’s heat safety measures for players were already classified as “inadequate” by scientists, with temperatures at 14 of the 16 host venues set to exceed dangerous levels. However, Ollie Jay, a professor of heat and health at the University of Sydney, told the BBC that he’s more concerned for spectators than players. "Your average spectator is probably going to be less resilient to the heat than these highly conditioned professional athletes,” Jay said.
Dive deeper into the hottest World Cup matches here.
Madrid’s False Claims
Manchester City have threatened legal action after Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme promised to sign Erling Haaland if he is elected. On Spanish TV, Riquelme said that he would guarantee the signing of the Man City striker if he is elected as Real’s president in Sunday’s vote. “If I break my promises regarding either of these players, I've signed a guarantee where I'd pay 100% of membership costs for next season,” Riquelme said. “Haaland has a release clause, and he wants to come to Madrid.”
A joint statement from Haaland’s agent and his father, Alfie, said that Riquelme’s claims were “very entertaining but not true.” Man City, where Haaland signed a 10-year contract in January 2025, later released a statement to say “there is no chance” of Haaland’s move and that “there is no contractual clause to enable it.”
Promises of big-name signings are common during Real’s presidential campaigns. The incumbent president, Florentino Perez, used the same tactic to win his first Real presidency in 2000, promising the controversial signing of Luis Figo from Barcelona to Real Madrid. Perez won that election by using the same promise Riquelme is using, personally pledging to pay for members’ annual tickets if Figo didn’t join.
Riquelme also said that Jose Mourinho “isn’t the type of manager” that Real needs, while Perez subsequently announced in a video that the Portuguese coach would lead Los Blancos next season if he were reelected as president. Benfica confirmed yesterday that Real will pay €15m in compensation for the manager should Perez be reelected.
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POLL
Will Andoni Iraola be a success as Liverpool head coach?
ON THE BALL
Breaking: Liverpool have confirmed that Andoni Iraola has agreed to become the club’s new head coach ahead of the 2026-27 season (More)
Europe
> Manchester City’s opening bid for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson has been rejected, with sources suggesting City offered around £80m ($107m) despite Forest’s £120m ($161m) valuation (More) | Pep Guardiola said he’d quit Man City “100 times”, according to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak (More)
> Chelsea legend Bobby Tambling, who held the club’s all-time scoring record for decades, has died aged 84 (More) | The Blues have also frozen general admission prices for season and match tickets for the 2026-27 season (More)
> Jose Mourinho has filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights over disciplinary sanctions he received while coaching Turkish club Fenerbahce (More)
> Luka Modric has reportedly decided to retire from professional football after the 2026 World Cup (More)
> Spain were held to a 1-1 draw with Iraq in their World Cup warm-up, while France lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast and the Netherlands lost 1-0 to Algeria (More); see all international friendly results (More)
Americas
> Mexico’s Gilberto Mora will be 17 years and 240 days old at the World Cup, making him the youngest player in the tournament (More); learn more about the best under-21 players who will feature at the World Cup (More)
> Neymar will not travel with the rest of the Brazil squad for their final pre-World Cup friendly against Egypt on Saturday (More)
> Lionel Messi has been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, becoming the first individual football player to be given the honour by the committee (More)
Rest of the World
> UEFA is yet to take action against the integration of clubs from illegally occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia’s football system (More)
> Malaysia’s FA has approved an overhaul to its regulatory structure following criticism from the Asian Football Confederation over its widespread weakness in governance (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should assistant referees delay raising the flag for offside?
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (15%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (82%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 J.M: “Unless it is really obviously offside, the flag should be delayed. Otherwise, you can cut out an attack that could result in a goal. Anything close should be allowed to play on and checked after if needed.”
🙅♂️ G.G: “As an assistant referee, the mantra ‘a late correct flag is better than a quick wrong flag’, so a small delay is fine, but I see there being no need to delay a flag for long periods unless you don’t know. There is too much reliance on VAR from referees now, who can come across as scared to make a decision as they have VAR as a backup.”
🙅♂️ N.C: “Call it when they see it, and it is certain. Preventing injuries from letting play on go should be a priority. The only question becomes when it's too close to call, or they're flat-out wrong. In that case, a clear goal-scoring opportunity would be thwarted by the assistant referee.”
✍️ M.R: “I think the system that is going to be used for the World Cup is good. If it’s clearly offside, there’s no need to delay raising the flag. However, if the assistant referee isn't sure it was offside, they should hold off on raising the flag, as it’s unfair to the attacking team to stop their play prematurely.”
EXTRA TIME
Everyone’s talking about Nike’s 2026 World Cup advert.
This history of every World Cup. (interactive atlas)
How many World Cup shirts might not be worn in matches?
Remembering the World Cup’s biggest and best upsets.
Leeds reveal their new away kit for next season.
Every position in football explained.
Harry Kane now has a wax figure at Madame Tussauds.
Marcelo’s son recreates viral header challenge.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Only four players who featured in the 2006 World Cup will play in this year’s competition. Can you name them?
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 goal was scored] a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.
Answer
Cristiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi. Luka Modric. Guillermo Ochoa.
