Good morning. A 12-point deduction hangs over Championship club Sheffield United, the oldest professional footballer in the world scores a brace, and everything else you need to know.
TOP TALKING POINTS
EPL Competition Grows
Ahead of the new Premier League season, data analysed by the BBC shows the English top flight is more competitive than it has been in over two decades. The gap between the top four and bottom three fell from 44 points in 2024–25 to just 26 last season — the smallest in 23 years. Thirteen of the 20 clubs also finished between 40 and 60 points, the highest number since 2003–04, suggesting the gap between the league’s top sides and the rest is narrowing.
European qualification also required fewer points than usual. Aston Villa reached the Champions League despite taking one point fewer than when they finished sixth the previous season, climbing two places to fourth, while Liverpool finished fifth with 60 points, the lowest total for that position in 19 years.
The change was also reflected further down the table. Everton's points total was the highest for a 13th-placed side since 1999–2000, while the four positions below them all recorded their highest totals in 23 years. But the exception is the very bottom, where the league has gone the other way. Seven of the last ten sides to finish 19th have failed to reach 30 points, against just two in the division's first 21 seasons with 20 clubs.
12-point Deduction Lingers
Championship side Sheffield United could be hit with a 12-point deduction this season. This follows the High Court's decision to place COH Sports Bidco Limited (CSBL), the company that bought the club, into liquidation. The club’s former owners, United World, brought the case after CSBL failed to pay around £35m still owed from the £100m takeover. CSBL had no representation at the hearing, meaning it lasted just 10 seconds.
However, Sheffield United itself has not gone into administration, so a points deduction is not automatic. Before CSBL was wound up, the club’s shares were moved into a new US-based company, 1919 Partners LLC. The EFL is now examining whether that move genuinely separated the club from CSBL, or simply moved the club while leaving behind the £35m debt owed by its former parent company.
EFL rules allow its board to impose a 12-point deduction where an insolvency involving a club’s wider ownership group is judged to affect the club. Officials will consider whether Sheffield United and CSBL were effectively linked financially, and whether moving the shares left the unpaid debt behind. There is precedent, however, with Southampton deducted 10 points in 2009 after their parent company entered administration.
Oldest Player Brace
Aged 59, the world’s oldest active professional footballer Miura Kazuyoshi (player profile) scored a brace for Japanese third-tier side Fukushima United against Oyama SC in the Emperor's Cup first round. Miura, eight years older than his head coach, scored two penalty kicks, the second of which he earned himself, helping his team win 7-0.
Miura has not played a full match since 2015. In July, though, he scored his first goal in nearly four years in the 52nd minute to make it 5-0 over Iwaki Furukawa. He began his career in 1986, when he made his debut for Brazilian club Santos, and scored 55 goals in 89 appearances for Japan before retiring from international duty in 2000.
Miura’s longevity has also drawn criticism in Japan, however. According to a South Korean outlet, critics in Japan have called Miura a “meaningless record extender” and a “capitalism-born monster,” suggesting lower-league clubs use his novelty factor as a publicity and revenue generator.
ON THE BALL
Europe
• Arsenal have agreed a deal worth more than £50m to sign Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa (More); it will take the Gunners’ spend to over €200m (More) | Arsenal’s chief executive Richard Garlick says everyone in the Premier League wants clarity on the verdict over Man City’s charges (More); dive deeper into the latest on the 115 charges case (More)
• Harry Kane has been awarded his second European Golden Shoe after scoring 36 goals in 31 Bundesliga games last season (More)
• A Greek businessman is in talks to buy a large stake in the Championship club Bristol City (More)
• BBC Sport will broadcast 38 live matches from Italy’s Serie A this season, available to British viewers (More)
• Paul Pogba, who joined Monaco last season after serving a doping ban, will leave the club by mutual consent (More)
Americas
• A high court rules Boston’s new $325m stadium, which is intended for NWSL team Boston Legacy, can continue to be built (More) | NWSL’s Bay FC have criticised the San Jose Earthquakes’ hiring of Gavin Wilkinson, who was fired after the Yates Report in 2022 (More) | A 14-year-old, Zoe Thompson, sister of professionals Alyssa and Gisele, has already signed a deal with Nike (More); read more about the up-and-comer (More)
• Real Salt Lake achieves club record sale of $15m after selling teenager Zavier Gozo (More); see Crystal Palace’s creative announcement of the signing (Watch) | Multiple MLS matches will conclude shortly after publication; see live results (More)
• Cape Verde have appointed Humberto Bettencourt as their new men’s national team head coach (More)
Rest of the World
• Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr secured a place in the King’s Cup of Champions Round of 16 after a 4-1 victory over Al Diriyah in their Round of 32 match (More) | Al Qadsiah have signed Tijjani Reijnders from Man City for €61m (More)
• Israel has officially withdrawn its support for president Gianni Infantino (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Is the Premier League the most competitive it has ever been?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (70%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (25%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 K.O: “Aside from Arsenal, whose squad I think is far ahead of every other team, I do think this is the most competitive the league has ever been. Basically every team, bar a couple, will be competing for European football and therefore I think ‘easy’ games are now few and far between.”
👍 D.L: “It’s the hardest I have ever found predicting who will finish where. Every squad is super strong (outside the newly promoted teams), and half the league is starting the season with a new manager.”
🙅♂️ C.K: “No. The same four or five teams at the top of the pack are in the running to win the league. Then there’s another group fighting it out in the middle of the pack and those at the bottom struggling to avoid relegation.”
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Adidas unveil football kits for dogs.
Inside the moment Man City decided to sign Cherki.
Analysing the WSL’s widening financial gap.
Are fans now more invested in star names than clubs?
Arsenal players shop for retro football shirts. (video)
GAME FACE ON
Question: What do the following players have in common?
Cristiano Ronaldo. Neymar. Robert Lewandowski.
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.
Playing for a club that has 15 Champions Leagues isn't for everyone.
Answer
They are the only men’s players in the 21st century to have scored 100 or more goals for three or more different clubs.