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Good morning football fans. It’s Tuesday, May. 19 - Pep Guardiola is set to leave Man City at the end of the season, the Champions League final will be paywalled for the first time in the UK, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League Matchday 37 (May 19): Bournemouth vs. Manchester City, 19:30 BST / 14:30 ET. Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League games, though they have lost 16 of their 17 league games against Man City. Pep Guardiola’s side, though, have lost three of their last four away games against sides from the south coast. Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 20:15 BST / 15:15 ET. A draw at Stamford Bridge would effectively keep Spurs from relegation, given their considerably stronger goal difference than West Ham's. However, Chelsea have won their last five league games against Spurs and haven’t lost their final home league game in any of the last 23 seasons. See the Premier League table here.
Results…
Premier League: Arsenal 1-0 Burnley
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Pep’s Exit Confirmed
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will leave the club this summer, according to multiple credible reports. Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who has worked under Guardiola at Man City, is thought to be the only candidate the club is considering to replace the 55-year-old. The announcement is expected on Sunday, ahead of the club’s open-top bus parade on Monday.
Guardiola has overseen one of the most successful tenures in Premier League history, winning 17 major trophies (20 in all). Over his decade at City, he has won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and five EFL Cups. He is also the only Premier League manager in history to reach 100 points in a season, doing so in 2017-18, in the same year that Man City set the record for the most goals scored in a single campaign (106).
Ahead of Man City’s FA Cup win on Saturday, the Spaniard was asked whether it would be his last trip to Wembley. “No way,” he replied, before reminding the reporter that he still had one more year left on his contract. The BBC also reports that Man City remains hopeful that he will see out the final year of his deal, but other reports suggest the club has already informed sponsor partners that a decision is imminent.
Champions League Paywall
For the first time ever, the Champions League final will not be free to watch in the UK. TNT Sports has the rights to all three European competition finals, but the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned brand has decided not to make them free to watch. The decision breaks a 34-year history in Britain, where viewers won’t be able to watch the finals without paying for a subscription.
The broadcaster has reportedly irritated Uefa, particularly because each final will feature an English team. Sources have told The Guardian that Uefa feels the move has broken the spirit of their agreement that states “best endeavours” should be made to ensure the finals are available for free. Now, the cheapest way to watch the final in the UK is via HBO Max for £4.99, whereas watching directly on TNT Sports costs £31.99 a month.
TNT will lose all three competitions in the 2027-28 season after being outbid by Paramount for the Champions League and by Sky Sports for the Europa League and Conference League. BT Sport owned the rights before TNT, and streamed the Champions League and Europa League finals live for free from the 2015-16 season. Before that, Champions League finals were aired on ITV, which had exclusive rights to the competition since its launch in 1992.
Premier League Settlement Proposal
The Premier League could allow clubs to negotiate settlements over alleged breaches of its financial rules rather than have decisions made by an independent commission. As first reported in Sky News, clubs will be asked to vote on the proposal at the Premier League’s annual meeting in June.
Sources have said the proposal aims to simplify and expedite the sanctions process when clubs are charged with breaches of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). In the 2023-24 season, the Premier League spent around £45m in legal fees, which is taken from the league’s central fund, and the bulk of the spending stems directly from defending its PSR rules. Since then, legal bills in the English top flight have remained high, at around £45m in 2024-25. The league had initially budgeted around £8m per season for such costs.
Settlements are unlikely to be used in complex cases such as the Premier League’s ongoing charges against Manchester City; dive deeper into why here. The new mechanism would most likely apply to routine breaches, such as those involving Everton and Nottingham Forest, both of which resulted in points deductions.
POLL
Is Pep Guardiola the best manager in English top-flight history?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Jose Mourinho has agreed to return to Real Madrid as head coach on a two-year deal until 2028, 13 years after his first spell at the club (More) | Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has signed a new deal at the club until June 2028, following the Catalan side’s La Liga title win (More) | Lamine Yamal is expected to miss the start of Spain’s World Cup opener as he recovers from a hamstring injury (More)
> The referees’ body has admitted that Manchester United’s second goal against Nottingham Forest should not have been awarded due to a handball (More) | London taxpayers may have to pay an extra £2.5m if West Ham are relegated from the Premier League this season (More)
> Olivier Giroud, Cesar Azpilicueta and Benni McCarthy have joined the BBC Sport team for the 2026 Fifa World Cup next month; see the full punditry list (More)
> Luka Modric has made his fifth Croatia World Cup squad after recovering from an injury on April 26 (More)
> Arsenal Women are set to sign England midfielder Georgia Stanway after the 27-year-old left Bayern Munich (More)
Americas
> Neymar Jr has been selected by Carlo Ancelotti to join Brazil’s World Cup squad in what will be his fourth tournament; Thiago Silva and Joao Pedro have missed out (More)
> Lionel Messi scored and assisted against Portland Timbers in Inter Miami’s first home victory at their new stadium (More); track all of Messi’s goals, assists and moments (More) | Hany Mukhtar bagged a hat-trick in Nashville’s 3-2 win over LAFC (More)
> Two US Open Cup quarter-finals matches in Orlando vs Atlanta and St Louis vs Houston will conclude shortly after publication; see live results (More)
> Liga MX’s Pumas advanced to the Clausura final following a 1-0 win over Pachuca in the semi-final (agg 1-1) and finishing better in the regular season (More)
Rest of the World
> Auckland will host Sydney in Saturday's A-League Grand Final after seeing off Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets respectively in the playoff semi-finals (More)
> South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe have bid to co-host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations finals (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Is Xabi Alonso the right appointment for Chelsea?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (61%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (34%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 H.V: “We need a former player (and it doesn’t hurt that he was an elite midfielder like Lampard) to build some confidence and cohesion in the squad. Just wish the owners would stop being so rash and give him real time to turn things around. I love the appointment.”
👍 R.M: “Yes, but he must be provided the support and patience to implement changes to the squad and allow his changes to take effect. Not sure this will all turn out rosy.”
🙅♂️ H.B: “How can anyone in their right mind say he is the right choice. His history does not suggest that he has the mettle to manage this quagmire of chaos. This club needs a complete rebuild, and that starts with the owners. They have no clue how to build the EPL model, and neither does he.”
✍️ J.L: “Disappointed he is not replacing Arne Slot at Liverpool. He’s one of our own and should be managing the Reds, not the Blues.”
EXTRA TIME
Why have England chosen Kansas City as their World Cup base?
USWNT’s ‘99 World Cup win movie cast revealed.
Each Premier League team’s strongest trait this season.
Atletico Madrid unveil their 26-27 away kit.
Is this the MLS save of the season?
Football Manager announced World Cup mode.
GAME FACE ON
True or false: Antarctica is the only continent to never host a World Cup.
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 apologise to you again, Atleti. I made a mistake and I did everything to come back here.
Answer
False (Oceania has never hosted)
