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Good morning football fans. It’s Wednesday, May. 13 - The Premier League is set to reject an extension of VAR, Sergio Ramos buys his boyhood club, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
Premier League Matchday 36 (May 13): Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Man City are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against Crystal Palace, with five wins in that run. Pep Guardiola’s team are also unbeaten in their last 16 at the Etihad, though dropping points could allow Arsenal to win the league when they face already-relegated Burnley on Monday (May 18). Crystal Palace have won the third-most away games this season (7), with only Arsenal (10) and Man City (9) bettering them. See the Premier League table here.
Results…
Championship Promotion play-off semi-final leg 2: Southampton 2-1 Middlesbrough AET (agg 2-1) (Match Report)
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TOP TALKING POINTS
VAR Rejection Likely
The Premier League is set to reject widening the scope of VAR next season, despite the technology’s remit expanding for the 2026 World Cup. Football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (Ifab), ruled that VAR could now be used to review clearly incorrect corners and incorrectly awarded second yellow cards. The upcoming World Cup will be the first professional competition to implement the widening scope.
While Ifab has permitted VAR to rule on corners and second yellow cards, the lawmaker has made the new law discretionary, allowing leagues and competitions to decide whether to adopt it. As first reported in The Guardian, the Premier League believes that extending VAR’s scope will significantly lengthen matches and put more pressure on match officials. VAR has already increased Premier League match lengths, with the average game time rising from 96 minutes and 40 seconds in the 2018-19 season, before VAR was introduced, to 101 minutes and 39 seconds in the 2023-24 season.
Fifa’s view is different to the Premier League’s. The governing body believes that incorrect decisions on corners and second yellow cards are too decisive to be without video technology.
MLS Salaries Revealed
Lionel Messi is by far the highest-paid player in MLS with a salary of $28.33m, according to the MLS Players Association. Messi, whose guaranteed compensation is greater than every MLS club’s entire wage bill except for LAFC, actually earns between $70-$80m per year when considering his bonuses and ownership stake in Inter Miami. While the MLS is salary capped, each club can pay three players (called designated players) any salary they choose — dive deeper into designated players here.
LAFC’s Son Heung-min is the second-highest paid in the league with $11.2m, while Miami’s Rodrigo De Paul ($9.7m), San Diego’s Chucky Lozano ($9.3m) and Atlanta United’s Miguel Almiron ($7.9m) make up the rest of the top five. The league’s leading goalscorer is Hugo Cuypers, who claims a guaranteed compensation of $3.5m, though perhaps the biggest bargain is Preston Judd ($299k), who is tied fifth for most goals scored.
Conference leaders Nashville and San Jose rank eighth and 21st, respectively, in the league in overall wage bill. Notably, the Vancouver Whitecaps were 21st last season but now have the fourth-highest wage bill ($24.6m), with Thomas Muller becoming a designated player this year, seeing his guaranteed compensation rise from $1.44m to $5.15m.
Ramos Buys Boyhood Club
A Sergio Ramos-led consortium is close to purchasing La Liga club Sevilla after he and investment group Five Eleven Capital agreed terms with the club’s major shareholders. The deal, which sees the consortium purchase 80% of the club’s total shares, is reported to be worth around €400m (£380m; $470m).
Sevilla have been a stalwart in the Spanish top-flight, having been ever-present in the league since the 2001-02 season. However, the club’s finances have worsened in recent years, with losses of €81.8m in the 2023-24 season and total debt of around €180m. Further, while they currently sit 13th in the 20-team league, they are only three points above the relegation zone with three games left. If they were to be relegated to Spain’s second division, the club’s value could immediately drop by around 20-30%.
The takeover is not yet finalised, as the consortium still needs to provide the required capital to proceed and obtain approval from La Liga and the Spanish National Sports Council.
POLL
Should the Premier League expand the use of VAR to corners and yellow cards?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> England’s 55-man provisional World Cup squad has been submitted; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Danny Welbeck, and Alex Scott have made the list (More) | Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank will be ITV and BBC pundits, respectively, for the 2026 World Cup (More)
> Real Madrid president has said he won’t resign and accused journalists of an “organised campaign” to oust him from his position in a tense press conference (More) | Jose Mourinho is in final negotiations to become Real Madrid's next head coach, 13 years after his first spell at the Bernabeu (More)
> Nearly 750,000 people took to the streets of Barcelona to celebrate the team’s La Liga title parade (More) | Hansi Flick has agreed to extend his contract as Barcelona manager until 2028 as his current deal was set to expire in June 2027 (More)
> Ousmane Dembele has been named Ligue 1 player of the year for the second straight year despite starting just nine matches in the league this season (More); watch Dembele’s Ligue 1 goal of the season (Watch) | Michael Olise won the award for the best French player abroad in 2026 (More)
> Slavia Prague have been forced to forfeit the game against Sparta after their fans invaded the pitch just seconds before winning the league title, leaving the race for the Czech title wide open (More)
Americas
> Ted Lasso actor Cristo Fernandez has signed a professional contract with USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive (More)
> James Corden, Rio Ferdinand, and Ian Karmal will host a new FOX show for the World Cup called “FIFA World Cup on FOX After Hours with James Corden” (More) | World Cup debutant Curacao parted with coach Fred Rutten amid reports Dick Advocaat is returning to the team he led through qualifying, who will become the oldest World Cup manager in history at 78 (More)
> MLS Eastern Conference leaders Nashville travel to second-placed New England on Wednesday (May 13); see every MLS fixture (More) and Conference Standings (More)
> The Mexican government has cancelled plans to end the country’s school year early due to the World Cup, following parents’ complaints (More)
Rest of the World
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should referees give goalkeepers more protection from physical contact during corners?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (67%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (30%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 D.L: “Goalkeepers need greater protection at corners, which have become increasingly physical. Without it, keepers risk being reduced from active participants to targets.”
👍 J.L: “If the keeper's arms or hands, or even shoulders, are compromised, the defence has a clear disadvantage. Refs need to protect the keeper so he can do his job. Contact with the keepers might be the reason so many goals have been scored on corners this season.”
🙅♂️ J.P: “No. It's already a foul if someone barges into a keeper, why should they do more? I've seen many 50/50 challenges go the keepers way. Should they be protected? Yes. Even more than they already are? No.”
EXTRA TIME
Juventus launch new home shirt.
Meet the 2026 World Cup’s oldest outfield player.
How much are the EFL play-off finals worth?
The inside story of Real Madrid’s infighting.
ESPN’s World Cup 2026 power rankings.
Ref cam but in front of the famous yellow wall.
BBC’s Premier League team of the week.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who are the five players with the most 2025-26 Premier League assists?
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 have no problem with Mourinho. He seems like a great professional to me. I don’t want him at Real Madrid. I think other coaches would be better equipped to coach at the club of my life.
Answer
Bruno Fernandes (19), Rayan Cherki (11), Jarrod Bowen (10), Erling Haaland (8) and James Garner (7).
