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Good morning football fans. It’s Wednesday, May. 06 - Tensions rise among Real Madrid’s squad, New Jersey becomes one of the most popular World Cup bases, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
UEFA Champions League semi-final leg 2 (May 6): Bayern Munich vs. Paris Saint-Germain, agg 4-5, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. The first leg saw the highest scoring European Cup semi-final match since Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers 6-3 in 1959-60. While Bayern trail by one goal going into this match, PSG have lost more away games against the German side (5) than any other opponent in major European competition. However, when losing the first leg in five previous semi-finals, Bayern have been eliminated each time. See possible line-ups here.
Results…
Champions League semi-final: Arsenal 1-0 Atletico Madrid (Agg 2-1)
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TOP TALKING POINTS
World Cup’s Popular Base
The teams of Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Senegal will base themselves in New Jersey during the 2026 World Cup, as first reported in The Athletic. A formal announcement is expected next week, but should the reports prove accurate, it would make New Jersey one of the most popular training base locations across all three host nations.
Kansas City, the smallest of the competition’s 16 host cities, is the only other region that competes with New Jersey, as it will host Argentina, England, the Netherlands, and Algeria. Despite England not playing any of their group-stage matches in Kansas, reports suggest the state was an attractive base due to its central location in the country.
Fifa covers the core training-site rental costs for federations when a team uses an approved World Cup base camp training site — see the list of approved base camps here. Across all 48 teams, Fifa is expected to pay between $12m to $16m, working out to an average of $250,000–$333,000 per federation.
Real Madrid Tensions
Kylian Mbappe’s representatives have pushed back against French media reports claiming his Real Madrid teammates are unhappy with his recent trip to Italy with his partner. The French forward, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, missed the team’s 2-0 win over Espanyol to travel abroad. According to L’Equipe, the decision “seriously displeased” many Madrid fans and a large majority of the club’s employees.
Further reports suggest growing frustration among some teammates over Mbappe’s attitude. This stems mainly from an incident in which he allegedly arrived 40 minutes late to a training session and was disrespectful toward a staff member who was acting as a linesman during a training match. He reportedly faced no punishment on either occasion. While the training-ground incident appears to have occurred, it remains unclear how widespread any frustration is within the squad or among manager Alvaro Arbeloa.
“Part of the criticisms are based on an overinterpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club,” Mbappe’s camp said in response to the reports. “This is not corresponding to the reality of the commitment and the work that Kylian does daily for the good of the team”.
… and Neymar’s Probe
Brazilian Serie A club Santos have launched an internal inquiry following accusations made about Neymar by 18-year-old winger Robinho Jr., son of former Brazilian forward Robinho. Sources say Neymar allegedly physically assaulted Robinho Jr. after he dribbled past him in training, leading to a heated confrontation between the two.
According to reports in Brazil, Neymar allegedly insulted Robinho Jr., tripped him, and slapped the youngster. Robinho Jr. has since asked Santos to terminate his contract, citing a “lack of minimum safety standards.” His legal representatives have formally demanded action and transparency from the club and plan to release footage of the incident.
Unverified sources have told ESPN that Neymar has since tried to diffuse the situation, offering apologies to Robinho Jr. and his family. However, Robinho Jr.’s legal representatives have taken formal steps against the club, demanding action and transparency regarding Neymar’s conduct, having initially been dissatisfied with how Santos handled his “impulsive attitude.”
POLL
Should clubs make it mandatory for players to attend matches even if they’re injured?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has signed a new four-year deal running through to 2030 (More) | A Chelsea supporters group will stage a protest against the club’s ownership and board in their next two fixtures (More)
> Edin Terzic, the former Borussia Dortmund manager, will now take charge of La Liga’s Athletic Club (More); dive deeper into Athletic Club’s unique team eligibility rules (More)
> Atletico Madrid have complained to Uefa after fireworks were set off outside their London hotel before their Champions League semi-final match against Arsenal (More)
Americas
> The Concacaf Champions Cup semi-final leg two between Tigres and Nashville (agg 1-0) will conclude shortly after publication (Live Result); Toluca vs LAFC (agg 1-2) will be played on Wednesday (May 6) (More)
> Veteran MLS striker Kei Kamara has announced his retirement aged 41; he has scored 147 MLS regular-season goals (second of all time) and played for 12 MLS teams (most of all time) (More)
> USL Championship’s New Mexico United will host El Paso Locomotive on Wednesday (May 6) (More); see the USL Championship Conference Standings (More)
Rest of the World
> Al Hilal have closed the gap to just two below Saudi Pro League leaders Al Nassr following their 2-1 away win at Al Khaleej; see the Saudi Pro League table (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Was PSG vs Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final (5-4) the best game you've ever watched?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (49%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🙅♂️ Nope (46%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (5%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 J.P: “Wide open, fearless, and unpredictable on both ends of the pitch.”
👍 Y.S: “The best part of this game was that it was a glimpse into the future. I can imagine as footballers get more technical, faster, and stronger, every game will be like this one. No tactics. Just man-marking across the whole pitch. Games are decided by whoever is the best at attacking. Super exciting.”
🙅♂️ O.M: “Mine is Barcelona against PSG return game, where Barcelona had to overcome a goal deficit. Neymar played the game of his life, scoring two goals and assisting on two others. Included the game-winning goal with that lob pass for his teammate to score the winner. ”
✍️ B.D: “Close. The 2022 World Cup Final between Argentina and France was pretty amazing too. Not as many goals but still pretty awesome.”
EXTRA TIME
FOX is looking for a “Chief World Cup Watcher” for $50,000.
… and USMNT wins the World Cup final according to Fox Sports’ new ad.
What makes this PSG team so great?
When could Arsenal or Man City win the Premier League title?
BBC’s Premier League team of the week.
New York Cosmos third kit released.
Who could be the next Chelsea manager? Carragher and Henry discuss.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Can you name the five most valuable football clubs in the world, as per Sportico’s 2026 rankings?
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.
Answer
Real Madrid ($7.7bn). FC Barcelona ($6.65bn). Manchester United ($6.47bn). Bayern Munich ($5.78bn). Liverpool ($5.74bn). Source.
