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Good morning football fans. It’s Thursday, July. 9 - European football breaks record revenue, EU lawmakers seek to investigate Fifa president Gianni Infantino, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
2026 World Cup quarter-final (July 9): France vs Morocco, 16:00 ET / 21:00 BST. If France advance in what will be Didier Deschamps’ 25th game as manager at the World Cup, they will become only the third nation to reach the semi-finals in three successive tournaments, following Germany and Brazil. However, according to Opta, half of France’s World Cup defeats this century have been against African teams (3/6, excluding penalty shootouts). Meanwhile, Morocco must try to beat France within 90 minutes at the seventh time of asking, having lost four of six previous meetings, though they are unbeaten in 10 matches under Mohamed Ouahbi since his appointment in March. See every upcoming World Cup quarter-final here and bracket here.
Editor’s note: There is one World Cup quarter-final on Thursday and one on Friday, followed by two more on Saturday, although for readers in Europe, the late Saturday match will fall on Sunday. After a rest day on Monday, the semi-finals will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Record European Club Revenue
European football clubs have surpassed €40bn (£34bn; $46bn) in revenue for the first time in the 2024-25 season, according to Deloitte. The exact figure, €40.2bn, is up 6% from the previous year, with revenue concentration remaining in Europe’s top five leagues — the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 — which collectively generated €21.6bn. Read the full report here.
The Premier League’s revenue of £6.8bn was the highest in Europe and an 8% rise from the previous year, driven by solid performances in European competitions and rising ticket prices. Despite this, the English second division saw income fall by 2% to £942m while pre-tax losses climbed 12% to £355m, meaning “external funding is now critical to liquidity,” with only three clubs turning a profit in that period. It is the Championship’s first revenue decline since Covid-19, highlighting weaker commercialisation and a lack of sustainable growth.
Elsewhere, the Bundesliga surpassed €4bn for the first time, with 12% growth, while La Liga posted €4.1bn in revenue, of which 52% came from Real Madrid and Barcelona. Ligue 1 had the largest revenue drop-off, falling 15% to €2.2bn, as commercial revenue fell €400m.
However, Deloitte’s analysis suggests that European football revenue could begin to plateau, as recent growth has been supported by one-off structural changes such as expanded club competitions. With the football calendar already congested, European clubs can no longer rely on adding more matches as the default growth strategy. Instead, they will need to focus on other areas of commercialisation, including stronger fan engagement, smarter media packaging, stadium growth, and greater financial discipline.
World Cup Ratings Soar
The United States’ game against Belgium in the round of 16 at the World Cup was the most-watched football telecast in U.S. history, with 30 million people watching on Fox alone. The match, which ended 4-1 in Belgium’s favour, outstripped the previous mark set in the round of 32, which Fox says was watched by 26.4 million. Telemundo reported 12 million viewers, making it the most-watched USMNT game in U.S. Spanish-language TV history.
While it remains a fraction of the peak 137.8 million viewers who tuned in to watch last year's Super Bowl, some reports suggest the combined 42 million viewers make it the most-watched non-NFL single game in U.S. sports broadcasting this decade. For comparison, the New York Knicks’ Game 5 NBA Championship game, in which they won their first title in 53 years last month, drew a peak audience of 33 million and an average audience of 24.5 million.
Separately, the gap between Fox and Telemundo’s viewership has been narrowing throughout this World Cup, with the former averaging 5 million viewers per match and the latter 4.6 million. While Telemundo has rights only to broadcast Spanish-language coverage, NPR reports that roughly 20% of Telemundo’s World Cup viewers identify English as their primary language. Telemundo’s increasing share of viewership — a result of lower streaming costs and a preference for no in-game advertising — is raising the prospect that Fifa could package English- and Spanish-language rights together for a single media partner.
Infantino Investigation Push
European lawmakers are rallying support to launch an investigation in the European Parliament into Fifa president Gianni Infantino, AP reports. The move follows Infantino’s involvement in the decision to overturn Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension for the United States’ round of 16 game against Belgium.
In a joint statement, three European Parliament lawmakers said that Fifa’s decision to "change the rule on red card suspensions mid-tournament is a disgrace and a perversion of justice,” and that "once again, we've seen Infantino and Fifa surrender to the demands of the Trump administration.”
Their aim is to gather support from the national football associations of the EU countries to apply pressure to the Fifa Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino. The investigation will look into whether pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump was a factor in lifting the suspension and also explore whether Infantino has breached other areas of political neutrality, such as awarding Trump the Fifa Peace Prize. It’s unclear the extent to which the support will prompt a meaningful investigation, though the lawmakers say that 35 colleagues have so far signed a letter in support of the initiative.
POLL
Who do you think will win the 2026 World Cup?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes has reportedly told his club that he would like to leave in order to join Arsenal in a deal worth up to £60m (More) | Manchester United have agreed a deal with Chelsea to sign 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos for £50m (More) | Fulham have appointed former Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa as their new manager on a three-year contract (More)
> Internet browser Firefox will be Wrexham’s new front-of-shirt sponsor from the 2026-27 season after the club owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney agreed a multi-year deal (More)
> The Belgian FA will continue to seek an explanation from Fifa over its decision to suspend United States striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban (More/gift link) | Croatia’s head coach Zlatko Dalic has stepped down after nine years in charge after being knocked out of the 2026 World Cup by Portugal in the round of 32 (More)
Americas
> Egypt’s team have accused the World Cup of being “fixed” following their loss to Argentina in the round of 16 (More); the Egyptian FA has written to Fifa to ask the officials in charge of the game to be removed from the tournament (More) | Fifa has appointed five Argentine officials for the quarter-final match-up between France and Morocco, making it the first time this World Cup that all referees will be from the same country (More)
> Two US Soccer staff members were suspended from their team’s round of 16 World Cup match, with no public reason stated (More)
> The 2026 MLS All-Star roster has been confirmed and is set to face the Liga MX All-Stars on July 29 at Charlotte FC’s Bank of America Stadium; see the 29-man roster (More); see the MLS All-Star jersey (More)
> Private equity firm APEX has invested up to CA$30m in the Northern Super League for a minority stake, marking the first private equity investment in a women's football league worldwide (More)
Rest of the World
> Members of Haiti’s national team tour the country following their historic World Cup qualification (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Does failure to win the World Cup title affect Cristiano Ronaldo's legacy?
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (29%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (69%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 S.D: “He shouldn't have been on the field. Too old, too slow and his presence clearly affected his team's structure. If he had retired 3-4 years ago, his stature as one of the game's greats would have been sealed. But his ego - the same reason he's not the GOAT - would not let him. And sealed Portugal's fate.”
🙅♂️ M.M: “Look at his numbers. To think his legacy is defined by one event is ridiculous. Winning the World Cup is a team effort. No one player wins or loses it alone. His failure to be on a World Cup-winning roster is an indication of a team's shortcomings, not a personal one.”
🙅♂️ C.M: “He's still one of the all-time greats. His legacy isn't tainted because he didn't deliver a World Cup to a country that has never won one.”
✍️ P.D: “Not substantially, because everyone understands that it's in part a matter of luck as to where you're born. The likes of George Best, Ferenc Puskas, and Johan Cruyff were still incredible players despite not winning a World Cup. However, it does greatly enhance the legacy of those who do win it. And in Ronaldo's case, as he always seems to be in competition with a certain Argentinian who has won the World Cup, there is an effect. Because the 2022 World Cup win is generally seen as what pushed Messi's legacy past that of Ronaldo.”
EXTRA TIME
The best World Cup stats from the round of 16.
Is Neymar the first player to score his first and last international goals at the same venue?
Ed Sheeran’s private gig for the England squad.
The stand-out pundits from this year’s World Cup.
The only referee to ever have scored a goal.
How the 2026 World Cup became the oldest on record.
London City Lionesses cover their new shirt with their badge.
The unusual relationship between unemployment and World Cup quarter finalists.
GAME FACE ON
Who Am I…
I’ve played in eight World Cup matches for Scotland
I’ve won three European Cups
I managed Blackburn to a Premier League title
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.
First of all, he reminded us he’s human and then he reminded us he’s not human.
Answer
Kenny Dalglish.
