GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Dec. 30 - Fifa defends World Cup ticket prices, Ronaldo says he won’t retire until he scores 1,000 career goals, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD19 (Dec 30): Arsenal vs. Aston Villa, 20:15 GMT / 15:15 ET. Villa have 11 straight victories across all competitions, equalling their all-time club record last set in March 1914. However, Arsenal have won their final league game in four of the last five calendar years. Manchester United vs. Wolves, 20:15 GMT / 15:15 ET. Wolves are winless this season and have just 2 points from 18 games. Meanwhile, Man United have won eight of their last 11 Premier League matches against Wolves, beating them 4-1 earlier this month at Molineux. Chelsea vs. Bournemouth, 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET. Bournemouth are winless in their last eight Premier League matches against Chelsea, and the home side is unbeaten in their last three against the Cherries at Stamford Bridge. See every Premier League MD19 fixture here.
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
Winter Transfer Window
The January transfer window opens this Thursday (Jan 1) for most major European leagues and closes on January 31. See the Premier League’s best ever January transfer window signings here.
The Premier League’s marquee signing is expected to be Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City, with talks under way over personal terms ahead of his £65m release clause. Meanwhile, Liverpool are expected to try to sign defender Marc Guehi for a fee in January to avoid a battle against foreign clubs signing him when he is out of contract in the summer. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have made Brennan Johnson their primary January target, though any deal would require a significant fee given Tottenham’s valuation of £50m ($67m). Dive deeper into what every Premier League club’s plans are for the January window here.
Elsewhere, reports in Spain suggest Barcelona are open to offers for goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, with Aston Villa among clubs to have made informal enquiries. Juventus could also face interest in winger Kenan Yildiz, who has attracted attention from several Premier League clubs and Real Madrid, with his valuation reported to be around £80m ($108m).
See every transfer window deal with this live tracker here.
FIFA Defends Ticket Prices
President Gianni Infantino defended the ticket prices for next year’s World Cup, citing the public’s “absolutely crazy” demand. Infantino revealed Fifa had received around 150 million ticket requests, and compared this to the roughly 44 million tickets sold across all previous World Cups combined. Fans from the U.S. have made the highest number of ticket requests, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom.
The pricing structure for the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico has been widely criticised, with the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) describing it as "scandalous". "Without Fifa, there'd be no football in 150 countries in the world. There is football because, and thanks to, these revenues we generate with, and from, the World Cup, which we reinvest all over the world,” Infantino said. Fifa says it will reinvest more than 90% of its revenues from the 2023–2026 cycle back into the game.
Group-stage tickets are roughly three times more expensive than those for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The cheapest ticket for the final is around $4,200 (£3,119).
Ronaldo Retirement Update
Cristiano Ronaldo says he will not retire until he scores 1,000 career goals. Following his brace in Al Nassr’s 3-0 win against Al Akhdoud on Saturday, Ronaldo’s tally for club and country is 956 goals. He is currently the joint top-scorer in the Saudi Pro League with 12 goals in 10 appearances this season.
"It's hard to continue playing, but I am motivated,” Ronaldo said after being named the Best Middle East Player at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai. “My passion is high, and I want to continue. It doesn’t matter where I play, whether in the Middle East or Europe. I always enjoy playing football, and I want to keep going.”
The 1,000 goals milestone would join a host of impressive records for Ronaldo, including the record number of goals for Portugal (143) and Real Madrid (450), while he is also the only player to have scored more than 100 goals for four different clubs: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al-Nassr.
POLL
Are you confident your team will get the signings they need this January?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Nottingham Forest have lodged a complaint over officiating in their Man City defeat and ask for audio from the refereeing body (More)
> Ipswich have ended Championship leaders Coventry City’s unbeaten run at home with a 2-0 win (Match Report)
> Former Arsenal and Man City defender Gael Clinchy has been appointed as head coach of Kylian Mbappe’s club Caen, who are currently 10th in the French third division (More)
> Lazio head coach Maurizio Sarri has undergone a minor heart operation, the Italian Serie A club said (More)
> Manchester United women have signed experienced German international Lea Schuller; she has scored 54 goals in 82 apperances for Germany (More); track every women’s transfer (More)
Americas
> The MLS has become the sixth most-watched football league in the world with 7.7m total attendance last season (More); see the MLS transfer tracker (More)
> Filipe Luis signs new deal at Flamengo until December 2027 after he led the club to a historic treble (More)
Rest of the World
> Egypt finish their Afcon group on top despite resting all their key players in a 0-0 with Angola (More); see every Afcon result (More)
> Dubai will host Fifa’s Best Awards ceremony next year (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think the Premier League title is a genuine three-team race this season?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (61%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (36%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 R.M: “A resounding yes! It will be interesting to see how injuries play into the second half of the season. Also, don't count out Liverpool or Chelsea, loads of talent on both of those sides.”
👍 T.H: “All it takes is a key player blowing out a knee at the wrong time and all bets are off. Think about what the three would be like with Rice, Haaland or Rogers gone for any length of time. One bad tackle and the race changes.”
🙅♂️ S.P.C: “Villa were second best for an hour vs Chelsea and looked anything but title contenders. I think that once their current unbeaten run ends, they will fall away and finish 4th at best.”
✍️ L.J: “I expect City to go on one of their trademark runs and win the league. Similarly, I expect Arsenal to falter in trademark fashion. It's Villa that provides the intrigue for me. Can they maintain this form and come out on top? As a Liverpool fan, I'd rather see them win the title of the three...”
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GAME FACE ON
Question: Who was the first Premier League manager to be sacked in 2025?
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 told the club’s medical staff that pastries for breakfast is not the best option, and they said: ‘Everything has to stay the same — don’t change or you’ll be sacked. We’ve won 15 Champions Leagues like this’
Answer
Julen Lopetegui (West Ham)
