Together with
Good morning football fans. It’s Wednesday, Mar. 25 - Mohamed Salah is set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, Uefa rejects squad increases in the Champions League, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals, leg 1, (Mar 25): Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 17:45 GMT / 13:45 ET. Real have lost 19 of their 20 competitive matches against Barcelona, and have lost their last three this season by a combined 10-0 scoreline. Three-time European champions Barcelona finished the league phase top of the table and are aiming to complete the quadruple this year. Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich, 20:00 GMT / 16:00 ET. Bayern have won their last six competitive away games by a combined 18-1 scoreline, and they extended their unbeaten run to 22 matches in all competitions following their win in the Frauen-Bundesliga on the weekend. Meanwhile, Man United have only won one of their last four matches in all competitions. See the Women’s Champions League bracket here.
Results…
Women’s Champions League QF: Wolfsburg 1-0 Lyonnes | Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
FROM OUR PARTNERS
Your Next Clip Is Already Done
Turn one recording into a week’s worth of content with Riverside. Its AI Co-Creator instantly generates social clips, show notes, and titles ready before you even close your laptop.
TOP TALKING POINTS
Squad Increases Rejected
UEFA has rejected requests from English clubs to increase the size of Champions League squads from 25 to 28 next season. Premier League sides reportedly argued that there should be an increase in squad sizes to reflect the expansion of the Champions League at Uefa’s club competitions committee meeting last month, but the proposal was met with backlash from Spanish clubs.
The Guardian reports that Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, and Real Sociedad pushed back on the proposal, fearing that Premier League clubs would strengthen their squads. This follows recent reports that clubs in Europe have argued that Premier League clubs have an advantage in the league phase of the competition because of the country protection rule, which prevents clubs from the same country from being drawn against each other early in the competition. Uefa is considering removing the country protection rule.
Any changes to the Champions League will wait until after next season, as the regulations have been signed off by the competition's committee. Changes are expected before Uefa’s next four-year broadcast cycle, beginning with the 2027-28 season.
Salah to Leave Liverpool
Mohamed Salah has announced that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the current season. The 33-year-old will leave in the summer despite his existing contract, which he signed in April 2025, running through to the summer of 2027. Watch Salah announcing his departure here or read his full statement here.
Salah has spent nine years at Anfield, having joined from Roma in 2017, and will leave the club as their third-highest goalscorer, having scored 255 times in 435 appearances, only behind Ian Rush (346 goals) and Roger Hunt (285). During his time at the club, Liverpool have won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup, FA Cup and two EFL Cups, as well as the Community Shield. As well as winning four Premier League Golden Boots, Salah also won a Puskas award in 2018 for his goal against Everton in the Premier League — watch here.
“Unfortunately, the day has come,” Salah said in a video posted on social media. “This is the first part of my farewell. I will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.” He continued: “Leaving is never easy, this will always be my home. You gave me the best time of my life, I will always be one of you. This will always be home to me and my family. Thank you for everything, because of all of you, I will never walk alone.”
Fixture Delay Denied
Lens, who are just one point behind Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, have rejected the leaders' request to postpone their domestic match to accommodate their Champions League fixtures. The match, scheduled for April 11, is sandwiched between the two legs of PSG's Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool.
Lens are chasing their first league title since 1998 and believe moving the fixture would negatively impact their chances of winning the title. If the match was rescheduled, it would mean Lens would have a 15-day period of inactivity, followed by three matches in a single week. The club has argued that domestic competition must be respected regardless of continental commitments.
While Lens have officially rejected the request, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has the final say. The governing body tends to look to benefit French clubs playing in European competitions, The Athletic reports. PSG’s league match against relegation strugglers Nantes was postponed ahead of their last 16 fixture against Chelsea, leaving Nantes fans disappointed (in French) with their owners.
POLL
Do you like seeing players showboating on the pitch?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Jurgen Klopp says that speculation around talks to become Real Madrid manager is “nonsense” (More) | Kylian Mbappe says his left knee injury has recovered but was initially misdiagnosed after Real Madrid scanned the wrong leg (More)
> The EFL play-off finals at Wembley will take place over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend in May, with the Championship final on Saturday, May 23 (More)
> Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze will be sidelined for around four to six weeks with an injury (More)
> Czech police have conducted dozens of arrests related to match fixing in the football leagues following a three-year investigation (More)
> Danish club Brondby has defended manager Steve Cooper after accusations he dropped Bosnian midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic due to his nationality, ahead of a World Cup play-off semi-final against Wales (More)
Americas
> Orlando City have signed Antoine Griezmann from La Liga side Atletico Madrid, and he will join after the 2025-26 season (More); watch Griezmann’s announcement video (Watch)
> Canadian Premier League side Vancouver FC have signed Lys Mousset, a former Bournemouth and Sheffield United striker with 99 Premier League appearances (More)
Rest of the World
> Four Asian Champions League Elite series that were postponed due to the war in the Middle East will be moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you need to be actively playing for your club team to be selected for the national team?
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (43%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (54%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 R.H: “If you’re not good enough for your team, you can hardly expect to be good enough for your country. Even if your club has a top player from another country in your position, you would hardly be a match fit.”
🙅♂️ D.J.F: “There are dozens of incredibly talented players that do not get time on the pitch with their club team. Their nation recognises that and rewards those players as they should.”
✍️ C.L: “It depends. In top-tier clubs, even substitute players compete at an extremely high level. For national teams with less depth (e.g., Paraguay, Mexico, Serbia, Algeria), those players may still be among the best available options and therefore get selected. So while regular playing time helps, the level of competition and overall player quality can outweigh it.”
EXTRA TIME
Rating Puma’s World Cup away shirts.
The story of the part-timers who could make the World Cup.
Does running more in a game actually make a difference?
Man United fan loses seat held since 1949 to VIPs.
The world’s best player at every age.
An entertaining ref cam from the Bundesliga.
Haaland looks at 150-year-old football equipment.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Other than Real Madrid and Barcelona, what is the only other team to have never been relegated from the Spanish top flight?
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.
When we were in South Africa, I remember one night I was bored, so me and Wayne Rooney sat in his room and watched his whole wedding on DVD.
Answer
Athletic Club.
