Find a Football Team

Decision to hire an inexperienced manager has backfired badly and club’s owners will have to reassess their approach

There was symbolism to the Chelsea project reaching a reckoning at the Amex Stadium. Behdad Eghbali, one of the club’s co-owners, looked ashen-faced in the directors’ box. Enzo Fernández stared into the distance. Liam Rosenior apologised to the few supporters left in the away end and then went on to rip into his players for their performance during the team’s latest humbling by Brighton.

Rosenior’s position as head coach looked untenable long before Chelsea’s fifth straight league defeat was over. The optics were harsh. As a measure of where Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s BlueCo consortium have struggled since buying Chelsea in 2022, it does not get much starker than them having a losing record against Brighton, given how often they have nabbed one of Tony Bloom’s players or staff members.

Talented France forward roamed with intent on a nervy night at Burnley when City reclaimed top spot

In a season where the football on offer would struggle to entertain paint testers, Rayan Cherki has offered a point of difference. A playground footballer who gives off the impression of actually enjoying the game, while the majority of professionals are enduring the methodical nature of desperately practising set pieces. Cherki possesses an armoury of trickery and a desire to use it at every opportunity, even in a stuttering win at Burnley.

A fee of £30.5m was paid for the France international last summer, luring him from Lyon. While Florian Wirtz, a player who cost almost four times as much, struggles to adapt at Liverpool, Cherki’s relaxed attitude has made it a seamless transition from Ligue 1 to Premier League. There is a fearlessness to his play, knowing that if he does lose the ball then it will soon be back at his feet.

• US special envoy Zampolli hopes for Italy involvement

• Doubts remain over Iran’s participation at tournament

An envoy to Donald Trump has asked Fifa to replace Iran with Italy in the upcoming World Cup, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

The plan is an effort to repair ties between Trump and Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, after the two fell out amid the American president’s attacks against Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

• ‘Massive drop-off’ in successful prosecutions

• Police are ‘not getting the information in time’

One of the UK’s leading police officers in prosecuting online harms has said the ability to secure identifying information from the social media company X has become “significantly worse” over the past 12 months.

Mike Ankers, the deputy director of the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU), said there had been a “massive drop-off” in successful prosecutions in 2025, and that the Elon Musk-owned platform was “hiding behind” legal processes that delayed the identification of users posting hateful content online.

Spanish manager has led Edinburgh side to top of Scottish Premier League and a showdown with Rangers looms

Hearts have an opportunity to move one step closer to making history when they face Rangers on Friday. Hearts have never won the Scottish Women’s Premier League but they sit top of the table, one point above their opponents and two ahead of the country’s most successful women’s team, Glasgow City, with five games remaining.

Win or lose, lift a first league title or not, the rise of the Edinburgh side has been remarkable and their manager, Eva Olid, has been a hugely significant part of the journey.

Roundup of the promotion, playoff and relegation battles to be decided going into the final games of the season

Emmanuel Dieseruvwe’s 99th-minute winner for Rochdale against Braintree Town last week was a showbiz ending to a game that set up a showbiz ending to the season: the victory means Dale go into the final day with a chance of winning the National League and sealing the one automatic promotion spot, and they are hosting the only team above them, York City, who lead by two points. Everything else in the division – the other playoff contenders, the four relegation spots – is settled, so the final day has 11 fixtures with not a lot on them, and one with everything on the line. With the game long since sold out York are showing it on big screens at their LNER Community Stadium and go into the match with the confidence of a side that have won 17 of their past 20 games (they did lose twice on their travels last month) and usurped the top spot Dale had hogged for much of the season when the then leaders had a mini wobble of two draws, two defeats and two wins around the end of March and start of April. “Whoever put the fixtures out at the start of the year might be getting a little bonus for how it’s ended,” said Ethan Ebanks-Landell, the Rochdale captain. “It’s a massive game, I don’t think there’s been anything like it in the history of football – not that I’m aware of anyway.”

• Forward subbed after scoring winner against Celta Vigo

• PSG stay in Ligue 1 title hunt with victory over Nantes

Barcelona moved closer to retaining their La Liga title with a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo on Wednesday, but the win was overshadowed by an injury to Lamine Yamal, who scored the first-half penalty that settled the match.

With six games remaining, Barcelona lead the standings on 82 points, nine clear of Real Madrid on 73. The result keeps the champions firmly in control of the title race, though concern now surrounds Lamine Yamal with a Clásico looming in two weeks and the World Cup less than 50 days away.

After a sticky patch, the Tractor Boys are back on the right track again. Kieran McKenna’s side have shown a propensity to make things difficult for themselves as they chase the second automatic promotion spot and so it proved again after they found themselves trailing after just 42 seconds to Greg Docherty’s strike.

Charlton looked like they might do their south London rivals Millwall a favour until Darnell Furlong scored his first goal since joining last summer with a brilliant strike before Jaden Philogene sealed the points rather fortunately from the spot. With two more away games to come in the next five days that will define their season, this was the perfect response from an Ipswich team that has found things difficult on the road since being relegated last year. While defeat here means Nathan Jones’s side still need a point from their final two matches to guarantee they and not Oxford will play Championship football next year, a third promotion in four seasons is in touching distance for McKenna.

Despite punching through the Premier League’s glass ceiling, attempt to climb further has led to a steep plunge

“Is it the players, do they not care? Have you put your trust in the wrong people? This is the football club that we love and it’s down in League One, we just want to know what’s going on!”

Those were some of the thoughts aired by one board member of the Foxes Trust as Leicester fans sought to challenge their club’s owner, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, outside the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night. If they were unable to put a finger on quite why their club had been relegated to League One, then the man known as “Top” was none the wiser. “I cannot blame anyone,” he replied to his inquisitors. “I can blame myself if you want to. I tried everything, we all tried, but it was not enough.”

While the novice coach was clearly not a good fit, the lesson here is that billionaire owners are not always right after all

Run Liam, run. Don’t look back. Wrench off the hazmat suit. Scoot past the security gates where the guards are already writhing and frothing at the mouth. And exit the compound for good, ice-white trainers pounding the dirt track, designer hoodie flapping.

For Liam Rosenior the urge now must be to put as much distance as possible between himself and what is, if not the strangest and most illiterate footballing project of all time, then surely the strangest and most illiterate yet. Welcome to BlueCo Chelsea, a place where blaming the manager for the on-field spectacle feels a bit like complaining that the scientists inside the Chernobyl nuclear plant still haven’t washed up the canteen coffee cups.

Clint Dempsey’s docuseries and Landon Donovan’s memoir show that there is no single path to US soccer stardom

• Sign up for the World Behind The Cup newsletter

Back in 1993, Bora Milutinović offered a succinct diagnosis of the American men’s soccer player: “This is the problem with these people: they don’t have a problem.”

What the then-US men’s national team head coach meant, presumably, is that making it in soccer wasn’t existential for American players, as it is for many others worldwide. Milutinović and his two brothers had been orphaned by the second world war and clawed their way to the Yugoslav national team and gainful professional careers. The players in the Serb’s care at that time, by contrast, never had to worry about feeding themselves.

Our editors’ favourite sporting images from the past week, from the spectacular to the powerful, and with a little bit of fun thrown in

Kick off your afternoon with the Guardian’s take on the world of football

Every weekday, we’ll deliver a roundup the football news and gossip in our own belligerent, sometimes intelligent and – very occasionally – funny way. Still not convinced? Find out what you’re missing here.

Try our other sports emails: there’s weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown, and our seven-day round-up of the best of our sports journalism in The Recap.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

Get our roundup of women’s football for free twice a week, featuring the insights of experts such as Ada Hegerberg and Magdalena Eriksson

Join us as we delve deeper into the wonderful world of women’s football in our weekly newsletter. It is informative, entertaining, global, critical – when needed – and, above all, passionate. Written mainly by Júlia Belas Trindade and Sophie Downey, expect guest appearances from stars such as Anita Asante, Ada Hegerberg and many more.

Try our other sports emails: as well as the occasionally funny football email The Fiver from Monday to Friday, there are weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown, and our seven-day roundup of the best of our sports journalism in The Recap.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action

Subscribe to get our editors’ pick of the Guardian’s award-winning sport coverage. We’ll email you the stand-out features and interviews, insightful analysis and highlights from the archive, plus films, podcasts, galleries and more – all arriving in your inbox at every Friday lunchtime. And we’ll set you up for the weekend and let you know our live coverage plans so you’ll be ahead of the game. Here’s what you can expect from us.

Try our other sports emails: there’s daily football news and gossip in The Fiver, and weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

Andoni Iraola may be on his farewell parade but it has not dimmed his passion as he edged Bournemouth one more point closer to what could yet be an extraordinary achievement in his final five weeks.

Billionaire Bill Foley has held ambitions to take this little club on the south coast to Europe since he took over in 2022 and Iraola has made what seemed a fanciful dream a distinct possibility as he prepares to hand over the reins to Marco Rose.

• Caretaker manager has led upturn in results

• Club hierarchy to wait until end of season to make decision

Manchester United are yet to decide if Michael Carrick should be offered the manager’s position on a full-time base despite the upturn in form under his interim charge, with the club’s executive, led by Jason Wilcox, the director of football, intent on waiting until the end of the season before making a final decision.

While Carrick has publicly remained tight-lipped regarding becoming United’s manager beyond the current campaign it is understood he would be interested in doing so. The former midfielder has stated he is being consulted regarding potential summer transfer targets as well as United’s pre-season plans.

• Men’s tournament could follow Women’s World Cup method

• New format would likely come in after Euro 2028

An adapted version of the Nations League format is frontrunner among several options being considered for a revamp of the men’s European Championship qualifiers, which face an overhaul likely to be implemented after Euro 2028.

The Guardian understands the plans were presented to Uefa’s national team competitions committee on Tuesday and will now be considered by individual Football Associations, who will discuss them in smaller groups over the coming days. A final decision will be taken by the Uefa executive committee in Istanbul before next month’s Europa League final.

• Effort takes holistic approach to high ACL injury rates

• Fifpro first launched project in England in 2024

The National Women’s Soccer League is joining the Women’s Super League and the sport’s global players’ union in a three-year research initiative aimed at reducing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in the women’s game.

ACL injuries are between two and six times more likely to occur in women than men. While that disparity has often been attributed to biological differences, many in the sport have advocated for a zoomed-out understanding that considers the environmental factors that could contribute to higher injury rates, from pitch standards and weight-room access to schedule congestion and cleat quality.

• Sky Blues are champions after 5-1 rout of Portsmouth

• Millwall leapfrog Ipswich; Southampton fluff lines

Ephron Mason-Clark scored twice as Coventry clinched the Championship title with a convincing 5-1 victory over Portsmouth.

Haji Wright opened the scoring before Mason-Clark pounced on an error from Nicolas Schmid just 90 seconds after the break, which was compounded by Regan Poole’s own goal three minutes later.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, George Elek and Sanny Rudravajhala as the Sky Blues return to the top flight after 25 years away. On the podcast today; we’ll begin at Selhurst Park - Palace 0-0 West Ham. Is that a good point for the Hammers? Or an opportunity missed? Regardless, it means it remains very tight at the bottom. Elsewhere, Coventry City are promoted, behind Frank Lampard’s side Millwall, Ipswich and Southampton are fighting to join them. At the other end of the table Leicester City look set to suffer back-to-back relegations. Plus, the headlines from Leagues One and Two, a grandstand finale in the National League and your questions answered.

Italy’s goalkeeping legend on getting used to retirement, the decline of Italian football and why he blames himself for Zidane’s World Cup final red card

“I tear the gloves off my hands and my bare knuckles, reddened and soaked with sweat, shine in the neon light,” Gianluigi Buffon writes when he remembers leaving the pitch at half-time during the final game of his remarkable career, in May 2023. “I really feel dead inside. I am 45 years old, and around me many of my teammates walking in shorts towards the dressing room could easily be my children.”

The gripping and intimate tone of Buffon’s book, Saved, which opens with his last-ever game in a Serie B playoff for Parma, is matched by his warm and open character. The great goalkeeper played professionally for 28 years and his reflections are as moving as they are sombre. “Can you live without it, Gigi?” he asks. “No, I can’t … when you have outlived your youth, and the time when you feel strong and all-powerful has ended, and your muscles, joints and reflexes start to wear out, then it really is like dying.”

The first woman to manage a men’s team in Europe’s major leagues on ‘shouting back’, her coaching influences and fighting the drop

It was shaping up to be a standard Saturday night of homework for Marie-Louise Eta when the telephone rang and sent her life into overdrive. A nosediving Union Berlin had decided to part ways with their manager, Steffen Baumgart, and had a quick solution in mind. They wanted the talented coach of their under-19 team to step up for the rest of the season and it meant tearing her away from plans to face Mainz’s youngsters the following day.

“I was at home on my laptop preparing,” she says. “Then our president, Dirk Zingler, called me and said: ‘You’re doing it now. I’m counting on you.’ The call didn’t last long. It wasn’t easy for me to announce in our under-19 group chat that I wouldn’t be able to take the game any more.”

Plus: four different players scoring twice, trophy glory after being reinstated and injured physios (revisited)

• Mail us with your all of your questions and answers

“QPR recently scored six goals against Pompey with three players scoring a double each,” begins Dan Trelfer. “This threw up a few questions.”

So it did. Let’s take Dan’s questions one at a time.

There will be no bow on football’s greatest stage for one of history’s great goalscorers. We’re about to find out how his career winds down

• Sign up for the World Behind the Cup: a newsletter about more than soccer

While soccer’s calendar offers few moments of respite, the World Cup doubles as a time for referendums on the legacies of great players. Lionel Messi, Luka Modrić and Cristiano Ronaldo approach this summer’s tournament expecting it to be their final turn on their sport’s biggest stage. Kevin De Bruyne and Casemiro could clarify their complicated international careers in North America; Neymar may not get the same chance.

Missing a sendoff like this may be a bit more relatable to the life that we mortals endure. Indeed, there’s no crueler way for an international career to end than tripping at the final hurdle of World Cup qualification.

Karren Brady, who is stepping down as vice-chair at West Ham after 16 years, leaves a questionable legacy

The “No More BS” campaign led by dissenting West Ham fans needs an update. One half of the double act has left the building but the protesters do not see it as job done. They are celebrating the departure of Karren Brady, who has stepped down as vice-chair after 16 years, and will not stop pushing for change in the way their dysfunctional club is run until David Sullivan has followed her out of the door.

That, though, is not happening yet. No sooner had Brady’s departure been announced than some fans started predicting that Sullivan would not be far behind. But a move by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to increase his West Ham stake by lining up a deal to buy a chunk of the Gold family’s shares is not expected to lead to Sullivan going. Kretinsky, it is said, is merely strengthening his hand. Sullivan, who is also planning to buy some of the Gold shares, is not going anywhere. Kretinsky will match the 77-year-old’s old stake, slightly diluting the era of Sullivanism, but the outcome could have been different.

Third-choice keeper’s first top-flight Liverpool appearance came on weekend his dad took Bromley up – and now he may start against his boyhood club

It was a weekend the Woodman family will never forget. On Saturday, Andy celebrated his second promotion in three seasons as manager of Bromley, taking the club into League One for the first time in their history, and on Sunday his son Freddie made his Premier League debut for Liverpool in their historic win at Hill Dickinson Stadium. And dad and lad may not be done yet.

Liverpool’s season had been bereft of “big moments” – to use Arne Slot’s description – until Virgil van Dijk scored a 100th-minute winner that clinched victory in the first Merseyside derby at Everton’s new stadium. That big moment may not be surpassed for Liverpool this season and also rewarded Freddie Woodman’s decision to become their third-choice goalkeeper when his contract with Preston expired last summer. A 58th-minute replacement for the injured Giorgi Mamardashvili, the 29-year-old played his part as Liverpool tormented their local rivals yet again and closed in on Champions League qualification in the process.

The Canadian side have the league’s best record, the best defender, a global superstar, and a ‘for sale’ sign in the window

When the Vancouver Whitecaps went up for sale, the club was already bruised and bloodied. It was December 2024, and Vancouver had just limped to an eighth-place finish in the MLS Western Conference, which cost beloved coach Vanni Sartini his job. Facing the uncertainty of new ownership, the last rites were performed, the death knell was sounded and the club’s obituary was prepared.

Axel Schuster, the club’s CEO and sporting director, put on a brave face when speaking to reporters during a sombre press conference. The Whitecaps were coachless and rudderless, and there were questions about a problematic BC Place stadium deal, surely offputting to any potential bidder. There were questions about potential relocation. But Schuster focused on the opportunities that would come with new investment and his wider belief in the talent of the squad.

• Hagi takes national job for second time, 25 years later

• ‘I was born to win, not just to exist,’ says 61-year-old

Gheorghe Hagi has taken over as manager of the Romanian national team for a second time, with the former Barcelona star announcing ambitious targets for his new charges.

“Our goal is to win every game. Our goal is to win the Nations League. Our goal is to qualify for the European Championship [in 2028],” Hagi said at a press conference in Bucharest. “I was born to win, not just to exist. Don’t you know my motto?” added the 61-year-old, nicknamed the “Maradona of the Carpathians”.

Giallorossi manager has struggled to build and his relationship with Claudio Ranieri is beginning to fray

Right from the beginning of Gian Piero Gasperini’s time as Roma manager, there have been people who believed it would all end in tears. Despite a brilliant record with Atalanta, whom he made into consistent top four contenders, as well as winning the Europa League in 2024, a section of his new club’s support was opposed to his appointment. “Respect our history,” read one banner outside the Stadio Olimpico last May. “Don’t bring that shit Gasperini to [Roma’s training ground at] Trigoria.”

Such objections were born more from rivalry than doubts about the quality of his work. Unsurprisingly, given that the Giallorossi were in direct competition with Atalanta throughout most of Gasperini’s nine-year tenure there, he had made various comments that got under fans’ skin.

Union’s interim head coach has been given a hospital pass and, despite a vastly improved performance, her team went down to Wolfsburg

So different, but absolutely the same. If you had wanted a clear demonstration of why exactly Union Berlin was just the place for Marie-Louise Eta to become the first female head coach in a top five European league, you got it on Saturday afternoon. Eta made her debut at the helm in the Bundesliga match with Wolfsburg and after a week in which both she and Union were global news, with coach and club visibly taken aback by the media flocking to Berlin to see her opening press conference and debut in charge, just being able to get to work was a relief.

And there is really no place to ply your trade in Germany, or in Europe, quite like the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. As the team lineups are read out before kick-off there is a call and response, with each player’s name met with the collective reply “Fußballgott!” (Football God). On Saturday, when Eta’s name was announced, it was met with a united “Fußballgöttin!” (Football Goddess). On an extraordinary day, it was touchingly normal.

Expensive Germany playmaker showed only glimpses of his quality in the Merseyside derby win against Everton

As Mohamed Salah’s farewell tour continues apace, Liverpool are desperately seeking new heroes but are still overly reliant on the veterans. The next generation has to take the team forward but it was the calmness of the Egyptian and Virgil van Dijk that secured a dramatic late victory in the tightest of Merseyside derbies.

The summer’s recruitment was supposed to future-proof the Premier League champions but it has created a season of transition. One of the key arrivals was Florian Wirtz, bought for what was, briefly, a club record fee of £116m from Bayer Leverkusen. The costs of signing world-class players are always going to take the headlines but should soon be forgotten once the individual starts displaying his talents.

The $95 bus trip to Foxborough highlights a tournament unique in modern times – one that ultimately makes no secret of its disdain for the paying public

Like any journalist with an unerring nose for an offbeat feature, my interest was sharply piqued by this week’s announcement of the $95 bus ride. What magnificent accoutrements might conceivably justify the £70 fare for a half-hour journey from south Boston to Foxborough? An at-seat shiatsu? A pool deck? A five-course dining experience? A brief but moving Céline Dion set in the aisles? At the very least, I felt I owed it to my profession to find out for sure.

Alas upon closer investigation, the Boston Stadium Express being launched for this summer’s World Cup appears to be an entirely regular bus journey on an entirely regular bus with entirely regular bus seats. Your non-refundable ticket – no child concessions – entitles you simply to be dropped off a 15-minute walk from the ground, and picked up again from the same place. There is, in short, no more complex rationale for the Boston organising committee to charge £70 than the fact that they can, and the World Cup only comes once, and if you don’t want to pay then some other rube will.

The two clubs are struggling to relive former glories and fans are not happy as the overlords make them foot the bill

English football’s two best teams are from London and Manchester. On Sunday, they meet to decide this season’s Premier League title. Chelsea and Manchester United are not those clubs. Both have dropped from the local prominence they once commanded. If United have a top-four place nailed down, there is significant drop-off from Arsenal and Manchester City. Those two clubs’ gap to Chelsea becomes close to a chasm. Brentford, level on points, may soon enough surpass Chelsea as west London’s best team.

United are far closer to a renaissance, though there have been many false dawns since 2013. Both clubs share much in common in the betrayal of previous legends. Rebellion reigns among Chelsea fans. They staged a protest against their current ownership, joined this time by ultras from Strasbourg, both groups raging against the unwelcome changes BlueCo’s stewardship has brought, all for a debt mountain that makes little obvious sense.

Expansion and political influence have made soccer’s showpiece too big for one region to handle responsibly

• Sign up for the World Behind The Cup newsletter

In retrospect, the 2018 World Cup in Russia looks like a gentle genuflection, a dainty little bow before its strongman leader. Vladimir Putin and his Russian project of gradual conquest were most definitely centered and validated eight years ago: the tournament showcased his nation and awarded its leader prominence of place.

This summer, we will see something altogether different, as the runup to this edition of the world’s biggest and most popular sporting event has become a monument to Donald Trump.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond, helmed this week by Leander in Jonathan’s absence. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a Guardian US contributor whose book on the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, is out on 12 May. You can preorder it here. He teaches at Marist University.

Our cartoonist looks back at Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash at the Etihad as the title race got even hotter

• Buy this cartoon | David’s favourite works of 2025

• And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now

From Dion Dublin to Eric Cantona, the signatures I collected with my dad in the 1990s record a time when the Sky Blues seemed almost invincible

John Barnes: got. David Beckham: got. Ruud Gullit: got. Andrei Kanchelskis: got. Matthew Le Tissier: got. Alan Shearer: got.

Looking back through the football autographs I collected as a child in the 1990s feels delightful and discomfiting. The Merlin sticker albums, Pro Set cards and Shoot annuals chronicle a youth spent travelling the country with my dad, watching Coventry City take on the great and the good of the top flight at the dawn of the Premier League. We would hunt for the visiting teams at local hotels before each game, aiming to bag a handful of signatures when the players went for their mid-morning walk, then sneak around the back of Highfield Road after the match – darting past security, through the executive suites, to the players’ exit – where we would complete our haul as the players boarded the team buses.

Sid Lowe is our Spanish football correspondent and has been covering an increasingly busy beat for years. He answered your questions on everything from the Champions League to La Liga … and lookalikes

trollercoaster asks: Why have so many Spanish clubs competing in the Champions League or European Cup been relegated? It happened with Real Betis and with Villarreal. We have seen leading Spanish clubs fall to the second division and even to lower leagues, see Deportivo.

Sid:

There are lots of elements at play here, and they are not all the same going back over time, as the structure of Spanish football has changed (collective TV deal, etc), while some clubs had their own specific issues (Depor’s success, built on money they didn’t really have, was what brought their fall, for example). The short-term reason for some teams – look at Athletic this season, for example – is that they don’t always have the resources for both competitions. There’s definitely a financial component to it. Villarreal’s relegation in 2012 was baffling but internally they had overspent – which is unlike them, a stable and financially strong club – although they did learn from that.

Look at the second division now and it is full of massive clubs (historically). Zaragoza are the really clear example … Sporting, Málaga, Depor, similar with Oviedo until last summer. Often laden with debt, often unready for the sudden fall off of income, etc …

I don’t know … I’m not sure that I feel that the people I bigged up (early) have started suffering better fates … have they? It might not have been that bad before. Or maybe it was, ha.

There’s a related issue here, actually, which is part of the daily battle … most pieces are on-demand, so to speak, (the desk asks about an issue or I suggest an issue or whatever), but on Mondays, the regular column linked to the weekend games, I more or less write what I want (over a 38-week season there might be three or four weeks when the desk suggests/wants a certain topic and I’m not totally mad: if it’s clásico weekend then very likely that will be the focus). Which is why you get Leganés or Levante.

The retired midfielder’s absence for the semi-final of Euro 2016 was the great ‘what-if’ of Welsh football, but even so his brilliant career managed to transform a footballing public for ever

If some footballers take time to reach their potential, others seem to be the finished article before they’re able to drive. A teenage Aaron Ramsey was firmly in the latter camp. After only 11 league starts for Cardiff he had made his international debut for Wales against Denmark, turned down Manchester United in favour of Arsenal, and given Cardiff fans one of the great what-ifs of their club’s modern age after Dave Jones chose not to start him in the 2008 FA Cup final against Portsmouth, with Ramsey being the tender age of 17.

Success-starved supporters who should know better will pin their hopes on to the narrowest of young shoulders and yet it all seemed so easy for the teenager from Caerphilly who was captain of his country by the age of 20, would go on to play in a World Cup and two European Championships, and this week retired as an icon of the Welsh game.

During my 43-year adventure I saw pubs close, standing on terraces return and big flags fly all over the country

By When Saturday Comes

It was bound to end like this: a long and arduous odyssey that started in 1982 on a crumbling terrace culminated on a grey, drizzly afternoon in December watching my team get hammered 3-0 in a brand spanking new stadium named in conjunction with an international commercial law firm. A glorious away win thanks to a last-minute winner would have been somehow too poetic. This was how it was meant to be, when I finally completed the 92.

As with that game at Everton, most games were as an away Nottingham Forest fan; others as a neutral. There is much I witnessed and learned from this ludicrous yet wholly fulfilling enterprise and the many miles travelled. For one thing, it used to be that one displayed allegiances by carefully trapping a scarf in the window, so it fluttered outside all the way. This has been replaced by the executive car sticker or personalised number plate and our society is much the worse for it.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

Say what you like about Leicester City’s dismal performances but just don’t say it to Harry Winks when he’s boarding the team coach outside Fratton Park shortly after they’ve lost their 18th Championship match of the season. Last Saturday, the midfielder told travelling fans to “[Eff] off!” ahead of the return leg of their 328-mile round trip to watch their side lose to Portsmouth. Unsurprisingly, Winks was not asked to reprise his role as the club’s public liaison officer after their relegation to League One was confirmed by Tuesday’s home draw with Hull City. It was left to local lad Hamza Choudhury to take on the role of human shield outside the King Power Stadium as his teammates sheepishly slunk away to their cars and made good their escape from the angry mob.

Liam Rosenior’s six-and-a-half year contract isn’t going to last six-and-a-half months. But then what do I know about football? I’m not a galaxy-brained venture capitalist” – Darren Leathley.

It’s great to see that Football Daily has started crowdsourcing the funny bits – ie the letters section. Of particular amusement was Gumley Slats’s take on the reason players started diving. Oh, how we laughed!” – David Bell (and no others).

The minimum price of a ticket for the Chelsea v Tottenham friendly in Sydney this August is A$154. But if dynamic ticketing applies my sons and I can confidently wait until the price drops to A$20” – Alex Damon.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Players have hit out at ‘confused and careless’ management off the pitch, despite their success on it

Dijon are punching above their weight yet again and are fifth in the French top flight going into the final straight. This might be it though. Despite another fine campaign, they could lose their professional status in a few months. The financial crisis at the club has hit the women’s side hardest. The team have been up for sale since the arrival of the new president a year and a half ago, but no buyer has been found.

On 9 April the players at Dijon’s women’s side published a statement saying they felt “unwanted from day one”, denouncing what they call the abandonment of the women’s section by the club. Four days earlier, Dijon had announced plans to scale back their ambitions for the women’s side owing to a lack of resources, going as far as to consider jettisoning the professional team next season. “In the absence of a buyer, no guarantees can be given regarding the level of competition for the teams next season,” the club said, also casting doubt on the future of the women’s academy created in 2024.

Manchester City eked a win by the slimmest of margins on Sunday, setting up a season finale that will be determined by nerves

• Sign up for the World Behind The Cup newsletter

It was probably Arsenal’s best performance in two months, but that will be scant consolation. Manchester City’s win on Sunday leaves Pep Guardiola’s side in control of the title race; they will go top of the Premier League on goal difference if they beat Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday. Both sides will then have five games to play.

Sunday’s game was decided by desperately fine margins. What prevented Eberechi Eze’s whipped shot from just outside the box going in? An inch? Half of one? Gabriel also struck the woodwork, while Kai Havertz headed a great chance a fraction over the crossbar in injury time. It was a defeat that has handed City the advantage in the title race, but it could very easily have been a battling draw to preserve Arsenal’s lead and, perhaps more importantly, restore morale.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition

Thirteen of the Damallsvenskan’s 14 teams are based in the south. For Piteå IF, rising costs are now the priority

Piteå IF are entering their 17th season as a top-division side in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan, but the challenge for them is getting tougher and tougher every year.

And it is not a small budget compared to clubs such as Hammarby and Häcken who have, in recent years, been able to rely on the support of major men’s club, or the rejuvenated Malmö FF side, but geographical issues which have put a strain on club finances.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, George Elek and Sanny Rudravajhala as the Sky Blues return to the top flight after 25 years away

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.

On the podcast today; we’ll begin at Selhurst Park - Palace 0-0 West Ham. Is that a good point for the Hammers? Or an opportunity missed? Regardless, it means it remains very tight at the bottom.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Barney Ronay and John Brewin to discuss a wild weekend in the Premier League

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.

On today’s pod: Manchester City take control of the title race with a huge win over Arsenal. The panel ask just how decisive this result is, did City win it, or did Arsenal lose it in the margins? What do we make of those near-misses from Eberechi Eze and Kai Havertz? There’s also the small matter of the key battle: Erling Haaland v Gabriel as the panel asks if the head-rutting is the ultimate man-off.

Curtis Jones sums up Liverpool’s approach, Eddie Howe’s transfer record under scrutiny and Tammy Abraham shows his worth

For Manchester City, Gianluigi Donnarumma has always been a case of risk and reward. Perhaps only Thibaut Courtois is as fine a shot-stopper as Italy’s Euro 2020 hero, though many goalkeepers are better with the ball at their feet. Claudio Bravo, let alone Ederson, would be unlikely to dither in the fashion that alerted Kai Havertz to the possibility of pressing City’s keeper as close as possible for Arsenal’s goal. Donnarumma was the signing who bucked the Pep Guardiola doctrines, and his goalkeeping has been crucial to City’s revival but such mistakes have always been part of the giant Italian’s makeup. Paris Saint-Germain would not meet his wage demands, and opted for Lille’s Lucas Chevalier, a better ball-player as an ill-starred replacement. Donnarumma smothered a good chance for Havertz in the second half. His big mistake, seconds after Rayan Cherki’s opener, did not, after all, become the key twist in the title race. John Brewin

Match report: Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal

Match report: Everton 1-2 Liverpool

Match report: Tottenham 2-2 Brighton

Match report: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Bournemouth

Plus: scoring past three keepers in one day, highest ratio of European to domestic titles and a dream result

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“I’ve been wondering: who is the greatest footballer never to make an appearance in England?” muses Cameron Turner. “Did any of the game’s greats go their whole career without visiting the home of football? I think the best bet might be a South American from the 1970s-1990s, though Brazil and Argentina often played friendlies at Wembley.”

This question is difficult to answer categorically, mainly because the internet does not yet provide chapter and verse on every football match played by superstars of the black-and-white era. But it’s also far too interesting to leave on the cutting-room floor, so we’ve given it a go with the caveat that the answers are only 99% correct.

Just Fontaine (France, 1953-60)

Roger Milla (Cameroon 1973-94)

Hugo Sánchez (Mexico, 1977-98)

Romerito (Paraguay, 1979-90)

Abedi Pele (Ghana, 1982-98)

Mia Hamm (USA, 1985-2000)

Michelle Akers (USA, 1987-2004)

Hong Myung-bo (South Korea, 1990-2002)

Ousmane Dembélé becomes our seventh winner as he beats Lamine Yamal into second and Vitinha into third on our list of the best players on the planet

• Premier League dominates list | How every judge voted | Our methodology | The top 100 female players for 2025

• 2024 edition | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

The Frenchman, who has been named the best male footballer in the world by the Guardian, has benefitted from PSG’s focus on the team rather than individuals

What makes a good player great, and a great player the best? This question has been occupying me since 2014, when the Guardian first asked me to contribute to its inaugural Next Generation feature. My job was to look for a France-based talent born in 1997 who could go on to have a stellar career.

After a great deal of research, I narrowed it down from my shortlist of five by asking questions not about the players’ football ability, but about other attributes: resilience, adaptability, decision-making, creativity, work ethic, response to feedback and willingness to learn. Qualities we cannot see, and are harder to measure.

Aitana Bonmatí has been voted the best female player on the planet by our panel of 127 experts ahead of Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo

• 2024 list | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

• Meet the judges | See how every judge voted

• Subscribe to Moving the Goalposts, our free newsletter

The margin may have got smaller but the brilliant Spanish midfielder makes it a hat-trick of No 1 finishes

They say the best things come in threes, and Aitana Bonmatí has written herself into the Guardian’s top 100 history as the first player to finish at the top of the tree for a third consecutive year.

Last year the majestic midfielder emulated her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas by winning for a second year running, but the 27-year-old has now gone one better, establishing herself once again at the top of the women’s game.

From PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye to Brazil’s next hope, we select some of the most talented players born in 2008. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and go even further back. Here’s our Premier League class of 2025