City Confident Amid Charges

GM football fans. It’s Monday, Jan. 20 - City are confident amid charges, a football president ban for ‘fat-shaming’, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

Enjoy reading Route One? Share with a friend using this link.

FIXTURES

Premier League: Chelsea vs Wolves, 20:00 / 15:00. Chelsea are winless in five Premier League games, their longest such run since a seven-match spell between March and May 2023. Meanwhile, Wolves could become the first side since 1910 to lose their opening three games of a calendar year by three or more goals. See the full results for Premier League Matchweek 22 here.

Results…

• Premier League: Everton 3-2 Tottenham | Man Utd 1-3 Brighton | Nottm Forest 3-2 Southampton | Ipswich 0-6 Man City (League Table)

• Women’s Super League: Tottenham 1-0 Leicester | Arsenal 5-0 Crystal Palace | West Ham 0-5 Chelsea | Man City 2 - 4 Man Utd (League Table)

• La Liga: Celta Vigo 1-2 Athletic | Real Madrid 4-1 Las Palmas | Osasuna 1-1 Vallecano | Valencia 1-0 Sociedad (League Table)

• Serie A: Fiorentina 1-1 Torino | Cagliari 4-1 Lecce | Parma 1-1 Venezia | Verona 0-3 Lazio | Inter 3-1 Empoli (League Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

City Confident Amid Charges

Some sources aware of the 115 charges against Manchester City believe that the club (paywall) will not be punished with anything more than a fine. The club’s recent activity in terms of transfers and contract renewals seems to reflect this feeling. A verdict on the charges is expected in March.

This comes after Erling Haaland signed a nine-and-a-half-year contract on Friday, keeping him at City until 2034. Any release clauses put in his last deal have been removed. The deal is reportedly going to earn the 24-year-old a basic salary of £500,000 a week. See how long-term contracts have previously played out here.

It’s thought that City are not including a relegation clause in new contracts, despite the outcome of their hearing yet to be known. Manager Pep Guradiola’s recent contract extension also didn’t contain a break clause should the club be relegated from the Premier League. Some believe it signals City’s confidence in the case.

La Liga Title Flips

Real Madrid are now top of the La Liga table after a 4-1 win over Las Palmas. Kylian Mbappe scored twice, taking his total to 12 goals in the league this season — four behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.

Real now lead by two points following Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 defeat to 15th-placed Leganes. The loss on Saturday ended Atletico’s club-record 15-game winning streak. Despite only two points separating the Madrid-based clubs, Opta predicts Real have a 71% chance of winning the league, followed by Atletico’s 17.8% and Barcelona’s 10%.

While Barcelona started the season with a seven-match win streak—their joint-second-best start to a season—they are now third. Their 1-1 draw to Getafe means Hansi Flick’s side have won just one of their last eight games.

FIFA Ban ‘Fat-Shamer’

Fifa has suspended the president of Panama’s football federation for a fat-shaming comment about a player in the women’s national team. The ban means Manuel Arias will be barred by the governing body for six months.

Arias suggested Marta Cox was "out of shape, she’s fat” after she was critical about the national team facilities. Following their knock-out from the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Cox suggested the players’ greatest hurdle was their lack of adequate facilities at home. Arias recognised his “very unfortunate language” in a social media post (in Spanish).

Fifa has also banned a Venezuelan official for five years for financial wrongdoing. Manuel Alvarez, secretary general, was accused of “misappropriation and misuse” of Venezuela’s and Fifa’s money. The governing body is demanding $1m from Alvarez.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Scotland and Manchester United great Denis Law has died at the age of 84 (More) | Everton have resolved all outstanding PSR charges brought by the Premier League (More)

> Barcelona’s return to Camp Nou stadium has been further delayed until May at the earliest (More / paywall) | Real Betis are closing in on a loan deal for Manchester United winger Antony (More)

> PSG announce the signing of 23-year-old Khvicha Kvaratskhelia until 2029, the first Georgian player in the club’s history (More) | Dele Alli, 28, has signed for Serie A side Como on an 18-month deal (More) | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has become the new Besiktas head coach until 2026 (More)

> David Pleat, 80, has been added to Celtic’s English scouting set-up (More) | Jimmy Calderwood, former Aberdeen and Dunfermline Athletic manager, has died aged 69 (More)

Americas

> Lionel Messi scored as Inter Miami beat Mexican side Club America 3-2 on penalties in a friendly (More)

> Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT January camp starts with a 3-1 win over Venezuela in a friendly; this camp is primarily about giving young players opportunities (More) 

> Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who retired from the US national team late last year after winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, was named the 2024 US Soccer Female Player of the Year (More)

Rest of the World

> Saudi Pro League’s all-time leading goalscorer (144) Omar Al-Somah has signed for Saudi Pro League side Al-Orouba, six months after terminating his contract with Al-Arabi (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Friday’s Poll: Do you think celebrity takeovers will positively impact football in the long run?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 👏 Absolutely... (42%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅 Nope... (54%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4%)

Your punditry takes:

• 👏 J.D: “Providing clubs with enhanced revenue streams and visibility can ultimately only help that club and therefore the league.”

• 🙅 Z.Z: “It is hard to see how it will stay fair when teams get suped up finances and media attention just for the names attached to their ownership groups.”

• ✍️ T.S: Celebrities are jumping into this for one reason - to make money. Most sports investments do exactly that. The ancillary result, as Wrexham has shown, is that the investment at certain lower levels can be disproportionate to what other teams can afford, making it an easier climb to higher leagues. Whether that's good or bad for the sport, I'm not sure.”

EXTRA TIME

Suarez to Messi for Inter Miami’s first preseason goal. (via X)

Opta’s latest Premier League predictions.

Greenland unveil an icy away kit for 2025.

How Motherwell won the Copa Del Rey.

When could Haaland break Shearer's goalscoring record?

Referee blows for full-time just before a goal.

Meet AFC Wimbledon’s human encyclopedia.

Futuristic drone football likend to Quidditch.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which player became the first to lose four Champions League finals in 2015?

Bonus: Can you name the clubs?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Chelsea vs Wolves (20:00)

La Liga

• Villarreal vs Mallorca (20:00)

Serie A

• Como vs Udinese (19:45)

Primeira Liga

• Boavista vs Casa Pia (20:15)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Patrice Evra (AS Monaco, Manchester United x2, Juventus).