Lifetime ban potential

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering Klopp’s new job, the FA hinting at a lifetime ban for Paqueta, and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

TONIGHT’S NATIONS LEAGUE STATS

England vs Greece (19:45 UK). England are unbeaten in all nine of their meetings with Greece across all competitions (W7 D2), keeping a clean sheet in seven of those matches. Italy vs Belgium (19:45 UK). Italy has won five of their last six matches against Belgium, and Domenico Tedesco’s men have lost five of their last 10 Nations League matches. Gibraltar vs San Marino (19:45 UK). San Marino broke a 140-game winless streak after winning their last Nations League game against Liechtenstein. Gibraltar are unbeaten in their last three games after losing their previous 13 fixtures without scoring. Full list of Nations League fixtures here.

Plus…

• Women’s Champions League results (More)

• Erling Haaland doesn’t regret throwing the ball at Gabriel’s head (More)

• Alisson is out with injury until mid-November; Liverpool fixture list tough (More)

• Cole Palmer voted England fans’ Player of the Year; despite not starting a game at the Euros (More)

• Paris FC to be sold to Arnault family and Red Bull (More)

• Former Sheffield United player George Baldock passes away aged 31 (More)

KLOPP’S NEW ROLE

Klopp appointed global head of soccer at Red Bull, Dortmund fans express discontent

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been appointed global head of soccer at Red Bull. From January, Klopp will advise all Red Bull teams – Leipzig, Salzburg and New York. The 57-year-old won’t be involved in day-to-day operations but will advise teams on playing philosophy, transfer strategy and coaching development. At the same time, it’s been reported that Paris FC will be sold to Red Bull and the Arnault family.

RB Leipzig and, more broadly, the Red Bull brand have been divisive in German football. Red Bull’s model is seen as whitewashing amongst German fans. By associating with Red Bull, Klopp’s untarnished like-ability is at risk in his home nation. Many fans have taken to social media to express their frustration with the move.

Interestingly, Klopp has negotiated an exit clause that would allow him to become the German national manager in the future. He is touted as a potential successor to Julian Nagelsmann, whose contract finishes after the 2026 World Cup.

POLL

HEAD START

🤔 Pep’s future questioned with right-hand leaving. Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain is set to leave the club at the end of the season. The Spaniard planned to step down when he was 55 but enjoyed working with his closest friend Pep Guardiola, extending his stay to his 60th birthday. In 2021, the City manager said “One of the reasons I extended my contract two times is because Txiki is here”. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Begiristain’s departure raises questions about whether Guardiola will extend.

🏟️ Atletico Madrid stadium name change. The Metropolitano will now be named Riyadh Air Metropolitano until 2033 after the Saudi state airline paid for the naming rights. While the Spanish club hasn’t revealed how much it has received for the new deal, the already existing shirt sponsorship between 2023-27 was worth a reported €40mn.

💰 Villa shareholder increases stake in club. Aston Villa minority stakeholder Atairos injected £50mn in equity into the club, increasing its overall stake to 31.1 per cent. Villa’s holding company, V Sports, has a network of clubs under its umbrella in Portugal, Spain, Japan and Egypt. V Sports will use Atairos’ investment to improve the infrastructure for their portfolio clubs.

LIFETIME BAN POTENTIAL

The FA eyes a lifetime ban for Lucas Paqueta after allegedly concealing evidence

Lucas Paqueta is reportedly being hit with two more charges by the FA in his betting case for disposing of evidence. The FA seized Paqueta’s phone and returned it after two months. When they asked for it back, the West Ham midfielder said he had thrown it away. The FA is now accusing him of obstructing the investigation with two breaches of non-cooperation. If found guilty, Paqueta risks being banned for life.

The Brazilian international was initially accused of being deliberately booked in matches against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth. Around 60 people in Brazil are said to have wagered bets between £7 and £400 – with winnings amounting to £100,000. Paqueta denies all charges against him.

The case is being followed closely in Brazil. One website UOL reports that two relatives of Paqueta made payments totalling £6.4mn to Luis Henrique, who plays for Botafogo in Brazil. Investigators argue that the payments are in relation to Paqueta and Enrique receiving yellow cards.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🇪🇸 La Liga: Kylian Mbappe wins Real Madrid Player of the Month for September (More)

🇹🇷 Turkish Super Lig: Jose Mourinho wants to loan Real Madrid’s Arda Guler for half a season (More) / in Spanish

🇮🇹 Serie A Women: Alessandro Del Piero’s daughter, Dorotea, has joined Juventus Women’s U17 side (More)

🇫🇷 Ligue 1: Marseille are negotiating with Paul Pogba to sign the midfielder in January (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Would you support a player skipping international duties to recover and avoid burnout?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 💪 Yes, player health should come first... (82.5%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🌍 Nope, representing your country comes first... (17.5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 💪 L.B: Clubs and countries need the best out of players and will best achieve that by recovering from injuries and illnesses. Just like everybody else, they can’t pour from an empty cup.”

• 💪 I.B: “Playing for your country is not the ultimate goal for the large majority of professional footballers, so any chance they can take to rehabilitate given the ridiculous amount of games they already have to play for their clubs is a no-brainer.”

• 🌍 D.H: “It’s the greatest honour to be selected for your country. To not play due to injury is acceptable, but to refuse selection for financial reasons, or lengthening your career is not acceptable. Your country chooses you, not you choosing your country.”

EXTRA TIME

Messi’s bodyguard is faster than you think.

How much is too much football?

Cole Palmer fishes for nine minutes in Burberry coat.

Historical points table of the five major European leagues.

Why ACL injuries always rule players out for the season.

When Scotland’s game with Estonia was abandoned after three seconds.

Every Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson ranked. / thread

Inside England’s training session. / YouTube

GAME FACE ON

Question: Kyle Walker made his 400th Premier League appearance against Fulham, securing his 257th win. This ties the record for the most wins by any player after 400 games. Can you name the other player?

Clue: Clean sheets.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Nations League

• Latvia vs N. Macedonia (17:00)

• Moldova vs Andorra (17:00)

• Gibraltar vs San Marino (19:45)

• England vs Greece (19:45)

• Finland vs Rep. Ireland (19:45)

• Israel vs France (19:45)

• Italy vs Belgium (19:45)

• Austria vs Kazakhstan (19:45)

• Norway vs Slovenia (19:45)

• Faroe Islands vs Armenia (19:45)

*All times in UK. EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

Petr Cech.

Here’s an interesting related fact: Of every player to have made at least 100 appearances in the Premier League, only one has a win ratio of over 80%, and that’s former Man City central defender Aymeric Laporte (81.0%). And, guess what, he’s made it into today’s quote below.