Madrid ownership overhaul

GM football fans. It’s Monday, Nov. 25, and we’re covering the Premier League’s vote on sponsorship rules, Real Madrid’s proposed ownership changes and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

Editor’s note: Starting this week, Route One’s Daily Brief will be sent from a different email address. If it doesn’t land in your inbox, make sure to check your junk or spam folders.

PREMIER LEAGUE MW12 STATS

Southampton 2 - 3 Liverpool. Since the Premier League began, all three teams with Liverpool’s lead at this stage in the season (8 points) have gone on to win the title. Ipswich 1 - 1 Manchester United. Ruben Amorim became only the second permanent manager in Premier League history to see his side score within the opening two minutes of his very first game in charge. Manchester City 0 - 4 Tottenham. Pep Guardiola lost to Spurs for the ninth time in all competitions, his most defeats against an opponent as a manager. It was also City’s heaviest defeat since 2003. Full Premier League results here.

Plus…

• Tonight’s game: Newcastle vs West Ham, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET (Match breakdown)

• Premier League table; Liverpool top by eight points (League table)

• MLS Cup semi-final results (Final bracket)

• Mourinho rejects reports he’s trying to bring Ronaldo to Fenerbahce (More)

EPL SPONSORSHIP VOTE

Premier League clubs vote to change sponsorship rules, major FFP issues ahead

Premier League clubs have voted to approve changes to the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules. APT rules stop clubs from inflating sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners. The vote is a major relief for the Premier League and a blow to Manchester City. It does not relate to the alleged 115 charges against City.

In Friday’s meeting, clubs voted 16 in favour and four against – the changes needed 14 votes to go through. City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest were the only clubs to vote against the changes. The meeting and vote concluded in 30 minutes.

Shareholder loans – interest-free loans from club owners – will now be included in the APT rules and, by extension, in the profit and sustainability (PSR) calculations. Importantly, though, there will be no retrospective assessment of the loans. But many clubs will find it difficult to comply with future PSR requirements as shareholder loans account for over 37 per cent of top-flight debt.

POLL

HEAD START

> PSG lose wages battle with Mbappe. The French Football Federation (FFF) has reportedly sided with Kylian Mbappe over unpaid wages from his former club, Paris Saint-Germain. According to L’Equipe, the FFF rejected the club’s appeal as they missed the ten-day window to make their case. PSG argued that Mbappe agreed to forego his wages if he joined Real Madrid for free. Mbappe denies he agreed to this. It is unknown if PSG will pursue this further and try with another appeal, but as of now, Mbappe is set to receive the €57mn ($66mn) owed.

> Cooper sacked after just five months in charge. Leicester have sacked manager Steve Cooper after just five months in charge following Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea. The newly-promoted side sit 16th in the Premier League table having taken 10 points from their opening 12 games. They are just two points above relegation. Cooper becomes the second managerial casualty of the season after Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag last month.

> Mascherano will be Inter Miami’s next head coach. Former Argentina captain Javier Mascherano will be reunited with Lionel Messi after the two spent nearly a decade together at Barcelona. The 40-year-old will replace Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino who resigned on Friday due to personal reasons. Martino led Miami to set a points record this past season as the team scored 79 goals in 34 regular season matches. This will be Mascherano’s first professional managerial role.

MADRID’S PRIVATISATION PUSH

Real Madrid plan to break 122 years of tradition, huge ownership overhaul

Real Madrid is looking to sell some of its members’ shares for the first time to fund the club’s £1.66bn debt. Los Blancos have been owned and run by club members since its founding in 1902. The new ownership proposal, outlined in a 90-minute speech by club president Florentino Perez, is a step towards the privatisation of the club.

Some of the 100,000 club members will be effectively forced to sell their shares to make space for investors. It’s thought that many of the members, who have had their shares passed down generations, are reluctant to sell. But reports say that Perez, Spain’s wealthiest man, is already negotiating with compromisarios, or super-members, who represent sections of the membership.

Madrid are one of four Spanish clubs which remain member-owned and weren’t obliged to become public limited companies under a 1990 law. These clubs benefited from lower taxes. Changes to Madrid’s ownership structure would complicate this exemption.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

Top Five European Leagues

> Barcelona give up a 2-0 lead against Celta Vigo, now only four points clear of Real Madrid who beat Osasuna 3-0 (Highlights) | Diego Simeone is the first manager to reach 700 games in charge of a single La Liga team, Atletico Madrid 2-1 comeback win over Alaves (More)

> Napoli top Serie A following a 1-0 win over Roma, but remain only one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter and Fiorentina; Fiorentina are on a seven-game win streak in the Serie A (League table)

Rest of the World

> Celtic go three points clear of the Scottish Premiership after a 1-4 win at Hearts (Highlights)

> USMNT’s Ricardo Pepi bags a hat-trick in PSV’s 5-0 victory over FC Groningen to extend their lead at the top of Eredivisie (More)

Women’s Football

> Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor continues her 100 per cent win record after her side beat Manchester United 1-0, Chelsea go 12 for 12 in all competitions (Highlights)

> Barcelona forward Alexis Putellas, 30, is set to be out for the next three weeks with an injury. She has scored eight goals and provided five assists in 10 Liga F games this season, including her 200th Barca goal (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

On Friday, we asked you: Should fans hear what referees say during matches?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🎤 Absolutely... (80%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👎 Nope... (19%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (1%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🎤 D.P.E: “There is nothing worse than being in the stadium with no idea what is being looked at.”

• 👎 E.D: “Definitely not! On the other hand, I’d love to hear all the profanity players hurl at the referees. Maybe then they will become more civilised in their actions and words toward officials.”

• ✍️ M.M: “I don’t think they should be fully mic’d up for in-game content. But I am in favour of them being able to explain any VAR decisions to fans mid-game over the loudspeaker, similar to how referees do in American sports.”

EXTRA TIME

It took a long time for Watford fans to realise they’d scored. / via X

The stats behind Harry Kane’s record-breaking Bundesliga scoring.

Roy Keane gets into a heated conversation with Ipswich fans. / via X

… and a close-up of the altercation.

Leaked Inter Milan fourth shirt.

Highlights for Swansea vs Leeds 7-goal thriller.

Why Maddison and Spurs beat City 4-0 away from home. / analysis

The best Pep Guardiola touchline moments.

A brilliant own-goal in the non-league.

Did Matheus Cunha score the Premeir League goal of the season? / via X

GAME FACE ON

Question: Harry Kane has scored 14 goals for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga 2024/25, but which player has scored more in the Top 5 European leagues this season?

Clue: Predecessor.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Newcastle vs West Ham (20:00)

League Two

• Port Vale vs Crewe (20:00)

Serie A

• Empoli vs Udinese (17:30)

• Venezia vs Lecce (19:45)

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

Answer

Robert Lewandowski has scored 15 goals in La Liga this season.