Messi’s Presidential Award

GM football fans. It’s Monday, Jan. 06 - a breakthrough for visually impaired fans, Lionel Messi’s presidential award, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

RESULTS

Premier League MW20: Liverpool 2 - 2 Manchester United. United remain winless in their last 10 away games against Liverpool in all competitions. However, their two goals are as many as their previous 10 away games at Anfield combined. Manchester City 4 - 1 West Ham. This is West Ham’s sixth Premier League defeat by a 3+ goal margin this season, more than any other side. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne registered his 165th assist for City on his 400th appearance. Brighton 1 - 1 Arsenal. The Gunners have failed to win four of their last nine Premier League games when leading at halftime, having won 22 consecutive such matches before this. See Premier League Matchday 20 results and table.

More results...

• Serie A: Monza 1-2 Cagliari | Lecce 0-0 Genoa | Torino 0-0 Parma | Roma 2-0 Lazio (League Table)

• Ligue 1: Angers 2-0 Brest | Lens 0-1 Toulouse | Strasbourg 3-1 Auxerre | Marseille 5-1 Le Havre (League Table)

• Scottish Premiership: Hibernian 3-3 Rangers | Celtic 3-0 St Mirren | Motherwell 2-0 Aberdeen | Dundee Utd 0-1 Hearts | Kilmarnock 0-1 Ross County | St Johnstone 1-3 Dundee (League Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Visionary Fan Experience

A company has developed a headset which offers visually impaired fans a live view of football matches, which wouldn't otherwise be possible for those with visual impairments. Crystal Palace has become the first club in the world to offer the technology permanently.

The headset functions like a giant magnifying glass, zooming in on elements of the pitch or stadium. It also records live footage and allows fans to watch the game in real-time without delay. The headset stimulates some of the photoreceptor cells in the eye’s retina which requires some existing vision to operate. See the headset in action here.

Research shows that blind and partially sighted fans are half as likely to attend live sporting events than sighted fans in England, due to venue accessibility. In the UK, two million people live with sight loss – amounting to one in 34.

Messi’s Presidential Award

Lionel Messi was among 19 people who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States’ highest civilian honour.

The White House honoured Messi for supporting “healthcare and education programs for children around the world through the Leo Messi Foundation and serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.” Messi, the most decorated player in history, was unable to attend the ceremony due to a scheduling conflict. He reportedly sent a letter to the White House in December to inform officials he could not attend.

The Argentine was named MLS MVP in his first full season last year, scoring 20 goals and adding 16 assists in 19 matches. Messi has won 46 titles for club and country during his career, including four Champions League titles, two Copa Americas and one FIFA World Cup. He also holds the Ballon d’Or record with eight trophies.

Italian Super Cup Final

Inter and AC Milan will compete for the Supercoppa Italiana trophy on Monday (Jan. 6). Despite sharing a stadium, the Milan-based clubs will face off at the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This is the only tournament played in a Final Four format, featuring the winners of the Serie A title and Coppa Italia, plus the runners-up for those competitions. The unique format, which replaced a one-off game between the title winners last season, has received backlash. Attendance in Saudi Arabia has been underwhelming; the semi-final between Inter and Atalanta drew only 16,896 spectators in a stadium with a 26,100 capacity.

The Supercoppa Italiana is notorious for its random evolution over the years. Established in 1988, the tournament was designed to promote Italian football internationally. Despite various format changes and hosting the event abroad, it has largely failed to gain traction.

Dive deeper into the bizarre history of the Supercoppa Italiana here.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> La Liga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation have rejected Barcelona’s request to re-register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor for the second half of the season (More)

> Oliver Kahn, former Germany goalkeeper, is in talks to purchase French side Bordeaux; they are now in the 4th tier of football with debts of €118m (More) | Lille extend their 18-game unbeaten run after a 1-1 draw to Nantes (More)

> Napoli moves 3 points clear atop Serie A after win at Fiorentina 3-0 (More) | AC Milan are weighing up a January loan move for Marcus Rashford (More)

> Celtic extend their lead to 13 points in the Scottish Premiership after a 3-0 win over St Mirren (More)

Americas

> Major League Soccer has released a 2025 Match Ball in the league’s original colours to celebrate its 30th season (More) | Antonee Robinson, United States men's national team and Fulham defender, has been voted the 2024 U.S. Soccer male player of the year (More) | Denver lands NWSL’s 16th team for record $110mn expansion fee (More)

> Argentine midfielder Rodrigo Garro has been charged with manslaughter after fatal crash incident (More)

> Three Brazilian clubs lead the way as the most valuable non-European clubs based on the transfer value of players owned; Palmeiras (€201m), Flamengo (€198m), Botafogo (€147m) (More)

Rest of the World

> Uruguayan and former Sevilla full-back Mathias Acuna was found dead aged 32 (More)

> Vietnam won the ASEAN Championship for the third time in their history on Sunday with a 3-2 win over 10-man defending champions Thailand (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

On Friday, we asked you: Are you excited about your club’s January transfer plans?

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🤩 Absolutely... (32%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⬜️ 💤 Nope... (62%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 💤 J.P: Not at all, this PSR rubbish is stifling all but the chosen six.”

• 💤 C.B: “THFC likely to be cheap, free or youngsters...nothing costly to bring in much needed and ready talent.”

• 🤩 G.S: “The mighty Villa need to offload Watkins, he can’t finish his dinner! A RB and a CB and we are golden. UTV!”

EXTRA TIME

Is Salah on track for the best individual season in EPL history?

The reason Serie A banned green kits.

Player proposes to his girlfriend after losing to Barca.

LAFC 2025 away kit leaked...

… and LA Galaxy’s Los Angeles sunset tribute away kit.

Southampton awards fan for successfully predicting their 5-0 loss.

Bellingham empties goalkeeper’s water bottle after Vini was sent off.

Chelsea owner buys £56m London penthouse.

Neville and Carragher shovel snow on and off Anfield’s pitch. (via X)

GAME FACE ON

Question: Ethan Nwaneri became the sixth player to score more than one Premier League goal before turning 18. Can you name the others?

Clue: Nwaneri is the first Arsenal player to achieve this.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Wolves vs Nottingham Forest (20:00)

Copa Del Rey - Last 32

• Minera vs Real Madrid (18:00)

Italian Super Cup Final

• Inter Milan vs AC Milan (19:00)

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

Answer

Wayne Rooney (7), Michael Owen (5), Danny Cadamarteri (3), James Milner (3) and Federico Macheda (2).