MLS Regular Season Begins

GM football fans. It’s Friday, Feb. 21 - Major League Soccer’s regular season, former Spanish FA president found guilty, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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FIXTURES

Premier League MW26: Manchester City vs. Liverpool, Sunday 23, 16:30 / 11:30. Liverpool have not won any of their last seven trips to the Etihad, losing four and drawing three games. But the Reds are the league’s top scorers with 62 goals–10 more than Manchester City in second place. Aston Villa vs. Chelsea, Saturday 22, 17:30 / 12:30. Aston Villa have won just two of their last 11 Premier League home games against Chelsea. However, Villa have lost just one of their last 22 Premier League home games played on Saturdays. Arsenal vs. West Ham, Saturday 22, 15:00 / 10:00. Arsenal are on a 15-game unbeaten streak at home in the league, while West Ham have had five defeats in their last seven league matches. See the full list of Premier League fixtures here.

Results…

• Europa League: Roma 3-2 Porto (Agg 4-3) (Match Report) | Galatasaray 2-2 AZ (Agg 3-6) | Real Sociedad 5-2 Midtjylland (Agg 7-3) | Anderlecht 2-2 Fenerbahce (Agg 2-5) (Full results and bracket)

• Conference League: Betis 0-1 Gent (Agg 3-1) | Heidenheim 1-3 Kobenhavn (Agg 3-4) (Full results and bracket)

TOP TALKING POINTS

MLS 30th Anniversary

Major League Soccer (MLS) kicks off its regular season on Saturday (Feb. 22), marking its 30th anniversary. The league now features 30 teams, with the addition of expansion club San Diego FC. Each team will compete in 34 matches throughout the regular season, which ends on October 18.

The teams are divided into Eastern and Western Conferences based on geography. The team that gains the most points will earn the Supporters’ Shield–Inter Miami won it last season with an MLS record of 74 points. However, the Supporters’ Shield is widely regarded as secondary to the MLS Cup, which is played as a knockout tournament at the end of the regular season. LA Galaxy secured their record-extending sixth trophy last year.

According to official preseason odds, Inter Miami are favorites to win the MLS Cup, closely followed by LAFC and LA Galaxy. Sporting Kansas City and New England Revolution are considered long shots this season.

The first fixture is on Saturday, when LAFC host Minnesota United at 21:30 GMT / 13:30 PST. See the full fixture list here.

Rubiales Found Guilty

Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of kissing Spain captain Jenni Hormoso without consent after Spain won the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president will pay a fine of €10,800, a fifth of what the prosecutor requested.

He will not face a prison sentence—the prosecutors requested a one-year term. However, Rubiales has been banned from going within a 200m radius of Hermoso and communicating with her for one year.

Part of the case centred around whether Rubiales and three other RFEF employees had pressured Hermoso into admitting that the kiss was consensual. All four individuals have been acquitted of the charge of coercion.

Rubiales had initially attempted to brush off the controversy, dismissing critics of his actions as “idiots and stupid people.” However, he resigned in September 2023 following weeks of resisting pressure to stand down, and after Fifa banned him from all football-related activities for three years.

Rangers US Takeover

Rangers are in advanced talks to be the latest British football club to be taken over by American investors. The consortium is led by Paraag Marathe, chairman of Leeds United and president of 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. According to Forbes, the 49ers have a franchise value of $6bn and a 2023 revenue of $622m–Rangers are valued at around $80.6m.

The consortium aims to buy enough shares in Rangers to become majority shareholders. Former club chairman Dave King owns the major share of the club (around 13%), and Douglas Park is second (around 12%). However, the Scottish Football Association's dual ownership rules may limit the consortium's ability to acquire more than a 29.9% stake in Rangers, given their existing ownership of Leeds United.

On the pitch, Rangers are experiencing a challenging season. They sit 13 points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership–see the league table here. They lost the League Cup final to their Old Firm rivals and are out of the Scottish Cup after a shock loss at home to Queen's Park.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> A Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) investigation into La Liga referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero–who sent off Jude Bellingham for swearing–has concluded there is no conflict of interest with his business activities and officiating duties (More) | Carlo Ancelotti has said that Kylian Mbappe can reach Cristiano Ronaldo’s level at Real Madrid (More)

> Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly asked women’s captain Katie Zelem what she did at Manchester United during a tour of Carrington; Zelem made 156 appearances for the club and is an England international (More / paywall) | Billionaire twins, who were part of the conception of Facebook, have injected £3.58m into English eighth-tier Real Bedford FC (More)

> Harry Kane’s fitness is in doubt ahead of Bayern Munich hosting third-place Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Sunday (More)

> Christian Pulisic has denied there is a rift between himself and AC Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao (More)

> Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle to appoint Robin van Persie as their new head coach (More / paywall)

Americas

> The US Travel Association has commissioned a report which claims the United States is unprepared for the burdens placed on its air travel system as it prepares to host major sporting events, including the 2026 World Cup (More)

> Lionel Messi’s finish led Inter Miami to a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round (More); temperatures were so cold that the referee’s eyebrows were frozen (See photo)

> Powerade sports drink has been named the official sports drink of both Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer (More)

Rest of the World

> Australia caretaker coach Tom Sermanni says he has no idea whether striker Sam Kerr will resume the captaincy following her court case (More)

> Rwanda described recent criticism of its Arsenal, Bayern Munich and PSG sponsorship deals by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s foreign minister as a threat to regional peace and stability (More)

> Shanghai Port will face Yokohama F Marinos in the round of 16 of the Asian Champions League Elite next month (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Did you enjoy the inaugural Champions League knock-out play-offs? 

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👏 Absolutely... (79%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅 Nope... (14%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 👏 E.W: “What we’re seeing is a format that doesn’t inherently favour traditional European powers. Despite (& against) the odds, four underdogs won (Brugge, PSV, Feyenoord, & Benfica). I’m loving it and looking forward optimistically. #COYG”

• 🙅 A.A: “The format absolutely killed it for me. Placings and pairings were confusing, with no clear driver or strategy. The whole approach feels convoluted and contrived.”

• ✍️ C.S: “Some great games, some meh. We saw some nice upsets. Overall, it's 7/10. The new league phase was phenomenal, though.”

EXTRA TIME

The world’s most beautiful training pitch. (w/ images)

Mbappe’s 500 goal involvements compared to Messi and Ronaldo.

CBS’s final joke about Brest. (via X)

Could the Premier League title come down to Liverpool v Arsenal in May?

Opta’s latest Champions League predictions.

What to look out for in the MLS this season.

Day in the life of a Premier League striker. (via X)

The reason why League of Ireland clubs are thriving.

Grading INEOS’s first year in charge of Man United.

A snapshot of the top 100 most valuable players.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Can you name the six players in Europe’s ‘top five’ leagues with the most goals in 2025?

Clue: Four players are tied.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Leicester vs Brentford (20:00)

La Liga

• Celta Vigo vs Osasuna (20:00)

Bundesliga

• Freiburg vs Bremen (19:30)

Serie A

• Lecce vs Udinese (19:45)

Women’s Nations League

• Full list of fixtures here.

SheBelieves Cup

• United States vs Colombia (01:00)

EFL Champions League

• Bristol City vs Middlesbrough (19:45)

• Burnley vs Sheffield Wednesday (20:00)

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

Answer

15 - Ousmane Dembele. 14 - Kylian Mbappe. 9 - Mateo Retegui, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah.