PSR Charges Expected

GM football fans. It’s Monday, Jan. 13 - PSR results incoming, Leicester owners sue for £2.1bn, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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RESULTS

Spanish Supercopa, Final: Real Madrid 2 - 5 Barcelona. Barcelona have scored seven goals in their last two ‘Clasicos’ against Real Madrid, as many as in their previous six meetings in all competitions. (Match Report)

FA Cup, 3rd Round: Arsenal 1 - 1 Manchester United (3-5 Pens). Altay Bayindir is the first Premier League goalkeeper on record (2012-13) to save a penalty in both normal time and a penalty shootout in the same FA Cup game. Tamworth 0 - 3 Tottenham. Spurs are only the fourth Premier League side from 1992-93 to be taken to extra-time in an FA Cup game against a non-league club. See full results for the FA Third Round here and the fourth round draw here.

More results…

• Bundesliga: Gladbach 0-1 Bayern | Leipzig 4-2 Bremen | Augsburg 0-1 Stuttgart (League Table)

• Serie A: Genoa 1-0 Parma | Venezia 0-1 Inter | Bologna 2-2 Roma | Napoli 2-0 Verona (League Table)

• Scottish Premiership: Aberdeen 0-0 Hearts | Rangers 3-1 St. Johnstone (League Table)

• Women’s FA Cup, 4th Round: Man City 3-0 Ipswich | Chelsea 4-0 Charlton | Aston Villa 9-0 Bristol Rovers (See full results)

TOP TALKING POINTS

PSR Charges Incoming

The Premier League will issue disciplinary charges this week against any clubs it deems to have breached its Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Allowable losses cannot exceed £105m over three years under PSR.

Only clubs that recorded losses for the first two years of the cycle were required to submit their financial accounts to the league by December 31, 2024. This includes Leicester City, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Manchester United, and Newcastle. Monday (Jan 13.) is the earliest date the league will inform clubs of sanctions.

Last March, Leicester narrowly avoided a charge but are now reportedly the team most at risk of a sanction due to a breach of £24.4m. While Leicester say they’re confident they’ll comply, a reputable finance blogger has forecasted (paywall) that Leicester will breach PSR by around £12m. Regardless, any decision will be subject to potential loopholes.

Dive into more detail of each team’s chance of sanction here.

Madrid TV Tirade

Real Madrid are being accused again of attempting to put referees under pressure using their official television channel, Real Madrid TV. This came a day before Los Blanco’s 5-2 loss against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday.

Madrid TV produced a seven-minute video outlining historical mistakes, in Madrid’s opinion, made by referee Gil Manzano, the official for the Super Cup final. The criticism centred on Mananzo disallowing Jude Bellignham’s winning goal in a 2-2 draw with Valencia last season. Bellingham was subsequently sent off for saying “it’s a f****** goal”.

Other La Liga teams have spoken out against Madrid’s TV channel running critical segments of referees before matches. Last year, Sevilla issued a statement accusing Madrid TV of trying to influence a referee before their clash.

Leicester Owners Sue

The family of former Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is suing aircraft manufacturer Leonardo for £2.15bn. They claim the Italian company is liable for his death in a 2018 helicopter crash. It is the largest fatal accident lawsuit in English legal history.

A report in 2023 from The Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s (AAIB) found the crash had “most likely” been caused by a “seizure of the tail rotor duplex bearing” which initiated a sequence of failures. It caused the aircraft to go into an uncontrollable spin. It remains unclear how strong the family’s case against the manufacturer is.

Vichai was one of Thailand’s most prominent businessmen as owner of duty-free store chain King Power. He acquired Leicester City in 2010 and was popular among fans, particularly after the club won the Premier League in 2016.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Kyle Walker has asked to leave Manchester City, Pep Guardiola confirms; AC Milan leading contenders to sign him; this season, City’s win rate is 65% without Walker and 18% with him (More) | Atletico Madrid go to the top of La Liga as Julian Alvarez’s goal was enough to secure a win over Osasuna; they are now on a club-record 14 consecutive wins across all competitions (More)

> Antonio Conte has confirmed that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has asked to leave Napoli; PSG lead the way to sign him (More) | Jurgen Klopp was in the crowd Saturday to watch second-tier Paris FC as part of his new role with Red Bull (More)

> Chelsea Women extended their unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions after a 4-0 win over Charlton in the FA Cup fourth round (Match Report) | Vivianne Miedema scored on her return from a knee injury as Manchester City beat Ipswich 3-0 (Match Report) | See full list of WSL January transfers (More)

Americas

> Casey Stoney agrees to take over as Canada’s women’s national team new head coach; replacing Bev Priestman who received a one-year Fifa suspension after using drones to spy on opposition’s training during the Paris Olympic Games (More)

> The MLS has apologised after saying Celtic’s Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi had signed for Atlanta United when in fact it was his compatriot Cayman Togashi (More) | Toronto FC have named Robin Fraser head coach ahead of the 2025 season (More)

> Boca Juniors are closing in on a deal to sign Ander Herrera from Athletic Club (More)

Rest of the World

> Patrick Kluivert, Indonesia’s new head coach, wants to lead his team to the 2026 World Cup finals (More)

> Al-Hilal won 5-0 against Al Orobah to move back on top of the Saudi Pro League (More); See top goalscorers and top assisters in the SPL (More)

> Melbourne City go to the top of A-League by goal difference, having played one game more than Adelaide United (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Friday’s poll question: Do you think that alcohol should be allowed in the stands?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🍻 Absolutely... (40%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🚫 Nope... (59%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other… (1%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🚫 C.N.A: “Experience from South American stadiums, which lends itself to fights and attacks on opposition fans, is a recipe for trouble. Alcohol muscles. The only way that will work is if they limit the number of beverages the patrons consume. MLB stops selling beer in the middle of the game. Does it stop the stupidity of some fans? No, it reduces the incidents.”

• 🚫 A.P: “Absolutely not! You’ll have an endless stream of people going to the bars during the game annoying people who actually WANT to watch the football not just drink. Plenty of time before and after to get your drinking done. If you can’t go about 48 minutes without a pint stay in the pub!”

• 🍻 K.P: “The ban only worked in as much that the fans were unable to drink during open play, therefore people would drink more over a short period before kickoff and again at half time, knocking back a few pints in a short period increases the risk of drunkenness. Steadier consumption over a longer period would reduce this problem, for most.”

EXTRA TIME

Every January transfer across Europe’s top five leagues. (Interactive)

Ranking the best El Clasicos of the 21st century.

Tamworth centre-back’s brave skill against Spurs. (via X)

Lukas Podolski’s brutal tackle in an indoor tournament.

How the first Uzbek in the Premier League history could change Man City.

Images of Inter Miami’s 25/26 away kit have been released.

Three football teams make it into the top 20 most profitable sports clubs of 2025.

How Spurs’ football pitch changes to an NFL pitch. (via X)

GAME FACE ON

Question: James McAtee is the first Englishman to score an FA Cup hat-trick for Manchester City since which player?

Clue: 2006.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

FA Cup 3rd Round

• Millwall vs Dag & Red (19:30)

La Liga

• Real Sociedad vs Villarreal (20:00)

Serie A

• Monza vs Fiorentina (19:45)

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

Answer

Robbie Fowler against Scunthorpe in January 2006.