Record Breaking Transfer

GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Jan. 23 - City threatened with legal action, the first million-dollar transfer in women’s history, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

Enjoy reading Route One? Share with a friend using this link.

FIXTURES

Europa League: Manchester United vs Rangers, 20:00 / 15:00. Rangers have won just one of their eight away games against English sides in all European competition–and United are unbeaten in all four of their last meetings with Rangers. Hoffenheim vs Tottenham Hotspur, 20:00 / 15:00. Hoffenheim are unbeaten at home in the Europa League this season, while Spurs have just one win in their last 10 league games. Fenerbahce vs Lyon, 17:45 / 12:45. Fenerbahce have been flawless this year with four wins, but Lyon have won all four of their meetings against the Turkish side. See full list of Europa League fixtures here.

Results…

• Champions League: Leipzig 2-1 Sporting | Arsenal 3-0 D Zagreb | Celtic 1-0 Young Boys | Feyenoord 3-0 Bayern Munich | PSG 4-2 Man City (Match Report)| Real Madrid 5-1 RB Salzburg | S Prague 0-1 Inter Milan (League Table)

• Europa League: Besiktas 4-1 Athletic Club (League Table)

• Women’s League Cup: Chelsea 5-0 Durham | Man Utd 1-2 Man City | Brighton 0-4 Arsenal | Spurs 1-2 West Ham

TOP TALKING POINTS

Valladolid Threaten City

Real Valladolid have accused Manchester City of encouraging one of their players to break his contract to force through a move to Etihad. Some sources claim—unverified—that the La Liga club are threatening legal action.

City had sent a request to Valladolid early on Wednesday to negotiate a deal with defender Juma Bah. However, the 18-year-old then didn’t show up for training, with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirming he had deposited the necessary amount to terminate his contract. Valladolid blame City and Bah’s agent for guiding the teenager’s decision.

Bah, who has made 12 appearances for Valladolid, arrived on loan last summer from AIK Freetown in his native Sierra Leone. The 6ft 5in centre back impressed so much that Valladolid exercised its right to buy him for a fee of about £840,000. It remains unclear whether Bah would remain on loan at Valldolid or move to one of the clubs owned by the City Football Group.

Recording Breaking Transfer

Chelsea Women have agreed to sign San Diego Wave defender Naomi Girma for a record $1.1m fee. The 24-year-old is set to become the first million-dollar transfer in women’s history.

Girma, widely considered one of the best players in the world, played every minute for the USWNT as they won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She has also been named the NSWL’s defender of the year twice. USWNT head coach Emma Hayes described her as “the best defender I’ve ever seen.”

The women’s football transfer record was broken twice in early 2024, with Zambian internationals Racheal Kundananji ($862,000) and Barbra Banda ($740,000). Girma’s record-breaking fee far outstrips the second-highest transfer for an American women’s player, Lindsey Horan, who joined Lyon for $329,000 in 2023.

See the biggest transfers in women’s football history here.

Footballers ‘Stupid’ Claims False

A new peer-reviewed study claims to debunk the cliche that footballers are “stupid” and instead have “exceptional cognitive abilities”. A group of professors came to this conclusion after studying 200 professional players from Brazil and Sweden.

The players were given tests exploring different aspects of cognition, from working memory to problem-solving. The study found that the footballers consistently outperformed the average. While they didn’t test for IQ, one professor said that the footballers were in the 90th percentile in tests, the equivalent of an IQ of 120 to 130–the ‘above average or bright’ category.

The researchers believe that footballers—despite having “less knowledge” than the average person—are intelligent because football is about problem-solving.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> AC Milan have signed Kyle Walker on a 12-month loan deal from Manchester City; the deal includes a buy option clause that’s not mandatory (More) | Juventus becomes the first professional club to join Gerrard Pique’s seven-a-side Kings League (More)

> Nottingham Forest are prepared to make a club-record offer for Wolves’ Matheus Cunha (More) | Liverpool FC are the most-watched team in the Premier League so far this season (More) | Southampton’s new Director of Football has reportedly been denied a work permit (More)

> Borussia Dortmund have sacked Nuri Sahin as head coach after the club’s fourth defeat in a row (More)

> Wrexham captain James McClean was involved in a car accident on his way to training, the club confirms (More)

Americas

> The U.S. Men’s National Team will conclude its annual January camp with a friendly against Costa Rica on Thursday (Jan. 23) (More)

> Wilfred Zaha has joined MLS side Charlotte FC on loan from Galatasaray (More)

Rest of the World

> Cristiano Ronaldo has reached 100 goal contributions for Al-Nassr and leads the race for the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot this season; he now has 919 goals throughout his career (More)

> Uzbekistan head coach Srecko Katanec has resigned citing health reasons; Katanec has led Uzbekistan into second place in its 2026 World Cup qualifying group with games resuming in March (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think the expanded Champions League format improved the competition or should it revert?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 👏 Improved...  (45%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⏮️ Go back... (52%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (3%)

Your punditry takes:

• 👏 J.S: “I was sceptical, but it's led to more entertaining games, and several of them each Gameweek, rather than one or two good games in ‘groups of death’.”

• ⏮️ B.R: “There are simply too many teams at this point. Fewer really interesting matches earlier in the competition. Detracts even more from league play as well.”

• ✍️ J.Mc: “It should revert to a straight-forward knock-out competition; it’ll never happen though as the so-called big teams want to protect/maximise revenue–and avoid embarrassing results.”

EXTRA TIME

Six remarkable stats from the Champions League first-ever 5-4.

Which are the greatest yo-yo teams in football history?

Everton release first-look dressing room footage.

The goalkeeper who scored 131 goals in his career. (plus/Player Bio)

Arsenal’s history and why they’re called The Gunners.

Adidas MLS 2025 full kit leaks and releases.

Bradford to form ‘Bantam of the Opera’ choir.

The Bundesliga is the first league to be featured on Roblox.

Opta’s relegation predictions for the Premier League.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal for Everton against Tottenham was his 57th in the Premier League overall, moving him above Tim Cahill (56) and into third for the Toffees. Who are the only two Everton players ahead of him now?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Europa League

• AZ vs Roma (17:45)

• Fenerbahce vs Lyon (17:45)

• Hoffenheim vs Tottenham (17:45)

• Porto vs Olympiakos (17:45)

• Lazio vs Real Sociedad (20:00)

• Man Utd vs Rangers (20:00)

• See full list of fixtures here.

International Friendlies

• United States vs Costa Rica (00:00)

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

Answer

Romelu Lukaku (68) and Duncan Ferguson (60).