Key events
Paul MacInnes
The government is to amend a key part of the Football Governance Bill to allow the regulator to impose a financial settlement on the Premier League and EFL.
A failure to strike a new deal on financial redistribution, whereby the Premier League shares some of its broadcast revenue with clubs lower down the football pyramid, has been one of the driving forces behind the creation of an independent regulator for the game.
As part of the regulator’s proposed powers, the bill would provide for a ‘backstop’ mechanism whereby either party could ask the regulator to intervene should they be unable to strike a deal between themselves. Under the original legislation, however, any settlement would have to be proposed by the Premier League or EFL first, before the regulator could enforce it.
Under new amendments published today, however, the regulator is to be given the ability to select a third plan of its own making. This would come into effect should the proposals from competition organisers not meet the regulator’s objectives of protecting ‘the financial soundness of clubs’ and ‘the financial resilience of English football’.
The updated process is seen by the government as moving away from a ‘winner takes all’ model to a negotiated solution, albeit one which will be driven by deadlines set by the regulator. The Football Governance Bill is in the process of completing its process through parliament, and has reached the final ‘committee’ stage in the house of commons.
David Moyes has some injury updates, too: Jarrad Branthwaite is out for 4-5 weeks with a hamstring problem and Seamus Coleman will miss the last game of the season because of a thigh strain.
On the confirmed departure of Abdoulaye Doucouré: “I think he’s been a great servant for the club who’s done a great job over many years. We made him an offer and he’s got a better one to go elsewhere. We have to live with that. We’re quite comfortable with that. We wanted him to stay but obviously he’s chosen to take a better offer.
“We’ll miss him but I’ve got no hard feelings from his decision.”
There’ll be more news on players soon to be out of contract such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin next week, Moyes adds.
Afternoon, all. Vítor Pereira says Jørgen Strand Larsen is a doubt for Wolves’ clash with Brentford. He’s asked if he knows of any players who will say farewell to the club on Sunday (a roundabout way of asking about Matheus Cunha’s future):
“To be honest, I don’t know the players that will leave. I’m waiting to understand. I don’t know, I really don’t know.”
And that’s my brief stint done. I’ll now hand you over to Taha Hashim for the rest of the afternoon. Thanks.
Talking of big-name players making an exit, Will Trent Alexander-Arnold play in Liverpool’s final home game against Crystal Palace? Arne Slot was asked the question and rather hid his answer away.
“I haven’t decided on that one yet. But I think this should be a day that everybody is going to enjoy. It’s been 35 years, everybody is waiting for this moment and I think we’ve set the example against Tottenham. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of seeing celebration done in a nicer way than that day.
“And one of the two things that made me emotional was how we arrived at the stadium when the fans were singing for us. And the second one is that I’ve met in the last few weeks multiple people telling me, ‘I’m going to Anfield now for all my life but I’ve never felt a day what was more special than that one, Tottenham at home.’
“So, I am hoping that we can add a moment like this to it. And I think everybody that’s in the stadium deserves to be there – the fans, the staff, but also the players and one of my players is Trent, so he definitely deserves to be there as well because he’s been part of an incredible, successful season and incredible, successful years at this club. I can only hope that we do it one more time over what we did against Tottenham and I have a lot of trust in our fans to do the same again.”
How many of these household names will be heading to pastures new? Ben McAleer of WhoScored takes a look at some likely departures.
Krishnamoorthy v gets in touch and delivers this pithy Manchester United take. United host Aston Villa while Spurs are at home to Brighton.
“If I were Amorim, I would instruct my team to lose the last match (and pray Spurs do not lose theirs). That way Man U will finish 17th. Any finish next season will be as good or better if Man U are not relegated. The corporate world calls this ‘strategic thinking’.”
To be honest, I think United are perfectly capable of losing it without any instruction.
What next for Gary Lineker, with his BBC departure imminent? Lineker, by the way, was runner-up in the 1986 Ballon d’Or. I honestly think you’d have 100 guesses or more and still not get who won that year!
A lunchtime read here from Media editor Michael Savage.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot was asked earlier if Mo Salah has a great chance of wining the Ballon d’Or. The Egyptian has 28 goals and 18 assists this season, both chart toppers in the Premier League.
Slot: “He’s had very, very, very good seasons at Liverpool but this one probably stands out in terms of numbers. And if you add to that we also won the league, that would probably give him a fair chance.
“But fortunately for all the football fans around the world, he’s not the only player that has had a great season. I think we were able to watch great football players this season again. But if there’s ever a chance for him, it would be this season. If not, then he’s going to try to push even harder next season. That’s what I already know with him.”
Manchester City travel to Fulham for their closing game of the season. Here’s Pep on the the Craven Cottage clash:
“We have to look at ourselves. We need one point to be in the Champions League next season and we have to go to win against a top side.”
Guardiola reveals that everyone is fit except defender John Stones although Rodri, who has returned to the squad after a long injury absence, isn’t ready to start.
Pep on the Spanish midfielder: “We’re really pleased he’s back, really pleased for the reaction for our people to him, I’m pretty sure he’s so pleased with that. There’s still a long way to be the Rodri he was.”
Pep Guardiola is now speaking to the press. I noticed yesterday that if the Premier League season had started at halfway, Manchester City would actually be top on goal difference. They’ve accumulated 37 points over the last 18 games, the same as Liverpool and Aston Villa and three more than Newcastle. Arsenal are fifth and Crystal Palace sixth in the second-half-of-the-season table. Then again, that doesn’t really take into account Arne Slot’s side taking their foot off the gas after the title was secured.
Thanks Luke. Let’s start with this rather lovely piece from Scotland.
And, talking of Scotland, allow me to post this from another corner of The Guardian. Those with good memories may recall Is This Music? soundtracking Match of the Day’s Goal of the Month competition.
My work here is done. David Tindall is here to take you through the next bit.
Speaking of Ben Fisher, he will be at Wembley tomorrow to answer your questions about the Championship playoff final in the buildup to the big game: Sheffield United v Sunderland. If you have a burning desire to ask him something, please email Matchday.live@theguardian.com. You’ll also be able to post your questions in the comments on tomorrow’s blog.
Ben Fisher
At Bournemouth’s uber-cool Canford Magna training base, a 57-acre site on a former golf course, Andoni Iraola is surrounded by bells and whistles. There is a hydrotherapy pool and an altitude chamber. “For me, those are like the extras,” says a manager used to getting his hands dirty from his days at AEK Larnaca in Cyprus and Mirandés in northern Spain.
“I come from clubs where everybody has to do their job – and something else. I’ve needed to cut videos, make things, set up; we didn’t have goals with wheels so four of us would move them.” At Rayo Vallecano, even after promotion to La Liga, he explains how they happily made do with “training on one pitch and a third”.
What are the road closures for Tottenham’s Europa League trophy parade today, I hear you cry. Haringey Council has published this handy guide:
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High Road (White Hart Lane to Lansdowne Road/Lordship Lane) 11am until midnight
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Fore Street/High Road (A406 to White Hart Lane): 12pm until 8pm
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Northumberland Park, Park Lane, Worcester Avenue and Lansdowne Road: 1pm until midnight
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The Broadway (Edmonton Green to Plevna Road): 1.30pm until 8.30pm
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Shelbourne Road (Lansdowne Road to Northumberland Park): 4.30pm until 9pm
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Sterling Way and the A406 westbound slip-round: 4.30pm until 7.30pm
The Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is not feeling extra pressure ahead of a decisive three days when his players will fight to seal their place in the Premier League’s top five, before facing Real Betis in the Uefa Conference League final.
Five clubs will battle for three available Champions League slots on the final day of the English top flight, with fifth-placed Chelsea visiting seventh-placed Nottingham Forest, who are a point below them. Chelsea then fly to Poland for Wednesday’s Conference League final.
“I felt pressure since I joined the club, because this is a club where you need to win games,” Maresca said. His team could be boosted by the return of forwards Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu from injury, with both available for selection.
Maresca attempted to quash rumours about the possible departure of Enzo Fernández, saying “yes” when asked if the Argentinian midfielder would stay at Chelsea.
“He is one of our captains … this season has been very good and he can be even better next season, starting from the first day,” Maresca said.
Maresca said he would make changes before Wednesday’s Conference League final, as there was not enough time to recover after Sunday’s match.
The manager was concerned that not enough attention was being paid to player welfare, highlighting a packed calendar that could continue until July with Chelsea playing in the Club World Cup starting next month.
“If (some players) are going to be tired, they’re not going to play… I don’t think there is (much) attention about player welfare. Otherwise it’s not normal, the amount of games that they play,” he said. (Reuters)
Quiz of the week, anyone?
A dispatch from Australia from Jack Snape:
Ange Postecoglou’s Europa League triumph has delivered a record audience for Stan, which has been on a spree of acquisitions to consolidate its status as a major rival to the Dazn-owned Kayo Sports amid heightened competition in Australian sports broadcasting.
Stan’s live audience for Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Manchester United on Thursday was the highest for a Europa League match since the streaming service obtained the Uefa club competition rights in 2021.
“When was the last time there were no Manchester City or United players in the England squad?” asks Will on email.
“My drive is to prepare for Sunday with the players,” says Ruud van Nistelrooy before his Leicester side visit Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.
“I want to continue developing with the players. Break some cycles. Bring some positives. Helping Jamie [Vardy] with his “closure”, leaving the club in the best possible way … and then it’s the last one for Sunday. We focus on that.
“Of course,” he is disappointed that Leicester’s improvement has come too late, Van Nistelrooy adds.
[Playing without Jamie Vardy] “… it won’t change a lot. Filling in with another striker won’t make a lot of difference. Patson Daka also makes the deep runs and is quick in transitions. It can continue.
“We studied Bournemouth during the week … a very quick, strong, physical team. Kluivert and Evanilson have the dynamics between them … Dean Huijsen, a great development he made with a move to Madrid … a quality side.”
What would his message be to Leicester supporters?
“I wouldn’t say a lot to them, aside from thanking for them for their ongoing support … what we want to do is give them something to cheer about again … that is the most important thing that we have to do.”
I love Hürzeler’s description of Tottenham’s final display as “mature”.
As Jonathan Wilson wrote, they completed just 115 passes in the whole game. Mature as hell!
Fabian Hürzeler, the Brighton head coach, has a chat before Sunday’s showdown with Spurs, fresh (or hungover?) from Europa League glory: “The only thing we can influence is our result, our preparation. We try to focus on us,’ says the Seagulls gaffer.
“They played the final, both teams felt a lot of pressure. In the end Tottenham won. They played very mature. They scored one goal. Congratulations to them.
“We don’t know [if the parade will affect them]. I can’t influence how they celebrate. I can’t influence how they prepare … we will try to be the best team we can be.
Will it be a party atmosphere at Tottenham? “We don’t know what we will face. We don’t know what the atmosphere will be. They are all factors we can’t influence. The only thing we can do is have a good training week.
“Tottenham can beat every team in the league. They play high, intense football. That is what we have to expect.”
Any team news?
“It will be the same squad [as before]. Georginio [Rutter] is not available. We won’t risk anything. He will be back in pre-season.
“João Pedro, we had a small issue in training. We dealt with it internally. The matter is closed. He is an incredible player. That is why we invested in him.
“But there are principles, values that are non-negotiable. Everyone has to stick to them. There are no compromises. I am sure he will learn from this and come back stronger next season.”
Interesting!
Our very own John Ashdown, a Sheffield United fan, has witnessed four Championship playoff final defeats, going all the way back to 1997.
Could this finally be the Blades’ year?
They won their semi-final 6-0 on aggregate against Bristol City, so the form is good.
“Jordan [Henderson] is a natural leader,” Tuchel continues. “He sets standards, the others follow. Jordan is more than happy to accept the challenge. He wants no gifts. Considering the last camp, he had all the right to be picked again.”
Why was Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton left out? “We made Adam train with us [in the last camp]. He was very, very good. At the moment there is a little injury problem, concussion protocol from the final. He is one of the names that could play a role. There is a major tournament for the Under-21s coming … I like it that they can be leaders in this group. We will monitor this very closely. They can take responsibility in the Under-21s.”
“No doubt about his talent,” Tuchel says of Trent Alexander-Arnold. “Special, unique. I would say he is a right full-back. That is his position. The way he plays right full-back is unorthodox, he has a special vibe … he was very happy to come. We are excited to have this chance. He won another major trophy. He was hugely involved in this unbelievable campaign. We are very positive about it. I am happy that he’s back.”
Tuchel on the expanded Club World Cup: “Massive tournament. Very long. A lot of travelling. That is the calendar now. I think the players will love the challenge, embrace the challenge. The Club World Cup in February was very different. Let’s see. It’s not worth complaining. It’s the schedule. We have to find the best solutions within the schedule. We will take care of the minutes of the players if we can.”
“Did I?” Tuchel says, when initially told he has caused surprise with his latest England squad.
Firstly, Tuchel is asked about the striker Ivan Toney: “Ivan deserves to be with us. I am convinced. He’s scored over 20 goals for Al-Ahli … big involvement in the team, goals and assists, huge contribution.
“I told you last time I would try and visit him. I didn’t make it. I thought, why not bring him over, let him travel to us?
“It’s a good chance to test new players, to meet Ivan in person … we decided to nominate three strikers … I had a call with [Tottenham’s Dominic] Solanke who deserved to be with us – but he was in camp already, I have a clear idea of what Dom can bring. I want to get a feeling for new players in the group.”
On the Club World Cup and the players’ packed schedule: “We want to develop a camaraderie. This is only possible if we keep the group together. We will try to manage the minutes of the players regarding who will play the first match, second match, and who will go to the Club World Cup.”
On Arsenal’s Ben White: “He made very strong progress … I was delighted … but this is not the moment. He will become a father very soon. On the first date of the camp. If he comes back, he should come back with a clear mind, full focus on football.”
Here comes Thomas Tuchel.
“As a Villa fan,” emails Richard Morris, “it’s lovely to see we have more players in the squad than the champions (and one of Liverpool two representatives won’t be there in five minutes). Villa to win the league next season then.”
Paul MacInnes
An amendment to the Government’s Football Governance Bill is to ask the new regulator to set up a system that will provide support to former players who go on to suffer from neurodegenerative conditions.
In a list of amendments to the final stage of the football governance bill, a proposal by the MP for Caerphilly, Chris Evans reads: “The IFR must establish and supervise a scheme aimed at providing a high standard of care and support to any person who has developed a neurodegenerative condition linked to their career in English football.”
The amendment proposes that “all specified competition organisers jointly operate, manage and fund the scheme”. The bill is now passing through the house.
“We follow him closely, like all the players on our list. It’s the same for Ivan,” Tuchel said of Toney, in an interview published on social media by ITV.
“He played a lot, we watched him a lot, and he had massive contributions with decisive goals in important matches. He won a big title with his club, the Asian Champions League.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to see him live in Saudi Arabia so we took the possibility to fly him in to our camp, and watch him live within the group, see his personality in the group, and see his quality. He will compete with Harry [Kane] of course, our No 9, and Ollie Watkins. So it will be interesting, we have three strikers in camp.”
While we are waiting for Tommy Tuchel (he is speaking at 11am), how about some Europa League final fallout – ICYMI, as we used to say in the early days of the internet.
First, Jonathan Wilson considers the decision Manchester United now face on Ruben Amorim’s future and that potentially comprehensive (expensive) squad rebuild:
What are Tottenham going to do about Ange “I always win a trophy in my second season” Postecoglou? David Hytner ponders that question:
Amorim, up in Manchester, is due to get a £100m transfer war chest, reports Jamie Jackson:
But Alejandro Garnacho would be flattered to be linked with other clubs:
While the midfield schemer Bruno Fernandes insists Amorim is the man for the job:
Embarrassingly for Uefa, they ran out of medals for Tottenham players, with the likes of the injured James Maddison doing the full-kit John Terry thing on the podium. Andy Martin reports:
Max Rushden, meanwhile, watched the action unfold on the telly from 10,000 miles away …
Jacob Steinberg
You’d have thought that Harry Maguire would be the kind of defender Tuchel would want in his squad. But the Manchester United defender is again left out. He probably can’t complain after United’s dreadful season. It’s just that he’s been such a big player for England in the past. Worth pointing out that Tuchel said that Maguire was left out of the March squad because of his form. It looks like a new England defence is taking shape. No John Stones either, although that’s because he’s not been fit for ages.
Thoughts on the England squad or anything else? “>Email me.
Tuchel is due to speak at 11am. No doubt he will be asked about Adam Wharton’s omission from this squad among other things (as you can see below, Jacob reckons the Crystal Palace midfielder may be injured.)
Sid Lowe
Real Madrid have finally announced that Carlo Ancelotti will not continue at the Santiago Bernabéu after the Brazilian Football Confederation announced him (CBF) as their new coach. He will be replaced by Xabi Alonso. The former Bayer Leverkusen manager, who publicly revealed that he would not be continuing in Germany last Friday, will formally begin on 1 June in time for the Club World Cup, while Ancelotti joins Brazil on 26 June, the day after the end of the Spanish league season.
Here is David Hytner’s news piece on Tuchel’s squad:
Jacob Steinberg
The latest omission of Jack Grealish isn’t a surprise. Grealish is a bit-part player at Manchester City these days and wasn’t used in last weekend’s FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace. The match winner in that game, Eberechi Eze, is included. The Palace duo of Marc Guéhi and Adam Wharton miss out, presumably due to injury (although it should be said Tuchel hasn’t seemed entirely convinced by Guéhi).
Tuchel has not been able to name Marcus Rashford because of injury; West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen misses out after failing to take his opportunity last time. Newcastle’s Dan Burn gets another go.
Ancelotti’s Real Madrid departure confirmed
Real Madrid have officially confirmed Carlo Ancelotti’s departure as manager. He is off to Brazil.
There are no players from Manchester United, Manchester City of Tottenham in Tuchel’s latest England squad, unless you count Kyle Walker of City, who is on loan at AC Milan.
Thomas Tuchel’s England squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Burnley)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Kyle Walker (AC Milan, loan from Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Forwards: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
Chalobah and Toney included in England squad
Jacob Steinberg
Trevoh Chalobah and Ivan Toney are the standout inclusions in Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad but there’s no place for Phil Foden after he said he needed some time away to recover from a draining period.
Toney, who has been in impressive form in Saudi Arabia, has not been part of the set-up since Euro 2024. The former Brentford striker earns a spot in place of Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke. Chalobah, who was a Tuchel favourite at Chelsea, is brought in for the first time. The Chelsea centre-back has had a good season.
Tuchel has followed through on his promise to include players who could feature at the Club World Cup (the likes of Cole Palmer, Kyle Walker, Noni Madueke, Harry Kane, Reece James and Conor Gallagher, who missed out on the March camp). Trent Alexander-Arnold, who could represent Real Madrid at the tournament, returns after injury. Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White is in too.
England have a World Cup qualifier against Andorra and a home friendly against Senegal next month.
Andy Hunter
Twenty years on from that double save, those spaghetti legs and the miracle of Liverpool’s fifth European Cup triumph and Turkey has not lost the capacity to make a champion out of Jerzy Dudek. “I won the Turkish Open golf last week and it reminded me a bit of Istanbul,” the former Liverpool goalkeeper says. “It is my favourite place, my lucky place, and it stays with me all the time. If I go on holiday to Turkey I always go with a big smile.”
Sunday promises to have the same effect on everyone associated with Liverpool. The presentation of the Premier League trophy to Arne Slot’s champions at Anfield coincides with the 20th anniversary of the “Miracle of Istanbul”, when Liverpool overcame a 3-0 half-time deficit to defeat Milan on penalties in the Champions League final. Not that any Liverpool fan needs reminding of the details. The sights and sounds of Ataturk Stadium remain as vivid to Dudek now as they were on 25 May, 2005.
Eddie Howe, of Newcastle, has a quick chat about facing Everton at home on Sunday and trying to secure a Champions League spot: “That’s what we would ask,” he says. “To be at home in front of our fans. It’s in our hands. You have to do the difficult part, and take that opportunity.
“Everton have been in good form, they are difficult to beat, they have got threats. We have to be focused on what we need to do to win the game. Then we hope the crowd can carry us through.
“We have to focus on ourselves. We have to do our bit and not expect any favours from anyone. What will be will be … for us, we know what we have to do.”
Then a question about players’ holiday plans:
“The majority will go on their holidays pretty quick. The injured players – [such as] Lewis Hall and Joelinton – will continue to recover from injury throughout the summer.
“At the moment, we’re looking to return to training on 7 July.”
Back to prepare for the football season on 7 July? Utterly ludicrous, please make it stop. You’re probably going to tell me that’s late compared to other clubs.
An update from the Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca before Sunday’s crunch Premier League encounter at Nottingham Forest: “Reece James is OK [injury-wise]. We are trying to protect him and manage him in the training sessions.”
Has Maresca known such a close race for the Champions League, involving so many teams, on the final day?
“Probably it shows how difficult the Premier League is,” Maresca says. “The ones that have been consistent are Liverpool and that’s why they won the title … during the season the rest have been a bit up and down.
“We are happy to be there [in contention for Champions League qualification] and will try to finish in the best way.
“We are quite lucky – if we win, we do our job, we don’t need to pay attention to other results. We have the privilege that it depends on us.”
Suzanne Wrack
Arsenal will step on to the pitch at the Estádio José Alvalade on Saturday to face the most almighty challenge in their first Champions League final since 2007. Against a Barcelona side who dominate the ball like no other, opportunities will be limited and for a forward, there are few greater tests, as every fleeting chance matters.
Alessia Russo, tasked with leading the line in a stacked Arsenal attack, has the opportunity to make a statement as well as earn a place in history.
Preamble
Will football ever be the same again? Spurs have won a trophy, and will be parading their Europa League silverware through the sunny streets of Tottenham this evening.
Tomorrow, Arsenal face Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League final in Lisbon, and there is also the small matter of the Championship playoff final – Sheffield United v Sunderland – with the League one playoff following on Sunday (Charlton v Leyton Orient) and League Two on Monday (AFC Wimbledon v Walsall).
Thomas Tuchel, the England men’s coach, will also be announcing his squad for the upcoming matches against Andorra and Senegal – squad announcement at 10am UK time, and a new conference at 11am.
Also on the agenda is the pulsating climax to Serie A: Napoli v Cagliari and Como v Inter have been brought forward to this evening, with a view to accommodating a potential title playoff match on Monday (before Inter meet PSG in the Champions League final next Saturday.)
We’ll have team news, trophy parade news, other news and other stuff. Here we go!
