Jack Grealish has been left out of Manchester City‘s squad for their preseason tour of Asia as he continues to recover from a foot injury. The 30-year-old hasn’t played since January after undergoing surgery while on loan at Everton. He returned to training with City last week, but was not part of the squad which travelled to Hong Kong on Tuesday. Enzo Maresca left the door open for Grealish to…
The Football Association and Concacaf have both said they are “deeply concerned” by FIFA’s proposed private investment plan, criticising the governing body over what they described as a lack of transparency and due process. FIFA announced on Tuesday proposals to set up a private company to run its competitions which would have links to the extended family of U.S. President Donald Trump. The FA said it was “completely unaware” of…
Xabi Alonso has said his Chelsea squad is in need of “balance,” as a move for Danny Welbeck reportedly edges closer. Chelsea have lacked experience in recent years and that was on show again in a pre-season friendly win over Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday, when the oldest starting player was just 23 years old. Surprise moves for both Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, 35 and 36 respectively, are in the…
Discrimination remains “deeply embedded” in English football, the chief executive of Kick It Out has said, with reports up 25% last season compared to the prior campaign. The charity received 1,744 reports in 2025-26, up from 1,398 in 2024-25, while the number of incidents passed the 1,000 mark for the first time — reaching 1,255. Reports and incidents differ in that one incident may be reported multiple times. The reports-per-incident…
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said “football does not belong to investors” as he joined the criticism of FIFA’s plan to set up a new private company to run the World Cup and other competitions. FIFA on Tuesday announced it was seeking to launch FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would bring together the sale of FIFA’s commercial rights with the operational delivery of its tournaments. The new body would be…
BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed he is recovering from a heart problem after being admitted to hospital. Laporta, 64, was due to fly to England this week as part of Barça’s preseason preparations, but his plans have changed after an arrhythmia was detected. He underwent a procedure at a hospital in the Catalan city on Tuesday that he says successfully restored his heart’s normal rhythm. “Everything…
UEFA has rejected a reported FIFA proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors as a “line that football’s governing institutions should never cross” and that the World Cup is “not FIFA’s to sell.” FIFA on Tuesday said in a news release that it plans to “expand football development funding to over USD 10 billion subject to approval by FIFA Member Associations.” The release also said that…
New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso admits his team has a lot to do ahead of the upcoming Premier League season, with game management and defensive frailty exposed by an “impressive” Western Sydney Wanderers side at Accor Stadium on Tuesday night. In his first friendly as manager, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder said he and his team learned a lot after an unexpected test against the local A-League Men…
Chelsea began their preseason campaign with a 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers in Xabi Alonso’s first game since taking charge as manager. João Pedro’s second-half hat trick after being introduced as a substitute turned the game in Chelsea’s favour in a forward-and-back contest that initially saw the Premier League side struggle to consistently stay in front. Jamie Gittens also scored after coming off the bench while Dastan Satpayev scored…
Sean Dyche has described new Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola’s style as “lower-league football, but at a high level,” in an unusual compliment to the Spaniard’s tactical approach. Speaking on the Good, the Bad and the Football podcast, the former Everton manager said Iraola had impressed him by adapting his philosophy. “The irony of it is [he] basically plays lower-league football, but at a high level,” Dyche said. “They turn…