Heart trouble: Arsenal’s Aubameyang leaves Gabon squad
January 18 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang insists he departed the Africa Cup of Nations due to medical reasons and played down speculation of a disciplinary breach.
Performance
Yellow card amnesty for European World Cup plays offs benefits 100 players, but not Ibra
January 18 – An amnesty for yellow cards in European qualifying for the World Cup has lifted the threat of suspension for dozens of players involved in the playoffs in March.
Nigeria draft in Peseiro to lead team, but only after AFCON finishes
December 30 – The Portuguese José Peseiro has been named the new coach of Nigeria, but he won’t lead the Super Eagles at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Crypto crash landing: Arsenal under fire for misleading ‘fan token’ ads
December 22 – The UK’s advertising watchdog has rebuked Premier League Arsenal over two promotions for ‘fan tokens’, a type of cryptocurrency that has exploded in popularity.
Alaba tops world player ranking, Man City’s Dias is second, Messi is 24th
December 17 – Is Lionel Messi really the best outfield player in the world or is it in fact Real Madrid central defender David Alaba?
No Mo Sala as European-based players dominate voting for 2021 FIFA FIFPRO World 11 squads
December 15 – European-based players make up every member of the men’s FIFA FIFPRO final 23 players who have received the most votes to date for the 2021 World 11. Only four selections in the 23-player women’s equivalent, play outside Europe.
Arsenal’s misfiring bad boy Aubameyang stripped of captaincy and dropped from squad
December 15 – Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped of the club captaincy for disciplinary reasons.
Man Utd vs PSG, Ronaldo vs Messi…bit of a balls up forces UEFA redraw
December 13 – There was no question about the match-up of the round when the draw was made today for the last 16 of the Champions League – only for the entire process to be declared null and void minutes later in a major embarrassment for UEFA.
Leicester crumble as Napoli make Europa League progress
December 10 – Napoli have knocked Leicester City out of the Europa League with a 3-2 victory in an end-to-end match and will join Barcelona among others in the knockout phase of the competition.
Barca bomb out at Bayern and fail to reach Champion League last 16
December 9 – For the first time in 18 years Barcelona have been eliminated from the Champions League before the knockout stage after being humbled 3-0 by Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Ajax extend Overmars deal until 2026
December 9 – Technical director Marc Overmars has extended his contract at Ajax Amsterdam until 2026. He has held the role since 2012.
Pass masters: Celtic on top of the world
December 3 – Celtic top a world ranking of most passes made and the distance the ball covers while in their possession.
FIFA looks to change the performance narrative with new Football Language tool
December 3 – FIFA is testing its new game analytics tool at the Arab Cup with a view to making the performance data available to all national teams free of charge. The plan is to offer the insights to all teams free of charge during the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Man Utd’s greatest ever? Carrick quits with unbeaten management record
December 3 – Michael Carrick has left Manchester United following a brief stint as caretaker manager since the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on November 21.
Interim Rangnick signs up for 3-year Man Utd project
November 30 – Eight days after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United have formally confirmed that Ralf Rangnick (pictured) will be their interim manager until the end of the season.