By Andrew Warshaw
May 25 – Costas Takkas, close associate of disgraced ex-CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb and like Webb one of the original ‘Zurich Seven’ arrested two years ago in that infamous hotel swoop that plunged FIFA into unprecedented crisis, has changed his plea to guilty to money laundering conspiracy as his trial gets closer.
By Samindra Kunti
May 25 – Manchester United delivered a José Mourinho masterclass to win a disappointing Europa League final 2-0 against Ajax, save their season and mitigate the ramifications of a difficult week for the club and the city somewhat. With the victory, Manchester United will return to the lucrative Champions League next season.
May 25 – In a move that will certainly not endear him to the majority of fans – other than those of Chelsea perhaps – former England captain John Terry says he “could not care less” about the furore over his contrived substitution against Sunderland in last weekend’s final Premier League programme of the season.
As the biographer of Foinavon, it should come as no surprise that I think the late-1960s was the greatest period in the history of sport. And on Thursday, another landmark 50th anniversary falls – that of the 1967 European Cup final, the night of the Lisbon Lions, the match that made household names of Jock Stein and Billy McNeill.
May 25 – Premier League West Bromwich Albion have quickly signed Chinese construction for Palm as the club’s main sponsor after Chinese online betting firm K8 pulled out of their two-year deal after just one season.
May 25 – With Europe’s giant clubs preparing for their pre-season invasion of the US for the International Champions Cup (ICC), Mexico is also looking to share in the Euro thirst for North America hosting Champions League finalist Juventus and Porto in the pre-season Super Copa Tecate.
May 25 – The CIES Football Observatory has ranked big-5 league players according to their tackling skills with players from three different championships filling the top three positions: Valentin Rongier (Nantes), Carlos Casemiro (Real Madrid) and Idrissa Gueye (pictured, Everton).
By Samindra Kunti in Stockholm
May 24 – Amid heightened security in the Swedish capital the Europa League final between Manchester United and Ajax may have lost some of its lustre, but the stakes remain high for Jose Mourinho’s team with a season-defining Champions League ticket on offer.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 24 – In the latest twist to one of the most contentious issues at the FIFA Congress earlier this month, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is reported to have played a crucial role in thwarting a Palestinian vote against Israel. Sources close to Ceferin insisted to Insideworldfootball he did not influence the decision on Palestine and that it was a unanimous agreement among Council members not to allow a vote as there were not adequate enough reports for a decision to be taken at that time.
May 24 – Has Ricardo Teixeira, once one of world football’s biggest power brokers who had a seat on the FIFA executive committee and headed the local organising committee of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, struck some kind of deal with the US authorities?
May 24 – French police investigating suspected tax fraud have raided the headquarters of Paris Saint-Germain and the homes of the club’s Argentine stars Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore as well as Nantes forward Emiliano Sala.
May 24 – Manchester United convincingly topped the Twitter growth stats for the 2016-17 season putting on more than 2 million followers over the season. Arsenal also increased their Twitter followers more than 2 million while another two clubs – Chelsea and Manchester City – had increases of more than 1 million over the season.
May 24 – After hiring seven managers and being banned three times, Massimo Cellino’s spell as owner of Leeds United is over, with Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani taking charge of the giant English club which is still striving to get back to the top flight.
May 24 – New Balance has taken over as official kit supplier for Spain’s Athletic Club (also known as Athletic Bilbao). New Balance will supply the squad with kit, training wear and equipment from the 2017/18 season in a six-year deal, taking over from Nike.
May 24 – The Chinese FA has upgraded its partnership with insurance firm Ping An in a new four-year deal that will see the firm became the main sponsor of the Chinese Super League (CSL) as well as the official financial sponsor of the national team.