By Paul Nicholson
April 23 – Suspicions are multiplying that the hand of FIFA president Gianni Infantino was present behind the scenes in the encouragement of the 12 breakaway European Super League clubs.
By Samindra Kunti
April 23 – Amid a firestorm of condemnation and outrage at secretly concocted European Super League (ESL) plans, FC Barcelona have signalled their continued commitment to a proposed closed-shop, elite competition, highlighting “a need for structural reforms” and calling the backlash “intimidation” in an unapologetic statement.
April 23 –Concacaf has released detail of the nine stadia that will host Gold Cup group stages and knock-out rounds this summer with a focus on centralising matches around city hubs to reduce team travel.
April 23 – In the aftermath of the crash of the European Super League (ESL), the owners of Arsenal, Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE), have vowed that they will not sell the club and promised to cover the cost of the failed ESL coup.
By David Owen
April 23 – Aston Villa owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens appear to have pumped a further £87 million into the reviving, but still heavily loss-making, Birmingham-based Premier League club in recent months.
April 23 – The Belgian Pro League have called for the partial reopening of stadiums for the season-ending playoffs, but their requests look unlikely to be met.
April 23 – French Ligue1 club Bordeaux are on the brink of bankruptcy after American investment fund King Street decided to withdraw its financial support.
April 23 – Manchester City top a ranking of clubs with the most valuable squads by transfer value, ahead of local rivals Manchester United and Chelsea and more than twice the value of PSG.
April 23 – The Premier League is is launching ePremier League in China this monthin partnership with it broadcast license holder Tencent Sports, Tencent Gaming and EA SPORTS.
By Paul Nicholson
April 22 – Spain’s Laliga, and its clubs, are keeping their foot firmly on the pedal of opposition to the now fractured European Super League. With its two biggest clubs – Real Madrid and Barcelona – belligerent in their belief that the ESL is the way forward, the league’s clubs issued a statement rejecting the format, followed by a press conference that forcefully emphasised their unity in opposition.
By David Owen
April 22 – The 2019-20 European club football season was overshadowed, interrupted and ultimately elongated by covid. Even so, UEFA still managed to distribute well over €2.4 billion to the clubs which took part in its main competitions.
By Paul Nicholson
April 22 – With the European Super League dead in the water, at least in its latest incarnation, the Premier League has wasted no time in moving on the management of the renegade six clubs, stripping them of key positions on key Premier League committees and working groups.
By Samindra Kunti
April 22 – The Spanish city of Bilbao looks to have become the first city to drop out of hosting Euro 2020 matches this summer, according to a statement published by the regional authorities on Wednesday.
April 22 – Even in defeat, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez remains defiant. In an interview on Spanish radio, the Madrid supremo doubled down on the European Super League (ESL), claiming the proposed competition is “on standby”.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – When Paris St Germain were conspicuous by their absence as a member of the so-called “dirty Dozen” clubs who formed the elitist but ill-fated European Super League, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin made a point of personally praising PSG boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi for refusing to join the much derided cartel.