Wayne Rooney, Mark Goldbridge, The Overlap and Disney+
Thursday

Wayne Rooney will co-host a new Manchester United-focused programme with influencer Mark Goldbridge called Stick to United with Wayne Rooney. Disney+ has signed a distribution agreement covering 50 episodes of the new show and 40 Stick to Football episodes.

The project expands Gary Neville’s Overlap network after it bought Goldbridge’s YouTube channels for an undisclosed seven-figure sum earlier this year. Rooney will continue separate BBC and Match of the Day work while adding the new digital programme.

Memphis Depay and Corinthians
Thursday

Memphis Depay is reportedly preparing a €30m claim against Corinthians after the Brazilian club declined to honour what he says was an agreed two-year contract extension. The Netherlands forward had already publicly accused the club of breaching its commitment.

The reported claim covers overdue payments from his previous deal plus salary and a signing fee tied to the proposed extension. Corinthians say they abandoned the renewal because another large commitment would threaten the club’s financial sustainability.

Riyadh Season, the Spanish football federation and Sela
Thursday

Riyadh Season has become an official sponsor of the 2027 Spanish Super Cup even though the tournament will be played in Istanbul rather than Saudi Arabia. Sela will handle commercial rights and operational responsibilities under the agreement.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad will contest the competition at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. The move keeps Saudi commercial involvement attached to the Super Cup despite the event leaving the kingdom for the first time since 2021.

The EFL, Football Association and Sky Sports
Thursday

Twenty-five EFL matches kicking off at 3pm on Saturday will be broadcast live domestically because England’s usual television blackout cannot be enforced. The schedule includes six Championship, nine League One and ten League Two fixtures.

UEFA Article 48 requires at least half of matches in a country’s top two divisions to be played simultaneously before blocked hours apply. With the Premier League not starting this weekend, the threshold is not met and Sky can show every match.

Fulham, Malaga and Alvaro Arbeloa
Wednesday

Fulham’s friendly with Malaga ended in confusion after Alvaro Arbeloa was sent off and led his team down the tunnel following a 2-2 draw. Malaga then took a scheduled shootout penalty into an empty goal and celebrated the trophy.

Fulham insist both clubs had agreed there would be no shootout if the match ended level, while Malaga say penalties had been scheduled. The contradictory accounts turned a routine preseason fixture into an unusual dispute over the Costa del Sol Cup.

Xavi Hernandez and the Netherlands national team
Wednesday

The Netherlands have appointed former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez on a four-year contract through the 2030 World Cup. The 46-year-old becomes their first foreign head coach since Austrian Ernst Happel left the national-team position in 1978.

Xavi replaces Ronald Koeman after the Netherlands exited the World Cup against Morocco. Arne Slot withdrew from consideration and Roberto Martinez had entered talks, before the KNVB ultimately chose Xavi to begin his reign against Germany in September.

Lionel Messi and the Messi family
Wednesday

Lionel Messi has publicly questioned how much longer he will continue playing following the death of his father Jorge. The 39-year-old said football had defined his life and admitted the loss had created significant doubts about extending his career much further.

Jorge Messi served as his son’s father, agent and business manager from childhood through his professional career. Messi said his father remained critically ill during the World Cup, adding emotional weight to Argentina’s run to the final against Spain.

Dynamo Dresden, supporters and online content creators
Wednesday

Dynamo Dresden have reiterated that vloggers and influencers cannot record matchday content for public distribution inside their stadium without explicit permission. The newly promoted 2. Bundesliga club says the restrictions protect its own rights and those of broadcast partners.

Dresden also asked creators to respect supporters who do not want cameras around them, particularly inside the ultras’ K-block. The club says monetised videos benefit creators while providing no return to the rights holders whose product is being recorded.

Sanjay Bhandari and Kick It Out
Wednesday

Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari will leave his role at the end of the 2026-27 season after more than seven years leading the anti-discrimination organisation. Bhandari was appointed in 2019 and received an MBE for services to football in 2024.

Kick It Out will begin recruiting his successor and aims to identify a preferred candidate by the end of December. The incoming chair is expected to work alongside Bhandari before formally taking charge on 1 July 2027.

Premier League Big Six and the other 14 clubs
Wednesday

Premier League wealth concentration has reached a new transfer peak, with the traditional Big Six increasingly buying leading players from the other 14 clubs. The Athletic counted 23 such moves across the past 14 months at a combined cost near £1.2bn.

The trend accelerated from 11 moves last summer to 13 across the 2025-26 season, a record under the study’s methodology. Selling clubs gain major transfer income, but repeatedly losing their best players risks widening the competitive gap further.