October 5 – Football’s world players union has called for their members to be treated more compassionately in order prevent burnout, saying compulsory breaks must be put in place.
October 1 – Monaco top a league of Big 5 clubs ranked by youngest average age, while six other Ligue1 clubs from France join them in the top 10 positions.
September 30 – Pressure is building on Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman after the club made their worst start to a Champions League campaign ever following a humbling 3-0 defeat at Benfica.
September 30 – Flamengo and Bruno Henrique once again breezed past Ecuador’s Barcelona 2-0 to complete a 4-0 semi-final victory and set up a blockbuster Copa Libertadores final against Palmeiras, the second all-Brazilian final in a row.
September 29 – A survey of its members by the World Leagues Forum (WLF) has found that 95% of them would support a permanent option to keep an increased number of substitutions that can be used by clubs in their leagues.
September 29 – Sheriff Tiraspol, from an unheralded Moldovan outpost close to the border with Ukraine, are celebrating one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the Champions League after winning 2-1 at the home of Real Madrid, the competition’s 13-time champions.
By Samindra Kunti in Paris
September 29 – It took 74 minutes and it’s what Paris Saint-Germain had been waiting for – divine intervention from their newly acquired genius. Lionel Messi delivered a sumptuous finish after quick interplay with Kylian Mbappe to ensure a 2-0 win for the hosts against English champions Manchester City to top Group A in the Champions League.
September 24 – Manchester City, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and PSG will all retain their domestic league titles this season, according to data forecasts from the CIES Football Observatory. Real Madrid will take the Spanish title off Atlético.
September 16 – Belgium remain top of the FIFA world ranking with Brazil a close second and England a newcomer on the podium, moving into third, following matches played in September’s international window.
September 15 – PSG has topped a ranking of teams according to the number of passes made per match during current season. The data is pulled 36 leagues worldwide – 32 in Europe and 4 in the Americas.
By Samindra Kunti
September 14 – Chelsea open their defence of the Champions League tonight at home to Zenit St Petersburg, kicking off the European club season in earnest. The question in Europe is whether Chelsea and their English counterparts will also be kickstarting an age of Premier League dominance in the European Cup?
September 10 – Lionel Messi has surpassed Pelé as the leading South American men’s goal scorer in international matches with 79 goals, following his hat-trick in Argentina’s World Cup qualifiing win against Bolivia.
September 9 – Egypt have hired Carlos Queiroz as their new manager to steer the Pharaohs to the World Cup in Qatar. The Portuguese will succeed Hossam El Badry.
September 2 – Cristiano Ronaldo became the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with two last-gasp goals for Portugal in a dramatic World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday.
September 1 – The date a player is born can still have a defining effect on whether a young footballer will have a professional career, or not.