Messi joins an exclusive club hitting 500-goal milestone
April 18 – Lionel Messi chalked up his 500th career goal on Sunday, his 319th in La Liga, in Barcelona’s 2-1 home defeat to Valencia.
Author: Paul Nicholson
Italy chosen to be test bed for video ref technology
April 18 – Italy has been selected by football’s law-makers as the first major league to test technology for video replays.
Grindel takes over at DFB and sets sights on clean-up and 2024 Euros
By Andrew Warshaw
April 18 – Reinhard Grindel, the only candidate for a job that has become something of a poisoned chalice, has officially taken over as head of the German football association (DFB), the sport’s biggest single federation.
Bengaluru celebrate I-League win as India debates merger with ISL
By Samindra Kunti
April 18 – Bengaluru FC have been crowned Indian champions for the second time in three years after defeating Salgaocar 2-0, but the future of the I-League remains in doubt.
Milan giants court Chinese money to turn around their fortunes
By Paul Nicholson
April 18 – Both Milan clubs could come under Chinese ownership if reports are correct that AC Milan could be sold within eight weeks and if Suning Commerce Group complete on a proposed acquisition of a stake in Internazionale.
Mihir Bose: West Ham deal exposes the moral vacuum at the heart of UK politics
The great gift the London Legacy Development Corporation, chaired by Boris Johnson, has given West Ham football club is the sort of gift that makes the money that David Cameron’s mother gave him to help avoid inheritance tax look like chicken feed. It also exposes the fact that when it comes to the national game not only are our political masters grossly unfair, favouring some clubs while penalising the vast majority, but there is also a huge question of whether football has lost its moral compass.
Clash of the giants: CL draw separates Spanish but will Pep have the last word
April 15 – Will Pep Guardiola’s final game in charge of Bayern Munich be against the team he is leaving them for at the end of the season?
Newcastle United profit from reduced wage bill
By David Owen
April 14 – A sharp cut in payroll costs was at the heart of Newcastle United’s impressive financial performance in 2014-15, with the wages and salaries bill tumbling below £57 million from £69.3 million the previous year.
Report urges FIFA to add biting human rights clauses to its hosting contracts
By Andrew Warshaw
April 15 – FIFA must in future make human rights a priority when awarding countries the World Cup according to an independent report produced by a senior United Nations official commissioned four months ago by football’s world governing body as part of its reform programme.
Brazil learn opponents as they seek to end 64 years of Olympic hurt
By David Owen
April 14 – Neymar and his team-mates have been drawn against South Africa, Iraq and Denmark in this year’s Olympic men’s football tournament, while the Brazilian women have been bracketed with South Africa (again), Sweden and China, the global game’s new hot-bed at least in terms of business interest.
Infantino dodges the Panama cross fire saying it is a ‘non-story’
April 15 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has yet again shrugged off any wrongdoing for signing a contract, when he was at UEFA, with two of those since indicted in the US-led football corruption probe, describing allegations in the infamous Panama Papers documents as a “non-story”.
Saints swap Adidas for Under Armour and issue pledge to grow club brand
By Mark Baber
April 15 – Southampton FC has agreed a 7-year partnership with US-based global sports brand Under Armour which will come into effect on July 1. No figure was announced for the deal.
Neymar’s summer plans in flux as CBF and Barca battle for control
By Samindra Kunti
April 15 – The tug of war between FC Barcelona and the Brazilian FA (CBF) over where Neymar plays this summer is continuing with the CBF insisting on Neymar playing both the centenary Copa America in the US and the Olympic Games in Rio.
Down but not out: Gutierrez wins cancer discrimination case against Newcastle
April 15 – Newcastle United, battling for their top-flight survival on the pitch, have suffered a serious blow to their image off it after an employment tribunal ruled that their former Argentina midfielder Jonas Gutierrez had been dropped from the team because he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
UEFA put damper on Man City fireworks
April 15 – Manchester City have been charged by UEFA after fireworks were set off during their 1-0 Champions League quarter-final, second-leg win over Paris St Germain on Tuesday night.