By Samindra Kunti in Paris
May 27 – In a repeat of the 2018 Champions League final, Liverpool will be marginal favourites to defeat Real Madrid and win a seventh European Cup, but the resilience and attacking firepower of the Spanish champions can never be underestimated following an extraordinary run to the final.
May 27 – Forget the Champions League final, the most valuable fixture in world football will be played on Sunday between Huddersfield and Nottingham Forest at Wembley.
May 28 – No fewer than 87% of professional footballers want back-to-back matches limited in order to guard against a heavy workload, pointing out they are “athletes, not machines”, according to a new survey by global players’ union Fifpro.
May 27 – Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko said his team hopes to make their country proud when they take on Scotland in a World Cup playoff semi-final next week.
May 27 – The CIES Football Observatory has produced a ranking of Best XI player for each of 32 European leagues analysed over the 2021/22 season.
May 27 – Gambling regulations in Spain will prevent LaLiga clubs from taking shirt sponsorship from betting firms from the end of the season, but it is not stopping bookmakers cutting promotional deals with clubs for other markets.
May 27 – Canada Soccer has cancelled a controversial World Cup warm-up match against Iran citing its “significantly divisive” nature.
May 27 – Qualifying for the Champions League under manager Antonio Conte is reported to have made England captain Harry Kane open to new contract negotiations at Tottenham Hotspur rather than leave the club, according to unconfirmed reports.
May 27 – Construction and mining equipment giant Caterpillar has agreed a multi-year sponsorship with Major League Soccer in the US with an emphasis on reaching soccer’s younger and multi-cultural fan base.
By Paul Nicholson
May 26 – Chelsea may have been the biggest deal ever done for the sale of a football club, but the club isn’t the most valuable in Europe, Real Madrid are, according to the latest football club valuation report by Football Benchmark.
May 26 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has waded into the debate over Kylian Mbappe’s contract extension at Paris St Germain after the French superstar turned his back on an expected move to Real Madrid.
May 26 – The international players’ union, Fifpro, has criticised the decision by FIFA’s ethics committee not to punish an Argentinian women’s football coach accused of alleged sexual harassment and abusive behaviour.
May 26 – Thailand will host the ‘pilot tournament’ for the AFC’s East zone for the Women’s Club Championship 2022. Uzbekistan is hosting the West zone pilot tournament.
May 26 – While online used car retailer Cazoo is building its football sponsorship portfolio in Europe, its UK rival Cinch is taking its first main sponsorship in the English Premier League with Crystal Palace’s shirt front.
May 26 – Reigning champions Iran have been drawn in Group C for the finals of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022 on Thursday.