City's case begins

🤑 Mbappe wage saga update | Spurs player charged | Kroos' new team

September 13, 2024

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering City’s 115 case starting next week, Mbappe’s wage saga and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

WEEKEND STATS

Southampton vs Man United (Sat, 12:30 UK). The Red Devils are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League away games against Southampton and have come from behind to beat The Saints in 10 different league games. Man City vs Brentford (Sat, 15:00 UK). City have won four of their six Premier League games against Brentford. But The Bees are the last team to win away to City in any competition. Spurs vs Arsenal (Sun, 14:00 UK). While Arsenal did the double over Spurs last season, only 11.5% – 7 out of 61 – of north London derbies have been won by the away side. Full Premier League MW4 fixture list here.

Plus…

Bentancur could face a 6 to 12 game suspension over Son racial slur (More)
Opta’s Champions League predictions (More)
Toni Kroos has founded a football club called ‘Toni Kroos’ (More / in Spanish)
Theirry Henry stays at CBS after leaving France under-21 job (More)
Celta Vigo player found guilty of groping Espanyol mascot (More)

PREMIER LEAGUE

City’s 115 charges case starts on Monday, verdict expected in Spring

The hearing into Manchester City’s 115 alleged breaches of financial rules will begin on Monday, multiple sources confirm. The Premier League says that City broke the rules over nine seasons – between 2009 and 2018 – by allegedly failing to provide accurate financial information. City are also being accused of secretly paying a manager more than officially stated, as well as not complying with UEFA’s financial fair play rules over a five-year period.

The independent panel hearing is estimated to last two months. Then the commission will consider the evidence and their decision, with a decision expected to take several months. The aim is to reach a final verdict by the end of the 2024-25 season. Of course - and this is likely - an appeal of the decision would delay any outcome. But some ‘highly-experienced’ sources have suggested that both sides would be wise to try and reach a compromise or settlement.

If found guilty, City would either receive a points deduction or even the threat of expulsion from the top flight. Other Premier League clubs could also sue Man City, claiming that they didn’t access the Champions League and all the rewards that it brings. But it wasn’t long ago that Burnley and Leeds tried to claim against Everton for similar reasons, and that never crystallised.

POLL

Do you think Rodrigo Bentancur's charge by the FA is fair? (Story in Plus section)

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HEAD START

✍️ Arteta signs until 2027. Mikel Arteta has signed a new three-year deal with Arsenal. The Spaniard's new deal will take him to 2027, which would mean eight years in charge — the same length of time Guardiola has been in position at Manchester City. After coming close to winning the league on two occasions, the contract extension is a sign that he’s determined to finish the job.

🪂 Regulator to control parachute payments. The independent football regulator could be given power over the Premier League’s parachute payments for relegated clubs. The EFL wants parachute payments scrapped, claiming they distort the Championship and give a huge advantage to those who fall out of the top flight.

⏱️ Prem games last the longest. The Premier League had by far the longest matches of any major European league last season with an average length of 101min 35sec — four minutes longer than the continental average. Premier League matches were the most attended games, with Manchester United having the highest aggregate attendance in domestic football in Europe last season - despite it being their worst on record.

MBAPPE WAGE SAGA

Kylian Mbappe to take PSG to court over £46.5mn in unpaid wages

Getty

Kylian Mbappe is preparing to take his former club Paris Saint-Germain to court over alleged unpaid wages of around £46.5mn. The 25-year-old believes he was owed the money after he moved to Real Madrid on a free transfer as part of the two-year contract extension he signed in 2022.

PSG’s position is that when Mbappe renewed his contract, he verbally agreed that if he joined Real Madrid for free, then he would relinquish bonuses. The club also argues that the French forward committed to this in front of multiple high-profile witnesses, including head coach Luis Enrique. After hearing both sides of the argument in a two-hour hearing, the Ligue de Football Professionnel legal committee concluded that both parties should enter mediation to resolve the matter.

This was reported as a major victory for PSG in the case. But Mbappe has rejected this and is not ready to compromise. The case will now be taken to an employment tribunal. Mbappe will rely on French labour laws which are weighted towards the employees. But if unsuccessful, PSG could go after £82.7mn, almost double the amount Mbappe is pursuing — in line with the amount the club would expect to receive from a transfer.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🇪🇸 La Liga: The Spanish Football Federation and La Liga have said they will introduce a signal for refs to use should any racist behaviour occur during a match (More)

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund have received the bonus payments from Barcelona for Ousmane Dembele of €43mn, taking their total to around €143mn (More)

🇳🇱 Eredivisie: Racing Genk has made helmets compulsory for all its youth goalkeepers during training and games (More / in Dutch)

🇵🇹 Liga Portugal: Baovista’s first two goalkeepers both ruptured ACLs in the same training session, leaving a 17-year-old as the only option (More / in Portuguese)

🇫🇷 Ligue 1: Marseille club president says he has no regrets over signing Mason Greenwood from Manchester United after he won Play of the Month (More)

HIGHLIGHT FIXTURES THIS WEEKEND

La Liga: Girona vs Barcelona (Sun, 15:15 UK)

After four consecutive La Liga wins, Hansi Flick’s side will make a one-hour trip to neighbours Girona for a Catalan derby. Barcelona will have one mission in mind: avenge last season’s two defeats. Girona secured a best-ever third-place finish last season. Despite a shaky start this term with a 3-0 loss to Atletico Madrid, they bounced back with two wins against Osasuna and Sevilla.

Premier League: Spurs vs Arsenal (Sun, 14:00 UK)

A full-strength Arsenal would be favourites to make it three wins in three away league visits to bitter rivals Spurs. But with Martin Odegaard out with injury and Declan Rice suspended, it raises questions about whether Arsenal can perform without their spine. Away wins are hard to come by in a London derby, and even harder when you’re missing your key players.

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think the North London Derby (Arsenal vs Spurs) has been the most exciting rivalry in recent seasons?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🥳 Yes, it’s been the most exciting rivalry… (41.77%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👎 Nope, the most exciting rivalry has been… (58.33%)

Your punditry takes:

👎 G.W: “Newcastle vs Sunderland; Liverpool v Man Utd; Cardiff v Swansea.”
👎 N.T: “Leeds United vs any Yorkshire team in the Championship is the best for me. For the Premier League, it has to be Manchester City vs Manchester United.”
🥳 C.S: “It would be better if Arsenal were allowed to wear their home shirt.”