City vs Whistleblower

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering a whistleblower threatening Manchester City, a Premier League PSR loophole, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

Tonight Spain risk violating German law due to Lamine Yamal’s age. Why? Well, while German regulations prohibit U18s from working past 20:00, athletes can play until 23:00. If Yamal plays the full match against Albania tonight it could prove difficult to comply with the law… don’t be surprised if there’s an early substitution.

All feedback read at [email protected].

Head Start

Hacker threatens to release Manchester City documents

A hacker and whistleblower Rui Pinto has warned Manchester City that he is about to release millions of documents showing financial rule breaches. 

Ouch… that’s not the email that you want to be waking up to on a Monday morning.

(In case you’re wondering, Rui Pinto is the guy who leaked 88 million documents in the Football Leaks scandal).

So what’s exactly happening?

By now, everyone knows about the alleged 115 charges against City for breaching financial fair play (FFP) rules. The case is going to be held in November… and Pinto has reportedly shared evidence with authorities which goes against City’s defence.

Pinto allegedly amassed 70 million documents, including personal emails, from the likes of City and PSG. 

Speaking at a conference in Marbella, Pinto said he has already handed over five hard drives to French and German authorities…

… but, according to one newspaper, Pinto’s legal representative has said that they “haven’t released the information yet”. Regardless, there is a “massive file of Manchester City-related documents” that they plan on formally sharing with authorities. 

What does this mean for City?

Well, it depends. When, in 2018, Pinto’s findings in the Football Leaks saga found that City and their sponsors manipulated contracts to circumvent UEFA’s FFP regulations, the Premier League champions were banned for two seasons from the Champions League and fined €30 million… 

… but, the punishment was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 

As ever, you’re innocent till proven guilty. And Pinto’s documents will make up a body of evidence to suggest City are guilty, but that certainly doesn’t make it an open-and-shut case.

Interestingly, City’s case can’t go to CAS, but either side could appeal, which means this saga could take years to resolve.

Plus… 

Ex-Liverpool defender sues former team-mate after bragging on a podcast about “trying to hurt” him in training (More)

Albania’s striker gets a two-game ban for anti-Serbia and North Macedonia chants (More)

Liverpool legend Alan Hansen has been discharged from hospital following illness (More)

Ruud van Nistelrooy has been approached to be part of Erik ten Hag’s new staff at Manchester United, whilst he’s also a strong candidate to be Burnley’s next manager (More)

Euro 2024 Stats Zone

Group B: Croatia vs Italy (Today at 20:00 BST)

→ Croatia must win their final group game against Italy to have any hope of qualifying for the last 16 of Euro 2024.

→ This will be Croatia and Italy’s third meeting at a major tournament, all taking place in the group stages. Croatia won 2-1 at the 2002 World Cup before a 1-1 draw at Euro 2012.

Group B: Albania vs Spain (Today at 20:00 BST)

→ Spain have a flawless record against Albania, winning all eight of their previous encounters, scoring 31 goals and conceding just three.

→ Albania lost 9-0 to Spain in a Euros qualifier in December 1990, which remains their largest-ever competitive defeat.

→ But their last meeting in March 2022 saw Spain narrowly win 2-1 with a last-minute winner from Dani Olmo.

Group A: Scotland 0 - 1 Hungary

→ Hungary’s goal scored by Kevin Csoboth in the 100th minute was the latest goal ever scored in a European Championship match (excl. extra-time).

→ Scotland had just 17 shots at Euro 2024 in total – since the group stage was introduced in 1980, that is the joint fewest by a nation in a group stage, along with Northern Ireland at Euro 2016.

Yesterday’s results:

Group A: Scotland 0 - 1 Hungary (Highlights) | Switzerland 1 - 1 Germany (Highlights)

Premier League

Clubs are helping each other out with a new loophole

Premier League clubs are struggling to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and are collaborating to meet the June 30 deadline.

(We’re looking at you - Chelsea, Aston Villa, Everton, and Newcastle). 

They’re selling each other expensive, big-name players including Lewis Dobbin, Tim Iroegbunam, Tom Cannon and Ellis Simms.

Oh, sorry, what was that? You’ve never heard of Dobbin, Iroegbunam, Cannon or Simms? 

Well, don’t feel bad. That’s because they’re academy players that are unproven, relatively unknown and simply not worth the £10-or-20 million that they’re being sold for… 

(That’s no disrespect to these players but highly-rated academy prospects - Zidane Iqbal and Teden Mengi - each sold for less than £1 million).

But that’s not even the good part…

• The money that clubs sell their academy players for is considered as absolute profit. Every penny counts towards their PSR requirements.

• The money that clubs buy players for can be spread over five years. So, the buying club doesn’t feel the whole burden of that purchase on their PSR requirements. 

… and they say accounting is boring. Certainly not in the football world! 

Deals of this ilk show the unintended consequences of red tape like sustainability rules. And, jokes aside, the impact these deals could have on players’ futures is uncertain and worrying. 

Looking at the bigger picture, it begs the question: are these deals any different to when clubs inflate commercial deals to comply with PSR? It’s a tough question and not one I’m paid enough to answer…

Off The Pitch

🍩 Krispy Kreme rolls out ‘Friends’-themed doughnuts to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sitcom (More)

🎾 Andy Murray has been ruled out of Wimbledon after an operation on a spinal cyst (More)

😬 Taylor Swift reignites feud with Kim Kardashian at her Eras Tour in London (More)

🍿 ‘Inside Out 2’ blasts past ‘Dune 2’ as 2024’s biggest movie (More)

🏠 San Francisco home is selling for €488,000 but you can’t move in until 2053 (More)

🏎️ Max Verstappen denies Lando Norris to win the Spanish Grand Prix (More)

Around The Football World

🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé wears a mask and scores in a behind-closed-doors friendly ahead of his Euro return against Poland on Tuesday (More)

🇧🇷 Chelsea’s latest signing Abel Ferreira has been dubbed the “best Brazilian since Neymar” (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Everton’s prospective owners, the Friedkin Group, have provided an injection of £200m to repay a loan and put working capital into the club (More)

🇩🇪 Bayern Munich have reached an agreement with Crystal Palace to sign winger Michael Olise, with the German giants set to pay €60 million including add-ons (More)

🇸🇦 Real Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez is set to sign for Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah (More)

🇹🇷 Brighton are interested in signing Turkey international Baris Alper Yilmaz from Galatasaray but could face competition after his starring role at the Euros (More)

Extra Time

Harry Kane speaks on Gary Lineker calling England’s performance ‘sh*t’.

MLS-style VAR announcements will bring a whole new entertainment factor to football.

The awkward moment when Goncalo Ramos was slide-tackled by a steward.

John Terry and Frank Lampard liked to be tucked into bed on England duty.

Lithuanian sportscaster can’t stop laughing at Lukaku’s disallowed VAR goal.

Game Face On

Question: What do the following list of players have in common? 

• Matthias Sammer

• Zinedine Zidane

• Theodoros Zagorakis

• Xavi

• Andrés Iniesta

• Antoine Griezmann

• Gianluigi Donnarumma

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Euros: Albania vs Spain (20:00 BST)

Euros: Croatia vs Italy (20:00 BST)

Copa America: Colombia vs Paraguay (23:00 BST)

Copa America: Brazil vs Costa Rica (02:00 BST)

CRICKET

International Champions Cup: Australia vs India (15:00 BST)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

They have all won the Player of the Tournament award, which was introduced at Euro 96.

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day is: Neymar is severely underrated and he’s the last ‘fun’ player that we’ll see. Thanks to Joe from Newcastle for the entry. Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.