Contract clock ticking

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering Liverpool’s contracts, the Messi effect, and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

PREMIER LEAGUE MW5 STATS

Man City 2 - 2 Arsenal. Erling Haaland has now scored 100 goals in 105 appearances for Man City, matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s record at Real Madrid. Aston Villa 3 - 1 Wolves. Jhon Duran has scored nine goals in 719 minutes in the Premier League. Among players to have scored at least two goals in the competition, only Haaland has a better mins/goal average (1 goal every 79 minutes). West Ham 0 - 3 Chelsea. West Ham have begun a league campaign with three consecutive home defeats for the first time in the club’s history. While Enzo Maresca is just the eighth manager to win his first three away games in Premier League history. Full Premier League MW5 results here.

Plus…

• WSL opening weekend round-up (More)

• Carragher and Neville analyse Man City vs Arsenal (Watch)

• Galatasaray mock Jose Mourinho following 3-1 win over Fenerbahce (More)

• Fulham 'protected' women's players from Al Fayed (More)

• Graeme Souness opens up about his emergency heart surgery (More)

• People expect Man City to be wiped “from face of Earth”, says Pep (More)

PREMIER LEAGUE

Trent Alexander-Arnold refuses to commit future to Liverpool past this season

Trent Alexander-Arnold remains coy on his Liverpool future with fewer than 10 months to run on his current contract. “I want to be a Liverpool player this season [as a minimum] is what I will say,” Alexander-Arnold said when asked if he wants to stay at the club in the long term. But the 25-year-old didn’t hide the fact that winning trophies — at Liverpool or elsewhere — will be the “main factor” in what he chooses to do next.

Alexander-Arnold’s camp has rejected numerous interviews this season as they knew questions would centre around his future. The England international promised reporters on Tuesday – after Liverpool’s Champions League away win against AC Milan – that he would chat with them after Saturday’s game against Bournemouth. He kept his promise. Either way, by January, foreign clubs will be able to negotiate terms with him – and it’s no secret that Real Madrid are interested and keen to fill the inevitable Dani Caraval void.

Alexander-Arnold isn’t the only staple player with an expiring contract. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are also out of contract in the summer. They’ve given very different responses in the media about their future too. Van Dijk insisted he wants to remain “the big leader” for Liverpool for the next two years, whereas Salah said it was his last year at the club. For Slot, contract talk in the media isn’t a distraction for his side – or at least that’s what he says.

POLL

HEAD START

💰 PSG appeal order to pay Mbappe. Paris Saint-Germain have appealed a decision which would force them to pay former striker Kylian Mbappe €55mn in withheld salary. The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) initally wanted the case to be mediated between the two parties but then told PSG to pay the full amount by Friday night. The case is likely to end up being decided by an employment tribunal.

😲 Barcelona inch perfect in the league. Barcelona continued their stellar form in La Liga with yet another thumping 5-1 win over Villarreal. That’s now six wins from six, 22 goals scored, five conceded and four points clear at the top of La Liga. Despite Hansi Flick’s lengthy injury list, he insisted before the game that his side can cope and have no excuses.

💫 Bayern continue perfect run. Bayern Munich extended their perfect Bundesliga start as Michael Olise scored two goals and set up two more to give them a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen. Olise has now netted his fifth goal in three matches. Vincent Kompany’s side are top of the league with 12 points from four matches. Meanwhile Bayer Leverkusen pulled off a stunning comeback in their 4-3 victory over Vfl Wolfsburg – they sit second on goal difference.

MESSI EFFECT

Messi fuels an MLS bubble that risks bursting once he’s gone, report claims

MLS team values have surged $3.2bn since Lionel Messi arrived in Miami. But the US soccer league risks unravelling once the Argentine leaves, per Bloomberg. Since Messi joined Inter Miami, his pink shirt is a world’s top seller and he’s even become the first soccer player to rank as America’s favourite athlete. Most importantly, though, dozens of brands are trying to get in on the action, with Inter Miami attracting $55mn this season from endorsement deals.

But the MLS might find itself in the same situation at the French top flight. Last week, it was reported that Ligue 1 is struggling financially since the departure of its stars - Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Messi. Without heavy hitters, the league has less bargaining power with sponsors, fewer shirt sales and press attention has plummeted. As it stands, Inter Miami makes just 4% of its revenue from broadcast rights - ten-fold less than Premier League clubs. A sign that the MLS is still struggling to attract lucrative deals for its main product: the games.

That said, club owners are betting that the US league will keep growing without Messi. Some believe that the 2026 World Cup, partly hosted in the US, will have knock-on effects on the domestic league. The league even says its club are worth a combined $20 billion. But such values are untested because no MLS teams have been sold since Messi joined the league. Still, there’s no doubt that the MLS will want Messi to extend his contract at the end of 2025.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid come back against Espanyol to extend their unbeaten run; Mbappe scores his fourth in three league games (More)

🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter Milan denied seventh derby win in a row as AC Milan win 2-1 (More); AS Roma CEO Lina Souloukou has announced her resignation after backlash to Daniele de Rossi's sacking (More)

🇸🇦 Saudi Pro League: Ivan Toney scored his first two goals for Al Ahli (Watch)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Premiership: Hearts have sacked head coach Steven Naismith after an eight-game winless run (More)

LOWER LEAGUE LOUNGE

Championship

West Brom retain top spot. Josh Maja's tap in was enough for West Brom to edge out a nervous 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle. Preston North End forward could face a lengthy ban. Milutin Osmajic allegedly bit Blackburn’s Owen Beck – though bizarrely Beck was sent off after the incident. Cardiff sack manager Erol Bulut. After Leeds United beat them 2-0, Cardiff remain at the bottom of the Championship.

League One

Wrexham hold on to top spot after Crawley victory. Bouncing back from their first defeat of the season to Birmingham City, Wrexham reinstated their winning ways with a 2-1 win. Birmingham City have a game in hand. The Blues are level on points with Wrexham - both with 16 - but they’ve played one less game than the league leaders. 

League Two

Barrow take top spot from Gillingham by virtue of goals scored. Elliot Newby’s first Barrow goal helped fire the club to the top of League Two with an impressive 2-0 victory against Newport. Walsall jump above Notts County to third. Their 2-0 triumph at Salford City will give them confidence ahead of their bout against top flight Leicester City in the midweek Carabao Cup fixture.

ROUTER’S VOICE

On Friday, we asked you: Do you think semi-automated VAR is the solution to controversial offside decisions?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ✅ Yes, it’ll reduce errors... (60%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ❌ Nope, it won't solve the problems... (37%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (3%)

Your punditry takes:

• ✅ M.N: “An untainted, genuine use of VAR will always make up for the very human failings of referees. The only problem with VAR is when the very human failings of referees is a failure to actually use VAR (corruption) or a failure to be adequately trained to use VAR.”

• ❌ T: “The problem is not VAR, it’s the offside law. The game is about goals and what we’ve got now is a tool to stop them being scored. Change the offside law to an arms length or a metre beyond the last man then you wouldn’t need every incident turned into a forensic crime scene.”

• ✍️ W: “Semi-automated offside should be a definite improvement, but introducing it mid-season surely raises fairness issues given games have already been played with the "inferior" system. It'd make more sense to bring it in at the start of next season.”

EXTRA TIME

Players who had unusual jobs after football.

Erling Haaland lets Gabriel know how he feels after City’s equaliser.

Episode two of Bellingham’s documentary.

Players neck is bitten, and then he’s sent off.

Vini Jr’s trivela assist for Rodrygo…

… and Lamine Yamal’s might be even better.

Prankster ref dishes out red cards in Hackney Marshes game.

John Duran scores again, but can he break a Premier League record?

Cesc Fabregas on how young players should spend their money.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Trent Alexander-Arnold reached 100 goal involvements for Liverpool. Since he made his competitive debut on 25 October 2016, only two Premier League players have more assists than TAA. Can you name both?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

League Two

• Fleetwood vs Morecambe (20:00)

La Liga

• Betis vs Mallorca (20:00)

Serie A

• Atalanta vs Como (19:45)

*All times in UK. EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

Kevin De Bruyne (146) and Mohamed Salah (92) are the only players with more assists than TAA, who has 81 assists, since 25 October 2016.