First billion club

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering the first billion-revenue club, Canada Women’s spy gate, and much more.

If you don't like flying, then count your lucky stars that you’re not a Tottenham or Newcastle player. During the pre-season tour, they’re racking up 33,459 and 32,520 air miles. For context, travelling around the globe is 24,898 miles… meaning that Spurs and Newcastle are travelling the world and then some.

The next highest is Manchester United with 12,864 and the lowest is Everton with 511.

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STATS

Riccardo Calafiori → Arsenal

→ Riccardo Calafiori was dribbled past by an opponent less often on a per-90-minute basis (0.4) than both Oleksandr Zinchenko (0.9) and Jakub Kiwiow (0.5) last season.

→ Of defenders in Serie A in 2023-24 who made a minimum of 10 appearances, Calafiori was fifth for interceptions per 90 minutes (1.9), second for recoveries per 90 (7.5), ninth for passes per 90 (68.6), 14th for duel success (63.1%) and joint-fourth for overall assists (5).

Leny Yoro → Manchester United

→ Leny Yoro completed 1,727 passes for Lille in Ligue 1 last season, the most by a teenager across Europe's big-five leagues in 2023-24.

→ But among centre-backs to attempt at least 100 long passes, Yoro’s 51.4% completion rate was the 11th best in Ligue 1 last season.

LA LIGA

Real Madrid become the first billion-revenue club

Real Madrid announced that they are the highest-revenue-generating football club in the world after exceeding €1bn in revenue for 2023-24.

The reigning Champions League and Spanish League champions increased their club revenue by 27% from the previous year… and that’s despite LaLiga’s broadcast revenue falling last season.

This is yet another example of how stadium renovations can transform a club’s revenue. Real Madrid’s 4-year €1.2bn renovation project meant the club have:

• Increased the capacity of the restaurants to serve thousands of people.

• Introduced a skywalk with views across Madrid.

• And expanded the museum to increase visitors from 1.5mn a year to 2mn… helping to generate €50mn as a result.

To put that into context, Real Madrid can now earn more from their museum than some clubs in Spain’s top tier earn from their broadcast rights.

And this just scratches the surface as most of their big paychecks actually come from the Bernabeu hosting Carol G, Taylor Swift and alike concerts which can amount to around €4.5mn a night.

The big picture? It has been no secret that football clubs are turning their stadiums into cash cows.

Tottenham’s £1bn construction plan made revenues surge by almost 50% in the past five years. This is partly down to Daniel Levy copying American sport’s strategy of encouraging fans to linger at the stadium before and after - and essentially buy as many pints or BBQ pork brioche rolls as possible. 

And it’s only a matter of time before every club follows suit. Fulham’s €100mn renovations look like something akin to Soho House with their fancy restaurants and rooftop pool.

It looks like half-times are going to get more and more interesting. Pass me my mojito.

POLL

HEAD START

😬 Chelsea lose 4-1 to Celtic in their pre-season friendly. The Blues’ new head coach Enzo Maresca said his players were still adjusting to his style and tactics after their heavy loss to Celtic in Indiana. While Chelsea had almost two-thirds of possession and had 23 shots, their defensive vulnerability was exploited by the Scottish champions. This was Celtic’s fifth match of pre-season after beating Manchester City 4-3 last time out.

🤕 Manchester United to assess Hojlund and Yoro injuries. Both Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro were substituted in the first half of their 2-1 pre-season defeat to Arsenal in Los Angeles due to injuries. The usual procedure is to wait 24 hours for swelling to dissipate before a scan can provide an accurate assessment. The extent of their injuries is still not known. United’s pre-season tour fixtures resume on Wednesday against Real Betis.

💰Spurs seek to sell a minority stake. Tottenham Hotspur are in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value the club up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis to sever ties with the club. The terms are yet to be finalised, but sources say Spurs expect to sell about 10%. Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be interested in the deal.

PARIS OLYMPICS FOOTBALL

Canada punished for spying on opponents

The Paris 2024 Olympics kicked off this weekend. And while there were question marks around the opening ceremony, so too were there for Canada women’s football team spying on their opponents.

Canada won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but now face a big setback after being deducted six points in Group A and fined £176,000 by FIFA. Head coach Bev Priestman has been removed and three coaches have been banned for a year.

Why? The scandal erupted after the New Zealand team complained that a drone had been flown over a training session. Though it’s possible Canada were looking for scenic shots for their TikTok or YouTube content, we’re not sure filming your opponent’s set-piece routine makes the cut.

Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive David Shoemaker has acknowledged that similar spying practices could have been used during Canada’s Tokyo 2020 triumph. In Shoemakers’ eyes, this could “tarnish” Canada’s gold medal.

It’s more common than you might think

Back in 2019, then-Leeds manager Marco Bielsa admitted to spying on “all the rivals” he faced through the use of undercover operatives.

Despite the Football League and Football Association launching an investigation, there are no rules governing footballing espionage. As such, Bielsa and Leeds were let off the hook.

Then there was the time when Didier Deschamps noticed a drone above the French camp as they trained at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Or when Graham Taylor was convinced his England side were being watched during their World Cup qualifier against Norway in 1993. The list goes on.

Route One take: Look, the general consensus - and even Bielsa admitted this - is that spying on opponents is mostly pointless. Analysts have access to so much information and data meaning that they know most of what they find from spying.

The problem is that the integrity of one of the most respected women’s coaches and the perception of Canada’s national team will remain under scrutiny. A hugely talented team is in the spotlight… but not for the right reason.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

• 🇪🇸 La Liga: Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement to sign 27-year-old Spain defender Robin le Normand from Real Sociedad (More)

• 🇫🇷 Ligue 2: Bordeaux have filed for bankruptcy just days after they were relegated to the third tier of French football and Liverpool’s owners withdrew from takeover talks (More)

• 🇯🇵 J3 League: Energy drink company Red Bull has reached a broad agreement to acquire Japanese third-tier team Omiya Ardija (More)

• 🇮🇹 Serie A: Genoa’s decision to sign free agent David De Gea is currently on hold due to his unrealistic salary expectations (More)

OFF THE PITCH

🏎️ George Russell has been stripped of Belgian Grand Prix victory as his car was found to be 1.5kg underweight, Lewis Hamilton takes glory (More)

💍 Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi has issued a grovelling apology to his wife after losing his wedding ring during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics (More)

🥇 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa wins gold for Japan in women’s street skateboarding (More)

🎬 Robert Downey Jr is returning to Marvel after five years as Dr Victor Von Doom, not Iron Man (More)

🎾 Andy Murray delayed his retirement after fighting back from a set down to progress in men's doubles at Roland Garros (More)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

On this day in 1959… Liverpool signed Roger Hunt, a non-league striker who played for Stockton Heath (later known as Warrington Town). Hunt ended his first season with the Reds as top goalscorer and did the same in the 1961/62 season with 41 league goals in 41 league games.

In total, he scored 285 goals in 492 league and cup appearances for Liverpool – a club-record goals figure until Ian Rush broke it.

Oh, and don’t forget Hunt’s World Cup-winning medal for England in 1966. A true legend of the game.

EXTRA TIME

AC Milan unveils stylish Puma 24/25 away kit.

Is Rasmus Højlund’s pre-season friendly opener a sign of good things to come?

Why Darragh MacAnthony wouldn’t employ Roy Kean to manage Peterborough United.

The most original goal celebration you’ll see all season.

It’s pointless trying to get the ball from Sergio Busquets in training.

Long read: TV rights chaos in France should serve as a warning to the Premier League.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which goalkeeper is second only to Cristiano Ronaldo for most appearances in total in the UEFA Champions League?

Clue: Captain.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

PARIS OLYMPICS

The 2024 Paris Olympics schedule for today can be found here.

CRICKET

Third Test: England v West Indies (10:15 BST)

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

Answer

Iker Casillas (177)

Hottest Take of the Day

Submitted by Tim K from Yorkshire: Some talented players have left the Premier League this transfer window (Douglas Luiz, Michael Olise, Joao Palhiniha for example) and I think it’s because the smaller clubs are being forced to sell due to the current PSR rules. This cannot be a good thing for the league.

Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.