New season signings

GM football fans. Route One here, your daily dose of football news. 

We’re back from our two-week break, Routers. And in case you’re wondering, there are a few beer bellies, fading suntans and unemptied luggage in the Route One office today. We’re gearing up for two huge tournaments and another epic season of the beautiful game. Thank you for the lovely messages while we were away. Stay Routing! First time reading? Sign up here.

All feedback read at [email protected].

Head Start

Mbappé signs for Real Madrid

Today Real Madrid are set to announce Kylian Mbappé on a free transfer… perhaps the worst-kept secret in football.

The 25-year-old is taking a pay cut. But, in case you were concerned about his bank balance, don’t be. He’ll cope with his new expected 5-year contract… 

• $15 million a season.

• $100 million signing-on bonus (paid over the 5 years).

• Percentage of his image rights.

The stats say that Mbappé is an upgrade on either one of their current forwards. His goals, assists and goal contributions per 90 minutes are better…

(Yes, Mbappé has played in an “easier” league, but the stats are similar in the Champions League too.)

The problem is… Mbappé is joining a side that’s coming off the back of a dominant season. 10 points clear for the La Liga title. Sixth Champions League in 11 years. Spanish Super Cup winners. 

And, now, Vini Jr has established himself as the main man who plays in Mbappé’s preferred left-wing position… and preferred number 7…

… awkward…

The French captain will likely have to get used to playing as a striker or on the right side…

But at least he’s used to wearing number 10 for France.

Route One take: It begs the question, what does success look like for Mbappé at Real Madrid? They’ve won everything without him already - and they’ll be expected to it all over again with him.

But - if Madrid’s success dips (and it might with key players leaving this summer) it could dent his standing on the world stage. We’re not betting on it though…

Plus…

José Mourinho returns to football as the manager of Turkish giants Fenerbahçe - more on this story below (More)

UEFA is set to allow Manchester City and Manchester United to play alongside sister clubs in Europe (More)

England goalkeeper Mary Earps has withdrawn from the squad for Tuesday’s Euro 2025 qualifier game against France due to a hip injury (More)

Ex-Everton striker Kevin Campbell is reportedly “very unwell” in hospital (More)

Euro 2024 Pre-Tournament Stats

Portugal Perfect

→ Only Portugal managed a 100% record in qualification for Euro 2024, winning all 10 of their qualifiers versus Slovakia, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Liechtenstein.

→ Portugal ended qualification as the top-scoring team with 36 goals, but having played two more matches than some other sides, France posted a superior goals-per-game rate (3.63) than the Portuguese (3.60). Nine of their goals came in a 9-0 win over Luxembourg. 

Old vs Young

→ Of those that qualified, Ukraine had the youngest average starting XI age of just 25 years and 272 days old.

→ Montenegro had the oldest starting XI on average in the Euro 2024 qualifiers (29y 308d) but Slovakia had the oldest average squad of the teams that qualified (29y 264d). 

→ Lamine Yamal’s goal against Georgia made him the youngest player to score for Spain in a full international (16y 57d).

Georgia Joy

→ Georgia will be the only nation at Euro 2024 to be making their debut at the European Championship.

There are friendlies tonight… see On Today below for fixtures. 

The Special One

José Mourinho will fail at Fenerbahçe…

… that’s if you believe in history repeating itself.

In recent years, the Turkish Süper Lig has been favourable to home-grown coaches… but not so much for successful western European coaches.

Why? Well, one line of thought is that Turkish fans are notoriously impatient.

And some think that Turkish managers are better at dealing with these short-term expectations than outsiders.

So, thanks to These Football Times, let’s take a quick look at the big names who’ve failed to jump the hurdle of the Turkish top flight…

• Vincent del Bosque in 2004. With two Champions Leagues to his name, he won just one of his opening seven league games with Beşiktaş and was subsequently sacked.

• Luis Aragonés in 2008. After guiding Spain to a European Championship, he finished fourth with Galatasaray and was sacked.

• Frank Rijkaard in 2009. Arriving with a Champions League and deemed an “excellent choice”, he was sacked by Galatasaray in his second season after a poor start domestically.

• Roberto Mancini in 2013. After Galatasaray’s 1-0 defeat to bottom-of-the-league Kayserispor, the fans quickly called for Mancini’s sacking…

… Fatih Terim then returned and won four league titles in as many seasons.

Put simply, success elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate in the Turkish league.

But, hey, Mourinho is the special one after all. If anyone’s going to do it, Fenerbahçe (and Jose) will be hoping he’ll be the one.

Either way… expect lots of emotion because it has already started.

Off The Pitch

💍 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch marries his fifth wife in a California vineyard (More)

🧬 An immunotherapy drug that “melts away” tumours dramatically increases the chances of curing bowel cancer and may even replace the need for surgery (More)

🦷 Japanese dentists have figured out a way to regrow teeth in animals - and the first human trial is just a few months away (More)

🦕 Colorado dinosaur hunter is set to make millions after finding an almost complete 150-million-year-old stegosaurus skeleton (More)

😂 A judge was shocked that a defendant, who has a suspended driver’s license, joined a court hearing while driving his car (Watch) 

🎾 Novak Djokovic came through a five-set epic against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open, which ended at 3:07 local time (More)

Picture of the Day

One of the greatest midfielders of all time. Toni Kroos announced he would retire from football after playing for Germany at Euro 2024 this summer. The 34-year-old’s last club game saw him clinch his sixth Champions League winners’ medal - five with Madrid and one with Bayern Munich. Kross vehemently rejects ending his career in the Saudi Pro League, branding the choice of other players as “a decision for the money and against football.”

Around The Football World

🇪🇸 Former Barcelona player Gerard Piqué is under official investigation for his alleged involvement in illegal payments to Saudi Arabia (More)

🇺🇸 Borussia Dortmund legend Marco Reus is set to make a move to the MLS after leaving the German giants (More)

🇺🇸 Emma Hayes got off to a winning start as United States manager with a dominant 4-0 victory over South Korea in a friendly (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 A Swansea City official, Huw Lake, has been suspended for 12 months after betting 130 times on his team to lose - as well as placing 2,476 other bets (More)

🇩🇪 Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich speaks out against the “absolutely racist” survey which found that 1 in 5 would prefer more white players on the national team (More)

🌍 FIFA issued new rules on Friday to help female players and coaches during pregnancy by extending maternity cover to adoptive parents (More)

Extra Time

Irn-bru’s hilarious Scotland promotion video ahead of the Euros.

Wayne Rooney has chosen his greatest-ever England player.

Gillingham announce their big new signing… outside Costa Coffee and dramatic music.

WhoScored release their European Team of the Season.

Is Marco van Basten’s goal against the Soviet Union in the 1988 final the best Euro goal of all time?

Emiliano Martinez explains what went through his head when he saved Kolo Muani’s chance in the World Cup final.

Game Face On

Question: Which club is the only professional team in Britain with a 'J' in their name?

Hint: Think Perth.

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Friendlies: Gibraltar vs Scotland (17:45 BST)

Friendlies: Croatia vs North Macedonia (18:00 BST)

Friendlies: England vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (19:45 BST, Channel 4)

Friendlies: Germany vs Ukraine (19:45 BST)

TENNIS

French Open: Day 9 (9:30 / 10:00 BST, Discovery+ & Eurosport)

CRICKET

ICC T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka vs South Adria (15:00 BST, Sky Sports Cricket)

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

Answer: Saint Johnstone. 

Hottest Take of the Day

Our latest segment is your football hot takes. Submit your Hot Take of the Day here and our favourites will be featured here with a shout-out.