PFA squad crackdown

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering the PFA’s fight against bomb squads, Ronaldo’s retirement plans and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

TONIGHT’S STATS

La Liga, Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol. Atletico Madrid have taken four points from two, whereas newly promoted Espanyol have lost both their opening games. Carabao Cup, West Ham United vs Bournemouth. The Hammers are unbeaten in six clashes with the Cherries, with Bournemouth claiming victory in only one of six visits to the London Stadium. Carabao Cup, Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle United. This is the fifth League Cup tie between the pair, with Newcastle victorious in the first two (1974 and 2011), while Forest have prevailed in the last two (2017 and 2023). Full Carabao Cup fixtures tonight here.

Plus…

• Premier League Matchweek 3 officials announced (More)

• Carabao Cup new format and new draw explained (More)

• Chelsea make a move to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney (More)

• Man United hold talks with Chelsea over Raheem Sterling (More)

• Brighton complete the move of Ferdi Kadioglu from Fenerbahce (More)

PREMIER LEAGUE

PFA pushing to stop ‘bomb squad’ strategy for forcing player exits

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) wants to put an end to ‘bomb squads’, per Mail and confirmed by The Athletic.

Bomb squad: When ‘unwanted’ players are forced to train away for the first-team squad in a bid to force them to leave the club. 

During this transfer window, Chelsea have received the most scrutiny after telling Raheem Sterling and Ben Chillwell to leave or ‘struggle’ at the club. The Blues had as many as 13 players in their bomb squad - Conor Gallagher was eventually ousted to Atletico Madrid, while Chelsea have U-turned on Trevoh Chalobah, who was initially banned from using first-team facilities.

Diffusing bomb squads

In 2021, FIFA confirmed its regulations on the issue and Article 14 (2) that forcing a player to train on their own may result in a club engaging in “abusive conduct”. Some experts have argued that this strategy from clubs breaks UK employment law.

The PFA first held talks with the Premier League and English Football League in 2020 but any meaningful action failed to materialise. Ultimately, it’s hard to prove that a club is acting out of line; a manager can argue that they simply don’t think the player is good enough. 

Now, the PFA is increasing pressure on the Premier League and FIFA due to the rise of the practice. It argues that the League’s Handbook is too vague on the issue but the Premier League feel this is an area governed by FIFA - and not them.

Old habits die hard - and only time will tell if this issue is ever resolved.

POLL

HEAD START

✍️ Man Utd agree to sign PSG midfielder. Manchester United have agreed to sign Manuel Ugarte from PSG with an initial fee of £42.2mn; performance-related add-ons could make the deal worth as much as £50.7mn. The Uruguayan midfielder - often compared to N’Golo Kante - led the top flight of French football in tackles last season (98), despite only starting 21 games. More analysis on Ugarte here.

🔴 Arsenal sign Real Sociedad midfielder. Mikel Merino becomes Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer for a fee of £27.4mm with a further £4.2mn in add-ons. The 28-year-old won more duels than any other player in Europe’s top-five leagues last season and featured in every one of Spain’s matches as they won Euro 2024. 

🍼 Guide launched for footballers coming back after childbirth. FIFPro has released fresh guidelines for new mothers in football, including details of how they can return to full training and elite performance. Female footballers and mothers were consulted to create the guidelines. The average contract length for a female professional globally is just one year - but now FIFPro is pushing clubs for automatic contract extensions for pregnant women, as introduced by AC Milan.

SAUDI PRO LEAGUE

Ronaldo planning retirement at Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo says he plans to retire from football in ‘two or three years’, stating that Al-Nassr will likely be the final club of his career, per Portuguese outlet NOW.

The 39-year-old is still delivering for his club, having scored 62 goals and assisted 17 in 68 appearances. 

While Ronaldo said Euro 2024 was his last, he will represent Portugal in the Nations League next month and he’s not given up hope of playing at the World Cup in 2026 - then aged 41.

Planning retirement

It’s hard to picture one of the greatest players ever becoming a YouTuber but it might just be Ronaldo’s reality after retirement. A week after launching his YouTube channel - UR Cristiano - he has 48.9 million subscribers, breaking almost every growth record on the platform.

Management off the cards: When asked if he would consider management he said that he’s “never thought about it” but it’s not something he sees himself doing in future.

On Thursday - during the Champions League league phase draw - Ronaldo will be recognised at the ceremony for his achievements in the tournament. His 140 Champions League goals in 183 appearances put him 11 goals clear of Lionel Messi and 46 ahead of third-placed Robert Lewandowski.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🇸🇦 Saudi Pro League: Al-Hilal have signed Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo in a deal worth £21mn (More) | Al-Hilal have reached an agreement with Bayern Munich for the signing of Kingsley Coman (More) / in French

🇮🇹 Serie A: Thiago Motta’s strong start continues as Dusan Vlahovic nets a brace to make it two from two for Juventus; the club’s first away win since January (More)

🇵🇹 Liga Portugal: Arsenal midfielder Fabio Vieira has returned to his former club Porto on loan (More)

🇨🇱 Chile: Former Barcelona, Real Sociedad and Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, 41, announces his retirement (More)

🇵🇱 Poland: Former Arsenal and Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, 34, has announced his retirement (More)

WEEKDAY RESULTS ROUND-UP

Champions League qualifiers

Galatasaray 0 - 1 Young Boys. Galatasaray fail to score at home, and Young Boys advance after winning 4-2 across both legs. Sparta Praha 2 - 0 Malmö. Sparta advance to the 36-team league phase with a 4-0 aggregate win over Malmö. Salzburg 1 - 1 Dynamo Kyiv. Salzburg hold Dynamo Kyiv to a draw at home and advance to the league phase, winning 3-1 on aggregate.

Carabao Cup 

Brighton 4 - 0 Crawley Town. The Seagulls advance but new signing Matt O’Riley was left injured nine minutes into his debut. Crystal Palace 4 - 0 Norwich. Jean-Philippe Mateta bagged a brace and an assist, and Eberechi Eze scored and assisted. Everton, Fulham and Leicester are through to the third round. The Blues ran out 3-0 winners over Doncaster Rovers, Fulham won 2-0 against Birmingham and Leicester comfortably won 4-0 over Tranmere Rovers. Full Carabao Cup results here.

La Liga

Barcelona 2 - 1 Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona came from behind to go three for three in the league; Dani Olmo scored the winner on his debut. Mallorca 0 - 0 Sevilla. Both sides remain winless in their opening three games.

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: How do you rate this summer transfer window?

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🤩 It's one to remember... (14.4%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😴 Meh. It's a bit of a snooze-fest... (75.68%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🤩 S.M: “As a Brighton fan, it's the biggest spend in the transfer market; all thanks to Chelsea; big players coming in without losing anyone (so far) from the squad of last year, even with injuries, it seems our squad is going to be large enough and full of talent to fight for European places. Mega excited.”

• 😴 D.Q: “I support Crystal Palace they have sold I think 4/5 players amongst those were our star group of players you could say we have been decimated, you do worry for the club.”

• 😴 J.T: “It’s nothing to write home about!”

EXTRA TIME

Liverpool unveil new third kit with vertical Nike logo… 

… and so have Tottenham Hotspur.

Dorking Wanderers manager with the best post-match interview you’ll see all week.

Roy Keane explains his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson now.

Manuel Ugarte won’t be Man Utd’s answer to Rodri but what does he provide?

Five players who returned to clubs where they starred.

When Dennis Bergkamp scored one of the best Premier League hat-tricks of all time.

Fantasy Premier League: FPL player price changes - rises, falls and top transfers for Gameweek 3.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Erling Haaland has scored 7 Premier League hat-tricks, equalling Wayne Rooney’s tally. How many players can you name with more Premier League hat-tricks?

Clue: There are six.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Carabao Cup - 2nd Round

• Wolves vs Burnley (19:30 BST)

• Wimbledon vs Ipswich (19:45 BST)

• Cardiff vs Southampton (19:45 BST)

• Colchester vs Brentford (19:45 BST)

• Swansea vs Wycombe (19:45 BST)

• West Ham vs Bournemouth (19:45 BST)

• Nott’m Forest vs Newcastle (20:00 BST)

Champions League - Play-offs

• Qarabağ vs Dinamo Zagreb (Agg 0 - 3) (17:45 BST)

• Crvena zvezda vs Bodø/Glimt (Agg 1 - 2) (20:00 BST)

• Slavia vs Lille (Agg 0 - 2) (20:00 BST)

• Slovan vs Midtjylland (Agg 1 - 1) (20:00 BST)

La Liga

• Athletic Club vs Valencia (18:00 BST)

• Valladolid vs Leganés (18:00 BST)

• Atlético vs Espanyol (20:30 BST) 

• Real Sociedad vs Alavés (20:30 BST)

German DFB Pokal - 1st Round

• Jena vs Bayer Leverkusen (17:00 BST)

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

Answer

• Sergio Agüero – 12

• Alan Shearer – 11

• Robbie Fowler – 9

• Harry Kane – 8

• Michael Owen – 8

• Thierry Henry – 8