Prem cooking up

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering football’s financial health check, the demand for overseas games and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

Here’s a fun fact: the world’s oldest professional footballer Kazuyoshi Miura joins Japanese fourth-tier side Atletico Suzuka Club on loan at age 57.

All feedback read at [email protected].

Head Start

The Premier League breaks more records, report finds

The Premier League registered a record-breaking £6.1 billion in collective revenue in the 2022/23 season - an 11% increase on the previous year.

And, in case you were worried about players’ living standards, total wages in the Premier League rose by 10%, surpassing a whopping £4 billion for the first time…

… ahh panic averted.

And there’s more good news as the report finds a 50% increase in revenue across the 12 teams in the Women’s Super League. Revenues are expected to hit £68 million by 2024/25.

But, despite the positives from the report, Deloitte’s annual health check shows some shortcomings…

• Combined losses are up. Wages and player transfers meant that Premier League clubs saw a 16% increase in losses in the 2022/23 season.

• EFL sustainability concerns. Yes, Championship wages fell below total revenues for the first time since 2016/17 but not a single club in the second tier made an operating profit before player trading. 

• Rising ticket prices. The “majority of clubs increased their ticket prices” which has helped increase matchday revenue by 14%... 

(… but matchday revenue has also increased because of the focus on fan experiences.)

The English top flight isn’t the only league that’s thriving. The German Bundesliga and Serie A have recorded the largest average growth (22%) over the previous season as fans return to stadiums.

But the gap between the Premier League and the rest of Europe is set to widen by 7% by 2024/25. 

Format changes to European competitions, higher ticket prices (boo!), stadium capacity and international broadcast deals are expected to help the Premier League smash revenues.

In short… it’s a great time to be a footballer (wages), but still a tough time being an owner (wages).

Plus…

Liverpool announces a multi-year partnership with Japan Airlines, with the airline becoming the club’s official airline partner (More)

Manchester United expect goalkeeper Mary Earps to leave amid an attractive offer from Paris Saint-Germain (More)

The autopsy of late former Wimbledon and Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear showed his brain was affected by dementia believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head (More)

Marseille have agreed a deal in principle to appoint former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach (More)

Stats Zone

Georgia vs Portugal (Today at 20:00 BST)

→ This will be just the second meeting ever between the nations, with Portugal coming out on top with a 2-0 friendly win in May 2008.

→ Portugal have now won more group matches than they had across the 2016 and 2020 editions combined (W1 D4 L1).

→ If he plays, Cristiano Ronaldo will make his 50th appearance at a major international tournament.

Group D: Netherlands 2 - 3 Austria (Highlights)

→ Austria top Group D after winning consecutive Euros games for the first time, winning four of their last six group-stage matches in the competition.

→ Netherlands lost their first group stage game at the UEFA European Championships since 2012 against Portugal (2-1).

→ Netherlands’ Donyell Malen’s own goal after five minutes 48 seconds was the earliest in Euros history.

Group C: England 0 - 0 Slovenia (Highlights)

→ England have won their group in both Euros campaigns under Gareth Southgate, as many times as they’d topped the group in their previous eight appearances in the competition.

→ This was England’s seventh 0-0 draw at the Euros (41st game).

→ Slovenia (57th) are the lowest-ranked side England have ever faced in a match at a major tournament.

Yesterday’s results:

Group C: England 0 - 0 Slovenia | Denmark 0 - 0 Serbia (Highlights)

Group D: Netherlands 2 - 3 Austria | France 1 - 1 Poland (Highlights)

Matches Abroad

Birmingham City want to bring games to the U.S., but Wrexham denies involvement

Birmingham City have raised the idea of playing their League One fixture against Wrexham in the United States next season…

… should it go ahead, it would be the first competitive English fixture to take place outside of England and Wales.

(Side note: both clubs have American owners. NFL legend Tom Brady is a minority shareholder at Birmingham and actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney co-own Wrexham.)

No formal request has been made by Birmingham… 

… that’s because Birmingham have reportedly been given the *nudge nudge wink wink* that the English Football League (EFL) will reject their suggestion.

And Wrexham’s owners said yesterday that they haven’t been involved in the conversations in response to angry posts on social media…

But, that doesn’t mean that a match abroad is not getting closer to becoming a reality. Another American Tom Werner, Liverpool’s chairman, told the Financial Times that he’s “determined one day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City”. 

America’s TV giant NBC, who is the Premier League’s most lucrative broadcast partner, has pushed for “a couple” of matches of the opening weekend to be played across the pond.

And FIFA isn’t taking the growing demand (and allure of a little extra moolah) lightly as they set up a working group to consider moving domestic matches abroad.

Without sounding like a doctor prescribing medicine, you have to weigh up the pros and cons of taking such action. Yes, it brings more eyeballs (and money) to the English game. But at what cost to its die-hard fans?

Off The Pitch

😬 The world’s biggest record labels are suing two AI start-ups over alleged copyright violations (More)

🚨 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been freed after five years in prison (More)

👑 King Charles III welcome the visiting Japanese emperor and empress (More)

🌍 The EU has launched membership talks with Moldova and Ukraine (More)

🤔 Oxford University has announced it is to hand back a 500-year-old sculpture of a Hindu saint to India (More)

Yesterday’s Poll

Yesterday we asked you: Should Gallagher start over Alexander-Arnold?

The majority of Routers voted ‘Yes’ Gallagher should start over TAA.

👍 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 Yes... 72%

🚫 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ No... 28%

Your punditry takes:

• 👍 James M voted ‘Yes’: “Leave both out and play Foden and Bellingham ahead of Rice in midfield. Then put Gordon on the left and leave everything else as it is. Alternatively, change the formation to a 3-5-2. Walker, Stones and Guehi at the back, Saka and Gordon on the wings, Rice and Gallagher in midfield with Bellingham just ahead, then have Kane and Foden up front (Foden as more of a false 9/10 role).”

• 👍 Graham B voted ‘Yes’: “Geoff Hurst wasn’t exactly everyone’s first choice in 1966 and look what happened there!”

• 👍 A Porges voted ‘Yes’: “Gallagher offers more as a midfielder, breaks up play and can tackle. TAA is not good enough as a midfielder, the occasional 50-yard long ball doesn’t cut it.”

• 🚫 B Sullivan voted ‘No’: “A-A should be replaced by a creative midfielder. I would start Mainoo or Wharton.”

Around The Football World

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is one of the names being considered to succeed Rob Page as Wales manager (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Everton have agreed a fee for Marseille’s Iliman Ndiaye, while Bayern Munich have an interest in Everton midfielder Amadou Onana (More) 

🇭🇷 Croatia captain Luka Modric. 38, said he will continue playing for his country despite their elimination from the Euros following their 1-1 draw with Italy on Monday (More)

🇳🇱 Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem have had their professional license revoked by the Royal Dutch Football Association, effectively barring the club from competing in the 2024/25 season. The club failed to meet financial and regulatory requirements, but they will appeal (More)

🇩🇪 A poll of almost 140,000 German fans found that 90% wanted Havertz dropped from the starting lineup and replaced by Nicolas Fullkrug (More)

Extra Time

Five names you may be mispronouncing at Euro 2024.

Frank Lampard sets the record straight about his foot massages to fall asleep.

This Argentinian fan has the best Lionel Messi impression.

The time when Roy Keane turned down an offer from Real Madrid.

When Cristiano Ronaldo told Chiesa to get off his phone and work.

Lamine Yamal’s touch against Albania is the best of the tournament so far.

Game Face On

Question: Which country has lost a Euros final it hosted and won a final it hosted?

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Euro 2024: Ukraine vs Belgium (17:00 BST)

Euro 2024: Slovakia vs Romania (17:00 BST)

Euro 2024: Czech Republic vs Turkey (20:00 BST)

Euro 2024: Georgia vs Portugal (20:00 BST)

Copa America: Ecuador vs Jamaica (23:00 BST)

Copa America: Venezuela vs Mexico (02:00 BST)

CRICKET

One Day International: England Women vs New Zealand Women (13:00 BST)

ICC T20 World Cup: Semi-final 1 (01:00 BST)

TENNIS

Wimbledon: Wimbledon Qualifying (11:00 BST)

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

Answer

France. They won the final as hosts in 1984 and lost as hosts in 2016.

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day is: The false nine tactic is overused and overrated. Big, burly strikers like Füllkrug or Adàm are much more effective and more fun to watch. Thanks to Nou from Switzerland for the entry. Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.