Prem takeover incoming

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering the best-run clubs in Britain, Everton’s takeover deal and much more.

STATS

UEFA Conference League: Chelsea vs Servette (20:00 BST)

→ Chelsea have lost their last two games against Swiss opposition in Europe, losing twice to Basel in the 2013-14 Champions League.

→ This will be Servette’s first competitive match against English opponents since 1974 when they played Derby County in the UEFA Cup.

Plus…

• Amazon Prime Video in discussion to purchase the Liverpool documentary series which captured Jurgen Klopp’s final season (More)

• Chelsea complete the signing of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid in a deal worth £46.3mn, while Gallagher has moved in the opposite direction for £36m (More)

• Fulham have reached an agreement in principle with Crystal Palace to sign Joachim Andersen for around £30mn (More)

BEST-RUN CLUB INDEX

Spurs named best-run club in England, Celtic take top spot overall

Tottenham Hotspur were today named as England’s best-run football club, per the Fair Game Index.

Spurs were given an overall score of 68.2 out of 100 but were overshadowed by reigning Scottish Premiership champions Celtic - who achieved a score of 80.6.

Upgrading the Index: The Fair Game Index now examines 206 clubs - from 92 - including the top four divisions in the men’s game in England, as well as the National League, the National League North, the National League South, and the top four divisions in Scotland.

Clubs are rated on 226 touchpoints spread across: financial sustainability, good governance, equality and ethical standards, and fan and community engagement.

Scottish Premiership leads by example

The Scottish top-flight are the best-performing clubs in the Index with seven Scottish Premiership sides featuring within the top 10.

• With a score of 65.4, Manchester United are the only other side that features within the top 10 from the Premier League.

• Impressively, League One club Cambridge United beat all clubs outside of the Premier League to be the third best-run club in the country, finishing 10th in the overall ranking - a result of the club’s good governance and high fan engagement.

But half of the top 20 best-run clubs in England come from the Premier League. 

The Index has a wider purpose

Fair Game supports an independent football regulator, arguing that it will improve governance and ensure issues around equality and ethics are resolved.

“Football in England needs a truly independent regulator that can oversee good governance, re-shape football’s financial flow,” CEO of Fair Game, Niall Couper, told Route One. “The Fair Game Index can help establish a fairer financial flow which rewards clubs that are well-run, not simply paying out to those closest to the top of the pyramid.” 

Zooming out: While some fans are sceptical of an independent regulator, it’s almost inevitable. With this, understanding the landscape - what makes a ‘well-run’ club and the opposite - will give the incoming regulator the best chance of being effective.

POLL

HEAD START

🚫 Raheem Sterling exiled from first-team training. The England winger will now have to work separately as part of a group of unwanted players at the club’s training base, including a group of “more than 15” players. Sterling has also lost his number 7 shirt in favour of new signing Pedro Neto. The exiled group includes left-back Ben Chilwell, who has been told he can leave the club before the end of the transfer window. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said: “If they are looking for minutes, then it is better if they leave” and that Sterling doesn’t fit his plans because he prefers “different kinds of wingers”.

🖥️ Cristiano Ronaldo breaks YouTube record. Cristiano Ronaldo has launched a YouTube channel, and more than a million subscribers signed up within the first 90 minutes - a new record for the platform. The channel - called “UR” - will see the 39-year-old discuss football, as well as his other interests, “including family, wellness, nutrition, preparation, recovery, education and business.”

🔒City closing in on signing Gundogan. Ilkay Gundogan has said goodbye to all his Barcelona teammates after accepting to leave the club on a free transfer. Manchester City are expecting to welcome back their former captain today on a one-year contract plus the option of a further year in principle. Gundogan made 304 appearances and scored 60 goals in his time at City as he won 12 major trophies, including five Premier League titles and the Champions League.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Everton takeover agreement expected by end of week

American entrepreneur John Textor is expected to agree a deal to takeover Everton by the end of the week, per The Guardian.

Last week, Textor was given a period of exclusivity to pursue the purchase of Farhad Moshiri’s majority stake in Everton. 

Crystal Palace conflict

For the deal to go ahead, Textor will have to sell his 45% stake in Crystal Palace, which he holds through his Eagle Football Group. Premier League rules don’t allow ownership of two clubs in the same division.

Interest in relieving Textor of his Palace shares is coming thick and fast:

• An offer came from Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who already own 18% stakes in Palace, for around £100m is understood to have been rejected.

• Three other investors are believed to have expressed an interest in buying Textor’s shares, including one from the Middle East and another said to be a sports-celebrity-backed group from the US.

The conflict of interest will delay his takeover: But Textor is confident that arranging a financing deal for Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock could allow him to delay completing the takeover until as late as January.

Getting back on trend

More than 30 clubs, down to Carlisle United in the fourth tier of the English football pyramid, are owned by American investors.

But some critics say that American investors are no longer interested in Premier League clubs as much as they were. They point to Spurs, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United trying to sell minority stakes for months without success.

One consultant told Bloomberg that the Premier League has a “great product, but it’s not a business”.

An insider view: Textor is jumping ship to another - riskier - Premier League club. Perhaps this shows that the English top flight is still an attractive investment for American investors.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🇲🇦 2030 World Cup: Morocco has released images as part of the plans to build their world’s biggest football stadium which could host the 2030 World Cup final (More)

🌏 Asia Women’s Champions League: The first Asia Women’s Champions League gets underway this weekend with 21 teams from 21 countries (More)

🇩🇪 German national team: Despite stating his desire to stay with the German national team earlier this week, Manuel Neuer has decided to retire from international football at 38 (More)

🇮🇹 Serie A: The Italian top-flight general assembly has disclosed new agreements with broadcasters including OneFootball in the UK, Fox Deportes (Spanish-language coverage) in the US, and TV4 (Sweden) and MTV (Finland) in Scandinavia (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 League One: Blackpool FC announce that Neil Critchley has been relieved of his duties as Head Coach following back-to-back losses (More)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PFA Player of the Year. Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw was named PFA Player of the Year after a standout 2023-24 Women’s Super League campaign.

She ended the season as the league’s top scorer with 21 goals - including three hat-tricks - and three assists in just 18 appearances; in a 22-game season. She becomes the third City player to receive the award, with Lucy Bronze and Izzy Christiansen as previous club winners.

Grace Clinton was voted PFA Young Player of the Year for her loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur. The 21-year-old midfielder scored four goals and assisted four in 20 league appearances.

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Does Gundogan start in Manchester City's best XI?

Routers voted that Gundogan slots straight into Pep Guardiola’s starting XI.

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🌟 Absolutely... (85.7%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🚫 Nope he doesn't get a look in... (14.3%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🌟 J G C voted ‘Absolutely’: ““Apart from being one of the best midfielders in the world he would fit in again and bring some more trophies home.”

• 🌟 F S voted ‘Absolutely’: “Even as an Arsenal fan I can say that Gundogan is one of the most underrated centre-mids the Premier League has seen. He had a brilliant season with Barca and he’s still a top player. Good to have him back in the Prem - even though it adds more pressure on us!”

• 🚫 Q R voted ‘Nope’: “Unfortunately, we've evolved in the past 12 months, with Foden and De Bruyne being forward of Rodri, the entire "spine" of the team is unstoppable. However, Gundo would be a useful addition to relieve the pressure on Rodri, letting him rest during ‘easier’ games.”

EXTRA TIME

All the new Premier League goal animations.

An Arsenal fan uncovers a letter he received from George Graham dated 23 Dec 1994.

Arda Turan is just as passionate from the stands as he is from the dugout.

Bale’s best-ever Premier League volley was 13 years ago.

What a referee sees before kick-off.

Burnley’s announcement video for Bashi Humphreys is something special.

Breakout players to watch in Europe this season.

Cesar Azpilicueta doesn’t leave Conor Gallagher alone in training so he can translate.

Long read: Why is Fabrizio Romano doing PR work for Mason Greenwood?

Podcast: Rafa Benitez features on The Overlap.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Cole Palmer is the third Chelsea player to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Who were the previous two winners?

Clue: 2004 & 2014.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

FOOTBALL

UEFA Europa League - Play-offs

• Full fixture list can be found here.

UEFA Conference League - Play-offs

• Full fixture list can be found here.

EFL League Two

• Notts County vs Grimsby Town (20:00 BST)

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

Answer

Scott Parker (2004)

Eden Hazard (2014)