Find a Football Team

• Bright won eight Women’s Super League titles at Chelsea

• Defender retired from England duty in 2025 with 88 caps

Millie Bright has announced her immediate retirement, ending a trophy-laden career during which she won eight Women’s Super League titles and six Women’s FA Cups with Chelsea.

The defender, who retired from international football in 2025, also helped England win the 2022 European Championship on home soil, and in 2023 – in the absence of the injured captain Leah Williamson – led the side to the World Cup final. She won 88 caps.

• A record nine goals in semi-final first leg

• ‘We fought and we’re back in the tie,’ says Harry Kane

Luis Enrique called it “the best match I have ever coached”. Vincent Kompany called it “unbelievable”. Marquinhos said it was “crazy”. Harry Kane took a different tack, choosing instead to praise the defending on show after Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-4 defeat of Bayern Munich, the most goal-laden Champions League semi-final first leg ever staged, and perhaps also the most relentlessly exciting.

“It was amazing,” Luis Enrique said. “It had amazing rhythm, trying to play offensive football, trying to show their quality. I think everybody had fun watching the match. I’m happy because we won.”

The then Newcastle manager’s on-air blast at Sir Alex Ferguson remains a classic Premier League moment

Premier League history is littered with red letter days and Monday 29 April 1996 will for ever rank among the most memorable. Thirty years on, recollections of the aftermath of Newcastle’s 1-0 victory at Leeds remain vivid. Keith Gillespie’s goal saw Kevin Keegan’s team move three points behind the leaders, Manchester United, with two fixtures remaining.

Before Newcastle’s visit to Elland Road, Sir Alex Ferguson craftily suggested that Leeds and Nottingham Forest – the team Keegan’s players would visit three days later – would not try as hard as they had against his own side. Ferguson also pointedly reminded everyone Newcastle had agreed to provide the opposition for Stuart Pearce’s testimonial by the Trent later in the year. This backdrop dictated that Keegan used a live post-match television interview with Richard Keys and Andy Gray of Sky Sports to claim the moral high ground while also walking straight into Ferguson’s psychological trap.

Youngest son of Diego Simeone has had to earn his chance but is now making the most of it at the Metropolitano

At the beginning of the final training session before their biggest game in a decade, Atlético Madrid’s players lined up by the centre circle at the Metropolitano and waited for their coach to come. Diego Simeone arrived and ran through the middle of them, from Juan Musso and Jan Oblak at one end to Antoine Griezmann and Ademola Lookman at the other. As he passed, head down, they cheered and hit him – if not quite as hard as they do when it’s a player’s turn. Gauntlet run, applause echoed round the empty stadium. Happy birthday, mister.

Simeone turned 56 on Tuesday. He has spent almost 20 of those here: first as the captain who won the double, then the coach who lifted Atlético’s next league title, 18 years on, and now leads them into his fourth and their seventh European Cup semi-final, nine years since the last. What do you get the man who has it all? “Buah! You can’t imagine how good it is to be in the four best teams in Europe,” he said after the quarter-final; “I have no birthday wish,” he said before this semi-final, “just pure gratitude to be able to be with my three sons on my birthday, with my two daughters, my mum, my wife, my lifelong friends.”

Classic Football Shirts have been in business for 20 years, selling over one million shirts (so far) and keeping the most iconic match-worn pieces in their temperature-controlled vault. Michael Butler travelled to Manchester to meet the CFS founders

• Teams should now be exempt from US federal taxes

• Many will still have to pay US state and city tax

Fifa is poised to secure a last-minute tax exemption for all 48 World Cup qualifiers after intensive negotiations with the US treasury.

After months of lobbying Fifa has secured a significant breakthrough that should result in the national associations being exempt from federal taxes, although many will still have to pay state and city tax on their World Cup earnings.

• St Pauli captain says decision undermines the sport as force for good

• Socceroos veteran is on track for third World Cup appearance

World Cup-bound Socceroos midfielder Jackson Irvine has taken aim at Fifa and the US over the governing body’s awarding of a peace prize to President Donald Trump, heightening tensions ahead of a tournament already weighed down by geopolitical pressures and controversial pricing.

Irvine has previously captained Australia and is on track to appear at his third World Cup after recovering from a foot injury. As a member of the global players’ union Fifpro, Irvine holds a senior advocacy role.

Plus: dramatic late drops into the relegation zone, the Italia 90 XI and teams wearing away kits in finals

• Mail us with your all of your questions and answers

“York City won the National League, and achieved promotion to the EFL, thanks to a goal from Josh Stones in the 103rd minute of their final game,” writes Eddie Giles. “Which players have scored the latest title-winning goals?”

In case you’ve been at a digital detox retreat for the past few days, York’s Josh Stones scored a 103rd-minute equaliser at Rochdale on Saturday to win the title and secure promotion to League Two. Had Stones not scored, Emmanuel Dieseruvwe’s 95th-minute strike would have won the title for Rochdale.

• Ifab has not mandated the change for other competitions

• Decision follows Prestianni and Afcon final controversies

Any player who covers their mouth when confronting an opponent or who leaves the pitch in protest at a refereeing decision could receive a straight red card at this summer’s World Cup.

In a regulation change approved by the International Football Association Board (Ifab) ahead of Thursday’s Fifa Congress in Vancouver it was confirmed that the new protocols will be in place for the tournament, which begins in June.

The Brighton and Nigeria goalkeeper is highly critical of the decision to push back Wafcon, but still has hope for the future of the women’s game in Africa

Chiamaka Nnadozie has, at the age of 25, earned her place in the pantheon of African goalkeepers alongside legends such as Cameroon’s Thomas N’Kono and Morocco’s Zaki Badou.

Nnadozie featured at her first World Cup finals for Nigeria at 18, then played at the 2023 tournament and is the only goalkeeper to have won the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf’s) Golden Gloves award three times on the trot: in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Nnadozie, a reigning Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) champion, is delighted and amazed that she has come so far, so quickly.

The Crystal Palace manager delivered the club’s first major trophy and could add a European title this season. But a bigger team will present fresh challenges

When Oliver Glasner took over from Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace in February 2024, the club was in a desperate situation. The lack of an identity and coherent strategy at all levels soured Hodgson’s tenure. Transfers that hadn’t worked out, injuries, and lackluster tactics meant they were only a few points above the relegation zone.

Glasner helped spark a revival. Not only did he preside over a return to mid-table stability, he also helped deliver memories through FA Cup success that will live on with Palace fans for years. His achievements at Selhurst Park make him one of the most intriguing managerial free agents when he leaves his post at the end of the season, although he is not without his faults.

Our editors’ favourite sporting images from the past week, from the spectacular to the powerful, and with a little bit of fun thrown in

Kick off your afternoon with the Guardian’s take on the world of football

Every weekday, we’ll deliver a roundup the football news and gossip in our own belligerent, sometimes intelligent and – very occasionally – funny way. Still not convinced? Find out what you’re missing here.

Try our other sports emails: there’s weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown, and our seven-day round-up of the best of our sports journalism in The Recap.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

Get our roundup of women’s football for free twice a week, featuring the insights of experts such as Ada Hegerberg and Magdalena Eriksson

Join us as we delve deeper into the wonderful world of women’s football in our weekly newsletter. It is informative, entertaining, global, critical – when needed – and, above all, passionate. Written mainly by Júlia Belas Trindade and Sophie Downey, expect guest appearances from stars such as Anita Asante, Ada Hegerberg and many more.

Try our other sports emails: as well as the occasionally funny football email The Fiver from Monday to Friday, there are weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown, and our seven-day roundup of the best of our sports journalism in The Recap.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action

Subscribe to get our editors’ pick of the Guardian’s award-winning sport coverage. We’ll email you the stand-out features and interviews, insightful analysis and highlights from the archive, plus films, podcasts, galleries and more – all arriving in your inbox at every Friday lunchtime. And we’ll set you up for the weekend and let you know our live coverage plans so you’ll be ahead of the game. Here’s what you can expect from us.

Try our other sports emails: there’s daily football news and gossip in The Fiver, and weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

• Fifa will not require squad to get approval of Taliban

• Afghan Women United was formed after 2021 takeover

Fifa has given permission for Afghan Women United, a squad composed of refugees scattered around the world in Australia, the Middle East and Europe, to represent Afghanistan in official competitions without requiring the approval of the Taliban.

In a significant regulation change to be approved by the Fifa Council today, Afghan Women will be permitted to compete as the official Afghanistan national team for the first time, against the wishes of the country’s government.

• Captain confident team can handle pressure and learn

• Havertz unavailable but Eze part of Arsenal’s squad

Martin Ødegaard has accepted that Arsenal will remain open to criticism until they shed their nearly-men reputation and is confident the club are primed to do precisely that this season.

The captain cut a convincing figure on the eve of Wednesday night’s ­Champions League semi-final first leg at ­Atlético Madrid, insisting he and his ­teammates were ready to respond to the lessons of the past and deliver silverware.

The Championship’s automatic promotion race will go down to the final day. Ipswich’s plans of ­reducing Millwall’s hopes to an unlikely mathematical scenario and eliminating Middlesbrough’s altogether were dashed at St Mary’s. A pulsating draw played amid extreme tension and the highest of stakes did for Southampton’s chances of second place.

Late bedlam saw Cyle Larin score for Southampton, leaving Kieran McKenna’s hopes of completing the job before Saturday’s finale looking bleak. A rescue mission was now required, and it arrived through Jack Clarke’s lashing late finish.

• City face crucial games on 13 May, 16 May and 19 May

• Alternative date for Palace game has been chief problem

Manchester City have been left angered by what they deem to be an end-of-season fixture pile-up that could have been avoided had the Premier League acted quicker to rearrange matches.

City face the prospect of playing three games in seven days as part of their pursuit of the Premier League title and the FA Cup. Their home league game with Crystal Palace, which was originally scheduled to take place on the weekend of March’s Carabao Cup final, will now take place on Wednesday 13 May, followed by the FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday 16 May. Pep Guardiola’s men then travel to Bournemouth, again in the league, on Tuesday 19 May.

• Sesko hails influence of veteran ‘working machine’

• Striker backs Michael Carrick to stay on as manager

Benjamin Sesko has said Casemiro will be a big loss for Manchester United next season given the influence of the “working machine” on and off the pitch at Old Trafford.

Casemiro produced another commanding display for Michael Carrick’s team on Monday when a 2-1 win over Brentford left United needing two points to secure Champions League qualification. Casemiro has announced he is leaving United after four years this summer and Carrick confirmed after the game that the decision will not be reversed.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Dan Bardell and Sam Dalling to discuss the Premier League and FA Cup action.

On the podcast today; Southampton thought they had made the FA Cup final for three glorious minutes before Manchester City’s late comeback in their Wembley semi-final. In the other semi, Chelsea – under the interim management of Calum McFarlane – beat Leeds 1-0 thanks to an Enzo Fernández header to end a run of five straight defeats.

In the Premier League, Arsenal did just enough to return to the summit as the Gunners beat Newcastle 1-0 thanks to a lovely Eberechi Eze finish, while wins for Spurs, West Ham and Nottingham Forest mean the relegation places are unchanged with four games to go.

Plus: a wild Edinburgh derby, an incredible finale in the National League and your questions answered.

Conference League semi-finals pit Ukrainian side against Premier League opposition, with the club still reeling from the affects of war

Serhii Palkin wasn’t sure whether Arda Turan, having played for Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, would be up for taking over as manager of Shakhtar Donetsk last May. The former Turkey forward had just left his first managerial post after two years at Eyüpspor in his homeland. But could he be tempted to join a club that last played at the Donbas Arena in 2014 owing to the war with Russia and has hosted its European matches in seven cities since being exiled?

“Arda is a special guy,” says Palkin, Shakhtar’s chief executive since 2004. “For him to be a coach in Turkey is being in his comfort zone. He doesn’t want to be there. When I called him, he said: ‘I want to come, I want to come. I want to sign immediately.’ He doesn’t care about the war, he’s not afraid, nothing. And he’s always using a lot of energy. You will see on Thursday evening. He’s running on the line, I think three to four kilometres every game.”

In this exclusive book extract, the former Italy goalkeeper describes a moment of crisis before a game against Reggina

If I have to identify the most important moment of this crisis, it was just before a Juventus-Reggina match in February 2004. It was an evening game. We were six points off the top of the table. There were 13 games left in the season, so anything could still happen, but there was an air of negativity, as if the season was already over. We had just had two crazy and very different games. In our previous league match, we had conceded four goals to Totti and Cassano’s Roma, while in midweek we had won the Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter at San Siro, on penalties. Although we were still in the running in the Champions League and perhaps even a little in the league, inside me I was certain that in that season everything was lost.

It was a classic winter Turin evening, wet and cold, and the stadium was half-empty. The speakers played a song that I only heard as an annoying buzz. During the warm-up I prayed and performed my usual pre-match routine, but it felt as if something was wrong with my muscles. After two minutes I put on my gloves, I stood in the goal and I realised that I was struggling to breathe. I stood there, staring at the pitch, and I felt slightly dizzy. What scared me, however, was the tightness I felt in my diaphragm, between chest and stomach, as if I had been hit.

Vincent Kompany’s team demand more of themselves than ever before. Next up: a huge test against PSG

“You’re hopelessly behind, you know there’s a big game in Paris on Tuesday. But that doesn’t matter. This game in Mainz is what counts. The coach finds the right words and the team reacts.” Bayern Munich hope that there will be games to come which define their campaign more than a straightforward win – statistically speaking – in a Bundesliga game with the title of champions already done and dusted.

Yet Max Eberl was right. In terms of finding the kernel of what has already made Bayern’s season an extraordinary one, of what might yet make it an exceptional one, this really meant something. Absorbed on paper, from a distance, it could be mistaken for more grist to the mill of uncommon numbers; keeping alive the possibility of a joint best-ever Bundesliga season in terms of points, and extending the record goalscoring season in the league campaign to a barely-believable 113 from 31 matches.

Sánchez plays long game for McFarlane, Southampton can take heart, Arteta tries to gain edge and Isak will come good

One moment from their FA Cup semi-final to Chelsea will haunt Leeds. When Tosin Adarabioyo stretched for a through ball and couldn’t quite get there, quarter of an hour in, everything seemed to slow down. There was Brenden Aaronson with just Robert Sánchez to beat, with the chance to put Leeds ahead against a side that hadn’t scored in five Premier League games and had seemingly lost all confidence. Even at the time it felt a huge moment. The US international didn’t do much wrong, but Sánchez made a fine save with his foot. That, it turned out, was the game. There were other opportunities – most notably Anton Stach’s drive that Sánchez saved spectacularly and the Dominic Calvert-Lewin header just after that, aimed straight at the keeper. They came after Chelsea had taken the lead and the emotional tone was set, though. Sometimes one chance can define a game. Jonathan Wilson

FA Cup semi-final report: Chelsea 1-0 Leeds

Jonathan Wilson: Chelsea chaos theory delivers another trophy chance

FA Cup semi-final report: Manchester City 2-1 Southampton

With 23 managerial appointments since Waldemar Kita bought Nantes in 2007, relegation beckons for Les Canaris

By Get French Football News

Back in the 1990s, Nantes were defined by their distinctive playing style, le jeu à la Nantaise, characterised by flair and attacking thrust. There was substance in addition to the style, with the Loire club winning a league title and reaching the Champions League semi-finals. The modern-day incarnation are not distinguished by anything that happens on the pitch, but more by the way they have been managed. La gestion à la Nantaise has consisted of the implementation of a revolving-door policy when it comes to managers and, in the words of their current head coach, Vahid Halilhodzic, “improvisation and incompetence at every level”. It means the eight-time Ligue 1 champions are staring down the barrel of relegation to Ligue 2.

Those comments from Halilhodzic came back in 2021, two years after leaving Nantes which, incidentally, was his last gig in club management prior to his return in March. At 73, he became the oldest person to lead a Ligue 1 side. “I’m done with football,” he said recently after a draw against Brest, and given that he had been out of work since 2022, many thought that he already was prior to his unexpected return.

From preparation to game mode, the upkeep of Wembley’s pitch is carried out to an astonishing level of perfectionism

Karl Standley and his assistant Cameron Hutcheon have gathered in their usual spot in the south-west corner of Wembley Stadium clutching hot cups of tea. Standley is a coffee devotee but on matchdays, as a nod to his mum, who enjoys a brew whatever the temperature, he mixes things up.

After every kick-off the pair gaze out at 7,140 sq metres of glistening green perfection like lions surveying their savannah. Every thinkable controllable has been controlled and, for a short time at least, the teams – this time Manchester City and Southampton – have dual custody of the Wembley pitch.

‘A giant of Spain and Europe’, Sevilla haven’t been this low this late since 1999-2000. That year, they went down. It’s very possible again

“Sometimes football is a real bastard,” Luis García said. Seven days earlier Sevilla’s coach had warned that every game was going to be “total suffering, a heart attack”, appealing for his players to have personality even as he admitted that he too had “crapped myself alive” when the opposition attacked, fear invading every thought, terrified that the hope might have been taken from them. A week later, it was, in a way that was as unthinkable as it was somehow inevitable, with a goal that left Sevilla in their darkest place for a quarter of a century. A goal that came from a throw in the 99th minute. Or the 300,000th minute, García claimed.

Nine minutes had been added at Osasuna’s El Sadar Stadium, 19 seconds of which were left and, having led 1-0 until the 80th minute, Sevilla were now clinging to a draw. A point wasn’t much but was something when Osasuna took it. García’s exhausted players didn’t react and over by the bench the manager spun on his heel and threw his hands in the air, anger and anxiety rising inside. By the time García turned back, Osasuna’s Moi Gómez had crossed, unimpeded, and on 98.46 Alejandro Catena headed the winner. Osasuna’s coach, Alessio Lisci, went leaping up the line, with safety secured and Europe a genuine possibility; Sevilla’s crossed it, García marching on to the pitch, every step a stomp, ready to grab someone, anyone.

• Gianluca Rocchi accused of pressing Serie A officials

• VAR chief also under investigation for same charge

The head of referees for Serie A and Serie B has temporarily stepped aside after being placed under investigation by prosecutors in Milan for “sporting fraud”.

Gianluca Rocchi said on Saturday that he has decided to “suspend himself” from his role as the man who assigns referees to matches in Italy’s top two divisions.

• Nikola Vlasic scores Torino equaliser in 2-2 draw

• Dortmund seal Champions League spot with 4-0 win

Champions-elect Inter were held to a 2-2 draw at Torino on Sunday, with the Serie A leaders letting slip a two-goal lead and leaving the title race ticking over with four rounds left.

Inter appeared to be cruising after Marcus Thuram put them in front in the 23rd minute and Yann Bisseck doubled their lead 16 minutes after the break with another header but Torino clawed their way back into the game.

• Stefan Mijatovic had been on probation for past behavior

• Melee occurred in Game 1 of Milwaukee-San Diego series

• Major Arena League Soccer will investigate players, fans

San Diego Sockers defender Stefan Mijatovic has been banned for life from the Major Arena Soccer League for his “severe and violent conduct” after an altercation during the first game of the league’s championship series on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.

The confrontation started at the final whistle of the Sockers’ 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Wave in Game 1 of the Ron Newman Cup, the trophy awarded to the champions of the MASL, the top flight of indoor soccer in the United States. Players from both sides clashed with each other, not an uncommon sight in the world of indoor soccer, which sometimes feels closer to hockey than the outdoor game.

The current season has become a meme-war without end, an endless rolling wall of gloat and taunt in which players and managers must try to block out the noise

In his new book, Saved, Gianluigi Buffon talks about feeling crushed by nerves even at the peak of his playing career. The day before the 2006 World Cup final Buffon and Gennaro Gattuso walked past the French squad after training and were immediately sent into a tailspin by their opponents’ intimidating size and athleticism.

“We don’t stand a chance,” Gattuso joked, not actually joking. Buffon spent most of the night smoking in the hotel corridor with half the Italy team. At breakfast nobody could speak. They turned up at the stadium already feeling exhausted.

German and French clubs are showing in the Champions League they can make the most of the benefits of not having to play in a gruelling domestic competition

Paris Saint-Germain have won 11 of the past 13 French league titles and, going into this weekend, stood four points clear of Lens at the top of Ligue 1. Bayern Munich have already wrapped up this season’s Bundesliga title, their 13th in 14 years. According to Deloitte, Bayern are the third-richest club in the world by revenue, PSG fourth.

They meet in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday as two modern super-clubs. The idea of a top-five European league feels outmoded. Rather there are the best Premier League clubs, plus perhaps five or six others of whom PSG and Bayern are the outstanding two still left in this season’s competition.

The original plans for this summer’s tournament could scarcely sound much different than what we seem to have in store

• Sign up for the World Behind The Cup newsletter

When Fifa announced that the United States would host the 2026 World Cup, everyone knew that the tournament would turn into a money-drenched political spectacle. But back in 2017, when the “United 2026 bid” advanced by the US, Mexico, and Canada was promising that “UNITED AS ONE” it would “bring the game to all,” it was hard to imagine the intensity of the capitalist hellscape and political mayhem to come. Nine years later, Donald Trump has threatened the US’s co-hosts: he has discussed making Canada the 51st state and sending US soldiers to Mexico to attack drug cartels. Meanwhile, Fifa’s avarice has been on full display in prices for tickets, parking, and demands upon cities. And it’s giving aspiring grifters a license to fleece.

The “United 2026 bid” feels like a document yanked from an archaeological dig. Its introduction states that “Canada, Mexico, and the United States have joined together to deliver a United Bid that offers Fifa the power of unity, the promise of certainty, and the potential of extraordinary opportunity”. The three countries promised to showcase “the power of football to meaningfully impact the world through a shared commitment to human rights.” Those were the days of rainbows, unicorns, and a notably less unhinged Trump, then midway through his first term, and whose presence was not anticipated to be a factor by the time the tournament rolled around.

I’m now at a time of life where a rib injury can feel like a ruptured spleen but playing still trumps watching, so we go again. Again

I woke up a few weeks ago with a searing pain under my left ribs. I ruled out heart attack relatively quickly – I haven’t read about your heart sagging as you enter deep middle age, or whatever your late 40s is. Breathing was uncomfortable, but not short – there were no stabbing pains. Inhaling ached, and it turns out you inhale all the time.

Once I was confident of seeing out the remainder of the day, I started Googling other potential ailments in this region, confidently seizing upon ruptured spleen. It sounded impressive enough to put in a WhatsApp group. And so I went with it.

Our cartoonist on BlueCo’s ‘self-reflection’ as another normal week ended with a place in the FA Cup final

• Buy this cartoon here | His favourites from 2025

• And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now

Canada forward broke the £1m transfer barrier and now eyes Sunday’s semi-final first leg against Lyon

Olivia Smith is tentatively laying down roots but remains alert to the changes that can be produced by football. The 21-year-old Arsenal forward, who has nine goals and three assists in her first season in north London, has lived a nomadic football life, driven by a desire to continuously improve and move up the ladder, rung by rung, without a pause.

As the season reaches its climax, a Champions League semi-final against Lyon on Sunday is testament to how far up the ladder Smith has climbed. Now, she is heading towards unknown territory: a second season at the same club for the first time in her senior career. “I do feel quite calm now, knowing that I have set down some roots here, but at the end of the day, football is football and you never know what’s next,” she says. “So I’m always on my toes but, right now, I’m kind of laid-back, just enjoying the time here in the present with Arsenal and looking forward to winning more silverware and growing as a player and a person.”

The electric Manchester City forward on his dribbling skills, who is City’s quickest player and the potential for a domestic treble

Pace, aggression and quicksilver trickery: Jérémy Doku is the nightmare for opposition defences who breaks games open for Manchester City. In Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, Southampton’s task will be to try to contain the Belgium winger who has raised his game this season.

The Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot, believes that Doku can be “unstoppable” and Arsenal’s Cristhian Mosquera discovered precisely this in City’s seismic 2-1 win in the Premier League on Sunday, the right-back booked for persistently fouling him at the Etihad Stadium. Yet the 23-year-old is not content. The ambition is to add goals to the sparkling skill set he believes will elevate him above Vinícius Júnior as the world’s best wide forward.

Karren Brady, who is stepping down as vice-chair at West Ham after 16 years, leaves a questionable legacy

The “No More BS” campaign led by dissenting West Ham fans needs an update. One half of the double act has left the building but the protesters do not see it as job done. They are celebrating the departure of Karren Brady, who has stepped down as vice-chair after 16 years, and will not stop pushing for change in the way their dysfunctional club is run until David Sullivan has followed her out of the door.

That, though, is not happening yet. No sooner had Brady’s departure been announced than some fans started predicting that Sullivan would not be far behind. But a move by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to increase his West Ham stake by lining up a deal to buy a chunk of the Gold family’s shares is not expected to lead to Sullivan going. Kretinsky, it is said, is merely strengthening his hand. Sullivan, who is also planning to buy some of the Gold shares, is not going anywhere. Kretinsky will match the 77-year-old’s old stake, slightly diluting the era of Sullivanism, but the outcome could have been different.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

Given that the two teams contesting this season’s FA Cup final face more than 200 outstanding counts of financial chicanery between them, the atmosphere at Wembley will – as several Social Media Disgrace wags quickly pointed out – definitely be highly charged. In the blue corner, Chelsea still face 74 FA counts of financial misconduct, having already had their wrist lightly slapped by the Premier League. In the lighter blue corner, Manchester City continue to go about their business, apparently impervious to the outcome of the inquiry into the 130 or so charges of money-related shenanigans that may or may not be released before the next sighting of Halley’s Comet in 35 years. While this season’s renewal of the oldest cup competition in the world had more than its fair share of magic in the form of muddy pitches and giantkillings, it’s not unreasonable to think that some fans will go to Wembley on 16 May more preoccupied by the outcome of forensic audits and arbitration hearings than by the actual final being played.

The latest Chelsea exit raises the intriguing question of who will be the next manager lucky enough to secure a contract there well into the 2030s, only to be back on the market shortly after. Logic suggests Claudio Ranieri may yet return to Chelsea, if only because an anagram of Liam Rosenior is ‘Ranieri looms’. With Leicester preparing to parade their recent silverware in front of the directors of Bromley and Burton Albion next season, memories may yet stir in the Chelsea boardroom and prompt a nostalgic reappointment of the Tinkerman” – Phil Hearn.

Spurs fans: worried about relegation? Console yourselves with the trivia possibilities it will bring! For example, the last time Tottenham played Lincoln City in the league was 1 January 1949. That was also the day that Celestia was registered in Illinois, a micro-nation that claimed ownership of all outer space and chased that claim for decades. There’s a metaphor in there for having the loftiest of dreams that somehow always remain out of reach” – Jon Gregory.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

For so long an integral part of the BBC Holy Trinity of Saturday programming alongside Final Score and Match of the Day, Football Focus will leave our screens come season’s end. First aired back when the plot currently occupied by Stamford Bridge’s Matthew Harding Stand served as a matchday car park – as opposed to a seething mass of disgruntled Chelsea fans – the show’s longevity is undeniable. Now, it has fallen victim to the BBC’s ongoing pruning exercise – a casualty of a budget that is overseeing more trims than Marc Cucurella’s blabbermouth barber. For Football Daily, the news was somewhat bittersweet; throughout our childhood, youth and a significant chunk of our years as a hungover grown-up, the Saturday lunchtime show was appointment viewing. However, the announcement regarding its imminent demise only came as a surprise because it’s no longer part of our weekend routine and we presumed it had been binned off already.

‘You can’t build a mountain in one day,’ says former England netball coach who is embracing ‘starting from scratch’ in women’s football

“Every job I’ve done has been about building something from scratch, starting a new franchise, turning something professional or trying to get someone up the table, where we were the underdog and we gave ourselves a big challenge and sent a statement to someone.”

Tracey Neville’s latest role as the managing director of the women’s football team at Stockport County may be in an entirely different sport, but her mission is no different from her days coaching England’s netball team to their historic Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2018.

Players have hit out at ‘confused and careless’ management off the pitch, despite their success on it

Dijon are punching above their weight yet again and are fifth in the French top flight going into the final straight. This might be it though. Despite another fine campaign, they could lose their professional status in a few months. The financial crisis at the club has hit the women’s side hardest. The team have been up for sale since the arrival of the new president a year and a half ago, but no buyer has been found.

On 9 April the players at Dijon’s women’s side published a statement saying they felt “unwanted from day one”, denouncing what they call the abandonment of the women’s section by the club. Four days earlier, Dijon had announced plans to scale back their ambitions for the women’s side owing to a lack of resources, going as far as to consider jettisoning the professional team next season. “In the absence of a buyer, no guarantees can be given regarding the level of competition for the teams next season,” the club said, also casting doubt on the future of the women’s academy created in 2024.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan and Lucy Ward to discuss the latest in the Premier League

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.

On the podcast today: we’ll begin with Chelsea and the sacking of Liam Rosenior after a terrible run of form that culminated with them being thrashed away at Brighton on Monday night.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, George Elek and Sanny Rudravajhala as the Sky Blues return to the top flight after 25 years away

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.

On the podcast today; we’ll begin at Selhurst Park - Palace 0-0 West Ham. Is that a good point for the Hammers? Or an opportunity missed? Regardless, it means it remains very tight at the bottom.

Curtis Jones sums up Liverpool’s approach, Eddie Howe’s transfer record under scrutiny and Tammy Abraham shows his worth

For Manchester City, Gianluigi Donnarumma has always been a case of risk and reward. Perhaps only Thibaut Courtois is as fine a shot-stopper as Italy’s Euro 2020 hero, though many goalkeepers are better with the ball at their feet. Claudio Bravo, let alone Ederson, would be unlikely to dither in the fashion that alerted Kai Havertz to the possibility of pressing City’s keeper as close as possible for Arsenal’s goal. Donnarumma was the signing who bucked the Pep Guardiola doctrines, and his goalkeeping has been crucial to City’s revival but such mistakes have always been part of the giant Italian’s makeup. Paris Saint-Germain would not meet his wage demands, and opted for Lille’s Lucas Chevalier, a better ball-player as an ill-starred replacement. Donnarumma smothered a good chance for Havertz in the second half. His big mistake, seconds after Rayan Cherki’s opener, did not, after all, become the key twist in the title race. John Brewin

Match report: Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal

Match report: Everton 1-2 Liverpool

Match report: Tottenham 2-2 Brighton

Match report: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Bournemouth

Plus: scoring past three keepers in one day, highest ratio of European to domestic titles and a dream result

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“I’ve been wondering: who is the greatest footballer never to make an appearance in England?” muses Cameron Turner. “Did any of the game’s greats go their whole career without visiting the home of football? I think the best bet might be a South American from the 1970s-1990s, though Brazil and Argentina often played friendlies at Wembley.”

This question is difficult to answer categorically, mainly because the internet does not yet provide chapter and verse on every football match played by superstars of the black-and-white era. But it’s also far too interesting to leave on the cutting-room floor, so we’ve given it a go with the caveat that the answers are only 99% correct.

Just Fontaine (France, 1953-60)

Roger Milla (Cameroon 1973-94)

Hugo Sánchez (Mexico, 1977-98)

Romerito (Paraguay, 1979-90)

Abedi Pele (Ghana, 1982-98)

Mia Hamm (USA, 1985-2000)

Michelle Akers (USA, 1987-2004)

Hong Myung-bo (South Korea, 1990-2002)

Ousmane Dembélé becomes our seventh winner as he beats Lamine Yamal into second and Vitinha into third on our list of the best players on the planet

• Premier League dominates list | How every judge voted | Our methodology | The top 100 female players for 2025

• 2024 edition | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

The Frenchman, who has been named the best male footballer in the world by the Guardian, has benefitted from PSG’s focus on the team rather than individuals

What makes a good player great, and a great player the best? This question has been occupying me since 2014, when the Guardian first asked me to contribute to its inaugural Next Generation feature. My job was to look for a France-based talent born in 1997 who could go on to have a stellar career.

After a great deal of research, I narrowed it down from my shortlist of five by asking questions not about the players’ football ability, but about other attributes: resilience, adaptability, decision-making, creativity, work ethic, response to feedback and willingness to learn. Qualities we cannot see, and are harder to measure.

Aitana Bonmatí has been voted the best female player on the planet by our panel of 127 experts ahead of Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo

• 2024 list | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

• Meet the judges | See how every judge voted

• Subscribe to Moving the Goalposts, our free newsletter

The margin may have got smaller but the brilliant Spanish midfielder makes it a hat-trick of No 1 finishes

They say the best things come in threes, and Aitana Bonmatí has written herself into the Guardian’s top 100 history as the first player to finish at the top of the tree for a third consecutive year.

Last year the majestic midfielder emulated her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas by winning for a second year running, but the 27-year-old has now gone one better, establishing herself once again at the top of the women’s game.

From PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye to Brazil’s next hope, we select some of the most talented players born in 2008. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and go even further back. Here’s our Premier League class of 2025