Club affected by Premier League and Uefa financial fair play ‘It’s crazy. We’re going to have to deal with what we’ve got’ Ezri Konsa has said that football’s spending regulations “killed” Aston Villa during a difficult summer transfer window. The club, who have started the season badly with one point from three games and no goals scored, were hemmed in by the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules and the equivalent in Uefa competition. Villa paid out one major fee – £30.5m to Nice for Evann Guessand – and made only four further first-team additions, Marco Bizot being followed in on deadline day by Victor Lindelöf, Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho. The club were open to selling Emiliano Martínez only for there to be no buyer and moved Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle for £39m despite Unai Emery preferring to keep him. As a homegrown player, Ramsey counted as pure profit on the books. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, George Elek and Sanny Rudravajhala to sift through a bonkers deadline day, questionable spending, and the best Championship pick-ups you’ve never heard of. Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On today’s pod: The panel reviews a hectic end to the transfer window, with Marc Guéhi staying put, Yoane Wissa forcing a move to Newcastle, and Alexander Isak being cast out of Geordie folklore. Chelsea finally sign an attacking wide man (sort of) in Facundo Buonanotte, and Spurs loan in Randal Kolo Muani. Villa go all-in with Sancho, Elliott, and Lindelöf, while Manchester City swap goalkeepers and Manchester United spend £200m to generate about £30m back. Continue reading...

Club have obligation to buy Elliott for £35m Emery left with decision over goalkeeper Martínez A fraught 24 hours for Aston Villa ended with Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott joining on loan, but Unai Emery must decide whether to reinstate Emiliano Martínez as his No 1 after the goalkeeper did not depart before the deadline. Villa prioritised strengthening their attack but question marks surround Martínez, who wanted a fresh challenge this summer. Villa, who also signed the Sweden captain Victor Lindelöf, have added the 25-year-old Sancho on a season’s loan while Elliott has joined on loan in a deal with an obligation to buy for £35m. The versatility of all three players is attractive to Emery, who was determined to add at least one attacking player to his frontline. Sancho, who has spent the past 18 months on loan at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, rejected a move to Roma earlier in this transfer window. Continue reading...

Aston Villa sign former Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof and are close to loans for Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho.

Today’s rumours bid farewell Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad it happened: the storied transfer window of summer 2025, soon to become the stuff of myth and legend, its tales passed down the generations for evermore, is almost over. This leaves us with no option but to focus on the peripheral trudge of actual football – or would if it wasn’t the blasted international break – so before we reduce ourselves to the tedium of that indignity, let us enjoy one final day of obscenely rich and artless men passing money to other obscenely rich and artless men, the beautiful game incarnate. After a summer spent grizzling about the unfairness of not being allowed to spend way more money than they make, when all they really want to do is celebrate the incomparable glory of having billionaire owners, Aston Villa are springing into action. After the overwhelming success of Marcus Rashford’s two goals (one penalty) against Preston, along with another crucial strike in a 3-0 home win over Brighton, having ticked the fast and strong box, they’re now seeking to fill the slow and weak slot, in talks to sign another winger of whom Manchester United want shot. Should Jadon Sancho refuse the move, they plan to fill that spot in their squad with a large cushion. Continue reading...

Marseille, Monaco, Nice, Lille and Lyon face economic realities that do not concern the European champions By Get French Football News If Europe’s elite could not contain Paris Saint-Germain last season, what chance is there for Ligue 1’s impoverished chasing pack? Before the season has even started, their rivals seem to have already submitted to this logic. Never have PSG felt more untouchable than they do now. Chelsea found the recipe for dismantling Luis Enrique’s machine but the rest of Europe floundered last season. Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Milan all fell by the wayside as PSG were crowned European champions. That success came at a time when PSG had never looked more vulnerable under Qatar Sports Investments ownership. Despite their prodigious talents, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi were symptoms of the wider ills of the club’s management. But they ensured one thing: that PSG were unshakeable favourites in every domestic game for a decade. Continue reading...

In the squeaky posterior time of this FA Cup fifth-round penalty shootout Victor Lindelöf and Joshua Zirkzee were the unfortunate ones who missed the kicks that ended Manchester United’s FA Cup defence and sent Fulham through. The final spot-kick score was 4-3 to the visitors who, marginally, deserved their passage, though this was a slog through 120 minutes of meagre fare that was no advertisement for the world’s oldest knockout competition. Continue reading...

The club of David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Robbie Keane has been through a downturn. A sixth title would restore some shine As Major League Soccer moved into a new age with Inter Miami’s signing of Lionel Messi last year, the LA Galaxy had seemingly been left behind as a relic of different era. The club of David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Robbie Keane failed to make the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons. Supporters protested against the Galaxy’s leadership and boycotted matches. MLS’s original glamour club had lost its shine. Now, though, the Galaxy are just one game from a record sixth MLS Cup title with Greg Vanney’s team hosting the New York Red Bulls in Saturday’s championship decider. Ten years after they last lifted the trophy, the Galaxy have the opportunity to reassert their standing as the league’s marquee franchise while Messi and Co watch from home. Continue reading...

Updates from Old Trafford (4.30pm KO GMT)Get in touch: email Rob with your thoughts Ruud van Nistelrooy makes three changes from the side that walloped Leicester in the Carabao Cup. Andre Onana returns in goal, with Altay Bayindir dropping to the bench, while Noussair Mazraoui and Rasmus Hojlund replace Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee. Enzo Maresca, who made 11 changes for the Carabao Cup tie at St James’ Park, makes 11 more: it’s the same team that started against Newcastle in the Premier League a week ago. Continue reading...

Seven squad members missed draw at Fenerbahce‘We have to do better to get more available players’ Erik ten Hag has said he, his staff and Manchester United’s players must ensure more of the squad are fit, with the team again hampered by several injuries this season. Last term United had a total of 66 injuries and although the club were determined to address the issue in the summer, Leny Yoro, Ramsus Højlund, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Jonny Evans, Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelöf have sustained injuries this season. Tyrell Malacia remains a long-term absentee. Continue reading...

Football fans don’t really like change, and a 36-team table and playing eight teams instead of three certainly counts as that A few weeks ago I was sitting down to eat the neighbour’s cat (it’s OK, I’m an immigrant) when I saw something even more off-putting – The Uefa Champions League’s X (Twitter) video entitled The dawn of a new era. This 30-second clip was an attempt to soft-launch the European Cup format which starts next week. They’d hired a good set of ex-pros: Luís Figo, Gianluigi Buffon, Robbie Keane (who presumably has supported the new 36-team league system since he was a small boy) are there looking confused. It culminates with Zlatan Ibrahimovic ready to conduct an orchestra. “Who wrote this?” he asks. In walks Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, in impossibly shiny shoes. “I did,” he says, arms outstretched, before folding them and smiling. Continue reading...

United happy to wait until deadline day to make movePSG currently value the Uruguay midfielder at £51m Manchester United are willing to wait until transfer deadline day to try to sign Manuel Ugarte. There does not have to be any outgoings to finance the deal although Paris Saint-Germain’s £51m valuation of the Uruguay midfielder is deemed too high by United and there is belief that the French champions may reduce it as the deadline nears. Ugarte could be purchased now by United should PSG lower their asking price but the manager, Erik ten Hag, and the sporting director, Dan Ashworth, are prepared to bide their time to force a reduction. The window closes at 11pm on 30 August and United are intent on making more sales before then. The players the club would listen to offers for include Victor Lindelöf, Casemiro, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Scott McTominay. Continue reading...

BBC Sport looks back at goals that tell the story of the Euro 2004 tournament - featuring memorable strikes from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Zinedine Zidane and Wayne Rooney.

BBC Sport looks at goals that tell the story of Euro 2012 - featuring Mario Balotelli, Fernando Torres and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.