England

There’s a common trope in science fiction where aliens come to Earth and the world comes together to stop the invading menace. As we’ve seen over the last eight months, if an alien force came to our planet today, humanity would be as divisive, vitriolic and hate filled as ever, turning on each other in an instant just to save themselves.

At least, that’s the impression I get after seeing hate-related incidents rose a startling 42 percent during the 2019-20 season, even with fans unable to attend matches for the last third of the campaign because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

After miraculously finding a way to finish top European competitions and leagues amid a pandemic, the after-effects are already being seen. The 2020-21 seasons of European competition won’t be a walk in the park with major match congestion. One rule that leagues are disagreeing on is the question of "are 5 substitutes still allowed?"

Gareth Bale will consider a return to the Premier League if his current club Real Madrid allow him to end his stint in Spain, the Wales international has said.

The 31-year-old was on the verge of leaving for Chinese club Jiangsu Suning last year before the deal fell through and he barely featured for Real in their run to the LaLiga title when the campaign resumed after the COVID-19 stoppage.

Despite winning four Champions League titles with Real, Bale has divided opinion in Spain because of a perceived lack of commitment and poor injury record.

The Premier League has cancelled its contract with Chinese broadcasters PPLive Sports International after just one season, the league said in a statement on Thursday.

The broadcasters, part of retail group Suning, paid around $700 million for three years of English Premier League (EPL) streaming rights from the 2019-20 season.

There are some famed transfer policies in the world of football: Real Madrid’s Galácticos, Athletic Bilbao’s cantera, Guadalajara’s Mexican-born only and Newcastle’s annual $0 push for survival. But my favorite, without a doubt, is Everton’s. 

Without doing any research whatsoever, I’d venture to say that Everton has no scouting department. It’s entirely unnecessary with this approach. Instead, the club’s policy is a mixture of the nostalgia evoked from the remembrance of things past and the demand that you’ve played for a club on the Forbes rich list.

Manchester United have signed Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax Amsterdam on a five-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but British media reported that United paid an initial fee of 35 million pounds ($47 million) for the 23-year-old.

Donny van de Beek Transfer Fee: $47 million

Hi everyone,

Hope you're well.

Former Premier League goalkeeper and USMNT great Tim Howard is dusting off his old analyst skills as he is set to rejoin NBC’s Premier League coverage for the 2020-21 season.

NBC made the announcement on Tuesday that Howard will be back in the studio ranks. 

The former Manchester United and Everton goalkeeper worked with the network for three years. NBC got the rights to the league in 2013.

In a strictly sporting sense, the worst part of the pandemic was definitely the postponement of Euro 2020. On the one hand it deprived us of a month-long carnival of joy (the expanded 2016 tourney was thrilling with Wales and Iceland getting out of pocket and Portugal claiming top prize despite winning only one match in regular time), and on the other it reminded us of how dumb it is to host a major international tournament in 12 different countries (Did you ask for this? I didn’t ask for this).

But the countdown is once again on with Euro 2020 Part Deux just 283 days away!

Lyon won its fifth straight Women’s Champions League title (seventh overall) on Sunday. How on earth do you break OL’s hegemony when they’ve so thoroughly dominated Europe? 

Buy all the other best players in the world not on Lyon. At least, that appears to be Chelsea’s plan.