Category: Football

The napkin on which Barcelona committed to sign a 13-year-old Lionel Messi has been sold in an auction for £762,400. The starting price was £300,000 for the ‘standard Spanish waxy napkin’ which is 16.5 x 16.5cm and was laminated and framed. The napkin, signed in blue ink in December 2000, carries a pledge from then...

The Football Association is to introduce a new rule to phase out deliberate heading in grassroots youth matches across England. It will cover all leagues, clubs and any affiliated school matches, and will phase heading out for all games at under-11 level and below over the next three seasons. The introduction of the rule follows...

‘World class’ Alexander-Arnold will benefit from ‘new influences’published at 15:20 24 April 15:20 24 April Everton v Liverpool (20:00 BST) Image source, Getty Images Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Trent Alexander-Arnold is “world class” and will be a player “people talk about in 40 years”. Klopp, who will leave the Reds at the end of...

Walker return to boost Man City?published at 14:48 17 April 14:48 17 April Man City v Real Madrid (3-3 agg, 20:00 BST) Image source, Getty Images Manchester City will be boosted by the return of defender Kyle Walker, who has been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury on England duty last month. “He [Walker] has...

De Zerbi ‘speaks with his heart on his sleeve’published at 14:10 15 May 14:10 15 May Brighton v Chelsea (19:45 BST) Brighton & Hove Albion Image source, Getty Images “If that coffee machine was not working properly, I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to see it on the lawn.” Brighton chief executive Paul Barber is talking...

Football’s world governing body Fifa is to set to establish a working group to look at the impact of playing competitive domestic matches overseas. A legal settlement agreed between Fifa and match promoter Relevant Sports in the USA has, in the words of Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, “left the door ajar” for league...

BBC Sport will continue to show free-to-air coverage of the FA Cup after securing a four-year deal starting from the 2025-26 season. Under a new partnership with TNT Sports, BBC Sport will screen 14 games per season, including the final at Wembley. There will also be highlights and digital clips available across all of the...

Harry Symeou, Chronicles of a Gooner For an Arsenal supporter, relying on Spurs is never a good thing. Firstly, I’m expecting a strange atmosphere inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium because while you can get sucked into wanting your own team to succeed, the knock-on effect of that result could hand Spurs’ greatest rivals a first Premier...

While City can hardly be characterised as a plucky underdog, they believe the club is seventh in the list of net spend in the Premier League over the past five years, less than half that of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal but also trailing Tottenham, Newcastle and Aston Villa. A substantial factor in bringing their...

Breaking Down UK’s Latest Football Offers – CatsIllustrated PGRpdiBjbGFzcz0ncmEtY29udGFpbmVyIGRpc3Ryb19hZCc+CjxkaXYgY2xh c3M9J3ZpZGVvLWFkLXdyYXBwZXInPgo8c2NyaXB0IGFzeW5jIHNyYz0nLy9j LmpzcmRuLmNvbS9zL2NzLmpzP3A9MjI1NDYnIHR5cGU9J3RleHQvamF2YXNj cmlwdCc+PC9zY3JpcHQ+CjxkaXYgY2xhc3M9J3ZpZGVvLWNvbnRhaW5lcicg aWQ9J2RzX2RlZmF1bHRfYW5jaG9yJz48L2Rpdj4KPC9kaXY+CjwvZGl2PgoK Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated Publisher Justin Rowland has been CatsIllustrated.com’s publisher since 2015. He covered college football recruiting at programs nationwide for 15 years prior to that. Offer season presses ahead. The portal is still a priority, but high school recruiting is...

Luton led at half-time but were outclassed by West Ham after the break. Their failure to win an away game since December and a lack of clean sheets ultimately proved their undoing. However, after getting promoted with one of the smallest budgets in the Championship, Luton defied the odds for most of the season, earning...

Barca may call for replay if Lamine goal is deemed legalpublished at 15:56 22 April 15:56 22 April Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona Image source, Getty Images Earlier, we brought you the reaction of Barcelona coach Xavi describing the lack of goalline technology in La Liga as ‘a disgrace’, following his side’s 3-2 defeat to Real...