Key events
Axel Lariat has messaged in about matchday food…
“Anyone from the Pendle area of Lancashire will tell you that the locally made ‘Haffners’ pies are hard, if not impossible, to beat. And as Colne FC play at the ‘Haffners Eats Stadium’, naturally said pies are consumed in large (ish) quantities on match days.”
I have just Google searched Haffners Pies and I have to say, they do look delicious. If I’m ever in the area, I will surely be stopping by!
More on Torres’ move to Paris Saint-Germain…
Bournemouth have responded to criticism after it emerged that an employee who had been working at the club for “nearly 60 years” learned that his contract would not be renewed via email just two weeks before the start of the season.
A relative of the employee posted a screenshot of the email on X this week, prompting a response from President of Business Operations Jim Frevola, which read: “Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’ll look into this immediately.”
A statement from the Cherries followed. It read: “AFC Bournemouth has seen the concerns raised regarding changes to some of our matchday staffing arrangements.
“We have reviewed the way these changes were communicated to some long-serving members of our matchday team and recognise that it did not reflect the standards we expect of ourselves as a club.
“People who have given many years of service to AFC Bournemouth deserve to be treated with appreciation and respect. We are contacting those affected directly to listen to their concerns and review their individual circumstances.
“As part of our preparations for the new season, we have made changes to a number of matchday roles and working requirements as we continue to strengthen the safety and security of the stadium, its perimeter and surrounding areas. These changes are important, but so too is the way we communicate with and treat the people who have served our club. We should have handled this better, and we will do better.
“We are grateful to everyone who has contributed to AFC Bournemouth over the years, and particularly those who have served the club for decades.”
La Liga also kicks off today. Click below to read Billy Munday’s preview.
PSG announce signing of Ferran Torres
Ferran Torres has joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in a deal worth around £43million. The striker, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the World Cup final against Argentina last month, has penned a five-year deal and will wear the No9 shirt.
Torres said: “I’m delighted to be beginning a new adventure at such an ambitious club as Paris Saint-Germain. I’d like to thank President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Luis Campos and coach Luis Enrique for giving me the opportunity to join the team, which I hope to help win as many trophies as possible.”
It’s a huge day for Lincoln City as they return to the second division of English football for the first time in 65 years. Middlesbrough await. Lincoln fans, how are you feeling?
Well everyone, today’s the day Lincoln start a second tier season for the first time in 65 years. Not going to expect it to be easy today, we play probably one of the most attack minded teams in the championship and it’s a sold out crowd at Boro. But I look forward to seeing how our team copes and maybe seeing our new signings in action. Except Ladgeford who we have signed (but not officially) but is not joining yet due to reasons that no one genuinely knows.
Despite the new involvement of Jeff Bezos, FSG will remain in operational control of Liverpool as well as majority owners. Furthermore, the deal will have no impact on the club’s transfer activity in the current window.
In case you missed it, Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, confirmed yesterday it had agreed the sale of 30% of the club to a consortium including Amit Bhatia, the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. The deal is understood to be worth £1.65bn.
Peter’s message has inspired my next question for you – which football ground in the UK does the best food? Is there anywhere in particular that stands out? I’m talking burgers, pies, etc…
Peter Thornton is setting off for Cheltenham Town today. He messaged in to say:
“I’ll be setting off in a few minutes for Cheltenham Town. It will be my 78th club and 96th PL or EFL ground. I covered many with my beloved Manchester City, but with time marching on, I’m 70 soon, I’m now really focused on completing the 92.
“Wherever we go we buy a pie and rate it. Non-league pies are the best. Especially the one at Wythenshawe last year. So I’m hoping Cheltenham will provide a worthy contender.”
With Fifa and Infantino arguably the biggest topics in worldwide football news at the moment, Matt Hughes has explained exactly what is going on, in case you have missed anything…
While Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation have all called for Gianni Infantino to resign, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has declared its support for the Fifa president.
After a meeting of its executive committee in Fiji on Wednesday, the OFC issued a statement on Friday praising “the progress achieved over the last decade” by Fifa in its first public comments since the abandoned World Cup sell-off plan emerged this month.
However, New Zealand, the OFC’s biggest member and only nation to qualify for the World Cup this summer, withdrew backing for Infantino.
Europe’s leading clubs threatened not to participate in future Club World Cups unless Gianni Infantino withdrew his Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, issuing their ultimatum hours before the plan was scrapped.
In a letter to the Fifa secretary general, Mattias Grafström, the influential European Football Clubs (EFC) group warned that its cooperation with future tournaments would hinge on Infantino backing down.
Anthony Burgess has messaged in from Malta with his thoughts on Cristian Romero’s move to Atlético Madrid…
“Feels like the right move, at the right time, to the right place. He has the priceless ability to rise to the big occasions, as seen in his Man of the Match performances in every final (bar the last one) he’s played in. Madders for club captain, with Micky VdV as VC, surely?”
And League Two…
Newport County v Rochdale
Oldham Athletic v Port Vale
Barnet v Salford City
Grimsby Town v Exeter City
Gillingham v Walsall
Accrington Stanley v Colchester United
York City v Bristol Rovers
Chesterfield v Fleetwood Town
Northampton Town v Swindon Town
Crawley Town v Crewe Alexandra
Tranmere Rovers v Shrewsbury Town
Cheltenham Town v Rotherham United
Let me take a break from transfer news to let you know – as if you needed reminding – that the EFL returns today!
Here are the opening fixtures of the League One campaign:
Reading v Luton Town
Oxford United v MK Dons
Notts County v Leicester City
Cambridge United v Wigan Athletic
Barnsley v Bromley
Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday
Huddersfield Town v AFC Wimbledon
Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers
Bradford City v Peterborough United
Plymouth Argyle v Stockport County
Mansfield Town v Doncaster Rovers
Burton Albion v Stevenage
Just a reminder that you can keep up to date with everything happening in the transfer market with our men’s transfer interactive…
As always, be sure to message in today with any thoughts, feelings, predictions or observations.
What are your thoughts on Romero’s move from Tottenham? Where does that leave Spurs? Who will be the club’s new captain? Let me know!
I’m also keen to know what your plans are for the day – are you off to a match? If so, which one? I want to hear from you!
Email in at matchday.live@guardian.co.uk or leave a comment below the line.
Max Rushden has perfectly summarised Romero’s time at Spurs here. Be sure to give it a read…
Atlético Madrid confirm signing of Cristian Romero
Atlético Madrid have this morning confirmed the signing of Cristian Romero in a £34.1million transfer from Tottenham.
The centre-back has penned a five-year deal with the Spanish side.
In a statement, Spurs thanked Romero for his contributions to the club. It read: “We have reached agreement with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Cristian Romero.
“Signed from Atalanta in 2021, ‘Cuti’ was a key player in our UEFA Europa League triumph of 2024/25 and was named captain for the 2025/26 campaign. His 32 appearances in all competitions last season took his tally to 156 in our colours.
“A Copa America winner just before his arrival, Cuti became only the second Spurs player to win the World Cup when Argentina beat France in Qatar in 2022. He won the Copa America again in 2024 and reached a second World Cup Final this summer.
“Born in Cordoba, Cristian began his career at Belgrano and had spells at Genoa and Juventus before signing for Atalanta.
“We wish Cuti all the best for the future.”
Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the Championship today…
Bolton v Preston North End
Middlesbrough v Lincoln City
Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers
Stoke City v Swansea City
Norwich City v West Brom
Charlton Athletic v Derby County
Bristol City v Millwall
Sheffield United v Birmingham City
In case you missed it, returning hero Raúl Jiménez scored a late penalty to salvage a point for Wolves against Blackburn in the Championship opener last night. Peter Lansley was at Molineux for the match.
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! The Championship returned last night and the EFL is back in full swing today as League One and League Two kick off. While it might not be time for Premier League action just yet, the annual curtain-raiser of the Community Shield takes place tomorrow, so we’ll be looking ahead to that.
Be sure to stick around for all the latest updates from the football world and the most exciting transfer developments as we edge closer to the end of the window.
Join us!