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Key events
Spanish World Cup-winner Juan Mata has confirmed he will be departing Australian side Melbourne Victory, but stopped short of calling time on his career.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea ace has enjoyed a late-career resurgence and was voted the domestic A-League player of the year in 2025-26.
But the 38-year-old has decided not to play on at the club as he mulls “the next steps in his career”.
He will remain involved with the Australian side after taking an ownership stake.
“I loved every minute and so greatly enjoyed everything that we achieved last season, falling back in love with football at such a special place, in an amazing city that it was a privilege to call home,” Mata said.
“Now I am excited about our next chapters, believing together in the future of Australian football and inspiring the next generation of Melbourne Victory players and supporters.” AFP
Gianni Infantino has not responded to a request to appear before the US House judiciary committee or sent documents requested by one of its members more than a month past the deadline.
The Democrat Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member of the committee, wrote to the Fifa president on 26 July informing the Swiss he was launching an investigation into “a sustained campaign” by Fifa to curry favour with the US president, Donald Trump.
His letter said seeking of favours extended to the dismissal of high-profile corruption cases, while also accusing Fifa of “gouging” American consumers with “exorbitant” World Cup ticket prices this summer.
The Swiss was asked to respond to the letter by 9 August with the requested documents and to make contact with the committee to schedule an interview, but it is understood no response at all had been received as of Thursday.
Because no subpoena was issued, there are no criminal consequences for ignoring Raskin’s request. Press Association
In totally normal Turkish football news… the Fenerbahce head coach, Ismail Kartal, announced his resignation on Thursday after his team drew 1-1 at home to Roma in the Champions League – but minutes later, the club president said Kartal would stay in the job.
Kartal shocked the post-match press conference by claiming he was leaving Fenerbahce “never to return”. The 65-year-old added that he was taking the drastic decision “to clear the way for the club” – but the Fenerbahce president, Aziz Yildrim, quickly moved to play down his manager’s remarks.
Minutes after the press conference, Yildirim told reporters that Kartal “continues in his role” with the Turkish side. “Some fans threw a bottle at the coach’s head this evening during the game. He is upset about it,” the club president added.
Full story:
The French football federation’s president, Philippe Diallo, said Gianni Infantino had “seriously damaged the image and the unity of football” as he announced the end of France’s support for the Fifa president’s re-election.
The FFF’s executive committee unanimously voted on Thursday to withdraw its backing, which had been formalised at the end of June. Diallo referred to “events during the World Cup” which had “flagrantly gone against the way we believe our sport should be run” and to Infantino’s World Cup sell-off plan, which was revealed in July and scrapped after a widespread backlash.
United were the only Premier League club in Champions League action last night but Englishman Harry Kane scored for the eighth game in a row in the competition as Bayern Munich beat Bodø/Glimt 5-0 at the Allianz Arena. Starting their Champions League journey were Cesc Fabregas’s Como, who beat RB Leipzig 4-1 Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, while Lens scored twice in added time to reverse a 2-1 deficit and secure a 3-2 win. Our roundup of all of Thursday night’s European action is here.
David Hytner
United clinical on Champions League return to dismiss Sabah
Manchester United were back in Europe’s elite competition after a two-year hiatus and in need of something to soothe them after the trauma of their last-gasp coughing up of two points in last Sunday’s Premier League draw at Everton. And before the extremely serious business of the derby here against Manchester City on Sunday. They got it on the back of a first-half performance that burned slowly before catching fire.
Sabah were game. United were clinical. It was Matheus Cunha who broke the deadlock midway through the first half and the defining moments came at the end of the period when Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko sent United into half-time with a three-goal cushion. Lisandro Martínez added the fourth late on. It was a case of job done for Michael Carrick, no wobbles. Now for City.
Read David Hytner’s full report from Old Trafford:
Hall agrees contract extension
Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall has signed a new long-term contract with the club.
Reports suggest the left-back, 22, has agreed a two-year extension to his original deal that would take his contract up to 2031.
Hall has been the subject of interest from Manchester United, among others, but has now committed his immediate future to Newcastle.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to play for this club and to represent the supporters,” he said. “I know how much it means to them.
“To be able to bring joy to their faces, it’s a big thing for me. I obviously have a family connection with the club, which is incredibly important to us all.
“One of the main reasons I play is to make my family proud, and I know how much it means to them to watch me playing for Newcastle United.”
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Preamble
No club embraces chaos quite like Chelsea. Stability has been absent at Stamford Bridge going back even as far as the Ken Bates era. The latest twist in west London has been foreseen for a while, with warring factions between the current ownership meaning a parting of ways was always likely but Mark Walter’s issues with US tax authorities have accelerated the timeline. Then, on Thursday evening, Matt Hughes and Jacob Steinberg came through with the report that Chelsea’s majority owners, Clearlake Capital, are closing in on an agreement to buy out co-owners Todd Boehly and Walter in a deal that would see the pair make a profit on their investment and value the club at around £5bn.
We’ll be across any further updates on that story, plus the reaction to last night’s European action and all the other news ahead of the weekend football. Plenty to get stuck into.
