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STADION HNK RIJEKA – Poor Thomas Tuchel. Even when his team deliver a performance as breathtaking as this – a display among their best ever away from Wembley – he’s doomed to be buried by ‘what ifs’.

An ageing Croatia on a cool October’s night is not the same as Argentina in the white heat of a World Cup semi-final in Atlanta. But, for the third successive game, Tuchel picked a team to tear into the opposition and the regrets flowed almost as freely as the goals against the desperate Croatians.

The biggest one here? Alex Scott. The brilliant Bournemouth playmaker was available to Tuchel in the summer but he was overlooked in favour of Jordan Henderson and Kobbie Mainoo.

Scott was in Orlando before the serious stuff started but Tuchel took him as a training player, not even rewarding him with a first cap in the pre-tournament scratch games. As far as misjudgments go, that is an all-timer.

Veteran Henderson got the nod instead, largely for vibes and to act as Jude Bellingham’s minder during the tournament. Henderson might be a good tourist, but the folly of that approach came home to roost against Argentina, when England had only one gear and it was reverse.

What could Scott have done in that game, dovetailing with the equally industrious Elliot Anderson as he did here?

We’ll never know, but it has to be an option for England going forward. They were so good in Rijeka that it felt like the absent Declan Rice has been formally put on notice.

There were a lot of good performances in red but on his full England debut it was Scott who stood out. He might have the look of a Jack Grealish regen with his rolled down socks and tiny shinpads but in reality he’s something entirely different – an English midfielder who can do the Frank Lampard energy thing while carrying the ball like he’s come out of a Spanish or Portuguese finishing school.

It was a subtle but important shift for England and had a big impact here. They were on the front foot throughout and Scott’s desire to move the ball into dangerous areas at pace is a very useful weapon for England moving forward.

The greatest compliment you could pay him is that he didn’t look at all out of place behind a front four that currently looks the equal of any in world football.

It was a lesson for Croatia and the 6,000 noisy school kids allowed into the Stadion HNK Rijeka for a supposedly behind-closed-doors game. It was meant to be a nice touch from the Croatian FA to salvage something after Uefa punished them for racism in the stands – in the end it was child cruelty.

England made Croatia look like Andorra or San Marino, hitting seven but missing enough chances that it could have been ten. Their press was relentless, their finishing utterly ruthless. And in Jude Bellingham, they have a player who is surely destined to go on and become one of the England greats.

Bellingham was majestic here, striding through white and red shirts at will, equally comfortable doing a Bryan Robson battling midfield impression as he was making those Frank Lampard-esque late attacking runs that so often seem to bring England goals.

He made England’s first – supplying Harry Kane with a superb sliding pass – and then created and finished their second, digging a pass to Anderson when he was fouled to start the move that ended with him applying a close-range finish.

Anthony Gordon was equally as good. He has had a superb international break, following on from an effervescent end to his World Cup campaign, and offered irresistible threat down the left.

The Barcelona winger scored (again) with his head (again) and missed a one-on-one almost identical to the goal he plundered against Spain. It seems quaint that there was a live debate about whether he should be a starter during the World Cup.

Bukayo Saka scored twice, the second a late gift presented to him by Josip Stanisic, before Tuchel made substitutions that disrupted the rhythm and eased Croatia’s suffering.

This time, he could be forgiven, such was the brilliance of England’s performance.

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England continue their Nations League campaign with a trip to face Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday.

The two familiar foes go head-to-head behind closed doors this evening, meeting for the first time since a six-goal thriller in the opening round of this summer’s World Cup. Three Lions fans will need no reminder of how that tournament ended for Thomas Tuchel’s men, but the Croatians – now with journeyman boss Slaven Bilić back at the helm – faced a gut-wrenching exit of their own across the pond and will be keen to secure a first victory over the English since the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.

Both countries have a win and a loss under their belts so far in this international break, setting tonight’s contest up as the likely decider of who will conclude the current block of fixtures in Group A3’s second position behind dominant world champions Spain.

We will bring you all of the latest team news, updates and analysis from the Stadion HNK Rijeka, right here in our dedicated live blog.

Follow the match live with The i Paper below…

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My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, former England, Charlton Athletic and Leeds United right-back Danny Mills details the core pillars of a professional mindset and reflects on a distinguished playing career.

I was determined to make it as a footballer

I was never the greatest talent-wise, so I worked incredibly hard at my strengths, worked incredibly hard at my weaknesses, understood what I was okay at, what I wasn’t so good at and worked around that.

My career was purely based on hard work, determination, and dedication, and for me, that’s almost the perfect example that you don’t have to be the greatest.

Those attributes can get you a long way in life.

The best piece of advice I received?

We were told we had to have three things back in the day, the three Ds – desire, determination and dedication.

If you’ve got those three things, you will be successful because everything leads off the back of those. Okay, you need a little bit of talent. But once you’re in a professional environment, you’ve clearly got a little bit of talent.

That’s all it comes down to, you know, the harder you work, the more you get out of life. The more you put in, the more you get out. That’s it.

You are a product of your environment

I was very fortunate to have very good youth team coaches when I was young.

Gordon Bennett, God rest his soul, was our youth development officer at Norwich City. He was very passionate and very fierce, very much a disciplinarian, as was Keith Webb, our youth team coach, and again it was all about hard work and doing your job.

I used to have to sweep the floors, make the tea, pick up kit, and it had to be immaculate. It has nothing to do with football whatsoever, but it teaches you an awful lot of things about yourself. So I think having that that discipline and that push early on from those coaches was one of the reasons I made it.

David Ginola gave me an absolute torrid time

On his day he was unplayable. Back then left wingers were generally left-footed, went down the outside, crossed it. Ginola twisted me inside out a couple of times because he could go both ways.

He was two-footed. He was 6ft 4in. He was good in the air. He was strong. He was quick. He was powerful.

You didn’t know which way he was going to go, and that made him incredibly difficult to play against. I didn’t know whether to kick him or cuddle him. I was like a lost puppy in a few of those games.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

I’d have got myself on the goal line for Ronaldinho’s free-kick and headed it away, knowing that was coming. Would I do things differently if I had my time again? Of course you would, that’s learning.

But do I regret anything? No. I made decisions at the time that I thought were the right decisions for the knowledge that I had then in that moment, and I still stand by that.

So I don’t have any regrets of the career that I had. Making my England debut was my proudest moment. No one can ever take that away from you.

I was absolutely fine until 27 – then broke my leg

Professional sport takes a toll on the body. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the best job in the world, and I wouldn’t swap it for anything. But the wear and tear eventually catches up with you.

Derby County took me on loan with the idea to sign me permanently. That was the season they finished on 11 points. If I’d stayed, they might’ve survived.

That first year after retirement was hard. I threw myself into everything – marathons, Ironman, triathlons. I probably pushed my body a bit too far.

Read more

Daniel Storey: 27 things that have fried my brain since Man City’s verdict

Pete Hall: Yes, Man City broke the rules. But the rules are also a nonsense

I blew my knee out running the London Marathon

I wanted to break the record for the fastest ex-Premier League player which was three hours and six minutes from Christian Dailly, who used to play for West Ham. I was absolutely bang on pace. Bear in mind, I think I’d done six or seven at this point.

Got to halfway and thought perfect, we are cruising here. My knee was a bit sore but I didn’t think anything of it. I should’ve known then that something wasn’t quite right.

By the time I got to 16 miles, my knee exploded. Stupidly, I tried to run it off. The pain was unbelievable, certainly worse than anything I experienced in my playing days.

Danny Mills knows better than most what years at top-flight football can do to the body. Like many ex-professionals, persistent knee pain became part of everyday life after retirement, until he explored Arthrosamid, a non-surgical injectable treatment designed to relieve knee osteoarthritis pain.

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Just as it was gathering pace, with thousands of supporters joining the revolution, an attempted boycott of Manchester United’s commercial partners has disappeared into thin air.

What is left is exactly what supporter groups and the organisers of the boycott did not want: a fractured fanbase, who are at war with one another. And it has turned nasty.

A group of United supporters, who believe protests over how co-owners Ineos and the Glazer family run the club are falling on deaf ears, launched an online campaign against the club’s sponsors and commercial partners in an attempt to get senior executives to take notice.

Using the hashtag #BoycottUnited, the campaign was gathering real momentum, trending on X, with an orchestrated plan to target commercial relationships through negative reviews, contacting press offices and leaving comments on their social media posts well under way.

Thousands reposted or shared the message on their socials, with a vocal number of supporters firmly backing the campaign. Not all were on board and the movement ground to a halt, leaving fans to argue among themselves. It has all turned rather toxic.

The i Paper has spoken to numerous supporters, some affiliated with fan groups and those on each side of the argument, to gain an understanding of how we got to a point where prominent members of different United fan groups, some who helped start such associations, have chosen to step down in the aftermath of the failed boycott attempts. Most of those contacted wished to remain anonymous, for fear of yet more online abuse.

“I had enough, it was not worth it,” Steve Crompton, one of the founders of fan group The 1958, who resigned last week, tells The i Paper.

“I was getting abuse on Twitter, as were my family. Calling me all sort of things and making threats of physical violence. It has never been as toxic as this, ever. I was only trying to get what everyone wants: a change of ownership. These organisers had no idea what they were doing. Now it is World War III.”

The disagreement surrounded how quickly this latest boycott campaign took place. Several fan groups called for a coordinated approach, which would take time to meticulously plan and put in a structure where the efforts can be monitored.

Several accounts with large social media followings instead pressed ahead with the boycott, setting out ways supporters could join in and, in revealing they had not gained cooperation from certain fan groups, the online conflict began.

Both sides suffered threats and abuse from the other, with a clear separation between match-going supporters and those more prominent online becoming apparent.

The Red Army, who claim to be United’s “largest, truly independent supporters” group and also organise banners in the Stretford End, have made their X account private as a result of the abuse they were getting for not openly supporting the early stages of the campaign. It is understood those in prominent positions’ mental health was being affected.

The i Paper has spoken to those who lead the boycott efforts and they are adamant they wanted to unify all fan groups and ordinary supporters behind the cause. Some have also had to since make their tweets private, as the levels of abuse became too much.

“We are losing good people in the fight,” another member of the United fans’ forum tells The i Paper. “And who are the people who win from us turning on each other? The ones who always do – the Glazers and (Sir Jim) Ratcliffe.”

Those who took to boycotting commercial partners felt they needed to act now as protests are “doing nothing”.

Not for the first time since Ratcliffe and Ineos took a minority stake in the club, hundreds of angry supporters marched down Sir Matt Busby Way to voice their discontent ahead of the last league match at Old Trafford against Manchester City.

“I actually agree that they probably aren’t doing that much,” one of the protest organisers tells The i Paper. “But we were trying to do things as one. A boycott has to be planned properly, with everyone on board. This latest one was not going to do anything.”

Read more

Pete Hall: ‘They never learn’: How Ineos finally broke Man Utd fans’ trust

Kevin Garside: Man Utd and Omar Berrada face some very awkward questions over Man City saga

Boycotting a match at Old Trafford, where fans let their empty seats do the talking for them, is being mooted, too. Yet even that is causing division on social media, with some claiming those demanding supporters don’t turn up to games are from overseas, and have no intention of ever attending a game anyway.

Powerful fan channel voices, such as Mark Goldbridge, weighed in, questioning how supporters from “faceless” accounts can call out established fan groups and not appreciate the efforts such organisations are making already.

And you can imagine the reaction Goldbridge received. Social media provides too easy a platform to spread division. It is down to United supporters not to lose sight of the fact that, however they want to go about things individually, collectively they are all on the same side.

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When Everton were going through their battle with the Premier League over a £20m PSR breach that threatened the club’s very existence, the Manchester City charges got mentioned a lot.

“We just want consistency,” one insider told me at the time. There was a feeling that the more complex the case, the more grey areas it created, and the greater scope there was for dragging it out.

There was a deep and burning sense of injustice that they were the club sacrificed to prove a point when it came to the Premier League’s financial rules.

A penny for their thoughts right now, then. The scale of City’s wrongdoing dwarfs Everton’s, but only one club has taken its medicine. Only one club continues to pay the price.

There has been much talk about Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Arsenal launching compensation claims against City, but it is Everton who should be the most aggrieved about what has happened at the Etihad.

Many inside the club at the time felt they were caught in the crossfire of the City case. They breached PSR – there was an admission of that – but it was at a time when the Premier League was being put through the ringer, legally.

So, the theory went, Everton were made an example of. They ended up with a 10-point deduction (later reduced to six on appeal) but no one should forget that the Premier League had originally wanted it to start at six points and then add an additional point for every £5m they were over the breach.

If the same logic is applied to Manchester City, they would be landed with a 180-point deduction for their rule breaking.

And yet that punishment wouldn’t be proportionate. Burnley made a successful case that Everton benefited from their PSR breach but it was one place in the Premier League.

It is a contentious point (and one that is being put to the test with an appeal that will be heard later this year) but it is hardly the sort of benefit that City got from nine years of cheating.

And whatever happens to them, they have built something that will be very difficult to tear down.

They have conquered Europe and scaled heights that are unimaginable for Everton right now, buying the Toffees’ best players in the process – including John Stones and this summer, Iliman Ndiaye. A global fanbase has been built on a decade of success.

Everton to Man City transfers since 2009

• Joleon Lescott, 2009: £22m
• Jack Rodwell, 2012: £15m
• John Stones, 2016: £47.5m
• Iliman Ndiaye, 2026: £65m

The irony is that Farhad Moshiri was chasing a similar dream when he got Everton into the sort of trouble that first caught the attention of the Premier League.

But City’s spending swept in the sort of inflation that meant even he couldn’t afford to keep up. The mess that it created nearly threatened Everton’s very existence.

The Toffees ended up taking their medicine. They appealed, got some of their points back and fought for their survival on the pitch.

The Friedkin Group ended up bailing them out of trouble but have scaled back their investment this summer, partly because they don’t see a way to square the circle of competing at the top level while complying with financial rules.

City, meanwhile, seem intent to fight on after lodging an appeal on Friday. Legal voices this week have suggested it might be five years before we have a conclusion to the case that has rocked English football. That is plenty of time to plan for what comes next and get themselves into some sort of shape for life after the charges.

Everton did not have that. The Premier League were into new territory when the club was prosecuted and punished and what happened to them was used to lay down a marker for anyone else tempted to stray from the rules.

But that example should have been City. Everton have every right to feel aggrieved.

Read more

Daniel Storey: 27 things that have fried my brain since Man City’s verdict

Pete Hall: Yes, Man City broke the rules. But the rules are also a nonsense

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You could make the argument that the Premier League’s financial rules safeguard the league’s future as football’s most revered domestic competition, the gold standard for the sport. Clubs are not allowed to spend beyond their means, keeping the English top flight the market leader for competitiveness in world football.

It helps that broadcast income is shared equally among Premier League clubs, meaning teams like Brighton and Bournemouth can spend hundreds of millions on talent to take them all the way to European qualification. That’s in stark contrast to countries like Spain, where Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid garner most of the TV revenues, and have a sizeable advantage as a result.

However, restricting English clubs to spending based on a maximum loss, or now 85 per cent of their footballing revenue, creates a ceiling, one Manchester City have been caught bursting through after the most seismic ruling in sporting history.

City should have the book thrown at them. An unprecedented points deduction is not enough, given the scale of their blatant disregard for the rules. But the very rules they have unscrupulously broken for years are a major part of the problem.

Yes, Brighton against Brentford can produce slicker football than El Clasico, but neither will ever win the Premier League. Nor will Newcastle, whose owners’ resources go beyond the limitless.

And that can’t be right. Those clubs who make the most revenue, and therefore can spend hundreds of millions more than their rivals on players, are the same handful of clubs who, taking City out of the equation, have won the title in all but one of the last 31 seasons.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal – City fans call them “the red cartel” – are the main beneficiaries of the current regulations in place.

And while there is obviously no concerted effort from the Premier League to favour top clubs, it is getting harder and harder for anyone else to break into the true elite, as the revenues at the established giants continue to dwarf their less globally recognised rivals.

Pep Guardiola’s legacy is tainted for ever.

@GARSIDEK #MCFC https://t.co/ANpFDI4kPY

— The i Paper Sport (@TheiPaperSport) September 29, 2026

Despite their rival’s continued struggles on the pitch, the most ardent City supporter would probably admit that their club will never get close to United’s grandeur, even if only in secret. City are much closer now than they have ever been, but it would take generations of United failures to get anything like parity in terms of global standing.

There is no shortcut to that long history as a footballing behemoth, which is why United, Arsenal and Liverpool will always generate more revenue and thus be allowed to spend hundreds of millions more on players.

Nation states should never have been allowed to buy City and Newcastle – those rules simply must now be addressed, just as leveraged buyouts are no longer legitimate after the Glazer family saddled United with what is now over £1bn of debt.

But that is another argument.

In some regulated form, fit and proper owners – English football possesses few of such figures – should be allowed to inject their own money into a club. That is their prerogative, if it is done sustainably, and legitimate revenues grow as a result.

Read more

• Kevin Garside: Man Utd and Omar Berrada face some very awkward questions over Man City saga
• Tim Rich: English football owes Arsene Wenger an apology

For a nation whose famous exports are all but gone, the global giant the Premier League has become is one to be celebrated. Yet this latest scandal threatens the very supremacy it worked so hard to build.

Investors from overseas have propped up the Premier League in recent years. But why would you inject millions into a top-flight club – Saudi-owned Newcastle are selling their best players to avoid penalties – if there is never any chance of winning the title?

Years of legal cases are sure to follow, as clubs seek compensation from City’s cheating. That, coupled with being a much less attractive investment opportunity, risks the Premier League being dethroned as the world’s greatest sporting spectacle. Serie A’s fall from grace was spectacular after the Calciopoli scandal. The Premier League is not too big to suffer a similar fate.

City’s conduct shows, quite rightly, that there is no way to beat the system. That does not mean the system in place is the correct one. If we can learn our lessons from the Glazers’ debt-laden United takeover, we can adapt to ensure nobody feels the only way to halt the hegemony of the elite over the Premier League title is to break the rules.

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That was the week that shook English football more than any other in its modern history. It was not the end of this ludicrous, multi-layered saga, but was surely the peak of us having our brains fried by the devil in the detail.

With that in mind, here are 27 things that have been taking up an awful lot of real estate in my head over the last seven days, from the punishingly serious to the comically stupid. It’s been that sort of week…

1) Nine. Hundred. Million. Just the actual enormity of the figure

That is the rough estimate by which Manchester City gained, either by underestimating expenditure or overestimating legitimate revenue. It is an extraordinary figure, almost too much to take in. So why not use this website that explains how much a billion is in pixels? The good news for Manchester City: you can take off 100 million of them.

2) David Ornstein has this all wrong… err, really?

News of the verdict leaked last Friday, well before the Premier League made any official comment and before Manchester City had said anything publicly either. That persuaded some City supporters (admittedly those who are a little too online) that David Ornstein, the best-connected man in the industry, had either taken a flyer, got his numbers wrong or was working for some shadowy cabal. Shock horror: Ornstein was proven right.

3) The fact it happened in the longest international break

This is the longest mid-season regular international break in the history of the Premier League. Many supporters fretted, wondering what on earth they would find to discuss without the all-consuming noise of England’s top flight. And then the biggest story of all broke several days in and was thus given the entirety of the stage. With necessary apologies to Czechia vs England and the Uefa Nations League, it was a tough sell.

4) The documented accusation of lying

The figures were monstrous. The details of Manchester City’s deliberate, concerted, calculated cheating were eye-watering. But most shocking of all was the detailed (in black and white) conclusions about how City witnesses had not just obfuscated but outright told untruths. It undercut everything that the club would subsequently claim in their statements and videos.

5) Aguerr-no – everything we saw was based on lies

It’s not particularly pleasant to know that everything you watched and took as competition within the sport’s accepted boundaries was based upon a lie. For Manchester City supporters, I can understand why the memories are still the memories (even if they are tainted). But that Aguero goal was the greatest ending to any elite football competition I have ever – or will ever – witness. And it was built upon sand because it was built upon lies.

6) Punishment bingo

It’s not just the sheer spectrum of the suggested punishments I’ve seen, what we might label as “Why should League Two take them”. It’s the potential breadth of the aftershocks here if City lose their appeal.

They could get the sporting punishment. Those who committed these offences could be charged by the Independent Football Regulator. They could face criminal investigation. The club could be sued by any number of related parties and rival clubs for loss of earnings. Pull the thread and watch the thing unravel.

7) The clubs who missed out

And while we’re pulling at threads, just how many clubs could feel that they have been a victim here? Every side that lost a domestic cup final? Every side that missed out on a league title? Every side that fell just short of a Champions League or Conference League place? What about losing to City in a semi-final, does that count? We could be set for the most spectacular class action lawsuits in sporting history.

8) The first five pages of the report moaning about the complexity

Although the juicy bits of the full report caught your eye, I’ve a lot of time for reading the first five pages, effectively an explanation of why the whole thing took so long. My tip: pretend that each line is delivered with a sigh, eye roll and check of the watch.

“Over the course of more than 200 pages [emphasis for effect] the Club’s Answer set out the numerous individual bases underlying each of its denials. [Huff. Sigh.] The Club’s Answer was also supplemented by Further Information. [Eye roll.]

“Although the parties made great efforts – for which we were extremely grateful [pretend sarcasm] – not to drown us in paper at the hearing, the volume of documents contained in the bundle used at the hearing remained extremely substantial. [Put ear to watch.]”

9) Djibril Cisse challenging Mike Dean to a fight

Yep, that happened a few days ago and you’d already forgotten it despite it being a decent contender for stupidest thing to happen in any other year.

I’m not gonna let you people talk shit like that
Let’s have a proper meeting and talk about it
Cause there is now way I gonna accept your bullshit anymore
So let’s do it https://t.co/7NfWcNpHIN

— Djibril Cisse (@DjibrilCisse) September 28, 2026

10) They didn’t need to do this – they could still have won!

This is the thing I can’t shake, and I’m aware that this might be totally wrong but I still can’t shake it. The cheating was designed to shortcut the process, to allow more spending and rapid improvement to the pinnacle.

But before 2011, owners could effectively inject unlimited capital anyway. And, honestly, given the component parts and a club being constructed internally for Pep Guardiola, I’m not even sure they needed to do it to win trophies. They got more than 90 league points four times.

11) The Arsene Wenger quote from 2011

“It raises the real question about the credibility of financial fair play. They give us the message that they can get around it by doing what they want. It means financial fair play will not come in. It is as simple as that. I can understand how they do it but it raises the real question.

“If the financial fair play is to have a chance, the sponsorship has to be at the market price. It cannot be doubled, tripled or quadrupled because that means it is better that we don’t do it and we leave everybody free. That can be defended as well, but if they bring the rules in they have to be respected.”

Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that a fair bit.

12) That 2019 post-match interview when Guardiola got angry

“Do you know the question you’re asking me? Did I receive money for another situation, right now, today? Honestly, do you think I deserve to have this type of question, the day we won the treble, did I receive money? Are you accusing me of receiving money?

“If we’re punished we accept it. But I listen to my chairman [Khaldoon al-Mubarak] and my CEO [Ferran Soriano], they give me the arguments for why we are under investigation and I trust them. They tell me we are fair and we absolutely follow the rules, I believe them.”

Got angry, but never actually gave an answer.

13) And speaking of Pep quotes

“I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever,” Guardiola posted on social media. “I am, always have been, always will be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo [Maresca] and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”

That’s nice. But you did say you would accept punishment? And you’re there despite leaving just before this all broke.

14) The BBC 5 Live Suffragette guy

Honestly, I don’t think that will be beaten. Talksport does a billion phone-ins with spicy callers and then Auntie Beeb goes and wins the lot.

Hats off to the legend @JayMotty for keeping it together in the face of such insanity pic.twitter.com/VinwUC9r0C

— Darren Richman (@darrenrichman) September 29, 2026

15) This is not Roberto Mancini’s problem, guv

“It’s not an issue that concerns me,” said Mancini before the Premier League’s official statement. “It’s nothing new because this matter has been discussed for the last four or five years. Manchester City has not been found guilty, and the alleged double contract is not my concern. It’s their issue, not mine.”

They have now, Bobby. And it sure feels like that double contract might be an issue for both of you. I’ve been thinking about that magnificent chutzpah a lot.

16) Ferran Soriano not blinking

Honestly, this is the biggest one. I’m not saying that this case has lived in my head rent-free and put up its own furnishings that I broadly dislike, but on Wednesday afternoon I did an actual Google search for the phrase “world record longest no blink”.

(Mack Borys, Winnipeg in Canada. Set this year at one hour, 45 minutes. But it’s unofficial and, with some more club videos, I reckon Soriano has a shot).

17) Omar Berrada walking into work

“Afternoon Carol, good day? Sounded quite busy around the desk?”

“Err yeah, Omar. Look, you haven’t seen the news have you?”

“I’ve been snowed under, Carol. No rest for the wicked, ha ha ha”

“Yeah, funny phrase that.”

“Have I missed anything, Carol?”

“You actually have. You know your CV – well it mentioned being Head of International Business Development, Director of Partnership Sales, Group Commercial Director and then Chief Operating Officer at Manchester City. And it’s just that… I’ll pop a meeting in your diary for the morning.”

18) The Anfield atmosphere

Liverpool and Manchester City don’t like each other much, a rivalry fuelled by their title tussles over the last decade and the insistence from Liverpool supporters that they forged history while Manchester City bought theirs. And then this story broke.

So what is the first Super Sunday fixture after the most news-rich international break in Premier League history? Liverpool vs Man City.

Oh Mr Fixture Computer, you are spoiling us. It’s going to be absolutely soaked in righteous anger and cat-calling. Vicious banter turned up to 11. Yes please.

19) What if Manchester City win the league?

Sorry to get serious again, but there is a huge potential problem on the horizon. Because of how this works, Manchester City are entitled to a full appeal. Any sanctions can hardly apply until after that appeal is heard, because that’s not how sport works. You can’t restore docked points and go back to where you were, obviously.

But what if City win the league (or even qualify for the Champions League, as is overwhelmingly likely). If you thought that everything before was based on falsehoods, Pandora’s Box has now been firmly opened. There will be an almighty kerfuffle at the end of the season if the sanctions are not able to be applied then, and you can absolutely see why. Or, to be more blunt: if you thought that this was messy before…

20) Roy Keane saying that he would throw his medals away

I don’t know if that is true. I don’t even know if Roy Keane really thinks it, given everything he says is recorded for a podcast or YouTube channel now and he’s a low-key brilliant entertainer. I just love that a man schooled and developed under Brian Clough used Cloughie’s phraseology about this case. As a sad Nottingham Forest sap, it gave me a jolt of pride. Pathetic.

21) Joe Hart as a man of trust

“My honest opinion is I’ve got no reason not to trust Khaldoon…He’s been excellent with everything that he’s done with Manchester City… I’ve got nothing but love for the club, nothing but love for him, nothing but respect for him.

“My genuine feeling, as someone who played for the club, is that I’m going to have to let it play out… But for me, someone who I trust, someone who’s led me and led the club brilliantly, what he said is enough.”

Unfortunate timing for Hart, delivered shortly before the verdict, but I also understand the take. I expect nobody to feel much sympathy for highly-paid players here, but having someone tell you that the successes of your career were built upon cheating and lies must be a fairly weighty punch to the gut.

22) The sheer spectrum of the Manchester City fan response

We’ve mentioned the Emmeline Pankhurst radio guy, but more broadly this is an emphatic reminder that football supporters, often treated as one mass when it comes to matters of tribalism, are anything but.

The excellent David Mooney on Sky Sports News, detailing his visceral anger at how the club have behaved and betrayed his trust, had to turn off the comments on his tweets because he couldn’t face the abuse that he would receive from fellow fans. A reminder that most football supporters aren’t loud or abusive on social media and, as such, we shouldn’t judge a fanbase by the online reaction of the minority.

23) City Football Group – what happens now?

The added complexity of this case is that it isn’t just Manchester City who may be impacted. They are the highest-profile club within a large nexus: New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos, Montevideo City Torque, Girona FC, Shenzhen Peng City FC, Mumbai City FC, Lommel SK, ESTAC Troyes, Palermo FC, Bahia.

If the ownership of the club is challenged by authority or negative supporter reaction, it is reasonable to wonder what happens to the future of the conglomerate as a whole. If nothing else, it’s pretty wretched PR for those working in other CFG clubs to have to deal with.

24) The one true soldier in the fight

Just when you think you've seen it all on the Manchester City case pic.twitter.com/CjoPxrkKoV

— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) September 30, 2026

Sorry to all the journalists who investigated this case and whom Manchester City tried to silence. But you should all have done better than Keysey.

25) Irrefutable evidence – a secret history

Manchester City insist that they possess a “comprehensive body” of “irrefutable evidence” that proves their innocence and it’s a phrase that has caused great confusion.

That confusion boils down to two obvious points:

a) if this evidence is so strong, why did nobody think to bring it up during the four years that we’ve been forced to wade through?

b) if it was indeed brought up and heard, that rather suggests that either the evidence was indeed refutable or its irrefutability didn’t actually make any difference to the strength of your argument, which rather suggests a limitation in your chance of winning an appeal.

26) Poor Sun Jihai, catching birthday strays

Happy Birthday to Sun Jihai pic.twitter.com/JP7L3PvKex

— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 30, 2026

On Wednesday morning, Sun Jihai logs into his Instagram account. It is his birthday, 49 years young. He prepares to have a special day, surrounded by his family and friends. It is now 10 years since he retired as a professional footballer. It almost feels like half a lifetime ago.

As he scrolls through his account, he sees that one of his former clubs have wished him a very happy birthday. He thinks it a lovely touch. After all, the six years he spent at Manchester City were amongst the happiest of his life.

Below the post is 1,680 comments. Wow, he thinks. What an absolute honour, all these people sending salutations on this fine day. He grabs a mug of hot coffee, sits down at the table and begins to read through the best wishes from Instagram users across the football community.

27) The Prime Minister couching criticism

I’m not thick; I get it. The UAE owning Manchester City also brought in significant investment into east Manchester, something that was desperately needed and the local council could hardly afford on their own. The former Mayor of Manchester is now the Prime Minister, ergo he’s always going to be slightly careful about his direct criticism.

But my goodness, if this doesn’t convince you that an actual state owning a football club should be banned because things have the clear potential to get horribly messy geopolitically, I don’t know what will.

Read more

• Opinion: Throw the book at Man City – and force the owners out
• Exclusive: The punishments Man City’s rivals want handed down

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