Key events
Just to make you aware of another of our pre-UCL final offering. Nicky Bandini on Inter’s defining moment.
Football Daily has landed with a Champions League final theme.
I enjoyed this from Scott Murray: “This year Inter could finally feature in a showpiece to remember, as anyone who watched their latest iteration’s gloriously batty defenestration of Barcelona in the semi-finals can attest.”
Nicolò Barella and Lautaro Martínez are also chatting to the media as part of the Inter presser.
Inzaghi has addressed Inter’s role as underdogs for the final:
Are we not underdogs as we were against City [in 2023]? The wage bill and the turnover don’t go on the pitch. The players go on the pitch and they know they will have to pay close attention to details. Two years ago we were largely underdogs but then we played on equal terms and we deserved something more against the strongest in the world at that time.
To win a Champions League final it will take everything. Every detail we are trying to take care of. We are facing a great team, who deserved the final. PSG have incredible strength and a great coach, who I admire.
Bruno Fernandes isn’t the only one being sized up by Al-Hilal for a possible move. Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi has also been linked with the Saudi outfit.
He’s got other things on his mind right now, namely the (small matter of the) Champions League final, but in the Inter press conference ahead of the European showpiece he’s inevitably been asked about his future.
“I’m happy here at Inter. I feel good and I’ve everything to do important things at this club”.
So that’s that. More to come from Inzaghi and the Inter camp.
There was some confusion in our earlier posts about the size of Liverpool’s bid for Florian Wirtz. Just to confirm the fee in question is £109m. Which is, er, massive.
It’s the big one this weekend – Oldham v Southend at Wembley. Plus a decent game on Saturday night. Plan your weekend watching with our preview guide.
Elsewhere, Scotland – without a point in Group A1 – host Austria in a relegation six-pointer, while Wales are also seeking a first win as they go to Denmark. In League B, Northern Ireland can boost their promotion hopes by beating group leaders Poland at home, and the Republic of Ireland can close on top spot in Group B2 with victory in Turkey.
Back in the top tier, Germany take on the Netherlands in a battle to take charge of Group A1, France host Euro 2025 hosts Switzerland, Spain take a trip to Belgium and the top two in Wales’s group – Sweden and Italy – meet in an earlier kick-off.
England take on Portugal in the Women’s Nations League tonight – and only a win will do at Wembley, with group leaders Spain up next on Tuesday. The buildup to the game has been overshadowed by Mary Earps’ retirement – here’s what Leah Williamson and Sarina Wiegman had to say on that subject yesterday.
Amorim addresses Fernandes’ Manchester United future
Ruben Amorim has addressed stories linking Bruno Fernandes with a big-money move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal in his press conference following Manchester United’s post-season friendly win over Hong Kong.
Amorim has suggested the United captain will resist the temptation to move and stay at Old Trafford.
He said: “I don’t think so. I don’t know for sure, nobody knows, but I don’t think so. I think he’s seeing us taking some actions to change things and that’s all he asks. I think he wants to stay. He’s saying no to a lot of things, but that shows he wants to win. He’s really young, he’s really good, he needs to be in the best league in the world. We can find another way to earn money.”
In EFL manager news, it looks like Liam Manning has agreed a deal to swap the West Country for East Anglia, switching from Bristol City to take the vacant job at Norwich.
He did a terrific job to guide the Robins into the playoffs on a limited budget, all while suffering some terrible personal trauma. This from Ben Fisher with Manning is an emotive read.
I got 8/15 in that quiz, which is pretty rubbish I must say.
Quiz time! As always, it’s the perfect accompaniment to your Friday afternoon slow-burn countdown.
Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong seemingly on the way, Milos Kerkez in the pipeline and yet more signings on their radar … Liverpool are going to be very hard to unseat as Premier League champions, I suspect.
Liverpool make £109m bid for Wirtz
Liverpool have made a club-record bid of £109m (€130m) to Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz, the Germany international who Arne Slot wants to maintain his team’s superiority in the Premier League and enhance their prospects of winning the Champions League.
Here’s the full story:
What drama! A Manchester United win!
Ayden Heaven joins fellow former Arsenal youngster Chido Obi in notching his first United goal in this game as they wrap up a 3-1 win over Hong Kong. There’s something to cheer for beleaguered United fans after all.
(Thanks David)
There’s now been a fourth goal in Hong Kong. To give you full details and more footballing updates, here’s Dominic Booth again for the rest of the afternoon. Thanks for reading.
They’ve only gone and turned it around. Manchester United have fought back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 against Hong Kong. And it’s a double for Chido Obi, the 17-year-old Danish-born forward.
McAtee called up by England Under-21s
Manchester City’s James McAtee has been called up to England Under-21s’ European Championship training camp but Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton is among three enforced withdrawals.
City boss Pep Guardiola recently said the 22-year-old attacking midfielder and team-mate Rico Lewis had a “choice” to make between playing at the Club World Cup this summer or for the Young Lions in Slovakia.
McAtee has scored seven goals in 18 appearances for Lee Carsley’s Under-21s and on Friday was added to the expanded squad preparing to retain the title won in Georgia two years ago.
However, the Football Association has confirmed three players will be unable to meet up with the group at St George’s Park this weekend.
The governing body said: “Sunderland’s Dennis Cirkin, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Tottenham Hotspur’s Dane Scarlett have been forced to withdraw due to medical issues. Carsley’s final squad for next month’s UEFA U21 EURO in Slovakia is to be announced on Friday 6 June.” (PA Media)
Some Champions League final trivia, via uefa.com. Plenty of opportunities here to nudge your mates and amaze them before they eventually tell you to shut up. Did you know that….?
Achraf Hakimi signed for Paris from Inter in July 2021. He scored seven goals in 45 appearances in all competitions during his sole season with the Nerazzurri, including 37 in their Serie A title-winning campaign.
Have also played in Italy:
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli 2022–25)
Fabián Ruiz (Napoli 2018–22)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan 2013–21)
Marquinhos (Roma 2012/13)
Luis Enrique was coach of Roma in 2011/12.
Have played in France:
Benjamin Pavard (LOSC Lille 2005–16)
Marcus Thuram (Sochaux 2012–17, Guingamp 2017–19)
Have played together:
Lucas Hernández & Benjamin Pavard (Bayern München 2019–23)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia & Piotr Zieliński (Napoli 2022–24)
Gianluigi Donnarumma & Hakan Çalhanoğlu (AC Milan 2017–21)
Kvaratskhelia and Fabián Ruiz were Napoli team-mates for two months in summer 2022.
International team-mates:
Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Lucas Hernández, Presnel Kimpembe & Benjamin Pavard, Marcus Thuram (France)
Gianluigi Donnarumma & Francesco Acerbi, Nicolò Barella, Alessando Bastoni, Matteo Darmian, Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi (Italy)
Lucas Beraldo, Marquinhos & Carlos Augusto (Brazil)
West Ham fined £120k for fans’ homophobic chanting
West Ham have been handed a fine of £120,000 for homophobic chanting by their fans during the 2-1 Premier League loss at Chelsea on February 3, the Football Association said on Friday.
An independent Regulatory Commission has also imposed an action plan on West Ham, the FA said.
“It was alleged that the club failed to ensure its spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters) did not behave in an improper, offensive, abusive, indecent or insulting way with either an express or implied reference to sexual orientation,” the FA said in a statement.
The club admitted the charge of misconduct, in relation to abusive, offensive, discriminatory, homophobic chanting by supporters.
“The club has a zero-tolerance policy towards discriminatory, abusive and insulting behaviour, and those identified will, in addition to any criminal charges they face, be issued with club bans,” the East London club said. (Reuters)
It’s been all of 45 minutes since the last Florian Wirtz update. Here’s Fabrizio Romano suggesting it won’t be long now before Liverpool get their man.
🚨⏳ The structure of the add-ons is the final detail being negotiated between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz.
The deal is expected to happen soon, as it’s always been the case: optimism and not a long saga. 💣 pic.twitter.com/FVpfk4DkI9
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 30, 2025
The comeback is on. Man Utd pull level in Hong Kong via Chido Obi with a finish described as ‘clinical’ on the United X page. 1-1.
To Scotland now where Rangers are under new ownership. An American consortium, including 49ers Enterprises, have completed a deal to buy 51% of the club. Ewan Murray has the full story.
Over to the blue half of Manchester now. Here’s the full story on City chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, saying the club were not aggressive enough in the transfer market last summer.
Half-time in Hong Kong and the hosts are beating Manchester United 1-0. Perhaps for balance, it’s worth noting that United lead the shot count 15-1 and that Bruno Fernandes tried a Rabona when clean through on goal, his effort saved by the ‘keeper.
Oldham take on Southend at Wembley on Sunday to decide who wins promotion from the National League. Will Unwin looks at how a very famous name in the Latics’ history is behind their revival.
Liverpool fans are craving transfer updates. Here’s the latest from Fabrizio Romano on their main target.
🚨🔴 More on Florian Wirtz deal. Talks are advancing as reported earlier with club optimistic as Liverpool proposal around €130m is now on the table.
Negotiations are underway on structure of the add-ons, key to get the agreement sealed.
Wirtz ONLY wants Liverpool. ⏳⌛️ pic.twitter.com/dpxdQVSSHV
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 30, 2025
Hong Kong 1-0 Man Utd. The United X page posts: ‘Goal. Juninho opens the scoring.’ A bit ambiguous. Is Juninho a young United youth team star perhaps? Nope, he plays for Hong Kong and has given the hosts a 19th-minute lead.
One of the classic moments – Trevor Francis rolling across some round concrete. That was the first of the four European Cup finals to be played in Munich. The fifth is on Saturday. The first three were at the Olympiastadion. Chelsea’s win came at the Munich Football Arena, the venue this year.
Finals in Munich
1978/79: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Malmö
1992/93: Marseille 1-0 AC Milan
1996/97: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Juventus
2011/12: Chelsea 1-1 Bayern (aet; 4-3 pens)
PSG v Inter: the actual big one. Both have lost the Champions League final in the last five years (PSG to Bayern in 2020 and Inter to Manchester City in 2023). Both were defeated by a single goal and four of the last five finals have ended 1-0.
The betting this year is clearly in favour of PSG. Are these odds underestimating Inter?
6/5 PSG
12/5 Inter
9/4 Draw
Thanks Dom. To the big one then… Manchester United v Hong Kong. It’s just kicked off. Still 0-0. Can United hit back after that 1-0 loss to the ASEAN All-Stars?
I shall now hand the reins over to David Tindall for the next couple of hours while I grab some lunch. All yours, David!
Full story on the Liverpool court case this morning.
Ruben Amorim is hoping for better things from his Manchester United team in their second post-season friendly, which kicks off at 1pm (BST) today. (Still struggling to even comprehend that phrase ‘post-season friendly’, but that’s modern football for ya):
We understand that the players are tired of travelling and all the commercial things that we do to get together with our fans, but now it’s time to perform and show good things to our fans.
Alleged Liverpool crash driver appears in court
The alleged driver of a car that ploughed into a crowd at Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade has appeared in court.
Paul Doyle, 53, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court this morning charged with seven offences following the incident on Water Street in the city centre on Monday, which resulted in 79 people suffering injuries.
The father-of-three, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court this afternoon. Reuters
Nigeria face Jamaica in the Unity Cup final tomorrow at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium and this piece is well worth a few minutes of your time.
Jesse Lingard’s time at Manchester United seems an age ago now, with the 32-year-old now playing for FC Seoul in South Korea. But he’s revealed he set a 4am alarm to watch the recent Europa League final and has spoken out on the club’s struggles.
“They will always be one of the biggest clubs in the world and supporters will support them through thick and thin,” he told the BBC.
“It might be a long-term project with [Ruben] Amorim. He knows what he wants to do. It’s tough when you’re not in the Champions League to attract players so he was relying on winning the Europa League. It’s 100% a factor.
“My love and support will always be with United. I still watch their games or catch highlights.”
Here are some rough timings for later:
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3.45pm – Inzaghi’s Inter press conference
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4.30pm – Open Inter training session
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6pm – Open PSG training session
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7.15pm – Enrique’s PSG press conference
All times UK (BST)
It’s going to be a while before we get the Inter or PSG press conferences. No idea why they’re always held so late in the day by Uefa.
Another Lionesses read for you here. Tom Garry on Michelle Agyemang, the exciting new teenage forward in Sarina Wiegman’s squad. She could feature against Portugal tonight at Wembley.
Allegri returns to AC Milan
Massimiliano Allegri will return to AC Milan for a second stint as manager after the struggling Serie A club appointed him today, a day after sacking Sergio Conceicao.
Allegri will replace the Portuguese coach who came in mid-season to help them win the Italian Super Cup, but the club ultimately failed to qualify for any European competition after a disappointing eighth-placed finish.
Allegri managed Milan from 2010 to 2014 before two spells at Juventus. He’s previously managed SPAL, Cagliari and Sassuolo, among others. Reuters
Manchester United are playing a post-season friendly against Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Stadium today.
The football truly never does stop, does it? They lost 1-0 the other day to ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur, by the way.
After a ‘welcome Trent’ tweet confirmed Real Madrid’s signing of the English right-back, they then went scouring his X history for something from 11 years ago.
Alexander-Arnold and Bellingham at the Club World Cup, then.
The capacity for Sunday’s National League playoff final has been increased to 50,000 following a lobby from Southend fans over their ticket allocation. The Shrimpers face Oldham at Wembley on Sunday, with the attendance initially capped at 40,000.
The size of both clubs, formerly EFL regulars, means the demand has been higher than initially expected, with a spokesperson for London mayor Sadiq Khan releasing a statement on the situation:
Both teams are former Football League clubs, but the ticket allocation was determined by the stadium and set at 40,000 before it was known which clubs would be competing.
Following negotiations with Wembley Stadium, Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police, Sadiq Khan and [Mayor of Greater Manchester] Andy Burnham have now confirmed that capacity has been increased to 50,000.
A fair few reports this morning are suggesting Bruno Fernandes could be on the move this summer.
Al Hilal have reportedly not given up trying to sign Fernandes from Manchester United, with the Portuguese set to consider a lucrative wage offer from the Saudi club, who could bid in excess of £100m for the United captain.
Should United cash in and invest the funds elsewhere? Their stance so far has been that Fernandes – their best player by far – is not for sale.
Liverpool allow Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid early
Liverpool have agreed to let Trent Alexander-Arnold join Real Madrid when the transfer window opens on Sunday in a deal that will be worth £10m to the Premier League champions. It should mean he can play in the upcoming Club World Cup.
Here’s the full story via Andy Hunter:
A live blog from the world of women’s friendlies for you, this morning:
Another pre-match read for you here, from a man who knows a thing or two about winning trophies at elite level, Philipp Lahm.
Managers Luis Enrique and Simone Inzaghi are yet to confirm team news for their sides, but PSG’s dilemma will be how to balance their front three in Munich. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been struggling with a slight knock but is still expected to start. For Enrique, it will be whether Bradley Barcola or Desire Doue start alongside the Georgian and Ousmane Dembele in the front three.
Inter have enjoyed some serious highs of their own en route to the final.
The whole semi-final tie versus Barcelona was insane but the second leg was particularly brilliant. Goals, goals, goals.
The road to Munich: and was this the best Champions League performance by any team that resulted in a defeat? How on earth PSG lost this to Liverpool I’m still unsure.
Transfer news time! (You didn’t think you were getting away without any transfer stories, did you?)
Liam Delap and Luis Díaz look like they could be on the move this summer.
PSG and Inter, of course, are no strangers to Champions League finals in recent years. Both have fallen at the final hurdle, with Inter beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in 2023 as Pep Guardiola’s side completed the treble. PSG lost out by the same scoreline in 2020 courtesy of a goal from their former player Kingsley Coman.
Incidentally, the last time a French team won the Champions League was way back in 1993 when Marseille beat … AC Milan.
This is a belting read by Barney Ronay. PSG’s Qatari owners finally have a team to be proud of, and winning the Champions League is the final piece in their puzzle. Is this their time?
The atmosphere is already building in Munich ahead of tomorrow night’s final. It’s not too far for fans of PSG and Inter to travel, so expect a strong contingent from both clubs in the city.
The Champions Festival is always worth catching before these events. Uefa can put on a party, to be fair to them.
The Guardian Football Weekly Champions League final pod has dropped. Get your ears around it.
Before we get to the Champions League final, there’s a whole heap of Women’s Nations League action tonight, including England v Portugal at Wembley with the Lionesses in need of a win to keep alive any lingering hopes of toping Group 3A – which is currently topped by Spain. They are away to Belgium this evening.
Before the game Tom Garry caught up with England’s Esme Morgan, who has been in sparkling form over in the USA for Washington Spirit.
Preamble
Good morning. All roads lead to Munich this weekend, with tomorrow night’s Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Internazionale bringing the curtain down on another thrilling domestic club season. It’s not the final many predicted – Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool and others have fallen by the wayside – but it pits two of the more interesting and dynamic teams in Europe against each other in a perfectly-balanced final. PSG’s speed and swagger against Inter’s intelligence and intensity.
We’ll hear from both camps today, run through the latest team news, remind you of the two clubs’ history and runs to the final, as well as bringing you some analysis and previews from our team of expert writers. Can the perennial French champions lift Ol’ Big Ears for the first time in their history? Or will the Nerazzurri claim the trophy for the first time since 2010, José Mourinho and all that?
We can hardly wait. Let’s get stuck into then it shall we?
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