Messi beats Pele’s record with 644th Barca goal
December 23 – Lionel Messi has cemented his place as one of the sport’s greatest ever icons by breaking Pele’s goalscoring record for a single club.
Performance
Upbeat Messi blames his early season form on Barca uncertainty
December 22 – Lionel Messi says his failed attempt to leave Barcelona in the summer has affected his form this season.
AC Milan’s Leao sets European record with goal in 6.2 seconds
December 21 – Rafael Leao scored the fastest goal in Serie A history – and across Europe’s top leagues – as AC Milan netted after just six seconds at Sassuolo on Sunday.
Tuchel questions Marquinos’ FIFA XI omission and wonders what’s best for player health
December 21 – Paris St Germain manager Thomas Tuchel (pictured) has questioned the absence of Marquinhos from last week’s FIFA XI Team of the Year, claiming that the Brazilian should have been included.
Bilic wins Premier League sack race, but loses West Brom job to Allardyce
By Andrew Warshaw
December 17 – Thirteen games into the new English Premier League season and we have the first managerial casualty, one that almost beggars belief.
Tigres and Club America lead Mexican bid for another Champions League title
December 17 – With coronavirus case spiking at just the wrong time in the US, Concacaf has nevertheless managed to complete its centralised quarter finals in Orlando with two Mexican, one Honduran and one US team lining up for Saturday’s semi-finals.
Brexit rules will stem flow of young foreign talent, says Man Utd academy boss
December 16 – The head of Manchester United’s academy has warned that Brexit will have an adverse effect of English clubs trying to sign young players from overseas.
Stoke’s Collins tops ‘rigour’ ranking but Dutch and RB Salzburg are the talent factories
December 15 – The CIES Football Observatory has launched its latest top 10 rankings of the best performing players in Europe born in the 2000s and playing for clubs outside Europe’s Big 5 leagues.
Belgium score Xmas hat-trick at top of World Rankings
December 10 – Belgium have topped the world ranking for a third consecutive year to become the FIFA team of the year, the world governing body said on Thursday.
Inter Milan’s draw hands Champions League lifeline to Real Madrid
December 10 – Inter Milan were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage for the third consecutive season on Wednesday night following a goalless draw with Shakthar Donetsk, who were also eliminated, allowing Real Madrid to squeeze into the knockout phase.
Boca Juniors squeeze into Copa Libertadores quarter finals with shoot-out win
December 12 – Argentinean giants Boca Juniors triumphed on penalties against Internacional of Brazil to set up a Copa Libertadores quarter-final against Racing Club as the competition moves into the business end of the season.
RB Leipzig crush Man Utd’s European rebirth putting renewed focus on Solskjaer
By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – Manchester United became the first high-profile victims of Champions League elimination on Tuesday as they failed to make the knockout stages, heaping even more pressure under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Real Madrid and RB Leipzig focus on youth for new players. Spurs and Man City make top 20
December 8 – Real Madrid head a ranking of big-5 league clubs who recruit the youngest players to their squads, with an average age of 22.2 years.
Van Bronckhorst leaves CSL giants Guangzhou R&F
December 4 – Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F have parted company after just one season with head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Low point: Germans back head coach for Euro 2020
December 1 – Joachim Low will coach Germany at Euro 2020. The longstanding coach had come under severe pressure in recent months, but the German FA (DFB), have kept their faith in him.