Football/Soccer 24 Hours

Last updated: July 31, 2026, 2:30 PM ET

Managerial Movements and Club News

Eddie Howe stepped down as head coach of Newcastle United after nearly five years in charge . Newcastle United have has stepped down from his role as head coach . Arsenal are increasingly confident of signing Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle United following the exit of manager Eddie Howe, sources have told ESPN's James Olley head coach Vitor Matos has agreed a new contract that ties him to the Championship club until 2030 leaves his role as Fulham Under-21 boss to become the new head coach of League Two side Newport County Diego Forlán has been appointed head coach of Uruguay's national team on an interim basis until March 2027 .

Player Status and Transfers

Chelsea Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been cleared to return to play after his doping ban was resolved has not played since November 2024 coach Guillermo Hoyos stated he will be having conversations about Lionel Messi's return to action following his 2026 World Cup participation with Argentina Lionel Messi the god of football, adding that he joined Inter Miami to help the Argentina forward add more trophies to his record-breaking career co-owner Jorge Mas criticized Major League Soccer's Discovery List rule following the Casemiro signing dispute, stating he's pushed to abolish the rule for over two years . Real Madrid have from Levante on a five-year contract has said goodbye to Barcelona after returning to Manchester United ahead of the new Premier League season following the conclusion of his loan spell . Senne Lammens has short to return to training with Manchester United ahead of the new season, sources have told ESPN have agreed a deal with Fulham for forward Gonzalo García to join the Premier League club, and are close to another which will see midfielder César Palacios make the move . England defender John Stones has joined Italian Serie A champions Inter Milan on a free transfer and agreed a deal worth up to almost £26m for Benfica centre-back Antonio Silva are in talks with Celtic over the signing of Arne Engels, with the Scottish club holding out for a deal worth around £25m for the midfielder . Celtic rejected West approach for Arne Engels while there is Everton interest in Alistair Johnston, manager Martin O'Neill confirmed Martin O'Neill has reiterated his desire not to lose any more key players during the summer transfer window amid interest in Arne Engels and Alistair Johnston are reportedly looking to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille League clubs are watching Chelsea's Liam Delap, and Manchester City are closing in on rising star Ayyoub Bouaddi, among other gossip are looking to complete "another bomba" transfer, says head coach Roberto De Zerbi is expected to miss the start of Liverpool's Premier League campaign through injury, but it is not likely to impact the Reds' transfer plans .

Club Finances and Regulations

Chelsea have been fined £10 million ($13m) and handed a ban by the Football Association after admitting 74 breaches of its agent regulations . Chelsea have been fined £10m by the Football Association for breaching rules relating to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022 . Chelsea have been fined £10m and given a ban by an independent appeal board after admitting breaches of Football Association agent rules went affordable, while Chelsea, Man City and Spurs all spent big in their transfer strategies . A consortium led by former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley holds talks about purchasing a 25% stake in Championship club West Ham and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi's PCP Capital Partners have made an offer to buy a 25.1 per cent stake in West Ham .

International Football and FIFA Plans

FIFA has started a consultation process over an expansion of the Men's World Cup to 64 teams, with documents seen by ESPN aiming for a decision by Aug. 14 . FIFA issued statement Friday saying that "nobody is selling football" and that it plans to continue the consultation process for the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity . Football's governing body FIFA plans to continue the consultation process after Uefa threatens to boycott World Cups Gianni Infantino's plans will make women's football "the first casualties" according to former England defender Anita Asante Andy Burnham has described Gianni Infantino as "the wrong man" to lead FIFA, increasing the pressure on world football's president after a key advisor resigned over his controversial plan Andy Burnham stated that Gianni Infantino is "the wrong man" to lead Fifa as criticism grows of the controversial investment plan adviser and former U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro resigned Friday in protest at its private equity plan . It has been a seismic 48 hours for football after Uefa threatened to boycott the World Cup and Concacaf plan, raising questions about what happens next and if Fifa's president can survive has clashed with unions and European football, but after 10 years as Fifa president he remains in a powerful position .

League Previews and Player Performances

The new Scottish Premiership season begins on Friday, and a full season preview is available . Heart of Midlothian head coach Wouter Vrancken is looking to replicate last season's strong Scottish Premiership showing despite his players having to adapt to "a totally different style of play" season gets under way this weekend in the preliminary round of the Carabao Cup for four teams . Chelsea and England forward Aggie Beever-Jones had her "hardest" season in 2025-26 and she had a big decision to make about her future when it ended has said he did watch England at the World Cup after his 26-man squad snub, but fell asleep at halftime of the game against Mexico are being graded at the halfway point of the season, with an assessment of all 16 teams provided .

Notable Departures and Tributes

Franco Baresi legendary former AC Milan and Italy defender, has died at the age of 66 and Italy great Franco Baresi has died at the age of, the Italian club announced .

Other Football News

Premier League clubs that have carried the biggest World Cup workload are being examined . For the 2026-27 season, Manchester City has kit Liverpool's Curtis Jones had a heated argument with team-mate Dominik Szoboszlai after his side's win over Wrexham Hibernian were booed off in Kosovo last week, but a rousing second-leg display has his name ringing from the Easter Road rafters once more . Motherwell and Hibernian have progressed in the Conference League qualifiers came from behind and produced a second-half fightback to secure a 22-16 win over Hull FC in a Betfred Super League clash . England fought back to 58-54 to reach the netball semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow men's team are alive in The Hundred after defending 128 against Birmingham Phoenix, with contributions from Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes .