Newcastle United
Article 17 and Isak: the legal route reshaping Newcastle’s Liverpool pursuit
Isak’s standoff with Newcastle may pivot on FIFA’s revised Article 17, offering a legal escape route
The transfer stand-off involving Alexander Isak and Newcastle United has entered a public phase, with the striker attempting to force a move to Liverpool. Isak has refused to continue training with Newcastle. Eddie Howe has called for Alexander Isak’s future to be cleared up.
A lesser known change to Fifa’s transfer framework could alter the balance of the dispute. The development traces back to the Lassana Diarra ruling at the Court of Justice of the European Union last year, when Diarra successfully challenged Fifa’s rules as too restrictive for players seeking to change clubs. The CJEU found that footballers should have rights comparable to other workers and that Fifa’s rules must comply with EU labour and competition law. An ongoing class-action lawsuit is seeking compensation for other players who may have lost earnings under the former rules.
Fifa has revised its regulations since that ruling, though players’ union Fifpro has criticised the amendments as not going far enough. The key change sits in amended Article 17, which allows a player to unilaterally terminate a contract without reason if they have been under contract for at least three years, or for two years if they are 28 or older. Isak is 25 and has been under contract at Newcastle for three years after joining in the summer of 2022.
Under the new rules, Isak would be able to invoke Article 17 next summer, provided the termination is invoked within 15 days of the end of the season. Once the transfer window opens, he would then be free to join any club of his choosing. Newcastle would be entitled to compensation; that figure must be agreed with the buying club or, failing agreement, could be referred to Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber or the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Any compensation awarded under Article 17 would be unlikely to match the roughly £110m Liverpool have already offered, an offer the hierarchy at St James’ Park rejected. There is no evidence Isak’s representatives have threatened to invoke Article 17, but the option provides a potential escape route. Liverpool must decide whether to increase their offer, and Newcastle must weigh whether Isak can be reintegrated into Eddie Howe’s squad or whether accepting a transfer fee is the best course.
Arsenal
Money Talks: CIES Ranks the World’s Most Valuable Squads
CIES values nine squads over $1bn; Real Madrid leads at $1.78bn while Tottenham exceed $1bn. Values.
The surge in transfer prices and squad valuations has reshaped how clubs are measured. The CIES Football Observatory produces those estimates by weighing a player’s quality, age, position and length of contract, and those individual valuations are then summed to give each squad a market value.
The scale is striking. There are nine clubs with squads valued above $1 billion. At the top is Real Madrid with a squad valuation of $1.78 billion and Kylian Mbappé listed as the most valuable player at $221 million. Barcelona follow with $1.60 billion, Lamine Yamal accounting for $403.9 million of that total. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain each sit at $1.55 billion, with Bukayo Saka ($131.5 million) and Désiré Doué ($150.3 million) named as their most valuable players respectively.
Liverpool’s roster is valued at $1.20 billion, most valuable player Florian Wirtz ($149.8 million). Bayern Munich come in at $1.15 billion with Michael Olise ($162.6 million) as their top-rated asset. Tottenham’s squad is valued at $1.03 billion; Xavi Simons is listed as their most valuable player ($98.1 million), despite the club’s current relegation fight and Igor Tudor’s assessment that players “are lacking when we attack, we lack the quality to score the goal. We are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal.”
The list also includes Manchester United ($953 million, Benjamin Šeško $100.3 million) and Inter ($942 million, Lautaro Martínez $117 million). Earlier-positioned squads under $1 billion include Atlético Madrid ($903 million, Julián Álvarez $136.5 million), Juventus ($896 million, Kenan Yıldız $152.5 million) and Brighton ($894 million, Diego Gómez $86.4 million).
Several voices in the game have reflected on the market changes. Karl-Heinz Rumminegge said, “There are some players who do not come with a price tag.” Robert Lewandowski complained, “You are young, you score 10 goals in six months and some club will pay 60 or 70 million,” adding, “Before, you had to achieve something.” Vincent Kompany warned players about hype: “I always tell my players, ‘When there’s hype please don’t believe it, you’re not that good.’”
Whether the valuations mirror on-field quality or the inflation of a transfer market remains the central question CIES data brings into focus.
Chelsea
Anthony Gordon Rejects Claims He Avoided Teammates, Labels Reports ‘Complete Nonsense’
Anthony Gordon rejects claims he avoided teammates while ill, calling reports complete nonsense. Ed.
Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon has forcefully denied accounts of his conduct around Newcastle’s midweek Champions League tie against Barcelona, calling the commentary surrounding his availability “absolute nonsense” and “complete and utter stupidity.” He specifically challenged comments made by Wayne Rooney on The Overlap.
Rooney said: “If you’re ill, you’re ill. You shouldn’t be there,” and added, “He walked past us before the game and wouldn’t shake our hands. He said he didn’t want us to catch anything, but then he’s going into the dressing room with his teammates.”
Gordon dismissed that version of events while reflecting on a rare Premier League victory at Chelsea, where he scored the only goal on Saturday afternoon. Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, he said: “I think Rooney said I went past and didn’t shake their hands and went into the changing room. I didn’t.
“I got changed by myself in a changing room the size of this. It was just me and a sink. Complete nonsense. I think they need to do better at what they are doing.”
Gordon went on to describe his illness and the timeline that followed. “The media guy told me what was being said was complete and utter stupidity,” he said. “I was in bed for three days, missed training, so sick for three days. Then I turned up on the day of the game, ready to start the game—I thought I was starting. When I got to the stadium, the manager told me I wasn’t playing, which, you can imagine, I didn’t like very much, but that’s his decision. And the team played great.
“But saying I didn’t want to play in the biggest game of my career is absolute nonsense.”
After Newcastle’s spirited draw with Barcelona, manager Eddie Howe made clear it was his choice to leave Gordon out and that the player had been “absolutely willing to play.” Howe praised Gordon’s “single-mindedness” during the week, a trait the manager said returned on Saturday.
Chelsea
Rosenior Rings the Changes: Sánchez Starts as Jörgensen Omitted for Newcastle Visit
Rosenior selects Robert Sanchez; Filip Jorgensen omitted from squad, Teddy Sharman-Lowe on bench via
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has named Robert Sánchez as his starting goalkeeper for Saturday’s trip to Newcastle United, leaving Filip Jörgensen out of the matchday squad.
The decision sees Sánchez recalled to the XI while Jörgensen does not make the squad. Teddy Sharman-Lowe takes the goalkeeper’s place on the bench.
Rosenior’s selected starting lineup reads: Sánchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernández, Garnacho; João Pedro.
The substitutes named are: Sharman-Lowe, Tosin, Sarr, Badiashile, Hato, Santos, Lavia, Guiu, Delap.
The omission of Jörgensen prompted renewed attention after Peter Schmeichel said he had been told about a conversation in which Jörgensen was informed he was the club’s new No. 1. Rosenior addressed those reports at his pre-match press conference and rejected the account.
“I have not said to either keeper behind closed doors who is No. 1 and who is not. I have told them things they need to improve on and where they have done really well.
“I have never had a conversation with a keeper and said ‘you’re my No. 1.’”
Rosenior underlined his view that primary positions are won through performance rather than private declarations, invoking the example of past goalkeepers at the club.
“I think if you go through history and most great clubs, whether it’s a goalkeeper position, a No. 9 position, those shirts are earned on form, those shirts are earned on performance.
“[Look at] Petr Čech, here, as a goalkeeper. When Petr Čech came here he was a very young goalkeeper, same with [Thibaut] Courtois. They earned their time with the performances and earned their reputation with their performances they gave on the pitch. ]
