The striker replacing Nguyen Xuan Son is too good; MU achieves record revenue

The striker replacing Nguyen Xuan Son is very good.

At Thien Truong Stadium, the enthusiastic atmosphere gave the reigning V.League champions more strength. Coach Vu Hong Viet fielded a squad with 10 foreign players, keeping only Hoang Anh as a domestic player, showing great determination against the representative who finished 4th in the Thai League last season.

Right in the first half, Nam Dinh dominated the game and made their advantage concrete in the 35th minute. Mahmoud Eid escaped down the right wing and then accurately crossed the ball to Caio Cesar, this striker shot diagonally past the Ratchaburi goalkeeper, opening the score 1-0.

In the second half, the mark belonged entirely to Brenner – who replaced Nguyen Xuan Son from the return leg of the V.League last season. In the 52nd minute, from a throw-in situation, Percy Tau crossed the ball well for Brenner to fire a powerful shot, doubling the gap. Just 5 minutes later, the Brazilian striker continued to show his ability to seize great opportunities, turning around and shooting diagonally to increase the score to 3-0.

Ratchaburi's efforts only helped them to get a goal back in the 60th minute, when Tana took advantage of a messy situation in Nam Dinh's penalty area to score a consolation goal. Goalkeeper Caique Santos, despite flying as far as he could, was still unable to block it.

The 3-1 victory over Ratchaburi not only gave Nam Dinh FC a good start in AFC Champions League Two, but also confirmed that Brenner is a worthy replacement for Nguyen Xuan Son. The Brazilian striker is proving that he can absolutely become the leader in the attack, helping the team from the South continue to write the dream of reaching the continent.

MU achieves record revenue

On the evening of September 17, MU announced a record revenue of 665.5 million pounds, despite suffering a loss of 33 million pounds with the worst Premier League season in history.

In the 2024/25 season, MU finished in 15th place, the lowest in the history of participating in the Premier League. However, the Old Trafford club still recorded the highest revenue ever, reaching 665.5 million pounds.

Just six months ago, Sir Jim Ratcliffe warned the club could run out of money before the end of 2025. However, a restructuring plan that will see more than 300 staff cut will help the Red Devils significantly reduce operating costs.

United believe these figures reflect effective cost-saving measures, despite criticism. United also recorded record matchday and commercial revenue, thanks in particular to the deal with main sponsor Snapdragon.

In addition, the club's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) reached its highest level in Europe since the Covid-19 pandemic, at £182.5 million. EBITDA is an important indicator in the industry to evaluate business performance.

However, these figures only count up to the end of June and do not include the major impact from the 2025 summer transfer window, when the "Red Devils" spent around 200 million pounds to recruit Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens.

The player wage bill at Old Trafford has dropped by £51.5m to £313.2m, thanks to MU not participating in the Champions League (which requires salary reduction based on performance), and the departure of a number of high-earning players.

MU's historical debt, a legacy from the Glazer family's takeover 20 years ago, remains at $650 million, although it actually decreased from 511 million pounds to 471.9 million pounds thanks to the change in the pound against the dollar.

MU spent 36.6 million pounds on "special expenses", including restructuring the club and paying compensation to coach Erik ten Hag and his assistant team. The club's operating expenses were 733.6 million pounds, down 34.9 million pounds compared to the previous year.

MU's other operating expenses increased by 21 million pounds to 170.4 million pounds, due to the move to a new e-commerce model this year.

Vinicius Jr posts cryptic message after being dropped from Real Madrid squad

Vinicius Jr has just made a move that has attracted attention on social networks after being pushed to the bench by coach Xabi Alonso in Real Madrid's opening Champions League match.

On Tuesday night at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid started their European campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Marseille. Alonso surprisingly used an attacking trio of Franco Mastantuono, Arda Guler and Rodrygo, while Kylian Mbappe continued to play up front. That left Vinicius, who started the win over Real Sociedad last weekend, on the bench.

Vinicius was introduced in the second half with the score at 1-1 and almost scored the winner, before Mbappe sealed the win for Real. However, after the match, the Brazilian star attracted attention when he posted a black and white photo on his Instagram Story of himself leaving the field shirtless with the song “Principles of a Champion”.

It is unclear whether the message was aimed at Real Madrid fans or coach Alonso, but it has sparked speculation about Vinicius' future.

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He has been linked with a move away from the Bernabeu in recent seasons, and this summer, talkSPORT revealed that Saudi Arabia were considering a record €350m (£304m) bid for the Brazilian, with the plan even coming with a huge salary of around €1bn (£867m) over five years.

It is still unclear whether Saudi Arabian clubs are still interested or not, when Vinicius, with a contract until 2027, did not really explode at the start of the new season.

Vinicius Jr could return to the starting line-up when Real Madrid host Espanyol in La Liga next Saturday.

Spain at risk of refusing to participate in the 2026 World Cup

Patxi Lopez, spokesman for the Socialist Workers' Party, said the national team could boycott the 2026 World Cup if Israel qualifies.

He stressed that Spain would “evaluate the situation at the appropriate time”, adding that a sports boycott could “open the eyes” of the international community to what Israel was doing in Gaza.

The move comes just days after La Vuelta, Spain's biggest cycling race, was severely disrupted by pro-Palestinian protests.

The final stage in Madrid ended abruptly 3km from the finish due to safety concerns, with no winner being declared. The Israel-Premier Tech team became the focus of protests, with thousands of demonstrators blocking roads, flying flags and spraying graffiti. Many riders expressed disappointment, including Carlos Verona, Tom Pidcock and champion Jonas Vingegaard.

Israel have not qualified for the World Cup since 1970, but they still have a chance to qualify for the European qualifying play-offs. If they do, a diplomatic and sporting crisis could erupt as Spain and possibly other countries are forced to boycott the tournament.

FIFA has long maintained a tough stance against government interference in football. If Spain does take action, the Spanish national team could face heavy penalties and even be disqualified from international competitions.