Manchester City’s financial case led the football agenda after the club was found guilty on all charges over breaches of Premier League financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. A leading sports lawyer called City’s appeal strategy high risk, while Jose Mourinho said he hopes to live long enough to see the final punishment. Erling Haaland urged supporters to stay together, enjoy the ride and smile ahead of Sunday’s trip to Anfield, and head coach Enzo Maresca also responded to the verdict.

The ruling hung over a major Premier League fixture, with City heading to Liverpool after the international break. Liverpool are expected to be without anything close to a recognized striker for Sunday’s game. Off the field, Liverpool were also drawn into a separate issue after workers producing official shirts for some of the world’s biggest clubs were found to be earning a basic wage of less than £1 an hour.

At Manchester United, uncertainty over the manager’s job continued. Antonio Conte has been shortlisted to replace Michael Carrick, with former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde also backed for the role. Talks over a new contract for Bruno Fernandes are ongoing, though one sticking point is the timing of any agreement and a new clause is under discussion. Youngster JJ Gabriel has been offered a new deal, but he is still almost certain to leave and has decided on a move overseas.

In Italy, Bologna completed the signing of Matteo Darmian on a free transfer after a trial spell, while Inter lost Curtis Jones for around three weeks with a thigh injury. At Roma, Gian Piero Gasperini said the plan is to win the Scudetto within three years, although he would welcome doing it sooner.