Football essentials, 13 October: City await PSG days after the guilty verdict, Koke out following his mother’s death, Carvajal joins Getafe

PSG travel to the Etihad on Wednesday evening for the headline tie of round two in the Champions League: European champions for the past two seasons, they face a club found guilty of 114 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules and fresh from a 3-0 win at Anfield on Sunday. The evening starts in Madrid, where Atletico host Manchester United without their captain.

Maresca rates PSG “the best team in Europe”

Enzo Maresca did not hedge in his press conference: PSG are “the best team in Europe at the moment”, and his players will need to produce “a perfect match”, the City manager said, as L’Équipe reports. In goal, Gianluigi Donnarumma meets his old club: he left Paris on 1 September 2025 after four seasons, and the Italian says he takes the reunion “without the slightest spirit of revenge”, after a parting RMC Sport describes as difficult.

The verdict in the background, Pogba eyes the titles

Found guilty of 114 breaches of the financial rules between 2009 and 2018, over misleading information amounting to a billion euros according to RMC Sport, City have appealed; expulsion from the league and the loss of titles have been mooted, with no timetable. Paul Pogba, seven seasons at United without a league title and twice runner-up to City, is already looking at the table: “I just hope it doesn’t affect the Premier League and we can get two titles back”, he said at the Singapore Grand Prix. Our piece weighs which seasons are in play, and they differ from one outlet to the next.

Koke out, Carrick under pressure

Koke’s mother died on Tuesday morning: the Atletico captain, 34, will not play against Manchester United on Tuesday evening at the Metropolitano, and a minute’s silence will be held before kick-off, L’Équipe reports; our piece covers a squad missing its captain for the first time this season. Opposite him, Michael Carrick takes his first European away trip with six points from six league games, United’s worst start in forty years, and an Antonio Conte rumour the club has not confirmed: our piece tracks the crisis.

Carvajal lands at the Coliseum

Dani Carvajal has found a club: a free agent since his Real Madrid contract expired in June, the 34-year-old right-back joins Getafe, welcomed with a “Welcome to the Coliseum, Dani!” in the announcement video. Foot Mercato reports a contract until 30 June 2027, Marca stays cautious, and the deal took a week of negotiations with LaLiga after president Ángel Torres had declared it all broken off. Our piece runs the roll of honour that arrives in the south of Madrid: 29 trophies, including six Champions Leagues.

Kovac extended, Dortmund settled

Borussia Dortmund announced on Tuesday that Niko Kovac has extended his contract to 30 June 2029. Brought in during the spring of 2025 to lift a team eleventh in the Bundesliga, the 54-year-old Croat took them into the Champions League and finished second in the league with 73 points, and his assistants Robert Kovac and Filip Tapalovic extend with him, Foot Mercato notes. Long enough to beat his own record for longevity on a German bench.

Netflix buys the 2030 World Cup in Spain

All 104 matches of the 2030 World Cup will be shown live by Netflix in Spain and Andorra, RMC Sport reports: the entire tournament, co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, on the platform, one free match per matchday, and a free-to-air national channel for Spain’s games, both semi-finals and the final. The platform already holds the rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups; our piece details the programming built for a Spanish audience.

Openda out for a month, Lyon point at the referees

A cracked right fibula will keep Loïs Openda out “at least until the next international break”: caught by a tackle at Lens on Friday and taken off on the hour of Lyon’s first Ligue 1 defeat, the striker will miss Crystal Palace on Thursday in the Europa League. Lyon lament “repeated fouls from the opening minutes, for a single disciplinary sanction” and believe their player was “not given the necessary protection”; our piece counts the seven matches he is expected to miss, from Nice to PSG.