Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is set to miss the next two Premier League games following back surgerythis week.
The treble-winning coach was on the touchline for Man City‘s opening wins against Burnley and Newcastle, but the Blues will have to do without him for their next two games against Sheffield United and Fulham over the next couple of weekends after Guardiola underwent an emergency operation.
While the procedure itself was sent to be only a “minor” one, the Catalan is said to have been suffering from “severe back pain” for some time and so decided to fly back home to have the surgery and recover.
Thankfully for his squad and everyone at the club, the operation — carried out by fellow Spaniard, Dr Mireia Illueca — was successful and Pep is now said to be recuperating.
Pep Guardiola has today undergone a routine operation on a back problem.
Everyone at Manchester City wishes Pep a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him back in Manchester soon.
The 52-year-old will now remain in Barcelona for the remainder of his recovery which is set to last at least a fortnight before he returns to Manchester.
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Announcing his temporary absence in a statement, the club confirmed that “assistant manager Juanma Lillo will oversee coaching of the first team on the training field and will assume duties on the touchline until Pep’s return. He is expected to return after the forthcoming international break.”
“Everyone at Manchester City wishes Pep a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him back in Manchester soon”, they added.
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Earlier this week, Guardiola had another much less serious pain in his backside after he was filmed receiving a parking ticket. While he handled the whole thing in good spirits, it’s safe to say social media had their fun with the clip.
Manchester United announce record revenue despite on-pitch struggles
Danny Jones
Manchester United have declared a record revenue figure for the full 2025 fiscal term, even with their poor performances on the pitch over the past 12 months.
They may still be a continually struggling Premier League side who seem to be in a perpetual state of transition, but they remain nothing short of a global giant in terms of sporting brands.
Yes, despite Man United recording two of the worst finishes in domestic history in the previous two campaigns and head coach Ruben Amorim having already overseen the worst start to a top-flight season in the modern era following the defeat on derby day, the football club has reached a monetary milestone.
According to their official reports for the fourth and final quarter of the financial year, they brought in a record-breaking £666.5 million throughout 2024/25 – but, as always, it’s more complicated than that.
"There are some tough decisions to be made"
BREAKING: Manchester United have announced record revenues for 2024/25 of £666.5m – but the club still made an overall loss of £33m 🚨 pic.twitter.com/jlQS7SMjJ8
Released on Wednesday, 17 September, Manchester United PLC confirmed that they had managed to record the biggest revenue figures on several fronts despite crashing out of the Europa League, finishing 15th in the table overall and failing to secure a place in any European competition this season.
The first half of Amorim‘s tenure at Old Trafford saw the club’s worst competitive placing since 1973/74, a.k.a. the last time the Red Devils were relegated from the first division.
Nevertheless, a fresh shirt sponsorship agreement with Snapdragon, new brand partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, an extension of their contract with travel experience company, SportsBreaks, and numerous other deals saw United achieve a record commercial revenue of £333.3m.
Elsewhere, match revenue was also up and reached new heights, tallying approximately £160.3m in the 12 months leading up to 30 June 2025 – the most they have ever registered when it comes to ticket sales, concessions, and other transactions in and around game days.
Although this number is a reduction of more than 70.8% what they lost last year (£113.2m), there is still plenty of concern among supporters over how money is still not only being spent but moved around.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS board did pay sizeable chunks of MUFC’s debt, which has piled up at an alarming rate in the two decades since the Glazer takeover, but there has still been plenty of borrowing.
In addition to a number of shorter-term loans, there has also been an increased level of amortisation and significant transfer spending this summer, despite being admittedly cash-strapped.
As well as actually having less money to play with over the past 12 months, they are also set to receive less in TV rights and broadcasting revenues this season due to not making it into any European competition, hence why they went on a post-season Asian tour to try and make up for funds lost.
It’s estimated that the business earned a further £8 million from these games, but it’s also worth noting that significant sums have been spent not only on new signings but also on severance fees and redundancy packages, so it’s hard to assess how much this extra injection helped with the fine margins.
While it's good to see that we're paying down our long-term debts, I'm a bit worried about how the club have maybe over-leveraged short-term borrowings. Debt restructure needed imo. pic.twitter.com/LQuUdbzK1h
Divisive CEO and former City Football Group exec, Omar Berrada, wrote in the comments section of the full findings and financial report: “As we settle into the 2025/26 season, we are working hard to improve the club in all areas.
“On the field, we are pleased with the additions we have made to our men’s and women’s first team squads over the summer, as we build for the long term. Off the field, we are emerging from a period of structural and leadership change with a refreshed, streamlined organisation equipped to deliver on our sporting and commercial objectives.”
He adds: “We are also investing [in upgrading] our infrastructure, including completion of the £50m redevelopment of our men’s first team building at Carrington, on time and on budget, following prior investment in our women’s team facilities, to create a world-class environment for our players and staff.
“Meanwhile, planning continues to meet our ambition of developing a new stadium at Old Trafford as part of a transformational regeneration of the surrounding community.
Total Manchester United revenue may be up but they’re about to shell out seismic outlay for their new stadium costs.
Berrada signs off by insistig that for the club to have “generated record revenues during such a challenging year for the club demonstrates the resilience which is a hallmark of Manchester United.
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“Our commercial business remains strong as we continue to deliver appealing products and experiences for our fans, and best-in-class value to our partners.”
“As we start to feel the benefits of our cost reduction programme, there is significant potential for improved financial performance, which will, in turn, support our overriding priority: success on the pitch.”
What do you make of Manchester United’s 2024/25 annual report and how it fits into the wider picture/struggles elsewhere around the club?
Shakers survive as Bury FC win a tense knockout replay after ineligible player mix-up
Danny Jones
Bury FC have survived a tense close-run replay after being ordered to replay a match following a mix-up which led to an illegible player being fielded in a knockout tie against another local side.
Safe to say that despite coming through unscathed, their supporters have still been left understandably frustrated, not to mention raising further concerns throughout English football.
The Shakers were victorious in their FA Trophy tie against fellow Greater Manchester club Wythenshawe Town FC earlier this month, winning 3-1 on the night – but they had to play them again on Tuesday evening, scraping through by a single goal.
Victory aside, Bury fans have railed against what they now deem a flawed FA system, a player substituted on in the first match despite being technically ineligible to take part. The club have insisted they were unaware of this.
⚪🔵 Reaction following tonight's 2-1 win against Wythenshawe Town.
An honest reflection from Dave McNabb after a complex few days, while we also heard from match winner DJ Pedro.#BuryFC#bfc140
As detailed on social media, new signing and debutant Gavin Massey was brought off the bench in the second half on 6 September as the home team went on to win the game, but his introduction ultimately voided the result.
This is because Massey was retrospectively sent off during his former club, AFC Fylde’s final fixture of last season against Barnet FC, being given a red card after the full-time whistle.
Not only were Bury not clued into this, but it was somewhat unclear as to who was dismissed at the time, with the referee reportedly flashing the card “in the direction of a group of players and staff of AFC Fylde in the changing room area.”
As Bury continued in the lengthy statement released earlier this week, “the FA Portal only allows clubs to see the player registration detail once a player has made their first appearance for the club”, and since he only arrived at Gigg Lane this summer, the incident was missed.
In fact, as they clarify, the portal’s discipline records only “showed one suspension for the game, that of Aiden Walker’s following his dismissal against Stalybridge Celtic in the FA Cup replay in August.”
Once again, given how the system works, Massey’s suspension record was only made visible to the Bury after coming on for his first club appearance. The unfortunate oversight has caused quite the uproar among the fanbase.
Attention is drawn to the way the Combined Counties ended last season and the league cup that became pretty much unplayable. There were problems in other leagues too. Until the FA and County FAs fix this clubs are on a hiding to nothing. Won’t be the last this season.
Reacting online, one fan wrote: “How the hell are you meant to work around this? Once you sign a player, you should be able to see his profile. Not after he’s played his first game.” Another simply labelled the dilemma as “bonkers.”
Following a meeting with The FA on Monday evening, Bury were officially ordered to replay the knockout tie at Ericstan Park last night and, thanks to a late header from DJ Pedro, managed to make it out of the other side with the same result, barring one less goal.
It was reiterated prior to the reluctant replay that “Bury Football Club would like to put on record that no issues with player registrations occurred in this instance, and that usual processes were followed by our administration team in preparation for the FA Trophy tie.”
Nevertheless, the whole palava has raised serious questions surrounding the official FA portal, which looks to be causing plenty of problems up and down the pyramid. You can be sure Bury FC won’t be the only ones forced into an avoidable replay this year.
Danny Jones -
23rd August 2023 
