Jimbo’s back for the first time in 2025 and he’s got James Horncastle, Pol Ballús and Julien Laurens alongside him to run the rule over all the latest action from across Europe. AC Milan kicked off the new year in style as they fought back from 2-0 down to beat rivals Inter 3-2 in the Supercoppa over in Saudi Arabia as new boss Sérgio Conceição got off to the perfect start. Meanwhile, back on home soil Roma continued their resurgence under Claudio Ranieri with a 2-0 victory in the derby with Lazio. In La Liga the Dani Olmo debacle rumbles on… He’s with Barcelona in Saudi Arabia, but he’s not eligible to play after Spain's football authorities rejected the club’s attempt to register the midfielder. On the pitch, Jude Bellingham atoned for his missed penalty with a 95th-minute winner as 10-man Real Madrid snatched a dramatic victory at Valencia to move top of the table. And in France, PSG picked up the first silverware of the season courtesy of Ousmane Dembele’s stoppage-time winner in their 1-0 victory over Monaco in the Trophée des Champions over in Doha. Back in Ligue 1, Marseille closed the gap at the top of the table to 7 points courtesy of their big 5-1 win over Le Havre. No German action to speak of as die Winterpause continues - BUT we do have Dortmund v Leverkusen to look forward to on Friday night as the Bundesliga finally returns. Produced by Lucy Oliva. RUNNING ORDER: • PART 1: Moments of the weekend (00.45) • PART 2: Serie A review - Milan stun Inter in the Supercoppa while Roma beat Lazio (08.15) • PART 3: La Liga review - Olmo saga rumbles on as Real leave it late to go top (20.00) • PART 4: Ligue 1 review - PSG lift first silverware as Marseille and Lyon continue good form (32.55) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lina Al-Hathloul, Nick Ames and Philippe Auclair to reflect on Saudi Arabia being awarded the 2034 World Cup. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/footballweeklypod. Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast

Christian and Alexis break down Manchester United’s come from behind win that leaves Manchester City desperate for answers. Then, Christian and Alexis react to other news around Europe including Arsenals’ frustrating draw to Everton & Gio Reyna getting back on the scoresheet. Later, Christian and Alexis bring back Oh For Real!? to react to Saudi Arabia winning the 2034 World Cup bid.

With this week's news that FIFA has officially awarded the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, we are re-releasing the first episode of World Corrupt Season 2, our four-part series that examines Saudi Arabia's investment and involvement in football. All four episodes are available here: https://mibcourage.co/4cOdoRg YouTube version: https://mibcourage.co/3OYotVy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

IT’S ROG… and it’s the WGFOP Weekend Preview, presented by our good friends at PrizePicks. It’s the Manchester derby this weekend so we kick off with some discussion about the precarity of Manchester City’s dominance and what happened when they last met a Ruben Amorim side. Then we turn our attention to the title race and whether Everton could disrupt Arsenal this weekend, and reflect on the decision to award Saudi Arabia the 2034 men’s World Cup. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Christian and Alexis react to Tim Weah and Weston McKennie starring in Juventus’ 2-0 win over Manchester City. Then, Christian and Alexis bring on Tifo’s JJ Bull, a comedy soccer content creator, to chat about the comedy world in soccer. Later, Christian and Alexis bring back Rápido Reactions and react to Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup bid, David Coote & more.

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 Men’s World Cup after running unopposed. So why has FIFA allowed this to happen? What are the wider controversies surrounding their bid? And could Saudi Arabia actually be a good choice for a World Cup? Host: Ayo Akinwolere With: Matt Slater, Jacob Whitehead Executive Producer: Adey Moorhead Producer: Jay Beale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jimbo welcomes Michael Cox, Duncan Alexander and Tom Williams into the studio for a bumper edition of the Totally Football Show. Champions League matchday 6 sees Man City lose for the 7th time in 10 matches, this time in Turin against Juventus. Does Pep regret signing that new contract ahead of the most uncertain Manchester derby in years? Elsewhere Real Madrid are victorious against Atalanta in perhaps the game of the season so far, and the Brest fairytale continues. The 2034 World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia, while the 2030 World Cup will take place in 3 different continents. The panel express their dismay at the process and ponder the future of the World Cup. The Premier League weekend also sees some Sunday 7pm kick-offs with the under-pressure Postecoglou and the inimitable Palmer in action. Plus the magnificence of Marco Silva, Wizzard and Wikipedia Produced by Charlie Jones. RUNNING ORDER: • PART 1a: Juventus 2-0 Man City (06.00) • PART 1b: Victories for Arsenal, Liverpool & Villa (14.00) • PART 2a: Atalanta 2-3 Real Madrid (26.00) • PART 2b: Elsewhere in the Champions League (31.00) • PART 3: Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup (38.00) • PART 4a: Manchester derby preview (48.00) • PART 4b: The rest of the Premier League weekend (56.00) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rog and novelist/Liverpool fan/incredible human being John Green break down a massive week of Champions League action, including another stumble for Manchester City, a Weston McKennie goal for the ages, and Liverpool's ho-hum win at Girona. Plus, the World Cup is officially heading to Saudi Arabia. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's been confirmed the FIFA World Cup will be returning to the Middle East in 10 years' time after FIFA awarded Saudi Arabia the hosting rights to the 2034 tournament. Securing football’s most high-profile tournament is just the latest example of the Kingdom’s growing influence on global sport, which its critics say is in an effort to 'sportswash' the regime's reputation. Katie Smith is joined by BBC sports editor Dan Roan and Tariq Panja, global sports correspondent for The New York Times, to provide the background to Saudi Arabia’s unopposed bid. We hear from the president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, Yasser Al Misehal, and from Amanda Staveley, who was part of the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle United in 2021, on why the tournament will be a great success, while BBC sports news correspondent Laura Scott speaks to Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness about Norway's decision to abstain from the voting process for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments. Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of housing, workers rights, and sport, and Wycombe Wanderers midfielder David Wheeler, the PFA’s sustainability champion, also join the podcast to discuss their concerns over human and the environment. And we ask what all this means for Saudi Arabia’s huge investments in domestic football, particularly at Newcastle United.