After several “long and intensive days with a lot to do”, as head coach Urs Fischer described them, all of the travelling companions had the opportunity to put their feet up a little during the return journey. During the 60-minute drive to Murcia airport after the last joint breakfast, the players in particular used the time to read, sleep or reflect on the past few days. A similar picture emerged after the take-off when everyone was happy to finally be going home.

After falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford, the midfielder signed for newly-promoted Fulham last summer for £10m plus add-ons.

Tickets for the match at Stadion Niederrhein can be purchased via the Rot-Weiß Oberhausen Online Ticket Shop from 11:30 CET on Thursday 29 June. The Kanalkurve will be available for BVB fans who want to stand. Seated tickets are available for Black & Yellow fans in the STOAG-Tribüne in Blocks C & D. 

Match facts ahead of #FCUBMG Everything you need to know ahead of the Foals’ Bundesliga clash...

Felix Uduokhai: “I have to say that Bremen were better in the decisive moments today, and so they deserve the win. All in all, we were unlucky today, but we’ll build from this and we know that we can do better. We’ll go into our home match next week with our heads up.”

In recent interviews with ZDF (via @manu_bonke and @domvisch) captured by @iMiasanmia, Bayern’s midfield duo Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka chimed in with their thoughts on the dismissal, and how it had caught them completely off guard. Kimmich minced no words saying, “That’s how this business is: little love, little heart. We have to learn to deal with it and live with the decision.” This is in line with what the majority of the fanbase probably feels regarding the way the management went about the coach’s firing.

“I am relieved that all the requirements have now been met and the changes have been implemented. This brings to an end a chapter in TSG’s history that has brought the club and myself a great deal of mistrust and hostility. I know that the 50+1 rule, which I have always been in favour of and in whose spirit I have always acted, is a valuable asset in German football,” says Dietmar Hopp. “I would like to thank all those who have now ensured that the original situation is restored.” On 12 June of this year, the general meeting of TSG Hoffenheim e.V. cleared the way by a large majority to fulfil Dietmar Hopp’s wish and transfer the majority of voting rights in TSG GmbH to TSG e.V..

This marks the end of a special status that began on 9 February 2015. On that day, the members of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. passed a resolution to transfer the majority of voting rights in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Fußball-Spielbetriebs GmbH to Dietmar Hopp. This was made possible by an exemption to the so-called “50+1” rule stipulated in the statutes of the DFL and the German Football Association (DFB), which was granted by the board of the league association on 18 December 2014 and confirmed by the DFB Executive Committee a few days later. This stipulates that the majority of voting rights must be held by the parent club. By granting an exception to the 50+1 rule, Dietmar Hopp’s considerable financial commitment to professional and amateur football as well as the club’s grassroots sport, which has existed for more than 20 years, was recognised.

In recent months, the topic has once again become the subject of heated debate. This has led to proceedings at the Federal Cartel Office, to which TSG Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg have also been subjected. For TSG Hoffenheim, this process has come to an end with the notarisation of the amended shareholders’ agreement and its entry in the commercial register.

“The club and Dietmar Hopp have always acted hand in hand in terms of the 50+1 regulations. This will not change. Dietmar knows that the future of TSG is in the best of hands and that we will not only preserve his legacy, but develop it further,” said TSG Chairman Kristian Baumgärtner. The club boss reiterated that “TSG is all about training young people, both as athletes and as people”. The infrastructure that the club has been able to utilise for many decades is solely due to the commitment of Dietmar Hopp.

Rouven Kasper, who is member of the executive board and Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of VfB Stuttgart, recently made two trips to China, taking in the cities of Shanghai and Beijing.

Paris and its surrounding areas are particularly known for tough street football, with countless great players taking their first tentative steps on the concrete pitches of the French capital. Roussillon is no exception. He grew up in Sarcelles, a suburb of the capital, where the stars Wissam Ben Yedder, Riyad Mahrez and the Bayern talent Mathys Tel all also come from. 

Borussia Dortmund starlet Jude Bellingham is known to be Liverpool’s top target. They are also being linked with the likes of Mason Mount, Matheus Nunes and Declan Rice.