{"id":420842,"date":"2026-01-18T08:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T08:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/420842\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T08:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T08:17:14","slug":"the-days-that-shook-club-football-and-our-reporters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/420842\/","title":{"rendered":"The days that shook club football (and our reporters)"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some days in football news that send shockwaves through the sport. When something completely unexpected happens \u2014 or multiple events on one day \u2014 stun the fans of a club.<\/p>\n

For Crystal Palace, Friday was one of those days. Manager Oliver Glasner announced he was leaving<\/a>, the season after he led the team to their first major trophy in the FA Cup<\/a>. It came after news broke that the club was close to agreeing a \u00a320million ($26.7m) transfer deal with Manchester City<\/a> for their captain, Marc Guehi.<\/p>\n

There have been terrible tragedies affecting clubs, of course, a recent example being the death of Diogo Jota at Liverpool. Nothing can ever get close to the impact of these events.<\/p>\n

Beyond those stories, there are still times when news affecting players, staff and ownership, is completely unpredictable \u2014 even for the most tuned-in reporters \u2014 and sends shockwaves through a team \u2014 for better or worse. Here are just a few, told by our reporters who experienced them\u2026<\/p>\n

Manchester United<\/p>\n

Few clubs can upstage a day of World Cup games, but Manchester United did their best on November 22, 2022.<\/p>\n

Just over a week on from Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s surprise interview with journalist Piers Morgan, in which he criticised his manager Erik ten Hag, the Old Trafford hierarchy and even the training ground\u2019s jacuzzi, United responded: terminating the contract<\/a> of one of the highest-profile athletes in the world by mutual consent and with immediate effect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Photo: Stu Forster\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

That was not all, though. A few hours later, the club\u2019s owners, the Glazer family, announced that they would be \u201ccommencing a process to explore strategic alternatives\u201d for the club. In other words, they were putting United up for sale.<\/p>\n

Although that process only ended in a minority investment by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the INEOS founder and petrochemicals billionaire, would assume control of day-to-day operations as part of the deal, and a new era in the club\u2019s modern history began.<\/p>\n

Mark Critchley<\/p>\n

Barcelona: Messi\u2019s tearful farewell<\/p>\n

Some still couldn\u2019t believe it, thinking president Joan Laporta would pull off some stroke of genius or plot twist, as Barcelona fans had come to expect, because it couldn\u2019t be true.<\/p>\n

But when Leo Messi entered the Auditori 1899 on August 8th, 2021, dressed in a suit, and started crying before the press conference began, any hope vanished. It was true.<\/p>\n

A few hours earlier, the news that the Argentine had ended his time at Barcelona had stunned everyone. Some thought it was a strategy by Bar\u00e7a to put pressure on Liga president Javier Tebas and get him to ease up on financial fair play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Photo: Eric Alonso\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t. Messi was leaving.<\/p>\n

I remember seeing him cry and feeling completely dissociated. On one side of the room were the 35 trophies he had won in his career, shining painfully in the silver light. As the Argentine spoke, he glanced from time to time at those trophies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was the bitter ending to the greatest story in the history of football; an Argentine boy who arrived at FC Barcelona aged 13 and, after becoming the best in the world, was unable to retire at the club of his life.<\/p>\n

Laia Cervello Herrero<\/p>\n

Chelsea: When Abramovich announced a sale<\/p>\n

Despite the many seismic events at the club over the years, the statement released just before an FA Cup fifth-round tie kicked off at Luton Town on March 2, 2022, stands out.<\/p>\n

That was when owner Roman Abramovich announced he was selling the club after 19 years at the helm. Why? It\u2019s hard to sum up briefly, but the news came a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. While Abramovich denied he had links with Russia\u2019s president Vladimir Putin, the UK government were about to impose sanctions on him. It effectively left him with little choice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Abramovich announced the sale in 2021 (Photo: Paul Gilham\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

There had already been signs it could happen. Days earlier, Abramovich said he was intending to hand stewardship of the club over to the trustees of Chelsea\u2019s charitable foundation. But confirming he was selling outright was still a massive development.<\/p>\n

So you can picture the scene for this reporter as he turned up expecting to report on a cup match, only to have to ignore it completely to write a column about Abramovich instead.<\/p>\n

This meant leaving my seat in the cramped press box to head to a tiny press room Luton had at the time. I missed a classic as Chelsea hit back twice when they were behind to win 3-2, albeit the cheers from the crowd gave me a good idea when every goal was scored.<\/p>\n

Simon Johnson<\/p>\n

Tottenham Hotspur: Levy and a swift end after 24 years<\/p>\n

Thursday, 4 September, 2025, was meant to be a quiet day in the world of Tottenham Hotspur. The transfer window had just shut, and the international break had started. After a frantic summer, it was time for everyone to take a breath.<\/p>\n

And then, out of the blue, Daniel Levy was removed as Tottenham\u2019s executive chairman<\/a>, ending his 24 years running the club. There have been plenty of sackings at Spurs over the years, but nothing quite as dramatic, important, or unexpected as this. Levy had been totally synonymous with the club for so long, and then suddenly he was out the door, having his desk cleared. There has barely been a Premier League moment like it.<\/p>\n

Jack Pitt-Brooke<\/p>\n

Bayern Munich: Kane and a cruel twist of fate<\/p>\n

Ahead of the 2023 German Super Cup, I was on an entirely separate reporting assignment in Munich when news of Harry Kane\u2019s departure from Tottenham began to break.<\/p>\n

And this is football\u2019s wicked sense of humour at its absolute cruellest. As a Spurs fan, I was left to write my tear-soaked, \u201cfarewell Harry\u201d piece for The Athletic from Bayern\u2019s training ground, surrounded by over-excited, highly caffeinated German journalists.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Kane has been a huge success at Bayern (Photo: Sebastian Widmann\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

And because that was not enough \u2014 because football never gets tired of kicking you when you\u2019re down \u2014 I also got to watch him make his debut for Bayern, and enormous numbers of Bayern supporters getting Kane\u2019s name and number printed on their new replica shirts.<\/p>\n

Seb Stafford-Bloor<\/p>\n

Liverpool: Klopp shock<\/p>\n

It was at 10.36 am on Friday, January 26, 2024, when the stunning news dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cJurgen Klopp announces decision to step down as Liverpool manager at end of season,\u201d read the headline on the club website.<\/p>\n

Talk about a bolt from the blue. A sense of shock went through the world of football.<\/p>\n

Liverpool were top of the Premier League, in the final of the Carabao Cup, the last 16 of the Europa League, and still in the FA Cup. Yet here was the most transformative figure in the club\u2019s history since Bill Shankly calling time on his eight-and-a-half-year reign.<\/p>\n

During a 25-minute interview, which had been filmed with in-house media the previous day, Klopp explained he was \u201crunning out of energy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, what had looked like being a routine Friday ahead of a home FA Cup tie against Norwich City turned into one of the most remarkable days I\u2019ve had in 20 years as a journalist on Merseyside.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Klopp with CEO Billy Hogan during the announcement (Photo: Nikki Dyer \u2013 LFC\/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Even my 12-year-old son Max called during his school lunch break: \u201cDad, please tell me it\u2019s not true, everyone is saying that Klopp is going.\u201d It wasn\u2019t the answer he was hoping for.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s media descended on the club\u2019s Kirkby training complex for a hastily convened and emotional 3pm press conference.<\/p>\n

Klopp had informed the owners of his decision two months earlier, but it had remained a closely guarded secret. Keeping it quiet any longer wasn\u2019t an option as Liverpool needed to embark on a search for his successor, and his staff needed to be able to make plans for the future.<\/p>\n

It was gone 11pm when I finally shut the laptop. Dry January went out the window that night.<\/p>\n

James Pearce<\/p>\n

Columbus Crew: The threat of Texas<\/p>\n

Late on a Monday night in October 2017, it appeared an MLS original was going to be pulled from its roots. Then-Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt, angling for a new stadium, threatened to relocate the club to Austin, Texas, in a move that unleashed the passion and power of the Crew\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Precourt sold the Crew, got his fresh start with an expansion team in Austin and Columbus\u2019 new owners built that new stadium. But for a long period, it made for an ugly stain on MLS to have a founding member with real history dangling in the balance.<\/p>\n

Avi Creditor<\/p>\n

Brighton and Hove Albion: Clough chaos<\/p>\n

Imagine if Pep Guardiola left Manchester City and rocked up at Leyton Orient. Brian Clough\u2019s move to Brighton from Derby County in 1973 was an equivalent shock.<\/p>\n

Derby were league champions in 1971-72. Months after leading them the following season to a European Cup semi-final against Juventus, Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor resigned after a long-running feud with chairman Sam Longson.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Clough (centre) as manager of Brighton and Hove Albion FC, with his sons Simon and Nigel (Nigel is nearest Clough) and his assistant Peter Taylor (Photo: Evening Standard\/Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

They took over at Brighton, then a struggling Third Division side with an ambitious chairman in Mike Bamber. It did not go well. Clough\u2019s reign spanned nine months, winning only 12 of his 32 games in charge. Taylor stayed, Clough left for a return to the top flight with Leeds United, where he lasted 44 days.<\/p>\n

Andy Naylor<\/p>\n

Real Madrid: Driving Guillermo to distraction<\/p>\n

For any Real Madrid fans, one of the most difficult moments to accept was Ronaldo\u2019s farewell to the club in the summer of 2018.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t exactly an unexpected departure, as Madrid\u2019s all-time top scorer left the door open to a potential exit during an on-pitch interview after lifting his fourth Champions League trophy with Los Blancos in Kyiv.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very nice to be at Real Madrid, I\u2019ll talk about it in the next few days,\u201d Ronaldo told beIN Sports at the time. Even so, many of us (myself included) thought Madrid would change his mind.<\/p>\n

That was not the case, and Madrid announced he was leaving for Juventus on July 10 \u2014 the same day as my driving test. I was so shaken by the news that I failed. But, just as Madrid did without Ronaldo, I had no choice but to keep trying, and eventually I got my licence.<\/p>\n

Then Carlo Ancelotti helped Madrid win two more Champions League titles and helped us understand we had to turn the page.<\/p>\n

Guillermo Rai<\/p>\n

Brentford: Toney\u2019s betting ban<\/p>\n

I was on my way back to London after Brentford\u2019s dramatic 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in November 2022, when I started overhearing whispers on the coach. Those whispers turned into gasps because a report emerged that striker Ivan Toney had allegedly committed multiple breaches of the Football Association\u2019s betting rules<\/a>. I will never forget Brentford fans on the coach asking me about the rumours as I frantically messaged contacts to find out the truth. Nobody cared about the disappointing result anymore. Toney released a statement denying the claims. <\/p>\n

The striker was officially charged a couple of weeks later, and the wild saga ended with him receiving an eight-month ban from playing football in May 2023 after admitting to 232 breaches. The drama had a huge impact on Toney\u2019s career. It negatively impacted his form ahead of the World Cup, and he missed out on selection for England\u2019s squad while the ban prevented him from leaving Brentford at the end of a season in which he had scored 20 goals in 33 games.<\/p>\n

Christian Eriksen joining Brentford might have been a bigger global news story, but fans had speculated for weeks he could be an option, due to the midfielder\u2019s connection with then head coach Thomas Frank. Nothing compares to the shock that day \u2014 and long-term consequences of Toney\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

Jay Harris<\/p>\n

Inter Miami: Messi madness<\/p>\n

David Beckham sent shockwaves through global soccer by moving to MLS in 2007 \u2014 then was behind an even more seismic switch as Inter Miami owner 16 years later. Forgive us for combining two moments in one, but Beckham\u2019s choice to swap Real Madrid for the LA Galaxy, and his efforts in bringing Lionel Messi to MLS in more modern times, were both occasions in which the eyes of the world, not just the sport, descended on the U.S. game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Messi and the now iconic pink jersey (CHANDAN KHANNA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Beckham\u2019s unveiling press conference was a glittering affair attended by 700 media members, and Messi\u2019s now-iconic pink Miami jersey quickly became the most popular in the world.<\/p>\n

Martin Rogers<\/p>\n

Newcastle United: Saudi shock<\/p>\n

With a respectful nod to Kevin Keegan\u2019s jaw-dropping arrival as both player and manager (the first time) and Alan Shearer\u2019s \u00a315million world record signing in 1996, it is impossible to look beyond Newcastle\u2019s takeover in October 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After years of torpor and underachievement and a strained relationship between club and fans, owner Mike Ashley was finally gone, unleashing scenes of jubilation outside St James\u2019 Park. With the deal stuck in limbo for months, the moment of truth was a kind of unsurprising shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Ashley\u2019s place, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund\u2019s 80 per cent stake theoretically made Newcastle\u2019s ownership the wealthiest in football. Given Saudi\u2019s appalling human rights record, it certainly made them the most controversial.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On day one, Amanda Staveley, then a minority owner, spoke about the team challenging the elite within five to ten years. That ambition, the geopolitics and the accusations of sportswashing made Newcastle newsworthy on a global stage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

George Caulkin<\/p>\n

Leicester City: Ranieri\u2019s dream ends<\/p>\n

Not many managers get sacked after the first leg of a cup tie.<\/p>\n

Especially ones who had achieved the greatest feat in their club\u2019s history just nine months before and had been named FIFA\u2019s Coach of the Year the previous month.<\/p>\n

But that was Claudio Ranieri\u2019s shock fate as Leicester City manager in February 2017.<\/p>\n

The Italian had defied all the odds to lead Leicester to the Premier League title the previous season, and his team\u2019s last-16 tie with Seville was poised at 2-1 to the Spanish side with the second leg to come back at King Power Stadium.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Ranieri stunned the game to win the Premier League (Photo by Laurence Griffiths\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

However, Leicester\u2019s title defence had not gone well, and they were just one point above the relegation zone.<\/p>\n

Those close to chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha may not have been surprised, but the rest of the footballing world was when news broke of his sacking, which was done in a small room at East Midlands airport after the team had landed on their return from Spain. Some journalists who had attended the game were still airborne when the club announced the decision.<\/p>\n

As Ranieiri admitted himself after the sack, the dream was over.<\/p>\n

Rob Tanner<\/p>\n

Nottingham Forest: Boxing Day sacking<\/p>\n

Boxing Day 2012\u2026 Nottingham Forest had just beaten Leeds United 4-2 on a memorable afternoon at the City Ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With all work filed, I was just dipping my top lip into a post-match pint when my mobile rang. \u201cThey have sacked him,\u201d said the voice on the other end of the call.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Forest were a single point outside of the play-off places. They were ticking along steadily. Manager Sean O\u2019Driscoll was a well-liked figure in the Forest dressing room.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n O\u2019Driscoll at Nottingham Forest in November, 2012 (Photo: Jamie McDonald\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But then Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi had listened to a recommendation from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who had suggested Alex McLeish would be a good fit for the role.<\/p>\n

It later emerged<\/a> Al Hasawi had pondered the notion of sacking O\u2019Driscoll before the game, on Christmas Day, only for senior executives at the club to talk him out of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But O\u2019Driscoll\u2019s fate had been sealed, effectively, before a ball had been kicked against Leeds.\u00a0McLeish, the former Rangers, Birmingham City and Aston Villa manager, was duly appointed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He lasted 40 days, before departing amid disagreements with the Forest ownership over transfer strategy during the January window.<\/p>\n

Paul Taylor<\/p>\n

Leeds United: Cantona crosses the Pennines<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mate\u2019s gone!\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s November, 1992, I\u2019m in my second year of study at my polytechnic and have just got back to our shared digs at the end of the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Steve, also on the same course, is in the kitchen as I open the door, clearly there is big news. He also seems quite happy, which for a Portsmouth fan is unusual.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEric Cantona has left Leeds,\u201d says Steve, with a glint in his eye. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll never guess who you\u2019ve sold him to? Manchester United.\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t hear what he says next. I\u2019m too lost in my own world. Eric has been sold? And to them?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Photo: Malcolm Croft \u2013 PA Images\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Devastated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cantona (he was no longer \u2018Eric\u2019 any more) had made only a cameo contribution to the previous season\u2019s title win, pipping you know who in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than half his 15 appearances had come from the bench, including the four-game run that ultimately saw Leeds pip Alex Ferguson\u2019s side as manager Howard Wilkinson reverted to the line-up that had served the club so well in the early months of 1991-92.<\/p>\n

Six months on, and he\u2019d moved to the dark side of the Pennines for a paltry \u00a31million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Things were never quite the same again, as Cantona proved to be the missing piece in Ferguson\u2019s trophy-winning jigsaw and his subsequent returns in red saw all police leave cancelled in West Yorkshire. A sad end to what had, for a time, been a passionate love affair.<\/p>\n

Richard Sutcliffe<\/p>\n

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Bull calls it a day<\/p>\n

It perhaps should not have come as a shock, given Molineux icon Steve Bull had spent the previous season battling chronic knee problems, yet his seemingly abrupt retirement in July 1999 still came as a bolt from the blue for most of the fans who had by then come to idolise him.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was so shocking because Bull had committed to try again to come back and begun pre-season training, and perhaps it was because he had always seemed so indestructible that, even though by then he was already the club\u2019s record goalscorer, fans had allowed themselves to believe he might go on forever.<\/p>\n

So when news filtered through via the back page of the Express & Star that, during a training session in Sweden, Bull had broken down again and told the newspaper\u2019s man on tour that he could take the pain no longer, it plunged a fan base into a sense of disbelief.<\/p>\n

Steve Madeley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are some days in football news that send shockwaves through the sport. When something completely unexpected happens…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,937,22706,1521,39773,6187,596,108382,1524,221561,1613,1525,22685,1526,1527,1614,13198,85,23248],"class_list":["post-420842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-barcelona","tag-bayern-munich","tag-brentford","tag-brighton-hove-albion","tag-chelsea","tag-football","tag-inter-miami-cf","tag-leeds-united","tag-leicester-city","tag-liverpool","tag-manchester-united","tag-mls","tag-newcastle-united","tag-nottingham-forest","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-wolverhampton-wanderers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}