Another year offers another chance to turn over a leaf and hope we’ll be the best versions of ourselves. And that football becomes the best version of itself too.

With that in mind, here’s the 12th edition of my wishes for the New Year. Spoiler alert: No. 30 is unchanged and will forever be unchanged.

1. That more folks remember that this game means different things to different people at different times. It’s a multidimensional spectrum that ranges from business to entertainment to belonging to identity to, yeah, sport. We can disagree on issues, but we ought to be respectful of it existing in different dimensions.

2. That FIFA President Gianni Infantino realizes the act of awarding World Cups by acclamation and Zoom is not a good look, just like having a single bidder isn’t a good look. I genuinely don’t have a problem with the six-country 2030 World Cup or Saudi Arabia hosting in 2034, if they fulfil the criteria. But the way it all unfolded — with no vote and virtually no dissenting voices — felt dystopian and undemocratic. FIFA’s image matters too and an organization where members all agree a priori is not a healthy one.

3. That the inaugural Club World Cup’s success isn’t measured just by ratings, revenue and sponsorship dollars. Some of us genuinely believe there’s a place for a competition that brings together clubs — the backbone of the game — from every confederation every four years. Yes, the FIFA president thinks it can be a big money-spinner, and FIFA member nations will benefit as the cash flows back to them, but that can’t be the main reason to do this.

4. That those who moan about the elite 0.01% of footballers who are burned out from playing too many games come armed with facts, data and the wider picture. Which is, simply put, that the vast majority of pros don’t play enough matches and that the extra games exist to cover costs that are not sustainable. If well-being is a genuine concern, they should make it a part of their next contract negotiation.

5. That the ‘Swiss model’ adopted in UEFA competitions continue to deliver as promised. The doom-mongers were wrong. The group stage delivered excitement and uncertainty and no, it wasn’t that hard to understand the format. Now let’s see what happens in the last two matchdays, and whether seeding the knockouts throughout actually makes sense.

6. That more folks realize last summer’s decline in transfer spending was not a blip. Until owners figure out new ways of separating fans from their cash, this is the direction of travel — cut costs — because revenue isn’t going to grow exponentially — at least in Europe. Media rights are tapped out, sponsors have gotten smart and we won’t be building 150,000-seat stadiums any time soon.

7. That the women’s continental competitions taking place in 2025 (the Euros, the Copa America, the Africa Cup of Nations, the OFC Nations Cup) are successful and continue to prove that, at least at the international level, the women’s game is viable and self-sustaining. It’s the club game that, too often, is either unsustainable or uneven. It needs to be addressed.

Gab’s wishes from:
2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014

8. That people realize that what worked in the men’s club game for Europe and South America, with their 130-year head start over the rest of the world, might not be the right development model for the women’s game or for other confederations. Maybe it’s cross-border leagues, maybe it’s different calendars, maybe it’s not turning to elite professionalism straight away. Whatever it may be, you’ll need some creativity and open-mindedness if you’re going to catch up.

9. That A22, the folks behind the Super League debacle, either make a cogent case or go away for good. At this stage, they seem to exist only to disrupt UEFA and its tournaments. Which is not necessarily a bad thing — competition makes you stronger — but they have to offer a credible argument that their version is going to be not just “more exciting,” but more lucrative as well. Saying you’ll pay for it with ad-supported streaming and “affordable subscriptions,” without any numbers or projections, won’t cut it.

10. That, as Major League Soccer enters its 30th season (and with a World Cup a year away), folks ask themselves some tough questions, especially when it comes to defining what constitutes success. Is it being profitable? Is it expanding your footprint? Is it the franchise fees you can charge and your — hypothetical — valuations? Is it increasing attendance? Is it being relevant in (non-Lionel Messi-related) mainstream media? Is it retaining U.S. talent? Is it developing U.S. talent? Some combination of the above?

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Cristiano Ronaldo says Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior should’ve beaten Manchester City’s Rodri to the Ballon d’Or award.

11. That people realize titles you actually win are far more important than those that others bestow upon you, like FIFA’s The Best or the Ballon d’Or. Unless, of course, like Vinícius and Real Madrid you choose to make them important. We — me included — spend far too much time on this nonsense.

12. That the rise of Football Video Support (FVS) offers a real alternative to Video Assistant Referees (VAR) for those who want it. FVS is designed for those leagues that can’t afford VAR but still want replays to help with decisions. It’s not for everyone, and some purists will forever object to anything technological encroaching on the game. But the fact that so many small- and mid-tier leagues are expressing an interest suggests that whatever the Luddites say, there’s an appetite for it.

13. That the Saudi Pro League figure out what it wants to be and how to best fulfil its mission: to serve fans. Having spent billions, attendance is actually down and it’s frankly hard to see how this is ever going to be a sustainable business. The danger is that, as has happened with other mega-projects that then get scaled down, the government simply pulls the plug. Saudi fans — the ones who actually support teams and go to games — deserve a league that works and grows over time. They don’t deserve some bling-oriented flight of fancy that only helps a lot of foreign players, coaches and consultants get very rich.

14. That when (if?) we get a verdict on Manchester City’s 115 charges, the outcome will be clear, indisputable and understood by all. Wishful thinking, right? But we hold out hope. Regardless of whether it’s football or the real world, once you lose faith in institutions — whether to treat your club fairly or to fairly apply rules to other clubs — everyone is worse off.

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15. That Pep Guardiola figures out what went wrong for Manchester City in November and December of 2024. Not because I’m a City fan, but because I like to understand things and not just chalk up runs like City’s nine defeats in 13 games to some combination of the supernatural and the Twilight Zone. If Pep doesn’t get it, nobody will. Of course, whether or not he can fix it is another matter.

16. That folks understand Ruben Amorim has not one, but three jobs to do at Manchester United. He needs to implement his system, assess talent and get them as far up the table as possible so that they’ll have resources to spend in the summer. That’s a big ask of anyone, with the third part of the task, in some ways, the toughest: balancing growth on the pitch with results in the table so that you can take a step forward in the next window.

17. That Marcus Rashford can find his mojo again, whether at Manchester United or elsewhere. You can apportion blame, talk about not fitting the system or simply being overpaid, but the reality is that whenever a talented footballer isn’t on the pitch, the game is that little bit poorer. Maybe he needs to move on — and take the inevitable pay cut — to get back to where he was.

18. That Carlo Ancelotti find some balance in his final (?) season(s) at Real Madrid. His two biggest superstars play the same position, he has a Toni Kroos-shaped hole in the middle of the park and a plague of injuries at the back. Nobody is going to ever feel sorry for Real Madrid — and they don’t want you to feel sorry for them — but I just want to see if and how he can make it work, or whether it will just be Thibaut Courtois performing miracles and the superstars inventing out of nothing.

19. That one day folks will realize the short-sightedness of Joan Laporta’s ‘levers’ and how it did not need to be this way. Nearly four years after taking over for a second spell as Barcelona president and we’re still navigating lever to lever, with registrations in the balance at every window. While the return to a renovated Camp Nou will help, the club have a gaggle of new contracts to sort out over the next 12 months.

20. That Lamine Yamal continues to grow and maybe usurp the next great rivalry in football. Many thought the post Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo era would be marked by the rivalry between Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé. Yamal may have other ideas. Based on his trajectory, he could be elbowing his way to the front real soon.

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Is Mohamed Salah’s value increasing with his Liverpool performances?

Craig Burley believes that Mohamed Salah’s value is only increasing with his performances for Liverpool this season.

21. That Liverpool’s three high-profile free agents-to-be stay … but not at any price. Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are free to sign with any other club as of Jan. 1 and their departure would be a huge loss. Equally though, the club wouldn’t be where it is without being smart, especially when competing against better resourced rivals. Make them the best offer you can while respecting what got you to where you are and, if they move on, trust Michael Edwards and Arne Slot to keep you at the top.

22. That Jurgen Klopp accepts he made a decision in joining the Red Bull organization and decisions have consequences. I’m sure he realizes that fans saw him (rightly or wrongly) as the embodiment of certain “pure” footballing values. And for better or worse, they run counter to what Red Bull are doing, which is why many feel let down.

23. That Bayern realize that you can’t go through a whole season with just one genuine centre-forward on your books, even if it is Harry Kane. I don’t need to see more of Thomas Müller or Jamal Musiala up front. It’s not rocket science: guys in their 30s rarely play every minute of every game, and when your centre-forward is out and the guy who replaces him has an entirely different skill set? Well, you’ll run into trouble. Above all, it’s not fair to manager Vincent Kompany.

24. That Chelsea’s owners don’t start thinking that Enzo Maresca’s success means they’re home free. Yes, they assembled a very gifted group of youngsters and Maresca is developing them nicely. But the wild spending of the early Todd Boehly tenure isn’t going away and they still need to meet financial sustainability rules. This season’s success is in spite of their model, not because of it.

25. That Mikel Arteta figure out a Plan C so we can see Arsenal at their best. Plan A is the Bukayo Saka-Martin Odegaard chain. Plan B is the set pieces. Plan C is missing. Folks need to step up or he needs to conjure another solution; otherwise, they’re going to get predictable.

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Is Viktor Gyökeres the striker Arsenal need?

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26. That enough folks figure out Nasser Al Khelaifi’s many hats aren’t a good thing for the game, and he’s forced to pick a lane. He’s the president of Paris Saint-Germain and the European Club Association (ECA), and he sits on UEFA’s executive committee while also serving as chair of BeIN Media Group. The first three are fine (and related), but there’s an obvious conflict of interest when, wearing his BeIN hat, he also writes a big cheque every year to UEFA and clubs around the world. He played an important role in stopping the Super League and, for that, many will forever be grateful. But you can’t sit on both sides of a negotiation.

27. That even as Napoli competes for another Serie A title, Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia don’t become victims of their contracts. Kvaratskhelia is stuck on his low-pay, long-term deal and there are suggestions that his playing time will be cut if he doesn’t put pen to paper. Osimhen ended up in Turkey on loan. I understand Napoli’s stance, but as a fan I want to see the best players on the pitch in the biggest competitions, and I fear we’ll be denied that.

28. That Milan and Inter sort their stadiums out … ideally by staying at San Siro. I get it, it’s hugely complicated: The city of Milan, which owns the stadium, needs to strike the best possible deal for taxpayers and the owners of the two clubs need to look out for their shareholders too. But it’s grotesque that time keeps slipping by and we’re no further forward on the stadium. Surely there has to be a path that sees them renovate San Siro and stay there for generations to come?

29. That Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo don’t hang up their boots any time soon. They’re not what they were on the pitch, but they are still cultural phenomena and even as they’ve migrated to South Florida and Saudi Arabia respectively, it’s fun to catch up with them on highlights. As long as they’re enjoying what they do, I’m going to continue enjoying every minute of watching them do it.

30. That kids who fall in love with the sport be given the chance, first and foremost, to support their local clubs before jumping on the big-club bandwagon simply because that is what is pumped relentlessly onto screens. Yes, this is copied-and-pasted from previous years, but it’s worth repeating. And it’s the one wish over which we had the most control.