CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SNUB: FABRIZIO ROMANO REVEALS MATHYS TEL IS "FUMING" AT THOMAS FRANK.
Thomas Frank excludes Mathys Tel from Spurs' UCL squad as Roma submit loan offers for the striker and Radu Dragusin this January.
Tottenham have offers on the table from Roma for both Radu Dragusin and Mathys Tel, and at the same time, Spurs are trying to find a way out for Alejo Veliz, if you believe the latest reports.
Things aren’t going well in north London. Tottenham are stuck in 14th place in the Premier League. Thomas Frank’s team has only managed seven wins out of 22 league matches this season and just one victory in their last eight games across all competitions. The pressure is piling up on Frank. He needs results, and fast. No wonder he’s hoping the January transfer window brings some much-needed changes.
There’s a lot of movement happening. Frank has upset Mathys Tel, who only just joined permanently from Bayern Munich in the summer, by leaving him out of the Champions League squad for the Borussia Dortmund clash. That didn’t go over well.
Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano posted on X: “Tottenham manager Thomas Frank excludes Mathys Tel from Champions League squad list. Frank makes space for Dominic Solanke, and the only way was to remove Tel. The French striker and his camp are not happy at all with the decision.”
Now, Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia) says Roma are officially talking to Spurs about signing both Tel and Dragusin in January. Roma’s been after Dragusin for a while, but now they’ve also put in an offer for Tel. Both deals would be loans, since both players are frustrated at Tottenham and want more minutes in the second half of the season.
Apparently, Dragusin has already agreed to join Roma on loan this month, but Spurs want Roma to commit to buying him at the end of the deal.
Meanwhile, Alejo Veliz is turning into a real headache for Tottenham. He’s on loan at Rosario Central in Argentina, but according to Cadena 3, Spurs are seriously thinking about paying compensation just to cut the loan short. After that, they could send Veliz to the Brazilian club Bahia. Tottenham see him as a “problem” and is apparently willing to pay just to “fix the broken-down car,” as one source put it. That pretty much says it all.
UCL DRAW 2026 LAST 16: PREMIER LEAGUE GIANTS FACE BRUTAL DRAW IN QUEST FOR EUROPEAN GLORY 2026
The Champions League draw is out! Read the full list of fixtures, including Man City vs Real Madrid and Newcastle’s trip to Barcelona.
Manchester City will go head-to-head with Real Madrid in what’s easily the standout fixture of this season’s Champions League round of 16.
UEFA stuck to the same process as last year’s new format, running the draws for the last 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals all on the same day in Nyon, Switzerland.
There’s still plenty of English interest left in the competition. Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, and Man City all made it through, which pretty much guarantees the Premier League an extra Champions League spot next season thanks to the UEFA coefficient.
With the seeding and pairing rules, each of the 16 teams already knew they’d be facing one of just two possible opponents in the next round.
Liverpool and Tottenham ended up in the same section of the bracket. No surprise, since they finished third and fourth in their groups.
Arsenal, who topped their group, drew Bayern Munich. Manchester City got Sporting Lisbon, and Chelsea lined up against Barcelona.
After Newcastle’s play-off win over Qarabag, they were slotted into their section of the bracket.
Now that the draw’s done, here’s what’s coming up: Chelsea will take on defending champions PSG, and Newcastle will get Barcelona.
Real Madrid against Manchester City is the pick of the bunch, two giants going toe-to-toe.
Liverpool will face Galatasaray, while Tottenham will meet Atletico Madrid.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are set to play either Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta – a tricky tie either way.
Here’s the full Champions League last 16 draw for 2025/26:
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Bodø/Glimt vs Sporting
Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea
Newcastle vs Barcelona
Galatasaray vs Liverpool
Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham
Atalanta vs Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal
And for the Europa League quarter-finals:
Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea vs Galatasaray/Liverpool
Real Madrid/Manchester City vs Atalanta/Bayern Munich
Newcastle/Barcelona vs Tottenham/Atletico Madrid
Bodø/Glimt/Sporting vs Bayer Leverkusen/Arsenal
The Europa League semi-finals shape up like this:
Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea/Galatasaray/Liverpool vs Real Madrid/Manchester City/Atalanta/Bayern Munich
Newcastle/Barcelona/Tottenham/Atletico Madrid vs Bodo/Glimt/Sporting/Bayer Leverkusen/Arsenal
As for the dates, here’s what you need to know:
Round of 16: March 10/11 & 17/18, 2026
Quarter-finals: April 7/8 & 14/15, 2026
Semi-finals: April 28/29 & May 5/6, 2026
Final: May 30, 2026, in Budapest
PSG THROUGH: PARIS SURVIVE 2-2 MONACO THRILLER TO REACH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16
Discover how PSG survived a 2-2 draw with Monaco to clinch a 5-4 aggregate Champions League victory.
PSG had to fight for it, but they’re through. On Wednesday night in Paris, they drew 2–2 with Monaco and squeezed into the Champions League last 16, winning 5–4 on aggregate. The match was anything but straightforward.
Last week’s first leg was wild; PSG came from two goals down to win 3–2 after Monaco lost a player to a red card early in the second half. This time, Monaco, determined and dangerous, went ahead again. Maghnes Akliouche finished off a sharp move just before halftime, levelling the overall score and raising the tension another notch.
Then, just when Monaco seemed to be in control, disaster struck. Mamadou Coulibaly picked up a second yellow card in the 58th minute, and suddenly, Monaco were down to ten men again, just like last week. PSG wasted no time. From the free kick that followed, Marquinhos bundled in the equaliser, and the mood inside the Parc des Princes changed immediately.
The pressure didn’t let up. A few minutes later, Hakimi smashed a shot at Monaco’s keeper, Philipp Köhn, who could only parry it away. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia pounced and put PSG ahead, and it looked like they’d finally broken Monaco’s resistance.
But Monaco weren’t done. Deep into stoppage time, substitute Jordan Teze poked home a deflected cross to make it 2–2 on the night and push PSG right to the edge. Wout Faes even came close to grabbing a late winner, but PSG held firm. The home crowd could finally breathe.
Now, PSG waits to find out who they’ll face next. Barcelona or Chelsea could be waiting in the draw on Friday, with the final in Budapest looming in the distance. There’s history with both clubs. PSG beat Barcelona away back in October, and they’ve met five times in knockout rounds since 2013. Chelsea? That still stings. PSG lost 3–0 to them in last year’s Club World Cup final, the only real blemish in a phenomenal season.
Most people expected PSG to handle Monaco easily. Monaco is way behind them in Ligue 1 and hasn’t made a deep Champions League run since 2017, when a teenage Mbappé was still lighting up their attack. But Monaco came into this one with nothing to lose, especially with PSG missing last year’s Ballon d’Or winner, Ousmane Dembélé, through injury.
In the early stages, Monaco looked like they might pull off a shock. Coulibaly missed a golden chance, blazing over from Akliouche’s cutback, and Balogun forced a sharp save from Safonov. PSG hit the bar through Bradley Barcola, but it was Monaco who got the breakthrough just before halftime. Safonov’s half-clearance didn’t relieve the pressure, and Akliouche eventually slotted home after a neat layoff from Coulibaly.
Everything changed after Coulibaly’s red card. Booked minutes earlier, he lunged late into a challenge on Hakimi, and the referee didn’t hesitate with the second yellow; off he went. PSG took full advantage, scoring from the resulting free kick and then again through Kvaratskhelia after a scramble.
Monaco almost dragged it into extra time, but in the end, they’re out, knocked out at this stage for a second straight year. PSG, though, keep their title defence alive and can start dreaming of Budapest.