Although he is still technically a Chelsea player, it doesn’t seem as though Alejandro Garnacho will play for the Blues again. After his recent comments, many fans might not want him back.

The Argentine only arrived at Stamford Bridge from Manchester United last summer, but after one season in West London, he’s now been loaned out to Aston Villa. The winger is set to make the move permanent if certain clauses are met during the upcoming 2026/27 campaign.

With eight goals and four assists in 43 games, Garnacho never quite seemed to find his best form at Chelsea. He scored just once in the Premier League and managed just as many goals in the Champions League. Now at Villa, he will hope to do better.

Alejandro Garnacho Makes Chelsea Dig After Aston Villa Debut

Garnacho made his unofficial Aston Villa debut in a 3-1 victory against an Indonesia XI over the weekend, but it doesn’t sound as though he had the best of games. While no player should ever be judged too strongly in a pre-season friendly, his new fans weren’t exactly blown away.

After footage emerged of his performance, many were underwhelmed, with some suggesting he played too ‘safe’. The mood was summed up, with a supporter saying: “Can’t beat his man, always passes back, can’t take a shot.”

After the game, Garnacho has managed to annoy many Chelsea fans, as he has been accused of taking a dig at his former club. He wrote online:

In particular, his ‘happy to be enjoying football again’ comment has caused a stir. Many have interpreted it to suggest he wasn’t very content playing for Chelsea.

Taking to social media, many Blues fans expressed their anger at the player, which could make it awkward if he does end up back at Chelsea after his loan at Villa. One said:

A second wrote: “This is his problem, it’s everyone else’s fault,” while another concurred: “He didn’t like it at Manchester United either. I think he is the problem.”

Other were fuming, as they said, “He’s never gonna learn!” And: “Absolutely garbage player … Was very angry when we signed this shit.”

Someone else added: “I think it’s a habit at this point, Manchester United fans were right.” Another bluntly stated: “We didn’t like him either.” One more concluded: “And people say he fixed his attitude.”

Five nations have now come to Gianni Infantino’s defence, despite the outspoken FIFA president being forced into a U-turn over his plans to sell stakes in the World Cup this week.

Infantino, who has held his position since succeeding Sepp Blatter in 2016, was eyeing a ‘£15 billion sell-off’ to private investors. In exchange for allowing private investors the opportunity to pay billions for involvement in the planning of future World Cups, he offered each of FIFA’s 211 member associations the chance to make £15 million ($20 million) instantly if they vote through his plans. A further £50 million ($66 million) would’ve be given to each association before 2038.

The 56-year-old has become the centre of fierce backlash for the now-defunct plan, with UEFA among his most vocal critics. Aleksander Ceferin has urged European nations to withdraw their support for football’s current leader in the hope that he will either resign or lose an election he was once tipped to win by a landslide next March.

CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and the AFC have since joined the chorus of criticism by releasing statements of condemnation of their own. However, despite the mounting pressure and growing calls for change, Infantino still has a handful of supporters willing to stand by him.

Five Nations Who Still Support Gianni Infantino Despite Failed World Cup Plot

REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

Only one of Europe’s 55 members rocked the boat by going against UEFA’s stance that Infantino’s vision was against the sport’s principles, with the president of the Czech Republic’s football association, David Trunda, believing it would provide valuable additional funding for grassroots football and infrastructure development in the country.

Since then, four other nations have joined forces with him, with Qatar – the 2022 World Cup host nation – also issuing an eye-opening statement which “applauded his wisdom” and stated that they full support his “efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally.”

Europe’s ploy to depose the Swiss football administrator has hit a roadblock after Kuwait, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Lebanon have also reiterated their confidence in his leadership, according to the Daily Mail.

UEFA and CONCACAF make up 90 of FIFA’s 211 member associations. Although that is above the 20 per cent threshold to trigger a vote of no confidence, it falls short of the majority needed to topple Infantino.

What It Will Take For Infantino To Resign Before March Elections

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

The other 40 AFC member associations have yet to comment publicly, implying they are content with the confederation’s stance, which stops short of challenging Infantino’s presidency. Australia, also an AFC member, welcomed the decision to abandon the investment plan, saying: “Attention must now turn to the future.”

Although UEFA and CONCACAF have enough backing to trigger a vote of no confidence, they currently fall short of the numbers needed to remove Infantino from office. As things stand, public opposition accounts for 43 per cent of FIFA’s membership, below the majority required to unseat him.

That said, the undeclared associations are under no obligation to vote in line with their confederations. If just 16 nations were to break ranks and side with the opposition, Infantino’s presidency would suddenly be hanging by a thread.

Night 1 of WWE SummerSlam 2026 is officially in the books, with many talking points coming from the first night of action.

Five out of the six matches were won via pinfall, and many familiar faces made appearances throughout the evening, including a surprise return of a true legend.

Randy Orton showed up unexpectedly during the Cody Rhodes and CM Punk fight, costing the former the match and the title in the process. The Viper’s RKO on Rhodes helped Punk reclaim his gold following a truly epic 30-minute encounter.

However, Rhodes and Punk were not the main event of the evening. That honour went to Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi inside Hell in a Cell in their third and final contest.

In the end, it was Femi who took the win in a savage fight, which ended when he hit a Fall From Grace on The Beast Incarnate, who had already utilised numerous signature moves, but to no avail. The win put the Nigerian 2-1 up in their three-fight series, with yesterday’s clash being the longest and most hard-fought of them all.

Rhodes and Punk’s match, meanwhile, was the fifth of the night and the penultimate one of the evening despite it holding a lot of weight. Punk is the current Undisputed WWE Champion and his win last night meant he retained this title.

Two broken commentary tables, a Randy Orton return, and a referee takeout made for an exciting fight and, for many fans, this was the true main event of the evening, but WWE did not see it as this. Whatever fight closes the show is ultimately the main event, and that fell to Lesnar and Femi inside the demonic structure.

CM Punk Comments on Not Main Eventing Night 1

After the completion of Night 1, the media scrum featured a conversation with Punk about his opinions on not closing the event, and he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.

He said: “Of course I had feelings about that, but I’m not one of these guys who has it in their contract that I have to end the show.

Screenshot via Netflix

Punk’s answer was posted to social media and has since been seen by many. One comment on the X post read: “Classic Punk… always making sure the spotlight somehow circles back to Punk. Saying ‘I’m ALWAYS the main event’ is exactly the kind of line that makes people roll their eyes!!”