In 1967, Florian Albert received the Ballon d'Or trophy in the kitchen of his home in Budapest. In 2001, Michael Owen "didn't have to attend the ceremony" because the organisers from France Football magazine brought the trophy to him in Liverpool. Now in its 70th year, the Ballon d’Or has taken on a life of its own. Not only is the trophy now significantly bigger — an orb modelled on a full-size football, dipped in gold, resting on a base made of pyrite — but so is everything around it. In the words of Pascal Ferre, who oversaw the award as France Football’s editor between 2016 and 2023, “it makes people crazy.” @OliverKay charts the history and evolution of the Ballon d'Or, with help from one of the "two or three" people who knows who has won this year's award... Free to read: nyti.ms/4sf2NXM

Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle comes out of the speakers as Erik ten Hag's car stereo goes through a 1980s playlist. “In this period it was real music; now everything is computer." In the second part of @lauriewhitwell's exclusive interview, Ten Hag opens up on his time in charge of Manchester United and his career since: ■ Why a 2-2 draw with Sevilla in April 2023 was a turning point in his reign ■ How that summer’s pre-season ‘killed’ players ■ The signing of Antony and Jadon Sancho's reluctance to play on the right ■ "Amazing" Kobbie Mainoo and his "strong connection" with Alejandro Garnacho ■ Bruno Fernandes: “Sometimes he’s getting emotional, but he’s a winner" ■ How players are affected by Manchester United legends who are now pundits 🔗 nyti.ms/4zJGGLF

🔮 | @OliverKay, a guest subscriber, an algorithm and seven-year-old Wilfred are on hand to predict the latest round of Premier League fixtures. None of them think Liverpool will beat Brentford this weekend, while there is little confidence in Manchester United leaving Elland Road with much... bit.ly/4ymI6L6

Luther Blissett. Chris Kamara. Tyrone Mings. Cyrille Regis. Marcus Rashford. Viv Anderson. To mark UK Black History Month, writers from The Athletic have paid tribute to a Black British icon from every Premier League club, from those with indelible legacies to those still winning hearts and minds today. Free to read: bit.ly/3VSUW6a

Celtic are back in Lisbon where, on a magical, humid, sun-dappled Thursday evening 60 seasons ago, they became the first and, so far, only Scottish club to win the European Cup, or Champions League as we know it today. They remain Europe's most northerly champions. Yet even the achievement in beating Inter Milan 2-1 that night somehow sits beneath the greatest detail of Celtic’s triumph — 10 of the starting XI that sultry night were born within a 12-mile radius of Parkhead. The ‘outsider’, Bobby Lennox, came from 30 miles away. Celtic did not just represent Scotland. They represented Glasgow. And they returned as Lions. 📝 @mwalker2771 bit.ly/4ewOnfW

That was the thing about the great English football sell-off of the early 21st century. It was a lottery. For decades, money had been a factor in the game, but ultimately we were talking about the difference between one local businessman and another. Far more significant was signing good players and hiring a good manager, or not. But by the mid-2000s, it had become a lottery. Those clubs who were already established among the elite had an enormous and probably unassailable advantage, but nobody really knew who they were selling to, or what the future held. And it didn’t seem like many of the buyers knew what they were doing either. @OliverKay on how the search for investment changed the Premier League – and not for the better. nytimes.com/athletic/7675375…

Mikel Arteta has become a reference point. Like Alex Ferguson and Jurgen Klopp before him, he has become proof that coaches should be judged after years, not months. The problem is that this sells those particular managers short. These are exceptional cases, not the norm. Michael Carrick is now under scrutiny at Manchester United. Such scepticism might seem harsh when compared to Arsenal and Arteta. But what Arteta proves it that it takes a certain force of personality to drag a club out of the doldrums and keep dragging it upwards. 📝 @OliverKay 🔗 nyti.ms/4hM9sW5