^*^ Fifa agrees to pay clubs extra £119m to release players for men’s World Cup

• Clubs will also get a greater say in football calendar
• Deal could make European Super League less likely

Fifa has agreed to pay clubs an extra $146m (£119m) to release their players for the men’s World Cup and give them a greater say in the game’s calendar. The moves are part of a new deal that indicates a significant thawing of relations between the sport’s governing body and Europe’s top teams.

Relations have been frosty since the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, offered his tacit support for the failed European Super League project and advocated for a World Cup every two years. Infantino signed a new memorandum of understanding on Monday with the European Clubs Association in Budapest.

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