Abhishek Raj

Football Strategist and Content Creator (link in bio) | Football Business Writer and Presenter for Tifo Football and The Athletic | Bain & Co #IIMA #IITB

[Manchester United @ManUtd]

Run it back ⏪🔥

[Premier League @premierleague]

The best match from the 2025/26 season, as voted by YOU 🫵

🔴@Arsenal 2-3 @ManUtd ⚫️

https://t.co/WhEOpy1OFt

[Abhishek Raj @abhipsychraj]

@Jon_Mackenzie Fantastic, Jon! Can't wait to read it 😊

[Jon Mackenzie @Jon_Mackenzie]

Some news: I've written a book about how football has evolved over the last fifteen years or so.

It's called The Spectre of Pep: How Guardiola haunts modern football tactics.

It's out in August and you can pre-order it right now from this link: https://t.co/xoOBxVp3NR

[JJ Bull @jj_bull]

A lot of folks on here could do with watching this

[Abhishek Raj @abhipsychraj]

Great fun appearing on this week's Tifo Football Podcast with @JM_Devine @Jon_Mackenzie @ReubenPinder

We cover which footballers would make the best accountants, the PL's new financial rules and change the intro possibly forever

[Tifo Football by The Athletic @TifoFootball_]

Xabi Alonso is on thin ice at Real Madrid. Even though they have only lost 2 league games and are 4 points behind Barcelona.

But is the issue with Alonso more than the results?

https://t.co/HYjxciQ3aJ

[Tifo Football by The Athletic @TifoFootball_]

Xabi Alonso is on thin ice at Real Madrid. Even though they have only lost 2 league games and are 4 points behind Barcelona.

But is the issue with Alonso more than the results?

https://t.co/HYjxciQ3aJ

[JJ Bull @jj_bull]

Teams I’ve been most impressed by this weekend:

Man Utd: aggressive, organised, creative, genuinely good
Crystal Palace: my surprise PL team this year
Newcastle: but need a striker
Man City: equivalent of Celtic in SPFL
Wolves: ignore the score, they are aaaaaalright

[Pras @Pras_fpl]

Bruno may not hit Defcon this game because Man Utd have dominated the game. Will be easier to reach when they play harder teams.

[Tifo Football by The Athletic @TifoFootball_]

✍️ @abhipsychraj
🎨 @fennertown

[Tifo Football by The Athletic @TifoFootball_]

Other sports have managed to harness technology to aid officiating well. Tennis has Hawk-Eye, rugby has the Television Match Official, cricket has a Decision Review System.

And yet, VAR has been a never-ending list of controversies and complaints.

https://t.co/OGudAQdwr2

[Abhishek Raj @abhipsychraj]

New Tifo video I wrote 😊

[Tifo Football by The Athletic @TifoFootball_]

Other sports have managed to harness technology to aid officiating well. Tennis has Hawk-Eye, rugby has the Television Match Official, cricket has a Decision Review System.

And yet, VAR has been a never-ending list of controversies and complaints.

https://t.co/OGudAQdwr2

[Pras @Pras_fpl]

~24 hours until we start getting fixture leaks a few hours before the actual fixture announcement….for games 60 days away.

Can’t wait.

[Dream Sports @DreamSportsHQ]

A new chapter begins for Dream Sports and @SalfordCityFC!

We are thrilled to be a part of such an esteemed group of members! Led by football legends, David Beckham and @GNev2, and leaders including Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies, @SalfordCityFC's community of owners will usher in a new era of success!

Read the announcement here: https://t.co/6PILQyiKMU

#SalfordCityFC #DreamSports #FootballLegends #DavidBeckham #GaryNeville #SportsBusiness

[Abhishek Raj @abhipsychraj]

Thrilled to be part of the team that led this investment for Dream Sports!

Excited to work with @GNev2 and the @SalfordCityFC team to scale new heights!

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

David Beckham and Gary Neville plan on lifting Salford City to new heights after completing a takeover of the League Two side as part of a fresh consortium that has committed to injecting significant funds.

More from @David_Ornstein ⬇️

[David Ornstein @David_Ornstein]

🚨 EXCL: David Beckham + Gary Neville complete takeover of Salford City with new consortium. Raised $15-20m to invest as group target Championship within 5yrs. Other Class of 92 members no longer shareholders but will have #SalfordCity roles @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/Fznf0DGOvv

[Mala Raj @mala_raj]

@airindia for shame. Business class ticket paid for and booked in advance. And a couple of hours before the flight, you call and tell the pax they're going to be downgraded because one of the seats in Biz Class is not reclining and the entertainment system is not working!!

[Harsh Jain @harshjain85]

Hey @kmr_dilip - I’m the Co-Chair of @mumbai_tech_, which has organised #MumbaiTechWeek, the event I’m assuming you’re talking about. Firstly, I’m glad our event has gotten us all talking about AI in India - that’s the whole point of it! Here’s our thinking behind the programming for this event:
Mumbai is the home of Finance, Retail, Media, Entertainment, Pharma, Sports, Gaming, Real Estate, Healthcare, Hospitality, Telecom, etc. It always has been the epicentre and decision-making hub of India for all businesses, and the biz of AI will be no different. The whole idea of MumbAI @ Mumbai Tech Week is to get all the top business leaders to start thinking, talking about, and investing heavily in AI. The private sector in India is FAR behind the US in investing in AI, and I’m assuming that being an investor, you understand that for the “real AI innovation” you want, we first need real money invested in AI.
Accordingly, here are some of our speakers - whom you say are not “real builders” and “parade technology as an accessory” for India’s AI industry:
- Govt: our Hon’ble IT Ministers from Centre and State to talk about India’s AI roadmap & policies, our Hon’ble Minister of Industry for his thoughts on AI implementation across industries, our Hon’ble CM to learn abt the Govt of Maharashtra’s commitment to AI in the state
- Reliance Jio CEO: Literally the largest Tech company in India, with plans to put India on the AI map globally
- AI CEOs/Heads: IndiaAI, OLA Krutrim, Sarvam AI, Fractal, Neysa, Quantiphi, Invideo, Google DeepMind, Meta, AWS, Microsoft, Scale AI, Essential AI, Induced AI, etc (screenshot attached if these are too many AI names and visually easier to understand)
- Tech Unicorns talking about using AI at scale: Peeyush @ Lenskart, Aadit @ Zepto, Kunal @ CRED, Ritesh @ OYO
- Industry Stalwarts talking about the use of data and AI in their domain - N Chandra (Tata) Sanjiv M (HUL), R Dravid (Sports), Karan J (Film) & Uday S (JioStar)
If you still believe this is a “spectacle” then let’s agree to disagree. I agree that Technology isn’t a spectator sport. And just like our sports, we will only succeed by not just having great players (PhDs/Engineers), but great coaches, teams, leagues, federations and a govt aligned with that mission. If you truly want India to be a technology powerhouse, we need the smartest folks to not have a crab mentality and pull down people trying to push AI forward in India. If you think it can be done better, then do it. I’ll personally be cheering you on and will be happy to come (if you think I qualify - being a founder and engineer) to your AI event, and so will all these biz leaders who hopefully after #MTW2025 will come to invest in or hire all the people there. Till then, you can think about buying a ticket and give us a chance to change your mind: https://t.co/fWleBZNz5w

[Charlie Light @charliewrich]

The last thing EBITDA sees before it's adjusted

[JJ Bull @jj_bull]

Also, I absolutely loved how Manuel Ugarte put the ball forward under massive pressure to start that almost game winning move, rather than pass back to the goalie like everyone always does