Major League Soccer put its foot down and showed that no one is above the rules as Lionel Messi and superstar teammate Luis Suárez were both hit with fines after week 1 of the new season.
Suárez and Messi fined by MLS
The attacking pair were fined an undisclosed amount for violating the league’s “hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent” rule.
Hold your horses, Inter Miami.
As Major League Soccer continues to grow in both popularity and market value, several franchises have emerged as the most valuable in 2025.
With the arrivals of top players to the league, as well as the emergence of new expansion clubs and numerous investments from the 30 teams in MLS, club-values have skyrocketed in the last decade, with multiple teams in the United States becoming some of the most valuable in Latin America.
In 2022 the USMNT’s group stage game vs. England had a record U.S. viewership of 19.9 million people tuning in across English and Spanish broadcasts. Although the NFL and the Super Bowl continue to hold the top ratings spot in the U.S., overall World Cup viewership dwarfs that of American football.
During the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, a record 1.5 billion tuned in to see Lionel Messi’s Argentina knock off defending world champion France.
Clubs worldwide spent a record $2.35 billion on international transfers in men's soccer in the January window, nearly a 58% increase from last year, world soccer's governing body FIFA said in a study published on Friday.
According to FIFA's International Transfer Snapshot, the amount is also 47.1% higher than the previous record set in January 2023 when there was a total outlay of $1.57 billion.
Atlanta United announced the splash signing of speedy Ivory Coast striker Emmanuel Latte Lath on Tuesday.
Atlanta reportedly paid an MLS-record $22 million transfer fee to English second-tier side Middlesbrough FC, breaking the mark of $16.2 million that FC Cincinnati spent in November to acquire forward Kevin Denkey from Belgium's Cercle Brugge.
Atlanta United break MLS transfer record
United States women’s national team star defender Naomi Girma looks set to become the most expensive women’s player in history. Women’s Super League giants Chelsea are closing in on the most expensive women’s transfer ever and pay San Diego Wave FC $1.1 million, per The Athletic.
Girma, 24, will surpass Bay FC’s Racheal Kundananji who previously held the highest transfer fee in women’s soccer with a $787,600 move from Madrid CFF.
Neymar could be departing Saudi Arabia this summer as his contract with Al Hilal ends and making a move to the United States. Reports from ESPN, GiveMeSport and FootMercato say that a Neymar Chicago Fire move is being discussed.
Fans have believed that Inter Miami would be Neymar’s next destination to reunite with his former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Neymar himself hinted at this move during an interview with CNN this month.
The Houston Dash acquired two-time NWSL champion forward Yazmeen Ryan from NJ/NY Gotham FC on Friday.
The Dash also received $80,000 in intra-league transfer funds for 2025 in exchange for $400,000 in allocation money and a 2025 international roster slot.
Yazmeen Ryan trade
NEW YORK — FIFA and Netflix have signed a deal to broadcast the 2027 and 2031 editions of the Women's World Cup in the United States, world soccer's governing body said on Friday.
FIFA said the Women's World Cup will be the first competition to be acquired in full by Netflix and U.S.-based fans would be able to watch every match live.
Netflix Women's World Cup
Six men including the brother of France international Paul Pogba were sentenced to prison terms of between three and eight years on Thursday after being convicted of extortion attempts targeting the footballer, French media reported.
Pogba brother extortion case