It never ceases to amaze me that with a 23-year-old Lionel Messi entering the height of his powers as a footballer, the Argentine Football Association decided to put Diego Maradona in charge of the national team for the 2010 World Cup. In his previous managerial experience, Maradona had collected three wins, eight draws and 12 losses, good for a win percentage of 13%.
Thinking about the Chinese Super League is something like remembering Y2K, the year time turned 2,000 years old (fact). Worries built up ferociously directly before the turn of the century, but the dropping of the ball confirmed that everything would be okay.
The CSL, for a few months, seemed capable of its own global disruption, and the belief that China would simply buy anyone and everyone for exorbitant sums hit its peak when Shangong Luneng made Graziano Pelle the fifth-highest paid footballer on the planet in 2016.
Barcelona, a club not used to losing star players, accepted the largest transfer fee of all-time as Paris Saint-Germain funded the release clause for Brazilian striker Neymar on Thursday. The $263,480,000 fee didn’t just shatter the old record, it eviscerated it, more than doubling the $117.6 million Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba.
I don't know what will become of Portsmouth following its acquisition by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, but I can't help but hope it turns out exactly like this:
In a statement Thursday, Barcelona announced the fee to trigger Neymar's release clause had been paid by Neymar and his father, making the Brazilian attacker a free agent.
Barcelona's statement in full:
If you thought fidget spinners were only for hyperactive tweens and squirmy corporate adults, then think again.
The most annoying and amusing toy in the world just received the stamp of approval from Ronaldinho. The Brazilian legend recently released his own line of fidget spinners, available in silver, gold and black. The stylish gadget’s piéce de résistance is the emblazoned “Ronaldinho” signature.
It’s finally August, which means the 2017-18 season is upon us. Ligue 1 begins Friday, the German Super Cup is Saturday and England’s Community Shield is Sunday. But as a new campaign begins, another cycle is coming to a close. The inaugural FIFA Interactive Club World Cup will be held in London on Saturday followed by the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2017 Grand Final on Aug. 16-18 to crown the world champion for EA Sports’ FIFA 17.
Back in 2010, MLS signed an eight-year deal with Adidas worth $200 million. It was seen as a watershed moment for the league, signed just years after an eight-year contract with ESPN.
In 2014, the broadcast deal for MLS changed dramatically when ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision signed new agreements totaling around $90 million per-season, five times more than the previous deal.
Meet Amine Harit, a French U-20 attacking midfielder who just arrived at Schalke 04 via Nantes for $9.5 million. He's not a global sponsor for Nike, Gillette, Panasonic or Beats by Dre, he's never had his own custom Air Jordan sneakers or been featured on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer, but he remains one of the brightest attacking talents in world football today.
This morning Barcelona announced that Neymar had announced to them his intention to leave the club, presumably for Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona also announced that they informed Neymar his release clause, a cool 263.2 million, would still have to be met.
PSG have yet to actually meet this release clause, which would terminate Neymar's contract with Barcelona and allow him to sign a new one with PSG, but they certainly have the means. Messi has already said goodbye.