Soccer

11:03 AM ET Moises Llorens Sam Marsden Manchester City are confident Lionel Messi would snub any other approach to join them if Barcelona soften their stance and decide to negotiate the sale of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, sources have told ESPN. Paris Saint-Germain have expressed an interest in signing Messi, too, and sources have

4:42 AM ET Welcome to ESPN’s Insider Notebook, featuring contributions from our reporters across the top leagues around the world. In this edition, there’s reaction from Barcelona’s bitter rivals on Lionel Messi’s shock news. Plus: Sadio Mane could have joined Manchester United … but for Louis van Gaal. Jump to: Mane rejected United over LVG

11:56 AM ET Plot twists are to be expected when transfer rumours are involved, but it appears Lionel Messi might actually be leaving Barcelona. It feels like something both impossible and inevitable, and the emotional shockwaves will continue to resonate for a while even if he stays, but how would this actually work? If Messi

12:14 AM ET LAFC midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye led a chorus of players and managers who insisted that it was the players, not MLS, who decided to postpone five games on Wednesday. Players from around the league declined to play in protest of racial injustice, and in particular the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man,

4:00 AM ET Any club from top teams like Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona to lower-league and semi-pro sides can produce a terrible kit. ESPN Illustration After compiling and ranking the best 101 soccer kits ever, it was only fair that we once again enlisted ESPN’s soccer writers and editors from around the globe to help

8:56 PM ET Most of Wednesday’s matches in Major League Soccer were postponed as players chose not to play in protest of racial injustice, and in particular the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by police on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The development came as players in both the NBA and WNBA declined to

9:21 AM ET Sid LoweSpain writer The letter (well, “burofax”) arrives, recorded delivery. That way, no one can pretend that they didn’t get it. Someone opens it — Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, himself? — and reads it. What does it say? Wait, what? It says that Lionel Messi, the greatest player in the club’s

3:00 AM ET Arsenal technical director Edu has already been busy this summer, but the club still have a number of huge calls to make. Having taken over just before Christmas, manager Mikel Arteta is overseeing the rebuild, and there were positive signs after the restart, including winning the FA Cup. However, after four consecutive

5:32 PM ET It’s incredible to think about, but there’s precedent for Barcelona and Lionel Messi ending up in court over their latest battle, which escalated Tuesday when he informed the club he wanted to leave after nearly 20 years of service. That the positions adopted by both parties — the wounded genius vs. the

10:45 AM ET The coronavirus has, as with every other industry and walk of life, had a permanent effect on each sport’s financial infrastructure. Games and seasons were cancelled or postponed, those leagues that returned mostly did so without fans and while a good portion of television revenue was salvaged, the shortfalls from 2020 will

3:24 PM ET Moises Llorens Rodrigo Faez Manchester City are crunching the numbers to work out if they would be able to sign Lionel Messi without breaching Financial Fair Play rules if the Barcelona star becomes available, sources have told ESPN. – Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant

10:14 AM ET It’s finally over. As Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer lifted the European Cup following the German club’s Champions League final victory over Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon on Sunday, the 2019-20 season reached its delayed conclusion. Or so it seemed, anyway. Supporters of Spanish club Elche would argue that their 1-0 victory over

7:30 AM ET It is 12.40 a.m. and Thiago Silva is the first Paris Saint-Germain player to get off the bus at the Myriad hotel in Lisbon city centre, for the last time. Unlike in his dreams, though the captain is not holding the Champions League trophy. Instead, he passes to the entrance of the

4:57 PM ET Bayern Munich won their sixth Champions League title on Sunday evening in Lisbon thanks to Kingsley Coman’s second-half header against Paris Saint-Germain. It was Bayern’s first European title since 2013 and capped a remarkable season in which they wrapped up their Treble. It was a nervy first half and despite the expectation

6:34 PM ET The Champions League that almost was not — the one played against a backdrop of fear and insecurity (but also solidarity and self-scrutiny) — ended with the European Cup trophy returning where it has been before. Bayern Munich’s 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain marks the German club’s sixth time as champions of

7:33 AM ET Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has credited manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after he achieved his best goalscoring tally at the club last season. Martial scored 24 goals in all competitions and finished the campaign as United’s top goalscorer. – Stream FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)– Insider Notebook: Arsenal, Man City battle

Aug 21, 2020 When the Champions League returned post-lockdown, the one-legged format and general 2020 uncertainty suggested we were ripe for a string of upsets. And while some heavyweights — Manchester City, Juventus, Atletico Madrid — did fall to less illustrious opposition, we ended up with two super clubs in the final: Paris Saint-Germain and

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