MLS team valuations have soared in recent years, with the average now at $185 million according to Forbes, but the league is still a long way from fielding a product that competes with the upper-tier of European leagues.
Citing a desire to not be the coach that’s guilty of retiring Francesco Totti, Roma’s Luciano Spalletti has threatened to quit if Totti is not offered another one-year contract extension this summer.
The 40-year-old Roman has neither confirmed nor denied a desire to play next season, but the future of the personal embodiment of the club trumps all other focuses, according to Spalletti.
Last Thursday the NWSL announced a landmark television deal for the young league. A partnership with A+E Networks brings them on as a major sponsor of the league in general, and puts a game of the week each Saturday afternoon on their Lifetime network. Besides landing the league on a cable network on a regular basis, the deal brings a many other improvements.
League Stability
The NWSL minimum salary will more than double for next season, from $7,200 to 15,000.
Woo.
Even if it is (more than) doubling, that's not much in the way of an increase It still all but guarantees players will have to work second and even third jobs to be able to afford their bills, especially in expensive markets like Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Boston.
China has big plans for 2017. The Chinese Football Association gathered in Beijing to go over financial details in hopes of transforming the country into a soccer powerhouse. President Xi Jinping is the country’s number one soccer fan and intends to have China perform in future World Cups, an achievement they've only managed once.
Those who seek sustenance on unfounded transfer gossip and rumor mill nonsense will now need to look beyond Christian Pulisic for nourishment — the 18-year-old American attacker has extended his deal with Borussia Dortmund until 2020.
Hold your horses and put away the torches, I’m not here to tell you that Neymar is better than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Although the top two players in the world might still outclass the young Brazilian on the pitch, they are not nearly as valuable as Barcelona’s number 11 according to a study from the CIES Football Observatory.
Here's a thing the Guardian reported that caused a round of chuckling to be heard through our office. It was just me chuckling, but it could be heard throughout the office.
For almost everyone involved with Arsenal FC, Tuesday’s spectacular 3-3 draw with Bournemouth, after being 3-0 down in the 70th minute, must’ve felt like a victory. Everyone apart from Alexis Sanchez, that is.
Alexis Sánchez didn't seem too delighted with the result at full time. [@andremar655] pic.twitter.com/44misj4BEI
According to The Daily Mail, 32-year-old Argentine forward Carlos Tevez is set to become the world’s highest-paid player following a move to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League.
Tevez follows in the footsteps of Oscar, Hulk and Graziano Pelle, all players that’ve swapped more traditional footballing climes for a personal jackpot in the CSL.