Manchester City

The likes of Arsenal, Everton, Leicester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham all saw the majority of their players return to the training ground for the start of preseason today. Many other sides, like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, will also begin their preparations this week.

Ahh summer. Warm sunshine, no school, beaches, vacations, international B teams competing for second-rate trophies and, of course, weddings.

It’s wedding season in the soccer world and trophy husbands are being tied down by women left and right. 

Lionel Messi is tying the knot (and eating empanadas) on Friday, so a couple English Premier League stars got hitched this past weekend so as not to be overshadowed by he-who-overshadows-everything in soccer.

Suffering from Champions League withdrawal?

It’s been less than a month since Real Madrid thrashed Juventus to claim the crown of top club in Europe, but teams are about to begin the quest to take away that crown.

The first qualifying round for the world’s premier club competition (go away, FIFA Club World Cup, no one cares about you) begins Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Here it is: your complete guide to the 2017 summer soccer schedule. 

For most sports, the offseason is a time of respite. Once the Super Bowl ends in February, NFL teams don’t suit up for another game, scrimmage or otherwise, for six months. Soccer, fortunately, doesn’t abide by such silly rules.

The European soccer season technically ends after the Champions League final around late May or early June, but preseason exhibitions pick up in early July. Then there are also international matches (friendlies and cups) to also fill the void. 

Pep Guardiola's net worth has been estimated at around $40 million. That is less than Manchester City pays in transfer fees for many of the players Guardiola wants, but it's still quite a lot of money. More than I have, anyway.