Owners

MANCHESTER, England - Liverpool's squad arrived safely at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium for Thursday's Premier League clash as home fans protesting against the club's owners attempted to disrupt the game for a second time in 10 days.

Sky Sports posted a video on Twitter showing players and officials arriving at the stadium for the match, which is scheduled to kick off at 8.15 p.m. local time (1915 GMT) even as fans let off flares outside the venue in a largely peaceful protest.

The year that was 2020 disrupted a lot of the financial models for Major League Soccer and resulted in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement ratified back in February, but the 26th season of MLS is now underway while looking largely similar to previous editions, particularly with regards to the MLS Designated Players list 2021.

New York City Football Club will become the first Major League Soccer (MLS) club to feature a small business on their shirts as the team have gifted their sleeve sponsorship to a Bronx craft chocolate company, Reuters has learned on Monday.

NYCFC, through a contest designed to help a local business impacted by COVID-19, surprised Sol Cacao with the prime advertising space to go along with the winning prize of a full partner package.

The average value of the world's 50 leading sports teams rose to $3.43 billion in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an annual list published by Forbes on Friday that was topped by the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

Forbes said the average value of the world's 50 most valuable teams on the list was up 11 percent from last year's ranking.

The three teams that remain involved in the breakaway Super League operation, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, face sanctions from UEFA, who have reached an agreement with the nine other clubs.

European soccer's governing body said on Friday the nine clubs who backed out of the plan had signed a ‘Club Commitment Declaration’ including a series of "reintegration" steps.

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley said it is time for the "dark forces" preventing the Tyneside club from becoming a powerhouse to step aside, after initiating legal proceedings against the Premier League, British media reported.

It is the second legal action that British businessman Ashley has initiated against the league over an aborted takeover attempt by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium last year.

MANCHESTER, England - It has certainly been a year of sporting contrasts for American businessman Joel Glazer.

In February, he was in celebratory mood, raising the Vince Lombardi trophy as his NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, led by veteran quarterback Tom Brady.

Three months later, Glazer's Premier League soccer team, Manchester United, had to call off their match against rivals Liverpool following violent protests against the American's ownership of the club.

When Spurs chairman Daniel Levy made the decision to sack Mauricio Pochettino, he wasted no time in appointing José Mourinho to replace the Argentine. 

Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek said on Wednesday that he has secured funds to test the resolve of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke in a bid to buy the Premier League club from the American billionaire.

Kroenke and his son and director Josh put out a joint statement on Tuesday saying that they remain "100% committed to Arsenal" and were not interested in selling a stake in the club despite furious backlash from the fans.