You know the case isn’t closed until Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had his say, and that’s exactly what’s happened in the war of words between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi regarding the “challenge” that the Portuguese issued to the Argentine to join him in Italian football.
As has been well-documented, the emergence of signing young international players with Targeted Allocation Money and the increased regularity of moving Homegrown Players up the ranks has made the MLS SuperDraft less meaningful than ever (not that signing a 22-year-old who’s spent the last four years playing a three-month long season was ever a recipe for success). That’s not to say that a few of the 2019 selections won’t contribute in meaningful ways, but it’s just that — a few.
The Carabao Cup is essentially a contest to determine which Premier League side has the most expansive, expensively assembled reserve team. It’s a test of squad depth that only a handful of clubs can afford to juggle while the rigors of league play take precedent, and so it comes as absolutely no surprise that Manchester City has won the competition three of the last five years and is on the cusp of making it four of six.
In-depth interviews with Barcelona captain Lionel Messi are a rare thing, but they continuously reveal a humble, cerebral and analytical individual who refuses to be drawn into the trappings of fame and modern society. With LaLiga entering its winter break (Barcelona last played on Dec.