Spanish Clubs

It’s been a year since Lionel Messi delivered a rare but powerful speech before Barcelona’s Joan Gamper Trophy match against Boca Juniors. It was during that address to the Camp Nou crowd that he promised a return of the Champions League trophy to Catalonia, but that promise was later eviscerated by Liverpool at Anfield. Messi’s pledge was then widely mocked.

The 2019 MLS All-Star Game averaged only 182,000 viewers for its English-language coverage on FS1, the smallest audience for the game on any network over the last decade and the smallest English-language TV audience in the 24-year history of the event. That number is down 60% from 2018 (452K on ESPN) and 57% from 2017 (420K on FS1).

Atlético Madrid won the match 3-0 in front of a sell-out crowd of 25,527 at Exploria Stadium. 

Gareth Bale did not find himself on the team sheet for Real Madrid’s friendly against Tottenham in Munich on Tuesday. Instead, he was spotted on the green, playing golf at the Ciudad Grupo Santander, a private course on the outskirts of Madrid.

The nominations for FIFA's self-indulging award of naming "The Best FIFA Football Awards" for coaches and players were announced Wednesday morning. The winners will be revealed Sept. 23 in Milan at The Best FIFA Football Awards show. Here are the FIFA Best Awards nominees for 2019.

2019 FIFA Best Awards Nominees

Men's player finalsists

 Ready? #TheBest Men's Player nominees:

I’ll admit that my own excitement over last night’s MLS All-Star Skills Challenge led to disappointment for the better part of an hour. The Shooting Challenge round — kicks from the spot aimed at targets in goal — was turgid and tedious as all hell, and then I sank even lower after the Touch and Volley round, which I’d likened beforehand — in my own head — to be soccer’s equivalent of the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest. 

Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) has been making headlines over the past few months by waging a steady assault on FIFA’s rights to everything in club soccer; most notable was an exclusive deal with Juventus, meaning that the club’s name, badge, kits and Allianz Stadium will only be available in PES 2020 — FIFA 20 players will have to make do with ‘Piemonte Calcio.’