Other Clubs

We’ve reached a new level in the relationship between Nike and the young phenoms churned out at Santos FC. It began with PSG’s Neymar, who signed with the multinational corporation at the age of 13. That trend continued with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, who, at the tender age of 11, became Nike’s youngest-ever affiliated athlete after dazzling at a youth tournament in New York.

If you’re FC Barcelona, do you want the good news first, or bad news? The good news is that, according to Deloitte’s annual report for the world's richest soccer teams 2021, Barcelona was the highest-earning club in 2020! The bad news is that total revenue was decreased by nearly $153 million, a precipitous fall of 15 percent from 2019’s earnings. Oh, and you’re also $1.46 billion in debt.

As 19-time Süper Lig champions residing in the cultural and historic center of Istanbul, Fenerbahçe has long captured the imagination of football fans around the globe. Images of the Eternal Rivalry — the pitched battle between bitter derby foes Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray — are enough to drive the most ignorant of Americans into a Wikipedia deep dive.

Last week it was Matthew Hoppe; now it’s Brenden Aaronson. Young Americans are popping up all over Europe, scoring goals at an impressive rate.

Beşiktaş has reclaimed top spot in the Süper Lig after thrashing Rizespor 6-0 at Vodafone Arena on Wednesday. Canadian striker Cyle Larin had his greatest day in a Beşiktaş shirt, scoring four goals to give him 10 in 15 league appearances this season.

After a slow start to life in Europe, the 25-year-old has now scored five goals in his last three appearances to put the continent on notice. While we’re very pleased for Larin and Canada, three of his goals today were the result of a comedy of errors from Rizespor.  

Fenerbahçe will sign German midfielder Mesut Özil from Arsenal for three and a half years for an undisclosed fee, Turkey's private Demirören news agency and other Turkish media reported on Wednesday.

While there was no immediate comment on the reports from Fenerbahçe, broadcaster A Spor said Özil and the club had agreed on the transfer in principle and that the 32-year-old would join the former Turkish champions later in January.