Business

Messi's latest signature cleats are a celebration of life in your mid-30s

He's been wearing them on the pitch for over a week now, but the new Lionel Messi cleats 2023 have finally dropped with adidas giving the World Cup winner his latest signatures — the X Speedportal Messi.1 "L10NEL M35SI" boots.

Who says you can't embrace the age of 35, when 40 is suddenly on the horizon and there's no turning back? Not Messi. He's giving us a bit of playfulness in "Solar Orange/Silver Metallic/Core Black." Adidas is probably supposed to be marketing at teens and 20-somethings, but they said screw it, let's do something for everyone in their mid-30s.

UNOZERO adds gorgeous Turf and Futsal to its boots offering — we've got an exclusive discount

The noise is unrelenting. From the moment we wake until our day's complete, we're exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads that enter our consciousness and demand consideration. The market around the game of soccer is no different, where footwear brands promise innovations that can make you stronger, faster and more powerful than you'd ever imagined — only to declare them obsolete just months later as the newest product is rolled out. We get swept away by technological "advances" and spend hundreds of dollars wrapping our feet in unforgiving synthetic plastic.

MLS expansion fee enters the stratosphere — who can afford it?

Major League Soccer's ambition of being a true player in the world's club game by the 2026 World Cup is slowly being realized. 

The league's 28th season kicks off Saturday with a new team (St. Louis City SC), a new 10-year partnership with Apple TV (worth $250M per season) that's available in over 100 countries and Tuesday's announcement of a three-year extension with Audi that pays a multimillion-dollar fee annually.

After dropping FIFA, Electronic Arts nears $600M deal with the Premier League

FIFA 23 marks the end of a 30-year era after Electronic Arts balked at the international governing body's demand of one billion dollars for a license renewal, paving the way for EA Sports FC 24 and beyond.

What bold new direction will EA take now that its longstanding relationship with FIFA is over?

Qatari investors to make bid for Manchester United in the coming days

LONDON - Qatari investors are preparing to make a bid to buy Premier League club Manchester United in the coming days, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the deal.

The report added that the consortium will submit an initial bid for the club by the end of the week, and that officials from Qatar Investment Authority are helping with preparations for the bid.

Canada's players could refuse to play in SheBelieves Cup after going on strike

The Canada women's soccer team will go on strike with immediate effect because of pay equity concerns and budget cuts by the country's soccer association, captain Christine Sinclair said on Friday, less than a week before the SheBelieves Cup.

Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, are to face the United States in their first game of the SheBelieves Cup, which begins on Feb. 16, with Brazil and Japan also participating.

Radical European Super League proposal aims to include 80 clubs

BERLIN - A future European Super League could include as many as 80 teams, Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 Sports Management, a company formed to sponsor and assist in the creation of a breakaway soccer league, said on Thursday.

In a statement outlining the preliminary results of talks that A22 had with what it said was 50 European clubs and stakeholders of football, the company said change was necessary.

The new adidas Predator Accuracy is an instant icon of the modern game

When it comes to providing can't-miss spectacles, no sport on Earth comes close to matching the riches of soccer's offerings. The holy cathedrals that house the game are cauldrons of noise and passion, serving as places of worship on match nights with an electricity that seeps into your soul and remains there long after the final whistle. On these intoxicating evenings, the floodlights illuminate the senses, calling forth the modern masters to write their own pages in the game's history.

Man City charged by Premier League for over 100 breaches of financial rules

The Premier League has referred Manchester City to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules since the club were acquired by the Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group.

League rules state that charges such as those faced by City could, if proved, result in a club being expelled from the Premier League in the worst-case scenario.

Offending clubs may alternately be deducted points, fined, or reprimanded.

Women's World Cup organizers shocked by FIFA's decision to let Saudi Arabia sponsor the tournament

MELBOURNE - Former New Zealand international Maia Jackman said Saudi sponsorship of the Women's World Cup would be in "complete opposition" to female empowerment and set back her work as an ambassador for the tournament.

Australia and New Zealand, co-hosts of this year's World Cup, wrote to global soccer governing body FIFA on Wednesday seeking urgent clarification after The Guardian reported Visit Saudi will be named as a major sponsor of the tournament.

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