The Women’s International Champions Cup returns on Wednesday, giving us a rare glimpse of how the best club sides in Europe match-up with the NWSL elite. This year’s tournament boasts the defending UEFA Women’s Champions League winner, Barcelona, and the most recent NWSL champ, the Portland Thorns.
There’s not long now until our new overlords are all assembled.
Paris Saint-Germain got its second straight victory to open the season on Saturday afternoon at the Parc des Princes, but the side was still without new signings Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and the recovering Neymar and Ángel Di María.
But they were all in the building, and Achraf Hakimi, Georginio Wijnaldum, Donnarumma, Ramos and Messi were presented to the home support before the match. It was an unbelievable scene, and the reception for Messi . . . well, just watch.
PARIS — Lionel Messi watched on from the stands as Paris Saint-Germain made hard work of beating Strasbourg 4-2 in Ligue 1 on Saturday to continue their winning start to the new season.
Not yet fully fit, Messi, along with Neymar and fellow new recruits Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos, did not make the match squad, but saw his new club take an early lead through Mauro Icardi at Parc des Princes.
Lionel Messi is presented to the PSG fans
Luego de todo el fútbol de selección que hubo durante el verano, es hora de volver al fútbol de clubes, el fútbol del día a día.
Varias ligas europeas comienzan este fin de semana y es un buen momento para ver quienes serán los futbolistas mexicanos que jugarán en Europa y cómo puedes ver sus partidos durante la temporada si vives en los Estados Unidos.
PARIS — The arrival of Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain has created a positive mood at the Ligue 1 club but he is unlikely to play any part in Saturday's home game against Strasbourg, coach Mauricio Pochettino said.
Speaking at Friday's news conference ahead of the league fixture after Messi joined PSG from Barcelona earlier this week, Pochettino added his first task was to make sure a star-studded outfit began to look the sum of its parts.
PARIS - Lionel Messi trained with new club Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday, two days after joining the Ligue 1 giants from Barcelona, French daily L'Equipe reported.
It was the first time Messi, who won 10 LaLiga and four Champions League titles with Barcelona, set foot on the pitch since leading Argentina to the Copa América title with a 1-0 win over Brazil.
Have you seen the potential Paris Saint-Germain starting lineups for the 2021-22 season? They all share two qualities: (1) they’ve got more boom boom than Charo and (2) they’re all wildly different.
All we know is that Mauricio Pochettino — previously a Marcelo Bielsa disciple whose high-press hit vertically, horizontally and everywhere in between — is now a protégé of FIFA Ultimate Team champion Fnatic Tekkz.
What will the tactics board look like at the Parc des Princes?
Messi moving centrally to shoehorn Ángel Di María into the starting lineup?
Lionel Messi dio su primera conferencia de prensa con la playera del PSG y habló de las cosas que se suelen hablar en este tipo de ceremonias, las cuales generan expectativa y emoción entre los fanáticos, pero que en realidad son predecibles y aburridas. Messi, por muy G.O.A.T. que sea no escapa al tedio de esas formalidades, pero al menos contó con un trío de aliados que transformaron su presentación en algo diferente y menos protocolar: sus hijos Thiago (8 años), Mateo (5) y Ciro (3).
PARIS — Lionel Messi dashed any thoughts of him taking it easy in his later years as he set his sights on leading new club Paris St Germain to their first ever Champions League title at his presentation in France on Wednesday.
The Argentine forward, 34, had agreed to stay at former club Barcelona after his deal expired at the end of June, only for the Spanish club to admit they could no longer afford him last week.
He signed a two year deal with an option for a third with the Parisians on Tuesday.
While Lionel Messi's departure marks the end of an era for Barcelona, there is plenty more to be resolved at the Nou Camp before the season gets under way:
MONEY ISSUES
Barcelona has a gross debt of over one billion euros ($1.17 billion) and years of profligate spending meant they flew too close to the sun once too often.
Even without the Argentine, their salary mass accounts for 95 percent of all income — in football, it is considered viable and healthy to have your wages to income at a maximum ratio of 70 percent.