Italian Clubs

Benfica vs. Juventus wasn’t exactly one of the more glamorous matchups brought to us by the International Champions Cup. But it brought us the two best goals of the preseason tournament, namely the Luca Clemenza goal vs Benfica on Saturday at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. 

The match was scoreless after an hour. The deadlock was broken in the 65th minute by Benfica’s 22-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Grimaldo, who smashed a free kick that dipped perfectly into the back of the net.

After years of legal complications with the Spanish government, tax evasion and fraud, Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s tax agency reached a deal and a two-year prison sentence. The Ronaldo tax settlement will cost the Juventus forward $22 million. The jail term is suspended given Spain’s no-prison law for first-time offenders of non-violent crimes if the term is two years or less.

AC Milan’s new general manager, the Brazilian Leonardo, confirmed Leonardo Bonucci’s desire to return to Juventus after only one season. The 31-year-old defender shockingly transferred to the Rossoneri in 2017 after six years of dominance in Serie A.  

What do R&B singer R. Kelly, plastic surgery-obsessed Los Angelenos and Cristiano Ronaldo have in common? For them, age is nothing but number. Certainly, the 33-year-old has shown he can more than hang with the the best of young bucks as he finished as Champions League top scorer this past season and helped to bring home the third trophy in a row for Real Madrid.

A Malcom Barcelona transfer has shocked the market.

A day after AS Roma announced it had signed Malcom on social media, Barcelona officially confirmed the Brazilian star as its brand new signing coming from Ligue 1’s Girondins de Bourdeaux on Tuesday.

Roma's tweet has since been taken down.

On May 2, after a Champions League semifinal match between AS Roma and Liverpool, Roma owner James Pallotta blasted the referees with accusations of bias. The American billionaire called the officials embarrassing and claimed they had cost him and Roma a place to face Real Madrid in the final. Roma won 4-2, but Liverpool went to the final on a 7-6 aggregate victory.

The 2018-19 AC Milan Europa League campaign is back in business thanks to a ruling Friday from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But now it has us wondering if this spells the end of Financial Fair Play in Europe. 

AC Milan qualified for the Europa League based on its sixth-place finish in Serie A. However, due to Financial Fair Play improprieties, the club was banned from European competition. But now it appears FFP is meaningless in the wake of the CAS ruling. 

Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson is on his way to England for a medical after agreeing to a transfer to Liverpool. Three months ago, AS Roma president James Pallotta said that Alisson would not be sold, even for a massive “sack of money.” But when that sack of money turned out to be $87.4 million — shattering the previous most expensive goalkeeper transfer — the Italian club just couldn’t refuse. 

Less than a week after Ronaldo made his move to Juventus official, his former manager at Real Madrid is set to join him at the Old Lady. The Zinedine Zidane Juventus connection extends back to the prime of his career. Zidane spent five seasons at Juventus from 1996-2001, during which time he won a Ballon d'Or and finished runner-up in the Champions League twice.

Fresh off his holiday in Greece following Portugal’s Round of 16 elimination at the hands of Uruguay, Cristiano Ronaldo has sauntered into Turin with fans baying for some “Siiuuu!” and a first Champions League crown since 1996.