Owners

Wednesday promises to provide an enthralling clash as the high-powered offenses of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain do battle in the Champions League semifinal first leg.

Both sides lead their respective domestic leagues in scoring this year, with PSG having scored 77 goals through 34 games and Pep Guardiola's City posting 69 in 33. While City waltzes towards its fifth league title since 2011-12 and third in four years, PSG finds itself in the midst of an actual title challenge in Ligue 1 for just the second time in nearly a decade. 

MANCHESTER, England — The European Super League collapsed on Wednesday as eight of the 12 founding members from England, Italy and Spain abandoned the breakaway project under massive pressure from fans, politicians, soccer officials and even the British royals.

Founder and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli told Reuters he was reluctantly calling time on the new league after six English clubs withdrew on Tuesday, with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid following suit and AC Milan indicating they would too.

On Monday, Eric Abidal gave his first interview since leaving the Barcelona board. The former France international said that the signing of Antoine Griezmann was decided by former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, a decision that prevented the return of Neymar in mid-2019.

BARCELONA - Barcelona members elected Joan Laporta as club president on Sunday, turning to the man who oversaw one of their most successful periods to lead them out of an institutional and financial crisis.

Laporta, who was Barça president between 2003 and 2010, won a resounding 54.28% of total votes, while Víctor Font came second with 29.99% and Toni Freixa was third with 8.58%.

BARCELONA - Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was arrested on Monday after Catalan police officers searched the LaLiga club's offices.

A regional police spokeswoman confirmed several arrests had been made following an investigation by the force's financial crimes unit, without confirming the number of arrests made or their identities.

BEIJING - Chinese football was thrown into disarray on Sunday as the owners of reigning Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu FC announced the club would cease operations with immediate effect.

A post on Jiangsu's official WeChat account expressed hope of new backers or that a "company of insight" would be willing to consult on the team's future.

The announcement stated all of owners Suning Group's football clubs, including the hugely successful Jiangsu Suning Women, would "cease operations from today.”

RCD Mallorca suffered a heartbreaking blow at the end of the 2016-17 season. With one game left to play, the club's return to Spain's third tier, La Segunda B, was confirmed thanks to relegation as a result of a 20th-placed finish. It had been over 30 years since the islanders last faced the ignominy of the third division. 

Charlotte FC, the club with a shit name and shitter logo, is set to become Major League Soccer’s 28th club in 2022. On Friday, the club announced even shittier news: absurd Charlotte FC season ticket prices for its inaugural season. 

The time is now party people https://t.co/ltO2kzEfFt pic.twitter.com/kJv5Gc3kRM

Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager are buying a stake in the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) Washington Spirit, along with Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Dominique Dawes, the team said on Wednesday.

The daughters of former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are among more than 30 people in the new investor group, which also includes former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

NEWS | Washington Spirit Announces New Investor Group

Major League Soccer's 26th season will kick off on April 17 following the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement but it remains to be decided where its Canadian teams will play, Commissioner Don Garber said on Wednesday.

The three Canadian sides — Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and CF Montreal — finished last season playing in adopted home stadiums in the United States due to strict border crossing rules brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.