After making his Chelsea debut as a 65th-minute substitute against Kawasaki Frontale on Friday, Christian Pulisic was handed his first-ever Chelsea start Tuesday as the Blues defeated Barcelona 2-1 in Saitama, Japan.
It was the sort of tackle in which the final verdict would be better suited to a courtroom; a straight red card certainly doesn’t seem like enough justice for an act of violence perpetrated with the sole intention of seriously injuring another player.
During yesterday’s “friendly” between Sevilla and Liverpool at Fenway Park in Boston, Sevilla’s Joris Gnagnon was handed his marching orders in the 76th minute for this assault on 18-year-old Liverpool winger Yasser Larouci.
Despite having not scored more than 10 league goals in a season since 2014-15 (his first with Real Madrid), Colombian attacker James Rodriguez remains one of the game’s most recognizable and beloved footballers. The 28-year-old’s playmaking ability is world class (he dropped 13 assists during his first season on loan at Bayern Munich), and although he’s been deemed surplus to requirements by Zinedine Zidane, the likes of Atlético and Napoli are desperate to sign the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner.
The Premier League isn’t the only competition with deep pockets. La Liga has smashed its transfer spending record just two weeks into the summer transfer window, having already spent $1.13 billion. The previous record of $1 billion was set in 2018, with high potential players such as Thomas Lemar, Malcolm and Vinicius Junior all being sold for over 40 million to Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, respectively.
Following his $135 million transfer from Atlético Madrid to Barcelona, Antoine Griezmann became the fifth-most expensive footballer of all-time. The 28-year-old Frenchman immediately put pen to paper on a five-year contract at the Camp Nou that includes an astronomical release clause of $900 million.
Barcelona activated Atlético Madrid’s release clause for Antoine Griezmann worth $135 million (€120 million) and signed him to a five-year contract with a release clause of $900 million, announcing the signing on Friday. The Griezmann transfer fee is the fourth-highest of all time behind only Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and João Felix, but Atlético thinks it should be higher.
According to the latest update from Forbes, Lionel Messi was the world’s fourth-highest paid entertainer in 2019 — only Kanye West, Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift made more. So what is Lionel Messi’s net worth, how much does he make annually from his Barcelona contract and what does he earn from his lavish endorsement deals with adidas, Gatorade, Pepsi and others?
Lionel Messi Barcelona Contract And Salary
On Wednesday, July 31, the only friendly worth watching takes place at Orlando City Stadium in Florida — it’s the 2019 MLS All-Star Game, pitting the best of MLS against Spanish giant Atlético Madrid. What’s flying under the radar is that one day before the big game, there’s going to be an All-Star Skills Challenge.
This used to be a regular feature of MLS All-Star weekend, but for some reason I’ll never understand, they put an end to it. Here’s a brief recap.
After a late season collapse that included that historic beatdown from Liverpool in the Champions League semis and defeat to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final, FC Barcelona has dusted itself off and is now looking forward to its 120th season in existence with relish.
Last Friday, a substantial crowd at the Camp Nou welcomed new signing Frenkie de Jong from Ajax. The 22-year-old cost $84 million, and he’ll instantly slot into Barça’s midfield three alongside Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic.
Manchester City looks to be wrapping up its first signing of the summer.
With a few players that are starting to age, Pep Guardiola has been looking for immediate replacements. Fernandinho, arguably one of City’s most important players in the past few years, is 34 years old. While he still has a lot to give for Manchester City, he isn’t as young and spry as he used to be.