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Love him, hate him or simply appreciate the dazzling array of skills and laugh at the ability to turn into Simone Biles on the floor, Neymar is one of only a handful of footballers that completely captivate when taking the pitch. Of course there's also the lifestyle off it: the numerous love interests, the Gatsby-esque parties fueled by an annual income of $95 million, the ever-present entourage and everything he means to a football-mad country like Brazil.

There are few power couples in sports more accomplished than Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson. There’s Megan and Sue and Mia and Nomar, and after that it’s pretty debatable (sorry Mal and Dansby, you’ve got some catching up to do).

You’ve heard of the fox in the box, a crafty striker who uses whatever means necessary to score a goal. Now here’s a fox on the pitch, a furry mammal who just wants to play some soccer. 

An Estonian League 2 U-21 match was interrupted not once, not twice but three times by a fox invading the pitch this week. 

Fox On Pitch

Anyone who came of age in the 80s and 90s knows the name: Gheorghe Hagi. Nicknamed “Maradona of the Carpathians,” the Romanian icon was good enough to play for both Real Madrid and Barcelona while retiring as his country’s all-time leading goal scorer. His son has been on the soccer radar since joining Fiorentina at the age of 17, and on Friday the Ianis Hagi goal vs Germany showed this youngster has a touch of his father’s abilities in him.

Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly aren’t done sharing their stories, and they’re not content with the few changes that have already taken place in the NWSL. They want more, and they appeared with Alex Morgan on NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday to demand further justice not just for themselves but for women’s athletes everywhere. 

More famous than our smartest minds, richer than our most corrupt politicians, footballers are the pinnacle of cultural relevance in today’s society, especially in Europe. All the best footballers have, at one time or another, been paid to appear in an advertisement to promote a product. So what is the best soccer commercial of all time? I submit for your viewing pleasure, Peter Schmeichel’s bacon promo.

With the USMNT’s back very much up against the Olimpico Metropolitano Stadium walls on Sept. 8, something needed to change, quickly. The Gregg Berhalter halftime speech vs. Honduras was just what the squad needed, combining tactical tweaks with positive motivation. 

The result? A 4-1 come-from-behind victory over Honduras to save the U.S. from a dismal start to World Cup qualifying and potentially save Berhalter’s job.

In this edition of The18 Untold, we examine the USMNT’s performance at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St Louis. The tournament remains the United States’ crowning achievement as the only time it medalled, but the U.S. actually managed to take home both the silver and bronze.

Watch the video above for the story.

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi wept on Sunday as he bade farewell to his boyhood team FC Barcelona and confirmed he was talking with French club Paris St. Germain over a possible move.

The 34-year-old Argentine's emotional news conference followed Barca's announcement last week that it could no longer afford him after a glittering two decades.

So it’s over then? It’s really over? Lionel Messi, the Greatest Of All Time, is leaving Barcelona after the agreement of a new contract deteriorated in the face of “financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations).”