6:26 AM ET Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said he doesn’t want to generate false hope over the chances of Lionel Messi returning and added that no one is bigger than the club. It was announced on Thursday that Messi, a free agent since his contract with Barcelona ended last month,
Football
9:08 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Pep Guardiola has played down the prospect of Lionel Messi joining Manchester City by insisting the Argentinian is “absolutely not in the club’s thoughts.” Barcelona announced on Thursday that Messi will leave Camp Nou because financial restrictions meant they can not register his new contract. – La Liga on ESPN+:
6:55 AM ET Alexis Vega celebrates scoring Mexico’s third with his teammates. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images Mexico eased to the bronze medal in the men’s Olympic football tournament with a 3-1 victory over hosts Japan at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on Friday. First-half goals from Francisco Cordova and Johan Vasquez put El Tri in control
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5:30 PM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Manchester United and their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, are enjoying their summer so far. Solskjaer has signed a new long-term contract and key transfer targets Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane have been secured in plenty of time ahead of the new Premier League campaign. Last season
7:40 PM ET Ninety-nine words to wipe out 21 years walking hand in hand… not to mention 810 professional games, 683 goals, 10 Liga titles, seven Copas del Rey, four Champions League crowns and three FIFA Club World Cups. Barcelona‘s terse statement on Thursday appears to leave no doubt, right down to the headline on
7:07 PM ET Serie A side Venezia FC have agreed a deal with Sporting Kansas City to sign midfielder Gianluca Busio pending a medical and the agreement of personal terms, the MLS club confirmed on Thursday. Busio will become the latest United States international to join the newly promoted Italian club, with Venezia having signed
4:23 PM ET It was the news many had prepared for mere months ago, yet as the new LaLiga season approached and whispers circulated of an agreement on a new contract between Barcelona and Lionel Messi, no one expected the bombshell that dropped on Thursday: Messi will not return to the Catalan club. Breathe. Deep
4:26 PM ET Juventus issued an apology after deleting a tweet showing a picture of one of their players making an offensive gesture on Thursday. The official Juventus Women’s account posted an image of Cecilia Salvai making an offensive slant-eye gesture with a cone on her head on what appears to be a training field.
11:13 AM ET Former Germany midfielder Michael Ballack’s 18-year-old son, Emilio, died in a quad-bike crash near Lisbon, Portugal, on Thursday, Setubal’s emergency services said. A spokesperson for the emergency operations told Reuters that Emilio Ballack died at 2:17 a.m. (9:17 p.m. ET) in the holiday destination Troia, south of Lisbon. The teen was involved