5:55 AM ET Adriana Garcia Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales said leaked WhatsApp messages were part of a smear campaign against him. GABRIEL MONNET/AFP via Getty Images Spain FA (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales has claimed LaLiga chief Javier Tebas is behind a smear campaign against him, which began over leaked WhatsApp messages. LaLiga clubs Valencia, Sevilla
Football
7:30 AM ET Karim Benzema won the 2022 Men’s Ballon d’Or, the most illustrious individual award in European football, for the Real Madrid striker’s herculean efforts in 2021-22. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.) The results of this year’s awards revealed at Monday’s gala also signalled something of a sea change as
10:35 AM ET Associated Press The European Court is deciding if a Barcelona fan group in France can demand the European Commission investigate whether Paris Saint-Germain unfairly signed Lionel Messi and jeopardised Barcelona’s finances. The court in Luxembourg heard the demand on Tuesday from a fan group in Lyon that argued their rights as Barcelona
9:49 AM ET Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has denied claims that he made xenophobic comments about Manchester City ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash at Anfield, saying “I know what I thought” when claiming “nobody can compete” with the Abu Dhabi-owned champions. Klopp, who is waiting to hear whether he will be charged by the
8:42 AM ET Portugal forward Diogo Jota has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar due to a calf injury, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said on Tuesday. Jota, 25, was taken off on a stretcher deep into stoppage time during Liverpool’s 1-0 Premier League win against champions Manchester City at the weekend. –
9:28 PM ET Gabriel Pereira and Maxi Moralez scored goals six minutes apart in the second half to lift defending MLS Cup champion New York City FC to a 3-0 victory over visiting Inter Miami CF in the first round of the playoffs on Monday night. Heber added a late insurance goal for Eastern Conference
12:44 AM ET Alan Velasco scored the deciding goal in a penalty-kick shootout to give FC Dallas a 2-1 win over visiting Minnesota United in a first-round MLS Cup playoffs matchup on Monday in Frisco, Texas. Minnesota’s Emanuel Reynoso and Dallas’ Facundo Quignon exchanged goals in the second half, and the deadlock continued through regulation
1:39 PM ET This weekend in European soccer had huge games and massive talking points galore. From Real Madrid getting the better of Barcelona in the Clasico to a depleted Liverpool finding a way to beat Manchester City at Anfield in the clash of modern-day rivals, this weekend had everything. Elsewhere: Serie A’s title race
10:00 AM ET Spanish football vocabulary has a great word, resultadista, which criticises those whose conclusions stem purely from the result of a match rather than a wider view of the performance or ideas of a particular team, player or coach. So while Real Madrid were stronger, quicker and more clever than Barcelona during Sunday’s
3:58 PM ET Alex Kirkland Sam Marsden Karim Benzema was awarded the 2022 Ballon d’Or at a ceremony in Paris on Monday after a stellar 2021-22 season saw him lead Real Madrid to a Champions League and LaLiga double. Benzema, 34, scored a career-best 27 times in LaLiga and was top scorer in the Champions