After 14 years, Benzema is leaving Real Madrid. Not sure why I’m surprised by the resurgence just after the half-way mark in his career, when I thought he was going to sort of “plateau”, but with the exit of CR7, KB stepped into the main goal-scorer role. Can’t think of too many elite players whose career actually got better as they got into their 30’s. The creepy goddamned blackmail nonsense, though, like…say what? I still haven’t quite gotten my head around all the murky particulars of that goofy sheningan.
And, like CR7 (only player in RM history to scrore more goals than KB), he’s decided to be a money-grubbing dunderhead by going down to play in an authoritarian state (Saudi Arabia).
So glad Messi didn’t go that onerous route (though I would’ve preferred he’d gone back to his roots with NOB).
So pleased that Declan Rice has joined the Arsenal in the biggest transfer in the world this summer. Arsenal are the biggest spenders in the world so far in this transfer window with the 1st (Rice), 3rd (Havertz) and 15th (Timber) most expensive signings.
Messi (and Busquets) are playing in their debut right now. Pretty surreal. Messi is -1 on +/- so far though.
eta Messi with the game winning FK in stoppage time.
Looks like Messi is going to have some fun in that league, he’s earned it and then some.
This was an MLS vs Liga MX match. It’s a mid season tournament. There are real stakes; the top 3 qualify for CONCACAF Champions League. However it is a weird match and it’s unclear to me how much this is going to translate.
I’ll be curious how the Barca group integrate or if they end up playing amongst themselves a ton. Especially if Suarez somehow comes too. But yeah, really fun to see him. He seemed to enjoy himself. Hope he continues to do so and does it without injury.
Sorry but the words “CONCACAF” and " real stakes" don’t mix.
Not really an appropriate post, IMO.
Don’t worry; a few more decades and folks will be saying that about CONMEBOL.
May be, but I won’t deny it if it happens.
Nobody is “denying” anything. “Your league is stupid and doesn’t matter” is a post that belongs in the pit and not the game room though.
Anyway, I may be too harsh on CONCACAF (Blame the Mexicans, they know what they did), but after past december anything that is not the Champions or the Copa Libertadores cannot be to stressful for one Lionel Messi.
I didn’t say it was stupid (no relegations though…) I say that it has nothing that can be considered “real stakes”, last final was Mexico-Panama for chrissakes.
What does the Gold Cup have to do with anything?
If you’re saying the confederation championship and qualification to the club world cup are irrelevant stakes, then you’re playing semantics by denying my point. Hell, even without CCL or CWC, competitive/non-friendly matches are real stakes.
Yeah you are right I’m mixing CONCACAF itself with the MLS, bad form, sorry.
It’s just that your definition of “real stakes” seems to be way lower than mine, suppose a player has the choice to win 10 MLS titles vs 1 Premier League? what would he chose?
Any player who goes to the MLS has decided that he is not playing for something important, he’s there for the money, to rest, to have fun, not the white-knucked, teeth baring kind of competition you see in Spain, Britain, Brazil, Argentina or other historical leagues.
While I think I agree with your general point, it is interesting that you put the Argentine league in there. Based on the current rankings, MLS is ahead of the Primera Division in team quality.
Certainly a dream start for Messi at Miami. It will make the league more interesting to have a player of his quality (along with Busquets and Alba) in it.
I’ll bet he’ll get pissed at teammates blowing his scoring chance feeds, blown passes that could have been scoring chances for him, harsher challenges, and (less so) smaller stadiums, crowds, limelight. That’s the cynic coming out in me of course, and hope I’m dead wrong on that, and that he does genuinely enjoy it. As already mentioned, there’ll definitely be way less pressure, but who knows if he maybe thirved on that, possibly. Wonder if he could walk around in Miami without getting mobbed.
He shopped with his family in Publix the other day, and was followed by fans the whole time. Honestly, I would’ve just ordered delivery, but maybe he wanted to be seen as support for the team/community or something.
https://twitter.com/lionel30i/status/1679952205485338626?s=61&t=7zPHcBzjb1UW-wh6DrDc3g
I think he wants to play without the pressure to win, so he should, in principle not get too frustated with the traffic cones playing with him blowing opportunities, on the other hand the man is extremely competitive so not sure if it’s going to work.
It is indeed interesting, let me list the reasons in ascending order of relevance.
- It is my country’s league, so I’m not very objective
- I’m not sure by what measure the MLS is ahead of Argentina’s league in team quality, they don’t play the Copa Libertadores so there are no non-friendly matches between teams from both leagues.
- In the actual world champion team there is one (1) player who played in the MLS before winning the world cup, all the rest come from Argentina’s league, with the possible exception of Messi who played only in youth teams before having to move to Europe.
- I was not exactly talking about “team quality” I was talking about “high stakes”, Football in the US is an spectacle, here it’s a religion. If your team gets relegated it’s a capital D Disaster, in the US there is no relegation for starters. If your team loses against its classical rival you are going to be mercilessly drilled by their fans for weeks or even months, do you even have classic rivalries in the MLS?. Winning the Argentinian league gives you far more glory than winning the MLS, at least in the eyes of non-US players.
- History, teams from Argentina and Brazil have won the Copa Libertadores and the old Intercontinental championship against the best European teams lots of times, what have MLS teams won?
Kylian Mbappe has reportedly been offered a one-year deal worth €700m by Saudi side Al Hilal.
In US dollars, that’s $2,122,755 per day.