FRISCO, Texas — Growing up in Plano, Texas, Brandon Aubrey had friends wanting to be Dallas Cowboys stars Tony Romo, Jason Witten or DeMarcus Ware. Aubrey wanted to be someone different from those football-loving friends. He wanted to be Thierry Henry, the Arsenal star (1999-2007) and a World Cup winner with France in 1998. “He was the best player, a lot of fun to watch,” Aubrey tells ESPN. “He could…
Lionel Messi said he resents not having been recognised by Paris Saint-Germain for his World Cup triumph, especially as all of his Argentina teammates were honoured by their respective clubs. Messi scored twice in the final and also converted a penalty in the shootout as Argentina won 4-2 on penalties against France at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) Regarding his return…
The England women’s team have reached an agreement with the English Football Association (FA) over pay and bonuses, defender Millie Bright said on Thursday. The squad had initially paused discussions ahead of the Women’s World Cup, where England finished runners-up after losing the final to Spain. The squad had presented the FA with concerns related to bonus and commercial structures last year. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)…
Late last month, UEFA head of referees Roberto Rosetti stood in front of a PowerPoint presentation and made an impassioned simple plea: “We need referees!” He pointed out that roughly one in seven registered match officials quit the game every year and that while football is booming around Europe, with increasing numbers of teams and leagues both in the men’s and women’s game, the pool of match officials isn’t keeping…
MUNICH — It says everything about Manchester United’s current state that Bayern Munich didn’t play particularly well in their opening Champions League group game on Wednesday, but the Bavarians still scored four goals, could have scored more, and won far more comfortably than the 4-3 score suggested. It also says everything about United’s campaign so far that, after three straight defeats and four in their past five games, Saturday’s trip…
Spain’s World Cup winning-squad agreed to end their boycott of the national team on Wednesday after the country’s football federation (RFEF) said it would make “immediate and profound changes”, including reshuffling its top management. The decision was reached around 5 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET) after more than seven hours of meetings at a hotel in Oliva, an hour from Valencia, involving the players, RFEF officials, the National Sports…
Sarina Wiegman will coach Great Britain’s women’s football team at the 2024 Olympics, if the team qualifies, the English Football Association confirmed Wednesday. England manager Wiegman steered the Lionesses to the 2023 World Cup final, and also led them to victory in the Euros in 2022. She has been selected as the standout candidate to lead Team GB to Paris in 2024, but only if the team qualifies. – Stream…
Erik ten Hag has admitted Manchester United’s lengthening list of absentees is a “concern” and says he has rarely been able to play his best team during his time at Old Trafford. Harry Maguire is the latest player to pick up an injury, ruling him out of the trip to Bayern Munich along with Raphaël Varane, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Sofyan Amrabat, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Kobbie Mainoo. –…
Xavi Hernandez says Barcelona are playing their best football since he took over as manager after they thrashed Antwerp 5-0 in their Champions League opener on Tuesday. João Félix scored twice, with Robert Lewandowski, Gavi and a Jelle Bataille own goal completing the scoring as Barça hit five for the second time in four days after registering the same scoreline against Real Betis on Saturday. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga,…
Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel came forward and headed in a stoppage-time equalizer to earn the Roman club a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday. On the final play of the match at the Stadio Olimpico, Provedel — making his Champions League debut — showed off his unlikely attacking skills by meeting a cross from Luis Alberto with a glancing header. It was a measure of…