MIAMI, USA: Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has signed a contract through the 2025 season with Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer team announced on Saturday.
The 36-year-old striker, who sparked Argentina to a World Cup title last year in Qatar, is set to be unveiled by the team in a Sunday ceremony and expected to join Inter Miami on the pitch by Friday.
“I’m very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States,” Messi said in a statement.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s arrival in Miami from Paris Saint-Germain has already caused a sensation and is expected to spark greater interest in the game and MLS across the United States.
It’s also hoped the long-time Barcelona talisman can revive the fortunes of a Miami squad at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference at 5-13 with three drawn.
“This is a fantastic opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project,” Messi said. “The idea is to work together to achieve the objectives we set and I’m very eager to start helping here in my new home.”
Messi’s debut match is planned for Friday when Inter Miami will host Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, a revamped competition between MLS and Mexican league squads.
It’s the biggest boost for MLS since English star David Beckham, now a co-owner of Inter Miami, joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. He launched the MLS Miami squad in 2020 after years of trying to find a stadium site.
“Ten years ago, when I started my journey to build a new team in Miami, I said that I dreamt of bringing the greatest players in the world to this amazing city, players who shared the ambition I had when I joined LA Galaxy to help grow football in the USA and to build a legacy for the next generation in this sport that we love so much,” Beckham said in a statement.
“Today that dream came true.
“I couldn’t be prouder that a player of Leo’s caliber is joining our club... The next phase of our adventure starts here, and I can’t wait to see Leo take to the pitch.”
Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino has managed Messi in two separate prior stints — with FC Barcelona in the 2013-14 campaign, winning the 2013 Spanish SuperCup, and from 2014-2016 with the Argentine national team.
Maestro Messi captained the Albiceleste to victory at the 2021 Copa America as well as the Qatar World Cup and has records of 103 goals and 175 appearances for Argentina.
“We’re overjoyed that the greatest player in the world chose Inter Miami and Major League Soccer,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said.
“His decision is a testament to the momentum and energy behind our league and our sport in North America.”
Messi is set for a glitzy arrival ceremony on Sunday at “The Unveil” with 18,000 expected to watch his first public event with his new club, followed by his first training session on Tuesday.
“We made a promise to build an ambitious club that would attract the world’s elite players,” Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said.
“A heartfelt thank you to our fans that never stopped believing. Together we will continue to turn dreams into reality.”
With iconic Messi expected to be joined by Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, the hope is Inter Miami can rise from a doormat to a champion.
“Lionel Messi is an incomparable talent,” said Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson. “What he brings on and off the field will elevate everyone around him.”
His legend has few rivals.
Messi is a two-time World Cup Golden Ball winner, a three-time UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award winner who also has six La Liga Best Player titles.
Messi is a four-time UEFA Champions League winner, an Olympic gold medal winner, has played on 10 La Liga champions, two Ligue 1 champions and taken seven Copa del Rey titles.
He played for Barcelona from 2004-2021 before joining Paris Saint-Germain for two seasons, making 75 appearances across all competitions, tallying 32 goals and 35 assists.
Lionel Messi signs contract with Inter Miami through 2025
https://arab.news/zdyvm
Lionel Messi signs contract with Inter Miami through 2025
- The 36-year-old striker is set to be unveiled by the team in a Sunday ceremony and expected to join Inter Miami on the pitch by Friday
- "I'm very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States," Messi said
Neymar parts ways with Saudi club Al-Hilal
- The star arrived in Riyadh in August 2023 after signing from PSG, but has only played 7 games due to injuries
- Recent reports have linked Neymar with Santos, the Brazilian club where his professional career took off
RIYADH: Brazilian forward Neymar has parted ways with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal after an injury-plagued stint with the Riyadh club, the team said early Tuesday, and is set to return to Santos, where he played as a teenager.
“The club expresses its thanks and appreciation to Neymar for what he has provided throughout his career at Al-Hilal, and wish the player success in his career,” Hilal said in an announcement on X.
The star arrived in Riyadh in August 2023 after signing from PSG, but has only played 7 games due to injuries.
A short while after joining the Blues, he underwent surgery in his native Brazil in November 2023 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus damage suffered during a national team match the month before.
Neymar also suffered a hamstring injury late last year and missed another five weeks.
Recent reports have linked Neymar with Santos, the Brazilian club where his professional career took off.
Fabrizio Romano, an Italian sports journalist, wrote on X “Neymar’s return to Santos now imminent as verbal agreement has been reached,” he added that formal steps are due to happen next week.
Barca shred Valencia to restore La Liga shine
BARCELONA: Barcelona blew away a miserable Valencia 7-1 on Sunday to get back on track in La Liga with a ruthless victory.
Fermin Lopez struck twice for the Catalans in the first half, along with goals from Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres and Raphinha which gave Barcelona a commanding five-goal lead at the break.
Hugo Duro pulled one back early in the second half before Robert Lewandowski pounced for Barca, followed by a Cesar Tarrega own goal, with the third-placed hosts earning just their second win in their last nine league matches.
Hansi Flick’s side trail La Liga leaders Real Madrid by seven points and second-placed Atletico Madrid by three.
Flick shuffled his pack against Valencia in order to spark a response given the club’s poor domestic form.
The coach began with Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo on the bench, while Pedri was absent because of a stomach bug, leading to De Jong, Ferran Torres and the superb Lopez all starting.
It took just three minutes for De Jong to open the scoring, with teenage star Lamine Yamal crossing for him in the area virtually unmarked, and he fired home.
Barcelona soon had their second, with Torres tucking home from Alejandro Balde’s cross, in similar fashion to the first goal but from the opposite flank.
The hosts moved three goals ahead in the 14th minute when Lopez clipped a fine ball over the top for Raphinha to run onto.
The Brazilian winger rounded Giorgi Mamardashvili and rolled home for his 12th league goal of the season.
Valencia, without the suspended Cristhian Mosquera, were struggling badly in defense and Barcelona broke in seemingly at will.
Lopez collected a perfectly measured Pau Cubarsi long pass for the fourth and although it was initially ruled offside, the decision was corrected by VAR.
Valencia thought they had won a penalty when Wojciech Szczesny brought down Hugo Duro but play was eventually brought back for a foul on Jules Kounde after another video review.
Lopez rattled home the fifth on the volley before half-time when Raphinha’s effort hit the post and fell nicely for him with the goalkeeper stranded.
Hugo Duro pulled one back for Valencia early in the second half from Diego Lopez’s low cross and Flick responded by sending on La Liga’s top goalscorer Lewandowski.
The Polish forward finished clinically for his 17th league goal of the season after being sent through by Lopez for Barca’s sixth on the night.
Barcelona netted their seventh when Torres’s hammered cross was deflected into his own net by Tarrega.
Seven goals did not flatter Barcelona by any means and the thrashing is a setback for Carlos Corberan’s Valencia, 19th and four points from safety.
Earlier Athletic Bilbao, fourth, could only produce a 0-0 draw at home against Leganes, and now trail Barcelona by two points.
Relegation-battling Getafe earned an impressive 3-0 win at Real Sociedad to climb to 14th, while Rayo Vallecano came from behind to beat Girona 2-1.
Mbappe scores first hat trick for Real Madrid
- The France captain has started pouring in goals with back-to-back multi-goal games and has Madrid in pole position with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona stalled
- Cedric Bakambu headed in a stoppage-time winner to grab Real Betis a 1-0 victory at 10-man Mallorca
BARCELONA: Kylian Mbappe tucked the ball under his shirt as he raised both hands to return the applause to the Real Madrid fans who savored his first hat trick for his new club.
The France star had just led a 3-0 victory at struggling Valladolid that extended Madrid’s lead of La Liga on Saturday, keeping it in position to retain the title just after the midway point of the campaign.
Gone was the inconsistent play and missed penalties from Mbappe during his first months with Madrid following his move from Paris Saint-Germain. The France captain has started pouring in goals with back-to-back multi-goal games and has Madrid in pole position with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona stalled.
“I’m very happy for the hat trick but even happier for the win,” Mbappe said in fluent Spanish. “It was very important to win after Atletico’s result because that gave us a bit more pressure to take advantage of it.”
Madrid’s fourth straight triumph in the league combined with Atletico Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Villarreal let Carlo Ancelotti’s side open a four-point gap over its city rival. Barcelona were in third place at 10 points back before hosting Valencia on Sunday.
Madrid trailed then-leader Barcelona at one point, but since getting blown away in a 4-0 clasico debacle, they have found their stride and is in championship mode.
“My adaptation to the team is over. I feel comfortable on the field and you can see that from the way I am playing with my teammates,” Mbappe said. “This gives us confidence, but you know that until the 38th round this is not over. We have to keep winning because there is a long way to go.”
No contest in Valladolid
The game between the front-runner and the bottom side fit its billing as a mismatch.
Valladolid could draw only one save from Thibaut Courtois in the opening moments. It was all Madrid the rest of the way even though Vinicius Junior didn’t play as he completed a two-game suspension.
Mbappe swept in Madrid’s first goal on the half-hour mark after a flowing team attack of quick passes to weave the ball through a packed Valladolid area that culminated in Jude Bellingham’s assist for the France star.
He made it a double in the 57th by finishing off a three-against-two counterattack after Federico Valverde intercepted a Valladolid pass. Mbappé took a pass by Rodrygo and rifled in a low strike from the left side of the box.
Valladolid finished with 10 men after Mario Martín got a second booking in the 90th for a foul on Bellingham, sending Mbappé to the spot for his third.
That made it four games in a row with a goal across all competitions for Mbappé. In La Liga, Mbappe has 15, second only to Robert Lewandowski’s 16 for Barcelona. He also scored twice last weekend against Las Palmas in a 4-1 win.
“Mbappe is giving us a lot. He has found his rhythm over the last couple of months and that is obviously a boost for us,” Ancelotti said.
Valladolid were five points from safety.
Atletico drop more points
Atletico’s stalemate with Villarreal came a week after a shock 1-0 loss at Leganes.
Gerard Moreno, Villarreal’s top scorer in club history, made it 120 goals for the Yellow Submarine in the 25th minute after the striker converted a penalty he earned when fouled by Reinildo.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone rested Antoine Griezmann and midfielder Rodrigo de Paul for the first half. Then he made three changes at halftime, sending on De Paul and winger Samu Lino to kickstart his sluggish attack.
The moves paid off as the hosts pressed Villarreal into their box, and Lino rammed in a 58th-minute equalizer.
Simeone sent Griezmann on immediately after and the action stayed in Villarreal’s area except for two chances for Villarreal’s Ayoze Perez, who replaced Gerard. But Griezmann’s header that bounced just wide in the 86th was the closest Atletico came to snatching a winner.
“We played a good game at a very tough ground against a team with a deep bench that is fighting for the league. We are happy,” Gerard said for a Villarreal that stayed in fifth place.
Betis grab late winner
Cedric Bakambu headed in a stoppage-time winner to grab Real Betis a 1-0 victory at 10-man Mallorca.
Mallorca had opportunities until Omar Mascarell received a direct red card for a studs-first tackle of Betis’ Jesús Rodríguez in the 73rd.
The win came while Betis secured a loan deal for forward Anthony from Manchester United.
Garcia sustains Espanyol
Goalkeeper Joan Garcia made three saves to deny Sevilla standout Dodi Lukebakio and help Espanyol grind out a 1-1 draw at Sevilla.
Haaland leads Man City revival to beat Chelsea
- Josko Gvardiol levelled for Pep Guardiola’s men before Haaland showed his blend of strength
- Marmoush was close to a perfect start to his City career when he blasted wide from Haaland’s pass after the Norwegian was picked out by a long ball from Ederson
MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland inspired a Manchester City fightback from 1-0 down to beat Chelsea 3-1 and move into the Premier League top four at the Blues’ expense on Saturday.
City recovered from a nightmare start to Abdukodir Khusanov’s debut as he gifted the visitors the opening goal, scored by Noni Madueke.
Josko Gvardiol levelled for Pep Guardiola’s men before Haaland showed his blend of strength and skill to chip in 22 minutes from time.
The Norwegian then turned provider for the in-form Phil Foden to secure City’s fourth win in five league games after just one in their previous nine.
Chelsea have won just once in their last seven Premier League games to fall to sixth and will once again reflect on the need to upgrade on goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after his positioning led to Haaland’s crucial goal.
City’s victory puts them back in pole position to qualify for next season’s Champions League, just days before they try to save themselves in this season’s competition.
The English champions must beat Club Brugge on Wednesday to reach the playoff round after collapsing from 2-0 up to lose 4-2 at Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
Guardiola reacted by throwing in new signings Khusanov and Omar Marmoush for their debuts.
But that decision backfired spectacularly in the case of Khusanov inside three minutes.
The first ever Uzbek to play in the Premier League did not properly connect with an attempted header back toward his own goal and Nicolas Jackson pounced to tee up Madueke for a tap in.
Moments later Khusanov was fortunate to get away with only a yellow card for chopping down Cole Palmer.
By contrast, Marmoush was showing why only Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane had scored more Bundesliga goals than him this season prior to a £59 million ($72.6 million) move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Egyptian thought he had equalized when he pounced to fire home the rebound after Sanchez parried Ilkay Gundogan’s effort, but was flagged offside.
Gvardiol’s marauding runs from left-back were causing City’s biggest threat.
Chelsea did not heed a warning as the Croatian prodded inches wide with his left foot after storming into the box.
Just before half-time, Gvardiol had a simple task for his fifth Premier League goal of the season.
Matheus Nunes this time made the break from full-back and after he was denied by Sanchez, the ball fell for Gvardiol to roll into an empty net.
Guardiola cut his losses with Khusanov at the start of the second period. He was replaced by John Stones and City were rarely troubled thereafter at the back.
Marmoush was close to a perfect start to his City career when he blasted wide from Haaland’s pass after the Norwegian was picked out by a long ball from Ederson.
But again Chelsea did not learn their lesson. Moments later from another Ederson clearance, Haaland outmuscled Trevoh Chalobah and then chipped Sanchez, who had charged out of his goal and ended up in no man’s land.
Despite City’s struggles, Haaland has remained a reliable source of goals as he took his tally for the season to 24, six of which have come in the last six games.
And he created he third goal as his layoff sent Foden clear to slot home his sixth goal in his last four league games.
Napoli beat Juventus to continue Serie A title charge
- Antonio Conte’s side bounced back from Randal Kolo Muani’s strike moments from half-time in his Juve debut
- Napoli won their seventh straight match thanks to a bullet header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Romelu Lukaku’s 69th-minute penalty
MILAN: Napoli continued their Serie A title charge on Saturday by coming from behind to win a feverish contest with rivals Juventus 2-1 and go six points clear at the top of the pile.
Antonio Conte’s side bounced back from Randal Kolo Muani’s strike moments from half-time in his Juve debut. Napoli won their seventh straight match thanks to a bullet header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Romelu Lukaku’s 69th-minute penalty.
Napoli are hunting a second Scudetto in three seasons and Saturday’s win, and in particular their dominant performance in the second half, was another sign that they, and not Inter Milan, are the team to beat.
Six points from clashes with Atalanta and Juve in successive weeks have kept Inter at bay with the reigning champions at lowly Lecce on Sunday hoping to halve the gap that separates Simone Inzaghi’s team from Napoli.
The roar that accompanied the hosts’ goals and the final whistle underlined the renewed belief that supporters have in their team after watching Napoli put up a dreadful defense of the Scudetto title last season.
Juve, meanwhile, are 16 points behind Napoli in fifth after falling to their first league defeat of the season, not the position expected when Thiago Motta replaced Massimiliano Allegri as coach in the summer.
Kolo Muani gave Juve a deserved half-time lead two days after finally completing his loan move to Turin from Paris Saint-Germain, where he had been frozen out by coach Luis Enrique.
He was in the right place at the right time in the 43rd minute to spin and lash home his third club goal of the season after Anguissa challenged for the ball and sent it straight to the France forward.
But Napoli were a different team after the break. After Alex Meret somehow kept out Lukaku’s close-range header the Juve goalkeeper could do nothing to stop Anguissa thumping home the leveller from Matteo Politano’s cross.
And there was only going to be one winner once Lukaku calmly rolled home his ninth Napoli goal from the spot after Scott McTominay was taken out by Manuel Locatelli.
Atalanta also stay seven points off the pace in third even though Mateo Retegui’s brace fired them to a 2-1 win at Como earlier on Saturday.
Italy striker Retegui pounced in the 56th and 70th minutes at a soaking Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia to take his league tally to 16 goals and give third-placed Atalanta their first win in Italy’s top flight in 2025.
The 25-year-old has scored five times in four games in all competitions since returning from a hamstring injury earlier this month, and his hot form is great news for Atalanta ahead of their trip to Barcelona.
Atalanta travel to Catalonia gunning for a place in the top eight of the Champions League and automatic qualification for the last 16, after thumping Sturm Graz on Tuesday.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s side had to battle to victory at Como who deservedly led at the break through Nico Paz’s fantastic first-time strike but remain three points above the relegation zone in 13th place.
“It’s not easy to play so many matches so close together... we were slow in the first half but we were much better after half-time,” said Gasperini to DAZN.
Como will find it hard to pick up points between now and March. Their next five fixtures are against Bologna, Juventus, Fiorentina, Napoli and Roma.
“You need to remember that we’re Como, we’re a newly-promoted team but we’re giving a lot of big teams hard games,” said coach Cesc Fabregas.
The away side also had strikes from Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere ruled out for offside and handball, which made for a nervy final few minutes as Como pushed unsuccessfully for a leveller.
