Soccer Wiretap

Mohammed Bin Salman: I Will Continue Sportwashing If It Increases GDP

Sep 21, 2023 11:46 AM

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has said he “doesn’t care” about accusations of sportswashing against his country.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily on both soccer and golf over the past few years.

“If sport washing is going to increase my GDP by way of 1%, then I will continue doing sport washing,” Bin Salman told Fox News in the first interview he has given fully in English.

Asked specifically how he felt about the term, Bin Salman said: “I don’t care … I’m aiming for another one and a half per cent. Call it whatever you want, we’re going to get that one and a half percent.”

Paul MacInnes/The Guardian

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Lionel Messi Exits Match With Muscle Fatigue

Sep 21, 2023 11:42 AM

Lionel Messi exited Inter Miami's 4-0 win over Toronto FC in the 37th minute due to muscle fatigue.

Messi will miss Sunday's match against Orlando City so he could increase his chances of playing in next Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup final.

Wednesday's match was the first of six for Inter Miami in a span of 17 days.

Messi entered Wednesday having appeared in 11 matches for Miami, most of them in Leagues Cup and U.S. Open Cup competition.

Ross Davenport/ESPN

Tags: Inter Miami

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City, Bayern, Real Madrid Have Best Odds To Win 2024 Champions League

Sep 19, 2023 12:02 PM

Manchester City enters the 23-24 Champions League as the favorites at +200, followed by Bayern Munich at +550 and Real Madrid at +750. City won their first Champions League last season.

Champions League Odds
Manchester City: +200
Bayern Munich: +550
Real Madrid: +750
Arsenal: +1000 
Paris Saint-Germain: +1400
Barcelona: +1400
Manchester United: +2000
Newcastle: +2200
Inter Milan: +2500
Napoli: +2500
Atletico Madrid: +2500
AC Milan: +3500
Benfica: +4000
RB Leipzig: +5000
Borussia Dortmund: +5000
Sevilla: +6500
Lazio: +6500
Real Sociedad: +8000
Porto: +8000
Union Berlin: +10000
Feyenoord: +10000
Celtic: +15000
Lens: +20000
PSV Eindhoven: +20000
Shakhtar Donetsk: +25000
Salzburg: +25000
Antwerp: +25000
Red Star Belgrade: +25000
Galatasaray: +25000
Young Boys: +25000
Braga: +30000
FC Copenhagen: +100000

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: UEFA Champions League

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Harry Kane 'Happy' He Chose Bayern Munich

Sep 19, 2023 10:57 AM

Harry Kane said he is "glad" he chose Bayern Munich rather than a move to Manchester United.

Kane left Tottenham Hotspur in a $124 million transfer and will face United on Wednesday in the Champions League.

"Obviously over the summer I know there were some talks between a few clubs in the background, but Bayern was a team I was really interested by and really excited by so there weren't many other discussions," Kane told a news conference in Munich on Tuesday.

"Once they came in, it was between them and Tottenham to talk and the deal got done. My focus is on here, obviously Manchester United are a great club, a really big club as well but I decided to come here and I'm really happy I have."

Rob Dawson/ESPN

Tags: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Misc Rumor

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Erik Ten Hag Denies United Is In Crisis After Loss To Brighton

Sep 17, 2023 3:26 PM

Erik ten Hag has denied that Manchester United is in crisis following their 3-1 loss to Brighton. 

United is having their worst run in the Premier League era, though five points is their lowest return after five games, under Louis van Gaal in the 2014-15 season.

“We have to be very disappointed and annoyed at ourselves,” Ten Hag said. “We will turn this around. But there is a demand on us to win games.

“Definitely that is something that bothers me [form] but also I have to see the way we play [which was good] but it’s about character. Now we have to see how strong we are and how the team sticks together.”

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Tags: Manchester United

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Jadon Sancho Won't Train With United Amid Dispute With Erik Ten Hag

Sep 14, 2023 12:02 PM

Jadon Sancho will not train with Manchester United following a public dispute with Erik ten Hag.

United issued a statement to say Sancho will train "away from the first-team group pending resolution of a squad discipline issue" after he questioned Ten Hag's reasons for dropping him at Arsenal.

Sancho will not be included in the squad for the game against Brighton on Saturday, and there is no time frame for his return.

Rob Dawson/ESPN

Tags: Manchester United, Misc Rumor

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Germany Fires Hansi Flick As Manager

Sep 11, 2023 10:18 AM

Germany has fired Hansi Flick as manager following their 4-1 defeat by Japan on Saturday. 

The former striker Rudi Völler, alongside Hannes Wolf and Sandro Wagner, will take charge for the friendly against France on Tuesday.

Germany chose not to fire Flick after a disappointing World Cup where they were eliminated int he group stage.

“The bodies [of the DFB] shared the same view that the national team now needs a new impulse,” the DFB president, Bernd Neuendorf, said in a statement. “With next year’s Euro in sight we need enthusiastic mood and confidence.”

Will Unwin/The Guardian

Tags: Germany, Misc Rumor

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Birmingham City Could Pursue Wayne Rooney As Manager

Sep 7, 2023 11:26 PM

Birmingham City could hire Wayne Rooney if John Eustace departs the club.

Rooney's contract with DC United expires in December. 

“We asked about a new deal,” Rooney told the Washington Post. “We can sit down and talk about it. We haven’t heard back. The fact we haven’t heard back is probably signalling one thing, but I’m sure they’ll have their reasons for that. So I’ll wait and see.”

Rooney left Derby in June 2022.

Ben Fisher/The Guardian

Tags: Misc Rumor

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Mohamed Salah Remains With Liverpool As Saudi Transfer Window Closes

Sep 7, 2023 11:24 PM

Mohamed Salah will remain at Liverpool as the Saudi Pro League window has closed.

Liverpool recently rejected a $190 million bid from Al Ittihad for Salah.

It was reported that the Saudi club would attempt to make a higher offer for Salah on their transfer deadline day but that failed to materialize.

ESPN

Tags: Liverpool, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor

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MLS Season Pass Had 110,000 New Sign-Ups On Day Of Lionel Messi Debut

Sep 6, 2023 1:21 PM

MLS Season Pass had more than 110,000 new sign-ups in the United States on July 21st when Lionel Messi played his first match for Inter Miami.

Apple had just 6,143 new sign-ups the previous day.

“There is only one Lionel Messi, so this was a very big moment for the sport in this country,” said Jonathan Carson, chief executive of Antenna. “Sports are definitely star-driven but that has never before translated into an enormous subscriber bump.”

Apple last year signed a deal with MLS worth at least $2.5 billion.

“We are beating our expectation in terms of subscribers, and the fact that Messi went to Inter Miami helped us out there a bit,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the company’s August earnings call.

Jessica Toonkel/Wall Street Journal

Tags: Inter Miami

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Sergio Ramos Returns To Sevilla

ESPN

Jadon Sancho's Future With United In Doubt After 'Scapegoat' Post

Nick Ames/The Guardian

Neymar: Messi And I Live Through Hell With PSG

Adriana Garcia/ESPN

United Sends Mason Greenwood To Getafe On Loan

Rob Dawson/ESPN

Barcelona Adds Joao Felix, Joao Cancelo On Loan Deals

ESPN

Chelsea Buys Cole Palmer From City For $53.5M

ESPN

Liverpool Rejects $190M Bid From Al Ittihad For Mohamed Salah

Mark Ogden/ESPN

23-24 Champions League Group Stage Draw Results

RealGM Staff Report

Spurs Enter Bidding With Bayern For Chelsea's Conor Gallagher

Jacob Steinberg/The Guardian

Wolves Accept $60M Deal With City For Matheus Nunes

Mark Ogden/ESPN

Giovanni Reyna Left Off USMNT Roster For Upcoming Friendlies

Jeff Carlisle/ESPN

Wolves Expect Matheus Nunes To Stay With Club Amid City Interest

ESPN

Roma Acquires Romelu Lukaku On Loan From Chelsea

Fabrizio Romano/The Guardian

Barcelona To Acquire Joao Cancelo On Loan From City

Sachin Nakrani/The Guardian

Matheus Nunes On Strike To Force Move From Wolves To City

Ben Fisher/The Guardian

United Exploring Transfer For Left-Back

Jamie Jackson/The Guardian

Bernardo Silva Extends With City Through 2026

Rob Dawson/ESPN

United Part Ways With Mason Greenwood

Adam Crafton/The Athletic

Sergino Dest Joins PSV On Loan From Barcelona

Sam Marsden, Moises Llorens/ESPN

Spain Beats England 1-0 To Win Women's World Cup

Sam Marsden/ESPN