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Barcelona dumped out of Europe again in latest continental setback

MANCHESTER, England - It was Groundhog Day for Barcelona at Old Trafford on Thursday as Manchester United fought back to earn a 2-1 win that knocked the Spanish side out of the Europa League, leaving the Catalans licking their wounds after another continental failure.

Last season they also ended up in the Europa League playoffs after finishing third in their Champions League group and were knocked out of Europe's second tier competition in the quarterfinals after a 3-2 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt at Camp Nou.

MLS expansion fee enters the stratosphere — who can afford it?

Major League Soccer's ambition of being a true player in the world's club game by the 2026 World Cup is slowly being realized. 

The league's 28th season kicks off Saturday with a new team (St. Louis City SC), a new 10-year partnership with Apple TV (worth $250M per season) that's available in over 100 countries and Tuesday's announcement of a three-year extension with Audi that pays a multimillion-dollar fee annually.

Chelsea ready to part ways with Christian Pulisic confirms top soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano

Christian Pulisic will leave Chelsea this summer if a team makes the right offer confirmed soccer guru and journalist Fabrizio Romano.

While Pulisic’s Chelsea contract runs until June 2024, the London club is ready to let him go and could ask for a transfer with a price tag in the $35 to $40 million range.

The replacement for Captain America is already in the squad as Chelsea signed Ukrainian left winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for around $75 million in January. Had it not been for a knee injury, Pulisic likely would have been sold in January.

After dropping FIFA, Electronic Arts nears $600M deal with the Premier League

FIFA 23 marks the end of a 30-year era after Electronic Arts balked at the international governing body's demand of one billion dollars for a license renewal, paving the way for EA Sports FC 24 and beyond.

What bold new direction will EA take now that its longstanding relationship with FIFA is over?

Qatari investors to make bid for Manchester United in the coming days

LONDON - Qatari investors are preparing to make a bid to buy Premier League club Manchester United in the coming days, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the deal.

The report added that the consortium will submit an initial bid for the club by the end of the week, and that officials from Qatar Investment Authority are helping with preparations for the bid.

Canada's players could refuse to play in SheBelieves Cup after going on strike

The Canada women's soccer team will go on strike with immediate effect because of pay equity concerns and budget cuts by the country's soccer association, captain Christine Sinclair said on Friday, less than a week before the SheBelieves Cup.

Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, are to face the United States in their first game of the SheBelieves Cup, which begins on Feb. 16, with Brazil and Japan also participating.

Radical European Super League proposal aims to include 80 clubs

BERLIN - A future European Super League could include as many as 80 teams, Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 Sports Management, a company formed to sponsor and assist in the creation of a breakaway soccer league, said on Thursday.

In a statement outlining the preliminary results of talks that A22 had with what it said was 50 European clubs and stakeholders of football, the company said change was necessary.

Al Hilal players smile wider after Saudi prince hands them a $266,500 bonus EACH for reaching CWC final

RABAT — Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will award a one million riyals ($266,500) bonus to each player from Al Hilal for the 3-2 win over South American champions Flamengo on Tuesday that sent them to the Club World Cup final.

Man City charged by Premier League for over 100 breaches of financial rules

The Premier League has referred Manchester City to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules since the club were acquired by the Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group.

League rules state that charges such as those faced by City could, if proved, result in a club being expelled from the Premier League in the worst-case scenario.

Offending clubs may alternately be deducted points, fined, or reprimanded.

Tim 'The Dream' Ream shuts out Chelsea's new-look team with perfect block to deny a goal

LONDON — Chelsea's British record signing Enzo Fernandez got his first taste of Premier League football in a 0-0 draw against his new club's visiting neighbours Fulham in a lively but ultimately disappointing Friday night derby.

The World Cup-winning midfielder, who cost Chelsea's American owners nearly $128.98 million from Benfica, looked comfortable and showed touches of class, spraying pinpoint passes and timing his tackles well.

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