The International Champions Cup begings today and with it comes an assault of hyperbole, a glut of sponsors and a legion of mercenary money-grubbers. It’s hell on earth as ESPN tells us that Miami’s El Clasico will be the biggest event in American soccer history, Heineken encourages you to consume a pony keg by way of IV drip and Manchester United plant their imperial flag in Sandy, Utah.
You know how honeymoons are supposed to work: the newlyweds are supposed to hop on a plane and spend a few weeks being very romantic and doing it a lot while not seeing a single person they have ever met or will meet again. This is a tried-and true formula, but it is not the formula Lionel Messi and wife Antonella Roccuzzo are using, because their honeymoon includes Luis Suarez.
Brazilian internationals Neymar and Gabriel Jesus put on a show in a Red Bull five-a-side competition this weekend, embarrassing opponents while the Facebook broadcaster embarrassed himself with some truly godawful commentating.
It’s a difficult job trying hype a competition — and every single thing that happens in it — that’s obviously just for s**ts and giggles, but this guy clearly doesn’t know that Gabriel Jesus isn’t Gabigol — that’s fellow Brazilian Gabriel Barbosa, who plays for Inter Milan.
Gerard Pique crashed a dune buggy. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the dune buggy world, as dune buggies tend to give one a shot of adrenaline that forces one to press the gas pedal down as far as it will go while making an extremely sharp turn and ending up upside-down in a cloud of dust.
That said, is there anyone on Barcelona who would be able to resist these temptations, while still driving a dune buggy with the verve and the exuberance that a dune buggy demands? We speculated:
Gerard Pique: No.
Barcelona have slowly begun entering the catch-22 phase initiated by the golden era of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique. Basically, it goes like this: La Masia will never again produce a group of players like that one. They turned Barcelona into a global sporting institution synonymous with the quality of being elite.
Lionel Messi joined Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy at the age of 13, and his latest contract extension with the club will see him remain there until he’s 34. According to FC Barcelona, Messi has agreed to an extension through June 30, 2021, and the Argentinean will officially sign the deal in the coming weeks, when he returns to the club for preseason training.
Lionel Messi was married to longtime partner Antonela Roccuzzo on Friday in their hometown of Rosario, Argentina. The event was a who's who of footballing royalty with Barcelona legends of past and present in attendance as well as Messi's teammates on the Argentinian national team.