Europe

The James Rodriguez experiment at Real Madrid is all but finished. The 25-year-old Colombian attacker is moving to Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy.

Not coincidentally, Bayern are now coached by the man who brought Rodriguez to Real Madrid in the first place, Carlo Ancelotti. Rodriguez moved to Madrid from Monaco after the 2014 World Cup, at which he won the Golden Boot, but he failed to consistently crack Real Madrid's starting lineup. Bayern Munich now have two World Cup Golden Boot winners, as Thomas Muller won the award in 2010.

You know what they say about a player with big feet?

Manchester United fans hope it means he’s great in the box. See, new Red Devils signing Romelu Lukaku wears big boots. 

One little kid found out just how big they are when he somehow snuck past security and into the United locker room while the club trained at UCLA ahead of playing the L.A. Galaxy on Sunday. 

Imagine you run afoul of the law and the courts deem you worthy of conviction. How would you feel if your punishment was that you weren’t allowed to go to school/work unless you were there for school or work?

Late in the 2016-17 season, four members of Istanbul Başakşehir attacked a journalist. On Monday they received their punishment: they’re banned from attending a soccer match for a full year. 

Wayne Rooney is coming home. The 31-year-old Manchester United legend will once again don the blue jersey of boyhood club Everton. In some aspects, it's like he never left.

“I’ve kept it quiet for the last 13 years but I’ve been wearing Everton pyjamas at home with my kids,” Rooney said after the transfer was announced.

 | Once a Blue, always a Blue...

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” -Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey 

30-year-old Mexico international Andres Guardado has transferred from PSV Eindhoven to Real Betis and signed a contract that’ll reportedly run until 2020, ending Los Angeles FC’s pursuit of the midfielder for their debut season in Major League Soccer.

With preseason underway across the Premier League, you're going to see a lot of photos of players training with their now accustomary black vests on. A few years ago, these garments were an absolute rarity, and, apart from some sophomoric comments about male players wearing sports bras (how dare you), it was generally assumed that they measured heart rate and yada yada yada.

These days, the match-day experience is pretty swell. You can buy all the merch you want, stuff your face with high-cholesterol food and drink beer until you’re sick.

But you can’t get a lap dance — for now.

Carlo Tavecchio, president of the Italian Football Federation, wants to change that. He said he’d like to see stadiums fulfill other “social activities” outside of hosting matches once every other week.

He’s got a point, and many modern stadiums in America are being built with that in mind. 

On Thursday, FIFA announced the plans for the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, an immense trek across the vast landscape of Russia as the world’s most coveted hardware visits 24 cities from Sept. 9 to July 7, 2018.

For World Cup groupies, better stock up on gas, Red Bull and beef jerky if you want to follow along.

Here’s a closer look at scheduled route. 

(While FIFA didn’t give details on travel arrangements, we’re going to assume the trophy travels by plane at the start and end of each of two phases and by car the remainder.)

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has an estimated net worth of £2.2 billion, making him the 54th-richest person in the United Kingdom, according to the Sunday Times rich list.

He also is a bit of a drinker, per the Guardian: