Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) has been making headlines over the past few months by waging a steady assault on FIFA’s rights to everything in club soccer; most notable was an exclusive deal with Juventus, meaning that the club’s name, badge, kits and Allianz Stadium will only be available in PES 2020 — FIFA 20 players will have to make do with ‘Piemonte Calcio.’
We all know that preseason results mean less than a fortune cookie, but we also know that in the slumbering offseason, clicks must still be generated.
When whoever’s in charge of the worst competition ever created sits down to look at their social media numbers, they’ll see that the most liked/shared/commented/engaged with post of the 2019 Leagues Cup was a cat. Hopefully they’ll then decide to make the 2020 edition strictly cats.
You see, it’s a helluva fine boi.
Imagine, for a second, that your entire being is driven by a primal urge to enter into Cristiano Ronaldo’s proximity. Try as you might, you cannot shake the feeling that your existence absolutely, positively must be acknowledged by Ronaldo, and so your feet lead you on a happy dance that constantly pulls you ever closer to the 34-year-old's orbit; damn the consequences.
This is the plight currently facing some individuals in Singapore and China, who’ve risked it all to smell the CR7 eau de toilette from its source.
Paddy Power, an Irish bookmaker and online betting site, found itself in the headlines again this week after announcing that Huddersfield Town's hideous new kits (which featured Paddy Power’s logo superimposed diagonally across the front) were a hoax and that Huddersfield’s actual jersey next season will have no visible sponsorship at all.
As someone whose job is soccer all day, everyday, I like to think that I have a pretty good grip on what’s going on, why it’s going on and when it’s going on. In what I feel is a pretty damning indictment of the newfangled Leagues Cup competition, I haven't a goddamn clue on any of those fronts.
Let’s figure out what in the hell this thing is together.
Who Plays In The Leagues Cup?
After selling 19-year-old field general Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus for nearly $85 million, Ajax immediately found a promising replacement in 21-year-old Mexican defender Edson Álvarez. The Dutch club paid América $17 million for his services, and it’s easy to imagine the versatile player excelling in the Eredivisie, much like Héctor Moreno dominated at PSV.
Liverpool fans are on a good one right now coming off a Champions League title, so morale is great. And team morale will no doubt be in good hands as long as Virgil van Dijk is around.
The best defender in the game was caught on Liverpool’s Instagram story showing much love to his teammate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The video had roast potential with Van Dijk approaching Ox, who was signing dozens of Liverpool jerseys, and saying that Ox is always late.
However, the Dutchmen could never, and he suddenly felt the urge to appreciate Ox’s hair.
It is, perhaps, the greatest hug in sports, maybe even the entire world. The infectious enthusiasm of a Jurgen Klopp hug is impossible not to love, even if you’re an Everton fan.
So in one sense, you can’t blame a reporter in Indiana for using a follow-up question to ask for a Klopp hug of his own.
The biggest story from a five-a-side charity tournament in São Paulo hosted by the Neymar Jr. Institute is that Neymar himself is there, an action that Paris Saint-Germain has decried as being taken “without the club’s prior authorization.”
According to a PSG statement, the 27-year-old was due to return to the club on Monday, July 8. According to Neymar’s father, he’ll return this Monday, July 15.