Ligue 1

On Jan. 21, 2019, Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala passed away after his plane heading for Cardiff went down in the English Channel. 

The 28-year-old was headed to Wales after his former club FC Nantes and Cardiff City agreed to a $20 million transfer for the striker. His body was recovered from the wreckage, but the pilot and only other person on the plane, David Ibbotson, was not found.

A year after the tragedy, Nantes has unveiled its Argentina-styled kit (Sala was from the village of Cululú) for an upcoming match against Bordeaux in remembrance of its former player.

On Jan. 4, Bayern Munich announced the acquisition of Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nubel for the beginning of next season. Nubel, named club captain by new manager David Wagner ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, will see out his contract with the Royal Blues and sign for Bayern on a free transfer. Nubel's exit represents the latest occurrence of a worrying trend for Schalke, which has seen several players depart for free over the years, leaving the club emptyhanded. 

Nathaël Julan, a 23-year-old striker for Guingamp, was killed in a car crash on Friday.

The French club confirmed the death, issuing the following statement:

“En Avant Guingamp is in mourning. The club had the immense pain of learning this afternoon, the accidental death of its player Nathael Julan. On this tragic day, all the members of the club join together to send their sad condolences to Nathael’s family.”

Just another day at the office for PSG sensation Kylian Mbappé on Wednesday. The 20-year-old scored his sixth goal in nine Ligue 1 games to keep PSG’s lead over second-place Marseille at five points. He also performed a shifty elastico and was asked by an opposing player to exchange shirts at halftime. 

After finishing sixth in 2019 Ballon d’Or voting on Monday, the prodigy delighted fans inside the Parc des Princes by looking very much like El Fenomeno with this trick.       

Fresh off a hamstring injury that cost him six games, 37 days and a myriad of hot takes, Neymar returned to the pitch on Friday for first-place PSG’s encounter with seventh-place Lille in Ligue 1.

In the midst of it all, it’s unfortunate how much the off-the-pitch noise engulfs the 27-year-old Brazilian. He’ll certainly never be Mexico’s cup of tea, but notwithstanding tribal feuds, he remains football’s second-best attraction behind Lionel Messi (I have all the time in the world for the Cristiano Ronaldo G.O.A.T. argument, but he's really not that fun to watch anymore).

It's no secret that David Beckham has been going after Edinson Cavani's signature for Major League Soccer expansion side Inter Miami CF, but it's now being reported that the LA Galaxy are trying to make a last-minute move for the Uruguayan striker.

Four days ago, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp ruled out a move for PSG’s Kylian Mbappé while lamenting the fact that no club could possibly afford the 20-year-old phenomenon. On Tuesday, Real Madrid reportedly said hold my beer and began preparing a $440 million bid for the World Cup winner.