Central & South America

Dani Alves made his debut for São Paulo FC, the club he’s supported his whole life, in Brazil’s Série A today, and it’ll come as a surprise to absolutely no one that he marked the occasion with a game-winning goal.

The 36-year-old has been synonymous with two things throughout his illustrious career: (1) his unmatched penchant for winning, including 40 trophies won, and (2) his ability — although he’s one of the best right backs of all time — to play anywhere on the pitch, including goalkeeper.

Last night in Lima, Peru, Honduras upset Mexico after a penalty shootout to advance to the final of the 2019 Pan American Games. It’s a largely meaningless U-22 competition with understrength youth teams, so the Mexican Football Federation won’t be overly bothered by the result, but manager Jaime Lozano will be irked that his side couldn’t hold on to a 1-0 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Especially since that 1-0 lead was built on one of the finest goals of the summer.

It was, if we’re being honest, one of the worst red cards ever given out. 

Lionel Messi was rammed into by Chile’s Gary Medel, who had been out for blood all match, and the Argentine merely held his ground. Nonetheless, Messi was sent off, just his second career red card since turning pro. 

Despite having not scored more than 10 league goals in a season since 2014-15 (his first with Real Madrid), Colombian attacker James Rodriguez remains one of the game’s most recognizable and beloved footballers. The 28-year-old’s playmaking ability is world class (he dropped 13 assists during his first season on loan at Bayern Munich), and although he’s been deemed surplus to requirements by Zinedine Zidane, the likes of Atlético and Napoli are desperate to sign the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner.

According to the latest update from Forbes, Lionel Messi was the world’s fourth-highest paid entertainer in 2019 — only Kanye West, Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift made more. So what is Lionel Messi’s net worth, how much does he make annually from his Barcelona contract and what does he earn from his lavish endorsement deals with adidas, Gatorade, Pepsi and others?

Lionel Messi Net Worth 2019

Lionel Messi Barcelona Contract And Salary

It’s with great sadness that our summer of soccer 2019 draws to a close. The USWNT lifted the World Cup, Brazil triumphed on home soil at the Copa América, Mexico reclaimed the Gold Cup and we’re into the final week of the Africa Cup of Nations. Unless you’re eagerly anticipating the ICC, our glorious summer is at an end.

While Sunday is a day for finals, Saturday was a day for third-place matches.

Last night in Belo Horizonte, Brazil defeated Argentina 2-0 to advance to the final of the 2019 Copa América, thus prolonging Lionel Messi’s wait for a crowning glory in international play. 

The match was a real humdinger, featuring a Seleção side frightening in both defense and attack and an Albiceleste unit that didn’t make playing cohesive football look like an impossible task. This was probably the best Argentina’s looked since 2016.

Brazil secured passage to the 2019 Copa América Final in Rio de Janeiro with a 2-0 victory over Argentina on Tuesday, marking another low point in the calamitous international career of Lionel Messi.

To be fair to Messi and his compatriots, Brazil was the massive favorite in this one, and the squad features a defense that’s now gone 450 minutes without conceding a goal. In attack, the likes of Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus and the ageless Dani Alves put on a show, mastering a La Albiceleste side that played its best game of the tournament.