Canada forward Olivia Smith became the most expensive player in women’s soccer history at a reported $1.34 million when Arsenal signed her from Liverpool on Thursday.The new benchmark in women’s soccer would surpass the $1.1 million Chelsea paid when signing Naomi Girma from the San Diego Wave in January.Smith’s four-year deal highlights the increase in spending in women’s soccer, with transfer records regularly broken.Zambia striker Rachael Kundananji joined Bay FC from Madrid CFF for a record $788,000 last year, and that figure was quickly exceeded by Girma’s move to Chelsea.As recently as 2020, the most expensive women’s player was Denmark’s…

Lionel Messi’s MLS-record streak of scoring multiple goals in five straight matches ended on Wednesday night in Inter Miami’s 3-0 loss to FC Cincinnati.Cincinnati got a first-half goal from Gerardo Valenzuela and two second-half strikes from Evander to remain one point behind the Philadelphia Union in the Eastern Conference standings. Philadelphia beat CF Montreal 2-1 on Wednesday night.The loss ended a five-match winning streak for Inter Miami (11-4-5) which is fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.Messi is the first player in MLS history to have a multi-goal streak of more than four matches. He was tied for the league lead…

United States men’s national team forward Patrick Agyemang signed a four-year contract with English Championship side Derby County on Tuesday. Derby County, which plays in England’s second division, paid a reported fee of $7.7 million to Major League Soccer team Charlotte FC to secure Ageymang’s services. The 24-year-old Agyemang scored eight goals in 18 appearances during the first half of Charlotte’s current season. Across 59 regular-season matches since 2023, Agyemang has scored 17 times for Charlotte.For the USMNT, Agyemang had two goals at the Gold Cup and started all six games as the team reached the final, where it lost to…

Doug McIntyre Soccer Journalist EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It’s hard to cut through the clutter in America’s greatest metropolis, but one of soccer’s biggest summer events did take a super-sized bite out of the Big Apple. Passengers streamed off planes at LaGuardia Airport wearing Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain jerseys. Outside the swanky midtown Manhattan hotels that housed the FIFA Club World Cup finalists, fans dressed head to toe in their team’s colors crowded on the sidewalks, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cole Palmer or Ousmane Dembele.At MetLife Stadium, a few miles west of the Hudson River, three military helicopters roared…

Doug McIntyre Soccer Journalist EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Thanks to some cool playmaking, Chelsea stands alone as champions of the world.Cole Palmer twice busted out his signature shivering celebration as his two first-half goals led the English giants to a 3-0 upset over Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup.It was a crisp performance for Palmer and Chelsea on a hot afternoon in front of 81,118 spectators — including President Donald Trump — at a sold-out MetLife Stadium. Chelsea captain Reese James lifts the FIFA Club World Cup trophy after the team’s win over PSG. (Photo by Jose…

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi takes away ball from goalkeeper and scores his second goal of game vs. Nashville | FOX Sports Video Details Lionel Messi took away the ball from the goalkeeper and scored his second goal of the game to give Inter Miami the lead over Nashville. 7 HOURS AGO・MLS・1:11 Source link

Liverpool has retired the No. 20 shirt worn by Diogo Jota following his death in a car crash last week.The 28-year-old Jota died along with his brother Andre Silva, also a soccer player, near the northwestern city of Zamora, Spain.On Friday, Liverpool said his number would be retired across all levels of the club, including the women’s team and academy.”It was the number he wore with pride and distinction, leading us to countless victories in the process — and Diogo Jota will forever be Liverpool Football Club’s number 20,” the Premier League club said in a statement.Jota had just completed…

Alexi Lalas Soccer Analyst Trying to build the best 11-man squad for a full-strength U.S. men’s national team is an interesting little exercise — and one that coach Mauricio Pochettino is hoping he’ll have the opportunity to do in the next international window.We’re coming off of a Gold Cup where a lot of people were excited, or at least enticed, to be back in the U.S. men’s national team tent, and with that excitement comes curiosity about who will start for the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.Let’s start in goal.There’s been so much talk about Matt Freese,…

Lionel Messi became the first player in Major League Soccer history with four consecutive multi-goal games, scoring twice to lead Inter Miami past the New England Revolution 2-1 on Wednesday night.Miami (10-3-5) has won four straight and is unbeaten in its last five.Defender Tanner Beason misplayed a header and Messi capitalized, scoring on a half-volley to open the scoring in the 27th minute.Messi made it 2-0 in the 38th. Sergio Busquets played a ball ahead from just beyond midfield to a charging Messi, who scored on a first-touch shot from the edge of the penalty area that slipped inside the…

Joao Pedro scored twice against his boyhood team in his first start for Chelsea, leading the Blues over Fluminense 2-0 Tuesday to assure an all-European Club World Cup final.A 23-year-old who had been at Fluminense from about age 10 until leaving for Watford in 2020, João Pedro scored in the 18th and 56th minutes and refused to celebrate either goal in a sign of respect for his former club. He joined Chelsea from Brighton on July 2.Seeking its second world championship, Chelsea advanced to Sunday’s title match against the winner of Wednesday’s game between European champion Paris Saint-Germain and Real…