Football Daily | Messi, Neymar and protests at PSG’s serially underachieving superstars

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! When Leo Messi hoisted the World Cup trophy towards the sky a week before Christmas, he had the air of a man who had no more effs left to give. And why would he? Like a combination of Eric Bristow and Alexander the Great in an overblown Sid Waddell simile, the man had no more worlds left to conquer … unless of course you count Saudi Arabia, who are paying him £25m per year to shill for them as a tourism ambassador, a sum not even a man richer than Scrooge McDuck doing the backstroke in a pool full of gold doubloons would turn down lightly for an occasional enforced invasion. It’s an ostensibly cushy gig; bank the loot, then travel en famille to pose for a series of photos in which you grin alongside some palm-weavers, gazelles and an underwhelmed falcon at the behest of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA). Job done. Continue reading...

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US owners understand profit but do they appreciate clubs’ tradition and values?

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‘Emotional’ Leah Williamson to make first England start in almost a year

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* Euro 2022-winning captain missed World Cup with ACL injury * Defender brings ‘flexibility in defence’, says Sarina Wiegman Sarina Wiegman has confirmed Leah Williamson will start for England against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday night in their second Euro 2025 qualifying group game. Williamson, the Euro 2022-winning captain, said she would be emotional at the Aviva Stadium when she steps out with England for the first time in almost a year, after she was sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury last April. Continue reading...
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