List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

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Lionel Messi is the only footballer whose shadow carries a gun. While he plays for Inter Miami, his bodyguard stalks the touchline: Yassine Cheuko is an ex-Navy Seal with a thick beard and a shaved head who treats his client like a president in a warzone, staring down giddy autograph-hunters and swatting away selfie-chasing children. During a recent match, a young pitch-invader in a Messi shirt made a dash towards his hero only to be walloped by Cheuko’s torso on arrival. Messi is like the sun: by all means enjoy his presence and bask in his glow, but by god do not look him in the eye – and if you touch him, you’re dead. It is just one of the more bizarre symptoms of Messi fever which has gripped Miami and Major League Soccer since his arrival in June. It began before he kicked a ball: Messi’s pink shirt outsold any sports jersey in history in its first 24 hours, generating $600m to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United and Tom Brady’s move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Miami’s Instagram account exploded from 1 million to 15 million followers, a bigger audience than every NFL team. Kim Kardashian bought tickets to his debut, while the list of special guests to watch him play at Los Angeles Galaxy was like Wimbledon’s Royal Box on steroids, featuring LeBron James, Selena Gomez, Owen Wilson, Gerard Butler, Leonardo DiCaprio and genuine royalty in Prince Harry, to name but a few. On the pitch Messi has been phenomenal, even at 36 years old and in the winter of his career: 11 goals and five assists in 11 games, and one trophy already. He has turned a terrible team into a good one, lifting Miami off the bottom of the table to be in with a chance of reaching US soccer’s Super Bowl equivalent, the MLS Cup, in December. He has brought with him from Barcelona two close allies: the left-back Jordi Alba, who built a career pretending to cross the ball only to cut back for Messi to score, and the great midfield conductor Sergio Busquets. It is a bit like a singer bringing along his sound and lighting technicians – not the full band but enough to put on a show. Perhaps his most memorable moment so far came in the final of the Leagues Cup against Nashville: as the ball bounced to Messi arriving on the edge of the box, the commentator let out a foreboding “uh oh” before he shuffled away from two defenders and curled the ball into the top corner. Major League Soccer is rightfully indulging in the moment. “The 🐐 plays here,” reads the Twitter bio these days. This is now an unprecedented window of opportunity: the US will host the Copa America in 2024, the Club World Cup in 2025, the men’s World Cup in 2026 and quite possibly the women’s World Cup in 2027 too. The football landscape is more competitive than ever amid the aggressive emergence of the Saudi Pro League and the greed of Europe’s superpowers, but if MLS cannot shed its image as a paid vacation for retirees and establish something serious now, it never will. That mission was part of Miami’s sales pitch to Messi. David Beckham and his fellow owners knew they couldn’t compete with the base salary being offered in Saudi Arabia, but they could offer other benefits which the Saudis couldn’t. They appealed to Messi’s family – he already owned a home in Miami, from where it is relatively easy to fly back to Argentina, and the Messis have enjoyed partying with the Beckhams behind the scenes. And they included huge commercial investments, like a share in sales of MLS broadcaster Apple, with whom Messi had an existing relationship, and a stake in Inter Miami which he can activate when he departs. Messi was convinced by the long-term opportunities for his brand and his legacy in North America. He was also wooed by some romantic history. Pele became a pioneer when he turned down offers across Europe to join the New York Cosmos in 1975. It had appealed to his ego to be the catalyst who made US soccer catch fire, and he was certainly that: the Cosmos played in front of 200 people before Pele, yet two years later they were filling the Giants Stadium with 77,000 converts. Beckham himself has had the greatest impact in America since Pele, and Messi is next in the dynasty. The problem for MLS is where to go next. Each new star since Beckham delivered another flurry of excitement – Thierry Henry, Kaka, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney – but there is no footballing high greater than watching Messi, no bigger dopamine hit than seeing his feet shuffle into life and create magic. Messi is football hedonism, and when he goes he cannot simply be replaced by a bigger, shinier star. The come down will hurt. How do you sell yourself as a serious sporting product when one player is that much better than the rest? So MLS has a plan to harness the hype and turn it into something that will last. Last year the league ditched long-term broadcast partner ESPN and signed with Messi’s friends at Apple, in what represented the tech company’s biggest step yet into the sports arena. Apple committed to a 10-year contract worth $250m per year for the right to show MLS on its platforms, and more lucrative media deals will follow. Long-time MLS commissioner Don Garber wants to invest in youth development, better stadiums and infrastructure for the long-term success of American soccer. But the league’s immediate need is to acquire talent, and here the clubs are met with restrictions. The MLS adheres to a strict salary cap designed to stop clubs overspending. It can be dodged via the designated player rule – or Beckham Rule – which allows each team to pay three star players more than the salary cap, but unless restrictions loosen further it will be impossible for the biggest teams in the league to sign more elite talent. Miami have certainly filled their quota and are in no position to sign more ex-Barcelona stars until those rules change. All the while, the danger is that Messi makes football look so easy, he undermines the league’s integrity. The drop-off from European football or the World Cup to MLS is a void – not just physically and technically, but in its tactical sophistication and defensive organisation. The worst MLS teams, of which Miami were one before Messi, match the upper echelons of England’s League Two, according to the models of consultancy Twenty First Group. That’s like dropping Messi into Gillingham’s first XI: how do you sell yourself as a serious sporting product when one player is that much better than the rest? It will be a hard journey to raise standards across the board, but Messi does at least provide the best possible platform from which to grow. Most European football fans have been devotees for a long time, but now the gospel of Messi is spreading throughout the United States. New followers are flocking to see him in the flesh. So enjoy watching Messi, America. Seize the moment. Just don’t try to touch him. Read More Every Lionel Messi goal, assist and key moment for Inter Miami Mbappe and Haaland begin new Champions League rivarly after Messi-Ronaldo era When does Lionel Messi play next? Inter Miami schedule and fixtures Cristiano Ronaldo declares rivalry with Lionel Messi ‘is over’ Messi favourite for men’s Ballon d’Or with four Lionesses on women’s list It turned out wrong – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man Utd return

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has conceded the club’s re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo “turned out wrong”. Solskjaer was in charge when United brought the five-time Ballon d’Or winner back to Old Trafford amid much optimism and fanfare in August 2021. At the time the transfer was viewed as a coup that could potentially fuel a Premier League title challenge. Yet things soon unravelled as the team struggled and Solskjaer was sacked in November that year. Ronaldo left the club in acrimonious fashion 12 months later. Solskjaer told The Athletic: “It was about taking the next step to challenge for the title. And, unfortunately, it just didn’t work out. “It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong. “It felt so right when he signed and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game (when he scored twice), when Old Trafford was rocking. He was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong.” But he added: “When you have a group you need everyone to pull in the same direction. When things didn’t go right, you could see certain players and egos came out.” Solskjaer was also the manager when the club signed England defender Harry Maguire in the summer of 2019. The Norwegian feels the recent criticism, and even ridiculing of Maguire, has been very unfair. He said: “Harry Maguire – it’s a disgrace that he’s getting so much abuse. I feel sorry for him, but he’s a strong lad and I hope it turns for him. “He raised our defence big time when he arrived and lifted the mood around the place.”

Conor Benn will return to the ring this weekend, fighting for the first time since his failed drug tests in 2022. The Briton, 26, will box Rodolfo Orozco in Florida on Saturday, having been licensed by the state’s commission. The fight will take place at 154lbs, on the undercard of Richardson Hitchins vs Jose Zepeda in Orlando. Benn was due to fight compatriot Chris Eubank Jr in October 2022, but the bout collapsed after the revelation that Benn had failed two drug tests in the lead-up. Benn was subsequently stripped of his licence by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) and charged by UK Anti-Doping (Ukad), though the World Boxing Council cleared the unbeaten welterweight of any intentional wrongdoing. Later, the National Anti-Doping Panel lifted a provisional suspension on Benn, though the BBBofC and Ukad have appealed that move. Orozco, 24, will bring a professional record of 32-3-3 into the bout with Benn, having secured 24 of his wins via knockout. The Mexican has never been stopped. Meanwhile, Benn’s record stands at 21-0 (14 KOs). “I am undefeated in the ring, and in spirit,” Benn said in a Matchroom press release. “A return on Saturday is a step closer to redemption. After that, I’m putting the 147-160lbs divisions on notice. You are looking at a determined man with a deep desire to beat them all. “Warm-ups, I don’t treat them as warm-ups,” he added on Instagram. “I don’t go: ‘Oh, this is going to be an easy fight.’ They turn out to be your hardest ones, because of the mindset [but] I treat every fight as if it’s my world-title fight.” Meanwhile, Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn said: “Conor Benn is back, and I’m looking forward to seeing him pick up where he left off. He’s ready to go straight in for a big fight now, but his trainer Tony Sims will be pleased to get him back sooner against a game opponent in Rodolfo Orozco. “Conor is looking unbelievable in the gym, and I cannot wait to see him back in the ring where he belongs.” Read More Desperation and danger: Joe Joyce revisits risky Zhilei Zhang clash Joyce vs Zhang 2 live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend Eddie Hearn: ‘Ask someone to name three people in boxing, they’ll say: Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, me’