Latest news with #ParisSaintGermain
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Real Madrid learn extent of Dean Huijsen's Club World Cup ban
Those behind the scenes at La Liga giants Real Madrid have been made aware of the extent of the ban awaiting summer signing Dean Huijsen at the Club World Cup. And the news will no doubt mark a source of relief for all of a Blancos persuasion. Advertisement Real of course marked their return to action this past weekend, locking horns with German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup. When all was said and done, Xabi Alonso's troops emerged on the right side of a 3-2 result, to book a final-four meeting with Paris Saint-Germain. The aforementioned Dean Huijsen, for his part, featured from the off at the MetLife Stadium. Deep into injury-time, however, the summer arrival at Real Madrid was shown a straight red card for a last-man challenge. As much means an automatic one-match suspension, with confirmation having today arrived that Huijsen is not facing up to any further punishment. Advertisement As per a report from COPE: 'Dean Huijsen has received a one-match ban, so if the Whites manage to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain, Xabi Alonso will be able to count on one of his defensive references in the hypothetical final.' Conor Laird – GSFN
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Forbes
The Lesson MLS Desperately Needs To Learn From The FIFA Club World Cup
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JULY 13: Cole Palmer #10 of Chelsea FC celebrates scoring his team's ... More second goal with team mates Joao Pedro #20 of Chelsea FC and Reece James #24 of Chelsea FC during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by) The FIFA Club World Cup had plenty of issues, from dangerous summer conditions to matches played before tens of thousands of empty seats. Even so, in terms of overall sporting spectacle, the competition exceeded most peoples' expectations. All the clubs – even the disgruntled European powers – took the tournament seriously, helped in no small part by a total purse around $1 billion. The competition finished with an average attendance just under 40,000 per game, which puts it on near-equal footing with the top domestic leagues on earth. And thanks in particular to fans from Latin America and North Africa, the atmosphere at most games was every bit as genuine as a big UEFA Champions League or Copa Libertadores fixture. Many blasted the event as a contrived money grab, and they have a point. But the outcome underscored this fundamental truth about pro sports: Money grabs can be successful and even lead to sporting progress if they also satisfy a competive need. And the FIFA World Cup clearly did this, giving the majority of a club football world that is too often overshadowed by Europe a chance to compete with the global powers concentrated in the Big Five leagues. It's a lesson Major League Soccer's front office and ownership had better contemplate as it tries to use the momentum created by Lionel Messi's involvement to move the league forward. And so far, some ideas are far better than others. Even as the league prepares to celebrate its 30th season Wednesday at the 2025 MLS All-Star Game in Austin, Texas, there are three somwhat consistent criticisms where both MLS fans and American soccer fans who prefer other competitions would like to see improvements: Short-Term Focus Hinders Long-Term Growth There are ways to tackle all three desires in ways that can also be financially beneficial to club owners and the league. But too often, such initiatives are so laser focused on the short-term bottom line that they contradict MLS longer-term interests. One of the best examples is the upcoming Leagues Cup, which for two years pitted every team in MLS and Liga MX against each other, and will pit 18 MLS teams against the entirety of 18-team Liga MX in 2025. The idea is actually one of the best to emerge on the continent in recent years and helps the two leagues combine their strengths: Liga MX far outperforms MLS on U.S. TV, while American clubs lead most of Liga MX in terms of global visbility. And the United States-Mexico rivalry has been a defining force of Concacaf Circle for the better part of four decades, making the appeal for even casual fans obvious. But in both leagues' desire to maximize short-term revenue, every single tournament match is still played on American soil. While this maximizes ticket revenue by targeting MLS fans in local markets, plus Mexican American fans who can't regularly see their Liga MX teams in person, it undermines competitive integrity. The fomat tweak in 2025 should help some Mexican clubs in the league phase of the tournament, but the knockout round still heavily favors MLS clubs. And the result is an event that really doesn't capture much attention in the markets where those Liga MX teams actually play their league matches, and therefore does not achieve the legitimacy of similar tournaments like the UEFA Europa League or Copa Sudamericana won't earn that credibility. Unintended Consequences Domestically, similar instances in MLS abound. For example, reportedly at Apple TV's bequest, MLS expanded both the playoff field and the number of Round One games beginning in 2023, in an effort to boost the number of high-leverage games on the MLS Season Pass streaming service each year. What they actually accomplished was to sabotage previous attempts to make the regular season more meaningful. The format lessens the comparative benefit of finishing first over fourth, as well as fifth over ninth. And it more less assures all but the truly awful teams are in contention until the last month. In the Western Conference, Austin FC has been shut out nine times and sits eighth. In the East, New England has won once since May 7 and is still only eight points out. Promotion/relegation advocates will assert this is a symptom of a closed system, but it's only partly true. Liga MX regular season matches have far more urgency despite a playoff system that sees two-thirds of the league qualify, because the playoff structure is tiered to offer more rewards to top-four finishers, and the split-season format gives every league game more meaning. In other words, there were other ways to give Apple TV more playoff games while perhaps improving the regular season urgency, but MLS instead opted for the model that gave more owners a playoff home game. Then there's the whole debacle of the league's attempt to jilt the U.S. Open Cup, presumably because they were no longer directly connected to the marketing or televising of the event. While MLS isn't alone in lacking imagination around how to leverage the Open Cup, the distinct lack of interest in using the event to grow exposure in markets outside its own was comically negligent from a long-term business perspective. It only takes a brief look at the event's history to reveal how it helped contribute to MLS expansion in places like Cincinnati and Orlando. The FIFA Club World Cup wasn't perfect. Its organizers certainly had questionable motivations and questionable financiers. But they also took real risks that involved balancing the immediate bottom line with competitive concerns while giving an under-represented portion of the world's fans something they had long salivated for. Thirty years after MLS was founded, when soccer is far more in the mainstream in the United States than ever, the league's leadership and financial backers still seems unwilling to take similar risks and show faith in the fanbase it is trying to cultivate. Until that changes, a large chunk will continue to seek their soccer elsewhere.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Eagle-eyed fans spot Chelsea update after becoming 'first ever Club World Cup champions' - but have Man United, Man City and Liverpool followed FIFA's call?
Chelsea have officially updated their honours board to reflect their status as the 'first ever' Club World Cup champions. The Blues beat Champions League winners, and favourites for the Club World Cup, Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of the tournament just over a week ago. It was a shock result, but an emphatic win on the night, with Chelsea taking home the all-new trophy, as well as a hefty cash prize in the first iteration of the tournament in its 32-team format. It had previously been fought between just six or eight teams. After the Blues' victory, it was announced that previous winners of the Club World Cup would now be known as 'FIFA Intercontinental Champions', with FIFA themselves dubbing Enzo Maresca 's side as 'the first ever FIFA CWC Champions' on social media. This means that the the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona are effectively no longer world champions, while Chelsea also previously won the trophy in 2021. And the Blues have been quick to reflect the change in direction when updating their club honours board. The Blues' website has updated their triumph in the previous iteration of the competition On Chelsea's website under the 'Men's trophy cabinet' section, a new addition was noticed by eagle-eyed fans. Listing their triumphs below a section of text that read: 'Chelsea have won it all! Here we detail each and every one of our major trophy triumphs...,' the club added the FIFA Club World Cup from 2025. This was followed by a change to their triumph in the tournament's previous iteration, with this listed as the 'FIFA Intercontinental Cup (formerly FIFA Club World Cup)' from 2021. Back then, Chelsea beat Palmeiras 2-1 after extra time in the final thanks to a late Kai Havertz penalty. City won the original competition in 2023, Liverpool lifted it in 2019 and United in 2008. However, as of Tuesday morning, the three other English sides were yet to follow Chelsea's example in changing their honours roll. All of City, Liverpool and United were still listed as previous FIFA Club World Cup champions on their websites. Meanwhile, the competition had first been played in 2000 as the Club World Championship. It returned in 2005, and was played annually until 2023, before adopting its current form as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in light of the Club World Cup this summer. Real Madrid won it the most times with five - most recently in 2022 - while Barcelona won it four times, and Corinthians and Bayern Munich twice. Real won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in 2024, and it will return in 2025 where PSG will be representing Europe by virtue of winning Champions League.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hakimi, Vitinha practice shooting skills before facing Real Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain stars are seen working hard in shooting practice ahead of their FIFA Club World Cup semi-final against Real Madrid at Metlife Stadium, New York.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Barcelona fans highlight Marcus Rashford's memorable win over Kylian Mbappé after transfer deal
Members of the Barcelona fanbase have been quick to highlight an image stemming from a fixture all the way back in the 2018/19 season, following their side's completed deal for Marcus Rashford. Frontman Rashford is of course fresh off agreeing to take his talents to Catalunya's capital on Saturday. The Englishman is primed to link up with Hansi Flick's squad on loan for the season ahead, with the deal also featuring an option to buy next summer. And as alluded to above, in the 24 hours since, many of a Barcelona persuasion have brought back to the fore a memorable image of their side's new signing from years past. The photo in question comes from the 2018/19 Champions League campaign, and showcases Rashford consoling none other than Kylian Mbappé. This comes after the Englishman broke the heart of the now-Real Madrid star, in netting a last-minute penalty to send Paris Saint-Germain packing from Europe in the Round-of-16: Conor Laird – GSFN
