Football

6:00 PM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email From a tearful Lionel Messi bidding farewell to the only club he has ever known, to an emotional atmosphere at the annual Joan Gamper trophy clash — which just happened to be against Messi’s great rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus! — this was a day

9:25 AM ET Tottenham are pushing to complete a move for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez after indicating they are willing to meet the club’s €71 million valuation, sources have told ESPN. Spurs and Arsenal are among the clubs tracking Martinez in hope of securing a deal with Inter, who are under pressure to offload

6:25 AM ET A tearful Lionel Messi has said his next move is not confirmed but he is talking about a lot of things, amid speculation he is set to join Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Barcelona. Barca announced on Thursday that Messi, a free agent since his contract expired in June, will not rejoin the

10:15 AM ET Caitlin Murray The U.S. women’s national team will leave the Tokyo Olympics with a bronze medal in hand, and a final performance that looked a bit more like what we all expected to see from the No. 1-ranked team in the world. The bronze medal game was the first in Japan in

3:53 PM ET LONDON — At the end of a week in which Manchester City broke the Premier League transfer record by making Jack Grealish England’s first £100 million player, Leicester City‘s 1-0 Community Shield victory over the champions at Wembley showed they may need to spend even more on Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane

11:11 AM ET Chelsea are close to signing Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku in a deal thought to be worth €115 million, sources have told ESPN. The move, which will see Lukaku join Chelsea for a second time, is unlikely to involve any players moving in the opposite direction. Marcos Alonso had been linked with

2:59 PM ET In a press conference on Friday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta reiterated what the club had announced on their website Thursday: after 21 years, Lionel Messi would not be returning to the club. You can read about the background here, but Laporta doubled down on blaming LaLiga’s financial restrictions and the disastrous finances

6:26 AM ET Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said he doesn’t want to generate false hope over the chances of Lionel Messi returning and added that no one is bigger than the club. It was announced on Thursday that Messi, a free agent since his contract with Barcelona ended last month,

7:57 AM ET Paris Saint-Germain have made contact with Lionel Messi over a potential move, sources have told ESPN, and the former Barcelona star’s arrival could have an impact on the futures of Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba. PSG reached out to Messi on Thursday following the unexpected announcement from Barca that he would not

7:40 PM ET Ninety-nine words to wipe out 21 years walking hand in hand… not to mention 810 professional games, 683 goals, 10 Liga titles, seven Copas del Rey, four Champions League crowns and three FIFA Club World Cups. Barcelona‘s terse statement on Thursday appears to leave no doubt, right down to the headline on

1:13 PM ET Negotiations to renew Lionel Messi‘s contract with Barcelona hit a stumbling block on Thursday, but the club are still hopeful of tying him down to a new deal, multiple sources told ESPN. Messi, 34, has been a free agent since his previous terms expired on June 30, but ESPN reported last month

9:51 AM ET United States women’s national team forward Megan Rapinoe has said the team weren’t satisfied with their performance at the Olympics but that they showed another level in their 4-3 bronze medal match win over Australia. Braces from Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd ensured that goals from Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Emily Gielnik

2:54 PM ET Caitlin Murray Why has the No. 1-ranked U.S. women’s national team struggled at the Tokyo Olympics so much? Not even the players and staff seem to know. “I don’t know,” Carli Lloyd said after the USWNT’s 1-0 upset loss to Canada in the semifinal. “I don’t know in this moment. It happens,

7:13 AM ET Manchester City are attempting to seal the £100m signing of Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish ahead of Saturday’s Community Shield clash against Leicester City at Wembley, sources have told ESPN. As reported by ESPN on June 7, City manager Pep Guardiola had identified Grealish as a key summer target on a par

5:30 AM ET The transfer window has been open since the start of July and ends on Aug. 31, with Europe’s top clubs already busy spending money to enhance their squads. Man United splashed over €120m on Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, Arsenal handed over £50m to sign Brighton defender Ben White, Liverpool picked up

11:26 AM ET Sam Marsden Moises Llorens It’s been another summer of drama at Barcelona. There’s still uncertainty over the coach’s future, their star player left (and still hasn’t technically returned), LaLiga further reduced their spending limit for the upcoming season and they’ve been unable to move on a handful of unwanted big-earning players inherited

5:00 AM ET The Gold Cup is complete, and after a topsy-turvy, 120-minute battle in Las Vegas on Sunday night, Gregg Berhalter’s U.S. team walked away deserving winners over rivals Mexico and made it two trophies out of two attempts over their neighbors this summer, having won the CONCACAF Nations League at the beginning of

1:44 PM ET Wrexham’s first preseason trip with fans was two hours from home and ended in a 5-0 win. Nearly a thousand supporters made the trip. Courtesy of Wrexham AFC Nobody really knows where Wrexham AFC are heading under the control of superstar actors/owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, but all journeys must start somewhere,