“It doesn’t surprise me at all [about the news of Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid possibly moving to Miami],” McManaman told World Soccer Talk. “Javier Tebas is always on the front foot when it comes to making revenue. If he thinks he can make revenue by moving a match to America, he will do it.”

When asked whether a Real Madrid vs. Barcelona league match could be played in the US, ESPN co-commentator McManaman said, “I think it could be.” It all comes down to who will be willing to give up their home match though, he said.

“I will be very surprised in the near future if Real Madrid agree to concede a home game,” ‘Macca’ explained. In his eyes, Los Blancos make too much money playing at the Santiago Bernabéu. Conflicts with Tebas and Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez are also an issue, says McManaman.

On the other hand, Barcelona, with their financial issues, and Atletico Madrid –who have smaller matchday revenue and a smaller global brand than Barcelona and Real Madrid – are perfect teams to bring abroad. 

Whichever teams end up going, McManaman is confident that La Liga matches will be played in the US someday. 

“The market is there, the money is there, and many fans can’t afford to go to Spain. If you can bring the team to them and you can bring a good crowd and good revenue, La Liga will do it.”

For the sake of everything that makes La Liga and European soccer great, let’s hope McManaman is wrong. 

Another step in a worrying trend

La Liga matches abroad would give potentially hundreds of thousands of fans in the US and other countries a once-and-a-lifetime opportunity to see Barcelona, Real Madrid, and other La Liga clubs play in person. 

More importantly for La Liga and its clubs, fans are willing to pay a fortune to go to these matches. Games abroad would mean a massive payday for La Liga clubs.

Barcelona could earn up to $6.5 million from a match in Miami this December. Other clubs would earn less, but it still would be more than a typical match. This is especially true if a team is technically the away side. There’s the money clubs could earn from attracting new fans from these matches. Foreign fans, especially fans in the US, tend to spend more than local ones.

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Pros and cons of La Liga games in USA

As good as this all sounds for La Liga, there are also significant downsides to moving La Liga matches abroad. 

To start, moving a match to the US means robbing a game from local fans. In an era of increased globalization, home matches are one of the few things that still connect historic clubs to the communities that allowed them to become what they are today. 

Moving matches abroad isn’t just taking one game away; It’s eroding the very thing that makes soccer clubs unique and the reason why fans support them as passionately as they do. 

La Liga moving matches abroad would be a slap in the face to local fans in Spain. It could also open the floodgates for other leagues to the same. The Premier League has already teased a “39th match” idea where clubs would play one extra game after the season outside of the UK. Thankfully, the Premier League killed these plans shortly after they created them. 

A trend of league matches outside of their home countries could also pave the way for things like the Super League. After all, if the clubs show that they are willing to degrade the importance of their national leagues by moving matches abroad, who’s to say they wouldn’t agree to join a more profitable competition at the expense of their leagues? 

LaLiga games abroad are not a good deal for LaLiga and its clubs. Let’s hope that FIFA and the RFEF make the right call and block La Liga’s plans.

Photo: IMAGO / Uwe Kraft.

Bezbatchenko spent years working in the MLS league office and with the player’s association. Before that, he was a player for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. He eventually left MLS to become the general manager of Toronto FC and later the President of Columbus Crew. Bezbatchenko now leads Bill Foley’s multi-club ownership group Black Knight Football Club (BKFC). 

All of this is to say that Bezbatchenko is extremely knowledgeable about how American soccer works at almost every level. This week, he came out in favor of promotion and relegation.

Pro/rel is the easy answer for MLS

In an interview with David Gass on the Soccerwise podcast, Bezbatchenko was asked by the host about the first thing he would do if he were given complete control over soccer in the United States. 

“The easy answer is–now having been over here (in Europe)–is pro/rel,” Bezbatchenko responded. 

The former Columbus Crew President also addressed some of the criticism of pro/rel that he often hears, then explained why that criticism is sometimes misguided. 

“Everyone always says it costs so much to be in the league,” he said, addressing the argument that MLS club owners would never agree to pro/rel after spending so much on MLS expansion fees to guarantee a spot in the league. 

“People say it’s impossible, but then when it happens, they don’t talk about it, and they don’t dive deeper into ‘How would that look?’ or ‘What are the challenges would we face if we did it?’ I think it is a question worth exploring,” Bezbatchenko added. 

He was then asked if his stance on pro/rel and the growth of soccer changed once he left American soccer or if he had always felt this way. Bezbatchenko said “I think I’ve always known…It’s one of those things you know, but until you experience it, you don’t really know.”

We need more soccer

Besides pro/rel, Bezbatchenko also says that having more soccer available is key to taking American soccer to the next level. 

“I want every community that has over 200k-300k people to have a professional soccer team in it, meaning, you just have soccer everywhere and it’s at a decent level. So, there’s more kids playing, there’s more coaches contributing, and more people learning,” he explained. 

Right now, there are over 120 cities in the US with over 200,000 people. The majority of them do not have a professional soccer team. Under the current US soccer model, the vast majority of them will never get to have a top-tier professional soccer team. Bezbatchenko says that this is a problem of US soccer limiting itself and being too small. 

“I think the world is still too small in a way. I know we (soccer) are one of the largest–if not the largest–participatory sport in the US, but I think it stops at certain levels…How can we get more players, coaches, staff more opportunities so that they can have a career?

“I think that would feed in and make the domestic player [better]. There would be more competition and there would be more numbers. That would make the country better.”

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MLS Cup winners are remembered, Supporters’ Shield winners are not

Every year, when a new Supporters’ Shield winner is crowned, the team that wins the trophy argues it is more important than the MLS Cup. 

Fans labeled LAFC the ‘Greatest Team Ever’ after they won the Supporters’ Shield in 2019. Pat Noonan said the Supporters’ Shield is more important than MLS Cup last year when FC Cincinnati won the trophy. You wouldn’t have a hard time finding Inter Miami fans saying the same this year. 

The funny thing about this is that fans of the teams who won the Supporters’ Shield are usually the only ones who remember it. 

Jesse Marsch’s 2015 New York Red Bulls team was one of the best teams in MLS history, winning the Shield with an aggressive high-pressing style. Their legacy is that they never won the MLS Cup. The Portland Timbers and Diego Valeri’s first-minute goal against the Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup are what people remember from that season. 

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In 2018, under Chris Armas, the Red Bulls put up another historic season. They won the Shield with 71 points, the third most in MLS history. Again, their legacy is that they couldn’t win the MLS Cup. Instead, we remember the 2018 season for Atlanta United lifting the Cup in their inaugural season in the league. 

More recently, Bruce Arena’s New England Revolution finished the 2021 MLS season with the best record in league history. The Revs earned 73 points, the most in MLS history. They finished 19 points ahead of the Philadelphia Union, who were second in the Eastern Conference. The Colorado Rapids, who won the Western Conference, had just 60 points. Just three years later, no one talks about the 2021 New England Revolution. 

Messi and Inter Miami must win the MLS Cup 

It might not be fair that teams like the Red Bulls and Revs are forgotten, since the MLS Cup Playoffs are more of a crapshoot, but that’s the way it is in MLS. The regular season doesn’t matter once the playoffs start. 

A bad team can go far if they get hot in the playoffs, and a good team can go out early if they get unlucky. That randomness is part of the reason we like the MLS Cup Playoffs so much and why we remember the teams who come out of that chaos more than the ones who consistently perform in the regular season. 

Lionel Messi will get the chance to experience the beautiful chaos of the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in just a few weeks. If he and Inter Miami want fans to remember this historic season, they will need to do well and win the MLS Cup. Otherwise, we will all remember the team who won the Cup when Messi couldn’t.

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In a world where everyone wants more and more access to their favorite players and teams, it makes sense to try and add something like this to Premier League broadcasts. 

When you think about what fans get out of these interviews and how time-consuming they are for the players, the Premier League’s plans for halftime and substitution interviews are awful.

Premier League halftime interviews add nothing

When reports of potential halftime and substitute interviews first broke, many Premier League fans in the UK called it something like “Yank nonsense.” Often, Brits blame Americans for things that don’t make any sense. They are probably right here, though. 

If you’ve watched any American sport, you know just how common in-game interviews are. Head coaches are interviewed between quarters and halftime in the NBA. In the NFL and NCAA Football, coaches and players usually give a sound bite before heading down the tunnel to join their teams in the locker room. MLB managers and players do interviews on the field during live play. MLS has even experimented with interviewing coaches during matches. 

Whatever the league, one thing is always true about these interviews: they are rarely insightful. It’s painfully obvious that players and coaches are there because they have to be. Most just throw out a few cliches until they are allowed to leave. 

Some Premier League fans might like the novelty of getting to hear from their players and managers. That novelty will quickly wear off, though, once they hear the same thing over and over again, week in, week out.

Stakes are too high

Maybe the biggest difference between American sports, where in-game interviews are common, and the Premier League is the stakes. Every result matters in the Premier League for every team. This isn’t true in most American sports leagues. Asking someone to give up five minutes of their 15-minute halftime break is unthinkable when you consider what’s at stake. For managers specifically, it’s an even crazier idea. 

Most managers do not spend the full 15 minutes of the halftime break talking to their players. They speak with their staff, review short clips from the game to identify tactical tweaks and then prepare their halftime talks. The talks themselves take only a few minutes. Every minute of the break is crucial. Taking time away for a halftime interview is an awful idea and one that coaches will not like.

Plans to go ahead

We’re not the only ones who have criticized the Premier League broadcasters’ plans to interview players and coaches mid-match. All you need to do is go on social media and look at some of the responses to see just how unpopular this idea is. Despite the feedback, broadcasters are likely going to go forward with this new idea. 

According to Daily Mail, certain companies have already tested out in-game interviews. Sky Sports interviewed Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier in the 76th minute of the Cherries’ match against Southampton on Sep. 30. Tavernier had just been subbed out of the game for Alex Scott. 

Interviews like the one with Tavernier are going to become more and more common this season. Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester United, and Manchester City are reportedly open to the idea. It’s unclear where other clubs fall on the issue. 

Even though they are awful and not at all necessary to improve the Premier League product, it looks like in-game interviews are here to stay.

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In a 175-page ruling, the independent arbitration panel declared that certain aspects of the rules are unlawful. The ruling also has implications for other Premier League clubs. This relates to sides that have received interest-free loans from their shareholders.

Because some APT rules were declared unlawful, Manchester City is claiming a major victory here. However, the Premier League is also claiming a win. Let’s dive into the case to see who actually came out on top and how the ruling affects other Premier League clubs. 

What happened?

Before we can say who won, let’s quickly go over the facts:

After Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) purchased Newcastle in 2021, the Premier League approved Associated Party Transaction rules. APTs are transactions between parties with the same owner, such as a hypothetical situation where the PIF sponsors Newcastle. 

The Premier League’s APT rules do not ban APTs. Rather, the league just requires APTs to be for a fair market value. Premier League clubs voted to strengthen APT rules in February 2022. Then, Manchester City sued the Premier League in June 2024. It argued the APT rules were unlawful and an example of the Premier League’s “tyranny of the majority.”

An independent arbitration panel reviewed these facts and heard arguments from both sides. In the end, the panel ruled that the overall APT system is sound, with two exceptions. 

First, the panel felt that there was too much onus on the clubs to assess the fair market value of APTs.

Second, the panel agreed with Man City about zero-interest shareholder loans. The Premier League argued these loans should not factor in APTs and the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). 

The arbitration panel also agreed with Man City that two APT rules violations against them were incorrect. However, this was not because the APT rules were unlawful but. Rather, they were misapplied in those instances. 

This case is not related to the Premier League’s case against Man City. The club still faces charges of 115 breaches of the league’s financial rules. 

Who won in the Manchester City Associated Party Transactions case?

Following the verdict being announced, Man City released a statement.

“The Club has succeeded with its claim: the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules have been found to be unlawful. The Tribunal found that both the original APT rules and the current, (amended) APT Rules violate UK competition law” 

The Premier League also released a statement. “The Premier League welcomes the Tribunal’s findings, which endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system. The Tribunal upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of Manchester City’s challenges.”

So, as you can see, both sides claim they won this case. If you ask us who actually won though, the answer is clear. It’s the Premier League. 

Man City’s case argued that the APT rules overall were unlawful and violated UK competition law. As the tribunal laid out, four of the six issues the arbitration had to decide on related to whether the APT rules “have the object of preventing, distorting or restricting competition.”

The panel found that just the two elements of the APT rules we explained were unlawful, “but all other challenges fail.”

Technically speaking, Man City won some elements of the case. Overall, though, the club did not get anything close to what it asked for, and the Premier League won this case. 

What’s next?

Some minor aspects of the APT rules and the Premier League’s PSR framework will need work. The Premier League will have to figure out how to incorporate interest-free loans into its PSR calculations. Presumably, they will settle on an interest rate and charge that rate to the club’s accounts. Arsenal, Brighton, Everton, and Chelsea are some of the clubs keeping a close eye on these developments. 

Premier League regulators will also have to come up with a new system to assess the fair market value of APTs. 

These are things the clubs and league will have to vote on at some point early next year. Until then, the Premier League says that it “will continue to operate the existing APT system, taking into account the findings made by the Tribunal.”

PHOTOS: IMAGO.

Mintzlaff revealed that there has been no real benefit to having a club in the United States. He says the league’s minimal development since Red Bull entered the division is disappointing. Red Bull took ownership of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in 2006.

Slow development in the Americas

Kicker presented to Mintzlaff the statement that: “Up until now, the benefits of the (Red Bull clubs) in Brazil and New York—apart from Tyler Adams—are not evident.” 

The Red Bull CEO agreed strongly with that assessment of how things have gone for Red Bull in the Americas.

“Absolutely right,” he said, “MLS is developing, but it’s developing far too slowly and is still far away from the standard we would imagine for a country like the USA.”

However, as Derek Rae pointed out on Twitter, Mintzlaff is not entirely pessimistic about MLS and the US soccer market.

“I still remain bullish about the topic of football in the USA, also in relation to the Club World Cup 2025 & World Cup in 2026. We’re investing around €200 million into a fantastic academy to be opened in 2 years,” Mintzlaff added.

Is Mintzlaff part of the problem?

Even though he said he was optimistic about US soccer, many critics used Mintzlaff’s words as proof that MLS is holding the game back. In response, MLS fans pointed out that the criticism is a bit rich coming from someone like Mintzlaff.

The Red Bulls boast the best playoff record in MLS history. They have qualified for the playoffs a record 25 times, including the last 15 seasons consecutively. Despite this impressive record, the Red Bulls have never won an MLS Cup. They’ve only been to one MLS Cup Final. 

In most seasons, the Red Bulls are nothing more than a mediocre team. They qualify for the playoffs because, let’s face it, qualifying for the playoffs isn’t hard in MLS. This is even more true with the current system where 62% of the league qualifies.

Many New York Red Bull fans say this mediocrity is because Mintzlaff and Red Bull Global do not invest in the club. According to those supporters, New York is an afterthought. There is never just one reason a team is not successful, but it is hard to disagree with those fans.

Overall poor performances and lack of measurable success

This season, New York qualified for the playoffs. Overall, NYRB has not been a good team. 

The Red Bulls were destroyed 5-1 at home by their Hudson River Derby rivals NYCFC on Saturday. As bad as that loss was, it’s not that out of the ordinary for the Red Bulls this season. They have won only one game in all competitions since July.

If the Red Bulls were doing everything they could to win, maybe Mintzlaff’s comments would have some more weight. But they’re not. NYRB is one of the few teams in the league that have not filled all their allowed designated player slots. Bringing in even an average DP could have done wonders to improve the Red Bulls this season.

Mintzlaff may be right about the game growing slowly in the US, but he is part of the problem too. If he wants soccer to develop faster Stateside, he and Red Bull can invest in their MLS team. Instead, they have relied on the league’s lax playoff rules as an excuse for not showing ambition.

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With 137 appearances for France, Griezmann is the nation’s third most capped player. He is fourth on the all-time France top goalscorer list with 44 goals. 

Time to turn the page on Antoine Griezmann and France

Griezmann announced his decision on social media on Monday, following Atletico Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on Sunday. 

“It is with a heart full of memories that I close this chapter of my life. Thank you for this magnificent, tricolor adventure, and see you soon,” Griezmann said. 

“Today, with profound emotion, I announce my retirement as a France national team player. After ten incredible years marked by challenges, successes and unforgettable moments, it’s time for me to turn the page and make room for the new generation.

“Wearing this shirt has been an honor and a privilege…I leave the France national team with a sense of pride and gratitude. I had the honor of representing our country, and the chance to experience extraordinary moments, like becoming a world champion.

“I’ll continue to follow Les Bleus with passion. I’m convinced that the future is bright, and I can’t wait to see the next generation shine.”

Griezmann’s last appearance for Les Bleus was in France’s 2-0 win over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on September 9th. 

LAFC move incoming?

Griezmann’s decision to retire from international duty comes after a summer full of speculation about whether he was ready to leave European soccer altogether. The Atleti star was reportedly close to joining fellow Frenchmen Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud at LAFC in MLS. Now that he’s no longer contending for a spot in the France squad, a move to LAFC or another MLS club next summer seems more likely than not.

The French connection at LAFC isn’t the only reason we’re saying this though. Griezmann has said repeatedly over the years that he is interested in playing in MLS. 

In 2023, after his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami, Griezmann revealed that he watches MLS regularly and would like to join Messi in MLS some day. 

“I’ve always said it,” Griezmann said in a LaLiga press conference, “My target is to end up there (in MLS), with everything that I like about American sports, playing in MLS and enjoying myself, being able to win things and be at my best level.”

Last summer while the Griezmann-to-LAFC rumors were at their highest, he posted a cheeky picture to his Instagram of his “hobby room” with packs of MLS trading cards featured front-and-center in the picture. 

His former teammate Olivier Giroud was less subtle. When asked about Griezmann, the 38-year-old forward said: “When he’d seen the news that I signed for LAFC, he was a bit jealous. I told him, ‘Don’t worry, we will meet each other hopefully soon.’” He also added, “One day or the other, he will come here.”

Giroud retired from the French national team after Euro 2024. He joined LAFC just months after playing his last match for France. It looks like Griezmann will follow a similar path and will be playing in Los Angeles this time next year.

PHOTOS: IMAGO

APTs are commercial deals involving a club and companies they have close ties to. The amendment would’ve changed who has access to an internal database league regulators use to assess the “fair market value” of APTs. After feedback from multiple clubs, the proposed vote was canceled. 

Manchester City sued the Premier League in June 2024 over the APT rules. Many people are now saying that this could be a sign that Man City has won their lawsuit against the Premier League about its APT rules. Or does it?

Have Man City Won Their Case Against the Premier League?

As compelling as the arguments are, the canceled vote could just as easily mean nothing. 

Multiple Premier League clubs reportedly had feedback about the proposed APT amendment. The Premier League clubs could’ve assessed the feedback and determined that now was not the right time to propose the specific amendment they had planned to vote on.

Ultimately, no one knows why the owners decided against voting on the APT rule amendment. Anyone claiming a massive victory for Man City now could be right. People saying the canceled APT amendment means nothing are just as likely to be right though. 

We should all wait until an official ruling is announced before jumping to conclusions about this case. 

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Man City APT Lawsuit explained

Following Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle in 2021, Premier League clubs voted to ban APTs above fair market value. According to the Premier League Handbook, this is to maintain the “effectiveness of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules, by ensuring the veracity of the costs and revenues reported by Clubs.”

The Premier League didn’t want a situation where other companies owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) were giving billion-dollar sponsorships to Newcastle to circumvent Profitability and Sustainability Rules. It wasn’t just Newcastle and PIF companies though. The rule also served to curb Manchester City’s inflated sponsorships from companies owned by Sheikh Mansour associates in the United Arab Emirates. 

Newcastle accepted these rule changes, but Manchester City did not. The club’s Abu Dhabi-based ownership group filed a lawsuit against the Premier League in June 2024. They argued the league’s APT rules discriminated against Gulf-owned clubs. 

The 165-page document also contained the infamous phrase “tyranny of the majority,” where Manchester City argued the rest of the Premier League clubs were out to get them due to how successful they have been since Mansour bought the club.

This lawsuit is unrelated to the Premier League’s case against Manchester City for their alleged 115 breaches of the league’s financial rules. That case has just gone to an independent tribunal. Arbitrators heard Manchester City’s APT case against the Premier League last June. The outcome of the APT case will not have an impact on the 115 Charges tribunal.

What’s changed?

Despite the reports from Thursday about Manchester City “appearing to win” their APT case against the Premier League, there have been no updates on the case since the hearing in the summer. 

So, why do people think the Cityzens are set to score a victory against the Premier League? It all goes back to the amendment that Premier League clubs decided not to vote on this Thursday. 

Some outlets say their sources have told them that the Premier League deciding not to vote on the APT amendment could be a sign that Manchester City has won the case. Other outlets have admitted that they are just guessing what the canceled vote means. 

The canceled amendment could mean that Manchester City scored a massive win. If this were to happen, the Premier League would have to completely scrap or rewrite its APT rules. In that situation, voting on a minor amendment to the database element of the APT rules wouldn’t make much sense.

It also wouldn’t make sense if Manchester City secured only a partial win in the case. For example, the arbitrators could’ve agreed with the Premier League about the majority of its APT rules. The arbitrators could also have taken issue with how the database works and ordered it to be reworked. If this happened, voting on amending the database procedures would be pointless until the Premier League completes a total rewrite of the database elements of its APT rules. 

Something like this where both sides win on certain issues is pretty likely to happen. Private tribunals are collaborative. One side rarely gets everything they want in high-profile arbitration cases. 

Photo: IMAGO / NurPhoto

Pochettino’s press conference came off the back of the United States Men’s National Team failing to beat Canada and New Zealand in the most recent international window. 

While Pochettino didn’t dwell on those results – he said it was unfair to judge them after the disappointing summer the US Men’s National Team had at the Copa America – it was clear that he felt the US was lacking motivation in those matches. 

‘We need to believe that we can win the World Cup’

Pochettino spent a lot of his inaugural press conference addressing the need to instill a winning mentality in the US Men’s National Team. 

The word “believe” was said so much that it felt a bit like a Ted Lasso episode at times. It was obvious that Pochettino was sincere though. 

The Argentine is a motivator who has a clear idea of how his players should act. He stressed that when players are called up to the squad, they need to do more than just play. They need to throw away all the excuses and just focus on improving and competing to the best of their abilities.

“You are here to play? No. You are here to compete,” Pochettino said, “Everyone thinks there is no time to prepare…I am on the opposite side. I think there is enough time. I don’t want to create an excuse for the players…

“We have time, and we need to really believe in things, in big things. We need to believe that we can win the World Cup,” he continued. 

Pochettino added that Emma Hayes and the US Women’s National Team are a good example of the winning mentality that he would like to see with the US Men’s National Team. 

“Emma is the best women’s coach in the world, the women’s team have won everything in the world…(the women’s team) will be our inspiration.”

Pochettino’s USMNT tactics

When asked about whether implementing the high-intensity tactics that he is known for would be a part of turning the US Men’s National Team around, Pochettino again turned towards motivating the players and instilling the right mindset before thinking about his favorite tactics.

“It’s true (that my teams are physical)…, but I think the most important thing now is to center an idea that can fit for everyone, an idea that the players want to buy (into)…We need to listen and share our ideas to create our own idea,” Pochettino explained. 

While he said he would be “flexible” with his tactics, Pochettino was also clear that there are some baseline principles that he wants the US to play with. 

“We want to play a good football, [with] excitement. We are in the USA – I think to convince our fans to join us, this is about to attract; the aesthetic is really important. We want to play nice football, good football, exciting football, attacking football…but when we don’t have the ball, we need to run. We need to be honest,” he said. 

Mauricio Pochettino’s mission: A ‘player’s-first’ mentality

Getting on the same page with his players was a running theme of Pochettino’s press conference. Like whenever a new manager comes in, someone asked Pochettino what the first thing he will do when he gets to coach his team for the first time. 

“I will tell you after,” Pochettino responded, “The priority is to feel the players. We have a plan, but the most important thing is to feel how they are.”

Earlier in the press conference, he stressed that the players need to feel connected and looked after if the US Men’s National Team is going to be successful going forward. 

“The players need to feel that we care…The objective is to improve, to provide a good platform for them to perform, and to feel comfortable every time they join us.”

Overall, all of Pochettino’s comments struck a balance between demanding intensity from the players and catering to their needs. He said all the right things and brought forward all the ideas that US fans wanted to hear. 

It’s too early to say whether Pochettino will bear fruit for the US Men’s National Team, but, from what we’ve seen so far, the future of the national team looks promising with Pochettino in charge.

Pochettino will coach his first game with the US Men’s National Team on October 12 against Panama in Austin, Texas. The US then will head to Guadalajara to play against Mexico on October 15. Both of those games will be air on TNT, Max and Telemundo/Universo.

LaLiga side Valencia has announced that it will use dynamic pricing for its matchday sales tickets this season.

What is dynamic pricing?

If you don’t know what dynamic pricing is by now, you should consider yourself lucky. Dynamic pricing is when ticket sellers use an algorithm to automatically change ticket prices depending on the demand for the tickets.

Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek and all the major American ticket exchange sites now use dynamic pricing.

On paper, the process seems sound. If you buy your tickets at the right time, you could end up getting a bargain deal. In practice, dynamic pricing results in customers getting ripped off.

You just have to look at what happened last season with Inter Miami to see what I mean.

Inter Miami & Oasis dynamic pricing debacles

When Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami last season, the World Cup winner brought with him millions of new eyes to MLS and his new club. This caused the demand for Inter Miami tickets to skyrocket. Thanks to Inter Miami’s partnership with Ticketmaster–the inventors of dynamic pricing–this meant that ticket prices also skyrocketed.

Forbes estimated in July 2023 that Inter Miami ticket prices rose 500% on average after Messi joined. Some matches saw an increase of as much as 1000%. ‘Cheap’ tickets that used to sell for under $30 were now selling for hundreds of dollars. More expensive seats started going for thousands of dollars.

Many die-hard Inter Miami fans were priced out of watching the greatest player of all time suit up for their team last season because of these massive increases. As a result, the club also struggled to sell out Chase Stadium. Less than 20,000 fans saw Inter Miami’s 4-0 win against Atlanta United in Messi’s second-ever game with the club.

It wasn’t just Miami fans who suffered from dynamic pricing either. Inter Miami away games also saw massive ticket increases. Fans rushed to buy tickets to see Messi play in their home cities. Some Charlotte FC fans paid close to $1,000 for their tickets against the Herons last season.

More recently, dynamic pricing reared its ugly head in England. Last week, many Oasis fans paid double the original asking price for Oasis reunion tour tickets. This was considered so extreme that the UK government plans to investigate Ticketmaster over its dynamic pricing tactics.

Valencia to use dynamic pricing

Despite all the controversy in the US and the UK, Valencia has decided to use dynamic pricing for the 2024/25 LaLiga season.

Valencia posted a statement to its website advertising tickets for its Matchday 1 fixture against Barcelona.

“One of the new features of the 2024-25 season will be the implementation of dynamic pricing for ticket purchases,” Valencia said. “Following the global trend in shows, sporting events and entertainment, Valencia CF will join this practice, which has the support and technology of LaLiga.”

“Tickets will therefore go on sale at a base price, which could increase as the days go by, always subject to various parameters such as the occupancy of the stadium area and the proximity of the date, among others.”

According to Spanish soccer expert Colin Millar, Valencia’s dynamic pricing has already caused Valencia ticket prices to increase “several times over.” He also called the practice a “slippery slope” for the rest of LaLiga.

Given what transpired in MLS with Inter Miami, he is right. Hopefully, for the sake of Spanish soccer fans, Valencia backtracks from its decision to use dynamic pricing. It is also significant that dynamic pricing does not become a widespread trend in LaLiga.

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Brighton has spent $189 million so far in this summer transfer window. That’s more than Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen have spent on players combined this transfer window. Brighton have broken their club record transfer fee twice by signing Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle for $43 million and Leeds United’s Georginio Rutter for $52 million.

Brighton has a newfound ability to spend, and the Seagulls are taking advantage. The transfer window for Brighton could prove massive for the southern club’s ambitions in England.

Bloated and frequent transfer deals with Chelsea

Chelsea’s transfer business has been one of the biggest stories in global soccer since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club in May 2022. The Blues have spent well over $1 billion on players since then. No club has benefited more from Chelsea’s spending spree than Brighton.

One of Boehly and BlueCo’s first major moves after buying Chelsea was to sack Thomas Tuchel in September 2022. To replace him, the Blues spent over $30 million to bring in Graham Potter and his staff from Brighton. Before that, Chelsea sent $72 million to the South Coast club for left-back Marc Cucurella.

The following summer, Chelsea broke the British transfer record by signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton for $145 million. They gave another $32 million to the Seagulls for Robert Sanchez, who was Brighton’s third-choice goalkeeper at the time.

In total, Chelsea has spent over $325 million on Brighton players and staff in the last two seasons. The Seagulls spent some of that money last summer on players like João Pedro and Carlos Baleba. Even after those two major purchases, Brighton was still in the green with plenty of money left to spend. This summer, we’re seeing Brighton spend the rest of it.

Extra funds opening from Europa League qualification

The UEFA Europa League doesn’t have nearly the amount of prize money up for grabs as the Champions League. Still, it is a significant boost for smaller clubs who qualify, including Brighton.

The club made an estimated $11 million from the Europa League—not including revenue from ticket sales, special edition shirt sales, new sponsorships, and other potential new revenue streams. 

Admittedly, this is not a huge amount of money. It is money the club has never had before though. More importantly, it gave Brighton a goal to reach for.

The goal used to be top-10 finishes for Brighton. After getting a taste of Europe last season, the goal has changed. Brighton now sees itself as a club that should be challenging for Europe every season. To live up to that expectation, it must spend. 

Tony Bloom sets out goals in Brighton transfer window

Before Brighton started selling players for more than $130 million and qualifying for European competitions, they had Tony Bloom. The Brighton-born businessman bought a majority stake in the club in 2009. He is the club’s current owner-chairman. During Bloom’s tenure at the club, Brighton has risen through the ranks from the EFL League One to the Premier League. 

Bloom also oversaw the construction of the 31,000-seater American Express Stadium where the Seagulls play their Premier League matches today. He funded the entire $120 million stadium project with an interest-free loan to the club. These sorts of loans have been a consistent part of Bloom’s tenure as club owner-chairman. Overall, Bloom has put over $523 million into Brighton via interest-free loans.

Tony Bloom may not be as well-known as Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour or Todd Boehly at Chelsea, but he is a billionaire who is willing to spend all the same. We are seeing that this summer with a massive Brighton transfer window.

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Hürzeler’s age has been among the biggest talking points in his first summer as a Premier League boss. It even seems to have gotten under his skin a bit. Hürzeler has repeatedly said “I’m a young man, but not a young coach,” since joining Brighton in June. He’s right about that.

Fabian Hürzeler is much more than just his age, and people have probably focused too much on it. To make things right, let’s take a closer look at the rest of Brighton’s new manager’s story, starting with his American roots.

Fabian Hürzeler background before taking over Brighton and Hove Albion

When his Brighton side kicks off against Everton on Matchday 1, Hürzeler will become just the fourth American-born coach to manage in the Premier League–after Bob Bradley, David Wagner, and Jesse Marsch.

Hürzeler was born to a Swiss father and a German mother in Houston, TX. His family left the US when he was just two years old, but he says the country still has a big place in his heart.

“I think I will always be connected to the United States because, in the end, it’s the land I was born,” Hürzeler said during St. Pauli’s promotion push last season.

“I would say I have some typical attitudes of Americans. My character is just open-minded. I’ll always be open-minded to everything, to everybody and I try to work hard to reach your dream. I think that’s one point that will always be connected to the United States,” he explained.

In case there’s any doubt about Hürzeler, he also briefly played for the USA U-20 team before retiring as a player.

Rise from the fifth tier to the Bundesliga

Despite being just 31 years old, Hürzeler has almost a decade of coaching experience under his belt. He gave up his full-time playing career when he was just 23 years old to join fifth-tier side FC Pipinsried.

Hürzeler took Pipinsried to the fourth division. From there, he worked his way up the German youth ranks before joining St. Pauli as an assistant. He became the club’s first team manager when he was just 29 years old.

As St. Pauli manager, Hürzeler took the Kiezkicker from 15th in the 2. Bundesliga to league champions in just a season and a half.

Managing the expectations for Brighton

Whether it was in the fifth tier of German soccer or at one of the country’s most historic clubs with St. Pauli, Hürzeler has been successful everywhere he’s been. Brighton will be his biggest challenge yet though.

The Seagulls are coming into the 2024/25 Premier League season off the back of a disappointing 2023/24 campaign where they finished 11th in the league. The goal for Fabian Hürzeler and Brighton this season is to qualify for European soccer again like they did in 2022/23.

Brighton has enough talent to achieve this goal. The club has spent over $100 million on players this summer and looks to be adding even more players. Whether the Seagulls qualify for Europe will come down to Hürzeler and if he can make his system work in the Premier League.

Like Roberto De Zerbi, Hürzeler’s tactics are extremely aggressive. At St. Pauli, he played with three center-backs. In possession, the middle center-back would step up and join the attack as a midfielder, leaving just two defenders back with everyone else piled up in the final third.

We’ve only seen four matches from Hürzeler’s Brighton so far, but the signs are there that his Seagulls side will be just as attacking as his St. Pauli teams were.

Brighton used two distinct formations in the preseason. The first was Hürzeler’s typical 3-4-3. In this formation, the German opted to use two traditional wingers as his wingbacks. At times, two of the three center-backs were defensive midfielders. This meant there was just one true defender on the pitch.

In the last two preseason matches, Hürzeler’s has gone with a fluid 4-2-3-1 with more traditional defenders, but the quirks were still there. Young defensive midfielder Carlos Baleba can work as an inverted left-back. Meanwhile, forward Joao Pedro has played as a versatile second striker.

It’s too early to say whether Hürzeler’s tactics will work in the long run, but they are sure to be entertaining.

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