According to OptaJoe, Paz’s two assists made him the youngest Argentine to set up multiple goals in a single Champions League match since Messi did the same for Barcelona against Basel in October 2008, when Messi was 21 years and 120 days old.

Paz, at 22 years and two days old, becomes the first Argentine to repeat that feat since Messi accomplished it 18 years ago, though Messi still holds the record as the youngest player ever to do it.

Messi’s last Champions League assist came on November 2, 2022, setting up Kylian Mbappe’s opener in a 2-1 win over Juventus that closed out PSG’s group-stage campaign.

The Argentine finished that tournament with 4 goals and 4 assists in seven appearances, and the round-of-16 elimination to Bayern Munich that followed turned out to be his final Champions League run before his move to Inter Miami closed the book on his European career, a stretch of history Paz now finds his name attached to nearly two decades later.

Como’s debut win goes down in the Italian football history books

Como’s 4-1 rout of RB Leipzig stands as more than just three points to open their maiden Champions League campaign, it’s the widest winning margin ever recorded by an Italian club in a European competition debut.

Martin Baturina got things started before setting up Tasos Douvikas, and Assane Diao and substitute Maxi Perrone rounded out the scoring in the second half, with Andrija Maksimovic’s strike serving as Leipzig’s only reply.

At the end of the match, Nico Paz revealed that his desire to make history with Como was behind his decision to stay in Italy, despite rumors linking him to Real Madrid. “It was for nights like this that I wanted to stay, I knew this is where I would grow the most, and I am really pleased with my decision. I made the right choice,” the Argentine said.

With that strike, Kane has now scored in eight consecutive Champions League appearances, a feat that places him among just four players in the competition’s history to ever reach that mark, joining Cristiano Ronaldo, who has done it on two separate occasions, during the 2013-14 and 2017-18 campaigns.

The other two members of that exclusive club are Robert Lewandowski, who also managed the streak twice during his career, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose own run helped define an era of Champions League goalscoring in the early 2000s.

Kane’s goal came in the 60th minute, rising to head home a cross from Michael Olise after Jamal Musiala had opened the scoring earlier in the match. The strike also extended his tally to 33 Champions League goals since joining Bayern in the summer of 2023, the most of any player in the competition over that stretch.

Kane still chasing Ronaldo’s all-time record

Kane’s run leaves him three matches shy of the outright record of 11 consecutive Champions League appearances scoring, a mark Ronaldo set between September 2017 and April 2018 that remains unmatched.

With Bayern set to continue their group-phase campaign in the coming weeks, Kane will have every opportunity to keep the streak alive and push closer to a milestone that has stood since Ronaldo’s historic run at Real Madrid.

If Kane keeps the streak alive, his next three Champions League opponents to test him are Viking FK away on October 13, Arsenal at home on October 21, and Atletico Madrid away on November 3, a run that would take him to 11 consecutive matches scoring and level with Ronaldo’s all-time mark.

Should he then find the net again away to Lille on November 25, Kane would move to 12 straight games and surpass Ronaldo outright as the player with the longest goalscoring streak in Champions League history.

Edul reported that Samuel’s exit is already resolved internally, with the departure set to take effect once the post-2026 cycle begins. This could turn out to be one of the factors weighing on Scaloni’s own decision about whether to renew his contract with the AFA, which remains unresolved.

Edul tied the coach’s continuity to whether he still has the energy and desire to rebuild a team and start a new stage of the project, a rebuild that would now have to happen without one of his most trusted lieutenants regardless of what Scaloni himself decides.

Samuel’s departure would mark the end of a partnership that delivered four titles, the 2021 and 2024 Copa America, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, along with a run to the 2026 World Cup final.

Whether or not Scaloni stays on, his technical staff will need to be at least partially rebuilt for whatever comes next, adding one more layer of uncertainty to Argentina‘s post-Messi era.

Samuel eyes a head coaching career of his own

Samuel’s departure from Argentina isn’t just about closing a chapter, it’s about opening a new one. According to reports, the former defender wants to launch his own career as a head coach once his AFA contract expires, with Europe identified as his preferred destination for a first opportunity in charge of a first team.

Before joining Scaloni’s staff in 2018, Samuel already had experience on the touchline, working as an assistant at Inter Milan during the 2016-17 season under Stefano Pioli and Stefano Vecchi, and later as part of Pierluigi Tami’s coaching staff at Switzerland’s FC Lugano.

Within the Argentina setup, he became known for his work on the team’s defensive structure and set pieces, a specialty that earned him the trust of Scaloni’s staff throughout an eight-year run that produced four major titles.

According to ESPN journalist Gustavo Yarroch, a renewal reportedly agreed upon verbally through 2030 has yet to be formalized, and the negotiation has grown complicated in recent days despite an optimistic outlook from AFA officials just a week earlier. Yarroch cautioned that no final decision has been made, but described the current climate as tense.

Compounding matters further, longtime assistant Walter Samuel is reportedly set to leave the coaching staff to pursue his own path as a head coach, which would force any renewal to also address a reshuffling of Scaloni‘s inner circle.

Scaloni himself hinted at his own doubts in the aftermath of the World Cup final loss to Spain, telling reporters he needed time to think things over. “I feel the need to think, because I no longer know if something this big can be done again. To continue, you need a lot of things, above all resetting yourself and rebuilding a group like this one, which is hard to put together again,” he said, adding that he would honor his 2026 commitments before deciding on what comes next.

The three reasons behind the uncertainty

Yarroch broke down three central factors clouding the renewal. The first concerns Scaloni’s own doubts about whether, after eight years in the job, he still has the energy and motivation to rebuild the team from scratch, a rebuild that becomes even more daunting with Messi no longer part of the equation.

The second involves money, as the AFA reportedly owes players and staff a significant amount in unpaid bonuses, a sticking point that has generated frustration given the federation is currently earning more revenue than ever before.

The third reason centers on the organization of Argentina‘s friendlies. Scaloni has long pushed for tougher opposition, a frustration reflected in this year’s own preparation schedule: a mooted friendly against France for the March window fell through after the finalissima against Spain was scrapped, and the AFA instead lined up matches against Guatemala, Venezuela, Mauritania and Angola, before closing out the send-off with a 5-0 win over Zambia and further tests against Honduras and Iceland in June.

That pattern appears set to continue, with Burkina Faso, Benin and Bolivia reportedly among the likely rivals for the next international window. Compounding the issue, the federation has reportedly missed its own self-imposed deadlines to officially confirm those matches, adding to Scaloni’s frustration even as the AFA continues to push for him to sign a new deal.

Instead, the Herons let the chance slip in a 1-1 draw against Chicago Fire at Soldier Field, a result that did little to change the shape of the Eastern Conference race at the top.

Chicago struck first in the eighth minute, with Robert Lewandowski rising to head home a cross from the left flank for his seventh goal since joining MLS, giving the hosts an early cushion that Inter Miami had to chase for the rest of the half.

The visitors found their equalizer early in the second half through a well-worked set piece: Messi delivered a corner kick toward the penalty spot, and Casemiro rose above the Chicago defense to plant a header off the right post and past goalkeeper Christopher Brady, leveling the score at 1-1.

The draw leaves Inter Miami on 44 points, nine behind a Nashville side that had every chance to open the gap further but failed to do so themselves. The two sides will meet head-to-head on Saturday, September 13, in what shapes up as a defining fixture for whatever remains of Miami’s Supporters’ Shield hopes, against the same Nashville team that beat them 4-1 earlier this season.

Where the Supporters’ Shield race stands

Nashville SC remains firmly in control at the top of the table, sitting on 53 points from 24 matches with a 16-5-3 record, a cushion that leaves the rest of the league playing catch-up. Vancouver Whitecaps sit second with 46 points from 23 games, while Inter Miami’s draw kept them in third on 44 points, level of games played with the leaders but nine points adrift.

Houston Dynamo trail closely in fourth with 43 points, and a chasing group of New England, LAFC and FC Dallas are all tied on 40 heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

With nine matchdays remaining, Inter Miami’s path to the Shield still exists mathematically, but Saturday’s head-to-head trip to Nashville now looms as close to a must-win if that gap is going to close in any meaningful way.

Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute, rising above his marker to meet an Angelo corner and powering a header that struck the post before crossing the line, a goal that took his career tally to 979 and kept alive his pursuit of the 1,000-goal milestone.

Abdullah Al-Hamdan doubled Al Nassr’s lead in the 58th minute with a right-footed finish into the top corner, capping a dominant display from a home side missing Joao Felix through suspension and Kingsley Coman through injury.

Abha refused to fold, and Nabil Fekir gave the visitors hope in the 75th minute, stepping up to a free kick from the left flank and catching goalkeeper Bento off guard by shooting directly on target rather than delivering a cross.

The result lifted Ange Postecoglou’s side level on 15 points with Al Hilal and Al Qadsiah heading into the next round, keeping Al Nassr firmly in the title conversation despite the earlier stumble.

Ronaldo climbs into the Saudi Pro League’s scoring picture

Ronaldo’s header moved him further up a crowded Golden Boot chase, though Ivan Toney remains well clear at the top. Despite Al Ahli’s 3-2 defeat to Al Qadsiah on Tuesday, Toney scored a brace in the loss, stretching his tally to eight goals and keeping him as the outright leader of the scoring charts.

Behind him, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, George Ilenikhena and Iker Kortajarena are tied for second with 4 goals apiece, while Ronaldo’s strike against Abha lifted him into a much larger group tied on 3, that includes Ruben Neves, Tijjani Reijnders, Alexandre Lacazette, Angelo, Darwin Nunez, and Moussa Dembele, among others.

The holdup comes down to paperwork: Gonzalez has yet to receive the work permit required to legally coach in the United States, and Inter Miami has stated he will only officially assume his duties once that documentation clears. Until then, the move remains agreed upon but not yet formalized on the touchline.

Inter Miami confirmed the agreement with Gonzalez in an official statement in late August, announcing that Hoyos would provisionally continue leading the first team until the new coach and his staff can arrive.

With no fixed date yet for when Gonzalez’s visa process will conclude, Hoyos remains the man in charge for Inter Miami’s upcoming matches, continuing to oversee a squad dealing with its own injury concerns while the club awaits the paperwork that will finally hand the reins to its intended long-term coach.

What’s next for Guillermo Hoyos?

Hoyos, 63, has left his own future at the club open for now. Speaking to reporters after a training session, he addressed Gonzalez’s looming arrival directly: “When Kily arrives we will surely get together and talk,” he said, adding that he remains available to the club and the incoming coaching staff to help during the transition period.

Inter Miami have not clarified what role, if any, Hoyos will have once Gonzalez takes over, but a club source told AFP that he continues to be held in “high regard” within the organization.

Inter Miami’s current season

While the coaching situation remains unresolved, Inter Miami’s on-field results have kept the club firmly in contention. The defending MLS Cup champions sit second in the Eastern Conference and third in the overall Supporters’ Shield standings, with a record of 12 wins, four losses and seven draws for 43 points. The attack has been prolific, with Lionel Messi’s 18 league goals leading an offense that has produced 58 goals through the season.

The cup competitions have told a different story. Inter Miami’s CONCACAF Champions Cup run ended in March at the Round of 16 stage after consecutive 1-1 draws, and the Leagues Cup campaign also finished early, with just one win in three league-phase matches.

The one remaining chance at silverware outside MLS comes on September 16, when Inter Miami host Liga MX champion Cruz Azul at Nu Stadium in the Campeones Cup final.

According to OptaJoe, Yamal had already moved to 21 goal involvements in the Champions League with his assist for Raphinha’s opener, the outright most by a teenager in the competition’s history, one ahead of the previous record of 20 held by Mbappe.

He then padded that tally further before full time, first with his own free-kick goal and later with a second assist, this one for Gabriel Jesus, finishing the night with 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 goal involvements in the competition.

At 19 years old, Yamal continues to accumulate individual records at a pace few players in the tournament’s history have matched, having also become the third-youngest player ever to score a free kick in Champions League history.

Yamal becomes Barcelona’s youngest-ever captain

Yamal added another layer to his historic night by wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in an official match, becoming the youngest player ever to captain Barcelona at 19 years and 58 days old, breaking a record held by Bojan Krkic, who led the team in a 2010 Copa del Rey match at 20 years and 56 days old.

The armband wasn’t planned to start the game: first captain Raphinha wore it before being substituted in the 71st minute, while second-in-line Pedri had already been withdrawn in the 63rd, and with Eric Garcia suspended and Frenkie de Jong injured, the responsibility fell to Yamal, the club’s fifth captain option this season.

Only two players have managed the feat at a younger age: Wayne Rooney, who scored a free kick for Manchester United against Fenerbahce in 2004 at 18 years and 340 days, and Marat Izmailov, who did so for Porto against Anderlecht in 2001 at 19 years and 33 days. Yamal’s effort narrowly edges out Mario Balotelli and Miralem Pjanic, who both scored their first Champions League free kicks in 2009 at slightly older ages.

The strike itself was a technical showcase: Yamal curled the ball with his left foot from roughly 20 meters out, threading it between two Feyenoord players in the wall who jumped and shifted to try to block the effort, before it dropped into the bottom corner. The goal made it 4-0 to Barcelona at the time and was his first of the new Champions League campaign.

The result added further gloss to what was already a dominant night for Barcelona, who put five past Feyenoord to open their 2026-27 Champions League campaign with three points, with Raphinha scoring twice and Karim Adeyemi and deadline-day signing Gabriel Jesus also getting on the scoresheet.

Yamal leaves Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi behind

The milestone also puts Yamal well ahead of the pace set by two of the sport’s greatest free-kick specialists. Cristiano Ronaldo did not score his first Champions League free kick until he was 24 years and three months old, netting a memorable strike from roughly 40 yards out against Arsenal in the 2009 semifinals.

Lionel Messi got there earlier, but still well behind Yamal’s timeline, scoring his first Champions League free kick against Dynamo Kyiv in December 2009 at 22 years and nearly six months old.

The gap is striking: Yamal reached the milestone roughly five years before Ronaldo and more than three years before Messi did, underlining how the Barcelona academy product continues to outpace two legends of the game.

The matches are being discussed as potential farewell games for Messi following his time with the senior national team after this year’s World Cup, though nothing has been officially confirmed by the AFA or the player himself.

The reported schedule has Argentina facing Bolivia on September 30, followed by Burkina Faso on October 3, with a possible third match against Benin, currently ranked 93rd in the FIFA rankings, on October 6.

The AFA is said to be negotiating all three fixtures as part of the same international window, with venues under consideration including El Monumental in Buenos Aires, the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba, and a possible match in Rosario.

With Messi already having confirmed his retirement from the national team, what remains uncertain is whether these friendlies will actually serve as his long-awaited farewell in front of Argentine fans.

A series of home matches against lower-ranked opposition would give the AFA the perfect opportunity to give him that proper send-off, while also using the games to start looking ahead to the next generation of the national team.

Argentina want friendlies to be recognized as Category A

The federation has reportedly also consulted FIFA to ensure the friendlies are classified as Category A matches, a designation that would allow several suspended Argentina players to begin serving bans they picked up following incidents at the 2026 World Cup. Locking in that classification is seen as a key step before any of the fixtures can be finalized.

The suspensions stem from the fallout surrounding Argentina’s run to the final, when FIFA handed down sanctions to several members of the squad and coaching staff for their conduct in the tournament’s closing stages.

Leandro Paredes received the harshest penalty of the group, a 10-match ban, while Nahuel Molina was hit with a seven-match suspension of his own. Thiago Almada picked up a shorter one-match sanction, and even assistant coach Roberto Ayala was not spared, receiving a three-match ban along with a fine.

Without Category A status, none of those suspensions could begin to count down, since FIFA only recognizes bans as served in matches that meet that classification threshold.

Messi enters the match fresh off a historic achievement, having become the first player in MLS history to reach 30 goal contributions in three separate seasons, a mark he hit while setting up Casemiro’s opener in Miami’s 2-2 draw against Atlanta United in the last fixture.

Despite the individual milestone, Miami‘s results have cooled considerably since their 7-1 rout of Montreal, and the club now sits 10 points behind Nashville SC in the race for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Chicago Fire, meanwhile, arrive at the match sitting third in the East, five points behind Miami for second place, with a win Wednesday closing that gap to just two points and giving the Fire a game in hand on the Herons.

Gregg Berhalter’s side heads into the match off the back of a wild 4-4 draw at Toronto, a result that featured a brace from Maren Haile-Selassie and a goal from Robert Lewandowski, who has quickly established himself as one of the most efficient scorers in MLS since his move to Chicago.

Chicago Fire confirmed lineup

Chicago will be without Jonathan Bamba, Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Andre Franco, all of whom sat out the Toronto draw with lower-body issues. Zinckernagel leads the Fire’s attack this season and will look to combine again with Lewandowski and Haile-Selassie up top.

Chicago Fire confirmed starting XI: Chris Brady; Jeremy Dean, Jack Elliot, Noah Allen, Andrew Gutman; Anton Salestros, Dje Tah D’Avila, Robin Lod; Philip Zinckernagel, Robert Lewandowski, Maren Haile-Selassie.

Inter Miami confirmed lineup

Miami’s injury list remains lengthy, with Sergio Reguilon, Gonzalo Lujan, Micael and Mateo Silvetti all confirmed out for the trip to Chicago, forcing Guillermo Hoyos to once again patch together his backline and attacking rotation.

Inter Miami confirmed starting XI: Dayne St. Clair; Ian Fray, Casemiro, Maximiliano Falcon, Fricio Caicedo; Rodrigo De Paul, Yannick Bright, Telasco Segovia; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, German Berterame.

“I received the news that the club wasn’t in a position to offer me a new contract, which, of course, makes me very, very sad,” Mac Allister said, pointing to his consistent effort in training and matches as reason to feel he deserved better clarity on his future.

The situation carries an added sting given that two of his midfield teammates, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, both signed contract extensions earlier this year.

Mac Allister made clear he was happy for both players but admitted the contrast in how their situations were handled left him feeling overlooked, even as he reiterated his commitment to give his best for the club regardless of the outcome.

Despite the frustration, Mac Allister insisted he has no intention of forcing a move away from Liverpool, noting that he turned down other options during the offseason to remain at Anfield.

Amid the situation, new head coach Andoni Iraola backed the midfielder in response to his comments, stating that Mac Allister’s desire to stay at the club is what matters most and that he values his contributions highly heading into the new European campaign.

The Real Madrid links that shadowed Mac Allister’s summer

Mac Allister’s contract situation comes after a summer spent fending off transfer speculation, with Real Madrid repeatedly linked to the Argentine as a top target to strengthen their midfield, and Atletico Madrid also reportedly showing interest at one point.

Real Madrid did not sign a player in his position during the summer window, and multiple reports in Spain suggested the club viewed him as a priority option for a future move.

Despite the noise, Mac Allister’s father and agent, Carlos Mac Allister, insisted throughout the window that his son remained “totally focused on Liverpool,” a stance the player himself echoed this week by confirming he turned down the chance to leave Anfield over the offseason.

Mac Allister’s numbers at Liverpool

Since joining from Brighton in mid-2023, Mac Allister has made 152 appearances for Liverpool across all competitions, scoring 19 goals and adding 20 assists. He has picked up 32 yellow cards and one red card in that span, while playing a total of 11,144 minutes for the club. The 27-year-old has won two major trophies during his time at Anfield, including the 2024-25 Premier League title.

The Norwegian’s tally makes him the fastest player in the competition’s history to reach that mark, comfortably ahead of the game’s other all-time greats. The closest of those greats needed far more matches to get there, as Lionel Messi reached 58 Champions League goals in 76 appearances, while Robert Lewandowski needed 83 and Kylian Mbappe required 89 to hit the same tally.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Raul Gonzalez trail even further behind on that same list, needing 96, 108 and 111 matches respectively to reach the mark Haaland has now blown past in barely half the time of the next-fastest name on the list.

At 26 years old and already established as one of the most clinical forwards to ever play the competition, Haaland shows no signs of slowing down, with City just getting their new league-phase campaign underway.

Haaland climbs Manchester City’s all-time scoring charts

Haaland’s brace at Porto also pushed him past a different milestone: with 167 goals in just 203 appearances for Manchester City, he moved above club legend Tommy Johnson, who scored 166 times across 355 games between 1920 and 1930, to become the third-highest scorer in the club’s 132-year history.

Only Eric Brook, with 177, and Sergio Aguero, with 260, have scored more for City than Haaland. Of his 59 Champions League goals, 35 have come in City colors, leaving him just one behind Aguero’s record tally for the club in the competition.

Eduardo Camavinga is also unavailable under the same circumstance, having been sent off by a second yellow card in the 87th minute of last season’s quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich.

Under UEFA regulations, yellow-card suspensions are wiped between seasons, but red-card bans carry forward, meaning Jose Mourinho has no way around the absences barring an exceptional pardon, which has not been granted in either case.

The Portuguese coach will instead turn to Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde to anchor his midfield against an Inter side eager to make an early statement in the new league phase.

Where do Guler and Silva’s suspensions come from?

Guler‘s suspension stems from a sending-off in the same quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich in which Camavinga was also dismissed, with the Turkish midfielder picking up two yellow cards of his own. The one-match ban that followed had gone unserved by the end of last season and now carries into Real Madrid’s first group-phase match of the new campaign.

Bernardo Silva‘s case carries a layer of irony, since his red card came while he was still playing for Manchester City against Real Madrid in last season’s round of 16, when he was sent off for deliberately handling the ball to stop a goal, a decision that led to Vinicius Junior converting the resulting penalty.

Having since completed a move to the Bernabeu, the Portuguese midfielder now finds himself suspended for his own team’s Champions League opener because of that incident.

The Frenchman arrives with a personal milestone in reach, needing just two goals against Inter to move above club legend Raul and into fifth place on the competition’s all-time scoring list.

The match carries extra weight for Real Madrid, who are looking to bounce back after a damaging loss to Real Betis in LaLiga over the weekend. A strong start at the Champions League, would go a long way toward settling any nerves after that setback.

Inter Milan arrive at the Bernabeu as one of the competition’s most consistent recent performers, having reached the final in 2025 before falling short. Under their own management setup this season, the Italian side will look to Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram to provide the attacking edge that has made them one of Europe’s most dangerous counterattacking teams over the past two years.

Real Madrid confirmed lineup

Real Madrid will be without Arda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga and Bernardo Silva, all unavailable through suspension, forcing Mourinho into a midfield reshuffle.

Real Madrid confirmed starting XI: Thibaut Courtois; Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Federico Valverde; Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Kylian Mbappe.

Inter Milan confirmed lineup

Inter Milan should field a largely settled back line, with Alessandro Bastoni anchoring the defense. In midfield, Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu are expected to control the tempo, while Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram once again lead the line up top.

Inter Milan confirmed starting XI: Josep Martinez; Benjamin Pavard, Yann Bisseck, Alessandro Bastoni; Andy Diouf, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Curtis Jones, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram.

The snub comes as Ronaldo continues his career with Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, a competition that has historically received little attention from Ballon d’Or voters.

Ronaldo last won the award back in 2017, edging out Lionel Messi for his fifth and most recent Ballon d’Or, a trophy he claimed while playing for Real Madrid. That victory capped a run of dominance that also included wins in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, cementing his status as one of the two most decorated players in the award’s history alongside Messi.

Nearly a decade has now passed since that last triumph, and Ronaldo’s exclusion from this year’s shortlist underlines how far his candidacy has fallen since his move away from Europe’s top leagues.

Still, while Messi holds the record for most Ballon d’Or wins with eight trophies to Ronaldo’s five, it’s the Portuguese forward who owns the record for most total nominations in the award’s history, with 18 compared to the 17 Messi now has after this year’s shortlist.

When was Cristiano Ronaldo last nominated for the Ballon d’Or?

Ronaldo’s last Ballon d’Or nomination came for the 2022 award, when he finished the voting without a single point from the jury despite making the 30-man list that year. It marked a sharp fall from the sustained excellence that had kept him among the nominees every year dating back to the early 2000s.

Since then, he has been left off the shortlist entirely for four consecutive editions, missing out in 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026. It’s by far the longest drought of his career, having been nominated every single year without interruption from his debut nomination in 2004 through 2022, an 18-year run that this current stretch has now more than doubled in terms of consecutive absences.

The Argentine, now playing for Inter Miami, remains in the conversation for football’s most prestigious individual honor even as he continues his career in MLS, a testament to how closely his season is still tracked by voters years after his move away from Europe.

This marks Messi’s 17th career nomination for the award, extending a run that stretches back to the mid-2000s and placing him second on the all-time list for most nominations received. Only one player has been nominated more times than the Argentine throughout the award’s history.

That player is Cristiano Ronaldo, who holds the record with 18 total nominations across his career, one more than Messi will have after this year’s list. The Portuguese forward, however, will not be adding to that tally in 2026, missing out on a nomination for the fourth consecutive year as he continues his spell with Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

Between them, Messi and Ronaldo remain the two most decorated players in Ballon d’Or history, with the Argentine’s eight trophies standing as the all-time record, three more than Ronaldo’s five.

Whether Messi can add a ninth to that collection this October will depend on how voters weigh his 2026 World Cup and MLS exploits against a nominee pool once again dominated by Europe’s top performers.

Full list of nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or

• Lionel Messi (Argentina / Inter Miami)
• Jude Bellingham (England / Real Madrid)
• Pau Cubarsi (Spain / Barcelona)
• Marc Cucurella (Spain / Real Madrid)
• Ousmane Dembele (France / PSG)
• Luis Diaz (Colombia / Bayern Munich)
• Bruno Fernandes (Portugal / Manchester United)
• Erling Haaland (Norway / Manchester City)
• Gabriel (Brazil / Arsenal)
• Harry Kane (England / Bayern Munich)
• Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / PSG)
• Lamine Yamal (Spain / Barcelona)
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia / PSG)
• Marquinhos (Brazil / PSG)
• Sadio Mane (Senegal / Al Nassr)
• Lautaro Martinez (Argentina / Inter)
• Kylian Mbappe (France / Real Madrid)
• Michael Olise (France / Bayern Munich)
• Joao Neves (Portugal / PSG)
• William Pacho (Ecuador / PSG)
• Julian Quinones (Mexico / Al Qadsiah)
• Declan Rice (England / Arsenal)
• Rodri (Spain / Barcelona)
• William Saliba (France / Arsenal)
• Dayot Upamecano (France / Bayern Munich)
• Vinicius Jr. (Brazil / Real Madrid)
• Vitinha (Portugal / PSG)
• Fabian Ruiz (Spain / PSG)
• Ferran Torres (Spain / PSG)
• Nuno Mendes (Portugal / PSG)

The Portuguese forward, who played the full match alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in attack, appeared visibly frustrated for much of the second half, particularly after picking up a yellow card for a challenge on Al Ittihad midfielder Richard Rios that he clearly felt was harsh.

That frustration spilled over once the final whistle blew. “I won’t speak to you, because if I do, I’ll expose this league,” Felix said while rushing past reporters without stopping for further comment.

Whether Felix’s remarks were aimed specifically at the referee’s performance in Friday’s match or at broader officiating issues within the Saudi Pro League remains unclear, since he declined to explain himself any further before leaving the stadium.

Joao Felix set to miss Al Nassr’s next match

Felix’s yellow card against Rios was his fourth of the season, which under Article 12 of the Saudi Pro League’s competition regulations, triggers an automatic one-match suspension for accumulating four bookings across different matches.

That means the Portuguese forward will be unavailable for Al Nassr‘s next league fixture against Abha on September 9, leaving Postecoglou to reshuffle his attacking options as the club looks to respond to its first loss of the campaign.

Felix leaves the pitch frustrated with the officiating

Video circulating after the match, shared by Al Nassr Tribune, showed Felix and Samu Costa clearly unhappy with referee Khaled Al-Turais’ performance as they made their way off the pitch, still airing their frustrations well after the final whistle had blown.

The footage adds further context to Felix’s cryptic comments in the mixed zone, suggesting his complaint extended beyond his own yellow card to the officiating as a whole throughout the match.

George Ilenikhena did the damage for the hosts, scoring a brace inside the opening 22 minutes, the first a header in the fourth minute and the second a composed left-footed finish after being played through by Houssem Aouar.

Angelo pulled one back for the visitors just two minutes later, finishing from inside the box, but Al Nassr could not find an equalizer despite pushing hard in the second half and through six minutes of stoppage time.

Ronaldo was unable to add to his tally in the defeat, despite a handful of half-chances throughout the match. It was the first time all season Al Nassr had failed to win, snapping a run that had them sitting second in the table with 12 points from four matches heading into the fixture.

Ivan Toney takes the lead in scoring charts

While Ronaldo and Al Nassr stumbled, Ivan Toney continued his outstanding start to the campaign for Al Ahli, scoring twice from the penalty spot in a commanding 5-0 win over Al Riyadh.

The Englishman opened the scoring in the 16th minute after Saad Balobaid was fouled in the box, then completed his brace in the 61st minute following a second penalty award, with Al Ahli’s foreign contingent doing most of the damage alongside additional goals from Edward Sperfsyan, Francisco Trincao and Naif Khaled Rashid Masoud.

Toney’s brace now makes him the outright leader of the Saudi Pro League’s scoring charts, with 6 goals through five matches for Al Ahli. He sits well clear of the chasing pack, which includes Sergej Milinkovic-Savic of Al Hilal on 4 goals, while a large group, among them Ruben Neves, Alexandre Lacazette and Angelo, sit on 3.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo remains further back in the chasing pack with 2 goals for the season, having gone scoreless again on Friday and now sitting four goals adrift of Toney at the top of the table, a stark contrast to the pace he set in previous campaigns atop Saudi Arabia’s scoring charts.

Yet even with the feat now behind him, the Norwegian striker still finds himself chasing a record that belongs to Lionel Messi, who remains the fastest player in the modern era to hit that same tally.

Haaland got there with a header, converting a cross from Antoine Semenyo in a 1-0 victory that also moved City closer to the top of the table. The goal came in his 368th appearance across four different clubs, according to OptaJoe, three fewer than Messi’s 365, the number the Argentine needed during his time at Barcelona to become the fastest to 300 club goals in the sport’s history.

Messi’s mark has stood since 2013, when he scored his 300th and 301st goals for Barcelona in a win over Granada, a tally built entirely at a single club rather than across multiple spells like Haaland’s.

Cristiano Ronaldo, by comparison, needed 499 appearances split between Sporting CP, Manchester United and Real Madrid to reach the same figure, making him the slowest of the trio to the milestone.

Haaland eyes Aguero’s Man City scoring record

Haaland’s tally for Manchester City alone, 165 goals in 202 appearances, already places him second on the club’s all-time scoring list, behind only Sergio Aguero, who finished his decade at the Etihad with 260 goals in 390 games.

At his current scoring rate, Haaland is on pace to surpass that mark within the next few seasons, a milestone that would make him City’s outright leading scorer in the club’s history.

He has already claimed other Aguero-held records along the way, including the club’s all-time Champions League scoring mark, which he broke by reaching 49 goals in the competition, two more than the Argentine managed during his time at the club.

According to Saudi Pro League insider Sami Al Qadi, Brozovic is among the options Al Ahli is weighing as it looks to strengthen its midfield ahead of the deadline, a stunning turn for a player who spent three seasons alongside Ronaldo at Al Nassr.

Brozovic actually left Al Nassr as a free agent back in July, closing out a spell that began in 2023 when he arrived from Inter Milan for an initial fee of around €18 million. His departure came after a reported approach from crosstown rival Al Hilal, who at one point offered him a salary said to double what he was earning at Al Nassr, though that move never materialized either.

Now, with the Saudi transfer window still open, Brozovic remains without a club, and Al Ahli’s interest suggests he could stay in the kingdom rather than seek a return to Europe. A move to Al Ahli would immediately set up a reunion with Ronaldo on the opposite side of the pitch whenever the two Saudi giants meet in league play.

Al Nassr’s own transfer window has been a struggle

While Brozovic looks for his next club, his former side has had a summer to forget in the market. Al Nassr brought in just a single new face all window, midfielder Samu Costa, signed from Real Mallorca for a reported fee of around $25.6 million, and that deal alone reportedly used up the club’s entire recruitment budget for the period.

The club was only able to complete even the Costa transfer after securing its Financial Compliance Certificate from the league, a requirement that had held up registrations while Al Nassr worked through its outstanding financial obligations under the PIF’s oversight.

According to journalists Nawaf Oga and Haitam El Imani, Al Nassr have now effectively withdrawn from the transfer market altogether, with no further incoming signings expected before the window shuts.

A move to bring in a foreign replacement for winger Wesley, who was loaned out to Cruzeiro, has been called off entirely, with the target player’s agents informed that talks were permanently halted, leaving manager Ange Postecoglou to work with the squad he already has for the rest of the campaign.

According to ESPN’s Emiliano Raddi, the tribute game organized by Boca Juniors has already generated buzz well beyond Argentina, since the two players have never shared a pitch as teammates despite being era-defining rivals throughout their careers.

Nothing has been confirmed yet regarding the attendance of either Ronaldo or Messi, and it also remains unclear whether the two would line up on the same side or face off as opponents once again if they do take part.

Still, the mere possibility of seeing them share a field together, for the first time as teammates or in any capacity outside their usual rivalry, is an enticing prospect for football fans around the world.

Tevez’s connection with both legends

The connection to both Ronaldo and Messi comes from Tevez‘s own career path. He played alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United, forming a lethal attacking partnership under Sir Alex Ferguson, and later shared the field with Messi for years as a member of the Argentina national team.

Tevez remains close with both players to this day, which means there is a real chance that both superstars could make the trip to Buenos Aires for the occasion, though neither has publicly confirmed his attendance.

The last time Messi and Ronaldo shared a pitch

The two have not faced each other since January 19, 2023, when Ronaldo lined up for a Saudi all-star team against Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain in a star-studded exhibition match in Riyadh, which PSG won 5-4.

Remarkably, the pair have never once played on the same side in a professional or exhibition setting despite crossing paths for nearly two decades. Even a renewed matchup as rivals didn’t materialize this year at the 2026 World Cup, as Ronaldo’s Portugal was kept on the opposite side of the bracket from Messi’s Argentina, which fell to Spain in the final.

The Argentine captain comes into the match in red-hot form, having scored four goals in Miami’s 7-1 rout of Montreal last time out, and there is no indication he will be eased out of the XI despite the ongoing coaching transition.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, with Miami looking to build on its emphatic result over Montreal and Hoyos aiming to hand off a side in good form once Gonzalez is finally cleared to take over.

Meanwhile, Atlanta will try to use Gerardo Martino’s insider knowledge of the Miami roster to slow down a Messi-led attack that has been in devastating form of late.

Inter Miami confirmed lineup

Miami will line up in a 4-3-3. Hoyos will have to make do without Sergio Reguilon, Gonzalo Lujan, Micael, Mateo Silvetti, Santiago Morales and Tadeo Allende, all ruled out through injury, leaving the club with six absences to account for heading into kickoff.

Inter Miami confirmed starting XI: Dayne St. Clair; Ian Fray, Casemiro, Maximiliano Falcon, Fricio Caicedo; Rodrigo De Paul, Yannick Bright, Telasco Segovia; Lionel Messi, German Berterame, Luis Suarez.

Atlanta United confirmed lineup

Atlanta United will set up in a 4-2-3-1 for what marks the official MLS debut of Breel Embolo, who joins the starting lineup for the first time since completing his $18 million move from Stade Rennais, one of the biggest transfers in league history.

Atlanta United confirmed starting XI: Lucas Hoyos; Tomas Jacob, Paulo Diaz, Junior Alonso, Elias Baez; Cooper Sanchez, Will Reilly; Aleksei Miranchuk, Tristan Muyumba, Miguel Almiron; Breel Embolo.

The Argentine forward missed the previous match against Sevilla due to an illness that kept him out of training, and Simeone made clear this week that a full return to the XI so soon would be premature despite the player working his way back into full fitness.

“He’s training very well. Tomorrow he’ll be called up, he’ll be part of the group traveling to play in Bilbao, and we expect the best from him,” Simeone said, confirming Alvarez’s inclusion in the travel squad while stopping short of naming him among the starters.

The comments suggest Atletico‘s staff wants to manage his workload carefully rather than throw him straight back into a demanding away fixture against an Athletic side that has historically been a tough outing at San Mames.

Alvarez’s rocky summer

Alvarez’s situation has been further complicated by a turbulent summer transfer saga. The forward pushed for a move to Barcelona during the window, an operation that ultimately fell through, and he also turned down interest from Arsenal, leaving him to continue under Simeone at Madrid for at least the remainder of the season.

His attempt to leave did not sit well with the club’s fanbase, who made their frustration known during his final home appearances before the window closed. The episode left him at odds with a fanbase that once fully embraced him, adding an extra layer of tension to his path back into the starting lineup.

With the market now closed and his future settled for the time being, Atletico’s coaching staff is focused on gradually restoring Alvarez to full sharpness, hoping his impact off the bench against Athletic can mark the first step toward reclaiming a regular starting role in the weeks ahead.

The trio’s absence adds to an already stretched defensive group, forcing interim head coach Guillermo Hoyos to dig into his squad depth to fill the gaps. Hoyos remains in charge of the team on a provisional basis while incoming coach Cristian “Kily” Gonzalez completes the work-permit process required to officially take over.

Reguilon, signed as a marquee arrival to shore up the left flank, and Lujan, who had recently broken into the starting lineup, both picked up their injuries during Miami’s game against Toronto, while Micael has already been sidelined for a longer stretch.

The timing is far from ideal for Miami, who are chasing points late in the season with the playoff picture still taking shape. Losing three defenders at once strips Hoyos of several established options just as the club looks to close out the year on solid footing, even with Messi still available to lead the attack.

Atlanta United, for their part, arrive at the match looking to make the most of a shorthanded Miami side, with the hosts under pressure to convert this stretch of games into meaningful points before the regular season winds down.

Abadia emerges as an option at left-back

With Reguilon out, Cesar Abadia is being considered as one of the options to fill in at left-back. The 20-year-old is a product of Inter Miami’s own academy, having signed as a Homegrown Player after coming through the club’s youth setup, and made his first-team debut earlier this year during a short-term loan spell from Inter Miami II.

Abadia has made just a handful of senior appearances so far, but his emergence as a fill-in option reflects how thin Miami’s fullback options have become, and a start against Atlanta would mark one of the biggest opportunities of his young career.

Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles guessed correctly and saved Mbappe’s effort in the 90+3rd minute, sealing a 1-0 win built on Troy Parrott’s 81st-minute header, after Real Madrid also had a Carlos Espi equalizer ruled out by VAR in the 87th minute.

It’s the latest in a growing list of missed spot kicks for the Frenchman since joining Real Madrid, following earlier misses against Liverpool and Athletic Club during the 2024-25 season, another against Barcelona in last season’s first Clasico, and one more in a matchday loss to Real Sociedad, though he converted the rebound on that occasion.

The struggles from the spot inevitably invite comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s all-time top scorer and long regarded as one of the most reliable penalty takers in the sport. Across nine seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu, Ronaldo missed 13 penalties, roughly matching Mbappe’s current tally in a fraction of the time and attempts.

The difference lies largely in volume: Ronaldo scored around 79 penalties during his Real Madrid tenure, meaning his misses came against a much larger sample size than Mbappe has faced so far. Mbappe, for his part, has already converted 19 penalties since joining the club in 2024, according to Transfermarkt.

Mbappe joins Ronaldo on unwanted list of penalty misses

Mbappe is now the fifth player in Real Madrid’s history to miss a penalty in the closing minutes of a LaLiga match with the score tied or the team trailing by a single goal, joining Cristiano Ronaldo on a list first compiled by MisterChip on X (formerly Twitter).

The Portuguese forward’s miss came in 2006 against Valencia, when he stepped up late in the match with the score level and failed to convert, a moment that until now stood as the most recent entry on the list before Saturday’s game against Betis. The rest of the group is completed by Alfredo Di Stéfano, who missed twice, along with Paul Breitner and Raul.

“Inter Miami CF announces it has reached an agreement with Cristian Alberto ‘Kily’ Gonzalez to become the new head coach of the First Team. Gonzalez will officially take up his duties once he receives the corresponding work permits,” the club said in an official statement.

Gonzalez inherits a job that has quietly become one of the toughest in MLS to hold onto, regardless of who’s on the roster. Since the franchise’s founding, no coach has managed to stay in charge for 100 official matches.

The Argentine coach could make his debut as soon as Saturday against Atlanta United, taking charge of a team currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, 10 behind leader Nashville SC.

After that match, Miami is scheduled to face Chicago Fire and Nashville before a high-stakes Campeones Cup final against Cruz Azul on September 18. The month will close out with a pair of MLS fixtures, visiting San Diego on September 21 and Columbus Crew on September 28, giving Gonzalez an immediate run of matches to make his mark and attempt to become the first coach since 2020 to break Miami’s coaching curse.

Every Inter Miami head coach and how long they lasted

Inter Miami has now had seven different head coaches since entering MLS in 2020, and not one has reached the 100-match mark. Diego Alonso was the club’s inaugural coach, lasting 24 games, followed by interim Javier Morales with just 7. Phil Neville holds the club record with 90 matches between 2021 and 2023, the closest anyone has come to triple digits.

Since Messi’s arrival, Gerardo “Tata” Martino and Javier Mascherano each coached exactly 67 matches despite delivering the club’s first trophies, while Guillermo Hoyos managed 18 games on an interim basis before making way for Gonzalez.

More than half of those coaches had Messi on their roster during a period of significant growth for the franchise, underscoring just how demanding the job has been regardless of the talent on hand.

While official confirmation is still pending, the plan is for all three friendlies to be played in Argentina during the FIFA window running from September 20 to October 6, giving fans a chance to reconnect with the team after the World Cup final loss to Spain.

The matches are expected to be held in Buenos Aires, likely at El Monumental, along with stops in Rosario and either Cordoba or Santiago del Estero. The AFA is also reportedly hoping to convince Messi to attend at least one of the matches, whether as a player in a farewell game or as a special guest.

Argentina also won’t be able to call on several players and staff members currently serving FIFA suspensions stemming from incidents after the World Cup final against Spain: Leandro Paredes faces the longest ban at 10 matches, followed by Nahuel Molina (7), assistant coach Roberto Ayala (3), and Thiago Almada (1).

While FIFA had approved a request allowing those sanctions to be served in friendlies rather than exclusively in official competitions, that relief comes with a catch — if the matches are played on Argentine soil, FIFA reportedly wouldn’t classify them as Class A friendlies, meaning none of those serving bans would be able to start clearing their suspensions, or even complete them, through these games.

Scaloni’s future remains uncertain

Beyond the matches themselves, the window arrives amid growing uncertainty over Scaloni’s own future. Asked whether the World Cup final carried the feel of a farewell despite his wish to continue, the coach didn’t rule out an exit.

“I have a contract until December and after that I’ll probably step away, contrary to what you’d think. I still have to talk with the president about it. This job is a dream, but it demands a lot of time, there’s a lot to do. We’ll see, I’ll be here until December,” Scaloni said, putting his continuation beyond the end of the year seriously in doubt.

AFA president Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia pushed back on that uncertainty in an interview with TyC Sports, making clear the federation has no interest in looking beyond its current coach. “I don’t have a Plan B. My Plan A, my Plan B and my Plan C is Scaloni,” Tapia said. Whether that support is enough to convince Scaloni to extend his stay should become clear by the end of the year, once his contract officially expires.

Martino, who led Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup and 2024 Supporters’ Shield before stepping away last year, didn’t hold back when discussing the challenge of trying to contain his old captain.

“Really, he’s the one who has the decision, not us — we’re the ones who are going to play against him. It’s always been that way. I don’t know, we just saw it, 39 years old at a World Cup, and everything that happened in a match went through him,” Martino said.

The reference wasn’t lost on anyone following Messi’s summer: at 39, he delivered arguably his best statistical World Cup, scoring eight goals as Argentina reached the final before falling to Spain.

“No team is capable of neutralizing him for 92, 93, 95 minutes of a match. So there’s always a moment where he’s going to be decisive. Sometimes there are many moments in a match, sometimes, like the match against England, it’s just one moment and it’s over, there’s no turning back,” Martino continued.

“And this is the same thing. I told the players: if we control the game for 89 minutes, it’s possible we still lose it,” the Argentine coach added. The comments set the stage for Saturday’s matchup, as Atlanta look to spring an upset against a Miami side currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference.

Martino and Messi’s shared history across three teams

Martino first coached Messi at Barcelona during the 2013-14 season, guiding the club to a 40-11-8 record across 59 matches and lifting the Spanish Super Cup, though Barcelona fell short in both LaLiga and the Copa del Rey that year.

He then took the reins of the Argentina national team in 2014, leading Messi and company to a 19-7-3 record over two years, reaching back-to-back Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016, both of which ended in defeat to Chile.

Their most successful stretch together came at Inter Miami, where Messi’s arrival in 2023 produced an immediate impact under Martino, scoring 11 goals in his first nine matches for the club.

Martino went on to guide Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup and the 2024 Supporters’ Shield before departing the club last year, closing out a partnership with Messi that spanned more than a decade across three different teams.

The 22-year-old, who rose through Inter Miami’s academy to the first team in 2023, saw his playing time shrink dramatically this season, appearing in just 11 of a possible 28 matches with only three starts and no goals or assists to his name.

That marks a steep drop from his earlier seasons in Miami, where he contributed a goal in six appearances during the club’s 2023 Leagues Cup triumph and added a goal and two assists across 28 games during the 2024 Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign.

Ruiz’s momentum was also disrupted by injury, as a hamstring problem kept him out of Inter Miami’s run to the 2025 MLS Cup title, a trophy he watched Lionel Messi and his teammates lift without him. With his opportunities limited again this year, the midfielder ultimately decided a move away from Miami was the best path to reviving his career.

Asked by Bolavip about his goals heading into this new chapter, Ruiz didn’t hold back. “Yeah, I’m looking to come, add my little grain of rice, being able to come and work hard and fight for a position,” he said. “And yeah, I just come with the mentality to win and make it to the playoffs”.

He now joins a young Red Bulls squad currently sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference, hoping regular minutes under Michael Bradley can put his career back on track.

Noah Allen also departs Inter Miami

Ruiz wasn’t the only academy product to leave Inter Miami around the transfer deadline. Defender Noah Allen, the club’s all-time appearance leader with 133 outings across all competitions, was sold to Eastern Conference rival Chicago Fire.

The 22-year-old had been with the organization since 2019, working his way up from the academy to become a fixture in Miami’s backline, and won both the 2023 Leagues Cup and 2024 Supporters’ Shield during his time with the club.

The comments echo the stance he took last season, when he openly campaigned for Ousmane Dembele to win the award after PSG claimed their first-ever Champions League title, and come off the back of the club retaining that trophy this year. “I don’t care who wins the Ballon d’Or. But, in my opinion, it has to be a PSG player,” Luis Enrique said.

He pointed to several players within his squad as deserving candidates, citing their achievements over the past year. “We have players who have won the Champions League. We have Fabian Ruiz, who won the World Cup… Ousmane Dembele, who won the Ballon d’Or last season,” he continued, before adding: “That’s my opinion. But I’m not interested in individual awards, the most important thing is the collective”.

The 2026 Ballon d’Or will be awarded on October 26 at The London Palladium, with this year’s ceremony evaluating performances between July 2025 and July 19, 2026, a window that includes the World Cup final.

Who are the favorites to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or

Unlike previous years, there’s no clear frontrunner, with at least eight players in serious contention: Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Michael Olise, Dembele himself, and Lionel Messi.

Rodri enters as a strong candidate after winning the World Cup with Spain and being named the tournament’s best player, while Kane dominated domestically with Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga and finishing as its top scorer with 36 goals in 31 games, despite falling short in the Champions League and World Cup semifinals.

Messi, meanwhile, also remains in the conversation after a standout World Cup at 39 years old, scoring eight goals in what statistically became his best tournament, and could become the first player to reach nine Ballon d’Or trophies if he wins it again.

The financial oversight issue isn’t new — Al Nassr have spent much of the summer working to secure approval from Saudi authorities just to reinforce the squad.

But Al-Sabaie’s comments suggest the situation carries broader implications than just transfer activity, extending to how the club manages its existing commitments, including Ronaldo’s own contract and equity stake.

Under restrictions imposed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Al Nassr have been barred from registering new signings until they can demonstrate sufficient funds through sponsorships or other revenue streams.

The Saudi Pro League’s Financial Control Committee has already refused to approve contract renewals for 18 youth players, while renewals for first-team figures like Abdulrahman Ghareeb and goalkeeper Raghed Al-Najjar have also reportedly faced delays.

Ronaldo’s ownership stake in the club

Ronaldo’s situation adds another layer to the club’s financial complexity. Beyond his playing contract, which runs through 2027, the Portuguese forward holds an ownership stake of around 15% to 20% in Al Nassr following a deal struck alongside his last contract extension in June 2025.

With the PIF reportedly exploring the sale of a majority stake in the club to new investors as part of the broader restructuring, how that process plays out could shape not just Ronaldo’s future on the pitch, but his role in the club’s ownership structure going forward.

“Congratulations, eh… Excellent s— job,” Neymar wrote sarcastically in an Instagram story aimed at the club’s field caretaker. “Yesterday was the worst pitch Vila has ever had, full of holes because they did the decompaction the day before the match. Unbelievable!” he added.

“Besides playing against our opponent, we also played against the field… and on top of that we have to push harder just to start and stop while running because the ground is uneven, it’s not for nothing that three players felt discomfort in the first half,” he wrote in a follow-up story.

The discomfort came after Neymar received the ball with Agustin Giay closing him down and attempted a shot from outside the box with his left foot. Moments later he began grabbing at his right thigh and signaled to the bench in the 43rd minute.

He finished out the first half before Cuca opted to bring on Rony in his place at the break, as Santos were unable to overturn the 3-0 deficit from the first leg, leaving them eliminated in the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals.

Cuca addresses Neymar’s possible return

Medical tests were conducted Thursday to determine the extent of the injury, though Santos had yet to confirm an official diagnosis. Head coach Cuca acknowledged it’s unlikely Neymar will be available for the club’s next Brasileirao fixture. “It’s not a situation we want, he’s probably out. We’re going to have to manage without him,” the coach said.

Santos will visit Internacional on Sunday, September 6, before returning to continue their Copa Sudamericana campaign against Atletico Mineiro in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday, September 8, with Neymar’s availability for either match still to be determined pending further evaluation.

Days after the market closed, Jose Mourinho was asked about the situation during his press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s clash with Real Betis, and the veteran coach chose to weigh in with his own perspective on how it should play out.

“No one knows him better than Simeone, no one knows the club better than Simeone, and I don’t think I have anything at all to say about this situation,” Mourinho said, deferring to Atletico boss Diego Simeone on how to handle the matter internally.

Rather than commenting on Atletico‘s handling of the saga, he pivoted to a broader principle he says he applies to any player in Alvarez’s position. “What I normally say is that when a player isn’t happy, once September 1st arrives, you have to be satisfied or you don’t play until January 1st,” Mourinho continued.

The Portuguese coach believes Julian Alvarez will remain an important piece for Atletico Madrid, at least until the next transfer window opens in January. “That’s why my sense is that, from yesterday onward, and at least until December 31st, he’ll be an important player for his club,” he concluded.

Alvarez remains at Atletico Madrid after the transfer saga dominated headlines throughout the closing days of the window, with the club now expected to count on him as an attacking option at least through the winter market, when his situation could once again come under scrutiny.

Alvarez wants to be a starter again

Alvarez put in a double training session at Atletico Madrid’s Ciudad Deportiva to work his way back to full physical sharpness after the collapse of his move to Barcelona.

The former Manchester City striker stayed on for extra hours alongside Argentina national teammate Cristian Romero and fellow defender Marc Pubill. Alvarez had been left out of Atletico’s 3-1 win over Sevilla amid the back-and-forth over his exit, but has now shifted his focus back to the season ahead.

Diego Simeone has already confirmed that Alvarez will be included in the squad for Saturday’s match against Athletic Club at San Mames, though he’s expected to feature off the bench as he builds up his fitness. From here, the Argentine will need to win back the trust of Atletico’s fanbase through his performances and effort on the pitch, much as he did when he first arrived at the club.

“Talking about Messi is complicated. There’s not much more to say. And there are no words that can describe his quality as a player. He arrived at this World Cup at 38 or 39 years old and delivered what we all saw. He’s one of those players you’re going to miss,” Mourinho said.

Amid the backdrop of Messi’s retirement from international duty, Mourinho noted that he will now have to watch some of Inter Miami’s MLS games in order to make the most of the Argentine’s remaining years as a professional.

“We’ll have to watch some MLS games, which isn’t something I enjoy much, to make the most of these final years. He’s one of those players who, like I said in a previous press conference, you always miss. And he’s one of the greats of our generation,” he added.

Messi announced his retirement from the Albiceleste on August 31, closing the book on a 21-year international career that included the 2026 World Cup runner-up finish, the 2022 World Cup title, and a string of Copa America triumphs.

With Mourinho now among those admitting he’ll tune into Major League Soccer just to keep watching him, the tribute adds to the wave of recognition Messi has received from rivals and peers across the sport since stepping away from the national team.

How many times Messi and Mourinho faced each other

Beyond Thursday’s comments, Mourinho and Messi built one of the most storied rivalries in modern football from the touchline and the pitch, facing off 25 times across Mourinho’s spells at Real Madrid, Chelsea and Inter Milan. Messi’s teams came out ahead overall, winning 9 of those meetings compared to 7 for Mourinho, with the rest ending level.

The bulk of the rivalry played out during Mourinho’s three years at Real Madrid, where the two met 17 times with Messi present in every single one, with Mourinho winning 5, losing 6 and drawing 6.

Their paths also crossed 4 times while Mourinho managed Inter Milan, and another 4 times during his Chelsea tenure, giving Messi the frequent battles that Mourinho has since credited with pushing him to evolve as a coach.

The idea behind the push is straightforward for those calling for it — leaving the number forever associated with Messi, who wore it for two decades and leaves as the national team’s all-time leading scorer and most-capped player. Doing so would also tie the number permanently to Diego Maradona, the other legendary figure most responsible for turning it into far more than just a shirt number.

Regardless of how much support the idea gathers, it runs into a hard regulatory wall. FIFA rules require official squad lists for tournaments like the World Cup and Copa America to use consecutive numbering from 1 to 26, with a number assigned to every single player named to the roster. That means the No. 10 cannot simply be left unused in official competition, no matter how symbolic the gesture would be.

The rule leaves Argentina with limited options — the number could theoretically go unused in a friendly, but in any official tournament, someone on the 26-man list would have to wear it.

The Maradona precedent

This isn’t the first time this exact request has come up. Argentina previously attempted to retire the No. 10 ahead of the 2002 World Cup as a tribute to Maradona, whose career had already cemented the number’s legendary status in the country. FIFA rejected the request outright, citing the same consecutive-numbering requirement that stands in the way today.

As a result, the number continued to be worn by subsequent generations of Argentine players in the years that followed, eventually passing to Messi himself. With that same regulation still in place, any renewed push to retire the No. 10 in his honor would face the identical outcome once again.

Who could wear the No. 10 next?

Beyond the retirement debate, the more immediate question is who actually inherits the No. 10 shirt when Argentina takes the field again. According to reports, Nico Paz is projected as a candidate, given that the Como playmaker operates in a similar position to Messi and wears the same number in his club. The concern, however, is whether the 22-year-old can handle the weight of that number so early in his international career.

For that reason, some believe it might be better suited to a proven World Cup winner rather than a newcomer, with names like Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez floated as alternatives who already have the pedigree and experience to carry that symbolic responsibility for the Albiceleste going forward.

The shift comes after earlier plans for a proposed friendly against China collapsed. Chinese organizers had reportedly insisted on guarantees regarding Messi’s participation, and once he confirmed his retirement, negotiations between the two parties fell apart entirely.

With the China fixture scrapped, Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario have emerged as the leading candidates to host the two or three friendlies under consideration, with El Monumental and La Bombonera among the primary venues being weighed for the capital, alongside a third match expected in an interior province.

The matches will carry extra significance as the first competitive action for Lionel Scaloni’s side since the squad’s runner-up finish at the 2026 World Cup, and the first without Messi in the squad following his August 31 retirement announcement.

Other possible absences alongside Messi

The window also arrives amid broader uncertainty over the future of several veterans from Argentina‘s golden generation. Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez hinted at a possible exit after the World Cup final, writing on social media that “there’s still a lot to reflect on, and to see how things move forward and whether it’s time to step aside”.

Leandro Paredes similarly left the door open to a departure, saying “it’s going to be difficult to continue,” while Nicolas Tagliafico has already confirmed the World Cup was his final tournament with the national team.

With Messi, Tagliafico and possibly other key figures no longer part of the setup, the upcoming friendlies are shaping up as the clearest signal yet of the transition Scaloni’s squad is entering.

Every fixture will pause at the 10-minute mark of the first half for a full minute of applause, honoring Messi’s more than two-decade career with the Albiceleste. Stadiums equipped with big screens will also play an institutional video chronicling his time with the national team before kickoff.

“It is decreed that in the next matchday of all categories of all men’s and women’s disciplines (11-a-side, Futsal, and Beach Soccer), the match will be stopped at the tenth (10th) minute of the first half and one (1) minute of applause will be given in recognition of Lionel Messi’s career with the Argentina national team,” the official bulletin, published under Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia’s leadership, read.

Messi’s international career spanned 21 years since his 2005 debut, during which he made 207 appearances, scored 125 goals and provided 68 assists for Argentina. Over that span, he lifted the 2022 World Cup, the 2021 and 2024 Copa America titles, the 2022 Finalissima, the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal, and the 2005 U-20 World Cup.

Fans push to retire the No. 10, but face a regulatory hurdle

The wave of tributes also reignited a request that has circulated among Argentina supporters since Messi’s announcement: retiring the No. 10 jersey permanently in his honor, so no player ever wears it for the national team again.

The idea would leave the number forever associated with both Messi and Diego Maradona, the two players most responsible fThe request runs into the same obstacle that blocked it once before.

FIFA regulations require official squad lists for tournaments like the World Cup and Copa America to use consecutive numbering from 1 to 26, with a number assigned to every player on the roster, meaning the No. 10 cannot simply be shelved.or turning it into more than just a shirt number.

Argentina already tried this exact move ahead of the 2002 World Cup to honor Maradona, but FIFA rejected the request on those same regulatory grounds, and the number continued to be worn by subsequent generations of players.

According to Argentine transfer market expert Cesar Luis Merlo, the 22-year-old Allen will leave Inter Miami and join Eastern Conference rival Chicago Fire for a fee of $3 million. The move comes as Chicago bolster their backline ahead of a playoff push, also bringing in Norwegian international Andreas Hanche-Olsen from Mainz 05 in the same window.

Currently third in the Eastern Conference with 37 points, Chicago are on track for a second-straight Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance and are counting on Allen’s championship experience to help them make a deep postseason run.

Ruiz, a Honduran international, is heading to New York Red Bulls on loan for the remainder of the 2026 season with an option to buy. The midfielder skipped training with Inter Miami on Tuesday and traveled to New York to begin working immediately under head coach Michael Bradley.

The departures raise questions about Inter Miami’s depth just as the club manages injury issues and defensive shortcomings elsewhere on the roster. Despite a standout performance from Messi, who scored four goals in a blowout 7-1 win over CF Montreal, the Herons will now have to navigate the remainder of the season without two players who had featured prominently in their squad rotation this year.

Allen and Ruiz’s numbers at Inter Miami

Allen leaves Inter Miami as a product of the club’s own academy, having made his first-team debut in 2022 after coming through the Inter Miami CF II pathway. Across his four seasons with the first team, the defender tallied 133 appearances in all competitions — 98 of them in MLS — contributing 2 goals and 8 assists, while helping the club win the 2023 Leagues Cup and the 2024 Supporters’ Shield.

Allen also holds the distinction of being Inter Miami’s all-time appearance leader, having surpassed goalkeeper Drake Callender’s previous record of 118 games earlier this year.

Ruiz, who also progressed through Inter Miami’s system before making his senior debut in 2022, made 82 appearances for the first team across all competitions, 61 of them in MLS, scoring 4 goals and adding 3 assists. The Honduran midfielder was also part of the squad that won two titles before his loan move to the Red Bulls.

“No, I don’t understand it. In the end, we all have our dreams. I think Julian was also clear about that. He fought for his dreams, but in the end there were also other external situations you can’t control,” Olmo said, adding that the club has already moved past the matter. “As I said before, life goes on. This doesn’t stop anything. We personally have a great year ahead of us, for sure”.

Alvarez‘s proposed move to Barcelona collapsed after Atletico refused to sanction a sale, prompting the Catalan club to pivot late in the window and sign Gabriel Jesus instead.

Despite months of speculation surrounding his future, the Argentine forward remains an Atletico player and is set to continue at the club at least through the January transfer window.

The saga sparked visible tension among sections of Atletico’s fanbase, with supporters publicly airing their frustration over the club’s handling of the situation. Still, Olmo’s comments suggest the episode hasn’t disrupted the mood inside Barcelona‘s dressing room as the squad turns its attention to the new season.

Olmo praises Alvarez despite failed move

Olmo also praised the Argentine forward directly, calling him one of the best in his position in the world despite the transfer falling through. “Julian is a great player, a great No. 9, without a doubt one of the best in the world. That’s football — some things happen, and others don’t. Life continues,” he said.

The midfielder also pointed to Barcelona’s business elsewhere this summer as reason for optimism regardless of the missed opportunity. “The club has done a magnificent job and has reinforced the squad in spectacular fashion,” he added.

Barcelona set their sights on the Champions League

Olmo’s comments echoed those made a day earlier by teammate Lamine Yamal, who had already set the tone for Barcelona’s ambitions this season by pointing to the UEFA Champions League as a priority target.

He backed that stance, highlighting the club’s recent domestic dominance and desire to translate that success onto the European stage. “Our goal is to win everything, like we always have. We’ve had two years of a lot of success domestically, and now we also want it at the European level,” he said, acknowledging that rivals have also strengthened significantly but insisting Barcelona’s squad has enough depth to compete at full throttle.

“I always dreamed to be in a club as big as Manchester City,” Fernandez said, via Fabrizio Romano. “This is a dream move for me. I’m really happy“. The comments were widely read as a subtle dig at his former club Chelsea, given the implication that City carries a stature Chelsea does not.

The transfer, worth a Premier League record-equalling £125 million (€140m), ends months of speculation over Fernandez’s future and closes the book on his three-and-a-half-year spell at Chelsea.

The move also cements Fernandez’s place among the sport’s biggest earners in transfer volume. Having generated €310.25 million across his three paid transfers — from River Plate to Benfica for €44.25 million, then to Chelsea for €121 million, and now to City for €145 million — the midfielder has passed Cristiano Ronaldo’s €247 million career total to sit third on the all-time list, trailing only Romelu Lukaku (€375.9 million) and record-holder Neymar, whose €400 million tally remains well out of reach.

Fernandez opens up on an emotional decision

Fernandez went further in his first interview with the club, opening up about what the move means to him beyond football. Speaking just hours after putting pen to paper, the 25-year-old reflected on the weight of the transfer for himself and those closest to him.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s a very emotional moment for me and my family, to take this step at 25 years old, in a football career that I always dreamed of,” he said.

The midfielder also revealed how quickly he made up his mind once City’s interest became concrete, despite the magnitude of leaving a club he’d called home for three and a half years.

According to Fernandez, there was no hesitation once the approach came in. “From the first day they believed in me and called me to say they wanted me to join the club, I didn’t hesitate for a second,” he said.

He rounded out his comments by pointing to City’s recent dominance under Pep Guardiola as a driving factor behind the move, framing the challenge as a natural next step in his career. “It’s a club that has won a lot in recent years. It’s a club that is making history in football and, for me, it’s a huge challenge,” Fernandez added.

The stat resurfaced this week as clubs and fans across Argentine football paid tribute to Messi following his retirement announcement from the national team, with River among those honoring his legacy.

Across 28 appearances at the Monumental, spanning two decades of World Cup qualifiers and friendlies, Messi finished with 22 wins and six draws, never once suffering a defeat on that ground. He also found the net 19 times in that stretch, further cementing the Monumental as one of the most fruitful stages of his international career.

The gesture reflected the broader wave of tributes that followed Messi’s retirement letter, in which he described the decision as one that “hurt and still hurts the soul,” while thanking teammates, coaches and fans for two decades of shared history with the Albiceleste.

Every Messi match with Argentina at the Monumental

Messi’s trophy haul with Argentina

Messi’s international career with Argentina was defined not just by numbers, but by six major titles across youth and senior level. He won the U-20 World Cup in 2005 and Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games with Argentina’s youth sides, laying the foundation for what was to come with the senior national team.

As an adult, he added four more to that tally: the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 Finalissima, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the 2024 Copa America. Those six trophies, combined with his unbeaten record at the Monumental, round out a legacy that stands as the most decorated in Argentine football history.

Unlike the captaincy, which typically falls to the most senior or respected figure in the dressing room and now looks set to go to Cristian Romero, the No. 10 carries a different kind of weight in Argentine football, tied directly to the legacies of Diego Maradona and now Messi himself. Whoever wears it next won’t just be filling a number on the roster, they’ll be stepping into a symbol that carries decades of history and expectation.

Several established figures within the current squad could realistically be handed the shirt. Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister both carry significant weight in the dressing room and have been core pieces of this Argentina cycle, while Thiago Almada has continued to develop into an increasingly important creative option for Scaloni.

Nico Paz, still just breaking into the senior squad, rounds out the list as a longer-term bet given his familiarity with the number at club level with Como. There’s also the possibility that Scaloni opts to hold off entirely, letting the number sit without a clear owner for a stretch while the new-look Argentina finds its footing in the post-Messi era.

Who wore the 10 when Messi wasn’t there

The most direct precedent dates back to September 2025, when Franco Mastantuono wore the No. 10 shirt in Argentina’s World Cup qualifier defeat to Ecuador, with Messi left out of that squad entirely.

Going back more than a decade, several others have worn the No. 10 for Argentina whenever Messi wasn’t available:

“Everton medical staff believe he’s not 100% fit,” Romano reported, citing information from journalist Fabrice Hawkins. The concerns raised by Everton’s medical team threaten to derail a deal that had appeared close to being finalized just days before the transfer window’s closure.

Monaco and Balogun’s camp, however, have pushed back against Everton‘s assessment, insisting the striker is fully fit and ready to play, with no issues on their end. The disagreement leaves the transfer in a state of uncertainty as both sides try to reach a resolution before time runs out.

The deal, believed to be worth around €45 million in a fixed fee with a further €5 million in potential add-ons, would have reunited Balogun with the Premier League after his spell at Monaco, where he arrived following his departure from Arsenal.

With the transfer deadline fast approaching, Everton and Monaco now face a race against the clock to either resolve the medical dispute or see the move collapse entirely.

Everton need a center-forward as soon as possible

Everton’s situation up front only raises the stakes on resolving the medical dispute quickly. The club sold Beto to Fiorentina in a permanent deal worth around £17 million as the transfer window winds down, leaving Thierno Barry as their only center-forward.

With that in mind, Everton have already reached out to Manchester United to inquire about Joshua Zirkzee as a contingency plan should the Balogun deal ultimately fall through, according to Romano.

The decision on any potential move rests with United, who have already turned down approaches from Italian clubs over the past 48 hours. Everton are also said to be in direct contact with Zirkzee’s camp, per journalist Alan Myers, as they explore every available option before the transfer window closes.

The resolution comes after Atletico dug in and refused to negotiate with Barcelona, while Alvarez himself also rejected the idea of a return to the Premier League with Arsenal wanting the striker.

As a result, Diego Simeone will continue to count on the Argentine for the first half of the season, with Alvarez already back training alongside his teammates as he looks to reclaim his spot in the starting lineup, after a limited start to the campaign that included just a handful of minutes in the draw with Villarreal.

Beyond fighting for his place on the pitch, Alvarez will also need to navigate a strained relationship with a section of the fanbase, who booed him during his last appearance and unveiled banners at the Metropolitano calling for his exit.

Looking ahead to the next transfer window, Atletico have set their asking price for the forward at €150 million, with the added condition that they won’t sell him to a direct rival like Barcelona.

Barcelona’s move for Gabriel Jesus

With Alvarez off the table, Barcelona moved quickly elsewhere, agreeing a deal with Arsenal for Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Catalan club will pay around €10 million to sign the former Manchester City striker, who is expected to travel to Spain in the coming hours to undergo a medical and finalize his contract.

For Arsenal, the pursuit of Alvarez ultimately came up empty, leaving Mikel Arteta’s side to look elsewhere for attacking reinforcements before the transfer window closes. Barcelona, meanwhile, wasted no time pivoting to Gabriel Jesus once it became clear Alvarez wasn’t walking through the door, wrapping up their own search for a new No. 9 just as their rivals for his signature moved on.

The Boca Juniors captain was asked directly about his own future with the Albiceleste in the wake of Messi‘s retirement announcement, and he stopped short of confirming he would continue.

“It’s going to be difficult to continue, for everything I said back then, for the suspension too, for Leo’s decision. I think that with him no longer there, it’s going to be difficult for everything to keep working the same way. So it will probably be a very difficult decision,” Paredes said. The midfielder is also currently serving part of a 10-match FIFA suspension stemming from the incidents in the World Cup final against Spain.

Paredes also opened up on how the team first learned of Messi’s decision, revealing the captain had discussed the possibility privately during the final days of the World Cup.

“He had been honest with us there, when we were in the final days of the World Cup, that the final was probably going to be his last match. We obviously knew, but we weren’t prepared for that,” Paredes continued, adding that Messi’s legacy would endure regardless of what comes next for the rest of the squad.

Paredes on the standard Messi’s generation leaves behind

Paredes further explained that the bar set by this generation of players makes it hard to imagine matching those same standards going forward, especially without Messi in the squad.

“The bar is very high. We left the bar very high, and continuing to compete that way, continuing to achieve important things, is going to be difficult,” Paredes explained. “In this process, we managed to form an incredible group of players and people, and in that group we had our leader, who was Leo. He’s not there anymore, so it’s going to be very difficult. I’ll talk with the coach, we’ll see what decision to make, but it’s going to be difficult“.

Whether Paredes ultimately decides to stay or step away, his comments reflect the broader uncertainty now surrounding Argentina’s squad as it heads into a new cycle without Messi.

With Scaloni still weighing his own future and several veterans reportedly reconsidering their international careers, the Albiceleste’s next chapter looks set to bring plenty of change in the months ahead.

The idea centers on the September 21-October 6 FIFA window, during which Argentina is expected to schedule as many as three or four friendlies. Reports have floated El Monumental as a candidate venue for what would be Messi’s true farewell appearance on home soil, following his emotional letter announcing the decision.

Antico was careful to frame the plan as still just an idea at this stage, stressing that the Argentine Football Association would first need to confirm whether Messi himself is even open to the concept before any organization could begin.

Nothing has been finalized regarding a rival, date, or venue, and the tribute match remains contingent on discussions between the federation and Messi that have yet to take place.

If the plan does come together, it would give Argentine fans the chance to say a formal goodbye to their captain in a way the World Cup final defeat to Spain did not allow. For now, though, the farewell match remains speculative, with the AFA expected to provide more clarity as the September FIFA window approaches.

Who takes over the captaincy?

With Messi’s international career over, the next question becomes who inherits the armband. Cristian Romero looks like the leading candidate, having already worn the captain’s band on a handful of occasions when Messi wasn’t available, and he’s regarded as a natural leader in the dressing room alongside his role at Atletico Madrid.

Still, he’s not the only name in the conversation, with Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez and Enzo Fernandez also mentioned as possible successors given their standing and experience within the squad.

Complicating the picture further, Nicolas Otamendi, who typically wore the armband whenever Messi wasn’t in the starting lineup, had already announced his own retirement from the national team right after the World Cup, leaving Argentina without its usual next-in-line option as it enters a new era.

“There is an expectation that Enzo Fernandez does not play this Sunday again for Chelsea,” Romano reported. “Enzo is really affected by the transfer story with City“. The report adds that Fernandez has given his green light to the move and would like to leave, further complicating his standing within Xabi Alonso’s squad just days after being held out of the Carabao Cup win over Luton Town.

Fernandez reportedly has a verbal agreement with Manchester City on personal terms, though the deal ultimately hinges on the two clubs reaching an agreement, with no club-to-club talks confirmed as of yet.

Chelsea had previously set a £120 million asking price for the midfielder, a figure that may have climbed further given the limited time left before the transfer window shuts.

With the deadline now just days away on Tuesday, September 2, pressure is mounting on both clubs to resolve the situation one way or another. Whether Fernandez’s absence from Sunday’s squad is tied to a looming move or simply a continuation of Alonso’s rotation policy remains to be seen, but the growing noise around his future suggests his time at Chelsea could be nearing its end.

Contacts continue with Enzo Fernandez’s camp

Contacts have reportedly resumed between Manchester City and Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, according to Romano, with the two sides awaiting a “famous bid” as the saga enters what he described as its crucial stages.

“I still don’t expect him to play tomorrow. I expect direct contacts to happen,” Romano added, while noting that Chelsea ultimately have the final say on any move before the deadline arrives.

The Boca Juniors midfielder didn’t shy away from comparing his punishment to that of Gavi, who was involved in the same clash but received just a single-match suspension and a $30,000 fine from FIFA.

Speaking to reporters at La Bombonera following Boca’s 1-0 win over Lanús, Paredes addressed the topic directly. “It seems exaggerated,” Paredes said of his own sanction, adding: “The strange thing is that Gavi got one match, and he’s the one who hit me in the chest”.

Paredes stopped short of elaborating further on the incident itself, instead pointing to the ongoing appeals process as his best hope for relief. “There’s still the appeal, and we’ll see if the sanction can be reduced,” he said, expressing confidence that a resolution could still come his way.

Argentina could use next friendlies to serve suspensions

The comments come after FIFA confirmed that Paredes, along with teammates Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada, would be permitted to serve their World Cup-related suspensions during international friendlies rather than competitive fixtures, easing the impact on Argentina’s schedule.

Argentina can schedule up to four friendlies during the extended September-October window, plus two more in November, giving Almada and Molina more than enough matches to clear their suspensions in the short term.

Paredes, given his longer 10-match ban, is the one most likely to still be serving time once competitive qualifiers roll around, though the exact timeline depends on how many friendlies the AFA lines up in the coming international windows.

The federation has said it will continue pushing to reduce the bans on appeal once FIFA releases the full grounds for its rulings, with the case ultimately eligible to reach the Court of Arbitration for Sport if needed.

Inter Miami have not made a formal announcement regarding the update, leaving Allende’s timeline shrouded in uncertainty even as the club’s own roster page points to a longer absence than previously indicated.

The Argentine has been sidelined since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in Barcelona, addressing a structural issue that Inter Miami had been cautious about disclosing in detail.

Before going under the knife, Allende had made just 11 appearances for Miami this season, reaching the 90-minute mark only four times and failing to register a single goal or assist.

The update adds to an already thin attacking group for Miami, who continue leaning on Messi, Luis Suarez, German Berterame and Daniel Pinter up front as they push for a strong finish to the regular season.

Inter Miami could reportedly bring in a replacement

According to Jose Armando of Deportes Total USA, if Inter Miami placed Allende on the Season-Ending Injury List before July 13, the club would be eligible to sign a replacement under the same roster category and salary as Allende, including the international slot he occupies. That replacement option can only be used once per season, and the club reportedly has until October 9 to finalize a potential addition.

Whether the club moves to bring in a replacement before the October deadline remains to be seen, but Allende’s absence looks set to extend well beyond what was originally expected.

Inter Miami’s growing injury list

Allende’s setback adds to an increasingly crowded infirmary for Inter Miami. Sergio Reguilon and Gonzalo Lujan were ruled out of the club’s match against Toronto FC with muscle injuries, while Mateo Silvetti continues to manage a dislocated shoulder, though he’s expected to return soon.

Santi Morales and Micael, meanwhile, remain longer-term absences. With so many first-team options unavailable, Inter Miami’s depth is being tested at a critical point in the season.