2 h. ago Can Lionel Messi and Inter Miami really spring a surprise at the Club World Cup?

The Club World Cup will take Inter Miami from start-up to the global stage

Politics

7 h. ago Borrowed culture and a plasticine burger – welcome to the Club World Cup and almost

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami play in Saturday’s opener but people still look blank when asked about Fifa’s $1bn eventFire up the marching band. Rouse the majorettes from their state of indifference. Put out more flags. Put out some flags. Put out a flag. Er is anyone actually there? IShowSpeed? Can you hear me Pitbull? Welcome to the almost-World Cup, an almost-real almost-event that will perhaps, with a favourable wind, now begin to feel like almost-football.­This week Gianni Infantino described Fifa’s regeared tournament as football’s Big Bang, referencing the moment of ignition from which all the matter in the universe was dispersed out of a previously cold and indifferent void. And to be fair, Infantino was half-right. So far we have the void. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Football Daily | ‘Suited and booted’? Club World Cup lands in a furnace of political tension

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!After years of existing only as a fever dream inside the shiny, spacious cranium of Fifa’s greatest showman, Gianni Infantino, the first edition of an expanded, summertime Club World Cup that nobody asked for is finally here. Infantino’s most ambitious vanity project to date is about to collide with reality, and as students of the Swiss school of football farce, we’re excited. It’s not so much a question of what will go wrong over the next 30 sun-baked days in an increasingly dystopian USA USA USA, but what might actually go right. Saturday’s opener pitches Egyptian giants Al-Ahly (who qualified by winning the 2021 African Big Cup) against MLS middleweights Inter Miami (who qualified by having Lionel Messi in their team) at the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium. Fifa has denied reports that fewer than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the game in Miami, but the tournament’s dynamic pricing model is trending in one direction: from $3...

Politics

14 h. ago Gianni Infantino arrives at his moment but football’s response is coming

As the ‘King of Soccer’ launches his Club World Cup alongside Donald Trump, opponents to the Fifa president are wondering whether he has pushed his power too far, writes Miguel Delaney

Sport

3 d. ago Why Cristiano Ronaldo's Club World Cup refusal is still a victory for Gianni Infantino

FIFA's president says the Club World Cup is the pinnacle of the game but absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the two defining players of the past 25 years, is now being framed as a major blow

Politics

3 d. ago Football transfer rumours: Gittens to Chelsea before first deadline closes?

This stuff is just looking for somethingThe summer’s first transfer window will close on Tuesday night at 7pm UK time ahead of the Fifa Club World Cup so watch out for some last-minute jobs to fill up squads for Gianni Infantino’s folly. Will Manchester City get Rayan Cherki signed in time? Chelsea are after a keeper in Milan’s Mike Maignan and want to add Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund to their winger collection. Both deals may go to the wire.When Bournemouth were flying high in mid-winter there was a fun game to play. Less fun if you were a Cherries fan, of course, but the game was to fit their unearthed gems with the clubs they would end up at. Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid was unexpected but then again Illia Zabarnyi to PSG, actual European champions, may well trump that. The club are prepared to sell, at the right price, but have demanded a £59m fee for the Ukrainian. Continue reading...

Sport

4 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo drops hint over future after Club World Cup transfer speculation

Ronaldo has suggested that he is not leaving Al-Nassr despite speculation over his future

Politics

4 d. ago Nothing will change – Cristiano Ronaldo intends to remain at Al Nassr

There had been speculation the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could join a club competing in this summer’s Club World Cup on a short-term deal.

Politics

4 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo confirms decision on club future after epic Nations League triumph

Portuguese superstar had been linked with Al-Nassr exit ahead of Club World Cup

Politics

4 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo finally confirms where he'll play next season after Club World Cup offer

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the subject of transfer speculation this summer as his Al Nassr contract expires in June, but he spoke out about his next move after winning the Nations League

Politics

6 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo delivers update on football career as Saudi contract nears end

The 40-year-old said a decision on his future is ‘almost final’

Transport

6 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo REJECTS transfer offers as rivals fail with Club World Cup plan

Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that he will not be at the Club World Cup, despite comments from FIFA president Gianni Infantino last month suggesting he would be

Events

6 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo ‘will not be at the Club World Cup’ with future still unclear

The 40-year-old said a decision on his future is “almost final”.

Politics

6 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo confirms 'many proposals' for Club World Cup participation after teasing shock transfer

Former Man Utd forward has been offered the chance to play in inaugural tournament

Events

7 d. ago Football Daily | Spain, France and the unexplainable magic of the Nations League

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!In common with the fiendishly complicated lunchtime TV quiz show Turnabout that was broadcast on the BBC during the 1990s, it is possible to watch and thoroughly enjoy the Nations League without having the foggiest idea what on earth is going on. Dreamed up by Uefa several years ago to eliminate the need for the kind of pointless international friendlies that – [Football Daily checks fixture list] – are taking place across Europe this weekend, the Nations League has managed to inveigle its way into the subconscious of most football fans to the extent that they know it is A Thing, even if the vast majority of them remain completely baffled by its format and are at a loss to explain why it exists.I can’t be doing with the Club World Cup, and I’ve never had much time for narcissism’s favourite goalhanger Cristiano Ronaldo (yesterday’s Football Daily). But I would love it, absolutely love it, if Gianni Infantino had no option but force ...

Sport

8 d. ago FIFA signs another Saudi deal with sovereign wealth fund PIF backing Club World Cup

FIFA has taken another Saudi Arabian investment for the U.S.-hosted Club World Cup

Economics

9 d. ago Cristiano Ronaldo responds to Club World Cup transfer offer as agent holds talks

Cristiano Ronaldo's contract with Al-Nassr will expire this month and the Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus legend could sign for a team competing at the Club World Cup

Politics

1 week ago Cristiano Ronaldo warned to stay away from 'insane' Club World Cup Man Utd legend 'hates'

FIFA's revamped Club World Cup takes place in the United States this month but the change in format has become a concern for one of Cristiano Ronaldo's former team-mates

Events

2 w. ago Champions League final the calm before storm as Uefa and Fifa battle rolls on | Nick Ames

Club World Cup looms after powerbrokers from both governing bodies mingle in Munich for Europe’s biggest club gameIn regal Odeonsplatz, the finishing touches are being applied to a fan zone that will accommodate Inter’s travelling fans under an azure sky. It will surely be full to capacity given about 40,000 Nerazzurri are expected to arrive in time for Saturday’s Champions League final, even if under half that number will officially make it into Allianz Arena for the match itself. This is not only an appointment with history for their opponents, Paris Saint-Germain; Inter have blended silk with street-fighting qualities to stand on the verge of their first European title since 2010.Gianni Infantino is unlikely to be among the melee but the Fifa president’s sympathies are well documented. He will be quietly rooting for Inter from the VIP seats and perhaps it will be an opportune moment for some bridge building. There is a constituency of Inter fans in Uefa’s higher echelons, after a...

Sport

2 w. ago The goals kept coming but no title – so what now for Cristiano Ronaldo?

The Portuguese’s Al-Nassr chapter could end without silverware but whispers of a Club World Cup cameo means his Saudi Pro League story is far from overFor a social media post described around the world as “cryptic”, it doesn’t seem all that hard to decipher. Minutes after Al-Nassr’s last game of a disappointing season ended in defeat on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo – who had previously said that he was happy to finish his career in Saudi Arabia – posted on social media. “This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.”The biggest star in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) looks to be on his way out of Riyadh after two and a half years of personal milestones but no major trophy with Al-Nassr. With the Yellows no closer to a first title since 2019 than when he joined in December 2022 and no place in Asia’s Champions League next season, the 40-year-old may not, as the club had long expected, extend his contract – which ends on 30 June – for another year. Continue reading...

Politics