10:44 AM ET The problem with analyzing the future of Lionel Messi is that, after 20 years, his relationship with Barcelona lies somewhere between the professional and the romantic. You can use reason and logic on the first part to come up with plausible scenarios. You can’t account for the second, partly because it’s intensely

6:37 PM ET Danny Lewis TOP STORY: Messi strikes €700m deal with City Football Group Lionel Messi is desperate to leave Barcelona and The Daily Record is reporting that the wantaway Barcelona talisman has reached a deal with City Football Group to make that happen. 2 Related Their report suggests that CFG have offered the

11:12 AM ET Tor-Kristian Karlsen Editor’s note: Tor-Kristian Karlsen is a Norwegian football scout and executive and is the former chief executive and sporting director at AS Monaco. He will write regularly for ESPN on the business of soccer and the process of scouting. In his latest column, he looks at Gabriel, the Lille defender

8:30 AM ET It is the transfer story that won’t go away, but of all the summer sagas, Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich to Liverpool is the one that is least likely to happen… for now. Within that league table of “will they / will won’t they?” deals you can include Lionel Messi from Barcelona

9:05 AM ET For all the things that have changed, the more things stayed the same. For at the conclusion of the 2019-20 A-League season, with the smoke of yet another chaotic year clearing, it once again is Sydney FC standing atop the heap, this time having secured themselves as the greatest dynasty. – Victoria

5:30 AM ET Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is targeting RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano to bolster his defensive options at Manchester United, sources have told ESPN, after sealing a deal to make Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek his first major signing this summer. Netherlands international Van de Beek is expected to complete a £40 million

10:39 PM ET When James Rodriguez played such sparkling football and steered Colombia to their first World Cup quarterfinal he was just 22. He is now 29 and, rather than delivering on that promise on display in Brazil, he has accumulated years of frustration at Real Madrid. The breakout star of 2014 has been bogged

6:22 PM ET Nick JuddTransfer writer The coronavirus pandemic has made the transfer market uncertain — and you can find out when the windows open and close here — but here are the rumours floating around Europe’s big leagues and beyond. Chelsea close in on Havertz Bild are reporting that Chelsea are close to announcing

2:54 PM ET LONDON — Mikel Arteta has already acquired a taste for winning at Wembley as Arsenal manager, and Liverpool became the Spaniard’s latest victims in the Community Shield on Saturday. Less than a year into the job at the Emirates, the former Gunners midfielder has delivered silverware in the FA Cup and Community

12:17 PM ET Arsenal‘s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dedicated his goal against Liverpool in the Community Shield to the actor Chadwick Boseman with his iconic Black Panther celebration (stream LIVE on ESPN+ in the U.S.). Boseman, 43, starred as Black icon Jackie Robinson in “42” before rising to fame as the regal Black Panther in the Marvel