MESSI IS COMING TO MLS 🇦🇷🏝🇺🇸

I type with fingers still quivering with joy and shock at the end of an incredible week for all who love football and the growth of the game in the United States of America. If you have not yet heard: Lionel Messi is coming to MLS. Yes, Inter Miami have made the boldest of swings at catching up with Wrexham. An immense moment for David Beckham, Don Garber and MLS. The league cried out for an identity and they went out and snared the greatest face the modern game has, via an incredibly creative deal, involving the immense muscle of Apple and Adidas to boot. No word yet if the deal includes a clause which compels Lionel to play whilst wearing an Apple Vision Pro. Fear not. He will still destroy all-comers with his destructive yet joy-soaked transcendent skills irrespective.

Messi may be 35, but he arrives on these shores fresh off earning a record-breaking seventh Ballon D'or, having delivered Argentina that national-bender-catalyzing World Cup triumph. Yet, he is more than a footballer. He is really the planet's most visible and beloved one-man human billboard, and in moving to Miami, will be the best thing that has happened to that city since Don Johnson was first introduced to teal. What a white hot spotlight he will throw on the sport in our nation. We are already seeing his impact in the 10x ticket prices for the circus-like games he will play, the fact that Inter Miami now have the most Instagram followers of any team in any sport in the United States, and the instant drought in backstock for Inter Miami jerseys. (How many years before Inter Miami sue Inter Milan for trademark infringement?) Miami will feel like Art Basel every single game day. Lionel Messi is about to redefine what it means to be Florida Man, and kids across the nation will be able to pay witness to his majesty with their own eyes.

Questions abound. When will Messi play his first game, in a way that makes him look good, and sets him up for success, as opposed to being quickly bounced out of the Leagues Cup with a still deeply mediocre Miami squad? In that regard, who will join Messi? With MLS’s strict maze of “GAM-TAM thank you, man” financial rules, it is not so easy. But Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Angel Di Maria are all rumored. Further proof that Messi is a one man bulwark to Saudi Arabia vacuuming up this strain of big name, big money, aging bones player.

Huge love to David Beckham. His impact on the game in this nation continues to resound in an almost biblical lineage of ways. David Beckham the pop-culture-resounding superstar who arrived on these shores to save the league as a player in 2007 has begat David Beckham the team-owner and sports executive who built a club around the idea Messi would one day follow in his footsteps. Yes, Inter Miami are currently not very good at all — 15th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. And yes, MLS is different gravy to the other leagues Messi will have experienced, where he always played on the most dominant team. Yet, I believe the actual on-field action is besides the point. This is a thunderous optics play. There will be an enormous marketing machine behind Messi. Every move, every restaurant he eats at, every time Jimmy Butler joins him to walk his dog, Senor Hulk, will become iconic. (Listen to Jimmy Buckets on Messi here)

We covered the Messi story from a variety of angles, including THIS INSTANT REACTION POD, taped right as the news was breaking. THIS genuinely lovely YOUTUBE EXCLUSIVE WITH RAY HUDSON to capture his reaction as the official MC of all Lionel Messi goals. And a DO IT LIVE!, Presented by Paramount+ in which we took your questions about that diminutive deity’s sojourn to the USA.

b.🍻 Inside MiB Network this week: We have been blocking out our Women’s World Cup plans which include the most comprehensive slate of talents we have ever been able to assemble. Watch out San Jose. It looks like we could be coming to you… We have also been debriefing on our Vermont Visit, and working out how we can build on this strategy to spotlight football’s dizzying hyper-local growth across this nation. More to come. Also working on adding YouTube Originals for the season ahead.🍻

One new launch this week in the Women’s Football space: 🗣️🗣️🗣️ THIS WEEK IN NWSL a weekly recap of all you need to know to revel in the dizzying rise of NWSL on the regs. Please spread it far and wide. 🗣️🗣️🗣️

2. Champions League Final, (Saturday, 3 PM ET, CBS and Paramount+) Manchester City vs. Inter Milan, Big Game Preview Presented by Bud Light 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇹🏆🏆🏆

It has come to this. Only surprise-package Inter Milan stand between Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and a Champions League victory* which could see them become first English team to win the Treble* since Manchester United in 1999. Since he arrived at City, we have described the jug-eared trophy as Pep’s white whale that he has ached to capture like Captain Ahab once stalked Moby Dick. “All my means are sane, my motive and my object mad.” Ilkay Gündogan admitted this week that after winning five of the last six Premier League titles, “the Champions League is the trophy Manchester City crave most.”

Was it only last January, City were drawing with Tottenham and Pep was bemoaning his squad was a “happy flowers team?” I miss those days. Since then, and the 115 Premier League charges, which stung Guardiola into Liam Neeson-vengeance mode, City have remade themselves into an Obliterating Angel of Death poised to turn Inter inside-out as if they were some Italian Jay Monahan.  

Make no mistake: Inter are canny, experienced and professional. They will not be overawed, but just look at the bench options available to Pep. The tactical combinations and ideas he can unleash are at levels known only to the God-King Xerxes in 300. If City do falter, Guardiola can just unleash a Mahrez, Foden, or a Bernardo Silva. Failing that, he can send on his Elite Guard, Immortals, or War Elephants.

One fascinating moment midweek, Pep was asked by a British journalist if he believed the rest of England would be pulling for City as has customarily been the case. Credit Pep for his honesty as he admitted ruefully “I do not know.” With the Premier League’s charges hanging over Manchester City, all of this has to be watched through the double-lens of football and geopolitics. Probably triple-thinking to be honest as we think about all the Manchester City fans who have already tattooed the Treble Trophies on their person. What could possibly go wrong now?

More: Jonathan Wilson breaks down the tactical areas where Inter Milan could hope to shock the world and eke out victory.

And: The secrets behind Erling Haaland’s explosive acts of casual destruction.

Champions League on MIB: We previewed this seismic clash on this week’s European Night, Presented by Paramount+. Rog and The New York Times Chief Soccer Correspondent Rory Smith explore where Manchester City fall within the pantheon of truly great football teams, while also delving into the 115 Financial Fair Play charges against them. And the Romelu Lukaku redemption story at Inter Milan. LISTEN HERE.

And a reminder, as if you needed one, that it all goes down Saturday on Paramount+. Catch the best analysis of the UEFA Champions League with Kate Abdo, Theirry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards on UCL Today! Coverage begins tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. ET. New subscribers can get a seven-day free trial now by GOING HERE. Make sure to use the promo code M - I - B to get a free 7-day trial now.

3. What a Week in Football

i. West Ham are European (Conference League) Champions! ⚒️🏆

I love the Conference League precisely because of the unexpected joy it can give to fans of teams who crave and deserve it. Roma last year. West Ham this. Jarrod Bowen’s 90th minute winner will be the stuff of legends for Irons fans for generations. I am so happy for David Moyes. Twenty-five years and over a 1000 games into a grinding, turbulent managerial career, to lift silverware for a first time, must have felt humanly magnificent. Watching him charge down the sideline after the winning goal, give his medal to his 87-year-old Father, then dance in the locker room post game, was humanly magnificent. Proof that hard work will find its reward if you don’t stop.

ii. Tottenham. Manager-less No More

Tottenham have confirmed the appointment of Ange Postecoglou on a four-year contract. The 57-year-old arrives from Celtic and becomes the first Australian to manage in the Premier League. He officially starts on July 1 and must immediately resolve Harry Kane’s future as issue No. 1. Tottenham fans are currently agonizing over whether Kane’s agreement to pose in the club’s new kit launch means, “He’s Staying.”

Ange has an enormous task of cultural rebuilding ahead of him. He was obviously not Spurs first choice, but that does not mean he is not the right gent for this job. He is deeply emotionally intelligent, and has been doubted at every step of his unusual managerial journey. Listen to this speech and learn why his players adore him.

More: The Greek kid who is Tottenham’s next man.

And: Rog’s Video on what type of coach (and more importantly, person) Postecoglou is and what they can expect. WATCH HERE.

iii. Liverpool have quietly made the second biggest news in Argentinian No. 10s this week. The Argentinian who looks like a scouser. I think this is a magnificent pick-up.

iv. I had a lovely tweet this week from GFOP @1BenjaminLandry who wrote: “@rogbennett, surely at some point anxiety about coming in 17th again turns into swagger about being ‘unrelegatable.’” Maybe Everton is the witch that cannot be drowned. I love that notion.

I also have been remiss in not noting Yerry Mina’s farewell from Goodison Park. You all know there is a player on every team who both underwhelms over the full span of their stay, but who, in massive moments, delivers epic performances that elevate them to the level of true cult hero. Yerry Mina is one of those. The pride of Guachené, Colombia. A gent who, let's be honest, missed so many games in the five years he was at Goodison. Indeed, he seemed to spend much of his Everton career fighting back from fitness only to limp off within 20 minutes on his return, after forlornly giving the team doctor the international-spinning fingers sign that he needed to be replaced. This created a lingering sense he did not really give a crap, which, perhaps, he earned vicariously from compatriot James Rodriguez, who truly did not give a crap.

But in dark times, and there have been so many of those, it was King Yerrald who stood up when he could easily have shirked. Towards the end of this past season, Mina had nothing to lose. After all, Dyche had not fancied him. He was already leaving. But no. Yerry stepped into the breach and led. And fought. And dominated. And shithoused. And well, I will miss all four immensely. Farewell, you Colombian prince. I will never forget you and your weird ways. Mostly because I am going to name my theoretical next child after you. 🇨🇴🕺 

4. What is going on in the Saudi Pro League?

In a week in which LIV swallowed golf and the Saudi Pro League is vacuuming up any legend they can fling piles of cash at, we have to wonder what Karim Benzama and N’Golo Kante are doing joining Cristiano Ronaldo in the Gulf. Why are they doing this? For the good, and love of, football, undoubtedly. Also: to sanitize the nation’s global reputation, pockmarked by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Yemen bombings, and a challenging human rights record. Geopolitics is rational. Football is the most transcendent emotional force in the world. As we saw throughout the 2022 World Cup, emotion overwhelms rationality every single time. Saudi Arabia is investing in golf, F1 and football to do that. However, it is one thing to host the world’s elite international football tournament or buy Newcastle United. Another entirely to lure enough elite footballers over to your domestic league in an attempt to draw enough eyeballs to change minds and win hearts. The numbers being bandied around are astronomical. Kanté has reportedly been offered $117M a year. Benzema and Ronaldo twice that. (Messi’s offer of $1.3B over two years blew both of those out of the water.) Legacy? As Floyd Mayweather once memorably said, “Your kids can’t eat legacy.” The goal with the Saudi league appears incremental. Not to challenge the Premier League. But to make enough noise, spread enough mega-money around, and evidence sufficient thunderous power, to tip the 2030 World Cup in Saudi Arabia’s hands. That is what they crave. Nothing erases a nation’s Public Relations challenges quicker than the sound of Goooooooaaaallllll!!!!!!

More: On the big picture of LIV Golf and the Saudi Pro League and Saudi Arabia’s end game at the end of a dark week.

5. The Women’s Game by Meg Swanick

The midway point of NWSL arrives with a fray of title contenders jockeying for the top position. San Diego Wave travel to Louisville, where Savannah DeMelo’s ferocity in midfield and instinct for goal has made her an outsider to crash the World Cup squad (Friday, 8 PM ET, Paramount+). Angel City FC have struggled this season but with Sydney Leroux newly returned, they hope to turn the season around at Washington Spirit. A clash that features enough national team numbers to field US manager Vlatko Andonovski’s full starting lineup (Saturday, 7 PM ET, Paramount+).

b. Sydney Leroux is back, and scoring goals already

Sydney Leroux - NWSL goal-scoring icon and US National Team cult-hero - returned from injury for the first time in 11 months last Sunday. With an assist from 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson tearing down the wing, it took Leroux just 11 minutes to find a goal. The adrenaline rush of possibility engulfed the stadium, met by tears of catharsis.

c. Over one million tickets sold for Women’s World Cup

FIFA announced Thursday that over 1,000,000 tickets have officially been sold for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. With still a month to go, that number has already passed the total tickets sold for the 2019 World Cup in France.

d. United States Brazilian-American talent Catarina Macario joins Chelsea.

More: How NWSL is becoming increasingly dominated by teenage stars.

e. USWNT Collection with the GFOPs at Homage ⭐️🇺🇸👕

Celebrate the US Women's National Team with us, pay homage to the history of 90s sports that we love, and get ready for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Check out the collection HERE, taking us back to the iconic moment when Brandi Chastain's penalty kick secured victory against China, a moment that still reverberates in our collective memory. It was a turning point, a moment when the nation's love affair with soccer and women's sports ignited. Support our women trying to go back-to-back-to-back this summer and gear up today.

6. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. The Handball Rule is so very broken.

ii. Louisville, Kentucky’s Josh Wynder: The Benfica-bound USMNT teenager already drawing comparisons to Virgil van Dijk.

iii. The year sports-washing won. Qatar 2022. Manchester City. Newcastle. And the rise of the Saudi League. Miguel Delaney joins the dots.

7. Not Football and all the Better for It

i. Truly wonderful: How a 14-Year-Old Came to Animate a Scene in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’. Freddy Adu, but for reals.

ii. I worry for "Baby Gronk." How can gent live up to the lore? His Dad though is going to have to live with all the carnage that is to come. Who is ‘Baby Gronk’? The father of the social media sensation shares his plan. This tweet has never been more relevant.

iii. "I am bone-deep humiliated by wanting and even more so by getting the thing I want." Is this from an acclaimed novel? A revered poem? Nope. It's a line from Jaya Saxena's marvelous piece on the toil of performing as a cook at Benihana. Must-Read.

iv. The NYT explores a Tik Tok phenomenon: What Is a ‘Beige Flag’? Does supporting Everton count? Or is that too generous?

v. Funk, R&B, and now hip-hop legend Charlie Wilson unleashed one of the finest Tiny Desk Concerts ever.

vi. THE AGE OF GOGGLES HAS ARRIVED. There is no sophisticated way to wear goggles. It's akin to an adult riding an electric scooter. For that reason, (& the fact that I'm short 4k) I'm out.

vii. Yesterday marked five years without Anthony Bourdain and nearly 18 months without Mark Lanegan. The latter honored the former back in 2018.

viii. The Best Father's Day Gifts for Tony Soprano (or Your Italian Dad). Hint: it rhymes with Schmaba-Schmool.

ix. A Former intelligence officer claims that US has recovered craft of “non-human origin”. Could this explain where Haaland came from?

x. This song saved my week: Headaches by Juice Webster. So very good.

That is it for today. I am going to leave you with a lovely Raven I received from GFOP Heather Wagner, who wrote in after hearing me talk about the peculiarities of having dogs that clearly support different football teams than you do as their owner. Heather writes: “I recently adopted a puppy named Hugo, but he actually came to me as a Brighton supporter, and more recently started supporting Bournemouth. How do I know this? He has a perfectly formed Seagull emblazoned on his chest, and once ran to the window and started howling right after Brighton scored. Meanwhile he sleeps through Arsenal games and only looks at me like he's annoyed for waking him if I cheer when they score. He also has also developed an ocular affliction called ‘cherry eye,’ which to my mind means he has ‘an eye for the Cherries,’ i.e. Bournemouth. I've attached photographic evidence to prove that I'm not making it up. For a fellow who was only born halfway through this season, I am impressed at his excellent taste. Had he been born a Man City or Chelsea supporter, well... I hate to think about the heartbreak of having to rehome him.”

Heather, to you, and Hugo, and all dogs with such excellent taste, I send my love. May you both revel in your dueling football fandoms together.

Let’s make great footballing memories together, and not take a second for granted.

Big Love,

Courage

ROG