MESSI-MIAMI TALK WON’T STOP
Another month, another Messi-to-Miami rumor.
And once again, Inter Miami officials and Lionel Messi’s representatives are denying the report, saying it is premature conjecture.
A report from DIRECTV Sports Argentina correspondent Alex Candal saying that Messi “will acquire 35 percent of Inter Miami and join the team in Summer 2023” went viral on social media. Candal said “the contract is done and will be signed in August.”
But two high-ranking Inter Miami officials told the Miami Herald that the report is not true and that there is no deal in the works. It is no secret that Inter Miami has had conversations with Messi for years about the next stage of his career and that he has a condo in Miami Beach, but officials said they don’t expect a deal anytime in the foreseeable future.
The rumor gained traction after Inter Miami coowner David Beckham posted Instagram photos of himself Monday with Paris Saint Germain stars Messi,
Neymar, Sergio Ramos and
Kylian Mbappe.
Messi’s agents told Le Parisien the report “is completely false, Leo has not yet decided on his future. And if Leo Messi has crossed paths with David Beckham in the last few hours, it is only as part of PSG’s stay in Doha where the former English midfielder plays a role as an ambassador for the next World Cup in Qatar.”
Messi’s contract with Paris Saint Germain runs through 2023 and Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas hinted recently that the club would extend a lucrative offer for the day he decides to leave PSG.
Messi has a home in South Florida and has said he wouldn’t mind spending a few years in MLS. His salary is $41 million per year.
More soccer
The Premier League title race is going to the wire. Remarkably, an unprecedented quadruple is still on for Liverpool. Liverpool fielded a second-choice lineup against Southampton and came from behind to win 2-1.
The L.A. Galaxy have
the second-highest team payroll and the second-highest-paid player in MLS, according to salary figures released by the players’ union.
The team’s wage bill of $20.53 million is about $470,000 less than Atlanta United’s total of $20.99 million. Galaxy captain Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will make $6 million this season, trailing only the Chicago Fire’s Xherdan Shaqiri, who will be paid a league-record $8.153 million.
Wearing a message of “United for Ukraine” on their shirts, Ukraine’s national soccer team won its second straight friendly by beating Italian Serie A club Empoli 3-1.
Tennis
Fifth-seeded Maria Nunez of San Diego defeated La Jolla’s Kathy Wong 6-1, 6-1 in second-round action in the 60 and over division of the USTA National Women’s Senior Hard Court Championships at the La Jolla
Beach & Tennis Club.
Second-ranked Daniil Medvedev lost his comeback match after a six-week injury layoff, beaten 6-2, 7-6 (5) by Richard Gasquet in the second round at the Geneva Open.
Motorsports
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato shot to the top of the speed chart on the first day of preparations for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Sato went 228.939 mph (368.44 kph) around Indianapolis Motor Speedway to bump six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon as fastest on opening day.
Locally
Cal State San Marcos’ Matt Pennington moved up to a tie for 60th place after carding a 2-over 74 the NCAA Division II National Championships in Dearborn, Mich.
The San Diego State men’s golf team slipped a
spot and sits in eighth place after two rounds of the NCAA Norman Regional on the par-72, 7,452-yard Jimmy Austin OU Golf Club. The Aztecs shot a 5-over 293 during the second round and at 7-over 583 for the tournament are 11 strokes back from a top-five position, which would secure a spot in the NCAA Championships.
WNBA
Rhyne Howard scored 19 points, Cheyenne Parker added 17 and the Atlanta Dream beat the Indiana Fever 101-79.
DeWanna Bonner made her season debut for Connecticut and scored 12 of her 16 points in the decisive first half and the Sun beat the New York Liberty 92-65.
Shakira Austin, the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft, scored 12 of her careerhigh 20 points in the second half as the Washington Mystics pulled away for a 84-68 win over the Dallas Wings.