Premier League

Liverpool are back atop the mountain.

For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Reds are Premier League champions, clinching the title with a 5-1 drubbing of Tottenham and officially ending Manchester City's four-year streak of EPL dominance.

It is Liverpool's 20th top-division title, tying them with Manchester United for the most in English football history. Manchester United last conquered the Premier League in the 2012-13 season, the final campaign for legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Liverpool, meanwhile, pulled even in Arne Slot's first season in charge after he replaced Anfield legend Jürgen Klopp. Slot's predecessor had led Liverpool to a Premier League title and Champions League crown in his nine years on the job.

And so yes, Liverpool fans were feeling the joy on Sunday:

It was a day of milestones for the Reds. Mohamed Salah's second-half goal—his league-leading 28th on the year—not only moved him up the all-time goal list in the Premier League, but also made him the highest-scoring international in the history of the competition:

Coming into the season, a three-way race was expected between Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. But Arsenal dealt with a number of injuries and dropped points far too often (13 draws), while City were absolutely dreadful in November and December and never fully recovered.

It all set the stage for Liverpool to cruise to the title, clinching it with four matches remaining. The Reds sit at 82 points, while Arsenal are now a distant second on 67 total points.

In the Premier League this year, Liverpool left little doubt. The trophy returns to Anfield, a most familiar perch.

Chelsea have reportedly agreed to pay the San Diego Wave a record-setting $1.1 million transfer fee for USWNT star defender Naomi Girma, per Meg Linehan of The Athletic.

Girma—who is still negotiating a new contract with the Blues, per that report—would become the first woman to ever secure a transfer fee over $1 million.

According to Linehan, Lyon was also in hot pursuit of Girma and was willing to exceed $1 million in a transfer fee, and interest around Europe was widespread, though Arsenal reportedly were "not among the final contenders."

Girma is one of the top defenders in the world and arguably the best center-back in the women's game at the moment.

"She's the best defender I've ever seen," USWNT head coach Emma Hayes told reporters during the 2024 Paris Olympics, as Girma played every minute for her country and earned a gold medal in the process. "Ever."

Alongside that gold medal, her career accomplishments include 44 career appearances for the USWNT; winning the NWSL Shield and Challenge Cup with the Wave; the Women's College Cup at Stanford; and being named the 2022 NSWL Rookie of the Year, the NSWL Defender of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 and the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2023.

The fact that she wasn't among the finalists for the 2024 women's Ballon d'Or was shocking. Her USWNT teammates, Sophia Smith, Lindsey Horan and Mallory Swanson, were all ranked in the top 10.

"Yes, we could sit here all day and say Girma should be there—which she should—so for that reason, we're still not getting all those things right in the women's game," Hayes told reporters at the time. "But recognizing the talent of our players on the world stage is something that I know our players are extremely proud of, so really good all round for us."

But Chelsea clearly see Girma as one of the sport's truly elite players, breaking transfer records to bring her to London.

Having led Manchester City to Premier League titles in each of his first two seasons with the club, Erling Haaland has been rewarded with a historic contract extension.

City announced on Friday that Haaland signed a 10-year deal that runs through the summer of 2034.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but ESPN's Rob Dawson reported it ranks "among the most lucrative contracts in sports history."

Dawson noted that Haaland's previous deal ran until 2027 and included buyout clauses, but those have been removed from the new contract.

There had been speculation that Haaland was seeking a release clause to do a new deal with City because of his rumored interest in eventually joining Real Madrid.

It's difficult to rank world football contracts because exact financial details are often difficult to parse out.

ESPN's Chris Wright did note the length of Haaland's new deal compares to past contracts for superstars like Denilson (10 years from Real Betis), Lionel Messi (nine years from Barcelona) and Cesc Fàbregas (eight years from Arsenal).

Just looking at the richest contracts in North American pro sports history, the most lucrative belong to Juan Soto of the New York Mets (15 years, $765 million) and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers (10 years, $700 million).

They are the only players known to have contracts that are currently worth at least $500 million. Patrick Mahomes' 10-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs originally signed in July 2020 contained escalators and mechanisms that could bring its value up to $503 million.

Haaland signed with Man City in May 2022 after he spent two years with Borussia Dortmund. The 24-year-old has scored 79 goals in 87 appearances with the Blues. He set a Premier League record for most goals through three games in a season to start the 2024-25 campaign when he scored seven times, including back-to-back hat tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham.

Man City has won four straight Premier League titles dating back to the 2020-21 season. He has kept the Blues atop the standings in his first two years.

City currently ranks sixth in the 2024-25 Premier League standings with a 10-5-6 record through 21 matches. Haaland will ring in his new contract on Saturday when he leads City against Ipswich Town.