Lionel Messi

Never lacking in confidence, Cristiano Ronaldo chose himself this week during a discussion about the greatest soccer player of all time.

As part of an interview Monday on Spanish television show El Chiringuito (h/t ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez), Ronaldo called himself the most complete player in history, saying:

"I'm talking about numbers. I think I'm the most complete player to have existed. In my opinion, I think it's me. I do everything well in football: with my head, free kicks, left foot. I'm fast, I'm strong.

"One thing is taste—if you like [Lionel] Messi, Pelé, [Diego] Maradona, I understand that and I respect that—but saying Ronaldo isn't complete... I'm the most complete. I haven't seen anybody better than me, and I say it from the heart."

Ronaldo, 39, is the all-time leading scorer in major professional soccer with 923 career goals, although there have been times when he has been considered somewhat one-dimensional since he doesn't contribute much defensively, nor does he set up his teammates particularly often.

The Al Nassr star argued against that narrative, though, noting that he is the most complete player due to the vast array of ways in which he is able to score.

"Who's the best goal scorer in history? It's about numbers. Full stop.

"Who's the player in history who's scored most goals with their head, their left foot, penalties, free kicks? I was looking the other day, and not being left-footed, I'm in the top 10 goal scorers with their left foot in history. And with my head, and with my right foot, and penalties. All of them."

Messi, who is second on the all-time scoring list with 850 goals, is seemingly more often considered the GOAT than Ronaldo due to his combination of scoring and playmaking.

Additionally, the current MLS star has significantly more individual accomplishments than Ronaldo does.

Ronaldo has won the Ball d'Or Award as the top player in the world on five occasions, plus he is a five-time UEFA Champions League winner, and he won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016.

Messi, 37, has won the Ballon d'Or eight times to go along with four UEFA Champions League titles and two Copa América titles with Argentina.

What perhaps sets Messi apart from Ronaldo most of all is his success in the FIFA World Cup. Messi won the World Cup in 2022, and he won the Golden Ball as the World Cup's best player in both 2014 and 2022.

A World Cup is the one major accomplishment Ronaldo has never achieved, and when considering that Messi, Pelé and Maradona all won the World Cup, it is fair to wonder if not winning a World Cup takes the Portuguese star out of the GOAT conversation.

The presence of Lionel Messi wasn't enough to make Inter Miami the most valuable MLS franchise for 2025.

Los Angeles FC retained that title with a total valuation of $1.28 billion, per Sportico. Inter Miami did at least vault into the No. 2 spot ($1.19 billion). Atlanta United ($1.08 billion) fell two places to No. 4.

Five MLS teams are estimated to be worth $1 billion or more, with New York City FC becoming the newest member of the group. When Sportico first conducted this exercise in 2021, nobody reached that threshold. LAFC was the closest at $860 million.

Another sign of MLS' robust financial health is that the people behind San Diego FC had to pay a $500 million expansion fee in 2023, up from the $325 million it took to make Charlotte FC a reality in 2019.

MLS still has a long way to go to be considered one of the top soccer leagues in the world, and it may never actually get there. Money alone doesn't make up for the years and decades of history the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and others have established.

But the 10-figure valuations speak for themselves.

For a long time, American soccer fans have lamented the absence of a traditional promotion/relegation system in the country. Being a closed league has helped set MLS apart in another way, though.

Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen detailed last May how prospective investors were drawn to MLS in part because they don't have to face the threat that a relegation would pose. Dropping into a second division would mean less prestige and much less revenue. With MLS, on the other hand, the bottom line doesn't change too much regardless of whether you finish first or last.

The San Jose Earthquakes were comfortably the worst team in MLS, their 21 points putting them nine below Chicago Fire FC in 28th. The Earthquakes' valuation on Sportico climbed by seven percent to $600 million.

Neymar is open to reuniting with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez on Inter Miami.

The Brazilian star told CNN Sport's Amanda Davies that joining the pair in MLS "would be incredible."

"They are my friends," he said. "We still speak to each other. It would be interesting to revive this trio. I'm happy at Al-Hilal, I'm happy in Saudi Arabia, but who knows. Football is full of surprises."

Over the years, MLS has been derided as a "retirement league" because it would sign aging stars in an effort to cash in on their popularity and the credibility they established on the pitch. While that label doesn't apply as much anymore, Inter Miami signing not just Messi and Suárez but also Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba certainly didn't help.

As much as they've surrounded Messi with his friends from Barça, Neymar might be where the Herons would draw a line, assuming they could even make it work under MLS' salary cap system.

The 32-year-old's last appearance in a Saudi Pro League match for Al-Hilal was back in September 2023. He suffered a torn ACL that October on national team duty, and his recovery has been slowed by a series of lesser injuries.

There was a period when Neymar was the brightest young talent in world football. His career has never been the same since he left Barcelona and signed with Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, though. The ACL injury raised even bigger questions about what lies ahead.

As an attraction, Neymar would likely bring Inter Miami and MLS even more attention than they're already receiving. As a sporting endeavor, this wouldn't be a wise investment.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson and international soccer star Lionel Messi are among 19 people being honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.

The White House issued a statement on Saturday announcing the recipients of the award (h/t NPR's Franco Ordoñez).

"These nineteen Americans are great leaders who have made America a better place," the White House statement said. "They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world," the White House said in a statement."

All 19 honorees will be awarded their medal during a ceremony on Saturday.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the United States.

Per the White House archive, individuals selected to receive the honor "have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Honorees are chosen either directly by the President of the United States or are recommended to the President.

A total of 652 people have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom since it was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy.

Former Yale and United States Olympic team swimming coach Robert J.H. Kiphuth was the first person from the sports world to receive the award in 1963.

Other notable athletes and coaches who have been bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom include Jesse Owens (1976), Jackie Robinson (1984), Muhammad Ali (2005), Billie Jean King (2009), Michael Jordan (2016), Tiger Woods (2019) and Simone Biles (2022).

Messi is one of the most accomplished soccer players in history. He is the only eight-time recipient of the Ballon d'Or and led Argentina to a victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. His teams have won a total of 45 trophies, highlighted by 12 Big Five league titles.

Johnson's accomplishments include five NBA championships, three NBA MVP awards and an Olympic gold medal with USA Basketball in 1992. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Along with his professional accolades, Johnson has been an activist for HIV since he publicly announced he was diagnosed with the virus in 1991.

The schedule for the 2025 MLS season has been released.

The league released the slate for its 30th season on Thursday. The 30 clubs will play 34 games each, with 17 home games and 17 away games. The league season will begin on Feb. 22, with the opening game being between Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami FC and NYCFC in Fort Lauderdale.

That game will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and will be followed by 12 more games on that Saturday.

The 2025 season will feature a new team, San Diego FC, and will also see pauses for the Club World Cup and Gold Cup. It will also feature two 30th-anniversary special matchups as DC United will take on the San Jose Earthquakes in honor of the first-ever MLS Game on April 6 while DC United and the LA Galaxy will play on July 12 to honor the first MLS Championship Game.

The season opener will be the first time MLS fans can see Messi and Inter Miami since the team fell in the first round of the 2024 postseason. This came after the team went 22-4-8 and claimed the top overall record in MLS.

The Galaxy are the league's defending champs and will hope to earn a seventh overall championship.

Arguably the greatest soccer player of all time is set to make his mark on the hugely popular Fortnite video game on Friday night.

The official Fortnite account on X posted a video Friday showing off the Lionel Messi skins that will be available for purchase:

One of the skins is Messi himself in his soccer kit, while the other is a regal-looking lion, likely playing off Messi's "Leo" nickname.

Per SI.com's Amanda Langell, gamers will get to play as Messi in his uniform or street clothes and as two different lions if they purchase the skins.

Also available for purchase separately or as part of the Messi bundle are two pickaxes, two back blings and two emotes.

Messi is the latest in a long line of superstar athletes and celebrities to be featured in Fortnite.

The 37-year-old Messi is the second-leading goal scorer in the history of major professional soccer behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, and he boasts a résumé that few can challenge.

Messi is an eight-time winner of the Ballon d'Or as the top player in the world, and a two-time FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner as the top player at the World Cup.

The Argentine has also won four UEFA Champions League titles, and he led Argentina to a World Cup win in 2022.

After primarily starring in Europe for Barcelona and then Paris Saint-Germain, Messi made the move to the United States in 2023, joining Inter Miami.

By virtue of scoring 20 goals in 19 league matches last season, Messi was named MLS MVP, adding another major accolade to his track record.

After scoring 20 goals in 19 matches, Inter Miami star Lionel Messi was named the 2024 MLS MVP on Friday.

The 37-year-old veteran was a dominant force in his second season with the club, and he played a huge role in Miami posting 22 wins, eight draws and only four losses during the regular season, giving the team an MLS single-season record of 74 points.

In addition to being tied for second in goals scored across the league in 2024, Messi was also tied for third in assists with 16.

What set Messi apart from the players who put up similar stats in 2024 is the fact that he played in far fewer matches than all of them.

While D.C. United's Christian Benteke led MLS with 23 goals, he did so in 30 games, compared to Messi's 19. Also, FC Cincinnati's Luciana Acosta and Portland Timbers' Evander had 20 and 19 assists in 32 and 28 matches, respectively.

After starring for 17 seasons at Barcelona and then two at Paris Saint-Germain, Messi became the biggest signing in MLS history when he arrived stateside in 2023.

Messi has scored nearly 900 goals in his career across all competitions for club and country, putting him firmly in the conversation for greatest soccer player of all time along with Pelé, Cristiano Ronaldo and a select few others.

Winning MLS MVP is another accomplishment added to one of the most impressive résumés in the history of the sport.

Before joining Inter Miami, Messi was an eight-time winner of the Ballon d'Or as the best soccer player in the world. He also twice won the Golden Ball, which is given to the top player at the FIFA World Cup.

With Messi leading the way, Barca won 10 La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles. He also won a pair of Ligue 1 titles at PSG.

The crowning achievement of Messi's career may have come in 2022 when he won the World Cup for the first time, leading Argentina to its first World Cup victory since 1986.

Now that Messi has an MLS MVP to his credit, winning the MLS championship is one of the last accolades he has yet to attain.

Inter Miami were favored to win it all last season, but they were shocked by Atlanta United FC in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

With star players such as Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba set to return to the club in 2025, Inter Miami will likely once again be favored to hoist the MLS Cup for the first time.

Lionel Messi-led MLS club Inter Miami officially announced the hiring of Javier Mascherano as head coach on Tuesday.

Inter Miami noted that Mascherano signed a contract that will run through the 2027 MLS season, and Mascherano said the following about accepting the job:

"To be able to lead a club like Inter Miami is an honor for me, and a privilege I will strive to make the most of. I was drawn to the organization's undeniable ambition, and the infrastructure it has to support it. I'm looking forward to working with the people at Inter Miami to help the club reach new heights, and to give the fans more unforgettable moments."

Inter Miami's head coaching position became available last week when previous head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino left the club due to personal reasons.

Mascherano, 40, began his managerial career in 2021 with Argentina's Under-20 and Under-23 national teams. That included coaching the Argentinian men's soccer team at the 2024 Summer Olympics where they were eliminated by host France in the quarterfinals.

Before becoming a coach, Mascherano enjoyed a highly successful playing career from 2003 to 2020, spending time with multiple major clubs, including Barcelona, Liverpool and Corinthians.

Mascherano had his longest run at Barca, appearing in 203 matches. For all eight of his seasons at Barcelona, Mascherano was teammates with Messi.

Together, they won five La Liga titles and a pair of UEFA Champions League titles, as well as numerous other trophies.

Mascherano and Messi were also teammates on the Argentinian national team for 13 years, and they won an Olympic gold medal together in 2008.

Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer of The Athletic reported last week that Mascherano was expected to be named the next head coach at Inter Miami, and they noted that he and Messi are still close friends.

Inter Miami began MLS play in 2020, and Messi joined the club beginning in the 2023 season after leaving Paris-Saint Germain.

After struggling mightily and failing to reach the playoffs in 2023, Inter Miami took a massive leap forward last season, posting 22 wins, four losses and eight draws, giving them the best winning percentage in a single season in MLS history at .765.

However, Inter Miami were shocked in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, falling to Atlanta United.

With Messi leading the way, Inter Miami are expected to be top contenders again in 2025, and Mascherano could potentially be the coach needed to put them over the top.