World Football

Inter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino says that Lionel Messi will return from injury before the MLS playoffs, according to ESPN's Lizzy Becherano.

"The work is planned by the medical part with the physical trainers. But yes, he returns before the end of the regular season," Martino said, per Becherano.

The MLS regular season will end with Decision Day on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Messi has not played since suffering an ankle ligament injury on July 14 while playing for Argentina in the Copa América final.

Playoffs are then set to begin with knockout wild card matches on Wednesday, Oct. 23, followed by the best-of-three first-round series on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Inter Miami could clinch a playoff berth this weekend in several different scenarios, including a win on Saturday against FC Cincinnati.

Martino told reporters there is not yet a specific timetable for Messi's return, and that it was "foreseeable" that Messi would not be in Argentina's squad for its upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Messi was left out of the group that will face Chile and Colombia.

"He is not training with the group. But yes, he is already out on the field and working with the physical trainers," Martino said. "He is developing well... There is no estimate, because you are already starting to see how you feel as you add training on the field."

For now, Martino confirmed that Messi will sit out Saturday's contest against FC Cincinnati, per Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald.

The next date Messi could potentially return is a road game against the Chicago Fire on Aug. 31. The Fire has been anticipating the Miami star's potential absence since July, when the team offered fans discounts on future matches if Messi is unable to play.

Messi has played in 12 games for Inter Miami this season, recording 12 goals and 13 assists to set an MLS record as the fastest player in league history to 25 career goals.

Although the Argentinian soccer star has missed 13 of Inter Miami's 25 league games so far this season, a strong defense has helped Inter Miami achieve an MLS-best 16-5-4 record. The return of Messi before the end of the regular season could make the club a title favorite heading into the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated the historic debut of his YouTube channel on Wednesday.

The legendary soccer star released a video unveiling a golden "play button," which is given to channels for surpassing one million subscribers, in front of his children.

The channel was an immediate success, hitting one million subscribers within 90 minutes of launching and becoming the fastest channel to ever achieve the milestone, per ESPN's Adriana Garcia.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner posted 19 videos to the account, which has now racked up 21.6 million YouTube subscribers.

Ronaldo is no stranger to breaking social media records, as his 636 million Instagram followers are the most among any account on the platform. He also boasts 170 million followers on Facebook and 112.6 million more on X (h/t Garcia).

The 39-year-old forward is coming off a historic season on the field with Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo recorded 35 goals, representing a new single-season scoring record for the league.

He should also be receiving some more hardware for his YouTube accomplishments, as the former Real Madrid star's account is already eligible for the diamond play button by surpassing 10 million subscribers.

AFC Bournemouth announced Tuesday a "groundbreaking collaboration" with 2K for WWE 2K24.

"Partnering with WWE 2K is a fantastic opportunity for us to engage with our supporters in a new and innovative way," commercial director Rob Mitchell said. "This collaboration will combine the thrill of WWE 2K's gameplay, with the dynamic world of Premier League football."

The specifics of the partnership are unclear. The Premier League club said that "AFC Bournemouth-themed content will be available in the coming weeks."

For WWE, this represents another foray into mainstream sports. Last fall, the company worked with the Big 12 ahead of the conference's championship football game, and the partnership extended beyond that.

Now, WWE has made in-roads with one of the most popular competitions in all of sports.

Bournemouth was promoted back to the Premier League for the 2022-23 season and stayed up with a 15th-place finish. While the Cherries started slowly under manager Andoni Iraola in 2023-24, they eventually found their form and ended the campaign in 12th.

Bournemouth drew its opener with Nottingham Forest 1-1 thanks to a late goal from Antoine Semenyo.

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Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to a deal to coach the United States men's national team, according to ESPN's Mark Ogden and The Athletic's David Ornstein.

The 52-year-old guided Tottenham Hotspur to the 2019 Champions League final and won Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain in 2021-22. Most recently, he and Chelsea mutually agreed to part ways after one season, which saw the Blues finish sixth in the Premier League.

Pochettino will succeed Gregg Berhalter, who was fired in July after the USMNT finished third in its group at Copa América.

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Once former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp made it clear he wasn't interested in the job, Pochettino became the biggest name that seemed a realistic target for U.S. Soccer.

Tottenham, Southampton and Espanyol in La Liga all overachieved with the Argentine coach on the touchline. While his PSG and Chelsea spells aren't remembered fondly, he's far from the first manager to succumb to what were wider issues with each club. In the case of the latter, a sixth-place finish was an encouraging finish given what he was up against.

Tactically, Pochettino has also drawn praise for a style that emphasizes pressing and going on the attack.

This hire isn't without risk, though.

As with Klopp, part of Pochettino's success is owed to how much he nurtured and developed young talent. The national team structure typically doesn't allow for a coach to have the same kind of impact because he isn't working with the players every day for months on end.

To an extent, the USMNT is a little like his last two stops as well.

Pochettino's arrival means the expectations will be higher than ever. It won't be enough for the U.S. to win; the team will have to do so emphatically and attractively.

The dreadful Copa América showing and Berhalter's dismissal laid bare how much both the team and officials within U.S. Soccer have fallen short.

The USMNT has more pure talent than ever but is intrinsically missing something.

At the administrative level, it remains to be seen whether U.S. Soccer can get out of its own way. The timeline of Berhalter's firing is a story by itself considering he was let go after his contract expired, only to get rehired.

Bringing in Pochettino will be a big test for U.S. Soccer on multiple levels, particularly whether it can allow for a coach of this level to thrive.