Soccer

LAFC star Olivier Giroud's Los Angeles-area home was burglarized earlier this month and roughly $500,000 in jewelry was allegedly stolen, per TMZ.

According to TMZ, Giroud's wife, Jennifer, reported the break-in to law enforcement on Feb. 5, but no arrests have been made. The Los Angeles Police Department reportedly said it's still investigating the matter.

Giroud's wife alerted police after discovering a broken window at their residence. She told officers that over 10 men's watches were among the items stolen in the burglary, and she added that the value of the missing items was nearly $500,000.

Giroud, who previously starred for Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan, signed with LAFC just nine months ago. He made his debut for the club in August and appeared in a total of 10 matches for the team in 2024.

Giroud is now a member of a growing list of athletes who have had their homes burglarized in recent months. Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and former Dallas Mavericks player Luka Dončić are among those who have experienced similar situations.

Per CNN's Josh Campbell, the FBI issued an official warning to professional athletes due to the rise in "sophisticated home burglaries thought to be emanating from international criminals."

"These homes are targeted for burglary due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches and cash," the FBI said in a bulletin that was distributed to U.S. professional athletic associations.

Giroud is the latest to fall victim to the ongoing turmoil.

The 2024 list of highest-paid athletes was unveiled on Wednesday with a familiar name atop the list.

Per Sportico, Cristiano Ronaldo ranked in the top spot for the second straight year, earning a whopping $260 million. Golden State Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry was well below him in second place at $153 million.

At 40 years old, Ronaldo continues to perform at an incredibly high level, playing in his record sixth European Championship last year and becoming the first men’s player ever to score 900 career goals. Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen noted that he earned $215 million from his contract with Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and another $45 million from off-field endorsements and endeavors.

Curry's 2024 earnings were a massive increase from 2023 when he earned $98.9 million. Badenhausen pointed out that the significant jump to the No. 2 spot was caused by "a bump tied to his long-term Under Armour contract extension."

The top 10 on Sportico's list of highest-paid athletes is as follows:

1, Cristiano Ronaldo ($260M)

2, Stephen Curry ($153.8M)

3, Tyson Fury ($147M)

4, Lionel Messi ($135M)

5, LeBron James ($133.2M)

6, Neymar ($133M)

7, Oleksandr Usyk ($122M)

8, Karim Benzema ($116M)

9, Kylian Mbappe ($110M)

10, Jon Rahm ($105.8M)

Interestingly, the top 10 doesn't include any players from MLB or the NFL. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was the highest-paid NFL player at $100.4 million, ranking 12th on the list. Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani placed 21st at $72.5 million.

Unfortunately, this marked the second consecutive year that no female athletes cracked the top 100 on Sportico's list of highest-paid athletes. Tennis star Coco Gauff was the highest-paid female athlete for the second consecutive year at $30.4 million, but the cutoff this year was $37.5 million by former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

The field for the Champions League knockout playoff round is set after Friday's draw.

This marks the first year of the new 36-club format in the league phase. The bottom 12 teams in the standings have been eliminated, with the top eight automatically advancing to the round of 16.

Friday's draw was to determine the matchups for the clubs that finished in spots nine through 24. Teams nine through 16 are seeded and face the teams in the 17-24 spots. The winners from the knockout playoff round will advance to the round of 16, where the top eight teams will be seeded.

Knockout Playoff Round Draw and Schedule (All Matches Feb. 11/12 and 18/19; start time TBD)

• No. 21 Celtic v. No. 12 Bayern München
• No. 17 Monaco v. No. 16 Benfica
• No. 18 Brest v. No. 15 Paris Saint-Germain
• No. 24 Club Brugge v. No. 9 Atalanta
• No. 23 Sporting CP v. No. 10 Borussia Dortmund
• No. 19 Feyenoord v. No. 13 Milan
• No. 20 Juventus v. No. 14 PSV
• No. 22 Manchester City v. No. 11 Real Madrid

Round of 16 Qualifiers

• Liverpool: 7-0-1 (21 points)
• Barcelona: 6-1-1 (19 points)
• Arsenal: 6-1-1 (19 points)
  
• Inter Milan: 6-0-2 (18 points)
• Atlético Madrid: 6-0-2 (18 points)
  
• Bayer Leverkusen: 5-1-2 (16 points)
  
• Lille: 5-1-2 (16 points)
• Aston Villa: 5-1-2 (16 points)

Full draw information via UEFA.com.

Liverpool ended group phase as the top team in the standings and arguably the favorite to win the Champions League title.

The Reds suffered their lone defeat in the first phase on Wednesday against PSV Eindhoven, but they were still able to hold on to the top spot because Barcelona settled for a tie against Atalanta.

Arne Slot's club has only lost three matches in all competitions this season. They've already passed several major tests, most notably a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid on Nov. 27.

The reigning Champions League champ, Real Madrid has endured some struggles so far with a 5-0-3 record to finish 11th in group play. The Whites will play a struggling Manchester City club in the knockout round.

This marks the fourth consecutive year that Real Madrid and Man City will meet in the knockout rounds. Carlos Ancelotti's club won two of the previous three, including a 4-3 victory on penalties at Etihad Stadium in the second leg of their quarterfinal matchup last year.

The winner of this year's matchup will advance to face either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.

Atalanta, the No. 9 seed, is the top-ranked team in the knockout phase and its first time advancing out of the group phase since the 2021-22 season. The club can tie its best-ever finish in Champions League play by reaching the round of 16.

When the knockout phase is complete after games on Feb. 18-19, UEFA will hold a draw to determine the round of 16 matchups and path to the final for the remaining clubs on Feb. 21.

The round of 16 will take place from March 4-12, followed by the quarterfinals (April 8-16) and semifinals (April 29-May 7). The 2025 Champions League Final will be held on May 31.

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.