Soccer

Despite rumors that Neymar is considering joining Lionel Messi in the MLS, Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino says he believes league salary restrictions will prevent his club from signing the Brazilian soccer star.

"With [Messi] and the boys already here, anything that can happen. What I can't imagine is if the league doesn't make the salary issue more flexible, how it would be carried out," Martino said on Friday, per ESPN's Lizzy Becherano.

Martino continued, per Becherano: "After writing it or saying it in the media it's all good, nothing happens, it doesn't have any consequences, but what would the implementation be like? And the reality is that if there is something that the MLS has, it is that the rules are strict and can't be broken, unless the MLS decides to change."

Neymar is signed with the Saudi Pro League's Al Hilal through 2025 on a contract reportedly worth $300 million. His current club paid a $100 million transfer fee to acquire his contract from Paris Saint-Germain. Rumors he is now considering a move to the MLS were sparked by his recent purchase of property in the Miami area.

Martino said that Neymar's decision to purchase property in the area was not enough to support the idea he might join Inter Miami.

"We cannot talk or mention a player because he bought a house here or has a girlfriend from Fort Lauderdale... First you have to analyze what the league offers and if this is really possible," Martino said. "Starting from that base, today this is impossible, so there is no more continuity in this conversation."

Martino previously coached Neymar during his tenure with FC Barcelona, where he also coached current Inter Miami players Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez.

Inter Miami currently has two designated players, Messi and Busquets, whose deals can exceed the MLS salary cap. The club used to have three designated players including Gregore, but following his transfer to the Brazilian league last February the team has opted for two DP spots this season.

Using two designated player slots instead of three allows Inter Miami to carry four under-22 players and gain about $550,000 in additional cap space, Paul Tenorio noted for The Athletic.

In order to add Neymar, Inter Miami would either need to convince him to sign at a discount or entirely reshape their roster in order to add a third designated player, Tenorio reported.

Messi, Alba and Busquets are reportedly still receiving wages from Barcelona, per Mundo Deportivo and Yahoo Sports, which may have made it easier for Alba and Busquets to take discounts in order to join Messi in Miami. For Neymar, whose current contract is set to expire in June 2025, that could be a harder sell.

Neymar returned to the pitch with Al Hilal after a year sidelined with an ACL injury in October. Brazil is "hopeful" that he will be available to play in World Cup qualifiers later this month, per ESPN's Adriana Garcia.

Four days after firing Erik ten Hag, Manchester United is hiring Rúben Amorim as its next manager.

United announced Amorim's hiring on Friday after he spent the previous four years with Primeira Liga club Sporting CP.

There had been rumblings about ten Hag's future following a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Premier League last season, but the Red Devils got redemption with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.

United announced in July that ten Hag's contract had been extended until 2026 after the club exercised a one-year option in his contract.

Any positive momentum Manchester United hope to build on after the FA Cup Final hasn't carried over to the 2024-25 Premier League season. The club sits in 14th place with a 3-2-4 record going into Saturday's match with Chelsea.

Ten Hag was fired on Monday, 24 hours after a 2-1 loss to West Ham United. ESPN's Rob Dawson noted United bosses made the call to sack ten Hag because they had lost faith that he would be able to turn things around.

Ruud van Nistelrooy took over for ten Hag on an interim basis, managing United in its 5-2 win over Leicester City in the round of 16 at the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Amorim's deal with Manchester United runs until 2027 with a team option for an additional year. Van Nistelrooy will continue to manage the club until Amorim takes over on Nov. 11.

The 39-year-old Amorim had a 13-year playing career from 2003 to '16. He moved into managing in 2018 when he was hired by Casa Pia and threatened to quit following a 0-2 start if the club didn't win its third match.

Amorim resigned as Casa Pia's manager in January 2019 after receiving a one-year ban for delivering match instructions without the required coaching badges. He returned to the managerial chair later that same year with Braga and was eventually hired by Sporting CP in March 2020.

Sporting CP has a 162-33-33 record in 228 matches under Amorim's watch.

The United States women's national team concludes its three-game October international window on Wednesday against Argentina at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.

Emma Hayes' side has produced back-to-back 3-1 wins over Iceland in the last week to move its winning streak to eight games.

Wednesday marks the final USWNT game on home soil in 2024 for the Olympic champions.

The Americans finish up their 2024 slate with a trip to Europe to face England and the Netherlands in late November and early December.

The focus for Wednesday's clash with Argentina will be fine-tuning the many things that have gone right under Hayes and to start a new shutout streak after two straight games with a concession for just the second time this year.

USWNT vs. Argentina Info

Date: Wednesday, 30 October

Start Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Live Stream: Max

Storylines to Watch

The October international window has gone as well as the Americans hoped it would.

They produced three goals in each win over Iceland, and in the process, Hayes handed out some international debuts to a handful of new players called up.

You could argue that the only negative is the concession of one goal in each game against Iceland.

The USWNT entered October with a three-game shutout streak and 12 total clean sheets in 2024.

One of those shutouts came against Argentina in the Concacaf W Gold Cup in February, The Americans won that meeting 4-0.

The USWNT has controlled all three of its matches with South American opposition in 2024. It outscored Argentina, Colombia and Brazil by an 8-0 margin, a stat that goes in line with the program's history against teams from that continent.

The Americans have won 20 of their last 21 games against foes from CONMEBOL, per U.S. Soccer.

More squad rotation is expected from Hayes to keep her players fresh at the end of a rare three-games-in-one-week run of friendly matches.

Sophia Smith and Lynn Williams will likely go back to starting roles up top after appearing as substitutes on Sunday, The same goes for Rose Lavelle in midfield after her night off. Lindsey Horan only played a half at the weekend, so she could go from the beginning in Louisville as well.

Wednesday's game may have the most meaning to forward Emma Sears, who is the only player on the USWNT roster from the NWSL's Racing Louisville. She scored in her first international appearance at the weekend and should receive some minutes in front of her home crowd.

Argentina has not met the high standard of the top teams in the world in 2024. It fell to Brazil 5-1 to go along with its 4-0 loss to the USWNT.

The South Americans are the 33rd-ranked team in the FIFA women's rankings, 32 spots behind the USWNT, who are expected to produce another multi-goal win in this stretch of October friendlies.

Prediction: USWNT 3, Argentina 0

Manchester City's Rodri is the 2024 Men's Ballon d'Or award winner after a phenomenal season.

The midfielder won trophies for both his club and his country this year. He and Manchester City won their fourth-straight Premier League in May before Rodri helped lead Spain to victory at Euro 2024.

While it was a special night for Rodri, it was a frustrating one for Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior, who was arguably Rodri's biggest challenger for the coveted award. After the snub, fans and teammates of Vinícius voiced their support for the star.

As Rodri took home the Ballon d'Or, Vinícius' Madrid was honored as the team of the year as it won both LaLiga and Champions League last season. Across his time with Madrid and Spain, Vinícius won 74 games in a row from March 2023 to May 2024.

His success with Madrid and Spain led many to believe Vinícius would hear his name called on Monday, but instead, Rodri was awarded his first Ballon d'Or.

According to ESPN, Vinícius refused to travel to Paris after learning he wouldn't take home the award. Eight of his teammates who were nominated for other awards followed him in not attending.

While some fans called his win over Vinícius a snub, Rodri relished taking home one of the most prestigious awards in the game.

"A very special day, for me, my family and my country," Rodri said. "I understand that because I have no social media, people don't know me much. I am just a normal guy. I enjoy the sport, I enjoy my profession. And I try to be a good person. I am a very calm person."

Though he was recognized for his success last season on Monday, Rodri won't get to enjoy the same success this year as he's expected to miss the entire campaign due to surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.

Manchester United announced it sacked manager Erik ten Hag a day after suffering a 2-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League.

"We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future," the club said.

Red Devils legend Ruud van Nistelrooy, who joined Ten Hag's staff at the start of the season, will take over as the interim manager.

Sporting CP coach Ruben Amorim "has emerged as the leading contender" to replace Ten Hag, per ESPN's Rob Dawson.

"The Sporting CP coach is aware of the interest, according to the source, as are his club, with United attempting to move quickly to name a new permanent manager after appointing Ruud van Nistelrooy as caretaker manager," Dawson wrote.

Ten Hag's fate was pretty much sealed in the summer, when Manchester United openly courted other candidates before ultimately sticking with him. It's tough for a manager to come back from being undermined to that degree.

The hiring of Van Nistelrooy did Ten Hag few favors, too. In the retired striker, the supporters had a clear alternative they could rally around if United got off to a slow start.

The managerial change is fully justified. Manchester United is 14th in the league table after finishing eighth last season. The club has opened the Europa League with three straight draws as well, so making a deep run in a winnable competition is far from assured.

The question is whether sacking Ten Hag actually solves anything.

The arrival of Jim Ratcliffe as a minority stakeholder seemingly promised change at Old Trafford. Despite only assuming 25 percent of the club's ownership, Ratcliffe and INEOS gained significant control over the football-related decisions.

The early returns of the Ratcliffe era aren't encouraging as it resembles the sort of listlessness and lack of direction that steadily settled under the Glazer family's ownership.

United not only retained Ten Hag but also backed him to the tune of €200 million-plus in transfer spending. Around €60 million of that went to two players (Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui) signed because of their familiarity with the manager from his time at Ajax.

It took Ratcliffe and INEOS nine Premier League matches to decide Ten Hag wasn't the right fit after all. In the meantime, Manchester United watched Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel, two experienced managers linked with the club in the summer, take national team jobs.

Van Nistelrooy will presumably have every opportunity to prove he's worthy of the job on a permanent basis. He should benefit from the fact things can't possibly get much worse than they are right now.

But the underlying problems at Manchester United might be far too large for any one manager to address.