The ex-girlfriend of an American football star is fighting for her life after a horror collision after being involved in a shootout on the streets of St. Louis.

Ellie Bentley, 22, finally regained consciousness on Saturday after spending two weeks in intensive care following the 3am incident on February 25.

The British woman, who moved to the US last year with her then boyfriend Indiana Vassilev, got out of her car when a gunfight broke out.

Bentley took cover and hid under a nearby vehicle as bullets began flying in St. Louis’ Grove neighborhood.

But unbeknownst to her, the car she took refuge in was occupied with a male driver who fled in an attempt to escape the pandemonium.

Police responded to the scene at 2:52 a.m. on February 25 after reports of shots fired after a group reportedly tried to get into the wrong car.

The confusion prompted 35-year-old Andre T. Wilson to open fire on the group, hitting a 25-year-old man five times in the chest, according to Wilson’s arrest affidavit reported by First warning 4.

Wilson is then said to have fled on foot, while the victim was rushed to hospital in a critical but stable condition.

At the same time, witnesses reportedly apprehended officers after Bentley was struck in the collision before being dragged several blocks down the street.

The alleged driver of the vehicle was quickly identified as Dionte Taylor, 25, who was charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing bodily harm.

Prosecutors then charged Wilson a week after the shooting with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. He is being held without bond.

Bentley was rushed to hospital after suffering several broken limbs and was placed in intensive care for two weeks before finally being released on Saturday.

She has since undergone five major reconstructive surgeries and will undergo more surgeries in the near future.

Her family has since traveled from Britain to be by her side as she continues to recover GoFundMe page set up to help pay for rising medical costs.

However, her attorney, Ben Tobin, said her road to recovery will be long.

“She had just gotten out of a car when the shooting started,” he explained The sun.

“She ducked behind another vehicle until the shooting stopped, but then the person whose car she was hiding behind floored her, hit her, ran her over and dragged her for a few blocks.”

Tobin said Bentley had no connection to any of the parties involved in the shooting and was simply an unfortunate bystander.

“She was pretty sure she was going to die when she was dragged under the vehicle,” he said.

“The whole time she was laying there trying to hold on and do what she could so she didn’t get thrown under the wheel.”

Tobin noted how video footage appeared to show that the driver who struck Bentley was well aware of her presence as he fled the scene, running her over in the process.

“Based on the video, there is no way the person who hit, ran over and dragged her could claim that he did not know she was under the vehicle when he left,” he said.

A witness to the horror crash, Mollie Schwein, said she was woken in the early hours of the morning by screams coming from outside her nearby apartment.

“I heard him scream, ‘I’ve been shot,’ and it became very real,” she said First warning 4.

Schwein added that she heard several women screaming in the street when police arrived at the shooting, and another witness said they saw employees at a nearby bar run over to help Bentley on the street.

Bentley, originally from Bingham, east of Nottingham, moved to Missouri last year when Vassilev, 23, joined MLS side St. Louis FC.

When she moved, she shared on a Facebook group for Brits moving to the US that she was “actively looking for a job in St. Louis,” and that she was being helped with her visa paperwork by her friend’s soccer club.

She said at the time that she was looking for positions in the “university, non-profit or government research field.” Her GoFundMe said she had a work visa, but it is unclear where she started working.

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, Vassilev signed for Villa from 2020 but made just four appearances with the team after being loaned out to play for Burton Albion and then Cheltenham Town.

He eventually returned to the United States in 2021 and played two seasons with Inter Miami before signing with St. Louis City last year.

Bentley graduated from York University last summer with a degree in mathematics and physics.

‘Like most 22-year-olds, I loved dancing, going to the gym and yoga, and spent two to three hours a day on physical fitness. Now I cannot move my legs or my right arm,” Bentley said in a statement through her attorney.

American soccer has suffered two high-profile cases of extreme weather in the past week that disrupted professional matches. In both cases, the matches continued despite conditions that made it impossible to play in a normal manner.

The most recent of the two occurred on Wednesday, when persistent and heavy rain flooded the field at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Caif. before the U.S. Women’s National Team’s Gold Cup semifinal against Canada. Conditions prevented the ball from traveling more than a few yards along the ground in most parts of the field, which played a direct role in the United States’ opening goal.

JAEDYN SHAW RIDING THE STORMMMM pic.twitter.com/0gq2tkR2sa

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) March 7, 2024

“It was absolutely crazy,” Shaw said. “We had such a good warm-up… the ball was moving really fast, and we were excited to just play and play a really intense game, and then we came back and we were like, ‘What’s going on with the hand?'”

When asked if the game should have been played, USWNT interim head coach Twila Kilgore said: “Probably not.”

Last Saturday, an MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC was similarly affected, but by a different form of precipitation. That game, held at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, was first postponed by high winds and again by lightning shortly after kickoff. Once the game started in earnest, snow began to fall, resulting in as much as four inches of accumulation and whiteout conditions near the end of Salt Lake’s 3-0 victory.

“It was one of the worst professional sporting events I have ever seen in my life,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said after the match, for which he was fined $10,000 by the league this week for violating the league’s public criticism policy the competition. “I feel terrible for the players that we did this to them. The match could and should have been cancelled. In my opinion it was an absolute shame that we had to play today.”

Why were these games allowed to continue?

In North America, football matches are usually only canceled or postponed if there is lightning within a certain radius of the field or if there are weather conditions that affect the structural integrity of the stadium. While baseball and tennis (which saw a recent competition postponed due to rain) are at the more delicate end of cancellation, football is generally as likely to experience bad weather as American football.

There are numerous examples of professional and international soccer matches being played in poor conditions, with perhaps the most prominent example being the U.S. Men’s National Team’s World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica in Commerce City, Colorado, just outside Denver (called by many American fans ). as the “Snow Clásico”). In the 2022 World Cup qualifying cycle, the U.S. hosted Honduras in St. Paul in February, with temperatures hovering around 2 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 degrees Celsius) at kickoff. That match was also played as planned.

The fact that Saturday’s match was still being played came as a surprise to new RSL signing Matty Crooks, who has spent his entire professional career in Britain.

“Back in England I’d probably say it would have been called off after about 10 minutes,” Crooks said. “But to be honest, no one in the locker room even said it was canceled, so it was like, ‘Okay, we’re going to play through it.'”

USWNT forward Alex Morgan pointed out how conditions on Wednesday turned a match played largely on the ground into something completely different.

“It’s hard to even call it a football match tonight, especially the first half,” she told the media afterwards. “Your instinct is to dribble, and if you can’t dribble anymore, you lose the ball. Your instinct is not to go long when you have shorter options, but we saw from the goal that Jae scored… that it’s anyone’s game and you just have to put your instincts aside and just really get this win.

What are the rules for W Gold Cup matches? Is that different from NWSL?

Many professional games around the world are generally overseen by an individual whose job is to ensure that all the logistics needed to play are in place. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring the timely arrival of both teams and crew on duty, inspecting the playing field, ensuring safety arrangements are met and acting as a representative of the organizers on the ground. In CONCACAF, that person is called the match commissioner and is usually located on the sidelines between the benches.

The CONCACAF rules for the W Gold Cup state that the decision on whether to play a match in bad weather is up to the match referee (except in the case of lightning), but in practice it is the match commissioner who has the final decision . participation.

“Technically and practically, under the law, it is always the referee’s final decision to make that decision,” professional referee and CBS rules analyst Christina Unkel said during the halftime broadcast. “That said, practically speaking, there is a match commissioner at each of these CONCACAF matches. As we saw in the opening minutes of this match, the referee demonstrated that the ball was not rolling as she walked to the fourth official station, where the match commissioner stands. Her demonstrative performance made it very clear that she does not necessarily think this is a safe situation, but that she is being told by the competition commissioner that she must continue this competition.

CONCACAF did not respond to questions from The Athletics about the decision-making process that led to the continuation of Wednesday’s match.

In the NWSL, decisions on weather delays are made by a weather delay committee, according to the league Rules and Regulations for 2023. The committee consists of the referee, representatives from each team (usually the head coaches), and stadium staff.

What are the rules for MLS matches?

According to MLS Policy“Competition may be postponed or postponed where circumstances are such that the commencement or continuation of play would pose a threat to the safety and well-being of participants or spectators.”

“The decision as to whether a match will be deemed ‘postponed’ or ‘postponed’ will be made by the League Office in its sole and absolute discretion,” the policy reads. The league typically makes that decision with input from meteorologists, site personnel and both competing teams.

MLS says it will first consider safety for players, officials, staff and fans, followed by competition-related factors such as the playability of the field. The league also takes into account logistical factors such as the availability of the venue and match officials if the match is played the following day. Broadcast implications and other commercial aspects are considered based on the above factors.

When rain flooded the Los Angeles area last February around the start of the MLS season, the league moved the highly touted El Trafico between LA Galaxy and LAFC due to “safety concerns due to inclement weather” – factors including flooded parking lots around the stadium. The match was rescheduled for months later on July 4. LA had recorded the fourth highest average rainfall totals (6 inches). In February of this year, LA received 12 inches of rain – one centimeter less than the 1988 record.

How was the reaction?

After the match between Real Salt Lake and LAFC, LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said the MLS Players’ Association would be notified of the players’ complaints.

“My lower back hurts,” he said. “It’s like trying to run on an ice rink. You’re slipping and sliding all the time. The whole goal is not to fall over and hurt yourself. It will definitely be taken to the players’ association. I know our representative will have that conversation immediately.

Reached Thursday, an MLSPA spokesperson said The athletic: “We continue to discuss things with the players and the league that need to be improved. We have no further explanation at this time.”

The reactions on social media to the playing conditions were unanimously negative. Former USWNT player Julie Foudy posted“This is so insane. STOP THE MATCH.” San Diego Wave head coach Casey Stoney, whose NWSL team plays at Snapdragon Stadium, expressed concern for the players on the field — including several Wave representatives — to write“So dangerous!! Make the right decision for player safety!”

“Why are the players put in this situation? There is no chance that these are safe playing conditions.” former USWNT player Sam Mewis posted.

(Top Photos: Getty Images)

David Beckham was spotted leaving Dignity Stadium in Carson, California, after failing to show up to celebrate his team’s stoppage-time equalizer.

The 48-year-old Inter Miami owner looked dapper in a navy blue suit with his team’s badge on the pocket, which he paired with a light blue shirt and tie.

The father of four was accompanied by two of his sons, Brooklyn, 24, and Cruz, 19, but two other children, Romeo, 21, and Harper, 12, appeared to be absent.

David was pictured watching the match from a box before leaving the stadium following the clash between LA Galaxy and Inter Miami.

David watched from a suite with Brooklyn and Cruz, as well as Hollywood stars Liv Tyler and Edward Norton. His other son Romeo did not appear to be present at the match.

Romeo announced on Instagram on Sunday that he had split from his girlfriend, Mia Regan, 21, saying they were better as friends.

It was noted that David during the match seemed to stop herself from celebrating afterwards Lionel Messi‘s dramatic equalizer against his former club LA Galaxy.

Messi rescued a point for Inter Miami on Sunday evening, scoring in stoppage time as Tata Martino’s side came from behind to draw 1-1 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

After Messi reversed a Jordi Alba putback, David’s box exploded with emotion as those around him were on their feet and celebrating with each other.

The goal ensured Miami maintained its undefeated start to the 2024 MLS season in front of a star-studded crowd.

But cameras showed David sitting down with a straight face as people next to him toasted Messi’s goal.

David spent five years as a Galaxy player between 2007 and 2012 and helped the club win two MLS Cups before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain.

Just hours before the match started, David was seen signing autographs, posing for photos and waving to fans of his former team.

Around him, stars from sports and showbiz descended on Dignity Health Sports Park to catch a glimpse of Messi and Miami.

Hollywood legend Halle Berry and her partner, singer-songwriter Van Hunt, were among the crowd for the MLS match, as was tennis icon Novak Djokovic.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was seen on the sidelines before the match. So did several NFL stars, including Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua.

Nacua, who enjoyed a record-breaking rookie season in Los Angeles, posed for a photo next to Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Both NFL players received personalized LA Galaxy jerseys, as did Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon.

What do Mohamed Salah, Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Lionel Messi have in common? Their contracts are all expiring in 2025.

While the summer transfer window looks set to be headlined by Kylian Mbappe and the saga of his potential switch from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid, the world’s biggest clubs will be on alert as they attempt to navigate the contract situations of some of the best players in the world.

Who might move? Who looks likely to stay at their club? Which teams are interested in Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich, whose contracts also expire in 2025?

The Athletic explains below.

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Mohamed Salah

Who is the player most synonymous with Liverpool’s success during the Jurgen Klopp era, if not Salah?

The Egypt international is out of action after suffering a hamstring injury during the Africa Cup of Nations. Still, he remains as important as ever to his club as they aim to win their second Premier League title.

The 31-year-old was the subject of significant interest during last summer’s transfer window, with Saudi club Al Ittihad testing Liverpool’s resolve with a bid of £150million ($188m), and this saga appears likely to continue into next summer providing the prolific forward does not sign a new contract.

Sources close to Al Ittihad indicated they had not given up hope and were prepared to pay up to £200million for the most famous Arab footballer on the planet — a move that would place him alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar as poster boys for the Saudi Pro League. The package offered, understood to be worth around £1.5million ($1.9m) per week, around four times his current salary, would help grease the wheels, too.

Salah appears to be in his prime years, unlike Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, whom Liverpool sold to Saudi clubs last summer, and has shown no signs of agitating for a move. However, with Liverpool’s future uncertain in light of Klopp’s upcoming summer departure, Salah may want to wait for key roles to be addressed before committing his future to the club.

Neymar

All is not well for Brazil’s biggest star in Saudi Arabia.

Two months after joining Al Hilal from PSG in an £80million ($102m) transfer last August, he suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee, requiring surgery. The 32-year-old is not expected to play again this season.

In recent weeks, he has addressed claims from Saudi supporters that he has put on weight during his injury rehabilitation, with Neymar responding in Portuguese, “Overweight, great. But fat? I don’t think so!” in a video posted on Instagram.

Due to his unfortunate start to life in Saudi, Neymar’s long-term future is in the air. With the World Cup coming to the United States in 2026, Brazil’s record goalscorer may want another attempt to win one of the only trophies that has evaded him, potentially opening the door for a return to Europe to ensure he plays at the highest level before the tournament. A homecoming to Brazil cannot be ruled out either, nor can staying with Al Hilal, where Neymar is due to earn an estimated $300million (£235m) over two years.

Lionel Messi

Fresh from being named men’s player of the year at the FIFA Best Awards in January, Messi is travelling the world on a pre-season tour with Inter Miami and a few of his best friends — Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

His decision to depart Europe for Major League Soccer before staying with PSG, returning to Barcelona or following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo and going to Saudi Arabia looks like the right one.

While his move has been an undoubted commercial success, the prospect of rejoining his hometown club in Argentina, Newell’s Old Boys, retains its appeal.

Messi will be 38 on the expiry of his contract, leaving the prospect of staying in Miami, returning to Rosario, or even retiring as genuine possibilities. As is customary for MLS players, his contract expires in December (the end of the American soccer season) rather than June, with an option to extend his deal until 2026, which would take him to the age of 39.

Joshua Kimmich

Before Harry Kane’s arrival, Kimmich was arguably Bayern’s most important player.

Since joining the club in 2015 from RB Leipzig, the 28-year-old has made 248 league appearances and won eight Bundesliga titles, as well as the Champions League once. With Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller approaching the end of their careers, all seemed set for Kimmich to take over the mantle as club captain and play the remainder of his career in Bavaria — which makes it more surprising that his contract situation is not yet sorted.

Manchester City are exploring a move for the midfielder as they look for someone to play alongside Rodri, as well as providing cover for his position, but they know a deal will not be straightforward. If Kimmich does not sign a new contract with Bayern in the coming months, with negotiations yet to begin, the German giants are expected to put him up for sale in the summer. That would be a shocking development for a player that former club executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge described as “the embodiment of world class” in 2021.

Like in 2014, when Toni Kroos was allowed to depart for Real Madrid, Bayern could lose a top-class player in his prime for under market value.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Like Jamie Carragher or Steven Gerrard — up until his late-career move to the LA Galaxy — it is difficult to see Alexander-Arnold, who grew up a 10-minute drive away from Anfield, ever playing for a club other than Liverpool.

Having been promoted to vice-captain by Klopp before the start of the season, Alexander-Arnold has grown under the extra responsibility and he looks set to wear the armband permanently in the future. With 18 months remaining on his contract, Liverpool will look to tie down the 25-year-old to a long-term deal that reflects his importance to them.

While the departures of Klopp and his staff may complicate things slightly, given the German coach gave him his debut and has retained faith through more challenging moments in recent seasons, Alexander-Arnold is a bedrock for Liverpool to build on when they enter a new era.

Alphonso Davies

Alongside Kimmich and Leroy Sane, Davies rounds off the trio of world-class talents whose contracts are set to expire with Bayern in 2025.

Still only 23, Davies broke into Bayern’s first team in 2019 at 18 and has since won five Bundesliga titles and a Champions League. He’s already considered among the best full-backs in the world and there are few players, if any, who can replicate his pace and attacking quality in his position.

Bayern are expected to put him up for sale in the summer if they cannot agree a contract extension beforehand. Many clubs will be interested in a move this summer and Real Madrid are monitoring his situation. Considering he has started in all but one of the 27 games he has played for Bayern this season, they will not let him depart easily.

Kevin De Bruyne

Despite missing half of the season through injury, it has not taken long for De Bruyne to find his best form. In his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury on the season’s opening day, he scored and assisted in City’s 3-2 win against Newcastle United in January.

On January 31, in his first start back, he assisted Julian Alvarez as City made light work of Burnley in a 3-1 win. For almost any other player with De Bruyne’s injury history, a club with City’s resources would likely be searching around Europe for his immediate replacement. Still, the Belgian is arguably the best midfielder in the world and any alternative in the same position would be a certain downgrade.

Given De Bruyne’s age (32) and injury history, it would be irresponsible for City not to be preparing alternatives. With most clubs in Europe unable to offer a salary he would demand, there are very few realistic options available, particularly if he can put his recent injury woes behind him, and City will be keen to keep their star creator.

Leroy Sane

After three years in Munich, Sane has found his best career form under Thomas Tuchel. In 20 Bundesliga matches this season, he has scored eight goals and laid on 11 assists, an excellent return for the wide player who has adjusted brilliantly to the arrival of Kane.

Yet if his contract is not renewed in the coming months, Sane will likely be put up for sale in the summer. Expect Bayern to be keen to renew his deal, given his immediate connection with Kane, but the former Manchester City man will have suitors.

The prospect of attracting the versatile 28-year-old — a left-footed wide player capable of playing on either wing — at a cut price means top European clubs will keep an eye on his situation before this summer’s transfer window.

Son Heung-min

Following the departures of Hugo Lloris and Kane from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, Son has taken on the mantle as club captain and star player this season. Under Ange Postecoglou, the South Korea international has put last season’s struggles behind him — scoring 12 goals and adding five assists in 20 league games.

Son signed his most recent deal in 2021, a four-year contract with an option to extend by a year — something Tottenham are expected to do. But this will likely be Son’s last major contract as he will turn 34 in 2026.

Virgil van Dijk

Since being given the captain’s armband by Klopp in pre-season, Virgil van Dijk has quietened suggestions that his prime years are behind him with some dominant performances at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. But with 18 months remaining on his contract, he and Liverpool are caught in a dilemma.

Van Dijk is one of the Premier League’s greatest centre-backs, combining athleticism, technical quality and defensive anticipation in a way that few have ever done, making Liverpool’s decision whether to invest heavily in the future more challenging.

He is turning 33 this summer and there will be question marks on whether he can replicate his best form as his physical qualities decline, particularly as Van Dijk is one of the club’s highest-paid players.

With Klopp’s departure this summer, Liverpool’s future is still being determined. Asked whether he sees himself as part of the next era, Van Dijk responded: “That’s a big question. I don’t know.” He later clarified that he is still “fully committed to the club”, indicating he is not considering his long-term future while Liverpool remain in the hunt for four trophies this season.

Ivan Toney

It seems the right decision for all parties for Toney to depart Brentford this summer. After serving an eight-month ban for betting offences, the England striker has returned to action in excellent form, scoring two goals in two league matches — immediately picking up where he left off last season, where he was one of only three players to score 20 Premier League goals or more.

Fortunately for suitors, Toney has made it clear he sees his long-term future away from Brentford several times.

“You can never predict when the right time to move elsewhere is but I think it’s obvious I want to play for a top club,” Toney told Sky Sports in January. “Everybody wants to play for a top club, (one) fighting for titles. Whether it’s this January that is the right time for a club to come in and pay the right money, who knows?”

In January, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank said it would take an “unbelievable price” to take Toney away from the west Londoners. Still, with one year remaining on his deal in the summer, it would be in the club’s best interests to facilitate a move, with their star striker seemingly seeing his future elsewhere.

Warren Zaire-Emery

PSG are known for producing some of the best talent in Europe. Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, Christopher Nkunku, Patrice Evra and Nicolas Anelka have all graduated from the Parisians’ academy in the last three decades. Zaire-Emery could turn out to be the best out of the lot.

The 17-year-old has already made his international debut, becoming the youngest player to be called up for France since 1914, scoring a goal in a 14-0 win over Gibraltar. As a versatile midfielder capable of playing as a No 6, 8 and 10, he has drawn comparison to Jude Bellingham, three years his elder. Zaire-Emery is a different type of player but they share world-class potential.

So PSG, who are preparing for the eventual departure of Mbappe, will be keen to tie Zaire-Emery down long term. Born in Montreuil, an eastern suburb around 6km from the centre of Paris, he is the ideal face of a post-Mbappe PSG. If discussions stall, however, expect all of Europe’s top clubs to react quickly.

Weston McKennie

For those who followed Leeds United’s relegation from the Premier League last season, it might be a shock to see McKennie starting regularly for Juventus. Under Massimiliano Allegri, however, he has developed into a critical cog in Juventus’s midfield as they compete to win Serie A.

With a home World Cup in 2026, McKennie will want to play regular club football to ensure he retains an important role for the United States. Clubs needing a high-energy midfielder will monitor his situation if he falls out of favour. Until then, though, McKennie looks settled and happy in Turin.

Thiago Almada

If Almada departs Atlanta United this summer, he will likely become the most expensive player to leave Major League Soccer in its history. The record is Miguel Almiron’s transfer from Atlanta to Newcastle United for £21million ($27m) in 2019, and Almada, already a World Cup winner with Argentina, is expected to fetch around $30m.

Like Toney, Almada is keen to secure a move to a top European club. Eager to take advantage of a franchise-altering fee, Atlanta will facilitate a transfer, providing a club meets their valuation. They will have slightly more time than Brentford, however, as the 22-year-old’s deal expires in December 2025. Still, given the potential for a big sale, the MLS outfit will be keen not to let the value decline by allowing Almada’s contract to run down.

Conor Gallagher

At the beginning of 2023, Chelsea tried to sell Gallagher to Everton. Last summer, Chelsea rejected a £40million bid from West Ham. Tottenham were interested in January but a move never materialised. If Gallagher’s future is not sorted before the summer transfer window, his future may lie away from Stamford Bridge.

As the England international is an academy-trained player, a fee received for Gallagher will count as pure profit in the club’s accounts. Having spent over £1billion since Chelsea’s owners took over in May 2022, the money will help when it comes to Profit and Sustainability rules. However, Gallagher has played regularly under Mauricio Pochettino and has worn the armband several times this season — indicating the manager’s trust in him.

A potential departure may upset Chelsea fans, who have seen academy graduates depart frequently in recent seasons, but if there were a decision to part ways, the 23-year-old would not be short of suitors.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

The napkin on which Lionel Messi's first Barcelona deal was informally written will be sold at auction.

Bonhams – a private, London-based international auction house – will organize the auction between March 18 and 27, with a starting price of £300,000 ($381,000), on behalf of Argentine player agent Horacio Gaggioli.

The agreement was reached on December 14, 2000, when Barcelona director Carles Rexach desperately hoped that the club would sign Messi, then 13 years old.

Messi had impressed during his two-week trial with Barcelona in September 2000, but the club were initially reluctant to sign such a young, non-European player.

Rexach was concerned that the Catalan club would miss out on the signing of Messi, who had returned to his hometown of Rosario in Argentina.

Gaggioli told it The Athletics Last year he told Rexach in December 2000 that if they could not commit to signing Messi, the teenager would be offered to other clubs, including Real Madrid.

Rexach invited Gaggioli to dinner in Barcelona to make a final decision on Messi, but there was one problem: Rexach did not have time to draw up or print a contract, but needed the relevant signatures on a document that would later become legally binding.

His solution was to take a napkin and write down contractual words, which would then be signed by the relevant parties, to indicate a legal commitment.

The napkin read: “In Barcelona, ​​​​on December 14, 2000, and in the presence of Mr. (the agent, Josep Maria) Minguella and Horacio (Gaggioli), Carles Rexach, technical secretary of FCB, commits under his responsibility, despite the views of others who are against signing Lionel Messi, as long as the agreed fees are maintained.”

Rexach signed the napkin together with football agents Minguella – who had worked on several Barcelona deals in the past, including Diego Maradona – and Gaggioli.

“This is one of the most exciting items I have ever handled,” said Ian Ehling, head of Fine Books and Manuscripts at Bonhams New York. “Yes, it is a paper napkin, but it is the famous napkin that marked the beginning of Lionel Messi's career.

“It changed the life of Messi, the future of FC Barcelona, ​​and was instrumental in bringing some of football's most glorious moments to billions of fans around the world.”

Years later, Gaggioli called it a “miraculous moment” in his commentary on the event.

“That napkin broke the deadlock,” he added.

“My lawyers have looked into it. The napkin had everything: my name, his name, the date. It has been notarized. It was a legal document.

“It will remain a part of me for the rest of my life. The napkin will always be by my side. I live in Andorra and I kept the napkin in a safe at a bank.'

On Wednesday, Minguella told Catalunya Radio that the napkin had been in his office for years and that he had offered Barcelona the opportunity to display it in the club's museum.

He claims he has received no response from Barcelona and will now ask lawyers to find out who is the legal owner of the napkin and how someone can prove he or she legally owns it in order to put it up for sale.

Minguella has insisted he does not want to profit from the napkin but would rather see it in Barcelona's museum or, if sold, the money go to the club's foundation.

(Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Christian Pulisic is perched on a bar stool in the old clubhouse overlooking the first-team training pitch at Milanello, AC Milan’s training ground.

He makes a hand gesture, one he didn’t need the past six months living in Italy to learn. Pulisic is talking about himself as one of the “older guys” on the USMNT and, as he does so, he is sure to put air quotes around it.

Nearby is a portrait of Milan legend Paolo Maldini lifting a trophy, a player who retired in his forties. Pulisic isn’t that age yet. He turned 25 shortly after joining Milan from Chelsea in August. But as the United States get ready to host the Copa America as a guest competing nation this summer, the first newly-expanded 32-team Club World Cup the following year and then the biggest men’s World Cup finals yet, with 48 countries taking part, in 2026, he is already beginning to think about his legacy.

“I remember watching World Cups as a kid and watching (Clint) Dempsey scoring goals in the World Cup,” he says, “(Landon) Donovan scoring the winning goal (against Algeria in South Africa in 2010). It’s moments like that, that stick in kids’ minds and can really inspire a generation, which is what those moments did for me.”

Pulisic, though, is hoping to provide some of his own.

There’s a monotone zeal when he speaks. For all the curiosity about his hobbies outside of football, notably golf and chess — the board game with which Italy’s top-flight Serie A, a league renowned for its tactics and strategy, often gets compared — his focus on his own game is unflinching; his self-awareness of his influence acute.

“Watching someone that’s from where you’re from and playing at the highest level and showing the world we can compete and be the best; you know, compete with the best,” he explains. “For me, that’s what it’s all about. If I can inspire kids, especially back home in the U.S. but hopefully all over the world. There’s nothing… there’s no greater prize for me.”

Pulisic recognises he has a platform. He is the most expensive American player of all time. He captained his country for the first time at 20 and was the first American to play in the Champions League final. A decade since he moved to Europe, he has only played for big clubs — Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and now Milan. This is what, relatively speaking, makes him a veteran in football terms. Through the experience he has accumulated he hopes to emerge as a leader who is authentic to himself.

Publicly, he lacks the loquaciousness and affability of current national-team skipper Tyler Adams — “I’m not the most vocal person,” Pulisic concedes — but there are other ways to affect a group and a country.

To Pulisic, that means action as much as words and being an example “in just doing what I do every day”. It means “when I’m with the (national) team, when I’m at club level, I’m just continuing to show people, like, ‘OK, he’s pushing the boundaries. He’s performing to a high level.’ Hopefully, I can lead that way as well.”

The player who, in a meme, was framed as the LeBron James of soccer, is quite the introvert. He is the polar opposite, for instance, of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the transcendent Milan icon, who has returned to Milanello very quickly after his retirement as a player to take up a new role created by Milan’s owners RedBird Capital Partners as an operating partner for the group’s media and entertainment portfolio and as a senior adviser to Milan’s ownership and senior management. How then does Pulisic square his self-effacing character with the expectation his profile and ability generates?

“I’ve had my difficulties with it,” he accepts. “It’s not something that affects my day-to-day life. I think I’m quite a simple guy. I’m not out in public all the time, so it doesn’t affect me. I’m in training every day. I come home and I can relax and speak to the people close to me and the people that I love, so it’s not something that bothers me in any way. It’s just some getting used to and I’m really grateful I have the platform to do what I want to do.”

Our interview takes place by the exit of the clubhouse at Milanello, where a member of Milan’s backroom team sits at a desk waiting to catch the players as they leave training to sign jerseys for one of the club’s commercial partners. Pulisic’s shirt instantly became the best seller following his move from Chelsea for €20million (now $21.9m, £17.2m).

There was a 75 per cent increase in the number of Milan jerseys sold compared to a standard equivalent period. In the U.S. the sales uplift was 713 per cent, and Milan shirt sales in the U.S. increased from nine per cent of the total sold to 43 per cent. Personalised Pulisic jerseys represented 45 per cent of all match jerseys sold in his first month with them, according to the club.

Americans are flocking to San Siro, the iconic stadium Milan share with city rivals Inter, like never before. The number is up 148 per cent on this stage last season.

A commercial phenomenon, Pulisic is helping Milan, and Serie A, build their profiles in North America.

The club’s new fourth jersey, about to be launched in ivory and black, is inspired by the city of Milan’s most famous landmark, the gothic cathedral in Piazza del Duomo. Unsurprisingly, it is a collaboration with a U.S. brand, a streetwear label from Los Angeles — which was a stop on Milan’s 2023 pre-season tour. The club made sure to sign Pulisic in time to participate to make full use of his pull and draw fans to games against Real Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Juventus at MLS side LA Galaxy’s Dignity Health Sports Park.

“I think that’s just a win-win. That’s an extra thing,” Pulisic says of his impact off the pitch. “That’s not what I focus on. I focus on the sporting aspect, performing and winning games.”

The old clubhouse at Milanello, arguably the most bucolic training facility in European football, was, in harder financial times, rented out as a wedding venue. Pulisic and his new team are still in the honeymoon stage. “I’m enjoying it a lot,” he smiles. “I’ve been given a great opportunity here.” That’s all he was looking for after Chelsea, where he became surplus to requirements: “A fair opportunity.”

Did he feel he was no longer getting one at the London club? “I’m not here to talk about whether it was fair or not back then. I’m just happy to be where I am now, for sure. The first couple of years (at Chelsea) were fantastic,” he reflects. Pulisic was a member of their Champions League-winning squad in May 2021. “The last couple of years… I think a lot of things in the club changed. A lot of people also left this summer, got new opportunities and have done well.”

Some of them are now at Milan, too. Pulisic followed Ruben Loftus-Cheek to San Siro and the pair of them have reconnected with former Chelsea team-mates Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud, who had already made the move. “That made it a lot easier,” Pulisic says.

His debut goal against Bologna in August, a screamer from outside of the box, came from a neat one-two with striker Giroud. “I know a lot of his tendencies, he knows mine. It’s been great to play off him. Things like that are only going to help with the chemistry within the team and get me accustomed to a new team, a new league.”

The same goes for Yunus Musah, the USMNT midfielder, whom Milan signed from Spain’s Valencia in the same transfer window they acquired Pulisic.

Musah was born in New York City but raised in Castelfranco Veneto near Venice and speaks fluent Italian. “He’s an incredible kid,” Pulisic beams. “I love playing with him in the national team. It’s great now to see him day-to-day. If I don’t understand something, he’s there to help me out. He’s teaching me a bit of everything. Mostly the footballing stuff I need to know.”

Pulisic’s debut away to Bologna could not have gone better. In addition to scoring himself, he was instrumental to the other goal in a 2-0 Milan win, picking out Tijjani Reijnders at the far post to cut the ball back for a Giroud tap-in. A week later, in his first appearance at San Siro, he scored again. Milan won seven of their first eight games in the league.

Playing in a different position from the one he tends to occupy for the USMNT, Pulisic believes the experience of playing on the right rather than the left has made him a better player.

“I’ve learned a lot, especially playing off the right side. I’ve learned a lot about finding the right times to come inside. I’ve improved with my weaker foot as well and in finding the right solutions, the right times to run in behind, when to show to feet. I’ve really improved tactically about the game in that sense.

“From a defensive point of view as well, I think I’ve improved and I feel good about helping the team defensively whether it’s pressing or covering the right spaces. Some things I’ve definitely seen a change in in coming to Italy.”

It gives Gregg Berhalter, the USMNT coach and a frequent visitor to Italy this season, a more complete player ahead of the Copa America, where the hosts face group games against Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay.

Pulisic finished 2023 strongly. He is already in double figures for combined goals and assists and is set to have the most prolific campaign of his career.

Before Sunday’s 3-1 home win against Roma, Pulisic was presented with the Serie A Player of the Month award for December. A quiet confidence simmers within.

Milan are out of this season’s Champions League, finishing third in their group to drop down into the second-tier Europa League’s straight-knockout phase, and were eliminated from the Coppa Italia by Atalanta last week. They are third in Serie A, nine points behind first-placed rivals Inter who beat them four times in 2023, including in both legs of last season’s Champions League semi-final and, infamously, 5-1 in September in Pulisic’s first Derby della Madonnina in the league. But he does not accept Milan are out of the title race. That’s not in his mentality.

“There’s still half a season to go, so that doesn’t seem fair,” he bites back. “We’re still going to push on and do our best. We still have lots to play for. We’re still in the Europa League (they have a two-leg play-off next month against French club Rennes over a place in that competition’s last 16). There are many games left in the league this season, so we’re not at all discouraged by what’s going on. We’re going to continue to push and win games and hopefully make our fans proud.”

Injury-resistant at a club mired in an injury crisis and consistently decisive on the pitch, he has proved some of the Puli-sceptics wrong and hopes to take his form into the Copa America.

Pulisic was still a teenager when he played in the centenary edition of that tournament eight years ago. The U.S., playing then as they will this year as hosts and invited guests in what is the South American championship, made the semi-finals on that occasion before losing to Argentina. Can they do even better this time?

“There’s no measure to say exactly, ‘If we get this far, that’s success’,” Pulisic muses. “We’re going in with the mentality (of) taking it game by game and, of course, the goal is to win the tournament — always when you go into a tournament — so that’s how we look at things. We have a good young team and this is a great opportunity for us to play against the world’s best and hopefully show the world what we can do.”

To win it, the USMNT will have to get past reigning World Cup and Copa America champions Argentina and their captain Lionel Messi, whose impact since joining MLS club Inter Miami last summer has been electric.

“I can’t say it’s not expected,” Pulisic says. “He (Messi) is, of course, the best to really ever do it. After having the (2022) World Cup he did and then obviously being back in MLS, it’s been fantastic for the league. The buzz around the league, around Miami whenever they play… it seems like a big televised game. Players like that are going to bring in fans, new fans to watch the league, and for me it’s only a positive thing.”

Would it bring Pulisic back to the U.S. in the future? An old head on a 25-year-old’s body still feels he has much more to give Milan before then.

“Obviously, I’m not an old player,” he says. “I hopefully have some great years in Europe ahead of me. I’m loving my time here, so of course MLS is not in my head at the moment. But, yeah. At the end of my career? Absolutely.

“I will say, it’s come a long, long way from when I first started even… almost, what, 10 years (ago) when I moved to Europe. Where the game has come in the US from then, even MLS to where it is now, I’ve seen a massive change just as far as the support in the US; you know, getting behind the national team and even the clubs now seeing Messi in Miami, things like that.

“There’s just so much buzz around the sport and I think it’s only going to get better in the next few years.”

(Top photo: Alessandro Belussi and Pietro Vai)

When Wayne Rooney was told his time as manager of Birmingham City was over after just 15 games, he was shocked.

After signing a three-and-a-half-year contract, the former England striker was left with the impression that he had joined a long-term project. Rooney had had an open dialogue with the club’s hierarchy – including chief executive Garry Cook and director of football Craig Gardner – and there was no indication their confidence in him was waning.

Birmingham won just two of Rooney’s 15 games, but even after his most recent defeat, against Leeds United on New Year’s Day, he had spoken optimistically about being a ‘fighter’ who would not shy away from the challenge of taking the team out save the downward spiral. That run saw Birmingham drop from sixth to twentieth place in the Championship, just six points above the relegation zone.

City supporters had never warmed to Rooney after he replaced the popular John Eustace and by the end of Monday’s match their cries of ‘Wayne Rooney, get out of our club’ left no one in any doubt that their decision had been made. Less than 24 hours later, club executives had come to the same conclusion.

Birmingham’s players were told this yesterday morning when they arrived at the club’s temporary training ground in Henley-in-Arden. Once again the news was greeted with surprise, but perhaps also with some relief.

Rooney had been tasked with reinventing a group of players who had developed a reputation for counter-attacking football, from being well-organized and difficult to beat under Eustace, into a possession-based, attacking side that had to be brave on the ball . It clearly didn’t work.

The team felt that Eustace’s dismissal had not been necessary. He was an honest, hard-working coach who had led the club through difficult times under previous ownership, but the players had tried to embrace the new approach of Rooney and his new but relatively inexperienced backroom staff, including former Chelsea defender Ashley. Cole and Rooney’s former Manchester United teammate John O’Shea.

There was no evidence that the players were not playing for Rooney and there were moments, such as the 2-2 draw at home to Ipswich Town and the 1-0 win over Cardiff City, when things seemed to click. But there were far too few of these moments to satisfy an unhappy fanbase, who saw a team lacking structure and seemingly confused or unable to play the way Rooney wanted.

Rooney was not unpopular with his players, despite the results and the manager’s strong public criticism of them. Rooney had occasionally questioned his team mental strength, prowess and even personal pride – comments that had stung some of them. After the match against Leeds, Rooney said the squad was in desperate need of an overhaul and that recalibrating the squad to play the way he wanted would take more than one transfer window.

Like many great players who become managers, Rooney became increasingly frustrated as his players seemed unable to do what he found easy and second nature on the pitch.

Yet he was not particularly interventionist during the training. Instead, Rooney took on more of a viewing assignment, leaving most of the work to be done by his assistant Carl Robinson, who had worked with him in the MLS at DC United, and O’Shea, while Cole would work on set pieces .

Rooney intervened when he saw something he wanted to change or when he wanted to make a point. But some were surprised that Rooney, given his illustrious career, was not more hands-on, especially with the attacking players. Very few team members improved during Rooney’s tenure, apart from midfielder Jordan James.

Rooney wasn’t helped by injuries to some of his better players, such as summer recruits Ethan Laird and Tyler Roberts, or a drop in form from some of his senior players such as goalkeeper John Ruddy and captain Dion Sanderson, but Rooney struggled to survive the rest of his group was in full agreement with the game plans, which often changed as he simplified them over and over again.

Even though it looked like there were improvements in the displays against Cardiff, Leicester City and Plymouth Argyle, the home games against Stoke City on Boxing Day and then Bristol City – when there were verbal altercations between some of his staff and fans, and Rooney was booed – putting his future in jeopardy. When the hardcore away fans turned on him in Leeds, his fate was effectively sealed.

The Birmingham side were asked to drastically change their approach, moving away from a style that the players believed in but the club’s hierarchy did not. It may not have been pretty at times under Eustace, but this season it had proven effective.

Eustace’s removal was not motivated by a desire to land Rooney, but because, having failed to finish above 17th in the previous five seasons, they wanted the team to play fearless football. Eustace thought that was premature for a young group of players who were just getting used to a style of play that he thought suited them best.

But even Rooney soon realized he had to adjust his ambition as his players struggled to execute his game plan, with his wing-backs playing high and wide and the defenders playing from the back.

That attacking approach had completely changed by the time of Bristol City’s match at St Andrew’s, a dull goalless draw. Rooney admitted afterwards that he had set his side up not to concede, having scored three goals in each of the previous three games.

Before Christmas, Rooney had invited several journalists to attend the final preparation session for the trip to Cardiff, which produced one of his two victories. He insisted that his players could do what he asked of them in training, but on match days they made too many mistakes, again indicating that the problem was psychological rather than technical.

With a few within the squad he was probably right, as while some wanted to continue, there was also a feeling that some were coasting through the season.

Several players missed their annual Christmas party in early December as they felt it was inappropriate given their poor form. Although the team was not divided, confidence was low. Ultimately, Rooney couldn’t promote positivity.

While some may welcome his departure, there are still many training ground staff who retain some sympathy for Rooney, who was visible, friendly and approachable. The feeling was that he did not have the players to deliver on the brief and that it would take several transfer windows – and a lot of money – to put that right.

One of the priorities of the club’s new owners, Knighthead Capital Management, is to reconnect the club with its fans after years of mismanagement. They hoped Rooney’s appointment would do that. Instead, trust has already been broken.

The next decision they make must be the right one, and not just because Birmingham – the longest-serving Championship club – are once again in a precarious position.

Cook was assessing management options yesterday, but no candidate is waiting to act. Professional development coach Steve Spooner will take charge of Saturday’s FA Cup trip to Hull City, assisted by Cole, O’Shea and Pete Shuttleworth, but the need to start picking up points is becoming increasingly urgent. They will want to have their new man in place by the time they return to league action against Swansea City on January 13.

Steve Cooper and Graham Potter, a former Birmingham defender, are available and have Premier League qualities but are highly unlikely to want the job. Eustace, meanwhile, is said to be open to the idea of ​​a quick return, but Birmingham is not expected to return to him.

England Under-21 head coach Lee Carsley could be a candidate who ticks many of the boxes. The 49-year-old, born in Birmingham, has played and coached for the club in the past and is said to be popular with the fans. The way his young England team plays also matches the club’s vision and he has experience in coaching young players. Cole also partners Carsley in the England setup.

Carsley may not have the star power of Rooney, which could raise the club’s profile and drive revenue growth, but as Birmingham should have learned by now, this is a club that needs substance, not style.

(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

There may not be a soccer player on the world stage more divisive and controversial than Uruguay’s Luis Suarez. Throughout the course of his 18-year career, the 36-year-old forward who is finalizing a move to Inter Miami has been accused of racism and called a cheat. He has been banned on three separate occasions for biting opponents during matches, both at the club and international levels. Many fans around the world see him as the devil incarnate. 

Suarez is also among the best goalscorers that the sport has ever produced. 

The anthology of his career exploits is best summed up by his numerous nicknames. Suarez was the “S” in “MSN” — the acronym used to describe the legendary three-man Barcelona strike force of Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar. His oldest nickname relates to his signature goal celebration. He points both hands like he’s carrying two guns and fires off several imaginary rounds, earning the moniker “El Pistolero” (The Gunman) for his lethal scoring talents. But in 2010, Suarez was also dubbed the “Cannibal of Ajax.” 

He was the captain of Dutch giants AFC Ajax that season when he inexplicably bit PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal on the shoulder during a match. The incident occurred inches away from the referee, but Suarez was not punished. 

| Terug naar 2010, toen Nederland voor het eerst kennismaakte met de bijtgrage Luis Suárez…#ajapsv #suarez #bakkal pic.twitter.com/ptxT22xpLN

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) March 29, 2019

There was no video assistant referee (VAR) at the time, but because of the overwhelming video evidence, Ajax suspended Suarez for two matches after the incident. The Dutch Football Federation then charged Suarez with committing a violent act and doubled down by handing the Uruguayan a seven-game ban of their own. He would not play again for Ajax, but his more than 80 goals across four seasons caught the eye of Liverpool. Despite that biting incident and subsequent suspension, the Premier League club signed Suarez in the winter of 2011. 

Further controversy soon followed. During a match against rivals Manchester United that season, Suarez was accused of using a racist slur toward United defender Patrice Evra, who is Black. Evra said that Suarez had referred to him using the N-word. Suarez in turn admitted to saying “negro” (pronounced “neh-gro” in Spanish) in the same way a Spanish speaker may refer to someone as “flaco” (skinny) or “rubio” (blonde), he claimed. 

Backed by Liverpool, Suarez maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty when the English FA began its investigation. He was ultimately given an eight-match ban for racially abusing Evra. In a 2014 book written by Suarez titled “Crossing the line: My Story,” Suarez insisted that he is not a racist. 

“I was horrified when I first realized that is what I was being accused of,” Suarez wrote. “And I’m still sad and angry to think that this is a stain on my character that will probably be there forever. Put ‘Luis Suárez’ into an internet search engine and up comes the word ‘racist.’ It’s a stain that is there forever. And it is one that I feel I do not deserve.”

Two seasons later, Suarez attacked Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic with another ferocious bite to the forearm. A horrified Ivanovic fell to the ground as Suarez acted as if nothing had happened. But, once again, consequences soon followed. Suarez was handed a 10-game ban.

Suarez phoned Ivanovic after the bite and apologized. The Serbian defender would later refer to the ordeal as “really strange.” 

 “When it happened I was surprised and angry. But after the game I calmed down and all was forgotten,” Ivanovic said. “We spoke on the phone, I accepted his apology, the police did not press charges.”

A little over a year later, at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Suarez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during a group stage match in Natal. Suarez’s chomp was clear as day, and despite the tooth marks on Chiellin’s shoulder, Suarez again escaped the referee’s punishment in the moment. 

“Dare I say it. He’s had a little bite at Chiellini,” said television analyst Stuart Robson that day, after the broadcast replayed the moment. “Surely not again. Surely. Not. Again,” replied commentator Jon Champion, clearly stunned by what he had witnessed. Soon after, FIFA suspended Suarez for nine games, ending his World Cup, plus an additional four-month ban from club and international soccer. 

Four years earlier in South Africa, Suarez was branded a cheat by an entire continent. During an intense World Cup quarterfinal between Uruguay and Ghana, Suarez intentionally handled the ball inside his own penalty area in a desperate bid to prevent what would have been a decisive goal for Ghana. With the match tied 1-1 late in extra time, Suarez parried away Dominic Adiyiah’s header with both hands, preventing a surefire winner for the African nation. A penalty was awarded to Ghana and Suarez was sent off, leaving the field in tears. 

With the chance to secure the first-ever World Cup semifinal berth for an African country, Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan clattered his penalty kick off the crossbar. Suarez, who had made his way to the stadium’s tunnel following his ejection, ran out and celebrated, to the ire of Ghanaian faithful. Uruguay would win in a penalty shootout and advance to the semifinal. 

If Diego Maradona’s goal against England at the 1986 World Cup was deemed the Hand of God, Suarez’s two-handed goal line save was quite the opposite. 

“The whole of Ghana hates him and the whole of Africa hates him,” former Ghana midfielder Ibrahim Ayew told The Athletic last year. 

Uruguay and Ghana met again at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in the final match of the group stage for both teams. Naturally, talk of revenge for Ghana dominated the headlines. The day prior to the match, Uruguay surprisingly made Suarez available to reporters, fueling the fires for one of the tournament’s most anticipated clashes. Inside a nearly packed auditorium at the Qatar National Convention Center, Suarez held court. 

Right away, a Ghanaian reporter referenced the handball, asking Suarez if he had ever considered apologizing for that decision. The reporter told Suarez that in Ghana, Suarez was considered “el diablo, or the devil himself.” Mild laughter was heard from those in attendance. Suarez, though, never cracked a smile. 

“The first time, I didn’t apologize about that because I took the handball, but the Ghana player missed a penalty. Not me,” Suarez replied in English. “Maybe I can apologize if I make a tackle, injure the player and take a red card. Maybe I would apologize. But in this situation I took the red card. The referee called a penalty. It’s not my fault because I didn’t miss the penalty. The player who missed the penalty, he’d do the same (as me) in this situation. It’s not my responsibility to shoot the penalty.”

Suarez then accepted that he had “f—ed up” when he bit Chiellini in 2014. “Did I mess up? Yes. I accepted it,” Suarez said. There was no apology for Evra, however. Uruguay would go on to defeat Ghana 2-0 behind an inspired Suarez. But the win wasn’t enough. Uruguay were eliminated in the group stage on goal differential. Ghana, too, were out of the World Cup, but the Ghanaian fans cheered when a tearful Suarez was shown on the stadium’s big screen.  

The Ghanaians will always view Suarez as a lawbreaker, but the Uruguayan remains a respected and revered player in Liverpool and Catalunya. After winning his first European Golden Shoe (given to the top scorer on the continent) with Liverpool in 2014, Suarez joined Barcelona that summer and clicked immediately with Neymar and Messi, his good friend. Suarez was clearly one of the best strikers in the world — a tenacious goal scorer and a big-game performer. He scored 198 goals in six seasons for the Catalan club, forming a telepathic relationship with Messi on the pitch, and close bond with the Argentine and his family off it. 

Suarez won four La Liga titles, another European Golden Shoe, and a Champions League trophy with Barcelona. His intelligent movement and clinical finishing made him a centerpiece of every team he played for, enticing clubs to look past his list of transgressions. However, the combination of relentless production and nefarious behavior cemented Suarez as one of the game’s great villains in the eyes of many around he world. 

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After the World Cup in Qatar last year, Suarez, then a free agent, returned to his boyhood club Nacional de Montevideo to a hero’s welcome, complete with a viral social media campaign that captivated the soccer world. Nacional is one of Uruguay’s biggest clubs and a three-time Copa Libertadores champion. Suarez debuted for Nacional as an 18-year-old in 2005.

Today Suarez is a club legend. He solidified that status after he led Nacional to a league title last fall. Curiously, his brace last October against Uruguayan side Liverpool (not to be confused with Suarez’s previous employer in England) clinched the league championship. Suarez then moved to Brazilian club Gremio in January of this year. Gremio is a former South American powerhouse that was relegated to Brazil’s second division in 2021. There, too, Suarez became a club idol. He finished with 27 goals in 52 appearances with Gremio, adding two domestic trophies. 

When Messi signed for Inter Miami last summer, reports immediately linked old friend Suarez with a move to south Florida. A reunion with Messi felt inevitable when the Argentine’s former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba quickly joined him. However, Suarez, who acts as his own agent, continually denied speaking to Miami. He also told reporters in Brazil in July why he had sought to end his contract with Gremio one year early, which raised questions about his view of the standards of MLS. 

“I feel that next year I will not be able to perform due to my fitness and the high demands of the Brazilian championship, which is why the club and I have spoken about ending my contract (with Gremio) a year early,” Suarez said. “That would be in December (of 2023). The club agreed and I’m grateful to them. I don’t know if I’ll continue to play somewhere else because I have a chronic issue with my knee that you all know about.”

Yet, he’s now set to continue his career in MLS. 

Uruguayan journalist and television commentator Rodrigo Romano, who has followed Suarez’s career from the start, calls Suarez “a peculiar person” and someone who is prone to emotional outbursts. That doesn’t diminish his standing in Uruguay, though.

“Luis is an icon,” Romano told The Athletic. “And that goes beyond the historical statistics that he holds as the national team’s all-time leading goal scorer. He has a unique sporting resilience that allows him to get up when he’s knocked down and do fantastic things. I think he’s the most important striker in the history of Uruguayan football. That’s the best way to define Suarez.”

In 2011, Suarez helped Uruguay win their 15th Copa América title and was named the tournament’s best player, one year after Uruguay’s semifinal run at the World Cup. The national team has always been Suarez’s refuge — an insulated environment devoid of criticism. Thanks to his success with his country, Suarez became the rare player who could play for Nacional and still be respected by fans of archrival Peñarol whenever he wore the Uruguay shirt. 

“That’s very unique,” Romano said.

“Suarez always found a special place within the national team in spite of the badge that he represented,” continued Romano. “From day one, the people in Uruguay have protected him. He has always been embraced by the fans in Uruguay.”

That support came during Suarez’s darkest moments. He isn’t a villain in his home country. Suarez’s attitude and fighting spirit are embraced as part of the garra Charrúa — Uruguay’s sporting identity, one of perseverance and courage. 

“The people in Uruguay backed him after the incident with Chiellini at the World Cup in Brazil, and after the accusations of racism towards Patrick Evra, which could never be proven,” said Romano. “He was persecuted in England and that created a sense of victimization. That’s what happened with Luis.” 

Suarez’s international future was in doubt after the 2022 World Cup. And when Marcelo Bielsa took over as the national team’s manager in May, bringing with him his traditional high-tempo, high-pressing tactics, Suarez’s regular place in the team was in jeopardy. 

After the first four matches of the South American 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Suarez was not called up. Bielsa finally included Suarez in round five against Argentina, a match that Uruguay won 2-0 in Buenos Aires. Suarez did not play, but he was briefly reunited with Messi. 

The former Barcelona teammates hugged each other before the match, and will now begin the final chapter of their careers together in MLS. Suarez is coming to America, but not to rescue his career. Not to reshape his image, either. 

Suarez is coming to MLS to be who he has always been — a dangerous player in more ways than one. 

(Top photo: Richard Ducker/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)