Inter chiefs are heading to London to hold talks with Tottenham over two defenders swapping clubs.
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In a move that would ease any potential Marc Guehi blow this summer, Crystal Palace have now reportedly emerged as shock contenders to sign a young defender wanted by Real Madrid.
From languishing all too close to the relegation zone to fighting for a place in the top half and reaching the last eight of the FA Cup, Crystal Palace have enjoyed quite the turnaround this season. Following a shaky start to Oliver Glasner’s first full season in charge, in which they were still reeling from Michael Olise’s summer exit, the Eagles have rediscovered their best form under the Austrian.
That form has done them no favours when attempting to fend off any interest in Guehi, however. The England centre-back was the subject of interest from Newcastle United last summer, only for Palace to price the Magpies out of a move.
Now, almost a year on from those rumours, it’s the likes of Chelsea who are reportedly interested in securing Guehi’s signature and they, unlike Newcastle, will be difficult to price out of a summer deal.
It seems as though those in South London are already preparing for the worst by lining up a shock Maxence Lacroix repeat. According to Caught Offside, Crystal Palace have emerged as shock contenders to sign Konstantinos Koulierakis from Wolfsburg, who value their defender at as much as €50m (£42m) this summer.
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By
Brett Worthington
Mar 3, 2025
The Eagles are far from alone in the race to secure his signature, however, with European giants Real Madrid standing alongside Liverpool in a mammoth battle in the coming months.
Whilst Wolfsburg would feel fairly hard done by if Crystal Palace signed Lacroix one summer and then his replacement one year later, that’s exactly what the Eagles should look to do. Having worked out last summer, returning to the Bundesliga could be the key to replacing Guehi should he swap Selhurst Park for a top six move when the transfer window swings open.
|
Wolfsburg stats (via FBref) |
Maxence Lacroix 23/24 |
Konstantinos Koulierakis 24/25 |
|---|---|---|
|
Starts |
27 |
20 |
|
Progressive Passes |
79 |
75 |
|
Tackles Won |
29 |
17 |
|
Ball Recoveries |
126 |
69 |
Performing to similar levels to Lacroix’s final Bundesliga season, particularly on the ball, Crystal Palace are certainly looking in the right direction for a potential new centre-back partnership. A move to the Premier League would be Koulierakis’ biggest yet and continue his rise from the central defender who football talent scout Jacek Kulig described as “amazing” at PAOK into one to watch in England’s top tier.
Whether Palace can cause a shock a beat the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid to sign their second Wolfsburg defender in as many years remains to be seen. With or without Selhurst Park, however, Koulierakis looks destined for great things.
Kyle Abbott talks about his star turn for Hampshire this season, and being a T20 gun for hire
Mohammad Isam11-Nov-2017What was it like to have taken 60 wickets in the 2017 county season for Hampshire?
It was great. I have had a bit of experience in county cricket over the last couple of years, but to be settled and contribute for Hampshire was great. It is nice to get started with a few wickets and maybe it is a sign of things to come in the next couple of years.How do you adjust to the varying nature of English conditions?
I think the great thing about English cricket is that conditions vary through the summer. April-May is very bowler-friendly; it is almost half-volley length. As the summer goes on, it gets a bit easier for batsmen. But then other things come into play, like reverse swing, and when the summer gets dry you have to adjust your length.Obviously staying injury free is important.
It is quite tough. It is a long season with 14 four-day games, and we ended up playing 16 T20s through that too. The club is good with keeping me fresh. I have also got to the age where I know my body. I know when to rest and when to train. It comes with a bit of experience.
I also got to the age where I know my body. I know when to rest and when to train. It comes with a bit of experience
How do you prepare for something as long as a county season?
The only way to get fit for a county season, especially for a bowler, is to bowl. For me, it is probably three weeks to a month. I will be slowly building up. It all depends on what I will do in January and February. If I am playing cricket somewhere else in the world, I will keep ticking over. The higher your workload is going into a season, I believe, the easier it gets.How different is the intensity between county cricket and the international game?
You are never going to replicate international cricket anywhere, unless you are playing it. At the end of the day I have realised over the last six-eight months that I just want to enjoy my cricket, no matter where I am playing and what stage it is. I have enjoyed my last six months as much as I have ever enjoyed my cricket in the last nine-ten years. It has been really good for me; nice and refreshing.Going back all the way to the start of your career: why did you take up fast bowling?
I have asked myself that a few times over the last couple of years. I think it is something that came naturally to me, to be honest. Actually growing up I was bit more of a batsman, which has slowly started to come out a bit again in the county set-up.What excites you about fast bowling?
I suppose it is getting wickets. The excitement of, really, beating a batsman with a good ball that’s moving around with a bit of pace. Working over a batsman, really figuring him out. The joy of taking a wicket is right up there.How do you manage yourself now that you are in demand in T20 leagues?
It is obviously a lot easier to maintain yourself and stay fresh because of the workload.”I just want to enjoy my cricket, no matter where I am playing and what stage it is”•Khulna TitansI enjoy these tournaments a lot because you interact with so many different people. The amount of different nationalities you get in a team, from English, West Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and the amount of things you learn from these T20 teams is the big thing for me. It is the part that I enjoy the most.Why did you choose to come to the BPL?
They chose me. It was an opportunity that came up a few months ago. All I want to do is play cricket and do my job. If I get an opportunity, I am going to take it. I am really grateful to get a gig with Titans. It is a great set-up from the management to the coaches Mahela [Jayawardene] and Alfonso [Thomas]. Everything runs smoothly here, which makes it even more enjoyable.You’d obviously be focusing a lot on bowling fuller lengths in these tournaments.
I do work quite a bit on yorkers and death bowling. I think it is being used a lot more in T20s now, even in the Powerplays – yorkers and slower balls. The batsmen are getting quite far ahead of the game now. But it also depends on what surface you get. We saw in Sylhet that the pitch played a lot different in the day compared to the night. Your skills are having to be adapted on the same day.You took a seven-wicket haul on your Test debut. Must have been a memorable day.
To be honest all I can remember is that both my older brothers and my dad and mum were there to witness [my debut Test]. It was something special.Is there something you miss about in international cricket?
You are never going to replicate the intensity of playing for your country anywhere. But I enjoyed my time there. It is a new chapter now and I have got new and exciting things to look forward to.
Mark Wood and Sam Billings stood out but tourists continue to be weighed down by their baggage
Andrew Miller15-Jan-2022If Chris Silverwood hadn’t played his cliché at precisely the wrong moment, in the wake of England’s pitiful surrender at Melbourne, this might well have been a day for focusing on the “positives” – namely, the extraction of seven Australian wickets for 99 runs across two innings and two distinct periods of the pink-ball life cycle, a performance that reinforced the very adequacy upon which England’s fleeting pre-series hopes had been founded.Unfortunately, in shipping their own innings in 47.4 overs – the sort of attrition-rate that would attract scorn in an ODI, let alone a Test match – England left themselves no option but to double down once more on their most deep-seated failings. Not since 1958-59 has an England team travelled to Australia and failed to make 300 in at least one innings. With their tenth and final effort likely to get underway some time on Sunday, the book on that one is all but closed.This was another day of thoroughly processional batting from England – their essential flimsiness put into stark relief by Scott Boland’s heroic display as Australia’s nightwatchman in the face of another gut-busting show from Mark Wood. Boland’s 25 balls of stoic line-holding was longer than four of England’s top six managed in friendlier conditions, and he has the chance to extend that further still.Related
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As it happened – Australia vs England, 5th Test, Hobart, 2nd day
With a lead of 152 overnight, and the pink Kookaburra already approaching the 20-over mark of its life cycle – the point at which all movement for England’s bowlers appeared to vanish in the first innings – it’s hard to envisage how England will not be made to rue, once again, the all-too-frequent lapses that have exacerbated Australia’s dominance of this campaign.”Australia have been brilliant with the ball, there’s no doubt about that,” Sam Billings said at the close. “But the most disappointing thing was, whenever we wrestled back a bit of momentum, we lost a wicket at crucial times. It was a real eclectic mix of dismissals as well. It wasn’t just a set way of getting out.”Despite being granted the most favourable batting conditions so far, no England batter made more than Chris Woakes’ 36, and he only lasted that long thanks to two dropped slip catches off Boland, as if karma was decreeing that his then-Test bowling average of 8.64 was already quite sufficiently ridiculous, thanks very much. (It’s been stretched back out to 10.26 now – which means he isn’t even topping Australia’s averages anymore.)That glimmer of Australian sloppiness even extended to their appealing. Rory Burns and Dawid Malan both survived non-reviewed caught-behinds early in their stays – though had Burns’ reprieve been much earlier it would have been pre-natal. He hadn’t even had a chance to capitalise on his good fortune from Mitchell Starc’s sixth ball of England’s innings, when Zak Crawley called him through for a sharp but feasible single, and off he trooped for his eighth duck in 22 innings. At least the refrain from the commentators was less focused on his idiosyncratic technique this time, and more on his failure to fling himself headlong for the crease.Ben Stokes can’t believe his dismissal•Getty ImagesSo much has been made of England’s exhaustive preparation for this series, but just as they went into the Brisbane Test with a bowling attack that had never before taken the field together (and Stuart Broad’s deliverance of David Warner’s second Ashes pair in consecutive series was another tart rejoinder to that particular call), so too were Crawley and Burns opening together for the very first time – little wonder they lacked the sort of telepathic understanding that you’d expect from a more seasoned alliance.Rather than exhaustive, Ben Stokes just looked exhausted after wincing his way through 75 rib-bruising overs in the field. A Test tour of the Caribbean is looming in two months’ time – a venue where, for all the disparagement that West Indies cricket tends to receive these days, England have won just one series since 1968. It doesn’t require hindsight to point out that picking an injured player for such a long-dead rubber (Broad’s exhortation to “win the battle in front of you” notwithstanding) isn’t exactly the smartest way to get such a crucial performer back into the groove.Besides, it’s too late to expect any remarkable twist to this particular narrative. England are bound to be goaded by memories of Headingley 2019 come the fourth innings, but that performance stands out – like its 1981 predecessor – precisely because of its once-in-a-generation status. So long as England consider even a half-fit Stokes better than no Stokes at all, they will be inviting precisely the sort of decades-long hangover that Ian Botham’s heroics caused in the 1980s and 1990s, while providing a performative smokescreen. Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, has been doing the rounds in this Test, dressing up an abject battering as a “brilliant opportunity” for a reboot.Joe Root hasn’t had the same physical pain to deal with as Stokes (not lately at least…), but he too has dug about as deep as he can manage on this trip. Inevitably, Root was England’s most composed performer but – as has become equally inevitable the longer this series has gone on – he failed to push on from the promise of his beginnings. The dream of that maiden hundred in Australia has waned to the mere hope that he can get back to reaching fifty on a once-a-match basis. Instead, after enduring another onslaught that left the broadcaster’s heatmap resembling an advert for Rennies – targeted directly at his pit of his stomach – he played too deep to the pad-thumper from Cummins, and trooped off for his series average of 34.Mark Wood roars after removing Usman Khawaja late on•Getty ImagesOnly two England players, in fact, could genuinely be said to be enjoying themselves. One was the effervescent Wood, who still can’t quite persuade his average to match his endeavours, but whose reversion to a more pitch-battering length at least put him out in front as England’s leading wicket-taker. And the other, as if to prove that preparation is folly and living in the moment is the only way to go, was the debutant Billings, whose glee at being involved was palpable.”Did it look like I was having fun? I loved it,” Billings said, having driven 500 miles and nine hours to link up with the squad instead of fly home to the UK ahead of next week’s white-ball tour. “It’s far better than being sat on the sofa, waiting to board the plane.”Billings is a curious type of Test debutant – a veteran of England tour parties, if not of actual matches, having featured in barely a quarter of the white-ball games that have taken place since his first cap in 2015, and a man whose arrival has added “a bit of experience around the group”, as he put it.He’s clearly not wrong, and his exuberance behind the stumps has been a clear injection of energy in the field, certainly compared to Jos Buttler’s troublingly catatonic displays in the first four games.But you have to wonder how Dan Lawrence, for example, must feel at being leapfrogged in this manner – not least given how excited the ECB (and Mo Bobat, the influential performance director, in particular), had been about his displays on the Lions tour two years ago.That trip, featuring a maiden England Lions victory over Australia A at Melbourne, was trumpeted at the time as proof of England’s long-term Ashes vision. Now, the stand-out batting star of that campaign can’t even get a gig in the fifth Test of a long-lost tour, while the key bowler, Ollie Robinson, gets thrown under the bus for his lack of fitness. No, it’s only fair to reserve judgement on the positives for now, and wait for the inevitable inquests.
Wrexham have been handed an audacious transfer boost as Tottenham star Ben Davies refused to commit his future to Spurs. The experienced Wales international, who has been a fixture at Spurs for over a decade, has acknowledged that decisions about his next move may soon be out of his hands.
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With the summer transfer window well and truly back open, Aston Villa have a huge few weeks ahead.
After failing to qualify for the Champions League after defeat against Manchester United on the final day of the season, the West Midlands side find themselves in the Europa League.
That surely makes them less appealing to top players they are looking to sign, and also means they have less money, which could make it tough to turn the loan moves of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford into permanent deals. Spain international Asensio did not have a buy clause in his loan from Paris Saint-Germain, and it is unclear if he will come back.
Well, if it turns out that Asensio doesn’t re-sign for Villa, they seemingly have a replacement in mind.
It would certainly be a huge blow for Villa if they were to lose Asensio, who had a great impact and brought lots of technical quality in attacking areas to their squad. However, they seem to be targeting a fellow Spaniard to replace him.
According to a newspaper in Spain, via Caught Offside, Unai Emery and his side are seemingly targeting a move for Real Betis attacker Jesus Rodriguez. He reportedly has a release clause worth £30m in his current deal, but Betis are negotiating a new contract with the view of increasing the price of that release clause to around £43m.
Of course, the release clause makes this a complicated situation, and on top of that, Betis are thought to be set on keeping Rodriguez.
However, Villans’ sporting director Monchi ‘is determined to sign’ the attacker, and ‘will be leading negotiations to get the deal done’ this summer.
Despite being just 19 years of age, Rodriguez had a strong second half of the campaign with Betis, after breaking into the first team under Manuel Pellegrini following a stint in the youth team until December.
The Seville-born sensation played in 32 senior games last season for the club, scoring three times and grabbing one assist. He played a lot of first-team football, too, notching up 1739 minutes, the equivalent of 19 full 90-minute games. If anything, that shows the trust Pellegrini has in him already.
The 19-year-old attacker performed well in the UEFA Conference League last season, too. Although Betis lost in the final to Chelsea, he had an important role in their quest to the final, playing eight games and scoring against Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok.
There is no doubt about it, Rodriguez stepping into Asensio’s shoes at Villa Park would be no mean feat. Not only is he ten years younger and therefore far less experienced, but the impact he had at Villa would be tough to recreate.
Even Asensio himself struggled to continue the form he showcased during the early part of his career in the West Midlands. He scored eight times and grabbed one assist in 21 games, but after a rapid start, couldn’t keep up his hot run of form past the start of April.
When looking at the underlying stats on FBref last season for both Rodriguez, a Spain U21 international, and Asensio, there are some numbers that stack up well against each other. One of those is goal-creating actions, in which the Betis man averaged 0.41 per game compared to the Villa loanee’s 0.66, showing they are both involved in their team’s goals regularly.
Described as an “explosive” player by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Rodriguez will certainly bring dynamic ball-carrying to Villa Park, more so than Asensio of the stats are anything to go by. The 19-year-old averaged 4.31 progressive carries each game last season, compared to Asensio’s 2.72 per 90 minutes.
|
Rodriguez and Asensio key stats compared |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90) |
Rodriguez |
Asensio |
|
Goal-creating actions |
0.41 |
0.66 |
|
Progressive carries |
4.31 |
2.72 |
|
Carries into penalty area |
3.17 |
0.93 |
|
Take-ons completed |
2.44 |
1.06 |
|
Ball recoveries |
4.72 |
3.05 |
|
Stats from FBref |
||
It is not hard to see why Rodriguez will be Emery’s new Asensio. Not only are they both Spanish attackers who can play across the frontline, but he has the technical quality of the former Real Madrid star, combined with the habit of being involved in goals, even if that is not directly.
This seems like a deal Monchi wants to get over the line, and for £30m, the value of his current release clause, it could be an excellent piece of business for the Villans.
He's scored at Villa Park: Aston Villa racing to sign "fantastic" £42m star
Only Jacob Murphy, Mohamed Salah and Anthony Elanga assisted more goals than him last season…
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By
Tom Cunningham
Jun 12, 2025
And how many players have outscored the opposition on their own in a Test innings?
Steven Lynch19-Oct-2021In a recent IPL game, Kieron Pollard was Player of the Match though he only meaningfully participated in 14 deliveries in the entire game. What’s the lowest number by someone who received the award in a T20 match? asked Nathan from Australia
You’re right that Kieron Pollard was only actively involved in 14 deliveries during Mumbai Indians’ IPL victory over Punjab Kings in Abu Dhabi on September 28 – he faced seven balls, bowled one over, and took one catch. Pollard was the third man to win the award having been involved in only 14 deliveries in an IPL game, after Nuwan Kulasekera, for Chennai Super Kings against Pune Warriors in Chennai in 2012, and Munaf Patel, for Mumbai Indians against Pune Warriors in Mumbai in 2011.But they’re not top: there are two cases of 13 by IPL match award-winners – Mark Boucher for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Kolkata Knight Riders in Durban in 2009, and James Faulkner for Rajasthan Royals against KKR in Abu Dhabi in 2014. Boucher faced 13 balls and didn’t take a catch, but he was keeping wicket, so would undoubtedly have been actively involved in rather more deliveries.The record for all T20 matches, as far as we can establish, is active involvement in just eight deliveries before lifting the match award. This was achieved by the South African David Wiese, for Titans against Dolphins in Centurion in 2012-13, and Dinesh Karthik for India vs Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final in Colombo in March 2018. The scorecard for Yorkshire against Leicestershire at Headingley in 2014 suggests that Adam Lyth was involved in only eight deliveries, but he shared the award in that match with Aaron Finch after a spectacular relayed boundary catch – and since Finch ended up with the ball, Lyth doesn’t feature on the scorecard. But he thus played a major role in at least one other ball in addition to the eight he faced while batting.There are a few caveats with these figures. First, we only have full statistics for around 70% of T20 games. Most significantly, we can only consider scorecard entries – so a player who, for example, received the award in part for outstanding fielding wouldn’t show up. We’ve also ignored matches reduced by rain or other reasons. So Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team had a fun time totting up the rest!What’s the highest Test score by a batter outside his home country? asked Kevin Millard from England
The highest individual score away from home in a Test remains Hanif Mohammad’s epic match-saving 337 – in a record 970 minutes – for Pakistan against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58. That just edged out Wally Hammond’s 336 not out for England against New Zealand in Auckland in 1932-33.In all, there have been 11 triple-centuries by batters in overseas Tests, two of them by Don Bradman at Headingley, in 1930 and in 1934. (There are 12 if you count Azhar Ali’s unbeaten 302 for Pakistan against West Indies in a “home” Test in Dubai in 2016-17.)How often has a player scored a hundred and a duck in the same Test? asked Bevan McAllister from New Zealand
In all, this has now happened 172 times in Test matches. The most recent instance involved Najmul Hossain of Bangladesh, against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in April. The first time it happened was in the first ever Test in England, at The Oval in 1880, when Australia’s captain, Billy Murdoch, made 0 and 153 not out.Two men have done it three times: Shivnarine Chanderpaul for West Indies, and England’s Andrew Strauss. A further 22 batters managed it on two occasions.Wisden records the 11 leaders given honorary MCC life membership in 1946•WisdenI noticed that Matthew Hayden outscored Pakistan’s match aggregate on his own in his only innings of a Test in 2002. Has anyone else done this? asked Abdul Shabeer from India
Matthew Hayden was the fifth man to exceed the opposition’s aggregate score on his own in his only innings of a Test with a definite result: Pakistan made 53 and 59, while Hayden hit 119 for Australia in Sharjah in 2002-03. The others to achieve this were Bobby Abel (120) for England against South Africa (43 and 47) in Cape Town in 1888-89, Len Hutton (364) for England vs Australia (123 and 201) at The Oval in 1938, Don Bradman (185) for Australia vs India (98 and 58) in Brisbane in 1947-48, and Inzamam-ul-Haq (329) for Pakistan vs New Zealand (73 and 246) in Lahore in 2002.For batters who went in twice, Justin Langer (191 and 97) outscored Pakistan (179 and 72) in Perth in 2004-05, while Gordon Greenidge (134 and 101) made more than England (71 and 126) managed at Old Trafford in 1976, as did Patsy Hendren (169 and 45) vs Australia (122 and 66) in Brisbane and Dimuth Karunaratne (158 not out and 60) vs South Africa (126 and 73) in Galle.I read that Dwight Eisenhower was the only American president to attend a Test match. But is it right that he was also a member of MCC? asked Syed Iliyas Hussain from England
President Eisenhower witnessed at least part of a somewhat somnolent day’s play in the third Test between Pakistan and Australia in Karachi in 1959-60. During the day, which was uninterrupted apart from a break while the teams were introduced to Eisenhower, Pakistan scored 104 for 5 in 65 overs, so it’s unlikely the distinguished visitor was terribly excited.This was the last Test played on a matting pitch. Australia’s captain in that match, Richie Benaud, in his book Willow Patterns, wrote that Eisenhower “made the remark that he thought this cricket game was supposed to be played on grass rather than mat. The Pakistan president [Mohammed Ayub Khan] then said, ‘This is the last time a Test match will be played on matting in this country’, and he gave orders to that effect.”It’s also true that Eisenhower was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, although it wasn’t because of any particular liking for the game. General Eisenhower, as he then was, was one of 11 leaders given honorary life membership of MCC in 1946, in recognition of their efforts in the Second World War. Eisenhower was the only American; the other ten were all British. Winston Churchill, the wartime prime minister, was one of those honoured, along with the top brass from the army, navy and air force. Arguably the most famous of the others were Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein, and Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Queen’s second cousin and uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
The batter, who averages nearly 70 in first-class cricket, has been picked in the Zimbabwe squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan
ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2025Batter Antum Naqvi is in line for a Zimbabwe debut in their upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan after being named in their 16-man squad. Fast bowler Tinotenda Maposa, who has played 14 white-ball internationals for Zimbabwe, is another potential debutant.Left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava and allrounder Brad Evans, both of whom were not part of Zimbabwe’s most recent Test series against New Zealand in July-August earlier this year, returned to the squad. Evans, 28, has played a solitary Test so far, which came in February 2023.Of Indian and Pakistani descent, Naqvi was born in Brussels, Belgium and moved to Australia when he was four, where he earned a commercial airline pilot’s license. He put his aviation career on hold, as per BBC Sport, to pursue cricket. He has recently qualified to represent Zimbabwe, according to a statement from Zimbabwe Cricket.Related
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Naqvi is one of the brightest emerging talents in Zimbabwe, boasting an average of over 60 in both first-class and List A cricket. In January 2024, he became the the first player from a Zimbabwean team to hit a triple-century at any level of representative cricket. Overall, he has racked up 1626 runs in 26 first-class innings at an average of 67.75 and strike rate of 72.65.In his most recent first-class fixture, he scored 68 and 108, his sixth hundred in the format, for Zimbabwe A against MCC in Harare last week.Sean Williams, Trevor Gwandu, Newman Nyamhuri, Clive Madande and Vincent Masekesa all were left out from the previous Test squad. It is understood that Williams missed out due to personal reasons.Craig Ervine will captain the team, with Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani lending more experience to the team.Harare will host the one-off Test against Afghanistan from October 20 to 24. This will be Zimbabwe’s first international assignment since they secured qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Brad Evans, Roy Kaia, Tanunurwa Makoni, Wellington Masakadza, Tinotenda Maposa, Blessing Muzarabani, Antum Naqvi, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Brendan Taylor, Nick Welch
Messi has undoubtedly raised the profile of MLS, but his decision to skip ASG could have lasting reverberations for the league
AUSTIN, Texas – Lionel Messi means the world to Jesus Rodriguez.
For the 22-year-old, who has Cerebral Palsy and developmental disabilities, the Argentine star is a light – a beacon of hope in an otherwise challenging life. Whether it's weaving through multiple defenders or beating goalkeepers with pinpoint precision on free kicks, Messi doesn’t let obstacles stand in his way, and that inspires Rodriguez to keep fighting. So much so that his mother, Tanya Jasso, wanted to find a way for her son to finally see Messi.
She originally tried last season and was ready to take her son, husband, and Jesus’ stepfather, Javier Partida, to see Messi in Columbus, Ohio, for the 2024 MLS All-Star Game. But in the 2024 Copa America Final, Messi injured his ankle. The plan was scrapped. Then, in March, Jasso got the exciting news that the 2025 MLS All-Star would be held in Austin.
For the family who lives in Alamo, New Mexico, the Texas capital was within driving distance. They wanted to give Jesus the experience of a lifetime, saving money and then spending thousands of dollars to get tickets in the VIP section 7, row 3, behind the MLS All-Star bench. Everything was in motion, and when Jesus heard the news, he was brimming with excitement.
Then Wednesday happened.
Messi and Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba had been no-shows for MLS All-Star training sessions earlier in the week, and on the morning of the All-Star Game, the league confirmed what had increasingly appeared inevitable – neither would play, both removed from the final MLS roster.
Jasso said that she and her family were devastated when they heard the news. Jesus sat motionless with his head drooping toward the concrete sidewalk, and Jasso was furious about the timing and the manner in which both MLS and Messi handled the situation.
“I’m very sad because I did everything I could so my son could come see Messi, especially since he has a disability,” Jasso told GOAL Wednesday before the All-Star Game. “I feel heartbroken for him. It’s always been his dream to meet Messi, but he’s not going to be here. I made a lot of sacrifices… We drove 10 hours from Alamo, New Mexico, to get here, and we’re very tired.”
Jasso was perplexed as to why MLS waited until the day of the game – at 11:15 a.m. Central Time, to be exact – to reveal that the face of their league would not be playing in its midseason showcase.
“I think they should be more honest and give fans a heads-up so we don’t go through so much for nothing,” she said. “I feel sad because [Messi] should think about his fans – and right now, he’s not. I believe Messi is partly to blame, as is the league, because he should’ve made an effort to be here.”
Jasso wasn’t alone in feeling let down by MLS and its Argentine superstar. Social media was flush with fans who said the league should have done more to hold Messi accountable, and some who cynically suggested the league was aware of Messi’s status ahead of the game, intentionally promoted his participation, and withheld the information to build buzz for the game.
Austin’s leading newspaper, , ripped Messi and MLS to shreds for the way the situation was handled, with Eric Goodman writing, “Messi’s decision not to show up for one night in Austin is a huge middle finger to MLS and its fans.”
Despite the very public angst, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, in his All-Star Game midseason address, declined to confirm whether the players would face discipline, saying only that the league should have been more proactive in determining Messi and Alba’s availability. In several unprompted moments, Garber appeared to gush over Messi’s positive impact on the league – noting his sizable social media presence and the credibility he brings to MLS.
Sports commissioners essentially work for team owners, which means occasionally having to tow the line. But considering the circumstances, Garber’s responses – and in some cases, lack thereof – seemed tone deaf. Failing to be firm and resolute could both set a precedent and have consequences, signaling to MLS fans that their role in All-Star voting effectively doesn’t matter.
On Friday, two days after the All-Star Game, MLS finally announced a decision, suspending both Messi and Alba for Inter Miami’s match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Garber praised Messi's overall contributions, but said the league had to follow its policies.
“The most important thing is I know Leo Messi loves this league, and MLS is an entirely different league because of the years he’s been here helping to show the world what MLS is and what it’s capable of being,” Garber told the Athletic. “Nobody has done more for Major League Soccer than Lionel Messi. Not just what he’s done off the field, but what he’s done on the field. Every game is a must-see match. I fully understand and respect and admire his commitment to Inter Miami.
"His decision is not one that I really can argue with whatsoever and I understand it. But unfortunately we have a longstanding policy relating to player participation in the All-Star Game and we had to enforce that policy. It was a very, very difficult decision, but one I hope both [Messi] and everyone else can understand and respect. He has shown up for his club, for his teammates, for our league time and time again and I respect his decision.”
Garber added that MLS plans to re-evaluate the policy.
“We are going to take a very hard look at the rule moving forward," he said. "It is important to all of our players and all of our fans that we have a policy that reflects and involves the realities of our league and its players going forward. I am committed to working with all of our players and to start working with Leo Messi to adapt this rule so it makes sense going forward.”
Calling MLS rules for sanctioning players who skip its All-Star game "draconian," Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas on Friday said that Messi was "extremely upset' by the suspension. Mas claimed it was the club's decision to let both Messi and Alba skip the ASG, keeping their long-term health and fitness in mind amid a congested schedule, and that the players' were upset by the league's actions.
"I believe it’s a bad rule, but it’s a rule nonetheless," he said. "And it’s a bad rule because I think it puts the players in an untenable position to have to choose between participating in an All-Star festivity, which is an exhibition match, or choosing a regular-season game that I think matters. And I admire both Lionel and Jordi for always thinking of club first.”
Messi is the first MLS starter in the past 30 years to skip an All-Star game for non-injury reasons – the first being Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In most other major U.S. sports – the NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL, leagues that represent the best of the best in their respective games – it would generally be unthinkable for a player equal to Messi’s stature to skip its marquee match for reasons other than injury.
So how did MLS get to this point with the face of the league?
GOAL spoke to MLS All-Stars, former executives, and insiders to assess the fallout from Messi’s no-show and what it signals about the league’s present and future.
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Champions Trophy match in Lahore on February 26 had been under threat after calls for boycott
ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2025The ECB board has confirmed that England’s men will fulfil their fixture against Afghanistan at the Champions Trophy this month, despite describing the “appalling oppression” of women in the country as “gender apartheid”.Richard Thompson, the ECB’s chairman, said in a statement following a board meeting on Thursday that a “coordinated international response” would achieve more than unilateral action. The board has come under political pressure to boycott the fixture, with more than 160 British politicians calling for England to pull out of the match in Lahore on February 26.”What is happening in Afghanistan is nothing short of gender apartheid,” Thompson said. “At a cricketing level, when women’s and girls’ cricket is growing rapidly around the world it is heartbreaking that those growing up in Afghanistan are denied this opportunity, but the appalling oppression of women and girls by the Taliban goes so much further.”The Board recognises there are different views and opinions on the issue of boycotting the match and has listened carefully. We have been in close contact with the Government, the International Cricket Council (ICC), our England Men’s players and other stakeholders to discuss this matter, as well as considering how best the ECB can support those women cricketers who have fled Afghanistan.Related
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“Following this, we remain of the view that a coordinated international response by the cricketing community is the appropriate way forward, and will achieve more than any unilateral action by the ECB in boycotting this match, while we have also heard that for many ordinary Afghans, watching their cricket team is one of the few remaining sources of enjoyment. As such, we can confirm that we will play this fixture.”Thompson said that the ECB will press the ICC for further action, including ring-fencing funding to support female players from Afghanistan, and considering recognising an Afghanistan women’s refugee team. Last week, the board donated £100,000 to the MCC’s Global Refugee Cricket Fund.An Afghanistan women’s XI played an invitational T20 against a Cricket Without Borders XI in Melbourne last month, mounting pressure on the ICC to support their players.Afghanistan remain full ICC members – with full funding – despite no longer being able to fulfil the requirement to field a women’s team under its Taliban government. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo last month, two exiled players, Firooza Amiri and Benafsha Hashimi, called on Afghanistan’s men to be “the voice of the girls”, despite acknowledging that speaking out against the regime could come with its own risks.”The cricketing community cannot tackle all of Afghanistan’s problems,” Thompson added. “But we urge our international partners to stand together and demonstrate through our actions that we support the women and girls of Afghanistan, including those cricketers now in exile who just want to play and should be allowed to play the sport they love.”