Justin Bieber apologizes for telling wife Hailey she would ‘never' be a Vogue cover star…while praising her new Vogue cover
Apparently, it's not too late for Justin Bieber to say he's sorry.
In a since-changed post, The 'Peaches' singer apologized to his wife Hailey in light of her appearance on the cover of the latest issue of Vogue magazine, writing on his Instagram page Tuesday that her cover reminded him of a time when the two 'got into a huge fight,' during which he recalled telling her 'that she would never be on the cover of vogue.'
He acknowledged that what he said was 'so mean.'
'For some reason because I felt so disrespected,' he wrote of their disagreement, 'I thought I gotta get even.'
He added that now he thinks that 'as we mature, we realize that we're not helping anything by getting even.'
At the end of his post, Justin Bieber asked his wife for forgiveness because he was, as evident by her new cover image, 'mistaken.'
CNN has reached out to representatives for Justin and Hailey Bieber for comment.
On Tuesday afternoon, Bieber replaced the caption with a series of emojis that appear to suggest he's still sorry.
Hailey Bieber's Vogue feature marks her first time appearing solo on the cover of the coveted fashion magazine. She first appeared on the cover in 2019 alongside Justin Bieber, where the pair opened up about their relationship in a rare joint interview.
The couple wed that same year and welcomed a son, Jack Blues Bieber, last year.
'He's my priority. He is the most important thing to me,' Hailey Bieber told Vogue in the new issue, speaking of her son.
She added that motherhood has 'been my biggest teacher so far, the biggest teacher in my relationship. You see your partner so differently.'
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The Radar: The Athletic's 2025 Club World Cup scouting guide
Did you know that one of the players at the Club World Cup is also an engineer? And an international futsal player, and a futsal youth coach, yet somehow finds the hours in the day to do a spot of modelling on the side, too? Well, meet Dylan Manickum, captain of Auckland City. And how familiar are you with 'the next Messi', River Plate's teenage sensation Franco Mastantuono? He made his senior Argentina debut this week and is on the brink of a big move to Real Madrid. You've probably heard of them. Advertisement Then there is Jude Bellingham's younger brother Jobe, who has just swapped Premier League new boys Sunderland for Germany's Borussia Dortmund, as well as Estevao Willian, the 18-year-old Palmeiras wonderkid who will join Chelsea later this summer. They're just four of the 50 players we have profiled for the tournament in the United States, which kicks off when Messi's Inter Miami face Al Ahly on Saturday, June 14. We have separated them into four tiers — legend, world class, key player and next generation. All 32 competing teams are represented, and there is a wide range of ages, with players born in the 1980s, '90s and 2000s. Mastantuono is the youngest at 17 years and 10 months old, and centre-back Thiago Silva, now back home in Brazil with Fluminense, is the oldest at 40 years and nine months. Thank you to the 17 writers who have collaborated to bring you this Club World Cup edition of The Radar, with special mentions to Mark Carey and Thom Harris for their brilliant data work. And thank you to our designers Kelsea Petersen and John Bradford, and director of engineering Marc Mazzoni. Click to expand and collapse each card, and you can use the filters to sort the players by club, nation, position or tier. Enjoy! In Egyptian football, there is a path that once trodden, there is no return. Moving from Al Ahly to El Zamalek or vice versa is considered a cardinal sin for the fans of the departed team. The fierce rivalry between Africa's greatest teams means that any player who wears the shirt of one needs to think twice before swapping it for the other, even if the transfer was an indirect one. After being snapped up by El Zamalek at age 21, Emam Ashour mesmerised fans with his performances and won two league titles and two Egypt Cups. His impressive performances caught the eye of Danish side Midtjylland, who acquired the Egypt midfielder in January 2023. Ashour hit the ground running by scoring on his debut in the Europa League match against Sporting CP, but the midfielder couldn't adapt, with the language proving to be a barrier. An injury towards the end of the season compounded matters and after only six months, Ashour returned to Egypt. The destination would cause massive controversy because he opted to join Zamalek's eternal rival, Al Ahly. Two years later, Ashour has guided Al Ahly to two Egyptian Premier League titles, one Egypt Cup and the 2024 CAF Champions League. Ashour is an all-rounder in midfield, who is adept at winning duels and putting in a defensive shift, as well as having the technical ability to flourish in attack. Two standout aspects are his ball-carrying ability and eye for goal. Ashour's ability to carry the ball and dribble past opponents makes him a threat in open play and on transitions. Meanwhile, his smart off-ball movement and exquisite ball striking are the main factors behind his goalscoring threat, with his numbers jumping discernibly last season. Long-range goals, such as his strike against National Bank of Egypt last month, have been a signature of Ashour's attacking game in the last couple of seasons. The Egypt international has scored 19 goals in 39 matches this season to help Al Ahly win the league title and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, where Mamelodi Sundowns knocked them out. Ashour's passage from El Zamalek to Al Ahly — even if it was through Midtjylland — will forever divide opinions, but there is a consensus when it comes to his footballing quality. Ahmed Walid Lionel Messi must have thought he had no more worlds to conquer. But as the emir of Qatar shrouded him in a bisht in 2022 and Messi joyously raised the World Cup in Lusail, FIFA president Gianni Infantino sprung a revamped and essentially new competition on the astonished attendees of his last press conference of the tournament. In one of his houses in Rosario, Barcelona or Miami, Messi already has three winners' medals from the old, and far smaller Club World Cup. On each occasion, he lifted a different trophy from the one Infantino commissioned Tiffany to produce for this summer's tournament. In Abu Dhabi in 2009, Messi and Barcelona came within moments of losing to Estudiantes of Argentina, only for Pedro's equaliser in the 89th minute to take the game to extra time. Another Messi header — this time a stealthy diving variation on the one he scored in the Champions League final against Manchester United in Rome — clinched victory. In Yokohama two years later, halfway through his best 73-goal season, Messi opened and closed the scoring in a 4-0 win against Neymar's Santos. 🏆 #OTD in 2011, Barça beat Santos 4-0 in Yokohama, to win the Club World Cup. Goals from #Messi 2x, #Xavi, and @cesc4official. — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 18, 2020 They were Barcelona team-mates in 2015 when Messi and his Inter Miami strike partner, Luis Suarez, last claimed the forerunner of this new-fangled competition with another one-sided display — this time against South America's finest at the time, Marcelo Gallardo's first Libertadores-winning River Plate team. We'll see how much appeal the Club World Cup still holds for Messi over the next four weeks. The fact that the tournament has not been rebranded means he can still say he has won it, regardless of whether Inter Miami progress from a group featuring Palmeiras, Porto and Al Ahly. FIFA needs Messi more than he needs the Club World Cup — particularly in the absence of his great contemporary Cristiano Ronaldo, who looks set to prolong his stay at Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. FIFA's struggle to sell out the opening game between Inter Miami and Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium shows that pinning the tournament to the 37-year-old Messi isn't enough, even if he is still shining on the pitch (as illustrated below). For the revamped Club World Cup to take off, he will have to be at his Qatar best and more. Winning this tournament is a long shot. It would be a miracle in Miami, given the history and tradition, the budgets, and the depth of the actual favourites for the Club World Cup. And yet Messi's legacy is already set. A fourth Club World Cup title would change Miami, not Messi. Expectations are high because of him, and the global citizens without an Apple TV subscription to watch MLS are curious to see how Messi and Inter Miami fare against the cream of other continents. But he can't do everything himself, and it remains to be seen how many highlights can be provided by a Messi team who, in recent weeks, have lost against Minnesota United, Orlando City and FC Dallas. James Horncastle There are many ways to describe Luis Suarez. He's controversial and volatile (just look at how many times he has bitten an opponent), but also a legendary figure in world football. The 38-year-old is among the best and most respected center forwards of the last 20 years. The Uruguayan career began at his boyhood club, Nacional, and included stops in the Netherlands with Groningen and Ajax, before he joined Liverpool in January 2011 at age 24. It was in England that Suarez came into his own. He often seemed to be unplayable in what is deemed the toughest and most scrutinized league on the planet. He continued that form in Spain, spending six years at Barcelona where he sparkled alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, and then two seasons at Atletico Madrid before heading back to Nacional in 2022. A less erratic Suarez then became a club idol in Brazil with Gremio, where he was voted the league's best player in 2023 after scoring 17 goals in 33 appearances. Pressure has always fueled him, but now at Inter Miami, in what may be his last year as a professional, Suarez has calmed down a bit, even if he has been more outspoken since retiring from the Uruguayan national team. At Miami, Suarez still berates his team-mates after a misplaced pass or a bad touch. He still seeks physical clashes with opponents to rile himself up. Referees are not his friends, either. But Suarez has a newfound love for the game playing alongside his good friends and former Barcelona team-mates Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. He has been typically clinical inside the penalty area for Miami (illustrated below) and has defied even his own predictions regarding his physical limitations. In Brazil, Suarez said he needed pain medication and injections in his right knee to play each week. '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 before signing with Miami in 2024. '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.' Suarez has scored 28 goals with Miami across all competitions. In 2025, however, he has looked less mobile and that doesn't bode well for Miami's chances at the Club World Cup. Busquets told DAZN in March that Miami were 'not at the level to compete' in a tournament featuring some of the world's top clubs. In February, Suarez told MLS that the tournament would be 'beautiful and very difficult.' Now we are about to find out. Felipe Cardenas In the youth ranks at Cruzeiro, team-mates called him Messinho, a nickname that doesn't really need a translation. Starry-eyed? Sure, but you could see where they were coming from. Estevao Willian was left-footed and loved coming inside off the right flank. He was a brilliant, impish dribbler, the kind who treats the ball like an old friend rather than an inanimate object. He could pick a pass. Leave him enough space and he could whip a shot into the corner before you had time to blink. Mainly, though, he was just unbelievably talented. By the time he moved to Palmeiras, aged 14, there was already a whispering consensus that he could be the next big thing in Brazilian football. That was in 2021. The intervening years have done nothing to dull the excitement. Indeed, the hype machine has just kept on revving: Google Estevao's name and you'll find a hundred videos of his goals and tricks, plus glowing comparisons to Neymar, Denilson and other former prodigies. He is only 18 months into his senior career but expectations are creeping up to the celestial. In fairness, he has already put together a decent body of work for Palmeiras. Despite his tender years, Estevao was one of the Sao Paulo club's standout players in 2024, finishing the campaign with 13 league goals and winning fans far beyond Allianz Parque. The assets that made Estevao such a menace at youth level are still apparent in the senior ranks. He twists defenders into odd shapes, pops the ball through their legs, speeds away gleefully. He has a playground bounce to him, a sense of joy undimmed by fear. He shoots with precision and — when the moment calls for it — extraordinary power. It all adds up to a player capable of lifting you out of your seat. Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras' flinty Portuguese coach, has spent much of the last year waxing lyrical about Estevao at every opportunity. 'The kid has magic inside him,' Ferreira said last July. 'We have to enjoy him while we can, that's all I can say.' By that point, the winger's next move was already plotted out, Chelsea having reached an agreement with Palmeiras for a transfer that will go through this summer, now Estevao is 18. The fee could reach €57million (£48m; $65m) and he will move to London after the Club World Cup. Few would bet against him creating a few more memories for Palmeiras fans before he bids farewell. Jack Lang Anyone who watched Colombia at last summer's Copa America will have come away from the tournament full of admiration for two players in particular — one a household name, the other a relative nobody. The known quantity was James Rodriguez, his team's creative spark and centre of gravity. The surprise package was Richard Rios. A rangy central midfielder, Rios had only made his first start for Los Cafeteros three months before their opening game, against Paraguay. He had just turned 24 — not old but not a prodigy either — and had never played senior football in his homeland. A month later, he was approaching national icon status. Colombia had a brilliant campaign and Rios was at the heart of everything, an action hero in rolled-down socks. 'He gives the team a bit of everything,' head coach Nestor Lorenzo said during the tournament. 'He scores, breaks the lines, carries the ball forward, is good in the air, shoots well from distance.' He was energetic, as the graphic below suggests. In fairness, none of that was news to anyone in Brazil, where Rios has played the vast majority of his club football. He was an important figure as Palmeiras won the league title in 2023 and had started 2024 in a similar vein. The Copa America really just allowed the hype to catch up to reality. His is a funny CV. He first moved to Flamengo in 2020 after some impressive displays in a futsal tournament landed him a trial. He settled well in Rio de Janeiro — he speaks better Portuguese — but made little impression on the first team before being shipped off to Mexican outfit Mazatlan on loan. One bad knee injury later, he was without a club, contemplating packing it all in. Guarani, a modest club in Sao Paulo state, threw him a rope. He grasped it with both hands, doing enough in the local state championship to convince Palmeiras to take a chance on him. The initial fee — six million Brazilian Reias (the equivalent to £1m or $1.6m at the time) — now looks like the bargain of the century. Palmeiras offered Rios a new deal early last year, then did so again after the Copa America in a bid to ward off mounting European interest. He now has a release clause of €100million (£85m; $115m) for clubs outside Brazil — a punchy figure but one that underlines his importance. His potential, too. Rios is a brilliant all-rounder, adept at breaking up opposition attacks and dragging his side up the field — but he is also still developing and exploring the limits of his talent. 'Richard hasn't reached his ceiling yet,' Lorenzo said last summer. 'He has a lot to learn and can improve further. If he continues on this path, he's going to be a top-level player.' Jack Lang Just as he had made himself a household name in Porto, the striker formerly known as Samu Omorodion decided to change it. In mid-November, having scored 12 goals in his first 12 appearances since arriving from Atletico Madrid, the striker who had come close to signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2024 made it clear that he no longer wanted to be known by his father's surname. He would instead be Samu Aghehowa, in honour of the great love and debt of gratitude he feels towards his mother. Edith Aghehowa made the fateful decision to leave Nigeria while pregnant with Samu and travel to Spain, eventually settling in Seville. 'I changed my surname because my mother gave us life and risked her life to raise us,' he explained in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Periodico this month. 'She gave everything so that my sister and I could have the best life possible. She deserved to be known by her surname. She deserves everything and I hope to do great things so that her name is known.' He has unequivocally made a great start, scoring 25 goals in 39 appearances across the Primeira Liga and Europa League, in only his second full season in professional football — one that was almost over by the time he celebrated his 21st birthday in the first week of May. There was impressive variety in those goals: poacher's efforts, cool breakaway finishes, back-post tap-ins, deft headers (most memorably the one that brought Porto level with Manchester United in a 3-3 draw at Estadio do Dragao in October) and even an overhead kick. Further from goal, Aghehowa already displays good knowledge of how to use his powerful 6ft 4in (193cm) frame to hold off defenders. Sometimes, he then deploys a burst of acceleration to spin away. On other occasions, he flashes a good feel for linking or switching the play, or laying the ball off for team-mates in his proximity. But at the heart of his game is power, directness, and a hunger for goals, making plenty of runs in behind the defensive line and into the box to get on the end of crosses (as the blue spikes illustrate below). These are key ingredients that make up any complete modern No 9, and Aghehowa's progress provided perhaps the brightest spark in a disappointing season for Porto, who finished a distant third in the Primeira Liga. Club World Cup group-stage opponents Al Ahly, Inter Miami and Palmeiras will provide a global stage on which to burnish his growing reputation. The old name will be forgotten at his request. The new one might be worth remembering. Liam Twomey Vitor Bruno will likely have plenty of regrets from his miserable spell as Porto manager, but one in particular looks likely to grow in magnitude in the years ahead. In the early part of the 2024-25 season, Bruno was cautious in his use of Rodrigo Mora, the club's latest superstar-in-waiting. He appreciated his talent, used him as an impact substitute, but was reluctant to start him. It was not a ludicrous position. Mora was only 17 and looked younger. Porto had started the season poorly, inviting pressure from fans. It wasn't the ideal runway. Eventually, after Mora repeatedly impressed off the bench, Bruno succumbed to public clamour and started him in a league game against Moreirense. Mora scored one goal and set up another. A week later, in the derby against Boavista, he repeated the trick. Bruno, who was relieved of his duties not long after, learnt a valuable lesson. Sometimes, when it comes to the very best young players, the real gems, you have to ignore the rules of common sense. These are early days but Mora looks to be firmly in that category. The first thing that catches your eye — beyond the Justin Bieber haircut — is the way Mora dribbles. He has close control, sure, but it's more than that. He is wriggly, a human zig-zag. His centre of gravity is so low you would need a spade to find it. Watch him play and you start to feel sorry for the poor defenders who have to mark him. That makes him sound like an old-school winger, but that is not really what he is. He can operate out wide but he is most comfortable drifting inside, getting into trouble, causing it. He creates chances but he is good at finishing them, too: he ended the Portuguese season with 10 league goals to his name, averaging one every 139 minutes. That is especially impressive when you consider that Porto were a complete dumpster fire for much of 2024-25. In late May, Mora received his first senior international call-up, making Portugal's squad for the Nations League finals. That came on the back of a new Porto contract, signed shortly after his 18th birthday. 'He's enchanting,' said club president Andre Villas-Boas. 'We have to make the most of his talent.' There was, in that statement, an unspoken concession: Mora, like every young prodigy who emerges from the Portuguese system, will be sold at some stage. His buyout clause is €70million (£60m; $80m). A few more decent performances this summer and some of Europe's top clubs may start to view that as a bargain. Jack Lang Signing Julian Alvarez from Manchester City for an initial €75million (£63m; $86m) last summer was a huge coup for Atletico Madrid. The Spanish side were signing a 24-year-old who had already won a World Cup and two Copa America titles with Argentina, as well as the 2023 Champions League and two Premier Leagues with City. Possessing an uncommon mixture of technical quality and game awareness, along with a competitive spirit, he was an excellent match for Diego Simeone's hard-working side. Their first season together has gone very well — a tally of 29 goals (and seven assists) in 54 games makes it the most productive season of Alvarez's career. Simeone has deployed him closer to goal, allowing Alvarez to showcase his wide range of finishing skills. Included in his highlights reel are a superb last-gasp winner against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, a poacher's effort against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final and a spectacular long-range free kick against Real Betis in La Liga in mid-May. His shot map below illustrates his quality box movement, with four league goals from inside the six-yard box, and a healthy expected goals per shot of 0.16, pointing to a striker who consistently gets into dangerous areas. There was also an excellent goal against Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg. It was unfortunate for Alvarez and his team that the key moment of their season came in the return, when his disallowed 'double-touch' penalty contributed to Atletico's defeat in the penalty shootout. The rules have since been changed so that any similar situation would lead to the penalty being retaken — hardly a consolation for Alvarez and Atletico now. For much of the campaign, Simeone used a 4-4-2 shape, pairing Alvarez alongside Antoine Griezmann up top and allowing them the freedom to roam the attacking third. Alexander Sorloth has started more often in recent months, with Alvarez dropping into a 'No 10' role just behind the powerful Norway striker. It should not be a huge surprise that Alvarez settled so quickly at Atletico, given his long connection to the family of their manager. Born in Buenos Aires, Alvarez came through River Plate's youth ranks with Gianluca Simeone, just as Giovanni Simeone was breaking into River's senior side. A third Simeone brother, Giuliano, was a team-mate with Argentina at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and quickly became a very close friend. All that has been missing from Alvarez's first season at Atletico is a trophy to celebrate at the 'asado' barbecues that the team's Argentine contingent regularly hold in Madrid. This Club World Cup presents an opportunity for Alvarez to add a new trophy to his collection. Dermot Corrigan Antoine Griezmann has been one of the outstanding players in world football over the past decade and the 34-year-old has recently signed a new contract at Atletico that runs until 2027. The former France international registered 44 goals and 38 assists in 137 games for his country, with highlights including lifting the 2018 World Cup and winning the Golden Boot as top scorer at the 2016 European Championship. He retired from international football in September. Through his club career at Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and, since August 2021, Atletico again, Griezmann has proven himself to be a complete attacker, capable of scoring and creating goals. In December 2023, Griezmann became Atletico's record scorer by passing the previous mark of 173 set by club legend Luis Aragones. That achievement was even more impressive given he often played a deeper roving role, knitting moves together and creating chances for team-mates, as well as finishing them himself. Griezmann heads to the Club World Cup after a mixed season in Europe. Sixteen goals and nine assists in 53 games is more than respectable, while his all-round influence on the team's play was again huge through the first six months of the campaign, often drifting across the width of the final third to get involved in attacking moves. His impact was more limited in huge games against Real Madrid (in the Champions League) and Barcelona (in La Liga and the Copa del Rey) during a crucial stage of the season. He has not scored in his last 16 games in all competitions, and has found himself on the bench more frequently. That had led to renewed speculation that Griezmann, who has previously expressed a desire to finish his career in MLS, might soon move away from Europe. He has a strong connection to the United States and is a massive fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. He even co-hosts a YouTube show about the NFL called Grizi Huddle. The new contract implies that a permanent move across the Atlantic might not happen this summer. Atletico head coach Diego Simeone is a long-term ally, with the pair living in the same exclusive residential development on the outskirts of Madrid. Their families are close, too. A nagging detail of Griezmann's club career is just three medals won during nine seasons at Atletico — the Spanish Supercopa in 2014 and the Europa League and European Super Cup in 2018. Atletico will face Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, Seattle Sounders and Botafogo in their Club World Cup group. Dermot Corrigan At first glance, Jefferson Savarino is not really the kind of figure who comes to mind when you think about South American playmakers. The Venezuelan is not a natural-born showman. He doesn't really go in for stepovers or flicks. He doesn't wear shiny white boots, roll his socks down to his ankles or have an outlandish haircut. His demeanour, on the pitch and in interviews, is that of a man who would much prefer to operate outside of the spotlight's glare. You wouldn't call him boring, but you don't get goosebumps the second you look at him, either. First impressions, however, can be misleading. Savarino is a slow-burn marvel, a player who grows on you, sneaks up on your heart. Every time you watch him, you appreciate him a little bit more. He rewards your patience. Savarino grew up in Zulia, the chunk of Venezuela that looks like it wants to join Colombia on the western border. He came through the ranks at his hometown, eventually doing well enough in the Copa Libertadores to earn a move to Real Salt Lake in MLS. Utah proved to be a good fit: Savarino scored 40 times in 142 appearances for RSL across two spells. In between was a successful stint with Atletico Mineiro, during which he won the Brazilian domestic double. If those achievements won Savarino plenty of admirers in Brazil, it was after joining Botafogo in January 2024 that he really kicked on and became one of the best players on the South American continent. The evolution owed plenty to a positional switch. For Atletico, Savarino had played wide on the right; at Botafogo, he moved infield to play as a central playmaker (illustrated in the graphic below, which shows where he gets on the ball). It was an inspired move: Savarino, always more of a schemer than an outright wing whippet, looked like he had been playing No 10 since he was a kid. In that role, his spatial awareness came to the fore. Savarino was constantly finding little pockets between the lines, locating the pain points in the opposition system. 'It's like he's watching the game from above, via a drone,' Botafogo coach Renato Paiva said earlier this year. 'He sees things that no one else sees.' That ability made him a key player as Botafogo won the Brazilian championship and the Copa Libertadores. Paiva has used him in a few different positions in recent months, disrupting his momentum ever so slightly, but his intelligence, technique and eye for goal ensure he will be at the forefront for Botafogo in the U.S. Jack Lang Joao Neves could have had his pick of European clubs when leaving Benfica in 2024. He chose wisely. Twelve months on, the little Portuguese genius is a Champions League winner and could add the Club World Cup to his burgeoning honours list next month while playing a key role in one of the most exciting teams the continent has produced in recent years. Not bad for a 20-year-old who has just completed his second full season in senior football. Neves cost €70million (£60m; $80m) when he departed Benfica and it's been easy to see why. Not that you'll see a huge amount of the midfielder on any highlights packages of the best moments of PSG's run in the competition; he only produced one goal-creating action in his 17 appearances. That's because Neves has truly excelled at two facets that very much belong in the 'supporting role' category: passing and tackling. In the Champions League final demolition of Inter, he completed 54 of his 56 passes, a pretty typical ratio for a player who recycles the ball briskly and precisely. And throughout the competition, he was utterly incessant when it came to both pressing and winning the ball back from the opposition. We're talking a Yorkshire Terrier puppy on heat kind of levels. His 2.4 tackles won per 90 minutes was the highest in PSG's squad, with Neves leading the way in winning the ball in both the middle third of the pitch and in the opposition third, while his 5.5 ball recoveries per 90 minutes was second only to Nuno Mendes. In total, he won 38 tackles in the Champions League this season, eight more than any other player (Mendes was second on 30) and 13 more than the first non-PSG player (Barcelona's Pedri on 25). He also committed the most fouls (24). Yep, he's feisty. Goals and assists? Na, not really, but PSG have got Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola for stuff like that. Neves' time further up the field may come — he certainly possesses creative attributes — but for now, he plays a non-headline-grabbing role, vacating the spotlight for the forward line and for his Portuguese midfield playmate Vitinha. Perhaps what impresses most is Neves' maturity and all-round technical game for someone so inexperienced, as well as his versatility (Luis Enrique has briefly used him at full-back). At Benfica, he was more of a deep-lying playmaker, but at PSG, he has become their attack dog. It's a role he clearly embraces. 'It's very good to attack, but the feeling of taking the ball from your opponent…' he told The Athletic this year. 'A lot of players don't get it, but the feeling is, 'We don't have the ball, so we have to recover it'. 'The less time they have to breathe, the better for us.' Neves may not grab the headlines ahead of Dembele and Doue, but he's the kind of player you cannot win tournaments without. Tim Spiers Ousmane Dembele's journey and progression over the past two seasons reflect the culture change and success at Paris Saint-Germain. He arrived on the day of Luis Enrique's first competitive PSG game in August 2023, with a reputation as a technically brilliant, two-footed player whose capacity to dazzle only lacked the numbers to prove it because of a series of injury issues and his own profligacy. Luis Enrique has used the carrot and the stick to motivate the France international. He left the 28-year-old out of a Champions League squad in the autumn of 2024 because Dembele reported late to a team meeting. Within a month, he had restructured PSG's attack around him. With Kylian Mbappe having left for Real Madrid, PSG needed goals and a key attacking presence. Dembele, who Luis Enrique had played on the right wing in 2023-24 and combined with the underlapping Achraf Hakimi, was PSG's most creative player with 12 assists. He became the No 9 and it worked. He stood offside in build-up, had his game simplified and the fast running was reduced just to high pressing. Fast, technical wingers provided him with plenty of cutbacks and the midfield rotations meant PSG could pull opponents apart centrally, making space for Dembele to drop in and link play. His numbers were outstanding: 33 goals and 13 assists in all competitions, matching Mbappe's best Champions League seasons (eight goals) and bettering it when assists are factored in — he was directly involved in 14 of PSG's 38 European goals. He set up two of PSG's goals in the 5-0 final win against Inter, including a delightful through ball for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. It brought an unprecedented quadruple to Paris, after which Luis Enrique said Dembele deserved the Ballon d'Or for his pressing alone. Liam Tharme You would think that there would not be enough game film to truly assess a 19-year-old professional. Many first-team teenagers often split time between the senior squad and the under-20 or under-23 sides. Obed Vargas, though, has managed to become a mainstay in the Seattle Sounders XI. He made his MLS debut at the age of 15, before he could legally drive a car. The dual-national is one of the most promising players in MLS. Born in the frigid cold of Alaska to Mexican parents, Vargas' international future was the subject of debate in MLS circles before he made his decision in 2024. Vargas opted for Mexico, and in doing so, gave the 12-time Gold Cup champions a box-to-box midfielder to cherish. 'The thought process was very simple for me,' Vargas told reporters after his announcement. '(Mexico) is the team I grew up watching. It's a way for me to honor my family, my culture.' Vargas is a particularly strong ball progressor – composure on the ball and clean technique are among his best attributes. He has enough speed to play on the wing if he has to, but his qualities are highlighted centrally. As a No 8, Vargas gives the Sounders a dynamic option in midfield and young legs alongside veteran players Cristian Roldan and Albert Rusnak. As we can see below, the young midfielder is routinely tasked with moving the ball across the pitch, equally happily playing the ball out to both sides. After a standout professional performance in last season's Western Conference semi-final against LAFC, Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer's assessment of Vargas' was perfect. 'You guys saw Obed's coming out party,' Schmetzer said. 'He might have been the best player on the field.' Vargas can play as a traditional holding midfielder, and that is likely to be profile that he will gradually develop into. In Seattle, they are no longer apprehensive about putting too much responsibility on him. Vargas is a regular starter under Schmetzer, who has recently used a 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 system. Vargas' versatility and fearless play give them a vitality that will be tested in a difficult group that includes Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and South American champions Botafogo. Vargas' future is the subject of much speculation in the U.S. He has the right profile to play abroad and the Club World Cup could be the shop window for him. 'There was no other player that had ever made it from Alaska that I've seen, so there wasn't really a pathway to follow,' Vargas told last year. 'It kind of just happened and I opened the doors as I went along.' Felipe Cardenas Dylan Manickum is not the most high-profile name at the Club World Cup, but he might just be the most interesting. Playing for semi-professional side Auckland City, Manickum, like many of his team-mates, juggles football with a full-time job, working as an assistant site engineer by day. But that's only part of the picture. Off the pitch, Manickum is also an international futsal player, a futsal youth coach, and even occasionally dabbles in modelling — a true semi-pro renaissance man. If anything, football is secondary to his overwhelming futsal obsession. 'I sometimes have to miss football for futsal at crunch times,' he told New Zealand website Friends of Football. He is New Zealand's all-time record futsal cap holder and current captain, leading the Futsal Whites to their first FIFA Futsal World Cup appearance last summer in Uzbekistan. Like Auckland City at this month's Club World Cup, New Zealand arrived in Uzbekistan as rank underdogs and… it didn't go well. They conceded 20 goals across three group games, including a 10-0 defeat against Kazakhstan, and managed just two in reply. A similarly humbling experience is likely in the United States for Auckland, with Manickum telling FIFA that his side are 'under no illusions' about their underdog status. Details about Manickum's role in the 11-a-side game are predictably thin on the ground. But the left-winger was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player in this year's OFC Champions League, the competition that helped Auckland secure qualification for the Club World Cup. He has also started and won in each of the last four OFC Champions League finals. Donning steel-toe boots by day and football ones by night, Manickum embodies the endearing spirit and unique diversity of this Auckland squad, and is a central figure in their improbable appearance on the world stage. Conor O'Neill Jamal Musiala has only just recovered from a serious hamstring injury and hasn't played a competitive game since the beginning of April. What kind of impact he can have on the Club World Cup is questionable, particularly with its short turnarounds and games every few days. But at his best, Musiala is Bayern Munich's brightest star. In February, the German club finally announced a contract extension until 2030 after months of wrangling. It says much that Bayern fans saw locking down his long-term future as non-negotiable. He had to stay. Musiala spent part of his youth career in the Bayern academy. He is the future of the Germany national team. A player like that just cannot be allowed to leave. And it's not hyperbole. Musiala is that good. When he broke into Bayern's senior team in 2020, he typically played in the pocket of space to the left of the penalty area. He could carry the ball elusively and score and create goals. That range of influence has since broadened. Despite playing just 24 Bundesliga games before his injury, he had already equalled his best scoring season in the Bundesliga (12 goals) and the variety — headers, long-range strikes — showed how his attacking talent has bloomed. Under head coach Vincent Kompany, he has also been woven more tightly into the team fabric. This season, Musiala started dropping deeper and staying more central, as we can see from his touch map below, receiving possession and building moves at source. Partly, that was a way of using his virtues in place of others that Bayern lacked elsewhere, but it was also a mark of his growing influence and tactical responsibility. This version of Musiala is not an attacking midfielder, a shadow forward or a 'No 10', but a wanderer — a player who poses a challenge wherever he is on the pitch. And he might not have been playing for a German club or the Germany national team at all. Musiala was born in Stuttgart, but grew up in England and played in the Southampton and Chelsea academies. He represented England to under-21 level. With Brexit (the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union) looming, he and his family returned to Germany in 2019, beginning his ascent to national stardom. Seb Stafford-Bloor When Michael Olise joined Bayern Munich, his introductory press conference in the summer of 2024 caused quite a ripple. Olise was shy. In the glare of the German media spotlight, which is always brightest when trained on Bayern, he was monosyllabic and uncomfortable. After his €50million (£42m; $57m) move from Crystal Palace, was the stage going to be too big for him? Not a bit of it. Instead, he has seemed to relish the challenge of that scrutiny. By the end of his first season in the Bundesliga, Olise had established himself as one of the league's stars. A left-footed right-winger prone to drifting infield and teasing and taking-on defenders, his tally of 27 goal involvements in league football, including 15 assists (illustrated below), emphasises just how much of a difference maker he quickly became. There was certainly surprise in Germany. While Olise cost plenty of money, certainly by domestic standards, he did not arrive as a fully minted star. Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman all occupied roles that Olise could play, and given that his career to that point had been spent in England's second tier with Reading and the Premier League's lower mid-table with Palace, he was really presumed to be a two- or three-year project — a future investment. After all, Palace and Bayern were different not just in the places they occupied in football, but their tactical approach to it. The side Olise left were a counter-attacking outfit and it was assumed that he would have to adapt to playing on the front foot and against the deep defences that Bayern face week after week. Again, that wasn't the case. Head coach Vincent Kompany immediately rebuilt Bayern's right side around Olise's abilities. While the team's left depended largely on Alphonso Davies' thrust from full-back, the right was pitched at a different rhythm, with the focus on isolating Olise against an opponent. From tight to the touchline, or in a more shallow position, that defence would then be forced to play tight to Olise and risk being beaten one-on-one, or otherwise sitting off and allowing him time to cross into the box. Invariably, there was no perfect solution: Olise is well-balanced as a playmaker and created scoring chances in all sorts of ways. He's stylish and elegant. But a menace, too, and by any measure one of the best players in Germany already. Seb Stafford-Bloor In 2025, at the age of 31, Harry Kane finally won his first major trophy. In his second season at Bayern Munich, he and his team-mates captured the Bundesliga and that was just reward for not just his career as a whole, but his remarkable goal-per-game scoring rate in Germany. But Kane is more than a goalscorer. During his years in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, he established himself as the leading figure among a new breed of centre-forward, who created as many chances as he put away. At Bayern, that reputation has been furthered. He joined a club that was between eras in many ways and rebuilding after a long period of dominance (11 Bundesliga titles in 11 years), and the span of Kane's abilities has made that interim period easier than it might have been. That is not to say he has been universally celebrated since moving to Germany. The local media have often been critical, harshly so at times, questioning Kane's contribution in the games that typically define Bayern seasons. Does he score enough goals against big teams? Does he pad his statistics from the penalty spot? Some of that has been warranted. Kane is the most expensive (€100million/£86.4m/$110m) player in the history of German football and being Bayern's centre-forward always comes with high expectations. On the other hand, his contribution to the team — switching the play and receiving the ball from deep, sometimes well inside his own half — can be overlooked for the sake of a big headline or biting column. It can be argued, for instance, that the evolution in Jamal Musiala's game at Bayern owes a lot to Kane's contribution. Similarly, his combinations with Michael Olise helped the former adapt to his new club very quickly after arriving last summer. But this is nothing new: Kane was also oddly polarising in England and his positioning has always been a contentious topic during his time with the national team. And despite the criticism from some in Germany, the numbers suggest that he is focusing more on the penalty area since moving to Bayern, taking fewer touches overall but concentrating a higher share where a traditional No 9 would. But he remains a truly elite player. After nearly 700 senior games for club and country, there are signs of wear and tear. He is not as physical as he once was. But, if there's a chance to finish, Bayern — and pretty much any other team in world football — would want that opportunity to fall to him. If they do in the United States this summer, Kane will give Bayern more than a puncher's chance at winning another title. Seb Stafford-Bloor The Club World Cup will almost certainly represent the last hurrah on the world stage for one of the great wingers of the modern age. Angel Di Maria, 37, will leave Benfica when his contract expires this summer to rejoin boyhood club Rosario Central, back home in Argentina. By doing so, he will complete a career path that is almost palindromic — he started his playing days at Rosario, then joined Benfica, before spending the peak 13 years of his career with superclubs Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. With that quartet of legendary names, he won six league titles (all with Madrid and PSG) and had the crowning club glory of a Champions League with Madrid in 2014. At international level, his big honours all came after his 33rd birthday, with a World Cup and two Copa America titles from 2021 to 2024. He retired from Argentina duty after earning man of the match in the 1-0 win against Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final. It has been an exceptional career littered with goals, assists and honours, but those who had the pleasure of seeing Di Maria at his peak would usually witness impudent magic borne from that sloping gait, those incredibly quick feet and a relentless desire to entertain. He always tended to create more than he scored (Transfermarkt lists his career stats as 188 assists and 116 goals in 538 league appearances) and he sits second in the all-time Champions League assist table with 41, one behind Cristiano Ronaldo, but since his return to Benfica in 2023, that notion has altered slightly. The pace has decreased, of course it has, and the defensive side of his game never really improved as the years went on, but as a match-winner cutting in from the right flank, Di Maria still has those golden moments, via shots of pace and precision, intuitive awareness of where his team mates are, or those tap-dancing feet, which are still as quick as they ever were. He now scores more than he makes, with 32 goals and 25 assists in 88 appearances over two years for Benfica, and he very rarely finishes a match, with only three completed games in all competitions this season. He eschewed big-money offers from Saudi Arabia to follow his heart when rejoining Benfica and he has done the same again with Rosario. The chances are slim of this old romantic gaining the same glorious farewell with Benfica in the Club World Cup that he achieved with Argentina, but you certainly wouldn't bet against Di Maria producing some of the old magic on the big stage one final time. Tim Spiers He may have spent seven years of his fledgling career contracted to two of the biggest football clubs in the world, but you would be forgiven for not knowing a huge amount about Alvaro Fernandez Carreras. The left-back left Real Madrid at age 17 and then Manchester United at age 21 without having made a first-team appearance for either club. Instead, the Spaniard has needed to earn his stripes the hard way, via a gritty loan at Preston North End in the Championship and then via two slightly warmer loans at Granada, then Benfica, before joining the latter permanently in the summer of 2024. Just one season later, he is being linked heavily with a return to the Bernabeu, while some Manchester United fans probably wouldn't mind their club enacting their €18million (£15m; $21m) buy-back clause, such has been Carreras' impact in Lisbon. 'When I arrived here, Carreras was a flop,' head coach Bruno Lage said last month. 'Now he has Real Madrid and Atletico (interested in) him. 'He has made a great contribution to the team, he is very important to our dynamic and I am very pleased to be working with him.' Lage wasn't exaggerating. In league matches, he used Carreras more than any other outfielder last season (2,743 minutes) as the left-back became a key component of a team that fell just short of winning the title. An imposing full-back at 6ft 1in (185cm), Carreras excelled at progressing the ball up the pitch (averaging 45 carries per 90 minutes, the third highest of Benfica's regular starters) and producing 84 shot-creating actions over the season (only Angel Di Maria and Orkun Kokcu produced more). More than anything, his powerful overlapping runs caught the eye last season, notably teeing up Vangelis Pavlidis in their dramatic 5-4 defeat against Barcelona. All of this earned him Benfica's breakthrough player of the season award. He had won player of the year for United's under-23s side in 2022, but despite left-back being a problem position for the senior team in recent years, he was left in a €6m deal a year ago. Not that his time in England didn't help make him the player he has become today, particularly that loan with Preston, as he told The Athletic in late 2023: 'I improved a lot defensively, physically, in aerial duels. That experience that the second division gives you — going head to head with adults — that's what I wanted. I loved it, I left very happy.' He had arrived in England alone, speaking no English and during the pandemic. Yep, he's taken the alternative route to the top, but Carreras has paid his dues and his future now looks very bright indeed. Tim Spiers When you think of elite No 9s of the last decade or so, there are some obvious choices: Sergio Aguero, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane, Karim Benzema and Erling Haaland. Edinson Cavani undoubtedly belongs in that conversation of top-level centre-forwards too and, at age 38, the Uruguayan is aiming to make his mark on the Club World Cup in typically bombastic style. Desire, physicality and a hunger for goals were key attributes of Cavani at his peak and they are still applicable today in the final stage of his career. Uruguay's second all-time leading goalscorer (on 58, only behind his old pal Luis Suarez on 69) is exclusively a club player these days. He retired from international duty in 2024, having been shunned by Marcelo Bielsa. El Matador may be nearing his fifth decade but the goals continue to be scored at a decent rate, with 25 in 67 appearances for Boca Juniors. Just don't talk about his 97th-minute open-goal miss from three yards out against Alianza Lima in February — Boca went on to lose on penalties in the Copa Libertadores knockout game. 'He is no fat, pure muscle, like a Greek god,' a source told The Athletic about Cavani in 2020. 'His body fat percentage is astonishing. He is fit and intense, and amazing in the air. He runs like a maniac.' The pride he takes in his work, on and off the field, has added years to Cavani's career, helping him score goals all over the world (below). He's not one for nightclubs or attention-seeking, preferring fishing, hunting and the great outdoors. 'Maybe I come from that old school, maybe I don't fully fit with modern football,' he told the Guardian in 2022, when bemoaning how social media and technology have changed the sport. 'Before, everyone in a team had the same objective. These days, in certain teams for various reasons — fame, what people and press make players feel — that's not always the case.' He is a throwback in so many ways, not least his bullish, brutish playing style, one that wasn't done justice in his second season years at Manchester United, when injuries began to catch up with him (although he still scored 17 goals in 39 games in his first season). Before then, in his pomp, Cavani was a striker to be truly feared by defences, a rampaging bull who was box-office viewing. His goals propelled Napoli to the Champions League group stage for the first time and he scored in the Coppa Italia final as they won their first trophy for 22 years. He netted more than 20 Serie A goals in three straight seasons. At Paris Saint-Germain, his numbers were ridiculous at times — 49 goals in 50 games in 2016-17 and six successive Ligue 1 titles. Competing in the Club World Cup, where Boca will take on Benfica, Bayern Munich and Auckland City in their group, is the latest achievement of a stellar career for one of football's most authentic strikers. Tim Spiers Fernando Gago knows a thing or two about being an Argentine defensive midfielder or a 'No 5', as it's known over there. He played 61 times at the heart of Argentina's midfield, as well as for Real Madrid. So when Gago, as a head coach, gave a young talent by the name of Milton Delgado his big break in midfield for Boca Juniors this year, it felt prescient. Game recognises game. Veteran Boca midfielder Pol Fernandez's departure to Brazilian side Fortaleza had opened up a gap in Boca's engine room and, with former Manchester United player Ander Herrera out injured, it was Delgado's time to shine. He took his chance and the 19-year-old has stayed in the team ever since, becoming a vital component of Boca's team in just a few months and marking himself out as one of the rising stars of Argentine football. Technical ability, positional awareness, anticipation, vision and work rate are key components of Delgado's game, which came to prominence five months ago in the Under-20 South American Championship. 'He asks me to stay close to my team-mates, to play simple, fast, forward,' Delgado said of Gago's instructions. 'To talk and nothing more. That's what a No 5 needs to be.' Delgado describes himself as a dynamic, tactically minded player, who loves to steal the ball from the opposition, as we can see from his solid defensive metrics below. In that regard, he is a natural heir to Gago at Boca (both players came through the youth academy) and perhaps for Argentina, where a senior call-up cannot be far away for Delgado, who mastered his close control on the concrete football courts of Buenos Aires. He has still made just 30 first-team appearances and only turns 20 on Monday, when Boca face Benfica in their Club World Cup opener, but the way he has instantly controlled a crucial midfield area has made Argentinian football stand up and take notice. His reputation is growing worldwide, too — in April, CIES Football Observatory ranked him as, statistically, the best under-20 defensive midfielder in the world, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire-Emery and Tottenham Hotspur's Lucas Bergvall. At Boca, Gago was sacked in April, but interim coach Mariano Herron leaned on Delgado just as heavily and new boss Miguel Angel Russo is likely to do the same. 'I always liked to play well with a single 5,' Delgado said recently. 'With a double 5, if they throw me to the side, I feel a little uncomfortable. 'Herron asks me to play simply, to speak and with one word command my team-mates, to play forward with my team-mates, simply.' 'There's a lot of pressure at Boca Juniors, but I've known that since I was a kid; I've been with the club for 10 years. I go out and play every game with confidence, knowing the responsibility I have.' Tim Spiers The most impressive aspect of Chelsea's strong finish to the Premier League season was that it was achieved without the best version of their best player. For most of 2025, Palmer has looked a glum shadow of the attacker who casually dissected Premier League defences for the first 18 months of his Chelsea career, seeing the game with a crystal clarity and seldom making the wrong decision to shoot or pass in the final third. The headline numbers do not give huge cause for concern: Palmer registered 15 goals and eight assists in the Premier League in 2024-25. The drop from his 22-goal return in a breakthrough 2023-24 is largely explained by the fact that he attempted four fewer penalties and saw one saved. But 12 of those 15 goals were scored before the turn of the year (and four in 20 minutes against Brighton & Hove Albion in September). Palmer's scoring tailed off dramatically after January; he went 18 games across all competitions without finding the net before converting a late penalty against Liverpool in May, and did not score in the four games that followed. Even more alarming for Chelsea is the fact that his non-penalty expected goals followed a similar trajectory, with the underlying data suggesting he was not getting the chances to score in open play. Palmer is both the best finisher and the best creator of chances at Chelsea. That double burden is more difficult to bear now that he is no longer a surprise to opponents, who far more frequently resort to man-marking or fouling to stop him. But his prolonged slump also raised the question of whether Maresca's system stifles his attacking threat rather than supercharging it. 'I was just sick of getting the ball and going backwards and sideways,' Palmer said by way of explanation for the two brilliant assists that turned the UEFA Conference League final against Real Betis on its head, putting Chelsea on course for a 4-1 victory in Wroclaw. A subsequent clarification stressed he was referring to his own performance rather than Maresca's tactical instructions, but the fact it was needed was an acknowledgement of a popular narrative. Maresca has repeatedly said that he wants 'Cole to be Cole', and Chelsea are at their most dangerous when Palmer plays as free as in the second half against Betis. It is hard to envision this team making a deep Club World Cup run if he does not build upon it. Liam Twomey If you want to know how good Caicedo has been for Chelsea, begin by taking a moment to reflect on how no one talks about his transfer fee anymore. Two years ago, when a bidding war between Liverpool and Chelsea allowed Brighton & Hove Albion to bank £115million ($156m) in return for granting the Ecuador international his desired move to Stamford Bridge, the deal was accompanied by the real risk that the nine-figure price tag would come to define or even derail him. Caicedo subsequently admitted that the accompanying pressure loomed large over a difficult first six months of his Chelsea career, but regular observers noted him starting to hit his stride in the second half of 2023-24 at the heart of Mauricio Pochettino's fun but, at times, chaotically unbalanced young team. Enzo Maresca's more structured approach this season has benefited Caicedo more than most, ensuring an 'inverted' full-back almost joins him at the base of Chelsea's midfield. But this is a two-way relationship; often it feels as if Chelsea's entire strategy out of possession is to lure opponents into playing the ball into Caicedo's formidably large orbit. Inside that zone, there is very little respite for opponents, who are often surprised by the unconventional angles and distances from where he mounts his attempts to win the ball. Many of these attempts send the ball back into Chelsea's possession. A sizeable chunk result in fouls and some even in bookings — an acceptable cost of doing vital business. As we can see from the chart below, few midfielders are as energetic — or as effective — when it comes to snatching the ball back. Caicedo also serves as the stabiliser for the patient style Maresca has implemented. He is always the first to present himself for passes from his goalkeeper and defenders and is generally the best choice to receive them under pressure, where he excels at making swift, smart and simple decisions. While not the first choice at Chelsea to play more progressive passes into the final third, Caicedo is very capable of finding and exploiting vertical options that put opponents on the back foot or even carve them open. When the space presents itself, he can also carry the ball through the middle of the pitch with speed and purpose. Supporting attacks, his slick technique means he can never be safely left alone if the ball finds him in long-range shooting positions. Most importantly, Caicedo always sets the tone for physicality and aggression in Maresca's team. He has very quickly become priceless to Chelsea. Liam Twomey The seconds ticked down towards the final minute of the first half at Hammadi Agrebi Stadium on November 9 when the ball dropped onto the left foot of the Esperance de Tunis right winger making his first-team debut and wearing No 30. His first touch killed the flight of the ball and sent it spinning perfectly into his stride. His next three propelled it forward in short, sharp bursts diagonally infield from the right flank as the AS Gabes defence backpedalled. His penultimate touch shifted the ball suddenly out to the left of his body as he approached two opponents guarding the way to the penalty area. His final one ripped a shot between them and into the top corner of the net. Six touches in the space of five seconds, all with his left foot, were all it took for Maacha to underline why many in Tunisia hope he will one day become the national team's next star. That day appears further away than it did in November. Maacha's development has stalled in the second half of a season in which Esperance went through three different coaches and yet still somehow managed to win the Tunisian league and cup double. Two days after making headlines on his Esperance debut, Maacha went away to the North African Under-17 Championship in Morocco, helping Tunisia achieve a third-place finish. He came back in time to start Esperance's next league game against Ben Guerdane, before Romanian coach Laurentiu Reghecampf opted to give him a steady diet of substitute minutes behind South Africa international winger Elias Mokwana. Maacha's next start at Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, against Esperance's traditional rivals Club Africain, proved the unhappy turning point in his debut season. He was substituted after just 37 anonymous minutes and some fans subsequently questioned his ability to deal with the pressure. Such an unforgiving environment can weigh on any footballer, let alone one whose emergence sparked such national hype and who only turned 18 last month. Esperance signed another more experienced right-winger, Chiheb Jbeli, in January, further relegating Maacha in the first-team pecking order. Reghecampf is also gone, replaced by Maher Kanzari in March. Opportunities to showcase his crisp, creative dribbling and explosive shooting have dried up in recent months, and his time and touches may be limited at the Club World Cup. The good news is that he has shown he does not need much of either to make an impact. Liam Twomey In Brazil, they call him 'Coringa' — the joker. Not because he's a riot at parties — it's easier to picture him in a corner, looking soulful, swaying to some music — but because of his versatility. Pick a position, any position; Gerson can do a job there. He started off as a No 10. He was one of those academy prodigies, famous before he could grow a beard, seen as the next big thing at Fluminense, maybe even in Brazilian football. He was so good that Barcelona flew his dad over to Catalonia for talks before his senior debut. They weren't the only European team interested, either. When he did begin to play, he was a sensation. Many Brazilian youngsters impress with their verve and footwork but Gerson was a thinker, a master of timing and angles. 'In a few years, he's going to be up there with Neymar,' Fluminense striker Fred said in 2015, not long after Gerson's 18th birthday. 'I'm going to enjoy him while I can.' Later, Gerson adapted to new roles. At Fiorentina, he played deeper in the midfield, knitting the play together, calling to mind his World Cup-winning namesake. At Marseille, under Jorge Sampaoli, he did a bit of everything: left flank, right flank (his favourite position), even the odd game at false nine. 'He's one of the best players I've ever coached,' Sampaoli said in 2023. 'He has this tremendous ability to attack space.' For a time, there was a restlessness to Gerson's career. His first big move, to Roma, did not work out. He did well enough at Fiorentina but opted to return to Brazil rather than stay on in Europe; it was the same story after his encouraging stint in Ligue 1. Only now, two years into his second spell at Flamengo, does he appear to be settled. At 28, Gerson is no veteran. He is, though, increasingly seen as one of Flamengo's stalwarts, someone to be relied upon in every sense. He rarely gets injured. He never complains. On the pitch, his technique and poise set the tone. And while widely regarded as one of the best footballers in South America, he appears to have his ego firmly in check. 'He is a player who sacrifices himself for the team,' Flamengo coach Filipe Luis said recently. 'He's really decisive. And I know I can play him in any position.' Jack Lang Aged 19, Pedro Guilherme Abreu dos Santos had three ambitions. One was to play in Europe. One was to be Brazil's No 9. The other was to meet his hero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Eight years on, it is tempting to look at the Brazilian's career and conclude that he has come up short. He did technically play in Europe, but he only managed 59 minutes of football for Fiorentina before returning to his homeland. He has played for Brazil, too, but the reel of his best moments in the canary-yellow shirt wouldn't last more than a minute or two. He has not met Ibrahimovic yet, either. Football, though, is a broad church. There are many kinds of heroes. Pedro may not be a global star, may not quite have lived up to his own lofty goals, but no one who has followed Brazilian club football over the last decade would ever question his quality or his character. Pedro first made his breakthrough at Fluminense. He was a funny combination of an orthodox striker (positioning, instincts, height) and something a little more interesting. He was capable of moments of real grace on the ball, but his gangly running style also made it appear like he was still growing into his own skeleton. It turned out that was just his physique; he is a more refined player now but the long legs still catch your eye. The Ibrahimovic comparisons were slightly starry-eyed but you could see where they were coming from. 'Pedro is different,' said Fluminense coach Abel Braga in 2018. 'Technically, he's a level above 90 per cent of the penalty-box strikers in Brazil.' His SkillCorner off-ball running profile helps to further those comparisons; an overwhelming proportion of his movement aimed at attacking the penalty area, getting in behind and keeping defenders occupied ahead of the ball. That remains the case today. Indeed, it is not hard to imagine an alternative timeline in which he became a regular for the national team, solving Brazil's long-standing striker problem in one fell swoop. How he must lament the two serious injuries that disrupted his progress at key junctures: the first came right after he was first called up to the squad; he then sustained a bad knee injury in training with the Selecao just when he was hitting top form for Flamengo last year. That injury kept him out until April, but he should be fit for the Club World Cup. That is a big boost for Flamengo, for whom he has been a consistent goalscorer since 2020. It is also great news for the neutral. Pedro is not just an intriguing player to watch, a genuine one-off. He is also a smiling, diffident survivor, palpably one of the game's good guys. Jack Lang Hugo Lloris might not be the first name you think of when mentioning the greatest goalkeepers of the 21st century, but he certainly belongs on the shortlist. Coming through at Nice, his hometown club, Lloris was considered a goalkeeping prodigy. Standing at 6ft 2in (188cm), he was never the tallest or most physically imposing, but Lloris possessed world-class agility, an attribute that carried him from the French Riviera to the grandest stages of club and international football. In 2018, Lloris fulfilled every child's greatest ambition: winning the World Cup as captain. He starred as France triumphed in Russia and did so again four years later in 2022 but fell just short in the penalty shootout defeat to Argentina, frequently referred to as the greatest World Cup final ever. Lloris won 145 caps for his national team — France's most-capped player (below) — and captained the team more than 100 times. While he failed to get his hands on club football's biggest prizes, losing in the Champions League final in 2019 and coming just short of Premier League glory at Tottenham Hotspur under Mauricio Pochettino, he was often the man for the big occasions in north London and will go down as one of the club's greatest-ever 'keepers. After a 12-year wait for silverware in club football, Lloris finally got his moment again last season with his current club, LAFC. With his former international team-mate Olivier Giroud leading the line, Lloris made four saves as the 2022 MLS Cup champions beat Sporting KC 3-1 in extra time to win the U.S. Open Cup. Having qualified for the Club World Cup through the back door, beating Liga MX club Club America in a play-off after previous incumbents Club Leon were expelled due to multi-club regulations, LAFC are an undoubted underdog in the Club World Cup. Against Chelsea, Flamengo and Esperance de Tunis, Lloris may need to be called upon to roll back the years and pull off some of the world-class saves that characterised his international and club success if LAFC are to progress from a challenging group. As his athleticism declines at age 38, Lloris' outstanding attribute for LAFC is his experience on the biggest occasions. For many of Steve Cherundolo's group, it will be their first time playing against world-famous clubs with silverware on the line. Lloris' steady demeanour may prove to be the perfect antidote to their natural nerves. Elias Burke After LAFC defeated Club America in the Club World Cup play-in match on May 31, the MLS club posted a celebratory photo of former France internationals Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud. The two World Cup winners were joined by France-born Gabon international Denis (pronounced Den-ee) Bouanga and France-born Luxembourg international Maxime Chanot. The caption read, 'Pardon our French.' Pardon our French 🇫🇷 — LAFC (@LAFC) June 1, 2025 Understandably, Lloris and Giroud are the big names in LAFC's dressing room. But it's Bouanga who is without a doubt the star of the team. A tenacious winger with strength, dribbling and pace, Bouanga is a player who shines under the bright lights. Against Club America he was simply unplayable. The 30-year-old scored LAFC's winner to cap an outstanding night for him. Opposing full-backs shook in their boots when Bouanga squared up to run at them. He has an insatiable desire to attack and score every time he's on the ball, as shown by the visualisation below, drifting into wide space to get on the ball before invariably driving towards goal to take on his man. The LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said that Bouanga is a player who gets upset when a training session ends. And that's not a surprise considering the player's elite fitness levels and drive to be the best attacker in MLS. 'He's a competitor. Loves to win, loves to compete,' said Cherundolo after Bouanga's man of the match performance against Club America. 'He thrives on duels, thrives on moments that he creates, but also is a team player. He's just as happy when we win games and others score. But he is so talented and he is so, so dangerous.' Bouanga is often an MVP candidate, although he has not yet won the award since signing with LAFC in 2022. This is despite scoring 56 goals and contributing 14 assists across all competitions over three seasons. He won the MLS Golden Boot in 2023 with 20 regular season goals. Still, domestic awards will be on the back burner when LAFC participates in the Club World Cup. Bouanga has proven that he can torment defenders in MLS and across the region, but can he do it against the likes of Chelsea and Flamengo in the group stage? 'This guy's relentless, man,' the LAFC defender Aaron Long said in May. 'He shows up every game, plays 90 minutes, every game. He can run forever. He just puts fear into anyone he's playing against. And by the end of the game, he just wears you down. It was a fantastic performance. I'm happy it was him that scored the winning goal (against Club America). He deserves it.' How Bouanga performs against European and South American opposition will give us the ultimate litmus test in terms of his potential. When European suitors approached LAFC in 2023 about signing the former Saint-Etienne attacker, LAFC extended Bouanga's contract through 2027. If he delivers on this summer's big stage, LAFC and Bouanga may again find themselves with a decision to make about his future. Felipe Cardenas Lautaro Martinez gave up some of his time between the Champions League final and Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Chile to visit his old club Racing and pass on his experience to the academy players who hope to one day follow in his footsteps — not only to the first team but to one of Europe's giants. Watching Martinez, as he appeared alongside Racing president Diego Milito, he seemed to get as much, if not more, out of the experience as the kids. He needed a lift after the Inter team he skippered failed to emulate the one Milito played for in 2010. There was no Champions League glory, only ignominy for losing the final to Paris Saint-Germain in Munich by a historically bad 5-0 scoreline. Getting over that isn't something that happens in a matter of days. It will live with Martinez and his team-mates forever. 'There are days when it is easy to be an Inter fan,' Martinez posted on Instagram. 'Others when it is a duty and others when it is an honour. Today it is a duty for all of us.' The line was reprised from former Inter captain Giacinto Facchetti, who won two European Cup finals in the 1960s but also lost a couple more. Facchetti was on the wrong end of title-deciding play-offs and scudetti (league titles) that went down to the final day. Martinez has to, somehow, move on. A team that was on for the treble in mid-April ended the season exhausted and empty-handed. We'll only find out along the way if Inter consider the Club World Cup and the final in New Jersey as a road to redemption. At least the United States holds good memories for Martinez. He was the top scorer at last summer's Copa America (illustrated below) and got the only goal — an extra-time winner — in the final against Colombia. It didn't alter the perspective of his doubters, who still seem to think a player who has scored away to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Dortmund and Milan doesn't do it in big games. People remember Martinez losing his place to Julian Alvarez at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They forget that had he not put away the final penalty in the shootout that decided the quarter-final against the Netherlands, Argentina would have gone home early and Messi would never have won the World Cup. While a fourth consecutive season with 20 or more goals in all competitions does not salve the wounds of throwing away a 2-0 lead in the Supercoppa Italiana, losing the title on the final day, and the Champions League final 5-0, it does underline how Martinez can be depended on like few other strikers. Honestly, people need to cut him some slack and appreciate him more. James Horncastle The NBA is one of Nicolo Barella's passions. He has talked about staying up to watch the finals at his in-laws' house, headphones on while everybody else was asleep. As a kid growing up in Sardinia, he walked around in an Allen Iverson jersey gifted to him by his uncle. 'He used to dominate games among all these giants,' Barella told Sky Italia. 'It didn't matter that he had the body of a regular guy. This inspired me to not let myself get pushed around, to never give up.' Barella has often been The Answer for Inter in his six seasons at the club. Back in 2019, he was their record signing for a few weeks until Inter splurged again on his former team-mate, Romelu Lukaku. The €42.5million (£36m; $49m) that Inter paid Barella's hometown club Cagliari was money well spent. He has been one of the finest Italian players of his generation, winning the European Championship with his country in 2021 and almost everything with Inter. A buzzing box-to-box midfielder, Barella never stops. The diminutive Sardinian makes up for his lack of size with skilful flicks, creativity across the pitch (illustrated below) and stamina. Now 28, he arrives in the United States with considerable psychological baggage. A connoisseur of fine wine, Barella could use a glass or two to get over how this season ended. Inter were on for a treble six weeks ago and then didn't win anything. They lost the Coppa Italia semi-final to rivals Milan, took the scudetto (league title) down to the final day only for Napoli to be crowned champions and collapsed in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Barella was one of the players applauded by PSG coach Luis Enrique for staying out on the pitch in Munich after full-time to clap their opponents as they received the trophy. It was a harrowing night for everyone connected with Inter, particularly Barella, who identifies so closely with the club. It was the second defeat he has suffered in the Champions League final in three years and he has had little time to process it. Instead of going on a mini-vacation before the Club World Cup, Barella was part of a depleted and exhausted Italy team that lost 3-0 to Norway, spelling the end for Italy coach Luciano Spalletti. All of a sudden, qualification for the World Cup next summer is in doubt and the scrutiny of the local media continues to be relentless. Barella and the rest of Inter's senior players could use a break. But the show must go on and the leaders of this team have to help a new coach, Cristian Chivu, settle in. There is no rest for 'Bare', whose surname translates from Italian to English as 'stretcher'. After the last few weeks, it does feel like Inter need taking to the emergency room for treatment for broken hearts. James Horncastle Tough place to play football, Real Madrid. History weighs heavy. The media environment isn't so much a circus as a bear pit. The fans, weaned on constant success, won't settle for anything less than excellence. The glare of the spotlight can be blinding. Some amazing players stick it out for four or five seasons. Some go a little longer, create a real connection, become idols. Only a handful have the talent, the durability and the sheer grit to go beyond the decade mark. Ten years is an awfully long time in a pressure cooker. Sergio Ramos spent 16 seasons at the Bernabeu. The temptation is always to think about longevity primarily as a secondary good. It is an enabler: the longer a career stretches out, the more time there is to create memories, lift trophies, reach milestones. Ramos ended his spell in Madrid with five Spanish league titles and four Champions Leagues to his name, an incredible haul whichever way you cut it. Sometimes, though, the longevity has a standalone meaning, a gravitational pull all of its own. To stay fit for that long; to stay focused; to surf the changing tides; to convince a series of managers of your value, year after year… that, in itself, is a remarkable achievement. Ramos was never, ever a bit-part player, either. His main-character energy was — and remains — non-negotiable. Ramos has always been a bit of a meme factory. He has had more red cards than some people have had hot dinners. He has never been especially likeable and has never appeared to care about that one bit. None of that, though, should detract from his supreme ability. In his golden years, Ramos was an action-man defender capable of cancelling out the best strikers in the world, often by sheer force of personality. He was also — and this can be overlooked — an elite distributor of the ball from the back. Not for nothing was he a stalwart in the Spain team that passed its way to two European Championships and a World Cup between 2008 and 2012. At 39, Ramos is clearly on the downslope. Many expected him to call time on his career after returning to hometown club Sevilla two years ago. Instead, he has taken on one last adventure, with Mexican giants Monterrey. Is he still capable of imposing himself on the global stage in 2025? That's an open question. One thing, though, is certain: with Ramos, it won't be boring. Jack Lang Sergio Canales is the type of player whose CV speaks for itself. But take a closer look at his career and you'll see that Canales is a success story in perseverance. The former Real Madrid prodigy, and now Real Betis legend, suffered three anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in his twenties. His professional career has been on the brink numerous times. After his third ACL tear on December 30, 2015, while playing with Real Sociedad, and against his former club, Real Madrid, Canales' family forecast the worst possible outcome for a gifted creative player. 'My family was at the game and they came down to the dressing room at half-time,' Canales told The Athletic last year. 'My uncles were crying, my wife called me crying. My brothers, my friends, everyone was devastated. I think they all thought that my career would end. I had overcome it before (in 2011 and 2012) but had fallen through another crack. 'That day I told myself: 'My career is not going to finish here'.' In Canales' case, six clubs in the span of a 17-year career isn't a sign of failing to gel. He has been given chances after his injuries and has done better than most with them. It's all part of his newfound appreciation for the life of a footballer. With Monterrey, Canales has proven yet again that a change of scenery can showcase a veteran player's added value to a club. Landing in Mexico, however, was a surprise. Canales is among the most expensive signings in Liga MX history. He certainly hasn't been a bust, either. Even though he has been slowed by some niggling injuries, Canales has produced for Rayados (The Stripes). Canales has scored 29 goals and provided 17 assists since joining the club. He is a throwback No 10 who can still dictate the tempo of a match. His vision and thirst for goals have made him a key performer for a club that has fallen short of its aims since his arrival. After the dismissal of Martin Demichelis in May, Canales will play for his third manager (Domenec Torrent) at the Club World Cup. Still, it's impressive that at 34, and playing in a league that prioritizes transition over possession, Canales remains capable of making a difference. He has enjoyed playing for one of Mexico's richest clubs and Monterrey is a perennial favorite to win the league championship and are expected to make an impact in the Concacaf Champions Cup. 'Now at Monterrey, there's a feeling that you're obligated to win every match,' Canales said. 'I'm really motivated by the expectations and by the pressure that I've always placed on myself.' Felipe Cardenas The Estadio Monumental draws the largest average crowds in world football. River could probably sell it out five times over for a Superclasico against Buenos Aires rivals Boca Juniors. The atmosphere is unique. In April, River's 17-year-old prodigy, Franco Mastantuono, did not let the occasion overwhelm him. He wanted to make his mark on the biggest game in Argentina. An opportunity presented itself in the form of a free kick. It was central, perhaps, a little too central to be able to whip it around the goalkeeper. It was far out, maybe too far out for a kid his age to generate the power to make his shot unsaveable. As 85,000 people held their breath, Mastantuono made his mental calculation, looked at the target once more, then began his run up and hit it. The ball kicked up and seemed headed over the bar into the Sivori Tribuna. Then it lost altitude and free-dived into the net. Mastantuono's left foot opened the scoring in a 2-1 win and provoked a crisis in Boca. They were top of the table in Argentina at the time. But their league position covered up a series of cracks. Mastantuono exposed them and Boca's coach, Fernando Gago, paid with his job the following day. The quality of the goal and devastation it wrought sent the hype machine into overdrive. Mastantuono has already been crowned the new Messi, a crown too heavy for anyone. This week, he came on as a late substitute against Chile, becoming the youngest player to appear in a competitive game for Argentina, taking the record from… Messi. But we should let him be his own person. He is a different kind of 'No 10', ganglier, with the body of a Wimbledon tennis champion. As a 12-year-old, Mastantuono was one of the most promising tennis players in his age group in Argentina. He settled on football instead and rose rapidly at River, who are unlikely to hold onto him for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores in the second half of this calendar year. Mastantuono made his debut at 16 and became the youngest scorer in River's history 10 days later with a scrappy but memorable goal against Excursionistas in the cup. That he was different became immediately and abundantly clear. Mastantuono curled a free kick onto the bar in the same game. He goes into the Club World Cup with seven goal involvements in his last 10 appearances for River. You just hope that wherever Mastantuono goes next (and Real Madrid is looking increasingly likely), his development pathway is clear. His former team-mate Claudio Echeverri has barely played for Manchester City. Carlo Ancelotti was criticised for not giving Endrick and Arda Guler enough playing time at Madrid. His compatriot, Nico Paz, had to go to Como. Clubs away from the harshest spotlights, such as Benfica, have tended to be the best landing point for uber-talented South Americans and their phased introduction into European football. But the auction for Mastantuono has been underway for some time and Madrid are firmly at the front of the queue. James Horncastle Ryoma Watanabe is in the form of his life. The 28-year-old has had a long, winding road to facing heavyweights Monterrey, River Plate and UEFA Champions League runners-up Inter. Watanabe was not even at the club when Urawa Red Diamonds won the AFC Champions League in 2022. Then, aged 25, the playmaker was establishing himself in FC Tokyo's first team, finding his feet in Japan's top tier after spending three years in the second division. Watanabe dropped out of Waseda University in Tokyo — university football in Japan is fairly prestigious — an institution from which eight Japanese and three Korean prime ministers have graduated. He opted instead to spend formative late-teen years in Ingolstadt's second team in Germany. 'It's becoming commonplace to go overseas. To go even higher, I'm following what's necessary,' he said in an interview with Qoly Football Magazine in 2022. This was a bold move, considering he had a place in Japan's age-group teams at 17 and 18. He played in the under-17 World Cup in 2013, captained the team and scored three in two matches. Clearly the focus was on making it at senior level rather than youth-level accolades. He followed the well-trodden Japan-to-Germany pathway, which is especially rich with No 10s (think Shinji Kagawa, Ritsu Doan, Daichi Kamada, Genki Haraguchi). Watanabe is much more of a goalscorer than a creator, and crashes the box well while possessing an eye for goal from distance. He won goal of the season in the J1 League in 2023 for an outrageous acrobatic volley after taking a wrapped pass on his chest and, in one motion, looping a right-foot finish top corner as he fell. Last term, he was Urawa Reds' most-played outfielder, and has matched his goal return from 2024 halfway through this campaign (six — Japan's season runs as a calendar year). Expect him to play centrally in a trio behind a No 9, but Watanabe has been comfortable playing across the pitch at various clubs (below). Watanabe is physical too – this season is the fourth running that he has made more fouls than he has won. He has referenced Australia international — and former Ingolstadt player — Mathew Leckie for his technical quality and capacity to shoulder the burden. Liam Tharme What a strange season Jamie Gittens has had. The left-sided winger began 2024-25 on fire at Borussia Dortmund, running at every exposed full-back he could find in the Bundesliga. Without question, through an autumn and winter when almost everything that could go wrong for Dortmund did, Gittens was their outstanding player, their cutting edge. Born in Reading, a town outside west London, Gittens left for Manchester City's academy as a young teenager before joining Dortmund in 2020. Early bursts of progress were curtailed by terrible luck with injuries — so much so that Gittens had to wait until 2023 for his first, sustained breakthrough into the first team. He is a slashing winger, old-fashioned in a way. He is most dangerous one-on-one, with his wickedly quick feet and a dribbling style that allows him to go past his man on either side, and then shoot with tremendous power from a short backlift. His goals in 2024 were violent and artistic, and often decisive. No Bundesliga player attempted more take-ons across the campaign, with Gittens relishing the chance to drive into the box from the left flank (as illustrated below). It made him the 'unterschiedsspieler' — difference-making player — and without him, Dortmund would have been in a desperate state. Since the turn of the year, things have been less straightforward. In the middle of what was his first full season as a regular starter, he began to show signs of fatigue. Gittens is a high-energy, high-impact player, and Dortmund's dependence upon him for attacking thrust dulled him. They were also a team whose coach was on borrowed time. Nuri Sahin was sacked at the end of January, after a miserable run of form, and Niko Kovac replaced him. The problem for Gittens was not so much that Kovac did not appreciate him. Instead, he dropped out of the side from February 2025 because the version of him that Kovac had inherited — leggy, jaded — was not able to respond to Kovac's demands for more urgency and intensity. The Croatian wanted a tougher, more physical side, and Gittens had already been worn down to the nub. Sporadic appearances soon became a lack of confidence and with a summer transfer looking increasingly likely (Chelsea are leading that race), his focus seemed to dwindle, too. But these are distractions. Gittens remains an outstanding player in the making and should he get the right summer move — or decide to extend his contract at Dortmund and find a home in Kovac's 3-4-2-1 system — then he will have a good chance of making Thomas Tuchel's squad for the 2026 World Cup. A fabulous talent, albeit temporarily dormant. Seb Stafford-Bloor Thiago Silva is only four months away from achieving the personal goal he set for himself 16 years ago, while watching his 41-year-old Milan team-mate Paolo Maldini defy time. 'Meeting Maldini sparked something in me,' he told the Guardian in 2023. 'I was 24 when I arrived and looking at him made me think: 'The way I look after myself — I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't miss my sleep — means I can reach Maldini's level'.' He then added: 'Age level, I mean, of course, not performance level. There is only one Maldini.' Silva may have been too harsh on himself. He is a one-of-a-kind footballer too, a defensive master and leader who seems somehow less vulnerable to the ravages of time than most of us. Of the 23 major trophies he has won in his professional career, 17 have arrived in the decade that has passed since his 30th birthday. It is more than good genes and injury luck. Before leaving Chelsea in the summer of 2024 he detailed the remarkable lengths to which he has gone to look after his body, which included spending £17,000 ($23,000) to ship a hyperbaric chamber over from the United States and using a cryotherapy chamber and pulse massage trousers in his Surrey home to aid recovery. He also has a seven-person team that features a doctor, a nutritionist, a physiotherapist and a personal coach to help him deal with the rigours of professional football. 'Nowadays, young people, many of them, see it as an expense, a waste of money to have someone on their side,' he added. 'They think they're throwing money away by having a professional helping them. It's quite the opposite: it's an investment.' That investment continues to pay dividends. As he approaches his 41st birthday, Silva has returned to Fluminense, the club where he began his youth career. They sit fifth in Brazil's Serie A with 11 matches played, and four of their six victories have been earned with him on the pitch. His nine appearances in the league and Copa Sudamericana (South America's second-tier continental competition) have also yielded four clean sheets and only two defeats. Silva's body serves only to enable his mind, which is as quick to read and react to danger as ever. Despite his soft-spoken nature off the pitch, he is steely on it, barking instructions towards team-mates. He views himself as a head coach-in-waiting. Remarkably, he is not the oldest player in his team; that honour belongs to Fabio, Fluminense's near-ever-present 44-year-old goalkeeper. Perhaps that could be Silva's next target. Liam Twomey At 6ft (183cm), Ronwen Williams does not fit the goalkeeper stereotype. Then again, as a black South African born in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), his presence and success must go a long way to change the under-representation of black goalkeepers — much in the same way that American football once lacked black quarterbacks. He was voted as the ninth-best goalkeeper in the world at the 2024 Ballon d'Or awards, the first African-based player nominated for the Yashin Trophy. At first, he thought it was a joke. 'It's a massive achievement, I still get goosebumps,' he said. 'Hopefully, this will open more doors for South Africans and Africans to get the recognition.' It is some progress for someone who was once not picked for a tournament because he was too small, and slept as much as he could in the hope of stimulating a growth spurt. At 33, he has spent more than a decade as one of the top goalkeepers in Africa, first at SuperSport United before he joined Mamelodi Sundowns in 2022. No goalkeeper kept more clean sheets in each of Williams' three seasons there as Sundowns secured a three-peat of South African league titles — that consistency is how they secured the second-best CAF four-year ranking spot to qualify. Earlier in his career, he spent time in Tottenham Hotspur's academy and went to the Olympics in 2020 (South Africa finished bottom in a strong group with hosts Japan, Mexico and France). He has had plenty of international redemption since. The legendary Itumeleng Khune (91) is the only goalkeeper with more South African caps (52 for Williams), and Williams has captained his country since 2021. He was the star in the knockout rounds when Bafana Bafana finished third at AFCON in 2024 — their best continental performance since 2000. He saved four penalties in the quarter-final shootout win over Cape Verde, three times diving to his right and once to his left (below). Then, two more penalty saves followed in the third-place play-off against DR Congo, and he won goalkeeper of the tournament. Excluding shootouts, he has saved 13 of 60 penalties faced. With Sundowns facing German giants Borussia Dortmund and Brazil's Fluminense in the group stage (plus South Korean side Ulsan HD), they are going to need Williams to perform. Liam Tharme The last time Jo Hyeon-woo was on the world stage was memorable. At the 2018 World Cup with South Korea, he earned the man-of-the-match award after six saves helped his side beat Germany 2-0 in their final group game, knocking out the reigning champions in the process. He surprisingly emerged as South Korea's first-choice goalkeeper just a few years removed from playing in Korea's second division with Daegu. They earned promotion in 2017, and Jo helped them win their first Korean FA Cup in 2018. Now 33 years old, Jo has had a storied career in the K League 1, making 400 league appearances. With Ulsan, who he joined in 2020, this has included three straight league titles between 2022 and 2024. Last year, he was named league MVP after keeping 14 clean sheets. Ulsan, representing the AFC, will be the only South Korean team at the Club World Cup, but Jo is used to representing his country with pride. Along with the Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min, he was selected as an over-age player at the 2018 Asian Games, where South Korea's under-23s won gold, granting the team exemptions from mandatory military service. His role model is the former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, and their play styles are not too dissimilar. At 6ft 2in (188cm), Jo is a shot-stopper with quick reflexes and has not been beaten from outside the box this season. These skills translate to penalties, where he has saved two out of three in the league and denied two during the 2023 Asian Cup round of 16, helping South Korea progress against Saudi Arabia via a penalty shootout. Jo missed the first three games of the 2025 K League 1 season with a broken nose. He has since played 15 games, keeping five clean sheets. His 4.17 'goals prevented', a measure of how many goals a 'keeper was expected to concede based on the quality of shots on target they have faced, is the second highest in the league. It will be his first time in the United States, but not his first time playing against European club opposition. He has been part of the K-League All-Star teams to face Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and Tottenham Hotspur in invitational pre-season games. Eduardo Tansley The surname requires no introductions but another Bellingham will be hoping to make himself known to a global audience over the coming weeks. Jobe, younger brother of Real Madrid star Jude, is Borussia Dortmund's newest recruit, signed from Sunderland in time to make his debut at the Club World Cup. The transfer package, potentially worth up to £32million ($43m), underlines the vast potential of the 19-year-old, who became one of English football's most sought-after teenagers last season. Bellingham, like his elder brother, has undeniable star quality. He already has more than 100 appearances in league football to his name, having emerged through Birmingham City's academy and into their first team by age 16. A move to Sunderland two years ago widened those experiences and, in time, Bellingham has become a cultured, skilful and physical presence in a variety of midfield roles (below). An endorsement of his rise came when named the Championship's Young Player of the Season, a month before helping Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League with a play-off final win against Sheffield United. There have also been multiple call-ups to England's under-21s, who were left disappointed to see the Club World Cup trump their own bid for silverware at the European Championship this month. Comparisons to his sibling are increasingly inevitable after replicating a big-money move to Dortmund but there is substance to them. The younger Bellingham shares many of the traits that have made his brother an elite player. There are the obvious physical similarities in gait and resemblance but also in playing style. Bellingham was used predominantly as a No 8 by Sunderland last season but is capable of playing higher up, either as an athletic No 10 or even a No 9. There is strength on the ball, awareness and the capability to deliver the occasional spectacular goal. Colleagues at Sunderland also considered him to be a natural leader, despite not turning 20 until September. That is not to say Bellingham — or his family – enjoy the parallels. The youngster carries the name of 'Jobe' on the back of his shirt rather than 'Bellingham', an attempt to forge his own reputation in the game. Bellingham's talent is driving that wish through and now begins the challenge of commanding a place in a team that will target the Bundesliga title and progress in the Champions League next season. First, though, comes the Club World Cup and the potential for a meeting of the Bellingham brothers if Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund progress to the quarter-finals as group winners. Phil Buckingham It started with a haircut. Massimiliano Allegri vowed to give Kenan Yildiz more playing time if he went to the barber shop. Juventus' former coach gave the talented Turk his first-team debut and liked what he saw — apart from the number of times Yildiz stopped to brush his hair from his eyes and tuck locks of it behind his ears. The German-born creator booked himself in for a trim the following day. By the end of the season, he had taken Federico Chiesa's place in Juventus' starting XI. Yildiz's emergence gave the club the confidence to walk away from contract talks with Chiesa and sell him to Liverpool. His replacement was already in the building. Signed as a 17-year-old from Bayern Munich, Yildiz was quickly identified as the player Juventus wished to build around. The club aimed to go back to its roots and get younger. Last season, only Parma fielded a team with a lower average age than Juventus. The extent to which the club believes in Yildiz became clear in a single significant gesture. While Paul Pogba served a ban for failing an anti-doping control, Juventus decided to change the squad numbers going into last season. The prestigious No 10 shirt, worn by Omar Sivori, Michel Platini, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero, was taken from Pogba and handed to Yildiz. To some, it felt like too much, too soon. Yildiz continues to lack consistency. He has only just turned 20 and while Lamine Yamal makes even his close contemporaries look old, Yildiz still, understandably, needs time. He is playing more than his compatriot Arda Guler at Real Madrid and the flashes of his talent are so scintillating that many a defender has been left burned. Yildiz scored his first Champions League goal this season and was excellent in the 2-0 win against Manchester City. He left his mark in big games against Milan and notably Inter, inspiring a comeback in a 4-4 draw, not to mention the Derby della Mole against Torino. Yildiz also got Juventus back into the game against Venezia on the final day of the season, a 3-2 win that clinched lucrative and essential Champions League qualification. Had Juventus missed out, they would likely have had to sacrifice Yildiz in this summer's transfer window. The fans would not have appreciated his sale after those of Dean Huijsen and Matias Soule last year. Yildiz is one of the few players who makes buying a ticket to a Juventus game worthwhile (shown by his willingness to dribble with the ball, below) and he likes to mimic Del Piero's old tongue-out celebration. 'I like how intrepid he is and the bravery he shows on the ball,' Del Piero told an event in Milan last year. 'I wish him all the best. He needs it.' James Horncastle It is a testament to how Erling Haaland redefined goalscoring norms in his first two seasons in England that a campaign that produced 31 goals in 44 games is seen as a dry year. The Norwegian scored 52 goals in 53 games in his debut season – breaking the Premier League record for most goals in a season with 36 – and though his output has dipped slightly, he still carries much of the goalscoring burden at City. The idea of Haaland being robotic has been cultivated because of how perfunctory he makes scoring goals at record rates look. Consuming 6,000 calories a day, drinking 'magic potion' milk and wearing blue-light glasses to bed adds to the image, but he came to be seen as more human last season due to City's sudden fallibility. Although he scored 10 goals in his opening five league games, a run that included back-to-back hat-tricks, he did not score in 22 games last season and his failure to net in the 1-0 FA Cup final defeat against Crystal Palace made it eight finals for City without a goal. Opposition defences have adapted to play deeper against him, out of fear of how destructive his runs in behind can be. It has made the task of scoring freely more challenging as he is not a player who will combine inside the box with intricate link-up play, so he can go through full halves of football only touching the ball a handful of times. It has led to debate about whether his goals-but-nothing-more contribution is a net benefit to the overall strength of the team. City made clear where they stand on the argument in January when they announced that he had signed a new 10-year contract — an unprecedented length of agreement in the sport. City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak claimed the deal was a signal that Haaland is the player they want to lead City into a new era, with Kevin De Bruyne departing this summer. 'It's writing the next chapter and Erling is at the heart of it,' he said. 'This commitment goes both ways. It's Erling telling the club and telling us he's betting on us, and it's us telling him we're betting on you.' Jordan Campbell It has been a difficult season for Wydad AC. Manager Rhulani Mokwena joined Morocco's most decorated club from South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns last summer with a focus on shifting their in-possession approach. While there were signs of progress throughout the season, Mokwena was sacked in April after an eight-game winless run that saw Wydad fail to mount a serious title challenge. One of the first players to pay tribute to their former manager was Mohamed Rayhi. 'I can't thank you enough for what you have done for me,' Rayhi wrote on Instagram. 'How you treated me, how you made me a better person and a better player.' The gratitude was justified. Having only arrived himself last summer from Saudi First Division side Al Jabalain, Rayhi ended the 2024-25 season as the joint-top scorer of the Botola Pro (Moroccan first division) with 11 goals. Having hopped between clubs in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent years, Rayhi's footballing roots begin in Europe. Born to Moroccan parents, Rayhi grew up in the Woensel district of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, arriving at PSV's successful youth academy aged nine and playing in the same youth team as Memphis Depay. After working his way through to Jong PSV (the club's reserve team), Rayhi had impressive stints at NEC Nijmegen and Sparta Rotterdam before moving east. Now at Wydad and facing a tough Club World Cup group containing Manchester City, Juventus and Al Ain, the 30-year-old has shown that he is keen to guide his team-mates and take responsibility on and off the pitch. 'Because I am one of the oldest players on the team, I want to be a leader,' Rayhi said in December. 'If I am a leader on the field, then the other players will follow me in running and fighting for the jersey. It is very important to influence your other team-mates.' Rayhi's 11 league goals this season have largely come from a nominal left-wing role, but he is quick to highlight his versatility. 'I can play anywhere in the attack, but I perform best when I have freedom of movement, which is how I play at Wydad,' Rayhi recently said in an interview with FIFA. 'I may start on the left but have the freedom to shift to the right, operate as a playmaker, or even as a central striker. 'I don't like being stuck in one position. I prefer having more freedom on the field because it allows me to perform better and gives me more options to score goals.' If Wydad are to make a dent against any of their Group G opponents, Rayhi would be the one to have a say in it. Mark Carey Here's a bold claim, but not an outrageous one — there is no better player to watch in world football than Rayan Cherki when he is in the mood. The 21-year-old is ludicrously talented, consistently creative when he is given license to drift into pockets of space across the pitch. No player in Europe's top five leagues last season created higher value opportunities for their team-mates last season per 90 minutes; an ideas man, the wildcard, someone to rely on when defences drop deep. The best thing about Cherki, however, is that it's all instinctive. Flicks into space, probing through passes, scoops into the box — they all seem to happen milliseconds after the idea pops into his head. He is not particularly quick, he can even look disinterested at times, but give the France international an opportunity to attack a space and he will find a way to put the ball precisely where it hurts. Cherki's move from Lyon to Manchester City feels a long time in the making for regular viewers of French football, and the Club World Cup represents a fantastic opportunity to see how the playmaker will fit in. There are concerns surrounding his defensive application, perhaps not rigorous enough to play in such a positionally disciplined side. But the prospect of Cherki lining up in a star-studded squad, particularly after he stole the show on his debut for France this month, is about as exciting as it gets. There are few players, if any, who can combine Cherki's nonchalance and game-breaking ability, opening up defences with a shrug and a smirk. After Kevin De Bruyne, the idea at City could be to give the Frenchman the creative keys. Thom Harris Scoring at a rate of a goal per game demands attention at any level of football. With 118 goals in 129 league appearances for Al Ain, Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba boasts a strike rate that holds its own alongside some of the Club World Cup's biggest stars, including Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. He only joined in 2019 but Laba is already the highest-scoring foreign player in UAE Pro League history (not including a couple of naturalised South Americans). His journey to the Gulf was anything but straightforward. In 2017, playing club football for Moroccan side RS Berkane at age 27, Laba made his Africa Cup of Nations debut for Togo. He scored against DR Congo and his performances caught the eye of one of the continent's greats. 'You have talent, so don't give up, you'll get your chance,' Riyad Mahrez, a five-time Premier League winner, told him after the competition. A dream move to Europe never materialised. But in Abu Dhabi, Laba has become a star. His eight tournament goals — including two across the two-legged final against Yokohama F Marinos — helped Al Ain secure a second AFC Champions League title. The victory secured their place in this summer's Club World Cup. Stylistically, comparisons with his role model and self-described 'big brother', Togo legend Emmanuel Adebayor, feel appropriate. Laba shares Adebayor's unerring finishing, rangy frame, and ability to stretch defences with well-timed runs in behind. He was the natural successor to the national No 9 position when Adebayor left international football behind in 2019. At 33, a breakout performance in this tournament is unlikely to earn Laba a move to one of Europe's top leagues. But his imposing, clinical style could still disrupt the ambitions of his Group G opponents, including Manchester City and Juventus. Conor O'Neill Aleksandar Mitrovic is one member of European football's 2023 Saudi Pro League exodus who has the question of 'what if?' hanging over him. The Serbian striker made 206 appearances for Fulham and scored 111 goals, breaking the Championship record with 43 in 44 games during their promotion-winning season of 2021-22. But could he have been a regular scorer at a top-six club in the Premier League? It remains an unanswered question. He spent three years at Newcastle United before their Saudi takeover propelled the club to greater heights but he chose to move to Al Hilal two years ago. In Saudi Arabia, his goalscoring numbers have surged to 40 in 44 and 28 in 36, winning the Pro League and the King's Cup in his debut season. As we can see from the table below, the past two seasons have been among the most prolific of his career. Playing alongside compatriot Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who also rejected interest from major European leagues, he has excelled in Saudi but his talent could have stayed in one of the top leagues in Europe. Mitrovic is strong and his hold-up play is a major asset to his team, but he is deceptively mobile. He showed in the Premier League that he can stand up to defenders roughing him up and keep the ball to get his side up the pitch. His numbers speak for themselves when it comes to finishing but he plays with an edge to his game, as referee Chris Kavanagh found when he was pushed by Mitrovic, who received an eight-game ban for his conduct. It is the fine line he has to live on to be at his most aggressive, effective self. 'He's an absolute animal,' said his team-mate Tim Ream after Mitrovic scored a double against Liverpool in 2022. He is Serbia's record scorer but, having not made it out of the group stage at the 2018 or 2022 World Cups, nor the 2024 European Championship, it feels like Mitrovic had never truly entered the world stage. His matches against Real Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg could serve as a belated chance to make a point. Jordan Campbell It's a name that might elicit a smile from Premier League fans, a blast from the not-so-distant past, one of two players — alongside Duncan Ferguson — to score a hat-trick of headers in the English top flight. But Salomon Rondon is still deadly serious, crashing in goals for Pachuca in Mexico and representing a heroic figure at the top of the Venezuela national team. He scored three times for his country at last summer's Copa America, including from the halfway line against Canada in the knockouts. A bulky, bustling striker, Rondon has lost a yard of pace and his minutes are being managed as he approaches 36, but his raw power and appetite for a physical battle have not waned. Once an exhaustive channel runner, he now likes to lurk almost exclusively between the width of the posts, an immovable object, pinning centre-backs and freeing up space for the more technical, zippy players to flourish around him. But there is also a cultured side to Rondon's game. He is an instinctive finisher off either foot and can mix up his game in front of goal. Against Club America in April, he made a darting run behind and slid the ball between the 'keeper's legs, at home to Tijuana, he produced a lasered finish with his weaker left, and to draw Venezuela level against World champions Argentina, there was a trademark header that activated every muscle in his neck. There are plenty of scrappy goals, too, but you don't become your country's record goalscorer without that innate anticipation to get there on time to tap them in. He is almost as important to his club (illustrated below). Pachuca are clear outsiders in Group H, having already lost 3-0 to Real Madrid in December, and arrive off the back of a disappointing domestic campaign in which they won just three of 17 games in the opening half of the league season. But if anyone can inspire a shock result, channeling the kind of underdog spirit he has harboured for Venezuela as they look to qualify for their first World Cup, it's the indomitable Rondon, still as stocky and as steely as ever. Thom Harris He was the top scorer in La Liga, he won the European Golden Boot, he scored a hat-trick in El Clasico, he scored more goals than any Real Madrid debutant has in their first season and was his club's best player in 2024-25. Yet Kylian Mbappe's opening salvo at the Bernabeu still isn't considered to have been a roaring success. The numbers read 43 goals in 58 appearances in all competitions (the range of his league goals is illustrated below), but in truth it hasn't been the easiest start to life in Madrid for the 26-year-old. There was the initial slow start with three goalless La Liga appearances as he adapted to playing exclusively as a central striker, with Vinicius Junior taking up a large proportion of Mbappe's natural space to his left. There was a run of five games without scoring in April, a month which included an anonymous performance against Arsenal as Madrid were dumped out of the Champions League. There was then a red card against Alaves and the indignity of being whistled by the Bernabeu when his face was shown on the big screen against Athletic Club. There had also been a missed penalty during a defeat to Athletic Club in December, a moment which appeared to trigger Mbappe into action – at this point his scoring rate was down at 10 goals in 20 games, well below his usual high standard. 'I was fine physically, but I had to do more and I knew it,' Mbappe said at a pre-match press conference in January. 'It was time to change everything because I didn't come to Madrid to play badly. 'I thought a lot. Too much. How to do this, how to move… and when you think so much, you don't play well… For now, I'm only thinking about Madrid. I'm thinking about playing my best football.' Since that penalty miss? Thirty-three goals in 38 games including, ominously for Madrid's Club World Cup opponents, his most prolific form at the end of the campaign with 10 goals in six games, including the hat-trick in defeat to Barcelona. In a poor season for Madrid, Mbappe appears to have come through the worst as they hoped he would, as their talisman and leader. Tim Spiers Vinicius Junior arrives at the Club World Cup looking for vindication — this season has been his most difficult since he joined the elite in 2021. The Brazil winger finished the regular season with good numbers, with 21 goals (only behind Kylian Mbappe) and 17 assists (the most in the squad) in 52 games, averaging a goal involvement every 109.89 minutes. However, the general feeling inside and outside the club is that he has not been the unstoppable Vinicius who blossomed under Carlo Ancelotti. 'I have four grandchildren and they all have Vinicius' shirt and they don't want any other,' the Italian head coach confessed in February 2024. 'The youngsters like this type of player with so much quality, he is spectacular on the ball.' No matter how inconsistent Vinicius Jr is in front of goal, his free-spirited approach to dribbling remains as eye-catching and as unpredictable as ever. Some of Vinicius Jr's key figures in La Liga and Champions League are almost identical to last season, maintaining a 39.7 per cent dribbling success rate and even winning more fouls (91-68). But decisive moments have been slightly harder to come by for the Brazilian, with his combined rate of goals and assists per 90 minutes across the two big competitions dropping from 1.0 — a goal contribution per game — down to 0.75. He has not been the only one at Real Madrid to struggle. The departure of Toni Kroos and Mbappe's arrival left Ancelotti unable to find the right balance in defence and attack. There has also been the uncertainty about Vinicius Jr's future. The Athletic revealed in August that a Saudi Pro League club had offered him a 'historic contract'. Representatives from their football authorities contacted Vinicius Jr's agents again in December to say that they would try to sign him again in the summer, but speculation has since cooled. By contrast, Madrid opened talks in January to extend his contract, which had been renewed in 2022 until 2027. Vinicius Jr rejected the first proposal and the club snubbed his counter-proposal. All this led to Vinicius Jr being whistled by his own fans at the Santiago Bernabeu on several occasions. Manchester City's Rodri claimed the Ballon d'Or, a burden that has been slightly eased by winning The Best FIFA award in December. With Xabi Alonso as his new coach, Vinicius wants to shine again in the United States. He adores America's biggest sporting leagues, particularly the NBA and NFL. On the walls of his home gym, he has painted LeBron James with open arms raised high, Michael Jordan celebrating with the Chicago Bulls and Kobe Bryant, arms outstretched in the LA Lakers jersey. There are many framed NFL jerseys too: Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals' No 9, Saquon Barkley, the New York Giants' No 26, New England Patriots' No 9 JuJu Smith-Schuster and the now-retired JJ Watt's No 99 from his days with the Houston Texans he wore before retiring. In December, with Madrid's permission, he watched the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium while he served a suspension. For all sorts of reasons, Vinicius Jr will want to put on a show in the U.S. Mario Cortegana Trent Alexander-Arnold's summer schedule has got a lot busier than he may have thought at the start of May. It was only at the end of last month that Real Madrid reached an agreement with Liverpool to sign the 26-year-old early to allow him to play in the Club World Cup and embed himself with the squad as soon as possible. A single payment of €10million (£8.4m; $11.4m) works out for all parties, and will be worth every penny if Alexander-Arnold helps his new side win the tournament for a record-extending sixth time. After an initial rocky break-up with the Liverpool fans, Alexander-Arnold eventually ended up with a positive send-off from the Anfield faithful on the final day of the Premier League season. The new challenge in Madrid awaits. Alexander-Arnold is the ultimate ball progressor, able to switch the play with a cross-field pass or pierce through an opposition defence with a through ball. Crucially, the 2024-25 season saw a return of Alexander-Arnold as a more 'conventional' full-back. After experimenting with a role that saw him drift inside during Liverpool's build-up in Jurgen Klopp's final season, the 26-year-old returned to familiar areas on the right touchline. His passing clusters below show how often he plays dangerous balls upfield or into the penalty area. Alexander-Arnold's arrival comes at a time of transition in Madrid, and his skill set will be much-needed under Xabi Alonso. Madrid have struggled to cope with the absence of the midfield metronome Toni Kroos after his retirement at the end of the 2023-24 season. Alexander-Arnold's passing range can go a long way to filling the void. With Dani Carvajal, 33, working his way back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and the deputising Lucas Vazquez departing after the Club World Cup, Alexander-Arnold should expect to walk into the side. He will be fully aware that the scrutiny on him will go up another gear compared with his home city. With more than 80 assists in a Liverpool shirt, Alexander-Arnold's creativity should mean his new team-mates, particularly Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and the box-crashing of Jude Bellingham, are excited for what could come their way. Mark Carey Watch Red Bull Salzburg and Oscar Gloukh stands out a mile – a player who looks on another level in Austrian football when it comes to technique. In the Champions League this season, the 21-year-old took more touches, attempted more shots and created more than double the goalscoring opportunities than any of his team-mates. He attempted the most take-ons, his tip-tapping feet and ability with both feet giving him unpredictability and agility in tight spaces and out wide, while leading the way for defensive recoveries — as snappy without the ball as he is zippy and positive with it. Nominally operating as a No 10 in behind two strikers, Gloukh has a preference to drift over to the left, where his ability with both feet comes to the fore. He has racked up assists with his right — notably away to Feyenoord, chopping inside and floating in a perfect cross for Karim Konate to head home — as well as his left, when he races to the byline to cut the ball back. In more central areas, the weight of his passes has caught the eye, with a ball for Liverpool loanee Bobby Clark against Austria Klagenfurt in December highlighting his ability to break lines with punchy forward passes. Gloukh's threat doesn't end with his creativity. His variety of finishing this season has been impressive, looping shots into the far corner, thumping low drives at the near post, or finishing neatly from close range after slick interplay saw him skip into the box. There is another recurring theme here; four of his 10 league goals this season have come from his right foot, the other six from his left. It's been another poor year for Salzburg, losing out on the title to Sturm Graz for the second season in succession, having dominated the domestic scene for a decade. But this is a club that knows how to nurture attacking talent and, after Erling Haaland, Sadio Mane, Dominik Szoboszlai and Karim Adeyemi, Gloukh is undoubtedly the latest prodigy off the production line. Thom Harris (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Kelsea Petersen)
Entrepreneur
an hour ago
- Entrepreneur
The Next Chapter for Streetball? How Creators Are Taking Over Basketball
The Next Chapter is a premier 1v1 league turning streetball culture into a marketable, competitive sport. With unique players and pay-per-view events, the league aims to become a billion-dollar basketball business. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Every basketball player dreams of making it to the NBA — but for most, that dream goes unrealized. "When you stop playing, a part of your identity as a basketball player fades," says Scotty Weaver, a former college hooper turned basketball content creator. "It's always that feeling of never making it." While playing overseas or in semi-pro leagues is still an option, it rarely comes with the recognition that the NBA offers. With The Next Chapter, Weaver is aiming to change that. Co-founded with fellow basketball creator D'Vonte Friga, The Next Chapter (TNC) is a premier 1v1 basketball league spotlighting some of the most dynamic streetballers in the game. Players go head-to-head for cash prizes in a format reminiscent of cage fighting. Related: 7 Lessons from Basketball to Help You Succeed in Business The prologue Weaver was in the streetball content world long before TNC, starting out working with BallisLife doing content with their East Coast squad, where he met standout player Isaiah Hodge, aka Slim Reaper. They left Ballislife and started making their own street ball content with a group called The Wild Hunt. Weaver would bring his Wild Hunt team to local parks and film five-on-five basketball videos. "We had a bunch of guys who were characters," Weaver says. "Slam dunkers, guys doing creative dribbling, big talkers. Everyone brought their own personality and energy." The five-on-five format helped draw big crowds, but it made it tough for Weaver to pay the players involved consistently. "To help pay the team, we asked after the event if they wanted to run some one-on-ones with people at the park," he explains. "When that video comes out, we'll post it as the next chapter — and whatever it generates will be how we pay you. So your ability to earn is directly tied to your performance in the video." That model incentivized players to talk trash, play flashy and stand out, turning the games into even better content. They started featuring one of their players, Lah Moon, in a one-on-one after every park run, challenging the best and bravest from the crowd. After a string of undefeated performances, Moon finally met his match in former college hooper Nasir Core, whose dominant showing made him a standout in the community. Sensing they were onto something, Weaver brought Core in as another featured one-on-one player, laying the groundwork for what would eventually become The Next Chapter. Season One featured seven players, each compensated based on how well their videos performed. They shot all seven episodes in a single day and posted them over several months. "Season one did great," Weaver says. "Players started to see how much money they could make on this." What began as a way for players to make some extra money has unexpectedly evolved into a potential career path for streetball creators. "We just paid attention to what people wanted to watch," Weaver says. "What we're building is a basketball league — whether it's one-on-ones, two-on-twos, three-on-threes, or five-on-fives. Right now, we're focused on ones because they're far more marketable. But we never want to close ourselves off to the idea of doing it all." Related: 'This is the Future': WNBA Legend Lisa Leslie Reflects on the WNBA's Growth and Championing Small Business The 'UFC' of hoops TNC's marketing strategy channels the spirit of Vince McMahon and Dana White, building stars by spotlighting unique personalities and skill sets. YouTube phenom Devonte Friga knows this process well, having grown his personal channel to over a million followers. "We're trying to build the UFC of one-on-one basketball," Friga says. He points to one of TNC's standout players, J Lew, whom the marketing team cleverly labeled "the internet's shiftiest hooper." "There are so many players like that — each with small, unique parts of their game that define who they are. Take NAS, for example. Online, he's dominant. He doesn't just win — he wins big — and makes sure everyone knows it. Then there's Moon, whose unorthodox one-on-one style is so distinctive that NBA 2K flew him out to capture his crossover move, even though he's not an NBA player. It's those little things — the way a player stands out — that turn them into a star." The next chapter for The Next Chapter Although most TNC players are streetballers, the league is experimenting with a new format on June 6: a one-on-one showdown between former NBA players Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley, with $100,000 at stake. The matchup will serve as the finale of Season 2, which featured 20 episodes of the two pros coaching opposing squads, building anticipation for their long-awaited faceoff. The event will be available via pay-per-view, a bold move for a league whose audience is accustomed to free content. Still, Weaver is confident fans will see the value. "I think it's about proving to your audience that when you ask them to spend their money, there has to be a clear sense of value — like, wow, I actually got something great in return — rather than, this just feels like the same thing I was getting for free, but now I have to pay for it." While some details are still being finalized, Weaver estimates that moving forward, about 95% of TNC content will remain free, with roughly 5% behind a paywall. While others — like former NBA star Tracy McGrady with his OBL league — have explored the 1v1 basketball space, The Next Chapter is carving its path from the ground up. "Unlike Tracy's league, we don't need to be something big right away," says Friga. "What we're building is completely different, and I believe it has the potential to become a billion-dollar industry."
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Two musical revolutionaries, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, leave life's stage nearly simultaneously
Sometimes there are strange symmetries in death, as in life. The twin passings of Sly Stone and Brian Wilson this week brought that into sharp relief. Both were musical geniuses who paid a high price for their gifts. They burned bright, with art they created at their peaks that became more moving and meaningful with time, only to see their creative lights extinguished suddenly through mental health and addiction issues. Both were 82 when they died — Stone on Monday and Wilson on Wednesday. 'It's such an unsettling coincidence,' said Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor at Rolling Stone. 'These two figures, they were very different and massively influential, and each ran into a wall of their own problems in many ways. As much as they achieved, it's hard not to think that they could have done more.' Brian Wilson captured the California sound With his late brothers Carl and Dennis, Beach Boys co-founder Wilson was the architect of the California sound that captured surfing and sun, beaches and girls. Yet for all the 'Fun, Fun, Fun,' there was something much deeper and darker in Brian's abilities as a composer. It was more than disposable music for teen-agers. He had an unparalleled melodic sense, hearing sounds in his mind that others couldn't. He could worm his way into your head and then break your heart with songs like 'In My Room' and 'God Only Knows.' The tour de force 'Good Vibrations' —- had anyone ever heard of the theremin before he employed its unearthly wail? — is a symphony both complex and easily accessible. 'He was our American Mozart,' musician Sean Ono Lennon wrote on social media. The 1966 album 'Pet Sounds' was a peak. Wilson felt a keen sense of competition with the Beatles. But they had three writers, including Sean's dad, John Lennon. Wilson was largely alone, and he heard impatience and doubt from other Beach Boys, whose music he provided. He felt the pressure in trying to follow up 'Pet Sounds,' and 'Smile' became music's most famous unfinished album. Wilson, a damaged soul to begin with because of an abusive father, never reached the heights again. He descended into a well-chronicled period of darkness. Sly Stone helped assemble a new kind of musical landscape Stone's skills came in creating a musical world that others only dreamed of at the time. The Family Stone was an integrated world — Black and white, men and women — and the music they created was a potent mixture of rock, soul and funk. It made you move, it made you think. For a period of time from 1967 to 1973, their music was inescapable — 'Dance to the Music,' 'Everybody is a Star,' 'Higher,' 'Hot Fun in the Summertime,' 'Sing a s Simple Song,' 'Family Affair,' 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).' Their performance at Woodstock was a milestone. 'His songs weren't just about fighting injustice, they were about transforming the self to transform the world,' musician and documentarian Questlove, who lovingly tended to Stone's legacy, wrote this week. 'He dared to be simple in the most complex ways — using childlike joy, wordless cries and nursery rhyme cadences to express adult truths. His work looked straight at the brightest and darkest parts of life and demanded we do the same.' From his peak, the fall was hard. Years of drug abuse took its toll. Periodic comeback attempts deepened a sense of bewilderment and pity. In a world where many musical icons died young, each endured Music is littered with stories of sudden, untimely and early deaths. Yet until this week, both men lived on, somewhat improbably passing average life expectancies. Wilson, by many measures, achieved some level of peace late in life. He had a happy marriage. He was able to see how his music was revered and appreciated and spent several years performing it again with a younger band that clearly worshiped him. It was a postscript not many knew, said journalist Jason Fine, who befriended Wilson and made the 2021 documentary, 'Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road.' 'That sort of simple message he really wanted to give people through his music going back to the '60s — a sense of warmth, a sense that it's going to be OK in the same way that music lifted him up from his darkness, he'd try to do for other people,' Fine told The Associated Press in an interview then. 'I think now, more than earlier in his career, he accepts that he does that and that's a great comfort to him.' Stone emerged to write an autobiography in 2023. But less is known about his later years, whether he found peace or died without the full knowledge of what his music meant to others. 'Yes, Sly battled addiction,' Questlove wrote. 'Yes, he disappeared from the spotlight. But he lived long enough to outlast many of his disciples, to feel the ripples of his genius return through hip-hop samples, documentaries and his memoir. Still, none of that replaces the raw beauty of his original work.' Did Sly Stone and Brian Wilson live lives of tragedy or triumph? It's hard to say now. One suspects it will become easier with the passage of time, when only the work remains. That sometimes brings clarity. 'Millions of people had their lives changed by their music,' DeCurtis said. 'Not just enjoyed it, but had their lives transformed. That's quite an accomplishment.' ___ David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and
