MLS

Sporting KC was reportedly the closest MLS club to signing Cristiano Ronaldo, per multiple reports, before the veteran striker signed with Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr on Friday.

"I am fortunate that I have won everything I set out to win in European football and feel now that this is the right moment to share my experience in Asia," Ronaldo said on Friday after making the decision to continue his club career in Saudi Arabia.

The 37-year-old went scorched earth at Manchester United in an effort to depart the club, going so far as to rip ownership and manager Erik ten Hag in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan.

Manchester United responded by terminating his contract.

The original belief was that Ronaldo was seeking a move to a Champions League club. But when no such move materialized, likely because of Ronaldo's waning impact but massive wages, he instead joined Al-Nassr on what are reportedly astronomical wages:

"I'm thrilled for a new experience in a different league and a different country, the vision that Al-Nassr has is very inspiring," Ronaldo said. "I'm very excited to join my teammates, and to help the team to achieve more success."

It's somewhat hard to imagine that an MLS club could have offered a similar deal to the one Ronaldo received in Saudi Arabia, though a number of older stars have made their way to the MLS in the past, including David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Wayne Rooney, Kaká, Andrea Pirlo, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, among others.

But none are a global icon the likes of Ronaldo, who has the most Instagram followers among individuals in the world. Without question, he would have been the biggest star in the history of MLS, and would have drawn major attention to the league.

Instead, Ronaldo fans from around the world might have to find ways to stream Saudi Pro League matches to keep up with the Portuguese dynamo.

The latest crop of collegiate talent to enter Major League Soccer will be determined on Wednesday.

The 2023 MLS SuperDraft takes place before the holiday season this year. The latest draft picks will have over two weeks more than most previous selections to get accustomed to their new squads.

Expansion side St. Louis City SC holds the first overall pick in the draft.

St. Louis has a few intriguing options to choose from at the top of the draft class.

The draft holds less meaning with each passing year in MLS because of the influx of academy talent at most clubs. They can identify and develop their own talent instead of relying on the older college talent pool.

The draft has produced a few solid players recently. United States men's national team players Matt Turner and Daryl Dike were draft picks in the last five years.

The full selection order for all three rounds can be found here on the league website.

Draft Preview

St. Louis City SC has a few top-tier names to choose from with the No. 1 overall pick.

San Diego State forward CJ Fodrey could fill in some depth up top, as could Syracuse's Nathan Opoku. J.C. Ngando out of UNC Greensboro is one of the top midfield options.

St. Louis has mostly signed defenders and midfielders in preparation for its first MLS season. A forward to provide depth behind Nicholas Gioacchini and Klauss could help them.

Fodrey was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earned an invite to the MLS combine, which hosted 44 college players.

He was responsible for seven goals and four assists at San Diego State last season. His overall chance creation could intrigue the expansion side that needs to fill depth everywhere to compete on a busy MLS schedule.

D.C. United, Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes will all be looking for depth as well in the top four. The Houston Dynamo can say the same with the fifth pick.

Most of those teams will go by the best player available strategy.

DC could stay local and select Maryland forward Joshua Bolma. Opoku, Ngando, Oregon State midfielder Joran Gerbet and Washington midfielder Kalani Kossa-Rienzi are among the other names expected to be heard in the top five at some point.

There are 29 picks in the first round now that St. Louis joined the league. The gap in talent in between the first pick and the 30th overall selection could be massive.

A majority of the players selected on Wednesday will either be MLS depth pieces or added to USL rosters to continue to develop in their young careers.

It is rare nowadays for all top-five picks to be successful in MLS because of how deep the rosters are and the preference for younger academy talent at most clubs.

Projection

1. St. Louis City SC - CJ Fodrey, F, San Diego State

2. DC United - Joshua Bolma, F, Maryland

3. Colorado Rapids - JC Ngando, M, UNC Greensboro

4. San Jose Earthquakes - Nathan Opoku, F, Syracuse

5. Houston Dynamo - Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, M, Washington

For the first time in club history, Los Angeles FC are winners of the MLS Cup after defeating the Philadelphia Union 3-0 on penalty kicks Saturday in front of their home crowd at Banc of California Stadium.

With the match tied 3-3 through extra time, it was sent to penalty kicks to determine a winner, and Denis Bouanga, Ryan Hollingshead and Ilie Sánchez all made their kicks to power the Black and Gold to victory.

John McCarthy, who came on in relief of an injured Maxime Crépeau in extra time, was also brilliant in stopping all of Philadelphia's penalties. He went on to be named MLS Cup MVP.

LAFC kicked things off early, taking a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute on a free kick just outside the penalty area.

The Black and Gold were awarded the free kick after Union midfielder José Martínez was whistled for a foul, and Kellyn Acosta sent a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.

LAFC took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, but the Philadelphia Union were quick to respond in the second half when Dániel Gazdag found the back of the net from inside the penalty area in the 59th minute, making it a 1-1 game.

LAFC were in good position to win the game in 90 minutes when Jesús Murillo broke the tie in the 83rd minute on a header off a corner kick that sailed past Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.

However, Philadelphia fought back again to tie the game 2-2 in the 85th minute when Jack Elliott scored on a header inside the box off a free kick that was awarded after LAFC's José Cifuentes was whistled for a foul.

With the game tied 2-2, it went to extra time, where chaos ensued in the 110th minute as LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau collided with Cory Burke while rushing out of the net to prevent a goal.

Crépeau was initially given a yellow card before being shown the red card in the 116th minute. He was carted off the field because of injury, and the Black and Gold were forced to play down a man for the remainder of the match.

John McCarthy came on in relief of Crépeau.

Burke was also subbed off in the 120th minute because of injury. He was replaced by Chris Donovan.

The Union went on to score the tiebreaker in the 124th minute when Elliott scored his second of the game following a corner kick. It looked like Elliott's goal was going to be the game winner—then Gareth Bale happened.

Bale, who was subbed on in extra time, tied the game 3-3 for LAFC in the 128th minute on a brilliant header from inside the box. His goal sent the game to penalty kicks.

LAFC's win on penalty kicks capped off an impressive 2022 season that saw them finish first in the Western Conference with a 21-4-9 record, tying the Union for the most points in MLS with 67.

Major League Soccer's Inter Miami has emerged as the front-runner to sign superstar Lionel Messi when his PSG contract expires in the summer of 2023, according to a report from The Athletic's David Ornstein.

Per Ornstein, signing with the MLS club is the "most advanced" of Messi's potential options, "to the extent that the Major League Soccer franchise now expect Messi to arrive and hope he will sign in the coming months. Discussions between the two parties have been going on for a couple of years and there is increasing confidence that the proposed transfer will materialise."

Ornstein also noted that PSG will "push hard" to sign Messi to a contract extension, while a return to his first club, Barcelona, is also a possibility.

But Inter Miami may have the inside track. As Ornstein reported, the city of Miami remains a "source of attraction for Messi's family, who already own a property there. Miami's community links with South America are strong, too."

Attracting arguably the greatest player who ever lived to MLS would be a huge coup for the American league, which has attracted major stars in the past like Zlatan Ibrahimović, David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney, among others, but always late in their careers. The cliche has been that football stars go to MLS for one last big payday.

Messi would be in a similar situation, though he continues to play at an incredible level with seven goals and 10 assists through 12 Ligue 1 appearances this season.

Going from PSG's wealth of talent to Inter Miami would be an enormous adjustment. There is no comparison to superstars like Kylian Mbappé or Neymar in MLS.

But there have also been rumors that Messi may take an ownership stake in Inter Miami upon joining the club, though his agent denied them in May.

Regardless, it's a situation worth monitoring. Landing the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner would be an enormous moment for both Inter Miami and MLS in general and a major blow for European powers like PSG and Barcelona. It promises to be a fascinating storyline heading into the summer.

Five years after joining MLS as an expansion team, Los Angeles FC clinched a spot in the MLS Cup final for the first time in franchise history with a dominant 3-0 win over Austin FC in Sunday's Western Conference final at Banc of California Stadium.

LAFC's leading scorer, Cristian Arango, opened the scoring with a header in the 29th minute. Austin was doomed by an own goal by Maximiliano Urruti in the 62nd minute. LAFC substitute Kwadwo Opoku added a dagger in the 81st minute to seal the win.

The win continues a fairytale year for the Black and Gold in Steve Cherundolo's first season as head coach. LAFC earned this year's Supporters' Shield and the top seed in the 2022 playoffs after finishing with a 21-9-4 record in the regular season.

LAFC joined MLS in 2018 and previously finished no better than the Western Conference semifinals. The team did not qualify for the playoffs last season after going 12-13-9, illustrating the quick turnaround under Cherundolo since he was hired on Jan. 3.

The Black and Gold will be joined in the MLS Cup final by the Philadelphia Union, who defeated New York City FC 3-1 in the Eastern Conference final Sunday. It was a revenge win for the Union, which fell to NYCFC in last year's conference final.

The top seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing with a 19-5-10 record in the regular season, Philadelphia is also competing for the MLS Cup title for the first time in franchise history. The Union joined MLS in 2010 as an expansion team.

After a scoreless first half, Maxi Morález got NYCFC on the board in the 57th minute. However, the Union answered with three consecutive goals to earn the win. Julián Carranza and Dániel Gazdag found the back of the net in the 65th and 67th minute, respectively. Cory Burke put the nail in the coffin with a goal in the 76th minute.

NYCFC had won the 2021 MLS Cup and was looking to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Houston Dynamo in 2006 and 2007.

Instead, we'll have a first-time champion when LAFC and Philadelphia next Saturday in Los Angeles at 4 p.m. ET.

Major League Soccer is considering a massive playoff format change for the 2023 season, per Sam Stejskal and Pablo Maurer of The Athletic.

The league is considering expanding its playoff structure from 13 to 30 games, with The Athletic duo providing the reasoning:

"Sources said that the league is considering expanding its playoff format in part so it can increase its overall inventory of postseason matches in the first year of its new media rights agreement with Apple. The league and Apple announced a 10-year, $2.5 billion broadcast deal in June which will see the tech giant show every single MLS regular season and playoff match on its Apple TV streaming service starting in 2023."

With the shift to 30 games, therein lies the possibility of a "World Cup-style playoff tournament" to account for the postseason matchup increase.

The specifics and logistics of that tournament are not known, but one source "hypothesized" that it could consist of 16 teams advancing to a playoff with four groups (two East, two West). The top two seeds in each group would then advance to an eight-team round robin, followed by the MLS Cup.

The current MLS playoff format consists of seven teams from each conference advancing to a 14-team tournament. It is a single-elimination competition in which the top two teams in the East and West get byes.

There is also the possibility of the current format expanding from single- to double-leg, making for a 25-game playoff.

The format will be discussed at MLS' Nov. 15 board of governors meeting. Nothing has been approved as of yet.

Major League Soccer is investigating allegations D.C. United's Taxi Fountas used a racial slur toward Inter Miami's Damion Lowe during Sunday's match between the teams.

Fountas and Lowe were both issued yellow cards in the 62nd minute after a verbal back-and-forth during which the D.C. United forward allegedly used a slur. Lowe informed his teammates of the alleged remark, and players said they considered walking off the field in protest.

Inter Miami coach Phil Neville informed D.C. United coach Wayne Rooney of the allegations, and Rooney removed Fountas from the contest.

“It was a racist comment,” Neville told reporters. “It was unacceptable. A word was used. I think it’s unacceptable in society. A word was used, I think, the worst word in the world. And that’s it, really.”

Rooney declined to comment on the matter aside from acknowledging there was a "complaint."

DeAndre Yedlin said Inter Miami would have left the game had Fountas not been removed. MLS released a statement Sunday saying an investigation would begin "promptly."

“MLS has zero tolerance for abusive and offensive language, and we take these allegations very seriously,” MLS said in a statement.

Inter Miami went on to win the match 3-2. The victory helped keep Inter Miami's playoffs hopes alive, but the triumph was overshadowed by the allegations.

Fountas, who is Greek, is in his first season playing in MLS and is D.C. United's highest-paid player.

United States men's national team defender Miles Robinson was arrested at a bar Saturday and charged with misdemeanor theft by taking, per Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

According to the report from the Cobb County Police Department, Robinson was accused of taking a shot off a drink tray and refusing to pay the $5 for it. The police were called after the bartender at Atlanta PBR alerted management and Robinson's alleged refusal to pay his bill persisted.

Robinson was also given a criminal trespass warning and released on $150 bond.

According to the report, police "explained to him that all he had to do was pay his bill and that if he did not pay the bill the manager wanted to press charges for theft. Robinson once again stated all this was over five dollars. Robinson did not indicate that he was going to pay the bill."

Robinson also accused the staff of racism, stating he was the only Black man in the bar.

The 25-year-old plays for the MLS' Atlanta United, which issued a statement following the incident.

"We are aware of a recent misdemeanor arrest involving Miles Robinson," the club said. "We are continuing to gather all information related to the incident and will not have further comment at this time."

The center back had emerged as one of the best defenders in MLS in recent years, earning him an extended opportunity with the United States national team in 2021. After helping the squad win the Gold Cup, he made 11 starts during World Cup qualifying, tied for second on the team.

Robinson later tore his Achilles tendon in May, ending his MLS season after just nine games while likely ruling him out for the World Cup.

Ten former employees of the Portland Timbers and Thorns said that president of business Mike Golub contributed to a "toxic" work environment and created an "atmosphere of disrespect and intimidation toward women and working mothers employed at the club over a span of 11 years," according to Ryan Clarke of The Oregonian.

Per that report, women who left those organizations reported "multiple instances of inappropriate comments or jokes in office settings, unwanted physical contact, and hostile behavior they say goes beyond the typically demanding atmosphere of working in sports."

Blair Neelands, who previously worked with the organization's Stand Together initiative, told Clarke that Golub "yells and frequently gets angry in meetings, throws soccer balls or other objects at employees to try to catch them off guard, quizzes subordinates on unrelated matters in the middle of presentations, eats bites of people's food and takes sips from their drinks, and engages in boundary-crossing horseplay in office settings," which other former employees corroborated.

Another former employee said Golub commented on her body.

"I was discussing my workout routine with Mike, like how often I go and everything, and he looked my body up and down multiple times and said to me, 'I think yoga would be good for your body, too,'" she said. "It just felt so gross."

“Mike has definitely rubbed my shoulders before,” another former female employee said.

"He's just one of those guys who will stare at you," one former female employee added. "As a younger woman, I just felt like whenever I'd talk to him it was uncomfortable. He's touchy, too. He'll go up to you and put his arm around you or rub your shoulders."

After former Thorns coach Paul Riley was accused by former players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim of sexual coercion—and former Timbers player Andy Polo was accused of domestic abuse by his former partner, Génessis Alarcón, the mother of his children—the Timbers and Thorns underwent an internal review by law firm DLA Piper, which uncovered "three concerns on the business side of the organization relating primarily to three then-current employees."

The club hasn't publicly released the specifics of those findings, though owner Merritt Paulson acknowledged that Golub was a part of that inquiry.

"In that process, there were a handful of concerns raised about Mike from employees that were not direct reports to him," he said. “Those concerns were addressed with Mike. He leaned into those concerns and basically said, ‘if there’s any perceptions about my management style that make anybody feel uncomfortable, I’m open to solution and remediation.’ Remediation was suggested specifically to him, and he is undergoing that remediation."

Golub also commented on the matter.

"My entire career, it's never been raised as an issue," he said. "That said, we're in different times now. If how I conducted myself, with truly the best intentions, made anyone feel uncomfortable, I take that really seriously. I'm really good at what I do, and I'm a really good person, but I can be better."