MLS

Bragging rights still belong to Major League Soccer.

After defeating Mexico's Liga MX All-Stars in a thrilling penalty kick shootout in last year's contest, MLS' best players earned a 2-1 victory in the 2022 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

This was the second straight year the All-Star Game format was a showdown between the two leagues, and MLS is now 2-0 thanks to goals from Carlos Vela and Raúl Ruidíaz.

The home side wasted little time setting the tone thanks to some brilliance from the LAFC teammates two minutes into the game.

Diego Palacios shook a defender with a beautiful fake and unleashed a perfectly placed cross to a waiting Vela, who buried the ensuing header in the back of the net. That it was Vela, the highest scoring Mexican player in MLS history, who scored against the Liga MX All-Stars made the goal all the more notable.

MLS maintained that advantage into the second half thanks in part to multiple saves from Minnesota United FC goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, much to the home crowd's delight.

His diving save right before halftime stood out:

The second half was far more wide open with each side creating a number of chances.

While MLS had a goal taken off the board for an offside ruling, it got one back by drawing a foul inside the box. Ruidíaz of the Seattle Sounders scored what proved to be a key insurance goal with a no-doubter on the penalty kick.

Still, it was just a matter of time before the Liga MX All-Stars finally broke through given the pressure they applied throughout much of the second half. Kevin Álvarez drilled one past New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who replaced St. Clair, to cut the deficit in half.

That was the end of the scoring, though, as MLS protected the lead to clinch a second straight victory in the current format.

The Major League Soccer All-Stars will battle for bragging rights against the Liga MX All-Stars for the second straight season on Wednesday night.

The MLS All-Star Game pits the best in MLS against the top players from the Mexican top flight in a 90-minute exhibition inside Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The MLS All-Stars won the first iteration of the format last season, when they took the victory in penalty kicks.

In previous years, the MLS All-Stars would face a European team travelling during preseason, but those matches offered little in competitiveness because the big clubs from Europe would not play many of their stars.

The MLS All-Star Game still lacks intensity, but it does come with slightly higher stakes because the league has a rivalry with Liga MX that has heated up over the last 12 months.

MLS All-Star Game Preview

The best players in MLS and Liga MX will be on show through the 90 minutes at Allianz Field, but most of the All-Stars will be on the field for a maximum of 45 minutes.

The MLS starters, who were voted into the event by fans, should play most of the first half and then give way to mass substitutions from manager Adrian Heath, who coaches host club Minnesota United.

Two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake and two-time MLS Defender of the Year Walker Zimmerman headline the MLS starting defense.

The MLS front line is a who's who of the best attacking talent in the league, starting with Austin FC's Sebastián Driussi, who leads the league with 16 goals.

The 26-year-old Argentine will get to combine with FC Dallas pair Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira, as well as New England assist machine Carles Gil, as part of the starting attack group.

The chemistry between Arriola and Ferreira, as well as the form of Driussi, could help the MLS team get on the board in the first half.

The Liga MX roster features three of the eight top scorers from the previous season, but the big omission is André-Pierre Gignac, who scored 14 goals for Tigres. He was second in the Golden Boot race behind Germán Berterame.

Berterame will be the most dangerous forward in the Liga MX lineup. He bagged 16 goals for Atletico San Luis last season and earned a move to Monterrey, where he already has three goals in five games to start the new campaign.

All of the forward talent across both rosters leads you to believe goals may come in bunches, but that is not what happened last year in Los Angeles.

The MLS and Liga MX All-Stars scored one goal each and the exhibition went to penalty kicks, where the MLS side won 6-5.

Some All-Star teammates have built-in chemistry from playing alongside each other regularly, but that is not the case for most of the XI that will be thrown on the field at any juncture of the match.

It may take a while for the starters on both sides to get used to timing and runs in the final third, which can be vital to creating space to score in a competitive match.

Of course, with this being an All-Star Game, one or two moments of brilliance are not out of the question, but you also have to realize the goalkeepers are the best in their respective leagues as well.

The lack of training time between teammates could show in the first 10-15 minutes, and then the game could slow down in the second half with waves of substitutions happening at every turn.

The All-Star Game will be a tremendous display of talent, but do not expect a high-scoring affair, especially with so many players entering and exiting the pitch in the second period.

MLS has the quality up top to score in the first half, but it may just be one goal that will be the difference-maker over 90 minutes.

Prediction: MLS 1, Liga MX 0

Major League Soccer announced Tuesday it has signed a 10-year broadcasting deal with Apple to stream every MLS and Leagues Cup match through Apple TV beginning in 2023.

The Athletic's Sam Stejskal reported the deal is worth $2.5 billion. Stejskal added that Apple TV may not be the exclusive home of MLS since "ESPN and Univision are both expected to reach agreements to televise MLS matches in the near future."

Whereas most leagues have standalone streaming services such as League Pass for the NBA and MLB.TV for MLB, MLS ditched its MLS Live service in 2018 and moved its games to ESPN+ as part of its deal with the network.

In that respect, the agreement with Apple doesn't represent a drastic change.

Financially, this deal is in a different stratosphere.

In 2014, MLS inked contracts with ESPN, Univision and Fox that combined to pay out $90 million annually. That figure was a significant increase from the $18 million it previously collected each year, and the league is once again injecting a big boost into its bottom line.

Shifting from ESPN carries risk given the network's reach and how synonymous it is with live sports.

Aligning with a streaming service that doesn't offer a large volume of sports content can have advantages, though.

Per Stejskal, Apple will build specific branding around some matches that mirrors its Friday Night Baseball coverage for MLB. In addition, broadcasts on the Apple TV app "will also include pregame, halftime and postgame shows, as well as a significant amount of non-gameday programming."

This is likely a litmus test for whether MLS can meaningfully bridge the gap between MLS and the traditional big four sports leagues (the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB) in the U.S. If it succeeds in that aim, then it might also challenge some of the more established soccer leagues in Europe.

The United States Men's National Team defeated Morocco 3-0 on Wednesday in an international friendly match at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, in what was their first of four matches this month.

The match gave Gregg Berhalter a good look at his player pool ahead of the World Cup in Qatar this fall as players like Haji Wright, Joe Scally, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Malik Tillman saw a decent amount of time on the pitch.

While Wright, Brenden Aaronson and Timothy Weah found the back of the net in the win, and Christian Pulisic impressed, it was goalkeeper Matt Turner who drew a lot of the attention from American fans on Wednesday night after earning a clean sheet.

Many even called for Turner to replace Zack Steffen as the team's No. 1 goalkeeper entering the World Cup after making eight saves in the win.

Turner entered Wednesday's game with 16 appearances for the national team, including 12 wins and 11 clean sheets. He is now 13-2-2 with 12 shutouts since making his debut in 2021.

The 27-year-old has made a name for himself over the last several years after going undrafted out of Fairfield University.

He signed with the New England Revolution in 2016 and has emerged as the MLS side's top keeper. After going 17-7-4 with five clean sheets during the 2021 season, he earned the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award and was named to the MLS Best XI.

Turner is also set to transfer to Premier League side Arsenal in June, a huge reward for his impressive performances in the MLS and for the national team over the last couple of years.

Meanwhile, Steffen has been with the U.S. national team since 2018 and is 14-4-7. In six games this year for the USMNT, the Manchester City keeper is 3-2-1 with two clean sheets.

With Turner pushing for Steffen's starting job, things should certainly be interesting as we inch closer to the World Cup in November.

Lionel Messi may be coming to MLS, but his agent denied a report suggesting it will certainly happen.

According to Alex Candal of DirectTV Sports (h/t Front Office Sports), the Argentina star will purchase 35 percent of Inter Miami in 2023 when his contract expires with Paris Saint-Germain as part of a deal that will see him play for the team as well.

The stake in the team is said to be worth more than $200 million.

However, Messi's agent told Le Parisien (h/t TMZ Sports), "Leo has not yet decided on his future. And if Leo Messi has crossed paths with David Beckham in the last few hours, it is only as part of PSG’s stay in Doha where the former English midfielder plays a role as an ambassador for the next World Cup in Qatar."

That Beckham, who starred for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England's national team before joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS, was mentioned is notable since he is one of Miami's co-owners.

Beckham increased his ownership stake with the franchise in 2021.

Other international stars who have played in MLS in the latter portion of their careers include Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Yet Messi would be the biggest name of all as arguably the greatest soccer player in the sport's history.

The 34-year-old's resume includes seven Ballons d'Or, four UEFA Champions League titles, 10 La Liga titles, two FIFA Men's Player of the Year awards and two UEFA Men's Player of the Year awards.

He played for the Barcelona first team from 2004-05 through 2020-21 before financial issues at the Spanish club led to him leaving as a free agent and joining PSG for the 2021-22 campaign on a two-year contract.

He has won the league title in his first year in Paris but fell short of winning the club's first Champions League title, which was likely its primary aim in bringing Messi to the club.

Tom Sanderson of Forbes noted Messi said in 2020, "I always had the dream of being able to enjoy and have the experience of living in the United States, experience what the league there is like."

Inter Miami would immediately become one of, if not the biggest draw in the league with the star power of Messi.

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar said Monday that he would like to come to the United States and play in the MLS one day.

During a podcast appearance (h/t ESPN's Adriana Garcia), Neymar suggested that while a return to play in his native Brazil may not be in the cards, a move to the United States could be: "I don't know. I have some doubts about that. I don't know if I'll play in Brazil again. I'd love to play in the U.S., actually. I'd love to play there at least for a season."

Neymar expanded on his desire to play in the U.S. by saying that since the MLS season is shorter than the European season, he would get "three months' vacation." Neymar also said jokingly that the schedule would allow him to play "many more years."

The 30-year-old Neymar is under contract with PSG until June 2025, meaning he will be 33 when he becomes a free agent.

When asked about when he plans on retiring, the dynamic forward said: "I joke with my friends that I will retire when I'm 32. But it's just a joke. I don't know. Honestly, I will play until I'm mentally tired. If my mental health is OK and my body as well. ... Physically, I think I'll still last a few years. But my mental health is the most important thing."

Neymar made his professional debut at the age of 17 and has accomplished a great deal since then.

He notably spent four seasons at FC Barcelona from 2013-17 before making the move to PSG, which is where he has spent the past five campaigns.

Neymar won two La Liga titles and a UEFA Champions League title with Barca, and so far at PSG, he has won three Ligue 1 titles, although he is still in search of a Champions League triumph at the club.

Across all competitions, Neymar has scored 333 goals for Santos, Barcelona and PSG over the course of 14 seasons.

He has also scored 70 times in 116 appearances for the Brazilian senior national team, plus he helped lead Brazil to a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Games.

If Neymar does eventually go to the United States, he will follow in the footsteps of many of the all-time greats.

Chief among them is Brazilian legend Pele, who played for the New York Cosmos from 1975-77.

Other notable players to make the leap from Europe or South America to the U.S. and specifically MLS include David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Kaka, Frank Lampard and David Villa, meaning Neymar would be in good company.

Major League Soccer announced Friday that it is launching an investigation into the Portland Timbers' handling of domestic violence allegations against former player Andy Polo.

According to ESPN, an MLS spokesperson said the league is hiring an outside law firm to conduct the investigation and added the following in a statement:

Following the allegations made last week against Andy Polo, Major League Soccer promptly launched a review into the decisions that the Portland Timbers made in response to the charges brought against the player last May. The Timbers are committed to this review and have pledged their full cooperation.

Per ESPN, Polo's former partner, Genessis Alarcon, said last week on Peruvian television that Polo pulled her hair, slapped her in the face and gave her a black eye. She said he also hasn't been paying child support for their children.

Pablo Maurer and Sam Stejskal of The Athletic reported that the Timbers did not notify MLS of police responding to a domestic violence call at Polo's home in May 2021.

The Timbers suspended Polo and then released him last week after Alarcon came forward with the allegations.

Regarding the impending review, the Timbers said in a statement: "The Portland Timbers welcome Major League Soccer's review into the handling of the May 2021 Andy Polo complaint and will cooperate fully."

In an incident report filed by the Washington County Sheriff's Department, it was established that Polo was issued a citation for harassment for grabbing Alarcon's wrist, and he was not arrested.

The responding officer said Timbers head of players affairs Gabriel Jaimes and head of security Jim McCausland arrived on the scene and assured the officer "peace would be maintained" between Polo and Alarcon.

Per ESPN, it isn't known if Jaimes or McCausland informed their superiors within the Timbers organization about what occurred.

Polo is a 27-year-old Peruvian who began playing for the Timbers in 2018. He initially arrived on loan from Mexican club Monarcas Morelia before making the move permanent.

He previously played for clubs in Peru and Colombia, and he signed with Inter Milan in 2014, although he never appeared in an official match for the club.

Polo has made 37 appearances for the Peruvian senior national team as well, and was part of Peru's 2018 World Cup team.

The National Women's Soccer League's Portland Thorns, who are also owned by Timbers owner Merritt Paulson, are also under investigation.

Two former Thorns players said in September that former head coach Paul Riley, who didn't have his contract renewed following the 2015 season, engaged in improper conduct, including coercing a player into having a sexual relationship with him.

The U.S. Soccer Federation is investigating the Thorns' handling of the allegations against Riley after an internal investigation made no headway.

Real Salt Lake signed 14-year-old Axel Kei to a first-team contract on Friday, making him the youngest signing in MLS history. 

“Over the last year Axel has proven to be one of the top attacking prospects in the country," RSL general manager Elliot Fall said in a release. "His propensity in front of goal is well beyond his years, and coupled with his elite athleticism, he projects to become a goal-scoring force in our league in the years to come."

Kei starred for Real Salt Lake's U15 team, scoring five goals in five games during the MLS Next Cup last year to take home the tournament's Golden Boot. He has since played for the club's U17 side, tallying six goals in six games. 

Last year, he debuted with the MLS Next Pro team Real Monarchs at just 13 years old, which made him the youngest professional athlete to feature for an American sports team. 

Kei moved to California in 2017 and spent three years playing for the LA Galaxy's San Diego Youth Soccer Club before joining Real Salt Lake. He was born in the Ivory Coast and was raised in Brazil.

NBA legend Dwyane Wade announced Thursday that he will be part of the new ownership group for Real Salt Lake:

Wade purchased a stake in the Utah Jazz last April, four months after the NBA approved the sale of the team to Ryan Smith.

Smith, as well as Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owner David Blitzer, have reportedly agreed to buy RSL for nearly $400 million, per Alex Vejar of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Ryan Sweeney, who owns a minority stake in the Jazz, is also on board for the RSL purchase. Sweeney and Wade are part of the Smith-led Smith Entertainment Group.

MLS star Jozy Altidore and tennis champion Sloane Stephens got married on New Year's Day and announced the news in an Instagram post Tuesday.

The two tied the knot at St. Regis Bal Harbour in Miami Beach, Florida, according to Lindsay Kimble of People.

Stephens, 28, is best known for her win at the 2017 U.S. Open and has six career WTA titles. She reached No. 3 in the world rankings in 2018 and is currently the No. 65 singles player. 

Altidore, 32, is coming off his seventh season with Toronto FC in MLS, but has also played in the Premier League, La Liga and other top leagues around the world. He appeared in two World Cups for the United States men's national team.

The two athletes have known each other since childhood and started dating in 2017 before announcing their engagement in 2019.