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Lionel Messi has confirmed the stunning news that he will join Inter Miami and move to the United States after leaving Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine is now poised to become the latest superstar to feature in MLS. Rejecting reported offers from Saudi Arabia and a return to Barcelona, Messi is now ready to touch down in the Florida city for the final stages of what has been a glittering career. Messi may prove a transformative figure for the league just like Pele in the 1970s, with football now emerging as the second-most popular sport in the USA for participation at a pivotal moment in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup. Here’s everything we know about Messi’s impending move to Inter Miami: Why did Messi choose Inter Miami over Saudi Arabia and Barcelona? Lionel Messi said in an exclusive interview to Sport and Mundo Deportivo: “I’m going to join Inter Miami. The decision is 100% confirmed. “If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me. The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money”. Messi reportedly rejected a deal from Saudi Arabia worth approximately $400m. While Barcelona, who faced FFP struggles in their attempt to bring Messi back to the Camp Nou, appeared upset at his decision to move to the United States, with a statement reading: “President Joan Laporta understood and respected Messi’s decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years.” What is the deal Inter Miami are offering Messi? The exact terms of Messi’s new salary and the length of the contract are yet to be known. A report from Sport details Messi is due to sign a four-year contract, while another Spanish report claims his salary could be worth $54m per season. Regardless of the exact final figure, Messi is almost certain to become the highest-paid player in MLS, with Chicago Fire’s Xherdan Shaqiri currently the top earner on $8,153,000, according to Spotrac. Messi may also be handed a purchase option for part of an MLS team once he retires, in a similar manner to David Beckham’s contract with the LA Galaxy signed 16 years ago that allowed him to purchase Inter Miami. Who owns Inter Miami? Inter Miami is owned by David Beckham and Jorge Mas, an American businessman. Beckham had the option to purchase an MLS expansion team for $25m as part of his contract signed when playing for LA Galaxy. Beckham and the ownership team were awarded MLS’s 25th franchise in late January 2018. Why are Apple and Adidas involved? Apple and Adidas are involved in the deal, sources have told The Independent. Apple and MLS signed a 10-year, $2.5bn deal earlier this year and see Messi as a key player to expand interest in the league. Apple is especially invested in Messi, having made a four-part docuseries surrounding Messi’s five World Cup appearances, which will soon stream on Apple TV+. Adidas, meanwhile, a corporate sponsor of MLS, has looked into a profit-sharing agreement with Messi, sources tell The Independent, which will be aligned to any future increase in MLS-related sales linked to the player. The sportswear giant, which has sponsored Messi since 2006, has been tied to MLS since its inception in 1996 and will continue to supply kits to all 29 teams and provide the league’s official match ball until 2030 after penning a six-year, $830m extension. Who will be Messi’s new teammates? Messi's future teammates include Venezuelan forward Josef Martínez, the 2018 MLS golden boot winner. Former Newcastle defender DeAndre Yedlin and designated players Rodolfo Pizarro and Leonardo Campana will also line up alongside Messi. Reports suggested Messi would be joined by former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in Florida, but the Argentine has rejected those rumours. “It’s another of the things they said, that I was going with Busi and Jordi to Saudi Arabia, that we had everything arranged. I was obviously aware of them, what they were going to do, but we never agreed to go anywhere together,” Messi said. “I made my decision for myself and I don’t know what they’re going to do. I don’t have anything agreed with anyone.” When will Lionel Messi make his Inter Miami debut and how much will the tickets cost? Prices for rumoured Messi matches for Inter Miami have skyrocketed. Messi is due to join the club on 5 July, when the league’s secondary transfer window opens. Inter Miami will travel to D.C. United on 8 July but Messi is not guaranteed to play at Audi Field. That hasn’t stopped fans from taking a risk, with tickets for D.C.’s next league match at home to Real Salt Lake available on Ticketmaster (the club’s official ticketing partner) for as little as $29. But when Miami visit, the cheapest ticket is $186 without fees at the time of writing. More than 4,500 tickets have been sold since the announcement. A trip to St Louis on 15 July follows, with cup matches against Cruz Azul on 21 July and Atlanta on 25 July other potential options to watch the legendary player in action. A potential home MLS debut will likely have to wait until 20 August when Miami play Charlotte. Read More First golf, now football? Saudi Arabia’s grand plan and the 72 hours that changed everything Lionel Messi agrees ‘in principle’ on next move after PSG exit There is finally something new to say about Lionel Messi, World Cup winner Man City’s holy grail and Pep’s tactics – Champions League final talking points Lionel Messi confirms he will sign for US side in shock move First golf, now football? Saudi Arabia’s plan after 72 hours that changed everything

Liverpool have completed the signing of World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton in the first step of Jurgen Klopp’s summer midfield overhaul. The Argentina international has signed a five-year contract at Anfield and is expected to be joined by further arrivals after the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Liverpool had to fight off interest from other clubs for Mac Allister and always intended to get some of their transfers done before pre-season, to give them more time to settle in. They believe the 24-year-old, who scored 10 Premier League goals as he helped Brighton to their highest-ever finish of sixth in the top flight, can occupy any of the three midfield positions in Klopp’s side. The midfielder told Liverpoolfc.com: “It feels amazing. It’s a dream come true, it’s amazing to be here and I can’t wait to get started. “I wanted to be in [from] the first day of pre-season, so it’s good that everything is done. I’m looking forward to meeting my teammates. “It was a fantastic year for me – World Cup, what we achieved with Brighton – but now it’s time to think about Liverpool and try to be a better player and a better human being every day. “Since I won the World Cup, I said that I want to win more trophies and I think that this club will help me to do that – that’s the aim and when you are in a big club like this one you have to win trophies. So, that’s what I want. “Since I arrived here, I can see how big this club is – the players we have, the staff, everyone. I’m really pleased and looking forward to playing for this club.” Liverpool had identified Mac Allister as a key target even before the World Cup, where he set up Angel Di Maria’s goal in the final against France, after first tracking him when he was still playing in South America. The deal was the last completed by outgoing director of football Julian Ward, with his successor Jorg Schamdtke now taking the lead in Liverpool’s transfer business, and was aided by the club’s long relationship with his agent Juan Gemelli, who was involved in Philippe Coutinho’s move to Anfield in 2013. Liverpool believe that Mac Allister, like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk, had to fight his way to the top, rather than being fast-tracked, and have a history of successful signings of players aged between 23 and 25. Read More Supporter arrested at FA Cup final for wearing offensive Hillsborough T-shirt The year that sportswashing won: A season that changed football forever Liverpool appoint former Wolfsburg chief Jorg Schmadtke as sporting director Liverpool on the verge of signing Alexis Mac Allister to fill midfield void Broad brilliance and a statuesque striker – Thursday’s sporting social Liverpool appoint former Wolfsburg chief Jorg Schmadtke as sporting director

President Joe Biden will announce a slew of actions Thursday aimed at protecting the LGBTQ+ community ahead of hosting what White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden called "the largest Pride celebration in White House history."

UK property surveyors turned more positive about the outlook for house prices despite soaring interest rates that they

Musician Yungblud is back with new single 'Lowlife' following the release of his chart-topping album.

There were two men running free in the Fiorentina half. First Jarrod Bowen, en route to winning West Ham United their first trophy in 43 years. And then David Moyes, sprinting on to the Prague pitch in celebration, arms stretched out wide. It was a run that was 25 years in the making, a journey that took him from the Auto Windscreens Shield to the Europa Conference League. Few clubs have waited longer for the emotional release of securing silverware. Few managers, either. It began in a derided knockout competition for Moyes, the Auto Windscreens where Preston North End, newly under a 34-year-old centre-back, faced Macclesfield in January 1998. A quarter of a century later and, in game No.1,097 of a marathon managerial career, Moyes had a major honour he could call his own. He had said credited Sir Alex Ferguson with the Community Shield his Manchester United claimed, perhaps thinking there would be further glory for him at Old Trafford. There wasn’t. But if Moyes has long been destined to be remembered as the man miscast as Ferguson’s successor, he has other places in footballing history. The best Everton manager since Howard Kendall is in select company. Like Ron Greenwood, like John Lyall but like no one else, Moyes has won something with, and for, West Ham. The ungainly, unglamorous figure bouncing up and down in front of their fans finally has the crowning glory he has long lacked. It may be ‘only’ the Conference League and West Ham’s resources perhaps dictate they ought to triumph, but Moyes had been the manager whose considerable achievements lacked that defining feat. He has ten top-eight finishes in the Premier League with either West Ham or Everton and if taking the Merseysiders to fourth in 2005 involved greater alchemy, the reality is that two clubs who used to have more hope of silverware now operate in an environment where the superpowers sweep up the prizes, even those they scarcely want. Successive European runs have shown what the medals mean to West Ham: for Moyes, sent off in the semi-final last year for rather ignominiously booting the ball at a ball-boy, there is a happier ending. The Scot had called this the biggest game of his career and, before the night finished, he was placing his medal around the neck of his 87-year-old father, David senior. He saw names being etched into West Ham folklore. Only Alan Sealey had scored the goal to win West Ham a European trophy until Bowen burst clear. Only Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, their greatest player and record appearance maker, had captained them to silverware until Declan Rice, almost certainly in his valedictory act, joined an elite band. Rice will probably leave. For much of the season, there has been a debate if Moyes should, and for other reasons. West Ham underachieved in the Premier League, spending the best part of £200m, finishing 14th. The 60-year-old was taken aback last season when Jurgen Klopp informed him he was the oldest manager in the division and grateful when Roy Hodgson relieved him of that mantle; the more pertinent issue is whether he is deemed yesterday’s manager now. Certainly Fiorentina out-passed West Ham for swathes of the final. They looked the team with the more progressive ethos, the side with the manager, in Vincenzo Italiano, bound for better things. But Moyes’ management has always been based in part on grit and grind, on putting in hard work in hard times. It hasn’t always reaped a reward but West Ham stayed in the game. There weren’t VAR penalties or the Europa Conference League when Moyes started out in the Auto Windscreens Shield but Said Benrahma scored from the spot. Moyes had led in a final before – Louis Saha’s goal after 25 seconds in the 2009 FA Cup was a record until Saturday – and, when Giacomo Bonaventura cancelled out the opener, he could have been forgiven for having flashbacks to Chelsea’s comeback against Everton 14 years ago. But not this time. The Conference League was not actually created for Premier League or Serie A clubs but for Fiorentina and West Ham, starved of honours for two and four decades respectively, it had a purpose, a chance to create memories and Bowen did. And so on a night when a section of West Ham’s fans disgraced themselves, pelting Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi with missiles, leaving him with blood running down his head and neck, their manager got the reward that had long eluded him. For much of Moyes’ quarter of a century, he has seen the major prizes go to the coaching Galacticos. He had been earned his peers’ approval, being voted the LMA’s manager of the year three times, but as he stood on the podium, tugging at the gold medal Aleksander Ceferin had placed around his neck, Moyes had something he had been searching for since over a thousand games ago. Read More West Ham fans leave Fiorentina player bleeding after being hit by objects thrown from crowd West Ham end trophy drought in most dramatic style as Jarrod Bowen plays the hero Violent clashes between West Ham and Fiorentina fans lead to arrests ahead of European final Carlton Cole on West Ham’s final, a coaching career and his surprise ‘love’ of the world’s most sustainable sport David Moyes hands over medal to his father after West Ham end wait for trophy West Ham end trophy drought in most dramatic style as Jarrod Bowen plays the hero West Ham vs Fiorentina LIVE: Europa Conference League final latest updates

Sourcing, suspicion and speculation -- terminology that has been frequently explored over the last day and a half as Prince Harry testified in a London courtroom in his lawsuit against a major British newspaper publisher over claims of historic phone hacking.

Football's world governing body Fifa made false and misleading statements about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a Swiss regulator said on Wednesday. The Swiss Fairness Commission, the self-regulatory body of the advertising and communications industry, made its determination after investigating five claims that Zurich-based Fifa marketed the tournament as being carbon neutral. The commission, which issues recommendations, but no state-enforceable judgements, advised Fifa from making unsubstantiated claims in future. It said complainants usually implement its recommendations voluntarily. Fifa did not respond to a request for comment. Complainants from Switzerland, France, Belgium, the UK and the Netherlands said Fifa made false statements in its communications about carbon neutrality at the World Cup, the commission said. "The Second Chamber of the Commission has now upheld all five complaints following a complex process," it added. Fifa had promoted the Qatar World Cup as the first completely climate-neutral tournament, saying it was committed to reducing and offsetting carbon emissions it generated. But the Climate Alliance, a network of groups which launched the complaint last year, was concerned about the environmental impact from the construction of air-conditioned stadiums and the thousands of fans who flew to the tournament. In its decision, the commission said it should not be claimed that sustainability goals have been achieved if there are no definitive and generally accepted methods for measuring them, or ensuring measures have been implemented. "Fifa was not able to provide proof that the claims were accurate during the proceedings as required by the commission," it said. Raphael Mahaim, from the group Lawyers for the Climate, said he was delighted with the ruling which he said exposed Fifa's greenwashing. "Fifa said it was taking the climate change seriously, and taking the credit for this, and this wasn’t true," he said. Fifa's claims were damaging because it meant companies and individuals scaling back their own action to reduce their carbon emissions because they thought Fifa had offset them. "Ultimately, false claims like this damage the campaign for carbon neutrality," said Mahaim, who is also a Swiss MP for the Green Party. Reuters Read More Everything wrong with the Qatar World Cup This is the side of the World Cup that Qatar would prefer you ignore The man who was jailed after working on Qatar’s World Cup Newcastle owners take majority stakes in four Saudi clubs including Al Nassr Sarina Wiegman frustrated over timing of players being released for World Cup Women’s World Cup faces ‘betrayal’ of European TV blackout

Ederson has vowed to dye his hair blue again if Manchester City win the Champions League. The goalkeeper marked his fifth Premier League title by adopting a new look and will celebrate in the same style if Pep Guardiola’s team beat Internazionale in Istanbul. The Brazilian revealed the inspiration came from his daughter but is adamant his brighter hairstyle will only be a short-term affair. He explained: “My daughter asked me to dye my hair blue for that. It was a kid’s spray that comes out with water. Of course, if we are champions again, I’ll dye my hair blue again, but only with the kid’s spray that comes out with water – nothing permanent.” Ederson is waiting to discover if any of his teammates will join him in looking, if not feeling, blue. “I’m not sure,” he said. The 29-year-old has been practicing in case the game on Saturday goes to a penalty shootout, which would give him the chance to be the hero. He added: “We will work on every requirement: whether that is finishing, crosses, penalties. In this game, we need to be prepared for any circumstance over 90 minutes, and 120 or penalties if necessary. We need to be ready for any situation so that nothing surprises us.” Ederson is known for his composure as City try to pass the ball out from the back and he said he does not feel nervous. “I think any City keeper needs to be calm, to play with personality,” he added. “There are a lot of teams that try to pressure us, so you need to be calm, get the ball under control and have the vision to find the right pass. I remember a game against Tottenham where I misplaced a pass and it led to a goal. “I said to my teammates after, ‘You can still pass to me’, because errors are part of the process. Errors help us to grow, we learn a lot from mistakes. I mainly learn from errors. You can learn a lot more from making a mistake than you can from doing thigs right, or from winning. So I always try to keep calm, to pass this calmness onto my teammates as well, so that they know that they can play the ball to me and that I’m calm enough to make the right decision.”

Kyle Walker was considering Manchester City’s place in the pantheon. He was thinking about Manchester United; not the United group he and his teammates beat in the FA Cup final a few days ago, either. Pep Guardiola’s City are taking on the Internazionale side of 2023 and the great Premier League sides of the past alike. Walker has his eye on a place in history, a status among the greats. Which, he feels, their achievements in England have earned them. But there is a conspicuous absence from their trophy cabinet, the Champions League that United’s treble winners claimed in 1999, that has eluded City so far. And that, Walker believes, will elevate them in the eyes of many. “It doesn’t define what this squad has achieved over the last six years, it doesn’t define us if we go on and win this or not,” the right-back reflected. “It helps massively to say that we can be put in that category of probably one of the best Premier League teams of all time. We don’t win five Premier Leagues in six years if we are not a good team. We know we are a good team but to be recognised globally as one of the best you need to win the Champions League.” Which City could have done in 2021, but they were beaten in the final by Chelsea. They were below their best that day; two years on, they are again the favourites. “We are not beating around the bush with that, we know this is now a great opportunity, we have a second chance definitely with Pep and the group of players who have stayed around,” added Walker. “We need to put right the wrongs we did against Chelsea.” There is little doubt that, domestically, City are the best team of their era. Liverpool proved valiant opponents in an epic duel but the trophy count can look one-sided: Guardiola has five Premier Leagues, Jurgen Klopp one. Yet in Europe, the scoreline is very different: City 0, the modern-day Liverpool 1. Greatness comes in different guises, of course, and Walker bracketed the Arsenal team of 2004 alongside United’s class of 1999: Arsene Wenger’s team never conquered Europe but have the unique feat of completing an English top-flight season in the 20th or 21st centuries unbeaten. City, meanwhile, have set points records and equalled Sir Alex Ferguson’s return of five titles in six seasons. “Of course, I think that United team, along with the Invincibles, is probably up there with the best Premier League teams of all time,” Walker said. “What us and Liverpool, to a certain extent, have done where we have been battling for the last number of years, I think we should be in consideration - both teams as we both have fantastic players – but they have silverware and they have got the big Champions League trophy that we can never say we have got. For us to be in contention of that, we need to go and pick up this.” For Walker, there was a particularly painful coda to City’s failure to perform in the 2021 final. There are times when he has been pleased to see Mason Mount, Reece James and Ben Chilwell. When the England squad met up for Euro 2020, however, it was not one of them. They had shared a pitch a few days earlier, but their emotions were very different: James, not Walker, was the Champions League-winning right-back, Mount the man who set up the only goal in the final. The Chelsea trio emerged triumphant and Walker soon had to see them again. “I didn’t really have much time to get over it as I had to tune back into England and go and compete in a tournament for my country,” Walker recalled. “It was hard seeing all the Chelsea boys there. You say congratulations to them because they are your teammates now but it was tough.” If Walker’s powers of recovery were such that he was named in the team of the tournament for Euro 2020. And yet it was a summer of disappointment. “Then I experienced a loss against Italy in the final and then I had to pick myself up again and get ready for the season. That’s football, it’s part of your career that everything is not going to go swimmingly well.” It was a reminder that even the most successful can miss out on more trophies than they win. For club, as well as country, he hopes for a case of second time lucky. “I don’t think any great team goes straight to the final and wins it,” he said. “I think you always have to go through setbacks, those nearly games, those losses.” Claim the Champions League and Walker and his friend John Stones will be arguably the most decorated English players of their generation, though the right-back did not get a first major trophy until he was almost 28. A wait for glory has been a theme: for him, for City, 12 years into their Champions League adventure, and on Saturday. “I’m 33 now so I wouldn’t say I get nervous,” said Walker. “I hate eight o’clock games because it is the wait of all day to go to the game. I’d rather it kicked off at three o’clock and then it is done then.” Instead, it begins at 10pm Turkish time, leaving Walker contemplating a sleepless afternoon. “You can’t bring the game forward. I just have to deal with it and have a little nap in the afternoon,” he said. “Then I don’t sleep after the game. It’s Sod’s law, isn’t it?” Sod’s law may appear to be a theme of City’s last few years in the Champions League: if something could go wrong, it often did, sometimes in strange circumstances. But if it goes right on Saturday, City will have emulated United and with a stronger case for greatness. Read More Ederson ready to bet Champions League glory on continuing to ‘play with personality’ Man City’s Kyle Walker vows to make Champions League final after injury scare Finals are 50-50 – Kevin De Bruyne not saying City are favourites to beat Inter Jude Bellingham to become the eighth Brit to play for Real Madrid Ederson ready to bet Man City glory on continuing to ‘play with personality’ Sheikh Jassim wants answer by Friday after submitting final bid for Man Utd

Czech police have detained 16 people after violent clashes between West Ham United and Fiorentina fans marred the build-up to the Europa Conference League final in Prague. A group of black-clad Fiorentina fans attacked Hammers supporters in a bar in central Prague on Wednesday afternoon, injuring three patrons, authorities said. Videos on social media showed fans setting off flares and throwing tables at the bar located just off Prague’s Old Town Square. A police officer was also attacked. “Italy fans attacked West Ham fans in a bar on Rytirska street, injuring three,” Czech police said on Twitter. “A police officer was also attacked. We have restricted the personal liberty of 16 people.” More than 10,000 officers are on duty in the Czech capital with major security concerns around the game given the vast numbers of supporters who have travelled without tickets. An estimated 20,000 West Ham fans are believed to have travelled to Prague, even though the club’s allocation of match tickets was fewer than 6,000, given the small size of Slavia Prague’s stadium hosting the showpiece. Uefa have also promised a beefed-up security presence at the Eden Arena as the governing body are desperate to avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenes that marred last season’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris. Additional reporting by Reuters and PA Read More Carlton Cole on West Ham’s final, a coaching career and his surprise ‘love’ of the world’s most sustainable sport I might miss flight home if West Ham win European title, says fan in Prague West Ham fans take over Prague ahead of Europa Conference League final

Prince Harry choked up in court as he concluded an eight-hour testimony in his lawsuit against a major British newspaper publisher, admitting he would feel an "injustice" if his claims of phone hacking were dismissed by the judge.