Angel Di Maria, former Real Madrid player and current Benfica player, is living a complicated situation due to ongoing threats from several drug traffickers.
Angel’s family received a threatening message a few days ago at the house he owns near Rosario, his hometown.
Patrick Mahomes warmly embraces Lionel Messi at Sporting KC vs Inter Miami matchMLS
“Tell your son not to come back because if he does, we will kill a family member. Not even Pullaro is going to save you. We don’t throw papers. We throw lead and dead people,” the text read.
Fortunately, the people responsible for the threats were later caught.
Has Di Maria changed his mind?
But, according to ‘A Bola’, the situation that the player is going through has made him to change his mind about his future. At first he was planning to return to Argentina, but the plan has changed.
“Di Maria’s decision not to return has been made,” says the Portuguese newspaper. According to the newspaper, the player is considering other options such as going to the MLS or playing in Saudi Arabia rather than in Argentina.
The reason for the threats seems to be to put fear in public figures. Leo Messi, his compatriot, has also received threats in the past.
Di Maria’s future is still up in the air, although the drug traffickers seem to have cleared it up for him.
Inter Miami experienced a match to forget this afternoon, being thrashed 4-0 in their visit to the New York Red Bulls home, on Day 5 of the 2024 MLS season.
Without Messi who is absent due to injury, the team coached by Gerardo Martino could not get the three points and ended up losing by a meaningful score, their main concern was RB gunner Lewis Morgan, a former player of Inter Miami who excelled with a hat-trick. Winkelman Carmona scored the team’s other goal.
Without Messi, the home team wins easily I New York RB 4-0 Inter Miami I MLS
Messi is currently on the injured list
Inter Miami was surprised as they were down early in the match after only 3 minutes when Lewis Morgan scored the first goal. The former Inter Miami player did not celebrate as he does, out of respect to his former team.
Although David Beckham’s team tried to react, with actions led mainly by Luis Surez, they could not finish the plays and the goal defended by Ryan Meara went into the break with a clean sheet.
In the second half, the New Yorkers quickly appeared to widen the gap, with Morgan once again playing the hero’s role and making it 2-0 at 51′.
At 66′, Carmona did the same and made it 3-0. At no time did Martino’s team have control of the match or look dominant, although there were attempts mainly by Surez and Campana.
Lewis Morgan’s hat trick was scored at 70′, making him the executioner of his former team, and also kept it cool.
And when it seemed that Miami’s Noah Allen would score a lonely goal, the VAR review was requested and, in the end, the goal was disallowed, so Martino’s men went out with a clean sheet.
Despite this unexpected defeat, Inter Miami continues to hold firm with 10 points, at the top of the Eastern Conference. On goal difference, they are in second place, just behind Columbus Crew and ahead of the New York Red Bulls.
Inter Miami’s next match will be against New York City FC, next Saturday, March 30, and it is expected that Lionel Messi will not be on the field for that match.
Inter Miami have confirmed that Lionel Messi will miss the club’s upcoming Major League Soccer (MLS) match against DC United on Saturday, as they look to avoid risking the team’s star player.
“Following further medical evaluation, it has been determined that the captain has suffered a minor hamstring injury in his right leg,” Inter Miami said in the report accessed by TN media.
Watch Lionel Messi’s near career-ending moment in dangerous play with MacNaughton
“Messi’s availability will be determined based on daily medical evaluations and the development of his recovery in the coming days,” the report added.
Will Messi miss Argentina’s game?
According to a report published by TN, the injury could compromise his participation with the Argentina national team during the upcoming international window, as it is said to be a hamstring injury.
Messi is scheduled to train for Argentina’s friendlies against El Salvador and Costa Rica on March 22 and 26 respectively; however, it is not yet clear whether he will be able to play in these matches.
Tata Martino, coach of Inter Miami, already warned of the possibility that Messi could miss some upcoming matches.
“He has an overload in the right leg, we did not have to take any kind of risk,” said Martino. “We tried to see if he could hold out a little longer, but it was bothering him and so we preferred to take him out of the game.
“I don’t want to take any risks but I imagine he won’t be available for Saturday’s game,” Martino told reporters after their most recent match.
Reinaldo Merlo has offered a controversial opinion on the greatest of all time debate by suggesting that the Brazilian Pele was a better soccer player than Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi managed to ever achieve.
Prior to Messi, it was a foregone conclusion that Maradona was the best player in the history of Argentina and possibly the world, but after winning the FIFA World Cup, ‘La Pulga’ has made the two-man conversation into a trio.
Pele is still regarded as the best in history with over 1000 goals to his name and the legendary Argentine defender and coach, Reinaldo ‘Mostaza’ Merlo recently reinforced that the Brazilian was better than the two Argentines.
On Radio La Red, ‘Mostaza’ stated that for him, Pele is the best player of all time over ‘the Cosmic Kite’ and ‘the Flea’, also confidently saying that ‘Messi would not [dribble] past him’, if it had been up to him to mark him at the time.
‘Mostaza’ joins other Argentines who, throughout history, have praised Pele and consider him the best of all time over Messi and Maradona, among them the 1978 Argentina champion coach Cesar Luis Menotti, former goalkeeper Hugo ‘Loco’ Gatti and Alfio ‘Coco’ Basile.
Lionel Messi goes to a regular supermarket in Miami, surprising workers and clients
A glance at the stats
Pele played in 605 matches across his Santos career and scored 619 goals, whilst being renowned as an accomplished playmaker and dribbler. He also spearheaded Brazil to three FIFA World Cups across the 1950s and 1960s. There he played in a further 92 games and added an extra 77 goals.
Maradona was known for his incredibly control of a football and his excellent dribbling talents with excellent balance to go with them. He won 10 trophies across his career as he scored 353 goals in 695 goals across South America, Europe and internationally.
Messi seems to combine both of them, maintaining the lethal finishing of Pele and the playmaking traits, whilst possessing incredible balance, dribbling and strength. Across his career he has won 44 trophies to become the most decorated player ever, whilst scoring 848 goals in 1102 games.
The arrival of Lionel Messi to Inter Miami revolutionized soccer across the United States, on the field and in marketing, and now La Pulga’s new team boasted that it has already sold out all the season tickets for the 2024 campaign.
Inter Miami is going through an incredible time, and even though they didn’t qualify for the playoffs this year, hope for next year runs through Leo’s boots. And although the schedule is not yet known, people have already bought all the season tickets and are waiting for possible reinforcements to accompany Messi in his second season with the MLS franchise.
“On Thursday, Inter Miami CF announced that the club sold out of season tickets for the 2024 MLS regular season,” Inter Miami‘s newsletter read. “Beginning Thursday, Inter Miami fans near and far will be able to register for more information and be among the first to have the opportunity to purchase remaining tickets for a single Inter Miami game during the 2024 MLS regular season while stocks sell out.
“Inter Miami CF fans interested in purchasing single match tickets can register here to receive real-time updates and next steps on how to purchase Inter Miami CF single match tickets at DRV PNK Stadium.”
Inter Miami offers a special deal to fans
Inter Miami CF season ticket members will have the first opportunity to purchase single game tickets for 2024 after the match schedule is released.
Fans who register today for more information will join the remaining deposit holders and have the next opportunities for a special presale.
The presale will offer the opportunity to purchase remaining single game tickets for Inter Miami CF 2024 regular season matches, while supplies last.
Lionel Messi’s speech before Copa America final against Brazil, the last time at MaracanaRoberto Ortega
When is the MLS schedule announced?
The Inter Miami CF 2024 schedule will be released by Major League Soccer in the coming weeks so it is not yet known who Messi’s pink shirts will take on in their opening game of the upcoming season.
Based on the 2023 season, the announcement will be just before Christmas with last year’s release date coming on December 20, 2022. The season will likely begin in late February based on 2022 and 2023.
Just as we were starting to savor one more game between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Inter Miami comes out and debunks the news through their official channels. An announcement was made of an alleged friendly match between Inter Miami and Al-Nassr that was supposed to take place in Saudi Arabia in 2024. After the alleged scheduled game was announced, every single sports news outlet in the world made echo of this game that was supposed to be part of the Riyadh Season Cup in early 2024. But the MLS club sent out a press released for urgent divulging. They are denying any deal was made with Al-Nassr and denied owner Jorge Mas made any statements on the alleged scheduled friendly game.
Here’s the press release statement in full that was sent out to every news outlet on Inter Miami’s list of contacts: “Earlier today, an announcement was issued stating that Inter Miami CF is scheduled to play in the Riyadh Season Cup. This is innacurate. The release included statements attributed to team owner Jorge Mas. Mas has made no comments, publicly or privately, in relation to the preseason tour. Since Day one, Inter Miami CF has set out to be a global brand. To this end, we have been in conversations to determine our 2024 preseason schedule. We look forward to showcasing our players on Inter Miami CF’s first international tour which will be announced in the coming weeks.”
Despite earlier reports, Inter Miami says there is no game against Al Nassr scheduled. We may never see Messi vs. Ronaldo again after all pic.twitter.com/Um9ZYqM0a0
We need to take a closer look at the statement released by Inter Miami CF. They are debying the statements made by owner Jorge Mas are true but they did confirm they are in negotiations with other clubs in order to play their very first preseason international tour. For all we know, Al-Nassr could be one of those clubs that are currently in negotiations with the MLS club. However, there has been no official confirmation the game is even happening at this stage. That’s the reason Inter Miami CF had to come out an deny they have a closed deal for this preseason game. Until we get firther notification this is the case, there is nothing true about the potential ‘Last Dance’ from Messi and Ronaldo.
Messi Vs Ronaldo The Last dance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Inter Miami Vs Al Nassr Feb 2024… pic.twitter.com/Ju2foUfyBn
On Monday night, Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or and he did so by a significant margin, as the Argentine collected 462 points, which was 105 more than Erling Haaland, who came second.
Of the journalists who had a vote, 66 of them placed Messi first in their ranking.
Messi shows Ballon d’Or trophy, and Kids go crazy
Who voted for who in the Ballon d’Or ranking?
In Argentina, ESPN’s Enrique Wolff picked Messi first. In Brazil too, Messi was ranked top by SBT’s Cleber Machado, who didn’t select any Brazilians among his picks.
In France, the country that lost the World Cup final to the South American side, Messi was only voted as the third best player of the year, behind Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
Of course, there were a few curious picks from around the world, for example in the Ivory Coast where Messi was named fifth best, behind Mbappe, Victor Osimhen, Rodri and Julian Alvarez.
Perhaps the most eye-catching of all was the ranking of Switzerland’s Christophe Cerf, of Radio Television Suisse, as he didn’t vote for Messi or Mbappe, instead picking Haaland, Vinicius, Bono, Bernardo Silva and Bukayo Saka.
Almost everybody has got a favourite athlete and they will find themselves searching their social media accounts to see what they have been up to.
As it turns out, despite his young age, tennis star Carlos Alcaraz is mixing it with some huge names from other sports.
Alcaraz‘s image has been crossing borders for some time now. A double Grand Slam champion at just 20 years of age, the Murcian has become a mass phenomenon wherever he goes.
A study revealed this Monday by the OLBG team reveals that Alcaraz is in the top 10 of the most searched athletes this past year on Google, social networks and media.
Alcaraz overcomes Djokovic in five-set thriller to win Wimbledon titleLapresse
Up to 60 million searches have been generated for his name in a list of sports celebrities in which he has surpassed Novak Djokovic himself and is first among tennis players.
10 most searched for athletes
Cristiano Ronaldo – 199.4m (football)
Neymar – 140.9m (football)
Lionel Messi – 104.4m (football)
LeBron James – 72.1m (NBA)
Virat Kohli – 68.0m (cricket)
Kylian Mbappe – 63.7m (football)
Carlos Alcaraz – 60.0m (tennis)
Novak Djokovic – 58.4m (tennis)
Erling Haaland – 43.4m (football)
Lewis Hamilton – 34.9m (Formula 1)
The leader of this ranking is the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. The podium is completed by two other footballers, Neymar and Lionel Messi.
It is worth remembering that Alcaraz was recognised by Laureus with the award for the revelation sportsman of last season at a gala held on May 8 in Paris.
Rafael Nadal, the second Spaniard on the list, appears in eighteenth position with just over 26 million searches.
Rising stars such as Real Madrid‘s Jude Bellingham are thirteenth with 32.5 million searches. Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is eleventh with 34.3 million.
The women’s ranking is led by three tennis players: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu. In fourth place is Barcelona footballer Alexia Putellas.
Lionel Messi proved to be back to his old self with two first-half goals that have Argentina up 2-0 against Peru in the Conmebol 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The Inter Miami striker also passed his fellow countryman, Luis Suarez, as the all-time leading scorer in Conmebol WC qualifiers with 30 goals.
While there was doubt that the Inter Miami striker would be featured in the starting lineup, Messi confirmed he is healthy and up to old tricks by scoring two amazing goals against Peru.
Messi’s first goal arrived in the 32nd minute via a shot to the right-hand corner of the goal.
Just ten minutes later, the Argentine’s name was up again on the scoreboard after showcasing his versatility with a left corner strike with his left foot.
Earlier in the day, his former club teammate at PSG and fellow Argentina player, Angel Di Maria, announced that he would be retiring from the national team following the 2024 Copa America which is scheduled to be played in the United States from June 20 to July 14 of 2024.
Argentina sits atop of the Conmebol standings with three a perfect record of 3 wins followed by Uruguay and Brazil.
Bad Bunny dropped his newest album on Friday, titled “nadie sabe lo que va a pasar maana“. It’s been met with great reviews from his fans, with many noting the excellent lyricism on every song. Bad Bunny has long been known to drop interesting names in his songs, but on this new album, he took it a step further with countless references to sports stars.
Let’s run through all of the sports references mentioned throughout the album. A special hat tip to Golao App on Twitter for sifting through the lyrics and finding all of them.
Nadie Sabe
“Por eso estn rezando ‘e que me estrelle, Ayrton Senna”
Translation: “That’s why they’re praying for me to crash, Ayrton Senna”
Reference: Former F1 world champion Ayrton Senna suffered a deadly crash in 1994
“Si Sugar ‘t en la loma, t te baja’ en la novena”
Translation: “If Sugar is on the hill, you’ll go down in the ninth”
Reference: New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz’s nickname is “Sugar”
“Yo mismo me impresiono, como Randy Arozarena”
Translation: “I impress myself like Randy Arozarena”
Reference: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena had an impressive WBC and 2023 MLB season
“Arroyo 2004 en Atena”
Translation: “Arroyo 2004 in Athens”
Reference: Carlos Arroyo helped Puerto Rico beat the U.S. in basketball during the 2004 Olympics
Monaco
“Yo un campen, Rocky Marciano, Rocky Balboa, Rocky Maivia”
Translation: “Me, a champion, Rocky Marciano, Rocky Balboa, Rocky Maivia”
Reference: Rocky Marciano, Rocky Balboa and Rocky Maivia (The Rock’s old name) were all champions
“Primero lleg Verstappen, despus lleg Checo”
Translation: “First came Verstappen, then came Checo”
Reference: Max Verstappen and Checo Perez are teammates on the F1 Red Bull racing team
Bad Bunny new album “Nadie sabe lo que pasar manaa” video trailer
“Lo que t haga’ a m no me impresiona, Es como meter un gol despus de Messi y Maradona”
Translation: “What you do doesn’t impress me, it’s like scoring a goal after Messi and Maradona”
Reference: Bad Bunny compares himself to Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona
“Ayer estaba con LeBron, tambien con DiCaprio”
Translation: “Yesterday I was with LeBron, also with DiCaprio”
Reference: Bad Bunny mentions hanging out with NBA legend LeBron James
Mr. October
“Mr. October, Reggie Jackson”
Reference: Former MLB star Reggie Jackson was nicknamed “Mr. October” for his clutch postseason performances
Cybertruck
“Justin Gaethje, los blunte’, Cristiano, este ritmo lo pateo”
Translation: “Justin Gaethje, the blunt (hits), Cristiano, this rhythm I kick”
Reference: Justin Gaethje is a UFC fighter who hits hard and Cristiano Ronaldo kicks the ball while playing soccer
“Haciendo donita’ en la Mercho, Ken Block”
Translation: “Doing donuts in the Mercedes, Ken Block”
Reference: Ken Block was a famous rally car driver
“Entro al gnero haciendo ollie, Tony Hawk”
Translation: “I enter the genre doing ollies, Tony Hawk”
Reference: Tony Hawk is a famous skateboarder and the ollie is the most popular skateboarding maneuever
Video | Ronaldinho makes appearance in the new Bad Bunny video clip
“Tirando de media cancha, Trae Young en los Hawk’”
Translation: “Shooting from halfcourt, Trae Young on the Hawks”
Reference: Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young is known for shooting from long range
Telefono Nuevo
“Como Kobe en el Square Garden, Te meto 61, amn, que Dios te guarde”
Translation: “Like Kobe in the Square Garden, I’ll put 61 on you, may god take care of you” – Sung by Luar La L
Reference: Kobe Bryant scored 61 points at MSG against the New York Knicks on February 2, 2009
“El Conejo es Messi, yo soy el Mbapp”
Translation: “The Bunny is Messi, me the Mbappe” Sung by Luar La L
Reference: He compares Bad Bunny to Messi and himself to Kylian Mbappe, seemingly in reference to their epic duel during the 2022 World Cup Final
“Manny Ramrez, La saco del parque y despu’ la cacho to’as en los fields”
Translation: “Manny Ramirez, I hit it out of the park and then catch them all in the fields”
Reference: Manny Ramirez is one of the best home run hitters of all-time and played in the outfield, where he caught fly balls
“Ten cuida’o, Ja Morant, no te vaya’ a joder la rodilla”
Translation: “Be careful, Ja Morant, don’t go and hurt your knee”
Reference: Ja Morant injured his knee during the 2022 NBA Playoffs
Mercedes Carota
“Mami, t ere’ Michael Jordan, s, s, jugando pelota”
Translation: “Mami, you’re Michael Jordan… playing ball”
Reference: Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all-time
Vuelve Candy B
“Llevo cinco ao’ en la cima como Tim Duncan, postea’o”
Translation: “I’ve been at the top for five years like Tim Duncan, posted up”
Reference: Tim Duncan won three NBA championship in a span of five years from 2003 to 2007 and was unstoppable in the low post
“Desde que Messi est en la USA to’ el mundo sabe quin es la cabra, ya no es Tom Brady”
Translation: Since Messi is in the USA the whole world knows who the GOAT is, it’s no longer Tom Brady
Reference: Lionel Messi is considered to be the best athlete of all-time, although man Americans would still say it’s Tom Brady
“Cuando Curry no exista, ya Casiano las meta”
Translation: When Curry didn’t exist, Casiano used to score them
Reference: Before Stephen Curry burst onto the scene, Eddie Casiano won the Puerto Rican basketball league five times and was MVP once
Bad Bunny shocks fans by donning a wig and concealing his latest lookRoberto Ortega
Baticano
“Toni Kroos en Alemania”
Translation: Toni Kroos in Germany
Thunder y Lightning
“Yo estoy balling, Luka, Spalding”
Translation: “I’m balling, Luka, Spalding”
Reference: Luka Doncic uses Spalding basketballs in the NBA
“Messi, hattrick, estrella, Patrick”
Translation: Messi, hat-trick, star, Patrick
“Harley Brothers, Shaq y Kobe, Beno y Eladio, Palo asegura’o, como Vladi en Ontario”
Translation: Harley Brothers, Shaq and Kobe, Beno and Eladio, hit ensured like Vladi in Ontario
Reference: Bad Bunny compares him and Eladio Carrion to Shaq and Kobe Bryant when they played together on the Lakers, then says them together make an automatic hit like Vladimir Guerrero, who used to play for the Montreal Expos
“Palo asegura’o como Mike Trout en Los Angels, Como Igor pa’ los tiempo’-tiempo’ de los Rangers”
Translation: “Hit ensured like Mike Trout on the Angels, like Igor for the times-times of the Rangers”
Reference: Mike Trout is one of the best hitters in MLB and Igor Shesterkin is a goaltender for the New York Rangers
Acho PR
“A lo Bryce Harper, siempre con los Phillie’ prendo’”
Translation: “Like Bryce Harper, always with the Phillie lit” – Sung by De La Ghetto
Reference: Bryce Harper plays for the Philadelphia Phillies
“Roberto Clemente, Albert Pujol’”
Reference: Roberto Clemente and Albert Pujols are two of the best baseball players to ever come out of the Caribbean
“Maradona y Messi en el futbol, Pero soy la nueva estrella, los contrato’ a los Sugar y Lindor”
Translation: “Maradona and Messi in soccer, but I’m the new star, the contracts like Sugar and Lindor”
Reference: Bad Bunny wants massive contracts like Edwin “Sugar” Diaz and Francisco Lindor got from the New York Mets
