Manchester City’s recent success is highlighted by a quick glance at their net spend per trophy over the past 10 years, with Arsenal, Liverpool and the rest following behind.

Bankrolled by billionaire owners, Premier League clubs have been throwing money at new players in the hope it translates to results on the pitch.

Using data from Transfermarkt, we’ve looked at the net spend per trophy won for the ‘big six’ Premier League clubs since 2013-14.

Note: we’ve not included the Community Shield as a major trophy.

The figures show that City are obviously dominating in terms of getting a return on their investments, and while Arsenal have closed the gap considerably, failure to win silverware means their recent heavy investment is looking a little desperate.

Manchester United have the biggest net spend of any Premier League side since 2014, which doesn’t reflect well on their trophy haul since then.

1. Arsenal

Transfer expenditure: €1.37billion
Transfer income: €381.8million
Net spend: €992.09million

Trophies won: 4
Net spend per trophy: €248.02million

2. Chelsea

Transfer expenditure: €2.09billion
Transfer income: €1.37billion
Net spend: €718.38million

Trophies won: 8
Net spend per trophy: €89.80million

3. Liverpool

Transfer expenditure: €1.20billion
Transfer income: €708.97million
Net spend: €493.56million

Trophies won: 6
Net spend per trophy: €82.26million

4. Manchester United

Transfer expenditure: €1.66billion
Transfer income: €418.50million
Net spend: €1246.16milion

Trophies won: 4
Net spend per trophy: €31.15million

5. Manchester City

Transfer expenditure: €1.70billion
Transfer income: €689.30million
Net spend: €1008.52million

Trophies won: 15
Net spend per trophy: €6.72million

6. Tottenham 

Transfer expenditure: €1.12billion
Transfer income: €594.02million
Net spend: €523.61million

Trophies won: 0
Net spend per trophy: N/A

[planetfootball]

The 22-year-old was an unexpected success story during his loan spell with Reims last season, finding the back of the net 21 times in 37 Ligue 1 appearances.

Balogun's impressive exploits in France caught the eye of the USA international team, and having played for England at youth level, he pledged allegiance to the Stars and Stripes earlier this year.

The former Middlesbrough loanee took no time at all to adapt to the rigours of senior international football, scoring in his second appearance against Canada in the final of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Reims were keen to convert Balogun's loan switch into a permanent move, but the French side did not possess the financial firepower to poach the striker permanently, and he has since returned to Arsenal for pre-season.

Balogun played in the second half of the Gunners' recent friendly draw with Nurnberg, and he was recently named in their travelling squad for their pre-season tour of the USA.

However, it remains to be seen if the 22-year-old can force his way into the first-team setup amid competition from Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz.

Inter are thought to be weighing up an approach for the Arsenal man, as the Nerazzurri seek out alternatives to Romelu Lukaku, having dropped their interest in the Chelsea man after learning of his talks with Juventus.

Now, Gianluca Di Marzio claims that Milan are also plotting a move for Balogun, as the Rossoneri prepare for life without the recently-retired Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Balogun is still under contract with Arsenal for another two years, and the Gunners are reportedly ready to demand as much as £50m to let the 22-year-old leave in the current window.

Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta opened the door for Balogun to make his mark in pre-season when asked after the draw with Nurnberg if he wanted to see the striker remain at the Emirates.

"Yeah. He's just staying here with us at the moment and we will see what happens," Arteta told reporters. "This is what he has been doing and that's why we gave him the minutes that he deserves to show what he can do."

Balogun joined Arsenal's academy in 2011 but has only made 10 competitive appearances for the first team so far, registering two goals and one assist in the 2020-21 Europa League.

A shock switch to Chelsea has also been mooted for the striker, although it is unclear if he would be willing to swap the Emirates for Stamford Bridge - a path that fellow Hale End product Omari Hutchinson walked down last year.

Arsenal will face the MLS All-Stars, Barcelona and Manchester United as part of their USA tour, kicking off against the former in Washington on Wednesday.

[sportsmole]

Nigeria's Women World Cup squad received a warm First Nations welcome in Bribane, Australia.

Some of Nigeria's staff and players joined, Saturday (Jul. 16), their host performing traditional dances.

The ceremony took place 4 days before the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off.

The Nigerians will start their World Cup campaign by facing Canada on Friday (Jul. 21).

This year’s edition of the tournament is the third time the two teams will be clashing in the World Cup, with the West African side undefeated in the previous two head-to-heads.

They'll then clash with Australia four days after Cananda and with the Republic of Ireland also four days after Australia.

The four teams make up group B.

The 9th FIFA Women's World Cup is hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

The Super Falcons have participated in the past six editions. Their best showing to date is a quarter-final appearance in the 1999 World Cup.

Nigeria is one of four squads from Africa which qualified this year.

Zambia is in Group C and will play Spain, Costa Rica and Japan.

South Africa in Group G will go head-to-head with Sweden, Italy and Argentina.

Morocco in Group H will play Germany, Colombia and The Korea Republic.

[africanews]

Daniel Levy met Bayern Munich chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen on Thursday to discuss the possible transfer of Harry Kane.

Sky Sports News has been told no meaningful progress was made but dialogue remains open. This is not the first time Levy and Bayern have met or spoken.

Tottenham will continue to try and persuade Kane to sign a lucrative contract extension but fear he will leave for a Premier League rival should he run down his current deal.

Kane has not ruled out any option at this stage and will be part of the Tottenham squad that departs for their pre-season tour to Australia on Friday.

On Wednesday Sky Sports' Paul Gilmour gave an update on Kane's future possibilities with communication with Bayern Munich ongoing

Postecoglou has made it clear that he plans to shape a side that produces exciting, attacking football and would like Kane to be part of it.

Should he start the season in England it will give the club a chance to show him and other senior players that there can be a more positive outlook than recent years.

Bayern believe Kane wants to join them and that appears to be his most likely destination if he departs in the coming weeks. Tottenham have made it clear they do not want to sell their record scorer and certainly won't entertain the £70m figure Bayern are willing to pay.

The England captain has scored 213 goals for Spurs and is the second-highest scorer in Premier League history behind Alan Shearer. He needs 48 more goals to break the record.

Kane scored an impressive 30 league goals last season as Spurs could only finish eighth.

One thing that is clear is Tottenham will not sell to an English club in this transfer window, ruling out a move to Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag shifting his focus to Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund.

Postecoglou: No guarantees over Kane future

Postecoglou said at his first Tottenham news conference on Monday that he had received no guarantees over the future of his star player. "No, I haven't had any assurances [over Kane's future] and I wouldn't expect any assurances because with these kind of things you're never dealing in definites or certainties.

"I'm trying to concentrate on the things that I know right now, and what I know right now is that Harry's part of this squad. He's looking forward to coming back to training, getting among the players back in here and we start working together.

"If I spend too much time worrying about the impact that it may have either way, I'm going to miss trying to build a team because ultimately that's what's going to make us successful.

"If we build a team that plays football a certain way. I'm not going to miss this initial opportunity to lay down what I know is going to be important in the long term.

"What's important in the long term goes beyond individuals. It's more about overriding philosophy on who we want to be as a team and the key people within that."

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's meeting with Kane, Postecoglou said: "I don't think it is my role to sit there and sort of treat people in a manner because of their circumstances. I am big on treating everyone the same.

"Harry is already part of the history of this club and I want him involved here. My conversation with him will be about how we can make this club successful and that is what he wants as well.

"I doubt it will be defining in the manner people think. I want to introduce myself to Harry, give him my vision, get an understanding from him over what his vision is and try be successful."

Postecoglou officially started his new role as Tottenham head coach on July 1, but he's been working hard behind the scenes for nearly a month already.

Since the announcement of his appointment was made on June 6, the Australian has been planning thoroughly for what appears to be a huge job at Spurs, who face the reality of no European football for the first time since 2010.

[SkySports]

Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon has heaped praise on Jeremie Frimpong as the young Dutchman nears a move that will net Celtic a significant sell-on fee. The Bayer Leverkusen wingback is wanted by a number of top teams with a fee of upwards of £40m mentioned.

As reported by Glasgow World, Lennon revealed the process behind signing Frimpong as well as his initial impression of the talented youngster.

“He was brilliant for me. I saw him playing for Man City’s Under-21s at Lennoxtown and I really liked the look of him.

“It was great to see him in the flesh and it’s so much better than looking at Y Scout and watching videos. He came in and he just blew us all away with his pace and his quality – and his enthusiasm. He’s got a very infectious personality. He’s a lovely boy but he could be quite naughty at times too.

“He took the plunge to go to Germany and he has excelled and I’m really proud of him. He’s deceptive. He’s small but he’s so powerful, good on the ball and quite different from a lot of fullbacks out there. I follow his career and I hope he gets the move that he wants now.

“It will mean more money for Celtic – and that’s the model: find a young player who can enhance the team and then sell him on for a profit.

“We got a bit lucky with him and got him for about £300,000 because he was a wee bit under the radar but it worked out very well for Celtic.

“We had a few of these with Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dyk and I always follow guys like that – but not just the Celtic lads, Hibs boys too like John McGinn and Ryan Porteous who have obviously gone on to do very well.”

Frimpong joined Leverkusen in January 2021 after an impressive spell with Celtic; albeit, he was only there for 18 months.

The move has paid dividends for both Celtic and the player as he has been able to push on after struggling to see a path under Neil Lennon in the 2020/21 season. Now, he is attracting interest with powerful running down the right hand side. Clearly Frimpong is attracting interest having played in a more advanced role, playing him as an out-and-out winger as opposed to a full-back.

Celtic, who paid £350,000 for the players services from Manchester City, received an offer they couldn’t refuse for Frimpong and it was off to the Bundesliga and Bayer Leverkusen for Jeremie for a fee on £13m. Even with a sell on clause due to City, Celtic will likely net a tidy sum on Frimpong’s next move.

[caughtoffside]

U.S. soccer veteran Megan Rapinoe raised the ire of retired tennis great Martina Navratilova when she said this week she would "absolutely" support a trans woman playing on the American squad.

The inclusion of transgender athletes in women's events is one of the most contentious and divisive issues in sport with World Athletics and World Aquatics among global federations that have tightened their rules in recent months.

The Women's World Cup which kicks off July 20 in Australia and New Zealand will feature some of the fiercest advocates for LGBT rights and visibility, but FIFA are reviewing their trans eligibility policies, a move announced a year ago after swimming passed their new tighter rules.

"We as a country are trying to legislate away people's full humanity," Rapinoe told Time. "It's particularly frustrating when women's sports is weaponised. Oh, now we care about fairness? Now we care about women's sports?"

Navratilova, a trailblazer for gay rights, tweeted a one-word response: "Yikes . . ."

Rapinoe and partner, retired WNBA star Sue Bird, were among the 40 professional athletes to sign a letter to U.S. lawmakers in April, opposing a federal bill that stipulates Title IX compliance requires banning transgender athletes from playing women and girl's sport. Title IX is a 1970s civil rights law which bars discrimination based on sex.

Critics of transgender inclusion in women's sport say going through male puberty imbues athletes with a huge physical advantage that transition does not mitigate.

The U.S. women's team, including Rapinoe, famously lost 5-2 to an under-15 FC Dallas boys team in an informal training match in 2017.

There is no timeline for FIFA's updated guidelines as officials, like those in swimming and athletics did, try to balance the desire for inclusion with safety and fairness.

"Certainly the pendulum is swinging back in a negative way. There's little doubt of that," Joanna Harper, a Canadian-born transgender woman and author, told Reuters.

"In terms of FIFA, I'm reasonably optimistic that FIFA will continue likely to be inclusive, although I don't know that for certain.

"I'm not necessarily optimistic about various more regional or national football organizations. In much of the world, trans people are just lucky to stay alive. So those countries will not be having trans football players."

"CORRECT GENDER"

FIFA's rules, first published in 2011, state that only men are eligible to play in men's competitions, and the same for women.

Each participating member association must, "prior to the nomination to the national team, ensure the correct gender of all the players to be considered ... by actively investigating any perceived deviation in secondary sex characteristics."

Swedish defender Nilla Fischer revealed in her recent book that she and her team mates had to "show their genitalia for the doctor" at the 2011 World Cup, after allegations that the Equatorial Guinea squad had male players.

A cloud of uncertainty hung over Zambia captain Barbra Banda after she was ruled ineligible for last year's Africa Cup of Nations amid speculation of high testosterone levels.

The 23-year-old, who twice netted hat tricks at the 2020 Olympics, will captain Zambia at the World Cup in Australia, but she has been the target of unforgiving scrutiny.

LGBT advocates say the debate over transgender inclusion in women's sport has also made for an increasingly hostile environment for gender diverse people in North America.

Quinn - who goes by one name - became the first openly non-binary trans athlete to win an Olympic medal when Canada captured women's soccer gold in Tokyo.

The 27-year-old, who will make their second World Cup appearance in Australia, told the Toronto Star they have witnessed growing negativity towards gender diverse people.

"I think it is a scary time, for me," Quinn said. "I think I do have a lot of points of privilege when entering this conversation, so I have to be mindful of that. But I think the reality is, it's scary."

According to LGBT website Outsports, a record of at least 87 out players will compete at the World Cup, more than double the 38 who played in the 2019 version.

Several teams including England had hoped to wear a "One Love" armband at the World Cup, but FIFA instead designed eight armbands with different "Unite" messages that teams can support. The "Unite for Inclusion" most resembles the "One Love" band.

Sarah Gregorius, of players union FIFPRO, said she thought it was a sensible solution given the geographic breadth of the teams at the tournament.

"You've got players who might feel something individually, but know because of their cultural context that that's going to be a particularly dangerous stance to take, so it's difficult to say 'This is the position on behalf of all 32 captains of all 32 national teams'," she told Reuters.

[Reuters]

Lionel Messi has finalised his deal to join Major League Soccer, and after years of planning and pursuing, Inter Miami has landed a global icon.

Messi’s contract became official Saturday, a little more than five weeks after he declared that he would be coming to Inter Miami. The team will introduce him Sunday night at its stadium in Fort Lauderdale, and the first home match of the Messi era could be as early as Friday in a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul.

A formal news conference is scheduled for Monday, and his first training session with his new club is expected on Tuesday. The club previously announced that Messi’s deal will be for 2 1/2 seasons and will pay him between $50 million and $60 million annually — putting the total contract value between $125 million and $150 million in cash alone.

“BIENVENIDO 10,” the team posted Saturday on Twitter.

Welcome, Messi, indeed.

“We are overjoyed that the greatest player in the world chose Inter Miami CF and Major League Soccer, and his decision is a testament to the momentum and energy behind our League and our sport in North America,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “We have no doubt that Lionel will show the world that MLS can be a League of Choice for the best players in the game.”

It is, in many ways, an unusual marriage. Messi — still perhaps the biggest star in the game — is signing with a team that entered Saturday in last place in the MLS’s Eastern Conference standings. It’s a club in just its fourth season that plays in a temporary home that will seat only about 22,000 people when some rushed renovations like adding extra bleacher seats get completed.

Doesn’t matter. Soccer royalty now plays for Inter Miami.

Messi arrived in South Florida on Tuesday following vacation, then started the process of physicals and paperwork on Wednesday and the deal got finalized Saturday afternoon. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner — the trophy given annually to the world’s best player — is making his Miami move after two years with Paris Saint-Germain.

“I’m very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States,” Messi said in a statement. “This is a fantastic opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project. The idea is to work together to achieve the objectives we set, and I’m very eager to start helping here in my new home.”

It was widely known that Messi would be leaving PSG. The mystery was where he was going. Some thought Messi eventually would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, following longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo to a kingdom where some clubs now are funded by its sovereign wealth fund. Going back to Barcelona, a storied franchise where he spent most of his career, was another possibility.

In the end, Miami won. An idea that co-owner David Beckham began floating publicly in 2021 — two years before, evidently, the team actually started thinking about how to pull this off — has now become reality.

“After winning the World Cup and not being able to return to Barcelona, it was my turn to go to the league of the United States to live football in another way,” Messi said in June when announcing his decision.

He led Argentina to the World Cup title last December. Messi has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport’s history. He scored twice in last year’s World Cup final against France, a match that ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing 4-2 on penalty kicks.

He is a four-time Champions League winner and his 129 goals in the top club competition are second to Ronaldo’s 140. Messi has won 10 La Liga titles and two Ligue 1 championships, seven Copa del Reys and three Club World Cups plus a Copa América and Olympic gold medal for Argentina.

“Ten years ago, when I started my journey to build a new team in Miami, I said that I dreamt of bringing the greatest players in the world to this amazing city,” Beckham said. “Players who shared the ambition I had when I joined LA Galaxy to help grow football in the USA and to build a legacy for the next generation in this sport that we love so much.

“Today that dream came true.”

The club had a road match Saturday at St. Louis, yet when word got out that Messi may have been at the team’s facility that morning a couple hundred fans showed up just hoping for a glimpse, not even deterred by a late-morning thunderstorm. Many wore Messi jerseys — some the light blue of Argentina, some the pink-and-black of Inter Miami. Some carried flags; one carried a sign mostly in Spanish, but the words “Messi” and “GOAT” made the messaging clear.

It’s just part of a welcome party that is only getting started.

Messi was seen at a Publix supermarket near Fort Lauderdale — the grocery chain is an Inter Miami sponsor — with his family earlier in the week, and the cart had a few items picked out by the kids: Froot Loops, Cap’n Crunch, Lucky Charms. The scene went viral by the time he hit the checkout lane.

A serial goal scorer is evidently a cereal fan as well.

And now, it’s time for the soccer to start. Inter Miami plans to introduce Messi on Sunday night, at an event the club is calling “The Unveil.” Shakira is rumored to be attending, and tickets are long gone for the show that has been anticipated for weeks.

Hopes for the franchise are now officially sky-high. Inter Miami has never contended for a title; Messi could change everything in a hurry for a team that has won only 34% of its matches in MLS play.

“Lionel Messi is an incomparable talent,” Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson said. “What he brings on and off the field will elevate everyone around him and we’re excited to have him at Inter Miami.”

[firstpost]