Mortal Icons, Systemic Vulnerabilities, and the Transatlantic Transfer Wave

Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to burden of proof Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the latest edition of Football America, right here on ESPN alongside Herat Gomez, Shaka Hizlok. I am Mauricio Pedroza. Welcome gentlemen. It's a very special edition for the very first time ever. Shaka Strophic will air on Football America. Why are you laughing? Are you nervous? That's the nervous laugh. No, it's not. It's monumental. It's monumental. It's monumental. Remember what you've done today. And also a couple of US stars making the move to the premier league. We'll discuss, but we will get things started with Inter Miami, specifically with Lionel Messi. As we know, his dad passed away and Messi shared this heartfelt message to his dad on social media. Messi wrote a very, very thoughtful, a very deep emotional message to his dad. I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I don't know how to go on. I only played football and now I have quite a few doubts about whether. I'll keep doing it for much longer. And this is clearly a very emotional moment for Messi, his family. But we all knew about the connection Messi and his dad, how especially it was. But honestly, I was not expecting Messi posting this very, very personal letter to his dad. And he points to maybe considering his future in the sport. What do you make of it, Herc? I think it's natural when we talk about losing a loved one, when we talk about thinking about your own mortality, what's important in your life, how much time you have, you start questioning maybe things that you're doing, and how much longer you keep doing them for. Maybe you question why you were doing them even begin with. It's clear that he doesn't put pen and paper in this case, the post, if it's not weighing on him. And the fact that it even entered his orbit, that universe brings many of us to the realization that Messi's not going to be forever. And that if he continues to play till the end of this season, two more years, or until next World Cup, it's a very personal decision that you have to respect. And you just have to go out there and appreciate and enjoy it while you can, because the way that my father spoke about, speaks about ballet, speaks or spoke about Mara Rona. I can't fully grasp it because I didn't watch it. One day, that's the way we are going to talk about Leonel Messi, the rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo, how epic that was. The next generation won't fully understand it. We will, and we have to appreciate it, because it's coming to an end. It wouldn't be the first time that a star player, and nobody's the star that Leonel Messi is. But when something like this happens, and puts in perspective, not only your personal life, but in this case, his professional career, I don't know, Shaq, the way it hid you in terms of how Messi let us in that moment. And questioning his future in the sport, because that is no longer a part of his life. First of all, let me just say, Leonel Messi is in the right to walk away from this game whenever he chooses. He could leave in the middle of a game if he so decides, and nobody should question that. The thing that hit me most about this post, about Leonel Messi's reaction is, at times we see Leonel Messi as a player. We see the things he does on the pitch with the ball, and we assign almost a superhuman quality to him, to his talents. Then you see messages like this, and you recognize the human behind it all. That we are still as, as for all the praise, we throw Leonel Messi's feet. Justifiably so, he is still somebody's son. He is, we've spoken about his attachment to his father, and the role that his father played, in the early days of his own career. And to see it, there I say come full circle, reminds us that we are talking about a human being. At the same time, and for all the praise, that we heap on Leonel's feet. You almost feel like you are happy that his father got to witness this much, as much of it as he did. The best years of his football in Korea, given the role that he played. My greatest takeaway is, Leonel Messi is human after all. The other thing that hit me hard, if I'm being very honest, is, to Shaq's point, we see these players, and we think they are superhuman. They are immune to everything. Nothing can really hurt them, because we see them on the field, and players like Messi, nothing can stop them. And we were wondering, 39 years of age, he's won it all, he's dominated the sport. He will be remembered by many, as the greatest to ever do it. Why is he still doing it, sometimes we wonder, right? Why is he still, what motivates him to still play the sport? The moment when he shares that, he learned that his dad was in critical condition right before the start of the World Cup, and he became his mission to extend Argentinous presence in the World Cup as long as possible, not for the sake of winning it, but just so that his dad would have another chance to see him play life. That really brought me to tears when I first read that, because that reminded me, as you said, of, this is exactly why he keeps doing it, because it matters to him, yes, but it matters to the people that believed in him since he was a young kid. And sometimes I'm not sure, Eric, if we value that, when we speak about the greatness of this player, not just the greatness of a player. The person. Yeah, you don't need to have a player like me on El Messi to realize that sometimes people don't value other people. And in this world we live in today, where one feels they are anonymous because of this thing right here, the cell phone, you know, little tablet, you get in there, and you type whatever you want, and you think you put it out into the world, and it doesn't hit somebody. You think it, it doesn't matter if I say something negative about this person, because that's why he's there, that's why he gets the millions of dollars, that's why he has all these things. He should be immune to it, and you realize this is a person. And Leon on the message to Shaq's point, and to your point, he's looking to extend the run of Argentina in hope that his father gets well enough to go see him. Like, and I'm putting myself in Messi's head for a second, the rationale behind, I can help him. I can give him something to fight for, and I can't presume to think or even start of where his head was during a welcome. But you can see the emotion he played with in that world cup, and then one would say, well, it's because that's Argentina, and that's the way they live the game. No, there's something there, there's something there. You can see Messi, when he comes back into this game, there's also something not there, you know. When you play this game, and we spoke about it before and now, oftentimes footballers, they play through the worst of moments in their personal life, because it's an escape. It's the only time that I'm in somewhere, and I can get away, and I don't think about anything, I'm just in the game. It's just me, the ball, my teammates, I'm in the game. I'm not thinking about my problems, I'm not thinking about my love life, I'm not thinking about anything. It's just the game. And when he comes back, and he plays against Leon, and he comes in the second half, it didn't feel like the Messi. Maybe it's the setting, maybe it's the fatigue, the jet lag, and maybe it's the somber moment of laying your father arrest and coming here, and you've got to play Leafs Cup in a midweek, and it just doesn't feel right. But you can see that it just wasn't quite Messi. Sometimes people just, you know, they don't realize that your heroes are people as well. I just want to say, I think moments like this are reminders, and if I can offer some kind of defense to people like us who sit around desks, and even those who sit behind devices. A lot of times these footballers are very one-dimensional beings to us. You see them with a shirt on, that matches 10 of those shirts on the park. We judge them by what happens over the course of 90 minutes, and then we do it all again next weekend, or whenever it is. And moments like this are reminders that not just Leon Messi, every single player there is, there is a story. Whether it's, if you walk up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, what's the things that may be going on in your personal life with your father, or your parents, or your kids, or your spouse, whatever it may be that all have an impact on the 90 minutes of their lives in that day that we get to share. And we are asked, we are paid to make judgments on that without knowing a lot of that backstory. At the same time though, not knowing that backstory, I also think it's fine. As a player, I welcome the opportunity to step on a football field and leave what was happening in my personal life behind. Just separate the two. I have played games when I have had children in the hospital, and it was a welcome distraction from that reality. So there is this kind of co-mingling of how we see them, how they allow us to see them, and a need for that separation for both us and for them. But when these moments hit like this, with a player like Leon Messi, that is as visible as he is to everybody, it's a reminder that all these players are so multi-dimensional in ways that we cannot imagine. Though we are asked to comment on just one. Listen, just very quickly before we move on. This is the way we've been trained since we were kids. After my professional career, it's brought me lots of problems in the real world because it's not the way the real world works. But we are trained to check your problems at the door. Don't bring them on to the field. As a forward, this cannot bother you. You have to concentrate on what's coming next. And sometimes in the real world, that's not what happens. Let's take a look at those Leaks Cup highlights, Leonel Messi returning from his trip to Argentina to honor his dad, starting the game on the bench, Inter Miami facing Leon. Inter Miami had a really tough time even trying to qualify for the next round. They needed to win a little bit more than that, but it all started well. It's a good ball across my front, and it's a good finish. He's going to get his puncher, Daniel Pinter is going to get another start, and he's going to get another goal, the young man. Messi will come on forward the second half. Fiftyth minute, Daniela Rasila, all by himself, on an island, and equalizes the game-shack. It's a really nice finish. Josef and the two of them left square ball, let run across your body, and it's just a comfortable pass, since he's backing net. Quick response by Inter Miami, after a second touch inside the box, it's Jenny Bright, Miami leading again. That's a very good finish by Jenny Bright. He doesn't get a lot of goals, but what a go. Last of company Inter cross-barring in. The game was crazy, just three minutes later. Take a look at the move by Daniela Campino, and a really good save by Rocco Novo. It's a great cut back by Campino. He thinks he's from the back of the net, Novo has other ideas. Juan Mominguez, Vincent, Fort Post, it's all tight-hurt. Yeah, but this comes off a silly giveaway by Inter Miami across the face of their own goal, and then what do you know? This right here, maybe a shot of an offside, you're going to check it, but no. And Leon, who would have said Leon, will advance to the next round, and Inter Miami are out. Three to two, final score, and Miami there will be another chance for Inter Lionel Messi with a chance, and it would be safe. Very active, Lionel Messi in the 45, and a second half that he played. He picks up the rebound, but just doesn't catch as he would have liked. Alright, so it's three to final, that means that Inter Miami are out in this new format, best four teams by each league advance to the round of eight. Should we consider this a disappointment by Inter Miami, all things consider without the best player before half of the tournament? The circumstances are important, what we do, there is context, but the fans, Major League Soccer, won't care about that context. If I may, very quickly, you saw at the end of this game, the player is rushing to Leonel Messi for his jersey. You know, we spoke about this a couple of times already in League's Cup and MLS play, just stop. Messi doesn't want this. Messi doesn't want you sprinting up to him and asking him for his jersey after any type of regular game. And one thing he wants to do is get off the field and you've got players running up to him, worried about a jersey or a picture. I don't know, it's one of these things that you need to be smarter at. Is it a failure? I think it's a massive failure. It's not a failure for Inter Miami. It's not their fault that they were missing their best center back. You got injured in this game, that they're missing Luis Suarez, because he's serving six game suspension for spinning on somebody last season. It's not their fault that Tadea Yende is on crutches, Deber Tehrame is injured. I can keep going down a laundry list of players that aren't there. Leonel Messi had to lay his father to rest, comes on in the second half. He's obviously jet lag physically not there. Maybe mentally his head's not in that moment. There is context to all this going on, but it's a failure. It's a failure not for Inter Miami, but it's a failure for Major League Soccer, because in the relevance of selling League's Cup going forward, at the heart of everything has to be Leonel Messi. Major League Soccer, League Armakes, League's Cup, all have to be desperate to have Messi in this final. Cominable wants Messi in a Copri Libertadores. The World Cup, yes, everybody wants Messi to go as far as he can, white because he sells. And because he sells, which is why it's a failure. It's not a failure on Messi's part, it's not a failure on Inter Miami's part. It's a failure that they're not there because that's what these people want. League's Cup and MLS. We saw the heat map and the stats, five shots, three on goal, four chances created. I mean, Messi did his best. Yeah, he was not in the best form, shape, possible, physically, and mentally. But in the end, Shaq, there are expectations on Inter Miami to be a team that at least makes it best the next round, even without the best and the El Messi available. Of course, this is Inter Miami. And from a business angle, this is a monumental failure. This is a miss for the tournament, for MLS. But to his point, there's contacts around this. But even that does not really satisfy the loss and the business loss for the tournament. This Leo Messi, I'll keep saying, is the best best pair of a generation, at the very least. Continues to impact games in a way that nobody else still does, particularly here on this side of the Atlantic. Him missing or him having to carry the emotional burden that he did and not being his best self, even a 39 years old, is a tall ask. And while he did his best, and to Miami did their best, give me cards they had available to them. Obviously, coming up one short, but it will always be and continue to be seen as a disappointment, as a failure on Inter Miami's part. The very first time we saw Lionel Messi wearing Inter Miami's jersey was during the inaugural edition with this format of League Scope, they won it all. They won that tournament. They made the final kick. Correct. They made the final last season. Once Inter Miami is in there, when they're competing, the tournament becomes relevant. Now, thinking big picture here, with all the things in the context regarding and surrounding Inter Miami, could there be a positive in saying, Okay, we're out of this regroup. Let's have our players try to be healthy again. Let's try. Let's give Lionel Messi his space to attack the second part more than that of Major League Soccer in the best way possible. I mean, sure, you can make an argument that even with all the limitations that they have, the players that I just mentioned that are missing, the players that got injured, they just had a hold on for a draw and maybe win the penalty kick shoot against Monterey, but they blew it at the end in the last seconds without Lionel Messi. Just hold down the four until Messi gets back and maybe that puts you in a different headspace, maybe that's a different mentality. You know, maybe this game goes a different way. You don't know. That said, I think if all you know the head coach of Inter Miami gets them from this is, you can't always depend on Messi and you have to have a different way of playing. It's the final minute of the game and you're down a goal. It's three to two. There's five minutes that they gave in a lot of time. It's already minute 95 something. Put the ball into the box on a corner kick. They wait until Messi looks up until Messi decides you either put it in or you give it to me. Messi says give it to me and they give him a short place so we can play the ball across the face on the other side so he can get in from there and look for a cross. It's got to be a different way instead of always depending on Messi. I understand it's very difficult to do when you've got the best player who's ever played the game. But you saw what life without Messi was like. There also needs to be not even a plan B just a different way of doing things when Messi isn't there to help you. He's 39 years of age. You cannot depend strictly on you and then Messi saving the day. More league-scope action. Orlando City hosting my dear Atlético de San Luis. Atlético de San Luis gifted Antoine Griezmann with a kid so that he remembered his time at Atlético de Madrid. But the game started really well for that old Vique Shack. Orlando leading after 30. It's falling off so they keep us present from a close range header. Easy finish. Justin Ellis doubles the lead for the host, Kirk. Yeah, good U20 player, plenty of upside. You're going passport as well, American passport, big decision for the make, but he's scoring some goals. Look back for San Luis. But at the 79 minute Sebastien Pena's bouquet gets going back for San Luis with some time left so there was the chance. Again, following in, I'm not sure why defenders don't get to that first ball, but is it happening on the rebound? Griezmann has a shot. Take it. Take it. No. He's giving it to the referee. But then what happened? Nobody knew what Griezmann was trying to do. This is already at a time, 97 minutes. And here's the long cross. David Rodriguez again, Kirk. Maybe eight or eight times. People, I just explore the athletic of San Luis. You know what this reminds me of? There was a play this United a year, a lot of years back or one. But we need him down there. Just put the ball in, griezmann. We would go to penalty kicks and suddenly out the clues. We'll miss one. That means I was a save. That wasn't a miss. I was a good save. Any penalty miss? It's a miss. I was a great save now. What does that say right there? It's the extra. Eliminated. Yes. Monterey playing Nashville speaking of eliminated teams. Nashville is out of place. First minute for the leading Monterey here. What's going on? You tell me what's going on. Look at this. Honey moved out with a great ball across in a good finish once. And again, honey, look at our heads across water. Just hits us with a little too much pace. Catching nobody to talk with the wall. He thinks that he's peeing away. That's a cross-bought. That's the MVP right there. 35-minute horrible defending by Rayellos and Monterey. What is that, Baker? Winning says thank you very much. And it's too nothing. What? What? What? What? What? What? What? Is it heaven? And it's ruled out for a handle. So it's still 1-0. Second half. First minute. Great save by the keeper and then a missed opportunity. Yeah. Rosy and Baldez was great. Yes, that's it. That's a team check. That's a team check. Fifty first minute. Finally. The equalizer, Orbelim Pineda. Back. With a Mexican side. With a keeper could've done a little more. Nice finish. Had to go high. Seventeen minutes. Jordan Knight. Almost runs into a teammate but misses wide. No, no. He ran into him. What is that? And again. Ocampus to Kipers. Kipers is going for a yellowswork. Yeah. Kipers. Chicago fire product. He could be helping them out with scoring goals for them. Now scoring goals for Monterey. Yeah. Two to one. Monterey still alive. You know, it was not alive. Either Seattle or Chivas. But they would face each other in Seattle. Twelve minutes. And Seattle is leading Herc. Yeah. It's a good ball across. And he doesn't really know too much about it. Kind of just reacts. Puts it in. He's a yard off. There we go. Sixty minutes. So three minutes after the first goal. The Rosario. But his shot. He's saved. Just too close to the keeper. Pretty straight. Kipers stays on his feet. Makes his save with his legs. Tomatoes back with Chivas after being the MVP of the Conca Calf U20. Good save. Vice Stefan Chaie. Seattle has been horned in the last eight games. But Stefan Chaie has been very, very good. Luisito Rey. Chivas player. Let foot. Second half. It's all tight one. Two to the crowd. Kipers doesn't see it coming. Very beaten. And it is seventy first minute. Another player who saw actually the... What a ball. 20th. Good pass. Santiago Sandoval. Chivas leading game. Yeah. Great ball and bad goal. Alright. This is the way it stands. León Toluca. America. Crosasul seems to be advancing on the Mexico side. Colombo screw rail. So like. LFC and Austin will represent Major League Soccer in the round of fate. Alright. So Americans on the move. Tottenham Hotspur are entering talks for United States forward. Fuller in Balagun. A deal could be worth sixty million euros according to the Kip. There has been interest in the twenty five year old throughout the summer with English and Spanish clubs closely monitoring his situation. He's done well with Monaco in France. Three good seasons for Fuller in Balagun. And we saw three goals during the walk up. That's obviously another way to improve your value in the market. Is it now the time to make the jump from France? The Premier League. What part of the Premier League? Because the Premier League is not created equal. You could say Spurs is a big club. Sure, it's a big club. There's not going to be any Champions League for Spurs. You know, this is a team that was fighting relegation, despite what the Europa League may have looked like. Or part of their Champions League campaign may have looked like. You'd be going for the money in the Allure, the Premier League. When I think there may be more out there for you. Monaco is going to be in Champions League. You're going to be in an important competition. You're going to be in a league where you play against PSG. Where it's not as demanding as the Premier League. But I think that in six months from now, if not a year from now, you're still going to have the same opportunity to have the same type of platform if not a bigger team. I just don't see the Allure of Spurs besides the money form. If we're talking about leveling up, I don't think Spurs is going to have that jump in level that many, many feel. Yes, I go. I'll see. I'm a little more sold on Spurs than hookers. I think Spurs and the Dezierby will have a promising season. And while Hook's up to the right, no Champions League football, a team that has been battling relegation last three seasons, but I think they'll be significantly better. And the Premier League offers you a platform like no other. It's a league that I want to say he knows because he came through the academy just across North London, a couple of appearances for them at the highest level before going and finding his feet in French football. Balligan is now 25 years old. And I just feel that to make that move, even to a lesser Premier League club, you go to Spurs, you do well regardless of what happens where they finish. You do well at Spurs that opens the eyes, that opens opportunities for a number of other clubs. Certainly within the Premier League, again, a league and a country that he knows so well. I know Maurizio Puccettino, the way he's following Balligan, when we were discussing on Monday players who have their spots secured in the starting 11 for the upcoming international break. And as we said before, the number 9 position used to be a struggle, right? There was no one who could claim that as their own. It feels like it's Balligan's to lose right now. Just a move to the Premier League. Gives him in a way, giving him away any advantage over the other number 9s in the pool. He could stay there. He could go to the Saudi pro league. He can come back to MLS. He's maybe the 9 for Maurizio Puccettino. I thought you were going to go different with that question. I thought you were going to ask me if you... The Puccettino connection? Yeah. I thought you were going to ask me if Puccettino is nudging him or maybe advising him, I should say, on the Tottenham Hotspur move. If that's a good move for his career, I'd have to imagine Puccettino would say it's a great move for his career. And if the coach is telling you, the national team coach is telling you, it's a good move for your career, you listen. You know, regardless of what you think, you listen. Different levels, but you're going to cleanse the same thing. Advise me on where he thought I should go. When listens, this is your national team coach talking. This is the boss man. So, if MLS for whatever reason is in the ear of Faller and Balligan, maybe that is Spurs is signing to lose. There's a lot of things that make sense in terms of the culture, in terms of the platform, in terms of the setup, in terms of the city. He happens to have a home in London. I believe he is neighbors to MLS in London. So, there are a lot of things that he would feel very, very good about if he were to sign for Spurs. And maybe there are some fans out there who are in the same boat as I. It feels for this player after a $40 million move to Monaco and to start off slow and finally explode, and explode during a World Cup year, you would have expected a bigger shooter. Because there were reports of a PSG. Now, I'm not saying he'd go in and be the starting nine. But if there's reports of a PSG and Luis Enbican looks at you in that manner, it starts opening your eyes and saying, oh, who else is looking at him in this manner? So, maybe it's, I've thought there would be something bigger. There's always also the question is, at Monaco, he is the guy. He is a starter at that position. Translate that to Tottenham Hospital right now. He could compete easily to be in the middle nine. I think there's no other player that you would go, it's really going to be hard to take minutes away from this player. I think he will be the starter at Spurs if he does go there. When you look at Spurs who they have on their books, I think everybody being fit or things being equal, Dominic Salanki would be the starting number nine for Spurs. I think Balagun is about to play. I don't think Salanki has done enough in a spaceship, even when fit to suggest that he is better than Flor Balagun. If I'm Flor Balagun, I think I'm going in there to start, especially kind of, again, giving that language to Zerby who had been coaching in French football and would have seen Balagun, particularly over the last couple of years, up close. I take that job. If I am thinking primarily about where Balagun sits, where Balagun finds a home, I think there are only two clubs that come to mind. I don't think he goes to one of the big boys. It, for me, comes down to Spurs. The other probable landing spot would be an Aston Villa, given the fact that Oli Watkins, who at 30 years old, granted five years older than Balagun, has been linked with a move away. Manchester United a couple of weeks ago, but that's kind of been every summer, discussion you have around Oli Watkins. Now, if Oli Watkins moves on, then there is a huge hole there for Flor Balagun to fit with a manager like Unai Emery, that takes an awful lot of boxes. But outside of those two, I'm not sure where there's a good landing spot for Balagun if we're talking. Bella's got the 17-year-old kid Brian Magy, who is an absolute tank, a different player, a different profile, but soon grown, excuse me, home grown. Well, that's player. But you can see the upside of a 17-year-old already doing things at that level to a player who's 25, and you've already got them on the books. You lose Morgan Rogers, you have Oli Watkins, you've got a plethora of players that are injured, not available to you at this moment. You could certainly do worse, but I agree with you. Being in that type of setup, with that type of coach, could do one thing. If he stays at Monaco, is it bad news? I don't think so. I don't think it's bad news. It's... Unfortunately for Faller and Balagun, he's a victim of his own success. It puts him in a different dollar amount. And when you're in that different dollar amount, not too many teams that can come in for you. Monaco's just going to let you go because you want to go. There needs to be a heavy hitter. They bought him for 40. What are they going to look for? You'd have to assume 55, 60 around there. Not too many teams are going to come in and pay that. I think Balagun's stock is highest right now. Yes. I was there. Another year at Monaco, I will always advocate for playing, for starting, for getting minutes. Everybody expects PSG to run away with the French League again. If Luce Enrique decides to make changes and players start a healthy time, they run away with the League. And that maybe discounts performances in League as a result. No international football next year. No international football. Major international football for a couple of years. Right now, given the tournament, he just had here for the US in 2026. I think his stock is highest, regardless of how it ended up in that final game against Belgium. That transfer still in the works, still a lot of details to be resolved to make for Balagun a Tottenham player. The deal that is happening, if it's not done already, Xavier Gosa with Crystal Palace, Palace are finalizing the transfer deal as ESPN source confirmed. Balagun are set to pay RSL $15 million to accoint his contract. Real Salt Lake would retain a 20% and a 25% returning the event of a future deal with another club. 19 years of age, less than 50 games in Major League Soccer, huge talent, massive talent, is he ready for the Premier League? What makes me feel very good about this is in just a price tag. It isn't just a platform of the Premier League. It's where in the Premier League he is going. He's going to Crystal Palace, which is a proof of concept club. A massive team in terms of scouting, a massive team in terms of fighting gems, and giving him that platform, exploding and exploding them onto bigger and better, SF from QPR at 22, Michael Alisa from Redding at 19, and you put these players in that environment because you think they're good players and they blossom, and on to the next one, Ghost Arsenal, the youngest of Bayern Munich, and you think about where he's going to be playing. He's a right back or right winger, I should say, House out Lake, he's a player I can play anywhere on the field. He's got a good physical presence, he's got a good family nucleus, he's got physical traits that you don't see in a 19-year-old, he's got flair, he's got technical ability, I don't know where he will play. I've heard contrast reports that they see him as a forward, as a 10. As a right wingback, he's played very well. If he does play in a right wingback system, that's what they play, Crystal Palace. He'll play. The Glossner played it, Pierre Sage is going to come in now, he's going to play the same way. You've got Daniel Monio's Columbian, who's very good, very good player. But there's already talks about him and Manchester United, who's been talks about him in other clubs. I mean, Gesta has come in from Celtic Avigal. Different type of player. Different type of player. But if that's your competition, in a team that's going to average about 55, 60 plus games a year, I think Ghost Arsenal is going to get some time. I think it's the right platform form. It's the setting here that gets me excited. $15 million plus the 25% return for Rouse Out Lake. This is an enormous piece of business for Rouse Out Lake and Major League Soccer. All the Glossner's no longer there. One of the reasons why it's exactly every good player was on the move the moment they displayed something interesting. But that's the way Crystal Palace handled their business. The Pierre Sage run it up in the French League, same system, same type, same model. When you see a player like this, fitting into a team like this, the way he plays, is this the perfect fit for a player like Saviour? Absolutely, yes. I think Crystal Palace is a selling club. We know that. But to do that, you have to get players young, get them early, develop those players and set them on. And then any number of clubs in the Premier League who are doing that to a very good effect like now, Crystal Palace have done that. I will also say that me being from China to big or Crystal Palace have a young right back in Rio Cardenas who they've just sent out and known to Bristol City. So these are options for young talents. If you aren't getting straight into the first team, Crystal Palace are willing to let you go to smaller clubs, maybe a league or two down to get minutes to develop until you are ready to feature. Crystal Palace do not spend, do not bring in money or do not spend money on players like this. Don't bring in players like this if they don't have long-term plans for them. So I am excited for this move for Gozo. It may not pay dividends right now. It may not pay them this season. But long-term, I think it will prove to be the right club at the right time. Just one more thing. Something I forgot that is massive is, he's got Chris Richards. Oh yeah, of course. As a mentor, somebody that takes him under his wing to show him the ropes, a fellow American. And if I were to say anybody in the national team, okay, I get one pick. You know, it'd be a very close battle between Chris Richards and Tyler Adams of who I would want to hang around to show me the ropes in European football. I mean, if it's a different team, Tyler Adams is just around the corner. Yeah. So you create that kind of community, that kind of connection, that for a young player. Again, 19 years of age, very limited experience playing at the MLS highest level of levels. It's always a safety net. We have someone like that to put you under his arm, to advise you, to make you feel comfortable in a super tough demanding environment like the Premier League. Somebody who understands the ups and downs of playing European football. Somebody who understands the media, how to manage it, and what you read into things that may be said or happen. I think that is invaluable. Having somebody that close to you, to kind of hold your hand through some of those ups and downs that come with playing in a new league, playing at a higher level. We're learning the game. I think that, again, that works in Gozo's FIFA. Just thought of this. If Gozo, 15 million, 19 years of age, what's the value of someone like Hilbert Tomora for the European market? So I spoke up, I spoke up very quickly. I spoke about this with Father and Balaghan, who is a victim of his own success, and that dollar amount sets him on certain places. What we already know, Hilbert Tomora, his agent, Rafael Epimienta, early Collins agent, has stated that 15 million isn't worth one of Hilbert Tomora's legs. So you're saying, okay, here's a player who's got maybe 10 games with the Mexican national team, had a decent workup, albeit he's 17 years old, so it makes you, you know, to do a double take, what's he going to be worth? He's not going to be sold for 15 million. So there are places where you can go to develop and your price tag helps you. The Arab Division would absolutely help a player, a young player. It's not going to go to the Arab Division, because it's not going to be enough. So you'll be a victim of your own success, and where you do go, it's not as Jack said, somebody's going to hold your hand and show you the ropes, and the teams at Crystal Palace are going to loan you here, because they ended up, no, that's not going to be the case. We just pay how much for you. Let's get on the field. Different level, but that's what happened to the oil line. Right? We've got a lot of money for him. The wrong situation, and now he's back playing with, bigoties, more action from American players in England, Brendan Anderson does it again, playing a friendly against Manchester United, started a game, played 45 minutes, and hurt, scored this one, the equalizer. He's never had a problem scoring goals. He's been a productive player. It's for him, it's confidence, because when he's confident, he's as good as they come, very good finish. He scored four in the Premier League last season, five assists, and is looking in good shape during pre-season. With Leeds United, the action starts officially on Sunday, Arsenal and Manchester City. Face for the FA Community Shield Sunday, 10 a.m. Eastern time, coverage begins at 9.30 on ESPN, plus ESPN 2. Catch the game on ESPN and ESPN, the book. All right, send the key minutes. For just the one goal in all comps, missed 25 games with injury with AC Milan last season, Santi might be on his way out. Porto is pushing for a one-season loan. Santi has agreed to personal turns with Porto, now clubs must reach an agreement. Porto's manager, Francisco Farioli was with Ajax, when Santi Jimenez was having this really good run at a fine-up, but after everything he's been through in the last couple of years, the move to AC Milan never paid off, he's been hurt, didn't score, made the work of roster play some minutes, got hurt again, is this a kind of move shack that can relaunch Santi's career? Absolutely. I would advocate for Santi Jimenez to leave Syria and Italy at this point, find a new look, find a new league to compete in. Find your level, find your confidence, or re-find your confidence. I think this is a good move for him. He will also play in Porto and where they finish in Portugal, Champions League football, opportunities there to play at a level, and consistently. To Santi Jimenez, we know he's a good footballer, we just have not seen it for the last couple of years. I think this is as good an opportunity for him as you can go for. I think the numbers speak for him, speak for themselves regarding the success or lack of for Santi Jimenez with AC Milan. Health has been an issue in his career, and he's still hurt, nursing that ankle injury that he's suffered in the game against England. But we've spoken here so many times about how the Portuguese league provides a different platform, different opportunity for a player like Santi Jimenez to feel himself again. You're not that sole. You're not that convinced. It's a lot of the move at best, or even the downgrade. Well, no, the only reason it's not a downgrade is because you have Champions League football. If you play. But it's a lot of the move just in general. Listen, there are very few settings like an AC Milan when it comes to the sporting brand. When it comes to the platform, it's one of the winningness teams in European football in history. But we're talking about its history, not its presence. It was present, excuse me. Porto's a team where the Portuguese league is no better than Sevilla. You're going lateral at best. But you're going to have Champions League. And if you want to convince me that this move and plane is plane, and you need Santi Jimenez to play. But when you talk about the trajectory that you would hope for, a young superstar, because that's how many people in Concaf had Santi Jimenez of how the trajectory should go, this feels like a step back. You don't go Milan, Porto, Ramadrid. It's not a way it usually works. So it feels like you're already, well, all right, we got to bring the level down for Santi Jimenez because he wasn't what we thought he would be. Is it what he needs? Yes. Yes. And that's what I'm getting to. But it's what he needs because he's probably not the player we thought he would be. He's not going to be the Hugo Sanchez. He's not even going to be the Chicharito Hernandez, you know, or anything in between. He's going to have to be some variation of that and hope come close to anything that Raúl Jimenez could do. You know, yeah, I was going to go to the road, but Raúl is a player that, I think it's unfair to compare somebody, too, because of what he went through. His trajectory was cut short by injury, by an unfortunate incident. Santi Jimenez's trajectory hasn't cut short by injury. It's been cut short by inconsistency. So he's not the forward that we thought he would be. So maybe Porto is the ideal setting because that's the level that he should be at. Okay, the way he's a parallel with Raúl Jimenez, when he made the jump from America to Atlético de Madrid, it was too much for him. He was never going to succeed or find consistency with Atlético de Madrid. Then he makes the move to Portugal and plays with Enfika and plays well. Never was top-scorer of the league, but he started playing consistently. And that allowed him to make the jump to the Premier League, play it with Wolves, and then we all know what happened with Raúl Jimenez, even though he stayed there, played with Fulham. But what I'm saying is, there might be a parallel for Santi Jimenez. Go and play in Portugal, start playing consistently. And if you do well, and if you're lucky enough, you can make a jump to another club to extend your career in Europe. Which is, I totally agree. And to his point, I think a lateral move is the absolute best. Yes. Santi Jimenez could hope for. So they moved to Porto. I think we would prove to be a good one, prove to be as good as he could get. The other thing we're with Portugal, as a league, not as defensive, as Syria. So it offers him more opportunities, at the same time, nowhere near as often as the Air Division. So it shows, you have to be a smart of forward to get goals in Portugal than you have to be in the Air Division. He needs that opportunity, where he does get opportunities to get goals, in a way that he was not afforded in Italy. So I think this is the perfect medium for Santi Jimenez to take full advantage of. And then, as I mentioned, European football is just the icing on the cake for him. You perform well in the league. It puts you at a certain level. You somehow translate that into goals in the Champions League, in parallel with that, not all of a sudden, I think, again, you're having a different conversation about Santi Jimenez, and what that next move is. Now that next move may not be a real Madrid or Barcelona, but it could be one of the smaller Premier League clubs. It could be back to Italy, or Germany, or somewhere other sort. I hope it happens, because the other option was apparently coming back and playing League of Miracles with theaters. Really don't think that happens. And there was also talks about Lazio with Giannato Gatuzzi. And Lazio was a realistic cop. I think that would have been great. That would have been, that would have been better. That would have been much better. I would have been much better. And Giannato is going scoring, you know, as long as he's not bad with Tigares. Well, Tigares would have been great. As long as he's not with Tigares. They took a European world game with that. Julien Quignone is back at it. Saudi Lee's top goal scorer last season starts the season, the way he fished. He scores first goal of current season with Al-Qarish. By the way, Tijani Rinders' new club. But that's it. That's what he does. Julien Quignone is... Is this preseason or actual season? No, no, no. This was the first goal of the season. Why are there only people there? Because they're on vacation. What do I do? I love people. I love people. That's Julien Quignone is Mexico's best player during the World Cup. Angel City playing Washington Spirit. Women's Sports Sundays on ESPN Sunday. 9 p.m. Eastern. Yes, on ESPN. And also on ESPN, the board of this. Jack Astrophic, D-Logs, Royals, Witches, and Gassel. It is an honor. The first time ever. In the long history. Over 500 episodes. Of football Americas. To air for the first time. The very popular segment on different shows. And it's called. Shack Astrophic. For the first time ever. For everybody. Who's going to experience this for the first time. Shack. What can they expect from Shack Astrophic? Well, it's a really simple formula. Go keep your mistakes. Then just pick on goalies. For no reason. We're bearing the lead here. Look at that hairdo. It's not change at all, Jack. Perfect. What's the scene here? This is so good. I get on. Here we go. We have a few candidates. And we'll score with even lower. I love you, Gass. This is Sinati. What happened here, Jack? I have you, Gass. Is it goalkeeper error? Yeah. This is a goalkeeper error. This is a poor error. In the natural fact, ball coming all along the floor. Shack, you can't cough that one up. Oh, no. Our boy Evan coughed that one up too. Let me see. I'm a little bit more sympathetic with this one. Going back across the body. That's kind of trapped inside. Jack, I need your expertise here. They're trying to close it by my man I will. He doesn't see the referee move. He traps the rep. That's a rep. What? What shoves the rep? If you're going to take a freaking there. Why is he referee on top of you? I don't think he's referee doing that. I guess what I'm saying. Jack, you know, you cannot touch the rep. He doesn't know that's the rep. Number one. Oh, come on. Let me read it. Come on. I think it's just, I think the rep is in his peripheral vision. It doesn't, isn't quite sure. I'll go back to my original point. Why is he referee standing on top of the free kick? He just called the foul. You know what? The referee called the foul. He could call that point the only way for me. He could stand on the other end of the pitch. Oh, now you're going to question the rep from being closed to the play. No, you can't be on top of the play. The referee is a World Cup semi-finalist. That's right. Don't get caught. I'm very, very ony. So he's all fancy. So he's a set in everybody. Exactly. That's what it is. He's upset because it's his buddy. It is my buddy. Now it is my team. Dig it is. But I'm with Shaq. The referee doesn't need to be that close to the ball. What does it think is going to happen? They're trying to win the game. It's dying minutes of the game. Excuse me. Hi, game. You met Chris Turner during the World Cup. Yes, I showed it. Yeah. Thoughts on him? Outstanding. Outstanding. Outstanding. We had him live in Studio. Yeah. Outstanding. The only way to follow up your own segment is having our buddy Chris Turner. He was at the Fanatics Festival event in New York. And let's just see what he was up to over there. Let's check it out. It's me, Chris Turner. I'm at Fanatics Fest. I'm here at the Bleeker Trading booth with owner Matt Wink or Reed. Hey, man. Hey, how are you? I'm very well. Total value right here is probably around $50,000 to $65,000. So I'm going to let you tell me which ones to wrap about. We're going to wrap out all of these off the dome. You hold one up. I'll start wrapping about. You'll notice I'm not touching these. I'm too scared. There was too much money. This is what we're doing. Yes. Cool. I've got the reins plenty for free. My guy is jumping all the time. That'd be 23. You see him soaring. My b-ball, Michael Jordan. Chicago Bulls, yeah. You know he scores them so many things. That's the hunt with the junk. You see him get the two anyway. Who the thunk? Now you're plunking it down. Yeah, we're going to test me. It's God bless me. It be Liam now messy. Check it out. Get close while we look at you. You see him from the fringe. You can tell that's the rookie card. He got the FC Barcelona what you do. You got the red and then you got the blue. And we got two. We got the pair. But this is in the air. Kobe Bryant, my gosh. The nice shape here. You can check it out. Yeah, I might spot this. I believe on the top it says sketches and swatches. I don't really know what the definition is. But the basketball goal. That's the whole profession. It's no question about all of that. Of course, yeah, we tell those. Matt's like rap about Doranaldo. I thought y'all of the Portugal is getting. Number seven, any port in the storm. He can run still even though he's in his 40s. But he's perfectly never that naughty. Loudly in Saudi. Getting the dough. Portugal couldn't progress World Cup though. But messy still. Maybe he could win the race. I don't know when it comes to goals. Whose first place? What's next? Of course, yeah. Good spot, man. We got this number three. Trinity Rodman. I said three like Trinity. Of course, we can tell. She's got the dreads going so blonde all as well. That we say in mint. I know I'm glad that you're whole. You've got the Don Russ FIFA with the optic goal. Above the barcode. And know that we like you. Trinity, you got the real Stonker cover striker. Now the last one. Who the thought of that? You brought it back. We have messy. But this one's got the autograph. What is the number? You never want to hate. Don't wait. Out of 25, we got the number eight. Add two for the number on your shirt. You'll be holding it tight like we know what this is worth. Well, there we go. That's the rap skills on display. And I would wager this is about maybe 15k. How about that? Honestly. How about that? To see the magic happen live, it is incredible. Look how he's holding his own. He's okay. He's okay. He's okay. He's no, he's no Clint Dempsey. No, it's okay. A sense of challenge. He's okay. A sense of challenge here. You and Cristina. No, no, no, no. I want to bring Clint Dempsey. I just want to complain. I just cannot believe he did not rhyme. Porto Gaul with Gaul speaking about Cristiano Ronaldo. It was right there. It was right there. Oh, geez. You should challenge him. We know what's up. You and who? We know what's up. Good stuff by our body. Can he do it in Spanish? I'll be great to have him. No. No. All right. No. This is Eric's favorite segment. Dripping or tripping. This is the MLS Adidas Archive Collection. We're going to pick the ones that we like the most. I love this one from Austin. We also have Chicago. It's a really, really, really cool line here. What do you think? The Austin one is a cool uniform. But hashtag verde. It's going to have to do. It looks more like an old school. If you're in Tina, Jersey, back in the day when Batisuta plays. Look at Mueller. I like these a lot. My favorite. Wait, wait. We're about to go to our favorite. This is the entire collection. Awesome. Vancouver looks like a very Colorado-like, you know? Like an old school retro-Colorado one. Yeah. I like the color of the one. And it's nice. It's pretty nice. The Houston one looks like a regular Houston jersey that they put out before. It is. It's a vegan-esque. They're like zero. Zero criteria. We're about to pick our favorite starting with you, Shaq. We also like... Listen, first of all, better and black together for me. We'll always be absolutely fine. Absolutely fantastic. Why? And that... Oh, because I was trying to be a black. And then what they touched for me is the mountain state. Yes, yes. To emulate everything of the Colorado. Yes. I thought that was a really brilliant touch to it. Take a bow, real salt lake. Yeah. I don't mind it. That's a good call. I don't mind it. I happen to really enjoy the Chicago one. It's got like an old school. Yeah. A lot of you guys may not have been around for the NASL. But the Vancouver white caps used to play back then. And they had something very similar. The Chicago, you get the color scheme that they already have in their own flag of Chicago. I really enjoy it down the stomach or chest that they have right there. Just bolt Chicago. It looks very iconic, if you will. Blanco, azul, rojo, blue, red, white. I mean it. You've been a little more... All right. Thus... So it's clean here. That's easy. It's a very clean one. That's why I never thought that was going to be your pick. Oh, you picked us? I picked Austin. That's mine. You took it. I love the purple. I think it's beautiful. The fun in Austin feels... It has a very old school vibe that's fun. And, you know, the logo, the colors. I think it's very, very original. I think it doesn't feel like anything like bold. Right? It's seen from us both. Yes. Very, very, very bold. It's a pretty cool collection. More, more, and realize that I am the style guru of football America. Yes, sir. These two have no taste. Wow. What are you talking about? I'm convinced. Okay. Wow. Well, I'm convinced. Where do we start? Mr. Old Style Art from the show. We also like us so much better than everybody else's. Vancouver's second. Yeah. Who's the right one that says Lions is Orlando, huh? Yep. I regret not giving Vancouver a little more love. No, that's probably the ugliest one. No. I think Billy is young. Vancouver? No. You're just in zero originality. Okay. Montreal is a good one. More fashion and twice. Remember to catch all the very well-dressed guys and girls on ESPN FC. You can catch the show daily on ESPN Plus. So La Liga kicks off this week and bud. Real Madrid Barcelona at Letico de Madrid. They will start to league a little later than that. So on Monday, we will have a huge La Liga preview right here on football America. For now, that's the show. Thank you for watching. We'll see you Monday. Already, huh?