PlayStation took over Munich as football legends and global creators came together to celebrate the UEFA Champions League Final weekend.

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• PlayStation takes over Munich for UCL Final weekend
• Football legends and global creators in attendance
• Celebrates games and football for PSG vs Inter Milan

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ahead of the 2025 Champions League final clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena on Saturday night, PlayStation – the official console of the famous European competition – took centre stage in the city. Between Friday, May 30, and Sunday, June 1, the iconic München Hoch5 will play host to PlayStation House and the PlayStation Cup.

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  On Friday and Saturday (May 30-31), more than 60 global creators and football icons Marcelo, Sami Khedira, and Wesley Sneijder took on gaming-themed skill challenges at PlayStation House – a rooftop playground of unexpected play. The venue featured immersive challenges inspired by PlayStation franchises, including The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and new PlayStation title, Marathon. The visually bold space created a multitude of shareable content, all framed by the PlayStation mantra: Play Has No Limits.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  GOAL's Front Three team will be on the ground at PlayStation House and PlayStation Cup, and will be publishing videos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok across the weekend. The event cemented PlayStation’s status as a central player in football culture.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  The day after the Champions League final, the weekend concludes with the PlayStation Cup on Sunday, June 1. This four-team tournament brings together global creators and Champions League icons Kaka, Marcelo, Wesley Sneijder, and Mario Gomez as playing captains. Each 25-minute match unfolds in a knockout format, with draws settled by five-minute PlayStation 5 penalty shootouts projected pitchside. In addition to coaching warm-ups, full match play, IP-inspired football challenges, creator-led gameplay, iconic matchday experiences, and tournament drama, PlayStation's Munich activation delivers a complete cultural moment in unforgettable style.

Ex-Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey has agreed a surprise move to Mexico as he looks to continue his playing career at Pumas UNAM.

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Ramsey agrees deal with PumasFormer Arsenal midfielder looks to keep playingWas not offered full-time coaching role at CardiffFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

As per the PA news agency, the Welsh midfielder has agreed on a move to Liga MX to end a two-year stint back at boyhood club Cardiff City in the Championship. Ramsey was unable to save the Bluebirds from relegation after being named player-manager for the final few games of the season after the sacking of Omar Riza. There had been speculation that he would be offered the full-time position, but the club and Ramsey appear to be heading in different directions.

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Pumas will become Ramsey's seventh different club in a career that has taken him across Europe. He was snapped up as a teenager by Arsenal after impressing for Cardiff and spent 11 years with the Gunners. He wrote himself into the club's deep history for his role in three FA Cup titles – scoring the winning goal in both 2014 and 2017. A move to Juventus in 2019 brought mixed success and, after a loan spell at Rangers, he made a permanent move to OGC Nice. He returned to South Wales in 2023 after just one season in France.

DID YOU KNOW?

Ramsey will now play outside of Europe for the first time in his career. The 34-year-old will hope to add silverware in Mexico to the trophies he has already swept up in his career. Aside from the three FA Cups at Arsenal, he won Serie A and the Coppa Italia with Juventus and added a Scottish Cup at Rangers. He will also be determined to avoid being on the losing side at Pumas after tasting final defeats at Cardiff, Arsenal, Juventus and Rangers.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RAMSEY?

As he looks to wind down his long career, Ramsey may be casting his eye to coaching. The Welshman has already had a taste of management at the Bluebirds, but may look to return to the dugout after he retires.

Heather Knight hopes Dukes ball will aid England’s quest for 20 wickets

Valkerie Baynes21-Jun-2023She brings an element of the unknown to the opposition, but it was Lauren Filer’s abilities as an impact bowler that have earned her an international debut for England in the Women’s Ashes Test.With nearly 15,000 people set to attend over the course of the five-day contest against Australia at Trent Bridge, this is some stage for Filer, who beat another young but more experienced quick in Issy Wong for a place in the side. But Heather Knight, England’s captain, expressed plenty of faith in Filer on match eve.”It’s hugely exciting for her,” Knight said. “We’ve gone for her because we think she’s a real impact bowler. I guess she’s a bit of an unknown but she bowls wicket-taking deliveries and for me she’s, if not the quickest, one of the quickest in the country. She gets bounce, and she’s got skills, moves the ball both ways, and ultimately we need a team that’s going to take 20 wickets and we feel like she gives us that. She can bang the ball in as well, there’s not too many people queueing up to face her in the nets. I’m really excited for her to see how she goes.”Related

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Filer has taken eight wickets for Western Storm from four matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy so far this year at an average of 28. 62 and she took five wickets from as many matches in the Charlotte Edwards Cup at 24.80. Last season she claimed 11 wickets at 22.63 in the RHFT and one wicket in two Charlotte Edwards Cup appearances.On the flipside of the career spectrum, Danni Wyatt will make her Test debut after 245 white-ball games for her country. Wyatt adds firepower to an England top seven all capable of scoring quick runs.”I think probably at one point Danni probably felt like she was never going to get a Test cap,” Knight said. “We picked her because we want her to play exactly how she does in the middle order in ODI cricket. She’s one of the best players, and the best attackers, of spin in the world game for me and she makes it very tricky to set fields, she scores in quite unusual areas. That’s exactly how I want her to play, how she does in white-ball cricket, have a little bit of a counter-punch and use her experience there as well.”Knight hadn’t spoken to men’s counterpart Ben Stokes since his side lost their opening Ashes Test to Australia by two-wickets in a last-evening thriller at Edgbaston on Tuesday. But she has picked the brains of seam spearhead and Nottinghamshire native Stuart Broad in the build-up to this game.”I’ve spoken to Stuart about the conditions, he’s played a lot of cricket here and this is my first ever game at Trent Bridge,” Knight said. “Lots of really useful stuff on how to bowl on this pitch, how the pitch changes over the course of the cricket that he’s played here.”Danni Wyatt prepares to make her Test debut after 245 appearances for England•ECB via Getty ImagesThe pitch was showing patches of green grass 24 hours out from the toss, which had given Knight more to think about ahead of the clash which carries four points for a win to kick off the multi-format series. The last time these sides met in a Test, 18 months ago over four days at Canberra’s Manuka Oval in the middle of the series, it ended in a nail-biting draw.”It’s probably a little bit patchier than I expected and probably the groundsman wanted it,” she said. “Actually we asked for a pitch with just good carry. The Canberra wicket was awesome for women’s Test-match cricket, a bit of pace, the bowlers could get a bit out of it but you could also score runs if the bowler missed. So we wanted a similar wicket to that, but generally it’s a pretty good wicket to bat on and I look forward to getting out there.”In terms of the pitch, you want a nick to carry because sometimes we’ve played on softer, duller pitches where actually it’s really hard to score runs if you bowl straight but also really hard to take wickets and that’s not really the pitches, we don’t have as much pace in the women’s game that’s conducive to get a result. The Dukes ball is a really great addition. The bowlers have certainly enjoyed bowling with it and you can get a little bit out of it for a lot longer. Probably the biggest challenge in Women’s Tests has been taking 20 wickets and I think the Dukes will help that.”All of England Women’s recognised batters have scored runs in the lead-up to this match, most notably opener Tammy Beaumont, who retired on 201 not out off 238 balls against Australia A in a three-day warm-up on a lifeless Derby pitch last week, where Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophia Dunkley and Amy Jones all reached the 70s and 80s.”The tempo that we went at and the pace we scored at was brilliant without being overly risky and aggressive, that was awesome,” Knight said. “We want to go on and make real match-defining innings, not just get a hundred if you can get a real big one. That puts the team in a great position. I’m really happy with the group and hopefully we can go out and replicate some of that in the next five days.”

Per MLS rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval is ineligible for the next match

MLS sanctions Messi and Alba for skipping ASGDuo not available for selection Saturday All-Star absences were not approvedGet the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowWHAT HAPPENED?

Major League Soccer confirmed on Friday that both Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba have been suspended one match each for skipping the 2025 MLS All-Star game, and neither will be available when Inter Miami host FC Cincinnati Saturday night.

In a statement, the league said the two players were sanctioned "due to their absence at this week’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game. Per league rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club’s next match."

Earlier Friday, Miami coach Javier Mascherano had said both players would be able to play against Cincinnati, adding that Messi was dealing with fatigue and Alba sustatined a minor injury against the New York Red Bulls last weekend.

"Look, players always have discomfort, especially when they play every three days,” Mascherano told reporters on Friday. “But luckily, he is returning today. Let's hope he can train alongside the group so we can count on both of them for tomorrow's game. We haven't received any [sanction.]"

In 2018, then-LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was suspended one match for skipping the All-Star Game without approval.

Just hours before the ASG on Wednesday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber declined to say whether Messi or Alba would be disciplined, but admitted the league should have been more proactive in confirming the players' status ahead of its marquee summer event.

MLS didn't publicly announce that Messi and Alba would not play in the All-Star game until the roster was confirmed Wednesday morning, and offered no specifics behind the absences. Garber said at the time that MLS and Inter Miami were communicating on the issue, but pointed to Miami's heavy schedule – playing nine matches in just more than a month – spread across the Club World Cup and MLS play.

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Neither Messi nor Alba trained until Friday this week, according to Mascherano, who added that "Messi showed normal fatigue from the number of games and minutes he's been playing."

The Miami manager said that, while he supports the All-Star Game, it needs to be scheduled in a different window.

"What I think is that if they want to do this type of event, it's great to do it, and the truth is that it's great for the league," he said. "There shouldn't be a date in the schedule. It's crazy. We've been playing four of the last five games away. We've been playing four away. We've been playing practically every three days."

Mascherano suggested that the annual event be held on the weekend, and that the league should not return to regular-season games so quickly after the contest. The ASG was Wednesday, and the league has games scheduled Friday and Saturday.

"Stop for the weekend, the All-Star Games is played on the weekend, and we come back," he said. "Because after Wednesday, today, 48 hours after having played, there are teams that are going to play today, and it's not enough rest for the players either. So, the first thing we have to think about is that football belongs to the players. And if football belongs to the players. Without players, it doesn't exist."

Inter Miami will be without three key starters on Saturday – Messi, Alba and defender Maxi Falcon, who is suspended for one match due to yellow card accumulation.

DID YOU KNOW?

Since the start of the season in February, Miami has competed in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, MLS regular season, the FIFA Club World Cup, and has one match left before participation in the 2025 Leagues Cup.

Since the start of the season, they have played in 33 matches across all competitions. The Vancouver Whitecaps, 2025 Champions Cup finalists, meanwhile, have played in 34 across all competitions this season.

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Miami and FCC kick off at 7:15 p.m. ET Saturday in a meeting between two Eastern Conference contenders. FCC sit atop the Supporters' Shield standings, and last week defeated Miami 3-0 at home.

The Manchester United outcast has somehow landed a dream move after two years of mediocrity, but he's not the first player to fall on his feet

"If you assess where Marcus Rashford is at as a professional footballer, you strive as a youngster to get to the very top and play for clubs like Manchester United, and when you’re there, you appreciate it. You don’t throw it away and say you want to leave. I find the whole episode very soul-destroying," United legend Teddy Sheringham told when asked for his opinion on Rashford's imminent loan move to Barcelona.

"From my perspective, if you go from Manchester United to Barcelona, that’s a step up that he hasn’t deserved," he added, and it's impossible to disagree with that take when looking back at Rashford's last two seasons on the Red Devils' books. He managed just 11 Premier League goals in 48 appearances, broke disciplinary rules, and eventually lost his place in the team after Ruben Amorim was appointed manager, which led to Aston Villa signing the inconsistent attacker on loan in January.

Rashford instantly started playing with a smile again at Villa Park, helping Unai Emery's side reach the Champions League quarter-finals and finish sixth in the Premier League, but he still only scored four goals, and it wasn't much of a surprise that the Villans did not take up their £40 million ($54m) buy option on the 27-year-old. After so much early promise, Rashford had become damaged goods; an overpaid, overrated attacker who did have the right mindset to reach the very top.

Barca do not see it that way, though. The Spanish title holders believe Rashford is the final piece in the puzzle to bring them Champions League glory in 2025-26, and he will now form part of an all-star forward line alongside Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.

It feels like Rashford is the luckiest man in football, but is he about to seal the most "undeserved" transfer in football history? GOAL ranks the top 10 contenders for that unwanted title:

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  10Marouane Fellaini (Everton to Manchester United, €32m)

  David Moyes famously tried to sign Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas after being personally selected by Sir Alex Ferguson to inherit the managerial reins at United in 2013, but ended up having to settle for Marouane Fellaini, the 6'4 Belgian midfielder known more for his afro hairstyle than his playing ability. Fellaini had been a reliable performer for Everton under Moyes, but a move to the then-Premier League champions was seen as a bridge too far for such a one-dimensional footballer.

  That proved to be the case. Fellaini was jeered regularly by United fans in a miserable debut season that saw them slip out of the top six, with Moyes relieved of his duties after just eight months at the helm. Somehow, Fellaini clung on for another five seasons at Old Trafford, picking up FA Cup, Europa League and League Cup winners' medals while becoming a favourite of Jose Mourinho's due to his aerial ability, but he was never able to hold down a starting role, and United let him depart for Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan for just £10.5m in January 2019.

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  9Andy Carroll (Newcastle to Liverpool, €43m)

  Liverpool fans reacted in disbelief when Andy Carroll was chosen to replace Fernando Torres after the Spanish striker's controversial switch to Chelsea in January 2011. The Reds broke their transfer record to sign Carroll, which was seen as a hasty move given he had only served as Newcastle's first-choice No.9 for half a season.

  All doubts over Carroll were quickly justified as he found the net only six times in 44 Premier League games for Liverpool. The towering English frontman's finishing was wildly erratic and he couldn't stay fit long enough to build any kind of momentum.

  After replacing Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool boss in June 2012, Brendan Rodgers immediately decided Carroll wasn't the right fit for his possession-based system, and he departed for West Ham after a hugely disappointing 18 months at Anfield.

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  8Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal to Juventus, loan)

  Nicklas Bendtner's future looked bleak after an underwhelming loan stint at Sunderland in 2011-12, in which he netted just eight goals. Arsenal had certainly grown sick of the Denmark striker's inconsistency and off-pitch behaviour, but that didn't dissuade newly-crowned Serie A champions Juventus from taking him off their hands in the most shocking deal of the 2012 summer window.

  It would not turn out to be some miraculous masterstroke. Antonio Conte didn't hand Bendtner his first start for Juve until October, and he suffered a serious injury in his next start some two months later, before being arrested for drink-driving in March.

  Bendtner returned to action off the bench in a final-day clash against Sampdoria, but broke his wrist as the Bianconeri's second successive title party was soured by a 3-2 defeat. The Arsenal loanee then went back to Emirates Stadium with no goals to his name from 11 appearances in Juve colours, and it's fair to say that this particular transfer was a waste of time for all parties involved.

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  7Odion Ighalo (Shanghai Shenhua to Manchester United, loan)

  United were so desperate for a new striker after Rashford was sidelined with an injury in the winter transfer window of 2020 that they explored several emergency options, including potentially re-signing former academy graduate Josh King from Bournemouth. However, when they were priced out of a deal for King, United instead brought in former Watford star Odion Ighalo on loan from Shanghai Shenhua until the end of the season.

  It should be noted that Ighalo had his moments in the Premier League with Watford, and scored five goals for Nigeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, but this was the mother of all panic moves from the Red Devils. Ighalo had no elite-level experience to speak of, and it was clear from the start that then-United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn't fully trust him.

  The Nigerian was restricted to just eight appearances between February and May, but he scored four goals, which inexplicably led United to extend his loan for another six months. That decision was made all the more baffling when Edinson Cavani arrived in October, and Ighalo was given just nine minutes of Premier League action in the first half of the 2020-21 campaign before being sent back to China.

The visitors lost three early wickets in the chase but Ellyse Perry managed the rest of the innings

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2024Australia allrounder Sophie Molineux made a triumphant return to ODI cricket in a six-wicket trouncing of Bangladesh.Molineux, in her first ODI since 2021, claimed 3 for 10 from 10 overs to help bowl Bangladesh out for 97 in 44.1 overs in Mirpur.Australia were 39 for 3 in the 13th over of the chase but got home comfortably to take a 2-0 lead in the three-game series.Molineux returned to the Australian set-up last month for the first time since October 2021 after suffering a foot stress fracture and then a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a knee.After being overlooked for game one of the Bangladesh series, the 26-year-old on Sunday produced a top-shelf spell of left-arm spin bowling which included five maiden overs.Molineux claimed three of the initial five wickets to fall and Bangladesh at one stage had slipped to 61 for 8 in the 32nd over. It followed a successful WPL where she was a key part of Royal Challenger Bangalore’s success with a player-of-the-match display in the final. It’s form she has carried forward.”It’s definitely helped,” she said. “I think just getting some match experience in as well. I think that’s one thing you sort of miss out on when you don’t play for a while. Trying to keep up and catch up with the game. So I think going over there, [it] probably helped to have a few more matches under my belt, with some intensity as well.”Her feats came as Megan Schutt, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Alana King collectively overwhelmed the Bangladesh batters.Only No. 9 Nahida Akter passed 11 runs with 20 extras – 18 wides and two leg byes – the next-highest contributor.”We just want to keep asking questions of the Bangladesh girls,” Molineux said. “We know that they’ve got a really solid defence and put a price on their wickets. So, we knew it was going to be hard to take all ten wickets today and we’d have to stay pretty patient. There wasn’t too many bad balls in there and I think the spinners were able to adjust and use their variations particularly well.”Australia’s batters then reeled in their target with Ellyse Perry top-scoring with an unbeaten 35 from 50 balls.Phoebe Litchfield’s lean run continued when she was run out for 5 while Tahlia McGrath also went the same way. But Perry combined with Gardner to steer the Australians to a comfortable victory.Australia won the opening ODI by 118 runs three days ago with Wednesday’s third game to be followed by three T20Is.

Medium-pacer Hasan Mahmud impressed on debut, picking two wickets, while Shakib also got one

Madushka Balasuriya30-Mar-2024

On a dry surface that showed signs of turn from the get-go, Sri Lanka made use of arguably the best of the batting conditions to prop themselves up to 314 for 4 at the end of the opening day’s play of the second Test in Chattogram.Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva were at the crease at stumps on 34 and 15 respectively, though a bulk of the scoring was accomplished by their top three comprising Nishan Madushka, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis – the latter two falling narrowly short of their respective centuries.But on a day where the bowlers were forced to toil for large periods, and one where – apart from brief spells with the first and second new balls – the spinners looked most likely to extract something out of the surface, it was debutant seamer Hasan Mahmud that impressed the most, ending the day with figures of 2 for 64. Shakib Al Hasan on his return to the Test side had one as well.By the end of play Bangladesh were probing for more breakthroughs in an attempt to make inroads into Sri Lanka’s lengthy tail, however with the pitch set to deteriorate further, Sri Lanka will be pleased with the position they find themselves in.That said, had Bangladesh held on to all their chances, this might have been a day the hosts might have even edged.During the morning session both openers were reprieved with Mahmudul Hasan Joy spilling a straightforward chance at slip off Madushka, and Shakib misjudging a miscued Karunaratne hook at fine leg. In between there was also a missed direct hit opportunity that would have found Karunaratne well short.In this period it was the seamers that posed the most threat, with Mahmud in particular showing admirable control with the new ball and regularly clocking in the mid-130s. While he would have to wait until Sri Lanka were 210 runs in the black for his first Test scalp, he would have had one much earlier had Mahmudul held on.But once the ball got older and the potency of the seamers reduced, batting became easier – though the sometimes uneven bounce in the surface meant the Lankan batters were forced to wait for the bad balls to put away. A wicketless morning session, with scoring at a comfortable three an over, highlighted the favourable batting conditions.And while conditions would get better for the spinners in particular as the day wore on, much of Bangladesh’s early success was down to batter errors.The first was a run out, where Karunaratne seemed to call his partner through for a second before turning him back; the throw from the deep was a good one and Madushka was found well short. The second was courtesy a loose drive, which saw the former skipper drag on to his stumps and give Mahmud his maiden Test wicket.Despite these breakthroughs, Bangladesh were rarely allowed to build a head of steam with a string of successive partnerships forming the backbone of Sri Lanka’s batting effort. An opening stand of 96 was followed by stands of 114 and 53.It was only in the final session that the ball began to show natural variance for the spinners.After Mathews had pushed forward and edged an arm ball from Mehidy Hasan Miraz that evaded both keeper and slip, Kusal would not have such fortune. Pressing forward to one that gripped and bounced from Shakib, Kusal found himself surprised as it caught a high edge and flew low to Mehidy’s right at slip, who made no mistake with two hands.There were several more deliveries surrounding that period which caused uncertainty in the minds of the batters, beating both edges of the bat. But it was the new ball that brought the final breakthrough of day, as Hasan got one to rise sharply and take Mathews’ edge.But much like they had done throughout the day, the Lankan batters showed patience in negotiating any variance and punished the bad balls. With the nature of the surface proving volatile even this early in the game, they will be aware that one more large partnership might be all it takes to take a commanding grip of this game.

South Australia 287 (Manenti 71, Kelly 54, McSweeney 53) and 259 for 9 (Kelly 69, McSweeney 67, Lehmann 56, Edwards 4-59) drew with New South Wales 510 for 8 dec (Davies 116, Hughes 114, Green 63*, Gilkes 54)New South Wales had to settle for a dramatic draw in their crucial Sheffield Shield clash with South Australia after Nathan McSweeney steered the Redbacks out of danger.Needing an outright win to boost their chances of making the final, NSW ran out of time to secure victory as they battled to dismiss SA in their second innings on Monday. Both captains shook hands midway through the 93rd over, with the Redbacks finishing with a lead of just 36.Related