MUNICH — Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League winner.
At long last the club that was transformed by Qatari billions and bought and sold a succession of the world’s greatest players in an extravagant bid to get to the top has its hands on the big one.
European club soccer’s grandest prize has a new home after PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in Saturday’s final in Munich.
The trophy that not even Lionel Messi, Neymar or Kylian Mbappe could deliver to the French club was finally claimed by Luis Enrique, the Spanish coach who has overseen PSG’s shift from the era of galactico signings to one of genuine team-building.
Fitting then that Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old French forward emblematic of the club’s new generation, was the chief inspiration on a balmy night. He became the third teenager to score in a Champions League final, following Patrick Kluivert and Carlos Alberto.
Doué scored twice and set up another goal in little over an hour on the field before being substituted in the second half.
Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and substitute Senny Mayulu, the fourth teenager to ever score in a final added to Doue’s double as PSG recorded the biggest win in a final in the Champions League’s 69-year history.
Now PSG can truly sit alongside the royalty of European soccer. Not by virtue of turnover or merchandizing, but on the merits of its achievements on the field.
The Champions League is the ultimate barometer of the continent’s elite clubs and up until now PSG has been a flashy contender that always came up short.
That all changed at Allianz Arena, the home of Bayern Munich, one of the titans of Europe, and a fitting stage for PSG’s crowning moment. Not least because it was against Bayern that it lost its only other Champions League final in 2020, leaving Neymar in tears in an empty stadium in Lisbon where fans were locked out because of the pandemic.
On this occasion, thousands of PSG supporters were there to revel in the moment, waving flags, lighting flares and drowning out their rivals from Inter, many of whose supporters left the stadium long before the final whistle.
They’d been partying in the streets of Munich throughout the day, but that was nothing compared to the scenes of joy when Marquinhos held the trophy aloft in front of teammates, with fireworks and golden confetti exploding behind them.
PSG truly delivered when it mattered after so many setbacks in this competition. If there were any nerves from Luis Enrique’s players it did not show as they dominated Inter from the start.
It took just 12 minutes for the French champion to go ahead with a move of speed and precision when Vitinha’s threaded pass into the box found the feet of Doué. The forward could have shot, but instead slid in Hakimi to tap into an open net.
Former Inter player Hakimi’s celebrations were muted but PSG’s fans erupted.
Eight minutes later and the lead was doubled — though this time it relied more on luck than precision as Doué’s shot from the right of the box deflected off Federico Dimarco and past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
He got his second in the 63rd, sliding the ball into the bottom corner when through on goal.
Kvaratskhelia added a fourth 10 minutes later and Mayulu then found the back of the net in the 86th, just two minutes after coming on to add his name to the list of teenage scorers in a final.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe initiated cost-saving measures after he became a minority owner of the club last year.
Last summer, around 250 staff were made redundant, saving the club an estimated £8m-£10m. A further 200 staff could lose their jobs this summer.
In March, United revealed plans for a new £2bn stadium on the site of Old Trafford.
Real top the rankings with a value of $6.75bn and revenue of $1.129bn, while Barcelona are third.
Manchester City boasted the second largest revenue in 23-24 ($901m), but are fifth in terms of total value ($5.3bn), a 4% rise on the previous year.
Liverpool are the fourth most valuable football club in the world with a value of $5.4bn) and a revenue of $773m in 23-24.
Forbes’ team valuations are enterprise values (equity plus net debt) based on historical transactions and the future economics of each league and each team.
Revenue and operating income – such as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization – reflect the 23-24 campaign.
The team values include the economics of each team’s stadium but not the value of the stadium real estate itself.
Debt is measured in terms of interest-bearing borrowings due in more than one year (including stadium debt).
Forbes’ valuations came from club annual reports and documents, team executives, investors, credit rating agency reports and sports bankers.
THE 1% Club left contestants scratching their heads after a devilishly tricky maths question saw just 13 players pass just to make it through.
The hit ITV quiz show, fronted by funnyman Lee Mack, threw in a numbers puzzle that had the players panicking.
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Many players were stumped on a maths questionCredit: ITV
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Lee was shocked to learn 13 players used their passCredit: ITV
Instead of testing players on their general knowledge, 100 contestants try their luck at solving riddles within 30 seconds.
On The 1% Club, they are whittled down round by round as they are tasked with using their logic, reasoning skills, and common sense.
With every player that gets eliminated, £1,000 gets added to the prize pot as the players try to answer questions that certain percentages of the public would get right.
The players that remain at the end will fight to win a potentially huge jackpot prize and a chance at joining the prestigious one percent club.
But the the 35% question saw a whopping 13 players use their pass.
Lee showed a picture of a coloured pie chart with numbers and asked: “What number replaces the question mark when you read it clockwise from the start?”
The remaining players faces looked puzzled as they tried to figure out the answer within the 30 seconds.
Lee then revealed the right answer was 27 as they alternate segments reveal consecutive multiples of three and 27 is the next number in the three times table.
Lee was stunned to see that a massive 13 players used their pass to get through to the next round.
The episode also saw an ‘easy’ common sense riddle knock out 23 people earlier on in the show.
The 1% Club players stumped by ‘easy’ question that knocks out 23 people – would you have got it-
When Lee moved onto the 70% question, he asked the remaining players to solve a question.
Lee said: “John writes with his right hand and the last word he’d right if he was writing this sentence would be be.
“If Keith writes with his left hand, what would be the last word he would write in the sentence above?”
Of course the answer was the word ‘be’, as a different writing hand would not change the last word, something which many viewers playing along got correct.
Hardest Quiz Show Questions
Would you know the answers to some of quizzing TV’s hardest questions
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Earlier this year, fans were left outraged after what they described as the “worst” question in the show’s history. Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?” The multiple choice answers were between G, K, M and W. In the end, and with the £32,000 safe, player Glen had to make a guess and went for G. It turned out to be correct as Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the stars who have won the Best Actress gong since 2000.
The 1% Club – Viewers of Lee Mack’s popular ITV show were left dumbfounded by a question that also left the players perplexed. The query went as follows: “Edna’s birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen’s birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir’s birthday must be the ‘X’ of January.” It turns out the conundrum links the numbers with its position in the sentence, so 6th is the sixth word and 15th is the fifteenth word. Therefore, Amir’s birthday is January 24th, corresponding to the 24th word in the sentence.
The Chase – The ITV daytime favourite left fans scratching their heads when it threw up one of the most bizarre questions to ever grace the programme. One of the questions asked the player: “Someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating what?” The options were – sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots – with Steve selecting sweetcorn but the correct answer was potatoes.
However, a whopping 23 players in the studio answered the riddle incorrectly and they were eliminated from the game.
Viewers took to social media in droves as they couldn’t believe so many players left the game after such an ‘easy’ question
One wrote: “How t* have 23 gone out?? Being left handed doesn’t mean you write words in the wrong order.”
Another added: “Too many people thinking too hard on that one #The1PercentClub.”
A third penned: “TWENTY THREE out on THAT?!?!”
The 1% Club is available to watch on ITV1 and stream on ITVX.
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Many viewers said the question was ‘easy’ – but would you have got it right?Credit: itv
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The different hands would not have effected the structure of the sentenceCredit: ITV
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23 players were eliminated from The 1% Club in a shocking roundCredit: ITV
None of those games were worth as much as the team’s upcoming match.
Literally.
Next up for LAFC is the $10-Million Game, in which it will play Mexico’s Club América on Saturday at Banc of California to determine the final entrant in the Club World Cup. The 32-team tournament, which will be staged across the United States from mid-June to mid-July, has a record-breaking billion-dollar prize pool.
By simply qualifying for the event and playing in three group-stage matches, LAFC would be entitled to a participation fee of $9.55 million.
That might not be considered a significant prize for the Dodgers or Lakers, but it’s a major bounty for LAFC, which had a payroll of about $20 million last season.
“We know what’s at stake,” LAFC co-president John Thorrington said.
Imagine that, a Major League Soccer team playing a game with real consequences. The stakes are unusually high for a team in a league in which 18 of 30 teams reach the postseason and the threat of relegation is non-existent.
Real money will be on the line.
That’s money that could go toward covering the transfer fee or salary of the team’s next signature player, as one of LAFC’s three designated-player slots could open this summer.
Thorrington preferred to emphasize the symbolic importance of LAFC reaching the Club World Cup, how it would move the team one step closer to its long-stated ambition of becoming a global brand.
“The conversation here is not dominated by the financial benefit here, but rather the competitive opportunity that this game and the tournament present,” Thorrington said.
If LAFC advances to the Club World Cup, its opening game will be against Chelsea of the English Premier League. The other group-stage games would be against ES Tunis of Tunisia and Flamengo of Brazil.
“I think it would be something special,” defender Eddie Segura said in Spanish.
The tournament could also be a wake-up call for MLS, which has two other teams in the competition in Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders. The league has a salary cap, as well as paint-by-numbers roster compliance rules that permit minimal flexibility on how its teams can spend money. Soccer is a sport in which teams are only as good as their weakest links, but the regulations force clubs to construct top-heavy rosters.
As it was, the financial restrictions were already handicapping MLS teams in its competitions against its Mexican counterparts, with LAFC relying on its smarts instead of the economic might of its deep-pocketed owners to reach two Champions League finals. Now, MLS teams will be taking on opponents with virtually unlimited budgets. Just two years ago, Chelsea spent more than a billion dollars buying players in a single transfer window.
The Club World Cup’s cash prizes offer MLS a powerful incentive to loosen its rules. Group-stage wins are worth $2 million each. Teams will be paid $7.5 million for reaching the round of 16. The champion will take home more than $100 million.
The payouts could also force MLS to make changes to its collective bargaining agreement, which was signed when the Club World Cup was still a seven-team tournament. Under the current CBA, LAFC’s players would divide $1 million, with the remainder of the $9.55 million participation fee staying with the club.
Segura said the players are engaged in talks over their compensation.
“The club would benefit a lot, but I hope that we as players, as the ones who are there giving everything, will also have a chance to benefit,” Segura said.
The upcoming game has also offered LAFC a firsthand view of FIFA’s operations.
LAFC’s and Club América’s opportunity came at the expense of León, which was removed from the Club World Cup field because it was owned by the same group that owned another Mexican team in the tournament, Pachuca.
León qualified for the tournament by defeating LAFC in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League final. Rather than award León’s place to LAFC, FIFA basically invented a play-in game out of thin air, calling on LAFC to take on Club América, which was the region’s highest-ranked team that wasn’t already in the tournament.
LAFC was at least granted a chance. The Galaxy won the MLS Cup last season, but Inter Miami received the place reserved for the host nation before the MLS playoffs even started. The purported reason was that Inter Miami had the league’s best regular-season record. However, the widespread suspicion was that FIFA wanted Lionel Messi in the tournament.
After all, money is what is driving this tournament and money is what is driving the sport.
I still remember the goal that made me feel lucky for living in Los Angeles during the era of Carlos Vela.
It was a cool Wednesday night in August 2019, and I was standing in the 200-level section of what is now known as BMO Stadium, trying to process what I had just seen. In the 41st minute of the match against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes, Los Angeles Football Club winger Diego Rossi fed Vela the ball a few yards outside the opponent’s box. The Mexico-born player effortlessly avoided a sliding tackle from behind, dribbled past a helpless defender and juked the keeper out of position, who fell to the ground, leaving the goal wide open. Another Quakes defender tried desperately to prevent the inevitable, but Vela easily sidestepped him and casually tapped the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the night, and his 26th of the season.
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It was the textbook definition of a golazo.
LAFC would go on to win 4-0, another victory in the team’s historic run to clinch the Supporters’ Shield, the first ever piece of hardware for the expansion team. Vela would finish the 2019 season with 34 goals (a single-season Major League Soccer record that still stands), 15 assists and MVP honors, delivering what many consider to be the single greatest individual performance in a season in league history.
On Tuesday, Vela, 36, announced his retirement from professional soccer. After nearly two decades of playing in four different countries; after representing Mexico at the international level in 72 matches; and after helping LAFC win two Supporters’ Shields and an MLS Cup, Charlie Candle is hanging up his cleats and calling it quits.
“Helping to build LAFC and winning trophies for the club is a highlight of my career,” Vela said via a statement released by the team. “This club means so much to me and my family, and I am proud of everything we have accomplished together with the great fans of Los Angeles.”
LAFC also announced that Vela would remain with the team as a club ambassador.
Learning of Vela’s retirement made me reflect on the feeling of excitement I felt that evening. I remember pulling up the highlight on YouTube and watching it over and over again. He was a wizard on the pitch, making the impossible look so easy and effortless. With each viewing, my admiration gave way to appreciation. I was thankful that the most gifted footballer in Mexican history was playing in my city, and that I could witness his greatness firsthand.
I didn’t always feel this way.
When LAFC announced in 2017, months before its inaugural season, that Vela would be its first star player, I was disappointed. Like most fans of the Mexican men’s national team, I interpreted his decision to leave Spanish club Real Sociedad for a U.S. team with no legacy or history as strictly a business move. Since launching in 1996, MLS has frequently attracted some of the biggest Mexican soccer legends. Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Rafa Marquez, Jorge Campos, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Hermosillo, Hugo Sanchez all played for MLS clubs during the waning years of their careers.
Vela, who was 28 at the time, was still in his prime. His successful multiyear stint in La Liga proved that he could go toe to toe with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I wanted him to stay where he was, or at least move to a bigger European club. I felt that it was his obligation to sharpen his skills against the world’s best so that he could give Mexico a better chance at winning the World Cup, or, at the very least, move past the Round of 16 stage of the tournament. Never mind that Vela had already opted out of playing at the 2014 World Cup because of a strained relationship with the Mexican federation for non-soccer reasons.
Vela was the chosen one. He was a key member of the Mexico squad that won the 2005 FIFA under-17 World Cup (Vela was the tournament’s top goalscorer), and was at one point signed to English Premier League club Arsenal, which saw the young striker/winger as a potential heir to French superstar Thierry Henry.
For many, Vela choosing to play in the U.S. felt like a betrayal, and it further legitimized the accusation that Vela was perfectly fine squandering his talent. The prevailing narrative was that he treated soccer as nothing more than a job. The enigmatic footballer didn’t help his case by telling the press that he would much rather “watch a basketball game than a soccer one.”
My very strong feelings about what Carlos Vela should do with his career and his life didn’t stop me from going to LAFC’s home opener months later. Did I think he was slumming it? Absolutely. But he was still in his prime! And it just so happened that the small pond Vela chose to be a big fish in was a few miles from my house.
As the season progressed, my curiosity turned into casual interest, which quickly morphed into fandom. I even bought merch, a line I told myself I would never cross. Vela single-handedly made someone who had always looked at MLS with suspicion all of a sudden care about what happened in the league. My biggest soccer loves will forever be Club América and Liga MX, but Vela forced me to make some room in my heart for the black and gold.
None of this would have been possible if Vela had mailed it in. In all the times I watched him play, whether in person or on television, I never got the impression that he was going through the motions. He always fought hard for the ball and constantly tried to be the best player on the pitch. It was as if Vela derived pleasure in being a human highlight reel.
Los Angeles FC’s Carlos Vela hoists the trophy alongside teammates after defeating the Philadelphia Union in a penalty-kick shootout to win the MLS Cup soccer match Nov. 5, 2022, in Los Angeles.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
When LAFC finally won the MLS Cup in 2022, defeating the Philadelphia Union in penalties, it was an overjoyed Vela who lifted the trophy. He didn’t look like someone who was just clocking in and out. Vela embraced living in Los Angeles, and Los Angeles immediately embraced him back. I imagine that living in a universe full of stars afforded him some reprieve from the media scrutiny he has been subjected to for two decades. I’m sure it made it easier to love the game.
MLS and LAFC are deeply indebted to Vela. His move to L.A. helped an expansion club become one of the best teams in the league, as well as the most valuable soccer franchise in North America. According to Sportico, a news outlet specializing in the intersection of sports and business, LAFC has a $1.2-billion valuation, making it the 16th most valuable soccer franchise in the world.
“From the beginning, Carlos has been more than just a player — he has been the heartbeat, the captain, and the face of LAFC,” John Thorrington, the team’s co-president and general manager, said via a statement. “Carlos arrived in Los Angeles with a shared vision of building something truly special, and he delivered on that promise in every way. From unforgettable goals to historic victories, Carlos helped make LAFC what it is today.”
Sounds like the club ought to build Vela a statue. They can certainly afford it.
Do I still wish that he had played more for Mexico, or tried to max out his potential in Europe? Absolutely.
But I also can’t begrudge another Mexican for finding his bliss in our fair city. That would make me a hypocrite.
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New music we’re vibing to: ‘Gorgeous,’ by Isabella Lovestory
Beginning this week, the Latinx Files will feature a section that highlights new releases that have caught our ear.
In fusing Y2K-era bubblegum with racy reggaetón coqueteo, Honduran singer-producer Isabella Lovestory has successfully captured the femme fatale spirit of the modern Latina baddie. She garnered ample buzz for her neo-perreo fusion in 2020’s “Mariposa,” and continues the momentum in her new single “Gorgeous,” a confidence-boosting track sung in Spanglish. Evoking the slinky pop-adjacent bounce of R&B legends like Aaliyah and Destiny’s Child, “Gorgeous” will appear on Lovestory’s upcoming album “Vanity,” out June 27.
— Suzy Exposito
Comic: Good immigrant, bad immigrant.
Periodically, the newsletter will feature a comic strip from a contributing artist. This week’s offering comes courtesy of Julio Salgado, a queer Mexicano-born artist who grew up in Long Beach, Calif. Through the use of art, Salgado has become a well-known activist within the DREAM Act movement. Salgado uses his art to empower undocumented and queer people by telling their story and putting a human face to the issue.
(Julio Salgado/For De Los)
Stories we read this week that we think you should read
An outpost for Chicano culture in Vietnam attracts community — and occasional concerns among older generations inclined to associate tattoos with gangs.
On the heels of his performance at Chicago’s Sueños Festival, the Mexican singer-songwriter talks about his upcoming album, his first headlining U.S. tour and the true meaning of his big hit, “Tu Boda.”
Benfica winger Angel di Maria will return to his boyhood club Rosario Central – 10 months after death threats forced him to backtrack on the same move.
The 37-year-old began his career at Rosario in 2005 and the Argentine top-flight club announced his return on Thursday.
“Our history together has more pages to write. Welcome home,” the Rosario-based club said alongside a video posted on X.
The 2022 World Cup winner spent two seasons with Rosario before moving to Europe with Benfica.
He went on to play more than 700 games in Europe for Benfica, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris St-Germain and Juventus.
Di Maria was close to rejoining Rosario as a free agent last summer but increasing drug-related violence in the region and a number of threats against him and his family ended his plans.
Speaking last July, Di Maria said: “There was a threat at my sister’s business, a box with a pig’s head and a bullet in the forehead, and a note that said that if I returned to [Rosario] Central, the next head was that of my daughter Pia.
“Those months were horrible. We could only sit there and cry each night over not being able to carry out that dream return.”
Di Maria has won 30 trophies in Europe – including league titles in three countries and the 2013-14 Champions League with Real – as well as the World Cup and two Copa America trophies with Argentina.
He rejoined Benfica for a second spell in 2023 and will leave the club after next month’s Club World Cup campaign in the United States.
FORMER League Two club Aldershot Town have released a statement amid concerns over the filing of their accounts to Companies House.
Aldershot, who finished 16th in the National League this season, are overdue for the publication of their accounts for the last financial year.
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Aldershot Town have released a statement after being late to file their financial accountsCredit: PA:Press Association
The late publication of their accounts has led to the company being issued a notice for compulsory strike-off.
A strike-off notice, which removes a company from the official register, effectively means a company ceases to exist as a legal entity if followed through.
Aldershot are able to object to the strike-off and try and explain their situation to Companies House before the action is carried out against the business.
Aldershot fans have voiced their concern online around the emergence of a compulsory strike-off notice appearing on the club’s Companies House page, prompting a response from the club itself.
A statement issued on X by the club’s official account read: “The Club is aware of recent comments on social media regarding the delay in filing our annual accounts with Companies House.
“The Club want to reassure our supporters and stakeholders that there is no cause for concern.
“The delay, whilst regrettable, is administrative and the result of a migration to a new accounting system.
“The transition has taken longer and proved more challenging than anticipated, but our finance team is working closely with our auditors/accountants to finalise the accounts, which we expect to file within the next seven days.”
Fans are still concerned by the situation with one supporter labelling it as “very strange”.
While a second wrote: “For full transparency, I think all of us fans would like to see how the accounts are doing”.
And a third added: “Well that eases no one’s mind…”
Aldershot won their first piece of silverware in nearly 20 years this season as they lifted the FA Trophy thanks to a 3-0 victory over Spennymoor Town at Wembley.
The Shots have been trying to make a return to the EFL since their relegation from League Two in 2013, but are resigned to a 13th consecutive National League season following their 16th placed finish this term.
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Aldershot won the FA Trophy this seasonCredit: Alamy
Carlos Vela, the first player signed by LAFC and still the club record-holder in goals, assists, games and minutes played, announced his retirement Tuesday. The team said in announcement that Vela will work with LAFC as its first Black and Gold Ambassador. He will also be honored on Carlos Vela Night at BMO Stadium on Sept. 21.
“Helping to build LAFC and winning trophies for the club is a highlight of my career,” Vela, 36, said in a statement issued by the team. “This club means so much to me and my family, and I am proud of everything we have accomplished together with the great fans of Los Angeles. I am excited to begin this next chapter in my journey here in L.A.”
Vela signed a designated-player contract with LAFC in August 2017, eight months before the team’s first game. He led LAFC to the playoffs in his first season, then set the MLS single-season goal-scoring record with 34 in 2019, when the team won the first of two Supporters’ Shields. Vela was named the league’s MVP that season.
A four-time MLS all-star, Vela played on two MLS Cup teams and made his final appearance for LAFC in the MLS playoffs last November, coming off the bench to play four minutes against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
With 78 goals and 59 assists Vela is one of just 13 players in MLS history to record at least 75 goals and 50 assists and he is the only player to reach those milestones in six seasons.
“From the beginning, Carlos has been more than just a player — he has been the heartbeat, the captain, and the face of LAFC,” LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington said. “Carlos arrived in Los Angeles with a shared vision of building something truly special, and he delivered on that promise in every way.
“Carlos helped make LAFC what it is today.”
Vela entered the Chivas de Guadalajara academy at 13 before moving to Arsenal of the English Premier League. He also played in England with West Bromwich Albion and in Spain with Salamanca and Osasuna before making more than 200 appearances in all competition for Real Sociedad from 2011-17, scoring 72 times.
He played 72 times for the Mexico national team, including in two World Cups, scoring 19 times.
“Vacation” and “sex” were once my two favorite words. Put them together and you’ve got the mecca of pleasure: a romp in Egyptian cotton sheets followed by a juicy room service cheeseburger. Can you say sex in Italian? I can — “sesso” — because my husband and I copulated our way across the country early in our relationship. On our honeymoon in Hawaii two decades ago, we barely left our room and nearly missed the luau. Every getaway back then offered foreplay with a view.
And then we had a kid.
Still, the lure of vacation sex beckons. And not just for me and my husband. According to a survey conducted for the book “Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life,” 90% of people fantasized about sex in a hotel.
“All couples put ‘vacation sex’ on a pedestal because we’re more relaxed and playful when we get out of our daily routines,” says sex therapist Emily Morse, author of “Smart Sex: How to Boost Your Sex IQ and Own Your Pleasure” and host of the podcast “Sex With Emily.” “But we shouldn’t lose that intimacy because we travel with kids.”
So when my husband and I decided to celebrate 20 years of marriage by returning to Maui with our mercurial teen daughter Tess in tow, we vowed to get it on at least once on our trip. We started with a rough strategy: booking a 640-square-foot room with two queen beds. If you’re in the mood to get frisky during your family vacation, here are some tips to consider.
Plan like a pro
If you want to engage in some intimate time, add it to your itinerary before you take off. “You have to schedule sex like you schedule snorkeling or any excursion,” says Morse. “If you wait around for it to happen, it won’t happen.”
Sophie Pierce, a mom to three daughters ages 8, 9 and 14, doesn’t take chances when she and her husband ex-Navy SEAL Neil Mahoney travel. They think — and act — ahead, so they’re not completely disappointed if it doesn’t happen during the trip. “We always have sex the night before we leave for a family vacation, just in case,” says Pierce, the founder of three dance studios in Los Angeles. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t try.”
My husband and I didn’t have a strategy before we left L.A., but I did sneak sensual incidentals like lacy lingerie and a discreet bottle of lubricant into my suitcase. “Pack a sex toy too,” advises Morse, who says we’re more likely to be open to experimentation away from home. We agreed not to bring any work responsibilities on our trip. We’re both screenwriters, so we’re constantly polishing a script or crafting a pitch. I figured that by eliminating the stress of meeting deadlines, we upped the chances of having sex.
Lean into the hotel’s kid activities
Hotels and resorts see you, exhausted parents. Properties are upping their game for young guests with more exciting programming and cooler kids clubs. At the Ojai Valley Inn’s “night camp,” for instance, you can sign the children up for a scavenger hunt followed by dinner, a movie and s’mores. (Surely, that buys you enough time for a romp.) La Quinta Resort & Club in the desert offers junior pickleball clinics, along with massages and facials for tweens and teens up to age 15. At Alisal Ranch in Solvang, kids can hang out at the bar and paint horseshoes or take a riding lesson. Got littler ones? Some clubs, like Kidtopia at the Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, cater to infants (6 months and older) with nurseries on-site. Many hotels also offer babysitting services.
Note that clubs typically cater to the toddler-through-12 set. But there are exceptions, like the teen club at Grand Velas in Los Cabos that programs TikTok challenges, dance-offs at a dedicated nightclub with a DJ and karaoke events. At the Grand Wailea where we stayed, however, teens like my daughter Tess just side-eyed each other in the lobby. There was a family lounge on the property with darts and virtual reality, but it wasn’t a magnet for adolescents during our stay.
“We’re not comfortable getting sitters we don’t know on vacation,” says Pierce, who, instead, might pretend to leave the sunscreen in the room and put her teen daughter in charge to duck away from the hotel pool for a quickie with her husband. Or put the younger girls in a shared tub, but take the bath towels and mat so they can’t interrupt mom and dad in the bedroom. (Clearly, Pierce’s kids are way into self-care.)
For middle school teacher Vanessa Orellana — mom to a daughter, 6, and 1-year-old twins — the windows of opportunity for adult time on vacation call for quiet. “Between hotel beds that squeak and the in-laws’ walls, we’ve identified two golden windows for potential action: nap time and post-bedtime,” she says. “But even then, success is a coin toss. Our 8-year-old could pop up like a ninja, asking for water.”
Be flexible
Life happens, even on vacation. Prepare to pivot to plan B. My husband and I sent our daughter on an errand one morning at the 40-acre Maui resort, but she came back to fetch her AirPods and interrupted our marathon kiss. We shrugged it off and then held hands by the pool. Morse advises: “With kids, you may have to redefine intimacy on your trip. It could be flirting or even just making out after they go to bed.”
Pierce and her husband know their sex will be quick, if it happens at all. One dad of a toddler told me he and his husband have a ritual in which they text erotic messages to each other when they’re on vacation — and then promptly delete them. Just be sure to manage your expectations and laugh at any aborted attempts at intimacy.
“We’ve got an unspoken agreement: no guilt, no grumbling. Just a ‘to be continued’ knowing glance,” says Orellana. “It’s about connection, trust and keeping the spark alive through the sheer chaos of life with little humans.”
In the end, my husband and I did not get lucky. On our final night in Maui, we hit nearby award-winning restaurant Ko, where kids eat for 50% off. Unfortunately, a huge dinner of fresh crudo, lobster tempura, octopus and kobe beef — along with multiple desserts — made us shudder at the idea of any activity. So we had failed at our grand plan. But was our vacation ruined? Not at all. Ultimately, my family bonded in a way that doesn’t come easy with a teen. We swam with turtles, thrift-shopped around upcountry and held hands (for three whole seconds) while watching a sunset.
And on our first night back at home, my husband and I finally had sex. No fancy sheets or room service, but I did shout, “Aloooha!”
CLEVELAND — It had been a while since the Dodgers’ last stress-free win.
Over their previous nine games entering Monday, the team had won just three times — and needed extra-innings after blown ninth-inning saves in two of them, and a late-game go-ahead home run from Teoscar Hernández in the other.
Such theatrics underscored the club’s underwhelming play in recent weeks, with manager Dave Roberts bemoaning everything from poor fundamentals, to continued pitching injuries, to a lineup that had most of all gotten back out of sync.
“We’ve got to kind of lock in our hitting zone,” Roberts said Monday afternoon, “and continue to take good swings.”
In a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Memorial Day, the Dodgers finally did.
While Yoshinobu Yamamoto cruised through a six-inning, two-run start, the club’s lineup waking from a recent lull that had seen them fail to top five runs (excluding extra innings) in each of their last seven games.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, left, runs the bases after leading off the game with a home run against the Cleveland Guardians on May 26.
(David Dermer / Associated Press)
Shohei Ohtani provided an early spark, hitting a leadoff home run for the second-straight game to take the MLB lead with 19 long balls. Andy Pages added an RBI single in the second inning, before the Dodgers mounted two extended rallies in the fifth and sixth, scoring two runs in each inning.
The bullpen was shakier, Alex Vesia having to strand two runners in the seventh before Tanner Scott — coming off two blown saves in his previous three outings — worked around José Ramírez’s second double of the game in the eighth for Cleveland (29-24).
But in the top of the ninth, Will Smith punctuated the night with a home run over the tall left-field wall at Progressive Field to ensure the Dodgers (33-21) got back in the win column.
Chloe Kelly said she considered taking a break from football before Arsenal “put the smile back on my face” and transformed her difficult season “from a real low to a real high”.
Kelly started Saturday’s Champions League final as the Gunners stunned holders Barcelona to win a first European title in 18 years.
The England international came through the Gunners’ youth ranks between 2010 and 2015 and was given a chance back at the club after struggling for game time with Manchester City, making just one start in the WSL before her deadline day loan move to north London.
She said she “wanted to be happy again” in a social media post and then-City boss Gareth Taylor said it was “really disappointing” how the bitter transfer saga between Kelly and the club came to an end.
“I said I was coming to this club to find happiness with football and I have a medal round my neck,” an emotional Kelly told BBC Sport’s Jo Currie. “Every day that I come into the club I’m smiling. They put the smile back on my face so I will forever be grateful for that.
“I took a step to try and make things better for myself and I’m grateful for the people around me that supported me to take that step. This one is for everyone that helped me do that.”
Kelly has made 13 appearances in all competitions since re-joining Arsenal, scoring twice.
She helped the Gunners secure a second-placed WSL finish and now has Saturday’s triumph in Lisbon to celebrate.
“Definitely up there,” Kelly, who scored England’s winning goal in the Euro 2022 final, added on where the victory ranks. “The journey it has taken to get here, it’s definitely been a battle.
“Now to celebrate this moment with the girls, with Arsenal Football Club but also my family that have been there through the dark days to now, I’m just really grateful.”
On whether taking a break from football was a real option before her January move, Kelly said: “It definitely was. I don’t think people understand at times the emotions that sometimes go through people’s minds.
“It’s hard to explain but we’re here now and we’re at the other side of it. It’s football, sometimes there’s high, there’s lows and there’s bits in between. From a real low to a real high, I am very grateful for Renee Slegers.
“The first thing I said to Renee when we beat Lyon in the semi-final was ‘thank you for this opportunity’.”
Kelly’s contract at City expires in June and her loan move was only until the end of the season.
On whether fans can expect to see her in an Arsenal shirt again next season, she added: “Who knows. I just know I have given my all for the club and the club has given their all for me, so I’m always grateful.”
Cristiano Ronaldo is in discussions to play at FIFA’s Club World Cup where Lionel Messi currently headlines the event.
Cristiano Ronaldo is in “discussions” to play at FIFA’s inaugural Club World Cup this summer, according to the president of the sport’s global governing body.
Gianni Infantino says the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward might play in the tournament, which is being staged in the United States in June, because of a unique transfer window.
Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr did not qualify for the tournament, but Infantino suggested that the Portugal star could switch to one of the 32 teams participating in the tournament.
“Cristiano Ronaldo might play in the Club World Cup,” Infantino told online streamer IShowSpeed, whose YouTube channel has more than 39 million subscribers. “There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup, who knows? Still a few weeks’ time, will be fun.”
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in action with Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus during a Champions League match in 2020 [File: Albert Gea/Reuters]
FIFA confirmed on Wednesday that last-minute transfer signings are open to all teams going to the tournament, which fuelled more speculation that one of them will try to sign the 40-year-old Ronaldo on a short-term deal, potentially a loan.
Such a move would be unprecedented in modern football, though it could appeal to FIFA by boosting the profile and ticket sales of an inaugural tournament being played in 11 US cities.
A transfer for Ronaldo would also reunite him and Lionel Messi in the same competition for the first time since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Last October, FIFA invited Messi’s Inter Miami to enter the tournament in the slot that was expected to be reserved for the host nation’s champions. Inter Miami were eliminated in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Speculative reports have linked Ronaldo to the one Saudi club that qualified, Al Hilal, the Brazilian club Palmeiras and Wydad of Morocco, even though that club is currently banned by FIFA from registering new signings.
Transfers can be made from June 1-10 and again from June 27 to July 3, according to exceptional rules FIFA approved in October.
“The objective is to encourage clubs and players whose contracts are expiring to find an appropriate solution to facilitate the players’ participation,” FIFA said in Wednesday’s statement.
He laughed before saying: “Christmas is only in December. But if he came, you can’t say no to a star like that.
“I don’t know anything – I’m just answering the question. But, as I said, coaches always want the best. Ronaldo, even at his age, is still a goal-scoring machine. In a team that creates chance after chance, he would be good.”
Botafogo are owned by American businessman John Textor, who also holds a majority stake in Crystal Palace.
Ronaldo won the Champions League four times during nine seasons with Real Madrid before joining Juventus in 2018.
Real and Juve are among the 12 European clubs that have qualified, which includes Premier League teams Chelsea and Manchester City.
Between them either Ronaldo or Messi won the Ballon d’Or from 2008 to 2017, before Messi won it three more times to give the Argentine forward, 37, a record eight wins.
Messi’s Inter Miami are in the same group as Egypt’s Al Ahly, Portuguese side Porto and Brazilian club Palmeiras.
Pep Guardiola has said he will quit as manager of Manchester City if he is given a big squad to select from after the summer transfer market.
A number of Man City’s senior players were not included in the squad for Tuesday’s 3-1 win against Bournemouth and Guardiola says he is unhappy at leaving so many players out.
Abdukodir Khusanov, Savinho, James McAtee, Claudio Echeverri and Rico Lewis all missed out on Tuesday’s 20-man matchday squad as City moved to third in the Premier League and within a point of Champions League qualification.
But, despite this showing the depth Guardiola has at his disposal, the Spaniard wants to work with a smaller squad.
He said: “I said to the club I don’t want that [a bigger squad]. I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay.”
Guardiola says it is “impossible for my soul” to leave players watching from the stands.
“Maybe [for] three, four months we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After people come back but next season it cannot be like that,” the 54-year-old added.
“As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club. I don’t want that.”
City spent more than £200m on four players in January after suffering a number of key injuries. Kevin De Bruyne is one of those players who will definitely depart in the summer, while the future of Jack Grealish is in doubt.
When asked if it meant more exits were inevitable, Guardiola – who signed a deal keeping him at the club until 2027 – said: “It is a question for the club. I don’t want to have 24, 25, 26 players when everyone is fit. If I have injuries, unlucky, we have some players for the academy and we do it.
Guardiola said a big squad is unstainable and that it is important for “the soul of the team” that his players “create another connection with each other that this season we lost it a bit”.
All Premier League clubs can have a 25-man squad, but this is not an exhaustive list of all players eligible to play. A team can also include under-21 players who are eligible over and above the 25-man squad limit.
Manchester City’s website lists 28 first-team squad members, plus four players who are on loan elsewhere.
Guardiola has explained in the past, external why he prefers to manage a smaller squad, going into the 2023/24 season with 20 senior players.
In comparison, Chelsea’s official website lists 31 players in their squad list, with 21 other players out on loan, Brighton and Tottenham list 29 players, while Wolves name 30 players on their squad list.
Clubs with smaller squads than Manchester City this season include Arsenal with just 24 players and champions Liverpool , Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest with 25 squad players.
Daniel Cruz was brought in from the Burbank-based media and entertainment giant last fall to work some magic with a college operation in need of new concepts. Six consecutive years of running in the red has led to a staggering $219.5-million deficit that won’t be wiped away with the waving of any wand.
One solution might be surprisingly simple: Give the fans what they want, and they’ll keep coming back.
That’s why Cruz has spearheaded efforts to overhaul the school’s ticket operations and build a courtside lounge inside Pauley Pavilion, not to mention maximize revenue from a planned field-level club at the Rose Bowl. They’re all measures intended to enhance the fan experience and build brand loyalty.
“Essentially, what I’m trying to do is just trying to set us up for success and do things differently,” said Cruz, UCLA’s new deputy athletics director and chief revenue officer, “because the old way of how college athletics normally conducts business, it’s not working.”
As part of a partnership scheduled to be announced Tuesday, UCLA is switching from its longstanding in-house ticketing agency to Elevate, which will modernize operations and build a customer database that allows more targeted marketing. Elevate will handle both primary and secondary ticket sales, preventing unaffiliated brokers from undermining sales and devaluing tickets.
There’s also going to be dynamic pricing that will allow lower prices for less desirable games, something that was impossible under the school’s previous antiquated system.
“It’s going to be huge because we are now professionalizing how we go to market, how we price things,” Cruz said. “I get a lot of complaints from fans that they think ticket prices are too high for certain games and they may be right, so how do we pull those levers to make it accessible on games that it’s not full, so we can get people in?”
A new field-level club in the south end zone of the Rose Bowl could create heavy demand at a stadium that is routinely less than half full. The club, set to open in time for the 2026 season, is expected to host a restaurant-bar setup that will allow fans to walk onto the field, watch players come out of a nearby tunnel and grab something to eat before returning to a section of 1,200 plush, extra-wide seats.
The Rose Bowl is planning to build a new field-level club for fans attending UCLA football games.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Rose Bowl has agreed to foot the estimated $20-million construction cost and let UCLA keep the premium seating ticket revenue, Cruz said, as part of a mutually beneficial arrangement. The stadium will utilize the club for other events that it hosts such as concerts.
Given that the Rose Bowl has kept all of the existing suite revenue for UCLA games as part of its lease agreement with the school, the new arrangement could be considered something of a coup for the Bruins.
Another revenue opportunity involves a massive stage on the north side of the stadium overlooking the adjacent country club that will allow UCLA to bring in DJs and musical acts for pregame festivities. UCLA will sell cabana space, food and premium parking to provide a tailgate experience for both football fans and others who just want to have a good time.
“How do we attract fans who maybe don’t normally come to a football game, right?” Cruz said. “It’s a whole-day experience — come, enjoy concierge service with your friends, enjoy a great football game and that atmosphere that we’re trying to generate.”
Additional revenue has already been raised from sponsorships involving players wearing UCLA uniforms as part of new co-branded advertisements; for example, star center Lauren Betts is featured in multiple billboards for La Victoria salsas and sauces.
Cruz also has plans to elevate the fan experience at Pauley Pavilion. He wants to use the existing infrastructure to create a courtside donor lounge that could be in place before the start of next season. The lounge, which would provide a more upscale experience than the Pavilion Club, could come with a naming-rights deal and a membership fee for high-level donors.
There’s also been discussions about revamping the Pavilion Club to provide more segmented experiences; perhaps one section would cater to young alumni with a DJ and open bar while another would serve other alumni who want a more relaxed atmosphere where they can catch up with friends over a pregame meal.
“That’s a really big room, so how do we cut that up and divide that to make a better experience for everybody?” Cruz said. “We’ve got so many folks that we’re trying to cater to and I want to be sensitive to that and I want to create an experience for them that makes it so they want to come back.”
UCLA students cheer during a men’s basketball game against USC at Pauley Pavilion on March 8.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
One development that could be a season away would certainly please fans who have groused about too many empty seats in the lower level being shown on television. Cruz said he wanted to flip the lower-level stands and team benches to the seating configuration that existed before the Pauley Pavilion renovations, allowing the students who pack their section to be showcased on broadcasts.
“That section is always full of students,” Cruz said. “We could be playing Idaho State and it’s full with students all the time, so the rest of the country needs to see that.”
Why not just move the TV cameras? Cruz said it would cost $6 million to transfer all the wiring and fiber optics built into the current platforms that were specially built for the cameras.
Men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin and Cori Close, his women’s basketball counterpart, have agreed to the potential move, Cruz said, as have the fans he’s canvassed about switching seats.
In the meantime, UCLA is partnering with a global sports and entertainment company to improve the in-game experience for fans, including new ways to keep the energy flowing during timeouts while the Bruins are in the midst of a big run instead of relying on scoreboard ads and awkward silences.
Cruz said he’s converting some of his department’s marketing staff into fan experience specialists to improve fan retention.
“How do we create an experience where it’s like, man, that was fun, I want to come back?” Cruz said. “That leads to more revenue and it also leads to a larger pathway for our alumni and students to make them want to come back. How do we create that cycle of, yeah, they care, they want us here, and I want to come back?”
If winning is the greatest promotion in sports, Cruz is trying to show that listening may not be far behind.
Dodger Stadium was eerily quiet for much of Monday night. And not just because whole sections of the upper deck sat largely empty.
In a 9-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers didn’t just drop their fourth straight game, but turned in a performance that elicited as many boos as anything else at Chavez Ravine, stumbling to a season-worst losing streak on a night they did little right in any facet of the game.
There was bad defense early. In the first inning, center fielder Hyeseong Kim lost a fly ball in the twilight sky, leading to two runs that would have been unearned had it not been ruled a double. In the second, third baseman Max Muncy spiked a throw to first on a slow-rolling grounder that led to another preventable score, even though his miscue was also ruled a base hit.
The pitching wasn’t great either. Left-handed opener Jack Dreyer followed Muncy’s bad throw with an even wilder pitch to the backstop in the next at-bat, advancing the runner to set up an eventual sacrifice fly. Landon Knack took over in the third and promptly gave up a pair of two-run home runs, one to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a down-and-in slider and another to Gabriel Moreno on an inside fastball.
Even the few bright spots offensively weren’t close to being enough.
Mookie Betts hit two home runs in his continued search to break out of a slow start. Shohei Ohtani retook sole possession of the major league lead in long balls by whacking his 17th of the season. But all three blasts came with no one on base. And they represented the Dodgers’ only hits of the night against Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who was otherwise unbothered in a six-inning effort that included no strikeouts (or even a single swing-and-miss from a Dodgers hitter) but plenty of fine plays from an athletic defense behind him.
“It’s hard to start games behind before you take an at-bat,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve given up runs in the first inning. We got to put up that zero and kind of get a chance to get the game going.”
While shaky defense and inconsistent production at the plate have been bugaboos for the Dodgers (29-19), it is the team’s increasingly pitching struggles that have stood out most during this four-game skid — the club’s longest since losing five in a row in late May last season.
With the loss to the Diamondbacks (26-22), the Dodgers own a team earned-run average of 4.28, which ranks 22nd in the majors and is their highest at this point in a campaign since 2010.
The main root of the problem is easy to identify. Starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki remain on the injured list, forcing the club into plans such as Monday with a rookie in Dreyer opening for a depth arm in Knack. The bullpen has been shorthanded, too, with Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates all injured, as well.
“You go through certain situations like this, it’s just tough to find a way to get back healthy and get our guys back out there,” Betts said. “But we’re battling with what we got.”
Arizona’s Gabriel Moreno, right, celebrates with teammate Josh Naylor after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning Monday.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
The good news is that several of those sidelined options are on the mend. Glasnow and Snell are both progressing in their throwing programs, with Glasnow “a tick ahead of Blake,” according to Roberts. Sasaki is expected to begin his throwing program during the team’s upcoming road trip. And Ohtani, who has been throwing regular bullpen sessions all season, is beginning to build up his pitch count as the club targets his return to the mound sometime around the All-Star break.
But in the meantime, the Dodgers have still expected more from their currently healthy group.
“It’s not the staff we thought we’d have this season, but I feel that what we still do [have], and have done in the past with injuries, we’re not doing,” Roberts said. “In the sense of getting ahead of hitters, and keeping them in the ballpark.”
And to do that, Roberts cited one place to start.
“On first glance, we need to be better at getting ahead in counts,” he said. “It doesn’t take a deep dive to see we start 1-and-0 quite often. When you do that, it makes pitching tough.”
Indeed, the Dodgers entered the night 24th in the majors with a 59.8% first-strike rate, a problem Roberts believes has led to too many long innings, and too large a workload for the staff.
“The 30-pitch innings just don’t play. It’s not sustainable,” he said. “And that starts with getting strike one. That ultimately goes to our entire pitching staff.”
The Dodgers were better in that area Monday, starting 27 of 49 at-bats with a strike. But it didn’t help. Dreyer needed 38 pitches to get through his two innings. Knack threw 106 to get through the next five (including 16 in one at-bat to Moreno in the fifth).
And when long reliever Matt Sauer took over in the eighth and gave up a two-run home run to Geraldo Perdomo, much of a season-low (and atypically quiet) crowd of 41,372 began streaming for the exits, not sticking around for one of the Dodgers’ flattest showings this year.
Cleverley does face competition for the job from fellow Englishman Will Still.
Still has left Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens following the end of the season in order to move back to England.
Football teams that controversially changed their badge
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Will Still is in the running for the St Mary’s roleCredit: Getty
Still’s parting message to RC Lens
Here is what Will Still told RC Lens fans about his decision to leave…
He said: “I won’t be the coach of RC Lens next season.
“It was the last season at Bollaert, for multiple reasons.
“The main reason that pushed me to make this decision is the fact that I need to go home.
“Everyone is well aware of what happened in my life. That’s why.
“I had a lot of fun, I think we achieved great things despite everything. I’ve been in France for four years, four years that I’ve experienced intense moments.
“The logical choice is that I get closer to my wife for her well-being too.”
May 17 (UPI) — A man with a long gun entered a Las Vegas Athletic Club gym Friday afternoon and killed an employee and injured three others before police shot and killed him.
The shooting occurred at about 1:30 p.m. PDT at the LVAC location on Lake Mead and Rainbow Blvd. in northwest Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Athletic club officials on Saturday identified the deceased shooting victim as longtime employee Edgar Quinonez.
“Edgar was a beloved part of the LVAC family for 15 years,” the LVAC said Saturday in an Instagram post.
“In that time he became so much more than a colleague. He was a source of kindness, dedication and positivity,” the LVAC said. “His presence touched the lives of so many members and teammates, and his impact will never be forgotten.
“We are praying for Edgar’s family, friends and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be deeply missed.
Local police responded to the scene within minutes of the shooting and shot the suspect, who was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
The three surviving shooting victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Police have not revealed the shooter’s name or a possible motive for the attack.
Ruben Amorim plunged his own Manchester United future into doubt after the latest Old Trafford debacle.
The Portuguese manager’s admission that he is struggling to find a solution for his team’s shocking season was a clear sign of the uncertainty at the heart of the club.
But the bigger question marks will only be resolved in Bilbao next week. A Europa League Final win for United over Tottenham will mean far more than just the trophy and a silver sheen to cleanse many of the black clouds of despair.
But defeat in the Basque country will have ramifications to last far beyond the summer. In simple terms, it is about cold, hard cash. The reality is that winning the Europa League will ensure a looming black hole is filled.
If United do not triumph in San Mames, the immediate cost will be clear. A £10million cut in sponsorship revenue, as part of the contract with kit suppliers adidas.
No European football at all, meaning they will miss out on around £49m up front through Uefa’s complicated revenue distribution system plus the £20m-plus in gate receipts from the minimum four home games.
And if, as now seems likely, they do finish 16th in the Prem table, that will mean £23.8m less in TV-related prize money than for last term’s eight-placed finish.
That all adds up to more than £100m, before the prize money for progress through the Champions League – up to a further potential £95m or so – is taken into account. Less income equals less money to spend.
