lionel messi

When Steve Cherundolo announced last spring that he would be leaving LAFC at the end of the season to rejoin his wife’s family in her native Germany, he seemed excited about the reunion.

Six months later, with LAFC preparing to enter the MLS playoffs, that reunion is just a loss away. So now Cherundolo, who took LAFC to the MLS Cup final twice in his first three seasons as coach, is hoping to put off that departure for another couple of months.

“I’d love to stay until early December,” he said. “That would be ideal. That is what we’re all trying to achieve at LAFC.”

And that appears well within reach for LAFC (17-8-9), which has six wins and 19 points in its last eight games, the last a 2-2 draw Saturday in Colorado. As a result LAFC, the No. 3 seed in the conference, will enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the West and arguably the best team in MLS since the mid-summer acquisition of forward Son Heung-min.

LAFC has lost just one of the 10 games the former Tottenham captain has played in, with Son scoring nine goals and assisting on three others. He has also provided a big boost to winger Denis Bouanga, who scored 11 times in his last 10 games, giving LAFC the most dynamic scoring tandem in the league.

LAFC will open the best-of-three conference quarterfinals next weekend against Austin (13-13-8) at BMO Stadium. The second leg will be played in Texas with a third game, if necessary, in Los Angeles.

Austin is one of just two teams that beat LAFC twice this season, though it enters the postseason having lost three of its last four. Cherundolo said none of those numbers matter now. Not only do regular-season records get thrown out for the playoffs, but even the rules change. In the first round of the MLS postseason, for example, games that are tied at the end of regulation go straight to penalty kicks.

“It’s a new scenario. So it does change the way you play a little bit,” Cherundolo said. “I don’t think current form has a ton to do with it. Last season there were some surprises in the first round of playoffs.

“We’ll do our very best to make sure that doesn’t happen to us.”

Should LAFC, which has never lost in the first round of the playoffs under Cherundolo, make it past Austin it will face the winner of the Vancouver-Dallas series in the conference semifinals. That could be a matchup between Son and Vancouver’s Thomas Muller, who has seven goals and three assists since joining the Whitecaps from German power Bayern Munich two months ago.

The Western Conference playoffs will open with Wednesday’s wild-card match between Portland and Real Salt Lake. The winner of that game will meet conference champion San Diego in the first round. The other final first-round series will see No. 4 seed Minnesota face fifth-seeded Seattle.

Regardless of who reaches the MLS Cup, for the 13th consecutive season the league will not have a repeat winner. The Galaxy (7-18-9), which won the title last season, were eliminated from playoff contention a month ago and finished the season with franchise-worst totals for wins (seven) and points (30) in a full season while matching the record for most losses with 18.

They did end on a high note, however, beating Minnesota 2-1 in their season finale for their third win in their final four games. That allowed them to escape the conference cellar and finish two points ahead of last-place Sporting Kansas City (7-20-7).

Messi wins Golden Boot

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring against Atlanta on Oct. 11.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

Still think Lionel Messi doesn’t care about MLS?

Locked in a tight battle for the league scoring title entering the final month of the season, Messi took his game to another level — if that’s possible — and scored five times in Inter Miami’s final two matches to claim the Golden Boot by a wide margin over Bouanga.

Messi had a hat trick against Nashville on Saturday, putting the game away with a third goal in the 81st minute to finish with 29 goals in 28 games. That’s the fourth-best single-season total in MLS history. Bouanga finished with a career-best 24 goals, tying him for second place with Nashville’s Sam Surridge.

Messi also had five assists in three October games to finish with a league-high 19, tying him for fourth place on the all-time list there as well. Messi’s 48 goals contributions (29 goals, 19 assists) is second all-time to Carlos Vela, who scored 34 times and had 15 assists for LAFC in 2019.

Eastern Conference playoff field

MLS bills the final day of the regular season “Decision Day” because it’s the day the postseason field is determined. But in the Eastern Conference, the nine playoff qualifiers had already been decided by the final weekend. So had the conference champion, with the Philadelphia Union (20-8-6) having secured the league’s best overall record and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs two weeks ago.

Still, some playoff pairings were determined on Decision Day.

With its win over Montreal, Cincinnati (20-9-5) grabbed the second seed in the postseason tournament on a tiebreaker over Inter Miami (19-7-8). Both teams finished with 65 points, but Cincinnati had one more regular-season victory.

As a result Cincinnati will open the playoffs against seventh-seeded Columbus (14-8-12) while Inter Miami will face No. 6 Nashville (16-12-6).

With its win over Philadelphia, Charlotte (19-13-2) clinched a fourth-place finish and home field for its playoff opener with New York City (17-12-5) next weekend. The two wild-card teams, Chicago (15-11-8) and Orlando (14-9-11), will meet Wednesday in Chicago with the winner facing the Union in the conference quarterfinals.

HE IS the English striker formerly of Stoke, Yeovil and Weymouth in a  shootout for the MLS Golden Boot with Lionel Messi.

Sam Surridge, now of Nashville SC, is on 23 league strikes, just one behind the Greatest Of All Time — as well as LAFC’s Denis Bouanga — in the Stateside goalscoring stakes.

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The ex-England Under-21 international has the odds stacked against him as he has only one game left to take the crown, as opposed to Messi’s two and Bouanga’s three.

And, in an exciting twist of fixture fate, that solitary match is at home to the iconic Argentinian’s Inter Miami a week today.

Yet Surridge, who played in the Premier League with Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, told SunSport: “I’ve probably got to get a hat-trick so it’s not going to be easy.

“But at the same time I’ll always back myself to score and it would be an amazing achievement.

“We’re fighting at a really good point in our league. We just won the cup and we need to get into the top four to get a good play-off spot.

“I’ll do as much as I can to do it.

“It’s great. Just to mention my name along with his is a huge achievement.”

Berkshire-born Surridge came through the ranks at Bournemouth under Eddie Howe and had formative lower-league loans at Weymouth, Poole Town, Yeovil, Oldham and Swansea.

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He had a half a season at Stoke before moving to  Forest, where he played 20 Premier League games in 2022-23 but netted only once.

His world has changed completely, however, since moving to the other side of the Pond in 2023.

He is now the main man with Tennessee side Nashville.

Though he has Messi to thank for convincing him to make the revitalising switch in the first place.

Surridge will hope his upcoming meeting with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner goes better than the last one, when Miami won 2-1 thanks to Messi’s double — including a sublime free-kick.

The 27-year-old added: “At first I didn’t want to come here because I just wanted to stay in England.

“But then I saw Messi join Inter Miami and I knew they were going to host the World Cup and the size of the league was going to grow.

“Since I’ve been here, the standard has been getting better and better every year.

“Going into that game against Miami in July, we were on a ten-game unbeaten streak, I was on 16, he was on 14.

‘IT WAS CRAZY’

“I remember we gave a foul away on the edge of the box and you just knew he was going to score from it.

“It was crazy — you knew exactly where he was going to put the ball. And he did.

“You’re trying to focus on the game but at the same time you know he’s playing. It’s not easy.

“He is coming to the end of his career but he only won the Ballon d’Or two years ago.”

Surridge has been relishing his role as Nashville’s go-to guy up top and recently scored the match-winning goal to clinch the US Open Cup — America’s equivalent of the FA Cup.

It was the first piece of silverware in Tennessee in a long time, although Surridge was sent off right at the end of the game for two late yellows.

Surridge puts his inspired form in part down to the recent birth of son Noah.

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He added: “In the past, I’ve probably let it eat me up when I’ve had a bad game or not scored a goal.

“But now as one game is gone, I’m straight on to the next, back home with my family and being a dad.

“That’s a massive factor (in my form) this season, giving me that renewed focus.” Surridge is experiencing week in, week out the soaring temperatures that Harry Kane and the rest of the England team will have to deal with at the World Cup next summer.

And forward Surridge, who played with the likes of Marc Guehi for the Young Lions, said: “I know England are going to find it hard to cope with the weather over here because it’s not easy adjusting to it.

“There’s going to be a lot of South American teams that are used to it.

“Especially when you go to places like Miami, and places more south of Nashville, it’s not easy to play in the heat. There’s going to be a lot of toing and froing, sitting off and trying to break teams down.

“They should be pushing the games back because we play at 7pm most games and it’s still ridiculously hot.

“At the Club World Cup, I’ve seen them play at games at 2pm and 3pm in the 30-degree heat and it’s almost impossible.”

‘PICKING THE MOMENTS’

So what would his advice be for Thomas Tuchel’s side braving the heat?

The striker replied: “It’s not saving yourself in games, it’s more about picking the moments.

“Because as soon as you get into a full-on sprint in that heat, it’s hard to get your breath back.

“I think managers will set up their teams differently for that reason.

“You see pressing teams where they’re full-on pressing and, as soon as they break down, they’re going to struggle.

“It’s about conserving your energy where you can.”

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LAFC’s signing of South Korean star Son Heung-min earlier this month is a major coup not just for the team. It’s also the latest in a spate of acquisitions that has brought an unprecedented level of talent and attention to MLS as the league nears the end of its 30th anniversary season.

Since Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami shortly after winning the 2022 World Cup, MLS has welcomed more than two dozen global standouts, from World Cup champions Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud, Rodrigo De Paul and Thomas Mueller to Germany’s Marco Reus and Uruguay’s Luis Suárez.

Some were a bit past their prime but others, including Messi, have proven to be dominant MLS players. The addition of Son, arguably the best Asian player of all time, opens a new chapter for the league and U.S. soccer as the country prepares to welcome the World Cup back next summer.

With that as a backdrop, here’s one man’s list of the 10 most important signings in MLS history:

JAVIER MASCHERANO reverted to managing Inter Miami from his PHONE in the stands after being sent off against Tigres.

The former Liverpool midfielder was incensed after stoppage time in the first half of the Leagues Cup quarter-finals went over five minutes long.

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Anfield great Luis Suarez had opened the scoring in Fort Lauderdale from the penalty spot after 23 minutes but only after a lengthy VAR check.

Referee Mario Escobar added the time on before the break – leaving Miami boss Mascherano fuming.

As a result, he was given his marching orders and forced to watch the second half from the stands.

But cameras revealed the ex-Barcelona man talking tactics to his assistant Lucas Rodriguez Pagano on his mobile phone.

The 41-year-old – who retired in 2020 before moving into management with Argentina’s youth sides two years later – also barked orders from his seat.

Mascherano was breaking the rules by doing so – with his ejection meant to prohibit any contact with his team.

Angel Correa levelled the scoring in the cup on the 67th minute.

But once again Suarez – who joined former Barca team-mates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to Miami last year – came to the rescue.

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The Uruguayan forward – who spent three seasons at Liverpool before joining Barca in 2014 – converted from the spot again.

Messi – out of the cup tie due to injury – celebrated from his pitchside box with his son and Suarez’s boy Benjamin.

Miami progress to the last four of the tournament and sit fifth in the Eastern Conference of the MLS.

Mascherano’s other assistant Javier Morales – holding the post-match press conference – was probed on the red card.

Morales said: “The referee added four minutes and we ended up playing six minutes. So we argued about the time.

“We’re human, we start to talk and the referee said Javier got a red card and that’s it. We didn’t have much information.

“We complained about the time, he said four minutes and next they’re playing six.”

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Already the home of Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles is now also the home of South Korea’s Shohei Ohtani.

Like Ohtani, Son Heung-min has been the most popular athlete in his home country by a wide margin for close to a decade. Like Ohtani, Son has a pleasant disposition that has endeared him to people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Son was introduced as the latest addition to LAFC at a news conference on Wednesday at BMO Stadium, and he was everything he was made out to be.

He came across as sincere.

He was warm.

He was funny.

“I’m here to win,” Son said. “I will perform and definitely show you some exciting …

“Are we calling it football or soccer?”

None of this means Son will turn LAFC into the Dodgers overnight, of course. By this point, Major League Soccer and its teams understand that profile players aren’t transformative figures as much as they are building blocks. Son will be the newest, and perhaps most solid, block that will be stacked on the foundation established by the club’s first designated player, the now-retired Carlos Vela.

Outside of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there might not be a player in the world who could be of a greater value than Son to LAFC, which continues to fight for relevance on multiple fronts. There was a reason the transfer fee paid by LAFC to Tottenham Hotspur of England was the highest in MLS history, a reported $26 million.

“Son’s arrival marks a new chapter, not just for LAFC but for the league and for football in the United States,” general manager John Thorrington said. “He brings not only incredible quality on the field but a magnetic presence off it, someone who inspires millions around the world and now will do so here in Los Angeles.”

The most talented Mexican player of his generation, Vela forged an immediate connection with the community, carving out a place for LAFC in the congested Los Angeles sports market. Son will do the same, as this city is home to a large Korean community.

Supporters of Mexico’s national soccer team also share a fondness of Son because of a late goal he scored against Germany in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, which enabled El Tri to advance to the round of 16.

More than ethnic background, Vela’s success with LAFC was driven by performance. Son is expected to deliver on that front as well. Son might be 33, but he remains a world-class attacker. He should be one of MLS’ best players from the moment he steps on the field, if not the best after Messi of Inter Miami.

“We can say I’m old, but I still have good physicality, good legs and still I have good quality,” Son said.

South Korean national team Son Heung-min poses for a photo with his new LAFC jersey.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

LAFC has become a model franchise in MLS not just because of how it markets itself. The club makes smart soccer decisions and Son is the latest.

What will distinguish Son from Vela is the opportunity he will present LAFC to build its global brand.

“From the early days of building this club, we’ve dreamt of building a club that would win trophies and make a major positive impact in our community and Los Angeles, but also make a mark on the world stage of global football,” lead managing owner Bennett Rosenthal said.

As much success as it has enjoyed domestically, as much attention as it received for participating in the recent Club World Cup, LAFC doesn’t have as much international name recognition as Inter Miami, which employs Messi; or the Galaxy, for which David Beckham played; or even the New York Cosmos, which made its name by signing Pele in the 1970s.

Son played 10 seasons with Tottenham, and by one estimate, the club had 12 million supporters in South Korea — or about one in four people in the country. Koreans traveled to London to watch Son play for Tottenham, just as many Japanese people travel to watch Ohtani at Dodger Stadium. Korean companies sponsored the Spurs.

The eyes of South Korea have shifted to LAFC. The team scheduled Son’s introductory news conference for 2 p.m. local time — or 6 a.m. in South Korea. An estimated 40 Korean journalists were issued credentials to cover the event.

Son acknowledged that as he prepared for life after Tottenham, LAFC was “not my first choice.” A conversation with Thorrington after the season changed his mind.

“He showed me the destination where I should be,” Son said.

Son attended LAFC’s Leagues Cup victory over Tigres of Mexico on Tuesday night and received a loud ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard.

“It was just insane,” he said. “I just wanted to run into the pitch.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass presents new LAFC star Son Heung-min with a certificate of recognition during an introductory news conference on Wednesday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Son will be reunited with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his former teammate at Tottenham.

“He’s back to [being] my captain,” Son said. “So I have to say something good about him because otherwise in the locker room, he’s just going to kill me.”

Son laughed.

His personality will play in Los Angeles, just as it did in London. He will make LAFC a known commodity in South Korea, perhaps beyond. He will further enhance a structure that was built by Vela, ensuring the team’s next star will have an even greater platform on which to perform. He won’t be as prominent locally as Ohtani or Luka Doncic, but he doesn’t have to be.

SERGIO AGUERO brutally trolled Cristiano Ronaldo for being absent from the Club World Cup after meeting the footie icon’s biggest fan, iShowSpeed.

The revamped 32-team tournament got underway early on Sunday morning, with Inter Miami and Al-Ahly lighting the blue touch paper.

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Despite the competition now consisting of 32 teams, Ronaldo‘s Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the stateside competition.

He could’ve played in the tournament had he joined one of the participating teams on a short-term deal.

But the 40-year-old opted against doing that, much to the disappointment of American streamer iShowSpeed.

And CR7 was on the receiving end of several shots from Aguero during a live stream with social media sensation Speed.

Aguero asked Speed: “You’re a very big fan of Cristiano, no?”

In response to Speed’s confirmation of his Ronaldo fandom, former Argentina international Aguero said: “I respect it, it’s OK.

“He’s a good player. I prefer [Lionel] Messi, of course.”

Aguero then stuck the knife into Ronaldo by sarcastically asking Speed: “Ronaldo is playing here now at the Club World Cup or no?

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“Maybe he’ll have to watch on TV.”

Speed leapt to the defence of Portuguese superstar Ronaldo, insisting the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will guide Portugal to glory in the 2026 World Cup.

Aguero sarcastically then asked the 20-year-old: “[Ronaldo] just won the [Euros] no?

“Ah the Nations League… congratulations.”

CRISTIANO RONALDO’S attitude towards fans can’t be knocked – even when they accidentally knock him!

The Manchester United legend won new admirers for the way he dealt with a supporter catching him on the shin with his wheelchair.

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Viewers loved the amusing exchange as Ronaldo ended up with a smile almost as big as his bank balance.

It began an eventful night for Ronaldo, who was outside Portugal’s team hotel at the time of the ‘collision’.

The Al-Nassr striker was later grabbed by a pitch invader as he warmed up at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena to face Germany in the Nations League semi-final.

And he then drilled Portugal’s clincher in a 2-1 comeback win – thanks to his 137th international goal midway through the second half.

Understandably the 40-year-old looked ecstatic.

But he was in high spirits too during his earlier hotel encounter.

Wearing shorts and training gear, Ronaldo walked over to sign an autograph.

And as he was preparing to scribble his name, the fan’s wheelchair nudged  forward and hit the five-time Ballon d’Or winner on the right leg.

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Ronaldo rubbed his shin as he smiled and shared a joke with the fan.

It’s just possible the ex-Real Madrid winger was mischievously pretending to have been fouled – as contact looked minimal.

And he then finished scribbling his signature before posing for a selfie with the man.

One fan responded to the clip on social media by saying: “Massive respect to CR7 who made the supporters day.”

Another viewer wrote: “Ronaldo down to earth.”

“I have to respect him for this,” posted a third.

Many fans still relentlessly argue online over Ronaldo’s GOAT claims compared to those of  Lionel Messi.

But Ron’s ‘bumpy’ exchange even earned grudging backing from supporters of his great rival!

One said: “As someone who prefers Messi’s play style this is why you gotta respect Ronaldo, class human being.”

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.