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Lionel Messi helped to inspire Inter Miami to a historic MLS Cup triumph, but the Argentine GOAT was not really in a party mood when wild post-match celebrations were taken in. Club co-owner Sir David Beckham formed part of those, as he led a conga line, but Messi – who has enhanced his status as the most decorated player of all-time – looked like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.

Historic win: Inter Miami land MLS Cup in 2025

The Herons have savoured MLS Cup glory for the first time, with impressive progress being made over the course of five years since becoming another expansion franchise in 2020. Acquiring eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi in 2023 represented a notable coup for the club.

He helped them to Leagues Cup success a matter of weeks after arriving in South Florida, before claiming the Supporters’ Shield in record-breaking style last season. Inter Miami have now landed the ultimate prize, with Vancouver being seen off in the 2025 MLS Cup final.

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The contest took place at Chase Stadium, as the Herons prepare to bid farewell to that venue and move into a new purpose-built home for 2026. They delivered the perfect send-off when overcoming Thomas Muller and the Whitecaps.

Messi was not among the goals in a 3-1 win over Vancouver, but delivered Golden Boot-winning exploits during the regular season – finding the target on 43 occasions across all competitions.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain playmaker now has 47 major titles to his name. He was full of smiles after hoisting the MLS Cup aloft as captain of Inter Miami. Beckham was on hand – alongside wife Victoria – to join in with those celebrations.

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Getty ImagesBack for more: Messi under contract through 2028

The party carried on long after confetti had been cleared from the field, with Inter Miami’s squad getting the chance to let their hair down alongside friends and family. Beckham was front and centre again, with the Manchester United and England legend leading players in a conga as drinks flowed.

Messi was dragged into that performance, seemingly against his wishes. The evergreen 38-year-old looked less than impressed at being forced to parade alongside Sergio Busquets and Rodrigo De Paul.

While not really being in the party spirit, Messi will be back for more with Inter Miami next season. He has committed to a new three-year contract that will take him through 2028. The all-time great also has a World Cup title defence with Argentina on his agenda, with the expectation being that he will form part of the Albiceleste’s plans for the major tournament that is heading to the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.

Batter set to link up with Dubai Capitals in December but hopes to impress during Ashes warm-up fixture

Matt Roller13-Oct-2025

Jordan Cox, the newly-crowned PCA men’s player of the year, will leave England Lions’ tour to Australia early to take up a lucrative contract with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20.Cox missed out on selection for England’s 16-man Ashes squad after they deemed Ollie Pope to be sufficient wicketkeeping cover for Jamie Smith. He will have a chance to impress Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes first-hand when playing for the Lions in England’s only warm-up fixture but, barring an injury, will arrive in Dubai before the ILT20 starts on December 2.”We have got an agreement,” Cox said at last week’s Toyota PCA Awards. “I won’t be at the Lions as long as people think. I will be there for the first game, maybe the second. It’s mainly to help the England boys get ready for the Test matches, which is the most important thing. When they don’t need me, they will flick me off to Dubai.”The Capitals signed Cox as a replacement player before the ILT20’s recent auction and he is understood to be one of the league’s highest earners, with a contract worth around US$250,000. His exact itinerary is yet to be confirmed, but he is expected to leave the Lions tour before they play Australia A in Brisbane on December 5.After missing out on a Test debut there last winter with an ill-timed thumb injury, Cox is back in New Zealand with England’s T20I squad ahead of the start of the series on Saturday. He capped an excellent summer for Essex and Oval Invincibles with a maiden international half-century in Ireland last month, and is anticipating a busy winter.Brydon Carse hopes his injury problems are behind him, going into the Ashes•Getty Images

“There is some England stuff I’d love to be a part of,” he said, “but if not, there’s a few franchise competitions and I’ll have some fun. My aim is to play Test cricket, but I wouldn’t wish an injury on anyone. If I get a chance, it would be awesome.”It will be nice to show Stokes, Baz and Keysy [Rob Key]. They haven’t watched me live much in red-ball [cricket]. They have come to Hundred or T20 games, but I don’t imagine they are coming to much four-day cricket. Maybe they will see something different that they like – or not – and I’d like to show them [what I can do] in the flesh. That would be really good.”I was close to a Test call-up but hopefully I will get closer. It will be nice to be on the Lions and try to score a few runs against the England bowlers to show them I’m capable… You always notice more outside of the nets: do they mingle well with the group? Are they polite, well-mannered? All that sort of stuff you need to be if you want to be an England player.”Related

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Meanwhile, Brydon Carse – who, like Cox, has arrived in New Zealand ahead of Saturday’s first T20I – has revealed that he has stockpiled specially modified bowling boots ahead of this winter’s tours. Carse struggled with an infected toe last winter and churned through pairs of spikes this summer as he tried to avoid cutting it back open.Carse said he had “absolutely no problems” with his toe this summer, and said that his sponsors have been an “unbelievable” help. “They’ve kitted me out with enough pairs of boots to go away,” he said. “They’ve started cutting holes into my boot for me, specifically made for me, which has been a massive help.”I’ve got a little hole in the second toe [area of the boot]… During that India Test series, I struggled in the first couple of games. I probably went through five or six pairs during the first two Tests. New Balance have been really supportive with me. As long as they keep churning out pairs of boots, I’ll be happy.”Carse spent two weeks training at Loughborough before travelling and said that Stokes and Mark Wood are progressing well in their recovery from injuries: “Ben is looking near enough 100% fit, and so is Mark. It’s exciting to see where they have got to after their setbacks during the summer. They will be raring to go come Australia time.”

Newcastle United have now reignited their interest in James Trafford, who has reportedly made his feelings clear about a potential move away from Manchester City in January.

The Magpies could certainly do with a lift in the winter window amid their current struggles. Eddie Howe’s side have won just three of their opening 11 games in the Premier League so far this season and are paying the price for a chaotic summer.

After defeat against Brentford, the international break couldn’t have been better-timed. It’s allowed record signing Nick Woltemade to find the back of the net for Germany once again and has granted Howe the time he needs to find a solution for his side’s problems.

The towering 23-year-old has been one of the few bright sparks for Newcastle since arriving in the summer, but Alan Shearer still believes he can still go up a few levels.

Speaking after Newcastle’s loss against Brentford, the Premier League’s record goalscorer said: “I’ve said before that as good as Nick Woltemade is with the ball at his feet, he is a problem for Newcastle because he’s not the quickest, and he can’t press, and he doesn’t run in behind.

“Eddie’s teams have always done that. Look at what Alexander Isak did or look at what Callum Wilson did, they all pressed and ran behind. But this guy can’t do that, and that’s a problem for Newcastle.”

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That said, it would be harsh to suggest that Woltemade is the Magpies’ biggest problem. Before anything, they must address the form of their wingers and perhaps even return for some missed targets such as Trafford from the summer.

Newcastle reignite James Trafford move

According to TeamTalk, Newcastle have now re-opened talks with Trafford via his representatives, as they a January deal with Man City.

The goalkeeper rejected the chance to join the Magpies in the summer, but has since been made to regret his decision after City signed Gianluigi Donnarumma so soon after his return to the Etihad.

Despite interest from Tottenham and West Ham, it is believed Newcastle’s ‘advanced talks’ from the summer, their pull and Saudi-backed ambition hands them an ‘edge’ in the race for his signature — making Howe’s side favourites.

He’s reportedly desperate to leave the Manchester club in an attempt to keep hold of his place in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad. Newcastle, as a result, are moving ahead of the winter window.

If the 23-year-old could turn back time, then he could be a Newcastle player right now. He returned to Man City ready to take Ederson’s place, but was simply sold a dream by Pep Guardiola and others who quickly welcomed their true replacement for the Brazilian in Donnarumma.

Now, he arguably needs Newcastle more than they need him. With Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope providing them with solid options, Trafford’s arrival would be more of a luxury than a necessity at this stage.

Nonetheless, having been described as “world-class” by Burnley boss Scott Parker last season, the young shot-stopper is still undoubtedly a player full of potential in the Premier League.

Newcastle now ready to race Barcelona to sign De Bruyne-esque talent

Counterattacking 77 suggests middle order is his natural berth – even if he doesn’t want to give up first-drop

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Nov-2024Despite playing 19 Tests together, day two at Hagley Oval was just the eighth time Ollie Pope and Harry Brook have batted together.You’d think a pair who have been locked at No. 3 and No. 5 for the last two years would be finishing each other’s sentences by now, even if the bloke sandwiched between them has been hogging one end. A four-ball duck going into lunch meant partnership-blocker Joe Root was no longer a problem.It was only at the fall of the next wicket – Ben Duckett – that Brook and Pope found themselves together at 71 for 4, New Zealand still ahead by 277 on first innings runs. Over the next 31 overs, they made up for lost time, with an engaging 151-stand that probably made them think “we should do this more often”.Related

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There’s a reason they have not, and it’s because Pope has not been able to stick around for long enough. In fact, eight out of the 32 times Brook has walked to the middle, Pope has been walking the other way.With Pope shifted down to six as the designated wicketkeeper, a union had better odds. Nevertheless, success was not guaranteed.This was only the fourth time they have combined for more than 50 runs, and only the second for a hundred. The first of those was a remarkable 176 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, the pair going at 7.08 an over as England blitzed 506 for 4 on the opening day.Pope was the far more convincing of the two here, more dominant (77 runs to 64) and much less streaky. Glenn Phillips pulled off a stunner of a one-handed catch at backward point, plucking a full-blooded cut out of the air while horizontal to see Pope off. The same Phillips who was responsible for the first of four drops off Brook, who had 18 at the time. Brook finished the day unbeaten with 132 and a pang of guilt.”Brooky, as I was walking off, came and apologised to me,” Pope revealed at stumps. “I was wondering why he made a beeline for me.”A three through the covers off his 62nd ball brought up the century stand with Brook, and also took Pope past 55 – the total number of runs he had managed in the previous series, against Pakistan.Upon returning home from averaging 11 across five innings, he put in the work and consulted England legend Alec Stewart, a long-time confidant at Surrey. It was an open discussion rather than an array of sessions in the nets – “I didn’t get him on the dog stick, he’s too high up for that, I think.” Pope wanted familiar eyes to establish what was going wrong.”It was more about ‘what does it look like when I’m at my best’ because that was a frustrating thing, I wasn’t getting to 20 or 30, to allow myself to go on to that big score.

“I want to be number three, I want to keep trying to make it mine. I’ve had too many low scores there but I’ve also managed to put together some good knocks this year batting at three. It’s a job I want to do going forward”

“We talked about having that calmness at the crease. When I’m playing well there’s that clarity in how I want to play, not trying to rush my way to 20 or 30.”There were cuts over the slips – most of them deliberate – including one from a front-foot square driving position that forced him to readjust after the ball bounced more than expected. He pounced on any width, a sound gameplay given how diligent New Zealand’s seamers had been with their straight lines. On a Friday littered with rogue pull shots, his were immaculate.Did he seem calmer? A bit. Though perhaps even that is all about perception. What might seem skittish and chaotic at No. 3 is brave and proactive at No. 6, especially given the situation that greeted him at the crease. Pope, however, declared he would have done little different had he walked out in the fourth over – when Zak Crawley was dismissed – instead of the 22nd.”If I was batting at three, I’d have tried to play exactly the same way as today. The biggest difference at three is you set the tone a lot more, if you play well you can put your team in a really strong position.”The fun thing at six, you might come in a 350 for 4 and it might be your job to push the game forward. [Or] you can get your team out a tricky situation. Both roles are good fun, just slightly different.”Different roles, different requirements. But it does seem Pope’s natural disposition is for either progressing a good situation or – as he did here – counterattacking out of a bad one. A thoroughbred greyhound has not won Best In Show at Crufts in 67 years, but let it loose into a final bend and watch it rinse a retriever.While that is a tad reductive, it is worth noting Pope was reared as a six. It was from that position he flourished for Surrey at the start of his career, with 885 runs, four centuries and an average of 68.07.Pope cuts the ball away behind square•Phil Walter/Getty ImagesA Test debut against India at Lord’s arrived in the 2018 summer – at No. 4. His maiden innings ended up being the first time he had batted in the opening 20 overs of a first-class match. He will empathise with Jacob Bethell walking out at No. 3 in Christchurch for the first time in his professional career.As tedious as it may be to repeat, an England side with Root batting at three makes the most sense. It would allow Pope to move to No. 5 when Jamie Smith returns to take the gloves back at seven.The one barrier to such a move? Well, Pope.”I want to be number three, I want to keep trying to make it mine. I’ve had too many low scores there but I’ve also managed to put together some good knocks this year batting at three.”It’s a job I want to do going forward and I think my skillset is still developing. It’s definitely a job I want to keep doing.”Given he began out of position and rarely settled thereafter, you can understand why he wants to continue at three. And on paper, he’s doing well enough; despite the Pakistan aberration, the average at first drop is 40.28 from 47 innings, since he pitched for the gig when Ben Stokes became Test captain. Half of the six centuries he has there have come this year, while this half-century took him past 3000 career runs.Ironically, Pope building on this opening knock may scupper his hopes of fully locking down that No. 3 as his own. Though Ollie Robinson arrives into the country on Saturday afternoon to replace the injured Jordan Cox, England may decide to leave Pope as their wicketkeeper to give them a longer look at Bethell.Stokes and Brendon McCullum have shown they are not afraid to get funky with their selections. And shifting Pope to a place where his natural energy flows unencumbered falls right in that bracket.