‘We didn’t give Mauricio the credit he deserved’: Hugo Lloris on Pochettino, Levy, Spurs and the USA

Former Tottenham and France captain discusses ups and downs at Spurs, Ange Postecoglou and his new life in LA

Hugo Lloris lived in the intense pressure cooker of international football and the Premier League for so long that there is lightness and even relief as he describes how today began for him in Los Angeles. “I woke up this morning and had breakfast with my kids,” he says with a grin as he chats away happily at home. “I then took them to school and obviously the weather is amazing. Just before our interview I went for a walk and I was still in shorts and a T-shirt … in November.”

Lloris laughs in mild disbelief. We speak on Monday, the day before America goes to the polls, and the 37-year-old goalkeeper says: “Tomorrow is the big day and what’s really surprising when I am walking around the neighbourhood is seeing that people are not afraid to show who they’re voting for. You see the signs outside their houses. We are more private in Europe.”

Continue reading...

US sports owners make huge political donations. Which party does your team’s give to?

Nearly 95% of total contributions from owners across America’s major sports leagues went to Republicans. See how your team fared in our database

Sports team owners in the major North American leagues have donated at least $132.1m in federal elections since 2020, with nearly 95% of those contributions going to Republican campaigns, candidates and Super Pacs, according to research conducted by the Guardian.

Nearly all of the owners of the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, NWSL and WNBA franchises were active political donors in the election cycles since 2020. A minimum of $124,806,435 (94.5%) was designated for candidates or committees with Republican leanings, while at least $5,215,693 (3.9%) went toward Democratic causes, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures and data compiled by the nonprofit OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finance spending. About 2% of contributions went to bipartisan or unaffiliated recipients.

Continue reading...

Lionel Messi’s Miami compensation is more than entire payroll of 22 MLS teams

  • Argentinian was paid $12m in base salary
  • Inter Miami had highest payroll in league

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi earned more than the entire payrolls of 22 other Major League Soccer teams, and Olivier Giroud has $3,675,000 in annualized total compensation under the contract he signed to join Los Angeles FC in July.

The Major League Soccer Players Association released its salary update on Thursday and Messi’s $12m base salary and $20.4m in total compensation from Inter Miami remained the same as in the initial listing in May.

Continue reading...