Soccer

MLS is taking a page from the NBA -- returning to play in July with a tournament at Disney World in Orlando ... and all 26 teams will participate.

Major League Soccer announced the plan Wednesday morning -- the Welcome Back Tournament -- a World Cup-style competition consisting of a group stage followed by knockout rounds.

After the tourney, the teams will play the rest of the 2020 MLS regular season ... but tourney games WILL count toward regular-season standings.

And, get this ... the winning team will earn a spot in the 2021 Concacaf Champions League tournament!

FYI, the CCL tourney is made up of the top teams in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

The Welcome Back tourney kicks off on July 8 -- with the Final set for August 11.

All games will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber issued a statement saying, "The opportunity to have all 26 clubs in a controlled environment enables us to help protect the health of our players, coaches and staff as we return to play."

"We also recognize that the death of George Floyd and others has focused our country on issues of racial injustice, inequality and violence against black men and women."

MLS winger Aleksandar Katai's wife's disgusting comments about protesters just cost him his job with the LA Galaxy ... with the team deciding to part ways with the player due to her "racist and violent" words.

The 29-year-old Serbian met with the team earlier this week after Tea Katai called for people to kill protesters -- which she referred to as "disgusting cattle" -- on Instagram.

The Galaxy released a statement condemning Tea's since-deleted comments on Wednesday ... saying "Earlier today, the LA Galaxy were made aware of a series of racist and violent social media posts by Tea Katai, the wife of LA Galaxy midfielder Aleksandar Katai."

"The LA Galaxy stands firmly against racism of any kind, including that which suggests violence or seeks to demean the efforts of those in pursuit of racial equality."

The team decided the next step was to wash its hands of the Katais on Friday ... calling the move a mutual decision.

Aleksandar -- who joined the squad in December -- released a statement against his wife's comments earlier this week, saying "These views are not ones that I share and are not tolerated in my family."

"I strongly condemn white supremacy, racism and violence towards people of color. Black lives matter. This is a mistake from my family and I take full responsibility."

Liverpool F.C. players decided to team up and send a powerful sign of support on Monday ... with the whole team taking a knee together to honor George Floyd.

LFC shared the image of 29 players kneeling near the center of the field at the Anfield stadium ... featuring the words "Unity is strength. #BlackLivesMatter."

The players reportedly came up with the idea to kneel as a sign of support for the movement while training ... and several players like Virgil van Dijk, James Milner and Andy Robertson have also shared the impactful shot

The gesture adds to the global outcry for justice ... with celebrities and athletes coming together to protest following Floyd's death.

Jadon Sancho of Dortmund also dedicated one of his goals to Floyd over the weekend ... wearing a shirt that read "Justice for George Floyd."

Roger Federer is finally #1 on the Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes list -- but it's all because two superstars took a pay hit thanks to COVID.

The 38-year-old tennis superstar reportedly raked in $106.3 million from June 1, 2019 to June 1, 2020 (in pre-taxed earnings) from prize money and endorsements.

Federer earned $6.3 million in prize money -- but the bulk of his financial haul comes by way of endorsements ... $100 MILLION from deals with companies like Uniqlo, Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and more.

Cristiano Ronaldo clocks in at #2 ($105 million) and Lionel Messi is #3 ($104 million) ... but Forbes points out their take would have been higher if not for the coronavirus pandemic.

"The two soccer icons earned a combined $209 million during the past 12 months, a $28 million drop from 2019, due to salary reductions at many European soccer clubs when league play was halted in March," Forbes says.

Might not be a big deal to you ... but we know some athletes take the Forbes list VERY seriously -- remember when Conor McGregor told Ronaldo to his face that he was coming for that top spot?!

Rounding out the Top 5 is Neymar ($95.5 M) followed by LeBron James ($88.2 M).

Other notable athletes include Tiger Woods at #8 ($62.3 mil), Carson Wentz at #10 ($59.1 mil), Conor McGregor at #16 ($48 mil), Tom Brady at #21 ($45 mil) and Naomi Osaka at #29 ($37.4 mil).

2019 marks the second year in a row Floyd Mayweather's failed to make the list ... after being the highest-paid athlete of the decade.

GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!

After a 3-month break, the English Premier League is finally set to return to the pitch ... with all clubs agreeing to continue the season on June 17, according to the BBC.

The plan is to pick things back up with fan-less games next month, starting with Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United and Manchester City vs. Arsenal.

The season has been suspended since March 13 due to COVID-19 ... and the league now has 92 match-ups to make up.

FYI -- there have reportedly been 12 positive coronavirus results within the league out of 2,752 administered tests ... and the plan is to continue testing all players and staff twice a week.

According to the BBC, if any player were to test positive for COVID-19 after the season picks up, he must self-isolate for 7 days.

The decision to resume games comes one week after clubs resumed non-contact training ... and one day after agreeing to resume contact workouts.

Sports are slowly starting to come back ... with the UFC, pro wrestling and golf all hosting fan-less events.

Cristiano Ronaldo -- arguably the most manscaped athlete on the planet -- has let himself go.

... and it's not a bad look!!

The 35-year-old soccer superstar is usually ultra-concerned about his appearance ... never going out in public with a hair out of place or a blemish on his skin (see here, here and here).

But, in this weird COVID-19 world we're living in ... seems CR7 is dialing back the self-maintenance a bit.

No crazy tan. No over-the-top greasy hair product. Did he go a few hours without shaving his face? Wow!

The Juventus star ain't letting his skills slip -- in fact, Ronaldo hit a crazy trick shot using a soccer ball and a basketball hoop during training over the weekend.

If the whole soccer thing doesn't work out, maybe he can get a job at Dude Perfect!

As we previously reported, Ronaldo returned to the Juventus training facility in Italy last week after spending 10 weeks in his native Portugal during the coronavirus pandemic.

Once Ronaldo flew to Italy, he had to quarantine for 2 weeks before he was allowed to rejoin his team.

Megan Rapinoe says Donald Trump is a "white nationalist" who's screwed over his own supporters ... and admits she's considered running for office herself one day to help make things right.

"We have a white nationalist -- I think -- in the White House," Rapinoe told VICE TV's Anand Giridharadas.

"And, the spewing of hate and the other'ing of the rest of the country has only led to more rife between people and more despair and more anxiety and more fear going forward."

Rapinoe -- a very outspoken critic of POTUS since he took office in 2017 -- also says on VICE's "Seat At The Table" (airs Wednesday) that Trump is also hurting his own supporters.

"It's not like he's giving them a bunch of jobs. It's not like he's made life really better for them. He's just given them this false reason why maybe they're not happy with their lives. There's been no sort of path forward."

Rapinoe's public criticisms of Trump have caught his attention in the past -- most famously when she declared she was "not going to the f**king White House" if Team USA won the 2019 World Cup.

There are conflicting reports about whether Trump ever seriously invited the team -- but regardless, they didn't go.

But, get this ... Rapinoe was asked straight-up if she's ever considered getting into politics when her soccer career wraps up -- and it's clearly something she's thought about.

"I'm not totally shutting the door but it seems wild," Rapinoe says.

As for her dream political job, Megan admits, "President, of course."

"If I'm going to do it, I want the biggest, baddest post."

It's been 10 long weeks, but Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to the Juventus training facility in Italy ... and man, he looks STOKED!

CR7 was all smiles -- and even rolled down the tinted window on his Jeep to give a thumbs up -- on his way to the team facility in Turin Tuesday.

Inside, Ronaldo reportedly underwent medical testing so he could be cleared to return to training.

The soccer superstar had spent most of the COVID-19 pandemic at his estate in Portugal -- but returned to Italy 2 weeks ago to begin self-isolation so he could get back to work.

Now, he's good to go -- and his club is expecting (hoping for) a return to action by mid-June, though nothing is set in stone yet.

Juventus last played on March 8 -- when Ronaldo led his squad to a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan in a closed-door stadium with no fans.

No, you can not have sex with the female plastic dolls in the crowd at FC Seoul soccer games.

Sorry.

Still, the club is apologizing to fans anyway ... expressing "sincere remorse" after allegations they put sex dolls in the bleachers Sunday for a game at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Here's the deal ... with no live fans allowed at games because of COVID-19, the South Korean soccer club put plastic butts in the seats instead as a funny way to make things look normal.

The team had contacted a company called Dalkom to get the dolls -- and since Dalkom also makes sex dolls, some fans thought the mannequins in the stands were plastic sex workers.

It's also worth noting that ALL of the mannequins in the stands were female.

But, FC Seoul claims the dolls are not actually bangable -- they're just normal, regular fashion mannequins ... and they've apologized for the controversy in the first place.

Unclear if the club will bring the non-sex dolls back for future games.

Hope Solo claims some gun-toting maniac shot one of her dogs Wednesday night -- but the good news, the pooch survived the attack.

It all went down North Carolina, where the former Team USA soccer superstar lives with her husband, ex-NFL player Jerramy Stevens.

"Our magnificent dog Conan (brown, on the far left) is in critical condition after being shot last night," Hope says.

"It’s hard news to share, but harder to make sense of this heinous act."

"Jerramy and I are shocked and heartbroken, but we want to say thank you to Wilkes Veterinary Hospital and their staff for rushing Conan into emergency care, as well as their COVID-19 care practices."

We're reaching out to police to find out what the hell happened and if they've identified a suspect.

In the meantime, Hope is optimistic about Conan's chances -- saying, "We‘ve heard that there are developments in canine prosthetics and would love any information about getting Conan a new front leg!"

Get well, Conan!!!!

Germany's famous Bundesliga -- one of the top soccer leagues in the world -- will resume play before the end of the month, officials say.

League officials reportedly met with top German government leaders -- including German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- to ask for the play to resume and their request was granted.

Bundesliga -- which features top players like Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze -- has been cleared to restart as early as May 15. The league is expected to announce an official restart date on Thursday.

The league -- comprised of 36 teams -- had shut down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still unclear what kind kind of medical screening will be instituted when the league gets up and running ... but fans will NOT be allowed to attend the games.

Most teams in the league -- including world-famous teams like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund -- only have around 9 matches left on their regular season schedule.

Germany has been praised for its handling of coronavirus. So far, there have been about 150,000 recorded cases and around 6,300 deaths.

"Frankly, I think the Olympics are in doubt next year."

That's U.S. soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe getting very real about the postponed summer games ... saying she's having a hard time seeing how the event goes on even in 2021.

"The more I think about it logistically," Rapinoe says, "just bringing everybody together like that with the absence of drug therapies or anything like that just seems difficult."

Of course, the Olympics were previously set to kick off in just a few weeks ... but the coronavirus pandemic forced officials to bump the competition to next summer.

International Olympics Committee spokespeople seem confident the event will go on then without a hitch ... but Rapinoe told CNN's David Axelrod on "The Axe Files" podcast this week she's skeptical.

"I guess we'll see," Rapinoe says. "I don't want to be in the prediction business, but we'll see."

A cancellation or even another postponement of the Olympics would likely spell the end of Rapinoe's time as an Olympian ... she's 34 years old now and retirement is on the horizon.

If it is ultimately the end ... Megan had a hell of a run, winning a gold medal for the U.S. back in 2012.

Forget sweatpants, Georgina Rodriguez is all about NO PANTS -- showing off her butt during quarantine ... and yeah, she's hot!

Yep, that's Cristiano Ronaldo's girlfriend -- who has a daughter with the soccer star -- doing some outdoor ironing while stuck at home in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She also happens to be a fitness-aholic (duh, she's with CR7) so, it's no surprise she's got a killer body.

"Paños al aire," she wrote ... which means, "Pants in the air."

Rodriguez and Ronaldo have been together for years -- she gave birth to their daughter, Alana, back in 2017.

Ronaldo has 3 other kids -- 10-year-old Cristiano Jr. along with 3-year-old twins Eva and Matteo.

The ultra-fit family has been working out at their Portugal home like maniacs since the pandemic began ... constantly posting pics from their top-of-the-line home gym.

There are reports Ronaldo could head back to Italy soon to rejoin his Juventus soccer team as early as May 4 ... but with everything still so uncertain, we won't believe it until we see it.

Ariana Grande, David Beckham, Kevin Durant and Aaron Rodgers have joined the All In Challenge to raise money for COVID-19 relief ... and their fans are responding in BIG numbers.

The pop star and trio of superstar athletes all got onboard in the last 24 hours with the fundraiser started by Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin. Ariana announced her fan experience Thursday ... offering dinner with her in L.A. and a hang out with her in the studio. David is hosting a 5 on 5 soccer game with VIP treatment at the new stadium where his Miami CF team will play.

Aaron is auctioning off a tour of historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay ... plus tickets to watch him in a Packers game. Bidding starts at $10k.

Kevin is offering up courtside seats to watch his Brooklyn Nets play, plus a sitdown dinner and a chance to take home his NCAA Player Of The Year Trophy.

The big-name additions are already making a huge difference ... fundraiser organizers tell us they've already raised more than $500,000 just today.

As we've reported ... tons of famous athletes and celebs -- including Drake, Kevin Hart, Justin Bieber, Meek Mill, Mark Cuban, Ryan Seacrest, Magic Johnson and Tom Brady are either raffling or auctioning off amazing packages ... and all the money is going to feed folks in need during the pandemic.

Good luck!!!

Soccer superstar Paul Pogba is keeping the competitive spirit during the coronavirus pandemic ... and his latest victim is none other than his OWN MOTHER!!!

The Manchester United stud made his mom look straight-up foolish in a hilarious clip this week ... hittin' her with a nutmeg for the ages while getting some fresh air.

"When your mum tell you she played football before 🤣🤣🤣" the French footballer captioned the vid ... while also adding a very thoughtful message:

"Love and spend time with your parents before they leave this world."

Not only is he pulling soccer tricks, Paul's also been keeping busy in the kitchen as well by making desserts like galette des rois for his mama.