World Cup

Pamela Anderson's on-again, off-again relationship with soccer star Adil Rami is back ON again ... but her friends see red flags.

Sources close to Pam tell TMZ ... the "Baywatch" star and World Cup champ have been back together for several weeks, but friends wish she'd 86 the relationship for various reasons. The main one ... they say Adil has tried cutting Pam off from her friends and family.

What's more ... they fear his juvenile behavior -- partying and clubbing -- isn't for Pam anymore. Her friends are adamant ... it's never gonna work long term.

Pam's friends are clear ... they want her to move on. If and when she's ready ... find someone else. Nevertheless ... easier said than done.

You'll recall it was just last July when the central defender for French club Marseille met Pam's mom. A serious sign, for sure. But, things really heated up when Adil proposed marriage. Pam said no dice and the relationship went kaput.

Abby Wambach says FIFA's decision to double the prize money for the Women's World Cup is good -- but it's still FAR less from what the men are getting ... AND THAT'S NOT OKAY!!!

We spotted the Team USA soccer legend at LAX hours after the FIFA Council announced the move to increase the prize pool from $15 million to $30 million next year.

The women's champion will now get $4 million from that pool -- while the men's champs (France) just got $38 MILLION from a $400 million prize pool.

"We still got a lot of work to do," Wambach tells TMZ Sports ... "It's like a Band-Aid. They need to pay the women equally."

"The mission of FIFA isn't just to grow the men's game. It's to grow the game of football worldwide."

Hugo Lloris -- the star goalie on France's 2018 World Cup championship team -- was arrested for drunk driving in London, officials say.

The 31-year-old superstar -- who's also the goalkeeper for Tottenham -- was pulled over around 2:20 AM on Friday morning for a routine traffic stop ... but cops suspected he was plastered.

Officials say Lloris took a breathalyzer -- and failed -- and was arrested on the stop. He was hauled to the Charing Cross Police Station where he was booked and spent 7 hours in custody.

Lloris was later released on bail and is due back in court on Sept. 11.

Lloris was scheduled to play for Tottenham in their next game on Monday night -- unclear if he will be suspended due to the arrest.

The guy is an absolute stud on the pitch -- he's the captain of the French national team and Tottenham and is widely considered one of the best goalkeepers on the planet.

Who's a good boy?!? Lionel Messi's dog, apparently.

The 31-year-old soccer superstar played a little keep-away from his furry friend in his yard Monday ... and it's all fun and cute -- until you realize the dog could end him at any time.

Hulk (appropriately named) is a Dogue de Bordeaux ... and weighs well over 100 pounds. If you're unfamiliar, Messi is pocket-sized, standing at 5'7" and weighing just 159 lbs.

So, neat tricks, Lionel ... but all of Argentina would probably be happier with a nice game of fetch.

Al Michaels has been covering pro sports in America for more than 50 years -- but, the legendary broadcaster admits ... he's never been to a single soccer game!

Michael says he really likes the sport -- and brags that his grandkids play -- but tells TMZ Sports he's never been to a real professional soccer game.

"People say to me, 'Don't you want to do the World Cup?' I'm going, 'Do the World Cup?' I've never been to a single soccer game."

For the record, Michaels has covered just about every OTHER major sport -- including football, baseball, hockey, horse racing ... and even figure skating and road cycling! Just no futbol.

Seems porn superstar Kiara Mia is moving from football to futbol ... because she was hanging out with some world-famous soccer stars Monday night and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Mia was leaving Poppy in West Hollywood -- where a whole bunch of famous soccer players had also been partying.

We're working to identify all of them ... so far, we know Samuel Umtiti (from France, the World Cup champs) and Karim Benzema were there. Unclear if any of them recognized Kiara.

Kiara was chatting up one of the dudes in the crew -- we're still trying to figure out who he is.

Pamela Anderson's BF, Adil Rami, just won the World Cup with France ... so what's next on the agenda for the soccer star? MEET HER MOM!!

TMZ cameras were rolling when Pam and Adil pulled up to The Ivy Sunday in Bev Hills and witnessed the first official introduction between Adil and Pam's mom, Carol. Pam beamed with pride introducing Adil, who looked dapper even in a t-shirt.

Lionel Messi has found a pretty good way to get over Argentina's disastrous World Cup exit ... load up your smokeshow wife on a yacht and float on over to Ibiza.

Messi rounded up his fam -- including Antonella Roccuzzo -- for an expensive and relaxing boat trip.

Of course, Messi's Argentina squad got bounced from the World Cup in late June after a pretty pathetic performance ... though he did score one of the most impressive goals of the tourney.

So, what next?

The France national soccer team wasted no time bringing their new World Cup trophy to their leader ... partying with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday!!

Just a day after whooping Croatia in the final ... Hugo Lloris, Florian Thauvin and the whole Les Bleus crew made their way to Elysee Palace to celebrate.

The First Lady, Brigitte Macron, got especially touchy with the gold trophy ... taking a sweet handoff from Paul Pogba to show the crowd the goods.

The 'ship is France's first in 20 years ... so, only fitting they party like it's 1998 now.

Vladimir Putin presented Donald Trump with a soccer ball from the World Cup in Russia ... and then dropped the following eye-rolling metaphor ...

"Mr. President, I'll give this ball to you ... and now the ball is in your court."

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It all went down at a massive media event in Helsinki, where the two world leaders had a private meeting for several hours where they discussed everything from election interference to NATO.

Trump was fired up about the meeting -- and the soccer ball, throwing it to Melania (who was sitting in the front row) and announcing that he would be giving it to his son, Barron.

Conor McGregor got to sit in on the World Cup final in person this weekend, showing up as a guest of none other than Vladimir Putin.

The UFC star posted a photo of himself Sunday alongside Russia's president, posing like a tough guy with someone he calls "one of the greatest leaders of our time."

Conor's caption read ... "Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark event alongside him. Today was an honor for me Mr. Putin. Thank you and congratulations on an amazing World Cup."

He ended with "Go Russia" ... written in Russian. Hopefully they're both aware Russia got knocked out in the quarter finals, but that's beside the point. What's important (and weird) is that Conor is super chummy with Putin ... who's known as kind of a bad dude, depending on who you talk to.

Make like some of the world's best soccer players and dive into these photos of some of the hottest wives and girlfriends of the World Cup Final!

France and Croatia will square off for soccer's highest honor ... and there will be plenty of "keepers" to look at on both sidelines.

In France's corner ... Pamela Anderson headlines the group of WAGS -- but, you gotta see who Samuel Umtiti and Paul Pogba are scoring with off the pitch.

For Croatia ... Mateo Kovačić and Ivan Rakitić have netted some serious talent too.

It's likely your team didn't advance to the final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow ... but it's not a total loss (unless you were rooting for USA, then you totally lost).There were plenty of winners from around the world in the crowds of the soccer stadiums to help you feel like your country still scored!

Give our gallery of hot World Cup fans a try, and see the sexiest soccer supporters who traveled the globe to get in on the epic spectator sport!

The Colombia national soccer team got one helluva homecoming on Thursday -- with thousands of fans lining up in Bogota to show support -- just days after they were eliminated from the World Cup.

Star players like Falcao and Juan Cuadrado got giant ovations alongside teammates Abel Aguilar, David Ospina and Yerry Mina.

Colombia made it to the Round of 16 -- but, they were ultimately eliminated by England on Tuesday after the match went to penalty kicks.

Disappointing end for Colombia -- but, the team showed heart and resilience and the fans clearly appreciated it.

Ya can't REALLY blame soccer stars like Neymar for flopping worse than Vlade Divac in the '90s ... because there's a really smart reason behind the fake pain -- so says Trevor Noah.

The 34-year-old 'Daily Show' host is a massive soccer fan -- and has thought long and hard about the flopping epidemic that's taken over the World Cup ... particularly in regards to the Brazilian superstar.

You gotta watch Noah break it down outside of Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills ... and how he ultimately explains why guys like Neymar will flop to prevent themselves from suffering a major injury.

"Some people overdo it," Noah admits ... "Don't get me wrong. But, I understand where it came from."