Soccer

'FIFA 20' Champions League simulation: Barcelona, Messi vs. Ronaldo, Juventus in finalHere's how the season played out with 'FIFA 20' The Champions League's 2019-20 season is far from over, but with the coronavirus pandemic suspending pretty much every competition in the world, who knows when this tournament will conclude? Aiming to be finished by the summer, there is still the entire quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds to be played while some round of 16 matches still remain. But why wait to see who wins this competition when we can just simulate it? We ran a simulation of the entire tournament (from scratch) on "FIFA 20." All of the teams that made the round of 16 in the real tournament are into the round of 16 here. Below you'll find the results of the knockout stage and the big final, which for the first time sees Lionel Messi face Cristiano Ronaldo for the top club prize in Europe. Note: Juventus is not officially licensed in the video gam..

Transfer news, rumors: Chelsea, Arsenal after Hakimi; Lautaro Martinez more likely for Barcelona than NeymarHere's what to know about the transfer rumors from Thursday With no major leagues playing, the transfer rumors have picked up ahead of play hopefully resuming in the next month or two as the world aims to get through this coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, Barcelona was in the news as it looks for the future replacement of Luis Suarez, while Chelsea and Arsenal are after a rising star of Borussia Dortmund who may be hard to pry away from his giant parent club. Here are the top rumors from around the world for Thursday, April 9: Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs want HakimiReal Madrid's Achraf Hakimi, who has been sensational while on loan at Borussia Dortmund, is being chased by Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, according to Mundo Deportivo. The 21-year-old Morroco international joined Dortmund on a two-year loan in 2018, with that move set to expire at the end of this season. H..

Germany's Bundesliga preparing for early May return after coronavirus shutdownThe German top flight looks set to be the first major league to resume play Live sports may not be far away from returning. The Bundesliga, Germany's top soccer league, has plans in place for action to resume in early May, according to the New York Times. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in every major sports league in the world being suspended until the situation improves, and while many European leagues are expected to return in some fashion during the summer months, Germany looks like it will be the first major league back in action. Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert told the New York Times games would return to all 36 stadiums of the first and second division with the season concluding in June. Euro 2020 has already been postponed a year to allow clubs the chance to finish their seasons. Seifert said Bundesliga executives worked out how many people need to be involved at the matches in o..

Chris Richards, part of 'new wave of American players,' is ready for debuts with Bayern Munich and the USMNTThe 20-year-old Bayern Munich center back has continued to turn heads There is a different feel with the United States men's national team under Gregg Berhalter. It's a feeling of renewed hope despite some underwhelming performances, but the former Columbus Crew boss has shown he's willing to give young players a chance to make an impact. Whether it's helping convince Sergino Dest to pick the United States or giving early call ups, the top young talent in the country knows that its chance to represent the senior team could come sooner rather than later. Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards wants to be one of those players. But his focus now is doing what he can with the German giant to get his name into the mix as soon as possible. He'll let the rest take care of itself. The former FC Dallas youth player has continued to impress at Bayern Mun..

Ronaldinho granted house arrest after spending one month in jail in Paraguay After spending a month in a Paraguayan jail, former Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho has been released and ordered to remain on house arrest in the country's capital, Asuncion. The ex-Barcelona man was arrested in early March for attempting to enter Paraguay with an altered passport. Ronaldinho's lawyer got a judge to complete his request to review his client's case on the fourth attempt to do so. There was also a $1.6 million bail payment that needed to get made. The 40-year-old World Cup winner and his brother, Roberto Assis--who also serves as his business manager--entered Paraguay on March 4 with fake passports. It's worth noting that Brazilian residents do not even need passports to enter that country. The two were sent to jail after a judge ruled they both posed a flight risk. Since the probe into the ex-Paris Saint-Germain player's act began, it has been expanded into an investi..

FIFA issues guidelines for transfer windows, contracts and more during coronavirus shutdownThe soccer calendar has had to make some big adjustments With the coronavirus pandemic bringing soccer around the world to a pause, FIFA has established some new guidelines to deal with the unprecedented situation. On Tuesday, FIFA announced a variety of changes that are being proposed to deal with the suspended seasons, including what will happen with player contracts and the transfer window. "The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly changed all the factual circumstances around football for this season. So, FIFA, together with the stakeholders, has come up with some practical ideas and proposals to tackle these new circumstances. Whilst this will not solve each and every problem, it should serve to bring a measure of stability and clarity to football for the foreseeable future. We hope that this collaborative effort, under the leadership of FIFA, can provide a positive example of how football can co..

Tottenham's Heung-min Son to participate in South Korean military training that includes exposure to tear gasSon is serving his mandatory training with the Premier League on hold While Premier League players continue to self isolate during the coronavirus pandemic with games postponed, the next month will look much different for Tottenham star striker Heung-min Son. The 27-year-old has to participate in three weeks of intense military training this month in his native South Korea, which includes exposure to tear gas, a marine crops official told Reuters. South Korea is still technically at war with North Korea, and men are required to serve about two years. Son, who fractured his arm in February, did receive an exemption for full military training as the result of helping the nation win the 2018 Asian games. His upcoming mandatory military service will include exposure to tear gas, a march of 18.6 miles and live-fire drills, among other things. He flew back to South Korea in Ma..

La Liga eyeing late May or early June return; warns clubs could lose over $1 billion if season is lostLa Liga president Javier Tebas is hoping to resume play at some point in the summer La Liga could resume play at the end of May as various options are being considered, league president Javier Tebas told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday. The Spanish league has been suspended for a month with the coronavirus pandemic hitting Spain particularly hard. Spain has the second most confirmed cases in the world with 130,759, according to the World Health Organization. Valencia has numerous players and staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19, including star defending Ezequiel Garay. Tebas also said training won't return until emergency measures in the country are lifted, which comes as the German Bundesliga is set to return to training. "Of all the different scenarios we have been looking at with UEFA to go back to competing, the most probable ones are May 28, June..

New FIFA indictment confirms paid bribes to vote for World Cups in Qatar and RussiaFIFA executives were bribed to vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges FIFA executives were paid bribes to vote for the World Cup to be played in Russia and Qatar, according to an indictment published by the United States Department of Justice. The 69-page indictment, which was unsealed on Monday in Brooklyn, peels back the curtains on how, in 2010, FIFA's executive committee voted for Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Former TV executives from the United States and Spain, along with a sports marketing company in South America, were charged with bribing soccer officials as part of the government's long-running investigation on corruption in organized soccer. In the indictment, Jack Warner, former CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president, received over $5 million in bribes from Russia to vote for hosting duties in 2018. Rafael ..

William Hill bettor turns $14 parlay wager into $20,000 payoutThis parlay paid off big-time for one New Jersey bettor With the coronavirus pandemic spreading throughout the world, many professional sports have been forced to put their seasons on hold or cancel events. With that in mind, the gambling industry has been affected by there not being quite as many sports to bet on. However, fans still have some options in terms of sports that are still taking place overseas. On Sunday, a William Hill bettor in New Jersey was able to win $20,276.01 on a six-leg soccer parlay. To make the wager even more impressive, the bettor only wagered $14 on the parlay. W⚽W!!!!! Congratulations to the @WilliamHillNJ bettor who turned a $14 parlay wager on six of Sunday's soccer matches into $20,276.01! #WHWinners pic.twitter.com/2sf3aLaH57 — William Hill US (@WilliamHillUS) April 6, 2020 Five of the six bets were placed on teams that were underdogs in their specific matchup. The Smolevichi/Viteb..