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Messi prefers ownership to coaching after career

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1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Messi prefers ownership to coaching after career

Inter Miami CF captain Lionel Messi said he cannot see himself as a coach in the future, saying he likes the idea of owning and developing his own club after retiring from playing.

“I don’t see myself as a coach,” Messi said in an interview with Luzu TV, an Argentine streaming channel, that aired Tuesday. “I like the idea of being a manager, but I’d prefer to be an owner. I’d like to have my own club, start from the bottom, and make it grow. To be able to give the kids the opportunity to develop and achieve something important. If I had to choose, that’s what would appeal to me most.”

Messi recently signed a contract extension with Inter Miami through the 2028 MLS season, keeping him active on the field for a couple more years. However, he has already found ways to venture into the idea of ownership by partnering up with longtime teammate Luis Suárez to launch Uruguayan fourth division team Deportivo LSM. The club, with initials that stand for Luis Suarez and Messi, boasts 80 working professionals and 3,000 members.

“Deportivo LS is a family dream that began in 2018. We have grown a lot with more than 3,000 members,” Suárez said. “I want to offer Uruguayan soccer, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow.”

Suárez initially began the project before inviting Messi to participate.

“I’m proud and happy that you chose me, so I hope to contribute everything I can to continue growing and, above all, to be by your side in this,” Messi said in an announcement.

Messi also recently launched the Messi Cup, an under-16 youth tournament that featured eight academy teams from around the globe playing in Miami, in hopes of developing talent and competition.

River Plate won the inaugural edition of the Messi Cup in December, beating Atlético Madrid in the final. For now, Messi will continue to stay focused on matters on the field as a player with defending MLS Cup champions Inter Miami kicking off the 2026 campaign on Feb. 21 on the road against LAFC.

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PCB chief vows to make Multan Sultans profitable by next year

Published

3 hours ago

January 8, 2026

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PCB chief vows to make Multan Sultans profitable by next year

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi (centre) speaks during a press conference after the PSL Auction at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad on January 8, 2026. — PSL

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday said the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) “loss-hit” franchise Multan Sultans would turn a profitable team ahead of next year’s auction.

Addressing a star-studded ceremony for the auction of the seventh and eighth PSL franchises, the PCB chairman said: “I took a challenge, and that is that there were a lot of claims on social media that the team was in losses.”

“So I, and all of the team, decided that we will show you how much profit this business offers, publish the numbers before going for the auction,” Naqvi added.

The PCB chairman Naqvi, alongside new team owners Fawad Sarwar and Hamza Majeed, and PSL CEO Salman Naseer, reiterated that the cricket board will run the affairs of Sultan in the upcoming PSL 11 before auctioning it.

He acknowledged receiving suggestions about auctioning the franchise alongside the two new teams sold earlier today, but revealed he took a challenge for himself and his team to prove the business as profitable.

“The pressure has started to be built up on me to sell out the team,” he said humorously, while referring to Naseer.

“But my wish is to operate Multan Sultans for one year, and I’m very much hopeful that we would leave it in profit so the world gets to know that it’s a plus-plus business.”

It is pertinent to mention here that PSL expanded to eight teams as Hyderabad and Sialkot were officially confirmed as the league’s seventh and eighth franchises, respectively, following the completion of the expansion auction.

The OZ Developers, owned by Hamza Majeed, secured the ownership of the eighth PSL team with a bid of Rs1.85 billion and named it after Sialkot in the second round of the highly anticipated auction.

The base price for the eighth PSL team was set at Rs1.70 billion after the FKS Group acquired the ownership of the first franchise up for sale for Rs1.75 billion.

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Sports trivia quiz: Test your knowledge with our weekly game

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4 hours ago

January 8, 2026

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Test your knowledge with our weekly game. How many of our eight questions can you get right?

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AJ Dybantsa, more freshmen headline men’s Wooden Award midseason top 25

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6 hours ago

January 8, 2026

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AJ Dybantsa, more freshmen headline men’s Wooden Award midseason top 25

Jeff BorzelloJan 7, 2026, 06:30 PM ET
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Nine freshmen, led by Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, headline the men’s Wooden Award midseason top 25 watchlist released Wednesday.

Boozer leads the nation in scoring at 23.3 points per game, with Dybantsa just behind him at 23.1 per game. Boozer has been arguably the most consistent player in college basketball since the start of the season, scoring at least 14 points in every game and tallying seven double-doubles to lead Duke to a 14-1 start. The 6-foot-9 forward is also averaging 9.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Dybantsa, meanwhile, recently put together one of the most impressive stretches ever by a freshman. In the month of December, he averaged 27.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals, shooting nearly 66% from the field.

North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson isn’t far behind the two stars, averaging 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds with 10 double-doubles in his first 15 games.

The midseason list also included two talented freshmen with lingering injury issues. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson has played in only six games this season because of a hamstring injury, although he has started the Jayhawks’ past two games and had 32 points in 32 minutes Tuesday against TCU. Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. has sat out five games in a row because of a lower-back injury.

Those five freshmen made up the top five in ESPN’s latest 2026 NBA draft big board.

There also are a number of college veterans poised to make a second-half run at the award. Purdue’s Braden Smith entered the season as the favorite thanks to his status as an All-American last season and the top player on the AP’s preseason No. 1 team. He leads the nation in assists, averaging 9.6 entering the week, setting the Big Ten career record earlier this month. Should he maintain that average, Smith would be on pace to set the all-time Division I career assists record (1,076) held by Bobby Hurley.

Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg have emerged as legitimate contenders for the award after an outstanding first two months of the season. Jefferson is the anchor for a 14-0 Cyclones team, averaging 17.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Lendeborg, a former UAB transfer, leads the No. 2 Wolverines in scoring (14.7) and is second in rebounding (7.0) and assists (3.4).

Players not on Wednesday’s watchlist are still eligible for the late-season list and the final ballot whose voting determines the winner.