TheSportByte

@TouchlineX @nypost Guess he had zero distractions after that.

🚨🇪🇸 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Ferran Torres ended his relationship with Martina Hunter Alguero before Spain's World Cup quarter-final against Belgium. The 26-year-old then went on to score the winning goal in the World Cup final against Argentina, becoming Spain's national hero. — @nypost

@RealityLfc The issue isn't what Messi did. It's that people were waiting for a reason to criticize him.

🚨Andre Pirlo on critics about Lionel Messi calling out Marc Cucurella for covering his mouth in a crucial moment at the World Cup final. 🗣️“I don’t think people still understand who Lionel Messi is or why he was asking the referee for that incident, if Marc Cucurella wasn’t saying something offensive why covering his mouth in that situation, Lionel Messi wouldn’t lie to get him sent off for no reason other than the fact. “And I bet every player will report it to the referee because it’s a World Cup final and you need to win at all cost no matter the situation or outcome of the incident.” “Throughout the knockout stages Argentina has been criticized many times that the referee and VAR always get things in their favor and they always deliver to get that meaningful result at the end.” “Looking at the incident and imagining it was an Argentine player who had his hands covering his mouth and there was no any reaction from the referee like he ignored it then I think the media would’ve had this conversation for many weeks as topic but because it’s Argentina the hates are much worse than the truth.” “We should be doing better than just being bias all time.”

@TouchlineX Face ID wouldn't recognize him. 💀

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Vinicius Junior on vacation with his new look.

@PortoReport Forget the transfer market, this belongs in a courtroom.

EXCLUSIVE: Cardoso Varela is not 17. Cardoso Varela doesn't even exist. Cardoso Carlos Matumbe Varela, born 28.10.2008, is a ghost. A fiction. The real person is Petilson Carlos Matumbe Vihemba, born 20.07.2004. That makes him 22, not 17. We spoke to people within CD 1º de Agosto, the Angolan club that developed him. Their reply: "We don't know Cardoso Varela. We know Petilson." The club that raised him doesn't recognize the name on his Portuguese passport. They know Petilson. They know the 2004 birth date. Now the passport. Because this is where the story moves from football fraud to something far more serious. Cardoso Varela became a Portuguese citizen on 6 June 2022. Not through birth. Not through descent. Through an electronic request filed by a lawyer. The clerk at the citizen's shop in Laranjeiras looked at his citizenship application. We asked her which parent was Portuguese. Her answer: "Neither." A young man from Angola, with no Portuguese blood, no Portuguese ties, no Portuguese history. Suddenly a citizen of Portugal. Just like that. The lawyer who secured his nationality was Yasmina da Costa, a prominent lawyer named in the Pandora Papers. And FC Porto knew. During Vítor Bruno's tenure, people within the club contacted our source directly and were told the truth: the age had been falsified. A new name. A new age. A new nationality. Petilson Carlos Matumbe Vihemba, welcome to FC Porto. Investigation conducted in collaboration with Paulo Teixeira, a specialist in age fraud cases since 1994.

@FrankKhalidUK Feels like a swap deal... without actually being a swap deal. 😭

Imagine if this happens.

@LegionHoops Giannis knows LeBron doesn't need convincing. If he wants to come, he'll come.

Giannis says he doesn’t plan on recruiting LeBron to the Heat: “I don’t think I’ll pitch anything to him. I feel like in his career he always made good decisions. That’s what history has shown. Everywhere he’s been, he’s won. If he believes the Miami Heat organization is a good decision for him and his family he should make that decision.” (h/t @TheHeatCentral)

@secretsourc Looks like these two clubs have opened a direct transfer hotline. 📞😭

🚨EXCLUSIVE: Aston Villa close to reaching an agreement with Chelsea to sign Nicolas Jackson. Bid of €70m by #AVFC proposed. Separately: Villa is also in advanced talks over Alejandro Garnacho — initial loan + buy option worth €45m proposed, #CFC want obligation to buy included, still being negotiated. #CFC open to deal. Player waiting on Roma before deciding.

@theMadridZone Funny how football changes. A year ago many Madrid fans weren't interested, now they're begging the club to sign him.

📲 Real Madrid fans have started flooding the replies of the club in all social media accounts with pictures of Rodri, asking for his signing.

@BBCMOTD His retirement announcement might be his least controversial decision.

Anthony Taylor has announced his retirement from refereeing with immediate effect after a 20-year career and 831 matches. The 47-year-old's final game was Spain's 1-0 win over Portugal in the World Cup last 16 on 6 July.

@David_Ornstein @TheAthleticFC Every fanbase has a different Anthony Taylor compilation ready. 😭

🚨 BREAKING: Anthony Taylor announces retirement from refereeing. Englishman officiated 831 games across 2 decades (including every domestic cup final) & bows out aged 47 after taking charge of #Portugal vs #Spain in last-16 of #FIFAWorldCup @TheAthleticFC nytimes.com/athletic/74610…

Messi's Instagram after defeats is usually just him. After victories, it's the whole team. Takes responsibility in defeat, shares the credit in victory. That's leadership.

@TouchlineX This pretty much confirms what many fans suspected. The push for 64 teams isn't about improving the World Cup—it's about squeezing out every extra dollar possible.

🤑🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: FIFA will earn over $13b from the 2026 World Cup cycle. The projected revenue was $11b, which has already been surpassed, making it the most lucrative tournament in football history. Revenue from the 2022 World Cup reported at $7.5b, but the revenue massively increased this year due to the higher number of teams and high ticket prices. FIFA are studying further increasing the number of teams in the 2030 World Cup, from 48 to 64, to increase revenue even more. — @Estadao

@CFCMods Funny how the standards completely change depending on the player. If Messi had 0 goals, 0 assists and no MOTM while winning Player of the Tournament, football Twitter would've had a meltdown for years.

Just realised that Rodri didn’t even win a single man of the match award for Spain during his World Cup run, he had 0 goals and 0 assists and won the player of the tournament, imagine this was Messi, he would need to be shipped out of earth for safety 😭

@BarcaTimes Barça are slowly assembling the entire Spain national team.

🚨🎖️| 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Barcelona WANTS Laporte. The club will speak with the player's entourage to understand his stance on a potential move. Laporte is highly appreciated internally as an affordable option who offers experience, maturity, and natural quality at left-back, with a release clause of just €15M. The next step is to establish direct contact with the player to assess his willingness to join. Initial conversations took place in the US, with both parties agreeing to resume discussions after the World Cup. [@monfortcarlos] #fcblive

Funny how some fans suddenly become the morality police when Argentina is involved. They ignore the clip of Bellingham striking an Argentina player, then complain that Argentina turned their backs during the trophy ceremony. In 2022, most of France's players were already in the dressing room before Argentina even lifted the World Cup. The standards seem to change depending on who's involved.

🚨🇦🇷 FIFA will INVESTIGATE Argentina's behaviour after the World Cup final. 🕵️‍♂️ • Leandro Paredes grabbed and pushed Spain players • Nahuel Molina attempted to knock over Rodri • Argentina coach Roberto Ayala tried to punch Dani Olmo in the face • The whole Argentina squad turned their back on the trophy celebration as Spain lifted the World Cup (@SkySportsNews)

@appiecule With De Jong injured, Rodri would solve an immediate problem in midfield. And if needed, I'd trust him at CB more than Araújo in a big game after the costly mistakes and red cards we've seen.

🚨🚨 THIS IS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE FOR BARÇA FANS! 🔥 Deco is set to meet Rodri’s agent this week. ✅ Barcelona will only make their move if Atlético Madrid completely closes the door on a Julián Álvarez transfer. 💰 The plan? A €40M bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup MVP, with a 4+1-year contract ready. 🎯 Even after the deal, Barça would still have around €70M available to sign a striker, with Mikel Oyarzabal currently the most realistic option. 👀 A huge week could be ahead… [AlexRodriguezSanchez]

@TouchlineX There is an imposter among us... and we all know who it is. 😭

🚨 The Ballon d'Or race has never been more open than this year!

@FabrizioRomano From singing "Vini Ciao" after the Ballon d'Or to dreaming of wearing the same shirt as Vinicius... football is full of plot twists.

🚨🇪🇸 Rodri would love a return to Spain and dreams of Real Madrid, clear since months. At same time, Florentino Pérez has always blocked this deal or any negotiations for Rodri this summer. 🔵 Man City new contract proposal, on the table since April. ➕ youtu.be/jA8B1jXVdZA?si…

@HatTrickChris Let's not pretend this is only about football. Expanding the tournament gives FIFA a much better chance of getting markets like India and China involved.

There’s way too many people that think this means we’re getting countries like San Marino 🇸🇲 in the World Cup💀 No, this likely means we’re getting: Italy 🇮🇹, Denmark 🇩🇰, Hungary 🇭🇺, Chile 🇨🇱, Ireland 🇮🇪, Cameroon 🇨🇲, and Nigeria 🇳🇬 With very decent new-comers like Georgia 🇬🇪

@Cleverlydey4u Give him a few years and he'll be asking the referee for cards too. 😂

Lamine Yamal’s brother Keyne deserves an Oscar for this fake injury. 😂😂