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LOS ANGELES — From a business perspective, there has never been any question that Shohei Ohtani is most valuable to the Dodgers as a two-way star: Designated hitters don’t tend to become national heroes in Japan and earn their teams an estimated $70 million in sponsorship revenue. From the player’s standpoint, there has never been any discussion, either.

“The reason why I’m a two-way player is because that’s who I am, and it’s what I can do,” Ohtani said last week.

But viewed through the lens of baseball, there was reason to be cautious. It wasn’t just the injury concern, although that certainly caught the Dodgers’ attention; Ohtani’s return to pitching this season has come after his second elbow reconstruction. “There is a cost,” acknowledges manager Dave Roberts. He adds, “What [another ailment] would essentially do is lose two players.”

Lionel Messi has lifted the lid on a shock "childhood dream" that was scotched by his Barcelona debut. Messi’s life pivoted sharply when Barcelona chose to take a chance on him at a moment when Argentine clubs, including giants River Plate, backed away from the cost of treating his growth hormone condition.

• The napkin that changed football history

  Signed on 14 December 2000, the napkin has become one of the most iconic artefacts in football. The blue-ink message, hastily scribbled by Barça sporting director Carles Rexach, carried a personal commitment to sign a 13-year-old Messi "regardless of any dissenting opinions." Alongside Rexach’s name were those of transfer advisor Josep Minguella and agent Horacio Gaggioli, men who had championed Messi’s potential when others hesitated. The napkin emerged amid growing anxiety from the Messi family. After his trial, weeks drifted by with little communication from Barca. As Christmas approached in 2000, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid hovered as possible alternatives. Messi’s father, Jorge, feared the moment would pass. Rexach, aware the club were close to losing a generational talent, invited Jorge Messi to lunch, and, lacking an official document, wrote the pledge on the only material available. Messi was officially signed a month later, and history took its course.

  Translated into English, it reads: "In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and in the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelona's sporting director, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon."

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  A debut that closed one door, and opened the world

  Messi’s Barcelona debut followed three years later, on 16 November 2003, in a friendly against Porto. Frank Rijkaard introduced the 16-year-old in the 71st minute. Even then, whispers circled La Masia suggesting that the teenager from Rosario possessed a talent beyond comparison, though few could predict the scale of what would unfold. His competitive first-team bow came the following year on 16 October, in a La Liga fixture against Espanyol. At 17 years, three months and 22 days, he became Barcelona’s youngest-ever representative in official competition. The dream of playing for Newell’s faded in that moment, but a new reality began.

  In an interview with Messi has now said: "I always say that my childhood dream was to play for Newell's first team. I'd go to the stadium, I played there, and I dreamed of becoming a professional in Primera. Then my life changed completely because I left at 13, debuted for Barcelona, and everything that happened afterward. It's something I never would've imagined, not even in my best dreams. I lived things much bigger than anything I could have dreamed of."

• The Messi era at Barcelona

  Messi would go on to score 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona, win 10 La Liga titles, lift four Champions Leagues, and establish an era-defining legacy before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. Hence, despite the romanticism attached to a homecoming, Messi never managed to fulfil that childhood wish. When he left PSG, the option was emotionally appealing but professionally unworkable as Inter Miami ultimately offered the stability and vision that Newell’s could not. Now 38 and still guiding Argentina as they prepare to defend their World Cup crown, Messi accepts that the story of his early years remains unfinished. Whereas the same napkin was sold for an astonishing £762,400 at auction, far surpassing its £300,000 starting price.

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  All eyes on the 2026 World Cup

  The 2026 World Cup, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, looms large. Argentina, the reigning champions, are among the favourites once more and will learn their group-stage opponents when Friday’s draw takes place. For Messi, the tournament represents an opportunity to win back-to-back World Cups as captain. His Newell’s dream may remain untouched, but everything else, the records, the glory, has exceeded his dreams.

UP Warriorz did not retain Deepti Sharma, the Player of the Tournament at the ODI Women’s World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-20256:22

WPL 2026 retentions: MI, DC splash the cash; UPW release Deepti and Healy

Mumbai Indians allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana and Gujarat Giants allrounder Ashleigh Gardner have been retained for the maximum price of INR 3.5 crore ahead of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.The WPL officially released the list of players retained by the franchises on Thursday and Sciver-Brunt – not the captain Harmanpreet Kaur – was MI’s first retention. RCB wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was retained for INR 2.75 crore, the second-highest bracket, while Harmanpreet and Giants opener Beth Mooney were retained for INR 2.5 crore each. There were a few notable surprises in the retention list. UP Warriorz chose not to retain Deepti Sharma, the recent ODI World Cup’s Player of the Tournament, holding on to only one player in Shweta Sehrawat. Among other major releases were Amelia Kerr, Alyssa Healy, and Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning.As per WPL retention rules, franchises can retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and at most two uncapped Indian players. If a franchise wanted to retain five players, at least one of them should be an uncapped Indian player. The WPL has for the first time given teams right-to-match (RTM) options at the auction to buy back a player who was part of their 2025 squad.Each franchise has been allotted INR 15 crore to build their squad for WPL 2026. It is understood that the mega player auction will take place in Delhi on November 27.Here’s the full list of players retained by all five franchises:

Mumbai Indians

Players retained: Nat Sciver-Brunt – INR 3.5 crore, Harmanpreet Kaur – INR 2.5 crore, Hayley Matthews – INR 1.75 crore, Amanjot Kaur – INR 1 crore, G Kamalini – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.25 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.75 crore; No RTM option available
Notable players released: Amelia Kerr, Nadine de Klerk, Yastika Bhatia, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Players retained: Smriti Mandhana – INR 3.5 crore, Richa Ghosh – INR 2.75 crore, Ellyse Perry – INR 2 crore, Shreyanka Patil – INR 60 lakh
Money spent: INR 8.85 crore; Purse remaining: INR 6.15 crore; One RTM option available
Notable players released: Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Danni Wyatt-HodgeWhat they said: “Her association with risk and how she faces pressure situations is exactly what we want in our batting order,” new head coach Malolan Rangarajan said of retaining Ghosh. “And somebody we view with leadership potential as well.”

Delhi Capitals

Players retained: Jemimah Rodrigues – INR 2.2 crore, Shafali Verma – INR 2.2 crore. Annabel Sutherland – INR 2.2 crore, Marizanne Kapp – INR 2.2 crore, Niki Prasad – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.3 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.7 crore; No RTM available
Notable players released: Meg Lanning, N Shree Charani, Radha Yadav, Arundhati ReddyWhat they said: “It’s been really tough,” DC head coach Jonathan Batty told JioStar about not retaining Lanning. About who could now lead DC in WPL 2026, he said: “Jemimah’s got a great captaincy record [in domestic cricket]. Obviously, Annabel Sutherland captains in WBBL as well. So there’s lots of candidates out there. We also got the mega auction to come, so there’s some candidates out there as well. So we’re leaving our options open.”

Gujarat Giants

Players retained: Ash Gardner – INR 3.5 crore, Beth Mooney – INR 2.5 crore
Money spent: INR 6 crore; Purse remaining: INR 9 crore available; Three RTM options available
Notable players released: Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield

UP Warriorz

Player retained: Shweta Sehrawat – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 50 lakh; Purse remaining: INR 14.50 crore; Four RTM options available
Notable players released: Deepti Sharma, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Kranti Gaud, Chinelle HenryWhat they said: “I feel the thought process from the think tank, from the support group, was more so to go in with a clean slate, try and have as much money in the purse, to make sure we can not only get the team that we feel we need to win that championship, but also get a lot of these players back in the auction, given the opportunity,” Abhishek Nayar, newly appointed head coach, said. “But the thought process also behind having someone like a Shweta Sehrawat in the ranks and retaining her, was the faith this franchise has put into as a youngster playing three years, being someone who’s played almost every game for us and being able to perform, and now going up the ranks in domestic cricket. We just felt we would love to have someone like that back in our set-up.”

It wasn’t perfect, but Manchester United secured three points at Molineux to return to winning ways in the Premier League and gear up for another charge toward Champions League contention.

Bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers crumbled away after the break, and the Red Devils made them pay, with Bruno Fernandes’ brace coming either side of second-half strikes from Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount.

The home side might be at the centre of a catastrophic failure this season, but take nothing away from United’s slick attacking play, creating a platform to build on after labouring to a draw against West Ham United at Old Trafford last week.

How Man Utd beat Wolves

Amorim’s Red Devils have rekindled the feel-good factor. There is work still to be done, and the Portuguese tactician’s system leaves something to be desired, but Manchester United are just one point behind fourth-placed Crystal Palace.

Amorim knew his side would dominate the ball, and dictate the flow of possession they did, but he would have drilled into his troops at half-time a lesson about wayward shooting. As per Sofascore, United chalked up an xG total of 4.01 across the match, with 3.06 of that total coming after the interval despite 14 of the 27 shots on the evening being lashed across the first half.

It’s also worth noting that five of United’s seven shots on target came during the first half. This may have smacked of desperation in other circumstances, but at Molineux illustrated a tactical tweak orienting toward greater variation, a ramping-up of the gas that outfoxed a Wolves backline that crumbled under pressure.

One way of looking at it would be that United toiled, to little avail, before the break, but we also saw tactical adaptation from a manager who has been criticised for his obstinacy.

Content creator Adam Joseph said that “tonight doesn’t solve any issues”, but he praised the victory all the same. Now, Amorim needs to go one step further and deepen the nuances of his system, surely ending one protracted experiment which might have seen the visitors come unstuck, had they been playing a higher calibre of opponent.

Amorim must boldly drop Man United talent

Amad Diallo is one of the most talented players in Manchester United’s squad, but he’s also been played out of position for the lion’s share of the Amorim era, and the contest at Molineux issued a reminder that he cannot continue in an unnatural wing-back berth forever.

Not only does it hinder the 23-year-old’s attacking play, but it also fails to offer United’s system the balance and fluency it requires down the right channel.

This was by no means a, quote unquote, disasterclass, but Amad did leave something to be desired, lacking end product and culpable for a few defensive lapses. The Manchester Evening News recognised this, handing the Ivory Coast international a 6/10 match rating.

Amad, after all, was perhaps at fault for the Old Gold’s parity-restoring goal before the break, failing to close David Møller Wolfe as the wing-back cut back to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who scored.

There were flashes of quality, for sure, but we must remember that Amad is performing, dutifully, in a role that is not his own, and this was picked up by analyst Raj Chohan, who remarked that it has been “completely unserious squad planning” on Amorim’s part, shoehorning a fleet-footed forward into a position that he “does not suit playing” in.

This season, ten of Amad’s 15 appearances have come as United’s right-sided wing-back, with five outings made in an attacking role off the central striker.

There he plays his best stuff, and if Amorim is to succeed at the club and lead the squad for the long run, he will need to find a way to maximise this talented forward’s skills in a position that he can call his own.

Bad news for Mainoo: INEOS make £70m "passing machine" Man Utd’s no.1 target

Man United’s need for a new centre-midfielder is as pressing as ever.

By
Angus Sinclair

4 days ago