Here's what President Donald Trump said about U.S. women's hockey aft… — and more

It was a historic Olympics for Team USA.

Liverpool and Manchester City Track Andrea Cambiaso as €60m Valuation Looms

Rise of Modern Full Back

There is a particular type of defender that elite clubs now covet, one comfortable stepping inside, receiving under pressure, and shaping the rhythm of a game. Andrea Cambiaso appears to fit that mould.

The Juventus full back has developed into one of Serie A’s most intriguing tactical pieces. As reported by Caught Offside, “Capable of playing on either flank and even stepping into midfield roles when required, Cambiaso represents the archetype of the modern ‘system player’, versatile, disciplined and comfortable in possession.”

That description alone explains the attention. In an era when defensive roles are fluid, versatility is currency. The 26 year old has made 35 appearances this season, an indication not only of durability but of trust within a squad that prizes tactical awareness.

Photo: IMAGO

Juventus’ Calculated Position

Juventus’ stance is clear. “Juventus have made it clear that Cambiaso is not actively for sale.” Internally, he is considered “a long-term pillar of the squad and even a potential future captain.”

His contract runs until 2029, and at €2.4 million annually, he sits neatly within the wage structure. Stability, at least on paper, surrounds him.

Yet football rarely operates purely on sentiment. Reports suggested offers near €50 million were turned away in January. If talks reopen, the figure required is expected to reach between €60–70 million. That is not merely a valuation, it is a message. Juventus will only engage if the offer reshapes their financial outlook, particularly as they eye reinforcements in attack.

One industry source stated in the report is said to have remarked, “When a defender can influence midfield build-up, you are effectively buying two players in one.” That sentiment captures the strategic appeal.

Liverpool and City Watching Closely

Both Liverpool and Manchester City are monitoring developments.

Liverpool’s evolving backline structure demands adaptability. The profile of a full back who can tuck inside or hold width would suit a side seeking greater tactical elasticity.

City’s interest feels even more intuitive. Under Pep Guardiola, defenders frequently invert into midfield to assist circulation and control. Cambiaso’s composure aligns naturally with that blueprint.

Real Madrid are also attentive, but the Premier League pull is powerful. If Juventus secure Champions League continuity and financial balance, Cambiaso may yet remain in Turin. Should an offer touch €60 million, pragmatism may prevail.

Our View – EPL Index Analysis

From a Manchester City supporter’s perspective, this feels like intelligent scouting rather than urgent need. The attraction is obvious. Guardiola values defenders who can think like midfielders. Cambiaso’s ability to step inside and manage possession would enhance structural control, particularly in tight European fixtures.

The key question is whether €60–70 million represents optimal resource allocation. City have often preferred younger profiles or internal development when possible. At 26, Cambiaso offers experience but limited resale upside.

A fan might reasonably argue that flexibility across both flanks strengthens depth ahead of a demanding domestic and European schedule. Equally, supporters may wonder if academy pathways or alternative markets could provide similar tactical benefits at reduced cost.

Ultimately, this is about maintaining control. City’s dominance has been built on defenders comfortable in possession. Cambiaso appears cut from that cloth. Whether admiration becomes action may depend less on ability, and more on strategic timing.

There are good teams. There are great teams. And then there is the juggernaut that Team USA will be sending to the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Under manager Mark DeRosa, this is clear-cut the best roster that Team USA has ever assembled. That seemed to be a given when Aaron Judge, who is set to play in his first WBC, signed on to be the captain of the team. But it goes well beyond the reigning American League MVP. Twenty-one of the 30 players on USA’s roster have been MLB All-Stars — a total that, unsurprisingly, leads all teams in the tournament (which airs live on FOX, FS1, FS2, the FOX Sports app, FOX One, and Tubi). The Dominican Republic’s loaded roster ranks second with 16 former MLB All-Stars, followed by Venezuela with 12. Just based on MLB production using 2025 WAR as a guide, USA has concocted the best roster of any team in WBC history. Even after losing Corbin Carroll to a broken hamate bone — he was replaced by 21-year-old Roman Anthony, who hit 40% better than league average in his rookie season — DeRosa won't have to worry about a shortage of elite talent. WBC Rosters: Team-By-Team Squads With newcomers in Judge, AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh, two-time MVP Bryce Harper, two-time All-Star Byron Buxton plus more joining 2023 holdovers such as Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber and Will Smith, USA's lineup is even more stacked than it was three years ago. But it’s the pitching that really sets this team apart from previous star-studded groups. WBC Power Rankings: Stacking Japan, USA and All 20 Squads Attracting frontline arms can be an issue ahead of a long MLB season, but not this year. USA recruited both Cy Young Award winners in Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes to a rotation that also includes two-time All-Star Logan Webb, 2025 All-Stars Joe Ryan and Matthew Boyd and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, fresh off retirement. Keep in mind, WBC teams really only need four starters throughout the tournament. It’s an embarrassment of riches — and that’s before getting to the power arms at the back end of a bullpen that includes Mason Miller, David Bednar and Griffin Jax. All of that should lead to a USA team more than capable of avenging a 2023 WBC finals loss and reclaiming international glory after winning the tournament in 2017. But it also means some tough decisions ahead for DeRosa when constructing a lineup and figuring out how to deploy the pitching staff. Of course, he’ll be able to mix and match from game to game depending on the competition, but what would the optimal lineup look like? Here’s one take: Lineup So, how would that look defensively? Outfield LF: Roman AnthonyCF: Byron BuxtonRF: Aaron Judge You could certainly make the case to get Pete Crow-Armstrong’s defense in center field — he might end up platooning with Buxton — or even moving one of the center fielders on the roster to left, but I like the idea of having two strong defenders and potential base-stealers in PCA and Brice Turang off the bench to deploy as needed in the later innings. Judge is an obvious lock in right. Anthony graded out well defensively last year in both corner outfield spots. Buxton had a 137 OPS+ in 2024 and a nearly identical mark last year (136) in a 30-20 season and career year. He also obliterates left-handed pitching, so putting him behind Raleigh and Harper in the lineup would force tough pitching decisions for opponents. Infield 1B: Bryce Harper 2B: Gunnar Henderson SS: Bobby Witt, Jr. 3B: Alex Bregman C: Cal Raleigh DH: Kyle Schwarber After missing the 2023 competition coming off Tommy John surgery, Harper, who played for Team USA’s 16U and 18U teams, will cherish this opportunity. Sure, it might look a little wacky putting Henderson at second base. He hasn’t played the position since he came up as a rookie in 2022, and it’s probably more likely that Turang gets most of the opportunities there when the games begin. DeRosa could platoon the right-handed Witt and the left-handed Henderson at shortstop or Bregman and Henderson at third. But if it’s about fielding the best lineup, it’s hard to argue against finding a way to keep Witt, Henderson and Bregman all in the lineup. Raleigh and Schwarber need little explanation after leading the AL and NL, respectively, in home runs last year. Smith will be able to give Raleigh a spell behind the plate throughout the tournament. Rotation LHP Tarik SkubalRHP Paul Skenes RHP Logan WebbRHP Joe Ryan Swingmen/other options LHP Matthew BoydRHP Nolan McLeanRHP Clay HolmesRHP Michael WachaLHP Clayton Kershaw Skubal is only expected to make one start before returning to the Tigers, so that's obviously a blow for USA as it gets deeper into the tournament. Still, though, DeRosa has a bevy of strong options at his disposal. USA only needed four starters to get through the last WBC, and Skenes, Webb, Ryan and Boyd were all All-Stars last year. It’ll be interesting to see how DeRosa chooses to line up the rotation and if Skenes gets saved for a potential final. Bullpen RHP Mason MillerRHP David Bednar RHP Griffin JaxRHP Brad KellerRHP Garrett Whitlock LHP Gabe SpeierLHP Garrett Cleavinger Everyone wants to watch Miller blow 103 mph four-seamers past amateur athletes to finish off games, right? My guess is he earns the majority of save opportunities, but Bednar is another strong option, and lefties Speier and Cleavinger give DeRosa answers for any lineup he faces. Not bad!

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The thing about dropping a huge boulder into the combat sports pond — and Zuffa Boxing’s signing of Conor Benn was most certainly that — is that it inevitably ripples out in all directions. We’re still seeing those ripples now, with everyone reacting in their own special ways.

Those reactions, if we look closely, are very telling. They let us know not only where we are, but also how we got here.

For instance, start with Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn. He’s worked with Benn for roughly a decade now, and said he was told by Benn’s attorney that the deal was a fait accompli and there was nothing for them to talk about.

“I’m not going to sit here and hang Conor Benn out to dry,” Hearn told iFL TV shortly after news of Benn’s departure became public. “But I’ve got to be honest with you. Me personally? Pretty devastated.”

Hearn went on to call the news “very surprising” and “very, very painful,” while also mixing in some lamentations about unrequited loyalty and the cruel mistress that is the business of boxing. The thing about that response is, he does actually seem to care. He’s hurt by this development. And he’s not afraid to admit it.

Then on the other hand there’s Dana White, the UFC CEO who has positioned himself as the new savior of boxing. Enticing Benn away from Hearn, his most vocal rival in the business thus far, is a major coup for him.

“I think you saw this week, I am really beating up babies,” White said at a press conference for this past weekend’s UFC event. “Is there a bigger p**** than Eddie Hearn? This guy [Benn] is supposed to be your friend. You’re f***ing crying. He made more money. He’s going to make more money, and [Hearn] had the right to match it. He could’ve matched it.”

What’s interesting there is that you don’t hear so much about what a great fighter Benn is and how excited White is to promote his fights. Instead, it’s all about how this signing is a great victory over Hearn. And the fact that Hearn was willing to say it hurt to have Benn switch sides? That admission, in White’s eyes, just makes him a big ol’ … well, you get it.

By now the news of the signing — and the reported $15 million price tag associated with it — has also made its way to current UFC fighters. Some of them are quite reasonably doing a little compare-and-contrast on how the same people who sign their checks seem to have a lot more cash lying around when it comes to signing new boxers.

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Take former UFC bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley, who said he’d never heard of Benn and at first found the payout hard to believe.

"If they really paid him $15 million, it’s like … it’s crazy how you put in so much work in the UFC to build this name, create this character, be this star, and I’m not making f***ing $15 million a fight,” O’Malley said. “But it’s also a business. If they think that’s a good business move and that guy’s going to bring in money, it’s like, I get it. I don’t take anything personal in business. Business is business.”

If you’re familiar with the stages of grief, you’ll note that O’Malley just went from denial to anger to acceptance with a Homer Simpson-like speed. He started out wondering how in the world a boxer who’s never held a major world title could get a one-fight deal worth more than the entire payroll of several UFC events combined, then ended up concluding that things just be like that sometimes so whaddaya gonna do?

This is also a very telling reaction. What it tells us is that UFC fighters have become very used to this sort of thing. Most of them know they’re underpaid. They know it’s not because the company they work for simply doesn’t have more money to give them. They know other fighters in other combat sports are making more than they are. But they also feel powerless to do anything about it, so it’s easier to just tell themselves that things must be this way for a good reason.

Maybe this is just what happens when the usual order of things gets suddenly shaken up. Everyone reaches for what they know, seeking comfort in the familiar. Everyone tries to understand this new present using the tools they gathered in their respective pasts. No one knows for sure where any of this is going, and that uncertainty is unsettling.

What we do know is that this is a pretty good time to be a big-name boxer. When promoters go to war using their wallets, it’s the pieces they’re fighting over who stand to benefit the most. Meanwhile, all the current crop of MMA fighters can do is to watch from the outside and wonder what that must be like.