Inter Miami CF signed free agent wingback and midfielder Julian Gressel through the 2026 season.
The deal was sealed Tuesday includes an option for 2027 and reunites Gressel with head coach Tata Martino.
Gressel, 30, won the 2018 MLS Cup playing for Martino with Atlanta United FC.
Gressel added another championship last season, lifting the 2023 MLS Cup with the Columbus Crew.
"Julian is an established player with a winning track record in the league who has proven himself at every stage during his MLS career," Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said in a release.
"We are pleased to add him to our squad as his versatility and quality delivery will bolster Inter Miami as we look to build on the successes of last season in 2024."
He has 25 goals and 66 assists in 213 matches (190 starts) with Atlanta (2017-19), D.C. United (2020-22), the Vancouver Whitecaps (2022-23) and Columbus.
Inter Miami will begin their first full season with Lionel Messi on the roster with a Feb. 21 home match against Real Salt Lake.
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Manchester United may be one agent’s first point of call if his client fails to complete his expected transfer this summer. Indeed, the Red Devils could be contacted to gauge their desire to sign former target Randal Kolo Muani in the event he does not sign permanently for Juventus in the coming weeks. How Kolo Muani has fared since leaving Germany After struggling to cement a starting spot or find his most prolific form at Paris Saint-Germain for a season and a half, Muani departed for Turin in the winter in hopes of reviving his stagnant career – and that he did. From making just two league starts and scoring twice in the first half of 2024/2025, the frontman went on to play an integral role for Juventus; he notched 10 goals and three assists in 22 appearances – including three goals in three starts at the Club World Cup. Such stellar showings have prompted the Old Lady to try and tie him down to a long-term deal. PSG are said to be open to his sale, having conceded that Muani is just not the right fit for Luis Enrique’s project at the moment. However, an agreement is yet to be reached between all parties. Why United have been tipped for a surprise Muani swoop That’s where United come in. The Reds hold long-standing interest in Muani after first being linked with him back in 2023, when he had become one of the most sought-after talents in Europe for his emphatic Eintracht Frankfurt performances. United ultimately swayed in the direction of Rasmus Hojlund, signing him in a £72m package deal from Atalanta, while Muani – hailed as a ‘complete’ player by compatriot Kylian Mbappe joined the Ligue 1 giants for £76.4m all-in. Reports in recent weeks have suggested INEOS could turn to the French international to solve their centre-forward crisis, although it remains to be seen if he would be open to the move, given the side failed to qualify for Champions League football for the forthcoming term. Fabrizio Romano shared his understanding of the situation, confirming there is a chance an approach will be made from Muani’s representatives. “I’m not aware of concrete talks as Juventus remain favourites now, but Manchester United could be offered this opportunity in case the Juve deal collapses,” said Romano in GiveMeSport’s newsletter.
WNBA players sent a message to the league with T-shirts they wore ahead of the All-Star Game on Saturday night, but the ratings for the game did not exactly strengthen their stance. Prior to the All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., Caitlin Clark and other players warmed up in shirts that said “Pay us what you owe us” across the front. The message had to do with the current state of collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the WNBA and WNBA Player’s Association. Unfortunately for the players, the television ratings for the game were not very good. Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported on Tuesday that the WNBA All-Star Game drew 2.19 million viewers on ABC, which was down roughly 36% from a year ago. Last year’s game featured the WNBA All-Stars against the Team USA squad that was preparing to compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris. The dip in ratings is likely another example of the type of impact Clark has had on the WNBA. Although she was a team captain for this year’s All-Star Game, Clark did not play due to a groin injury. Clark played in last year’s game for the All-Star side, as she did not make the Team USA Olympic roster. Many fans were outraged that she was snubbed from the Olympic team, which added an element of intrigue to the All-Star Game. There is no way of knowing for certain whether more fans would have watched the All-Star Game on Saturday night had Clark played. It is a safe guess, however, especially when you look at some recent trends for the league.
Caitlin Clark might be the most popular figure in women's basketball right now, but she continues to draw shots left and right, both on and off the court. The Iowa product has stayed even keeled and mostly unrattled, but that doesn't mean she won't fight back. That's why, in the light of Kelsey Plum's recent comments, she decided to take matters into her own hands and clapped back at her with a simple, six-word message. Plum shared a picture of her during the WNBA's All-Star Weekend, which showed half of a Nike logo in the background. Clark was quick to spot it and just wrote "Thank u for the Nike ad." This happened just hours after Plum seemingly took a shot at Clark and her Team Clark teammates for reportedly not getting involved in their pre-game protest. “The T-shirt was determined this morning. Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that,” Plum revealed. “That really needed to be mentioned,” Sabrina Ionescu added while both laughed. WNBA All-Stars warmed up with a T-Shirt that read 'Pay us what you owe us,' ahead of their new CBA agreement, which is expected to be signed in the offseason. WNBA players get around 9 percent of the league's revenue, and they're asking for a bigger share since most of them also have to play overseas during the offseason because of the salary disparity. Plum is the vice president of the WNBPA, so it's not surprising to see her so involved in the protest and the demands. Then again, it's hard to understand the reasoning behind the tattle telling, as not only does it show that there might not be a united front ahead of these negotiations, but it also drives attention away from where it should be.
Another year, another shot at a championship. Since their last World Series appearance in 2022, a match in which they lost, the Philadelphia Phillies have slid backwards, falling in the NLCS in 2023 and the NLDS in 2024. This year, the Phillies are back on top of the NL East, holding a slim half-game lead over the New York Mets entering Tuesday. Still, their season has been far from spotless. The Phillies have gone through immeasurable difficulties from the bullpen without Jeff Hoffman (signed with Blue Jays), Carlos Estevez (signed with Royals) or Jose Alvarado (PED suspension), especially with Jordan Romano’s descent into the dumpster fire. But with new free-agent signing David Robertson in tow, we can expect some degree of stability from the relief corps going forward — though, not to insinuate that team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is done adding bullpen arms. Another sore spot that received plenty of attention the past few months is in the outfield, left field in particular. Among all qualifying left fielders, Max Kepler maintains the second lowest OPS. Much has been made about potentially replacing him, but as bad as he’s been, there is one Philadelphia infielder that has done even worse. Once a promising bat, second baseman Bryson Stott seems to be reaching rock bottom. Below, you can his stats in comparison to that of Kepler’s: (wRC+: weighted runs created plus represents the culmination of a hitter’s offensive achievements where a value of 100 is MLB’s average) Stott has been more proficient than Kepler at recording hits, but Kepler’s power and higher walk rate gives him the edge in overall offensive stats. It was only in 2023, his second year of MLB action, when Stott hit .280/.329/.414 with 15 home runs. Unfortunately, Stott’s productivity began to slide last season. This year, his slump halted in April when he hit .314 on the month, but it quickly resumed in May (.216), worsened in June (.202) and has reached a fever-pitch in July (.132). If the Phillies are going to claw their way back to the Fall Classic, it may be better if Stott’s bat isn’t in the lineup.
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