DAVID BECKHAM has appointed former Prem star Javier Mascherano as Inter Miami’s new manager, according to reports.

Mascherano, 40, will now coach his ex-Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba.

The former Liverpool star has signed a long-term contract with the MLS franchise, according to transfer journalist Cesar Luis Merlo.

He will also leave his position as manager of Argentina‘s under-20 team, where he coaches a number of Inter Miami‘s young prospects.

It’s Mascherano’s first position at a senior men’s club as the Athletic report that documents are “being prepared”.

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino stepped down as gaffer just three days ago after Miami’s shock elimination from the first round of the MLS play-offs.

Miami lost the three-game series with a 3-2 defeat in Game 3 to Atlanta United, sealing their exit and ending their 2024 campaign.

Messi, Alba and Suarez played in all three games, with the eight-time Ballon d’Or scoring in the final loss.

Mascherano joined Liverpool in 2006 and played three seasons at Anfield where he formed part of an incredible midfield trio with Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.

Mascherano then went onto to win trophies with Messi, Suarez, Alba and Busquets during his eight seasons at Barcelona.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

During his time in Spain, Mascherano won five LaLiga titles and the Champions League twice.

He’s not the first former Prem star to take the reigns at Inter, with Phil Neville previously managing the club for two-and-a-half years before he was sacked by pal Beckham.

Martino, who guided Miami to the best regular season record in MLS history this season, made the decision to leave for personal reasons.

The 61-year-old Martino – who also coached Messi with Barca and Argentina‘s national team before reuniting with him in South Florida – gave no signs of leaving when the season ended earlier this month.

Miami were 26-9-12 in MLS regular season and won the Leagues Cup and the Supporters Shield in 2023.

Mascherano is likely to face a hectic 2025 as the team will likely venture out on another international pre-season tour.

There’s also the 34-match MLS slate and Miami will be one of the teams in the Club World Cup that starts in June as well.

But Miami won’t gather for training camp to start the 2025 season until January. 

Mascherano is the latest ex-Messi teammate to join the MLS franchise – but the first in a coaching capacity. 

He coached Argentina at the 2024 Paris Olympics to a quarterfinal exit losing out to silver medallist France.

It’s likely to be the final year with all four of the team’s ex-Barcelona superstars.

Busquets and Messi see their deals expire after the 2025 season, Suarez is in negotiations over a one-year extension, and Alba has an option for a further year on his deal.

AnThe only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday.

The countdown to Black Friday 2024 is on! While there are a few notable sale events throughout the year, from Amazon’s Prime Day(s) and Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale, to all the long weekends, Black Friday (which falls on November 29 this year) is still number one in our book. After all, brands that rarely ever go […]

A three-point shot by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner with 2.5 seconds left in the game looked like something out of a movie, according to his teammate, Jalen Suggs. After the game, Suggs hyped up Wagner in the thriller he produced in Los Angeles. “He got to his bag, step back. … Boogie is special, […]

The post Magic’s Jalen Suggs hypes up Franz Wagner’s ‘movie moment’ in thrilling win vs. Lakers appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Bradley Cooper’s net worth in 2024 is $120 million. Cooper is a famous actor who has starred in various films such as Maestro, A Star Is Born, Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper, American Hustle, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and many […]

The post Bradley Cooper’s net worth in 2024 appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Franz Wagner hit a game-winning three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to give the Orlando Magic a thrilling win over the Los Angeles Lakers last night, but Wagner’s heroics would have been a non-factor had the Lakers, and Anthony Davis, in particular, made a few more free throws in crunch time. With the Lakers up by […]

The post Lakers’ Anthony Davis reacts to ‘frustrating’ choke in crushing loss to Magic appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Myles Garrett stole the show during the Cleveland Browns’ 24-19 upset win over the Pittsburg Steelers on Thursday Night Football. The star edge rusher tallied three sacks in the first half, one of which forced a fumble, as Cleveland held Russell Wilson and the Steelers to three points through two quarters. Browns Hall of Fame […]

The post Joe Thomas drops bold Myles Garrett declaration after Browns star’s 3-sack game vs. Steelers appeared first on ClutchPoints.

The iconic Scream franchise is taking a bold leap forward with its seventh installment, slated for a February 2026 release. Isabel May, celebrated for her performances in 1883 and 1923, has secured the pivotal role of Sidney Prescott’s daughter, Deadline reports. Neve Campbell, the beloved “Scream Queen,” returns after sitting out the previous film due […]

The post Scream 7 casts lead a year after Melissa Barrera firing controversy appeared first on ClutchPoints.

JAKE PAUL could sensationally fight Anthony Joshua to “test the limits of what’s possible.”

YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul moved up to heavyweight to defeat Mike Tyson over eight rounds on Netflix.

Getty

Jake Paul could sensationally fight Anthony Joshua[/caption]

Reuters

Anthony Joshua weighs as much as 18 stone[/caption]

It proved a commercial success with over 100 MILLION tuning in and over 72,000 fans inside the AT&T Stadium.

And Paul’s victory caused the likes of undisputed light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, 39, to call out Paul.

Dubois, 27, who knocked out Joshua, 35, in September also challenged the 11-1 social media sensation.

And Paul’s promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian told Sky Sports: “Jake’s feedback to me was I want to do that fight.

“Not now. But I want to do that fight. To be a world champion at cruiserweight, he wants to do that.

“The other is to test the limits of expectations. Test the limits of what’s possible.

“This event with Mike Tyson, that tested the limits of what was possible for the world to see and him fighting Anthony Joshua or Daniel Dubois is kind of the same thing.

“Jake weighed in at 227lbs but really he walks around at 215. But he’ll do it for the right environment, the right framework.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

“It isn’t about the money. He’s made lots of money from the time he was 18 years old. It’s really about disruption.

“It’s really about doing things that make you say: ‘Wow, that really happened.’ That’s what excites us.”

Joshua weighed as heavy as 18 STONE before he was knocked out in round five by Dubois in September.

And talks to rematch in February have since broken down as AJ instead eyes a return in the summer.

Meanwhile Paul, 27, has the likes of Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez, 34, in his sights as he plots his next move.

Bidarian said: “He has plenty of options.

“He’s going to take a few days off and then we’re going to sit down next week with him, his advisers, his coaches and determine the next steps.

“This was an opportunity to grab the world’s attention and remind them why this is such a beautiful sport.

“Jake played a major part in doing that in his match against Mike Tyson and strategically we positioned Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano right before them.

“In terms of what’s next for Jake – whatever he wants it to be, to be honest.”

FORGET boxing. Forget the NBA.

Because there is a very different sport set to take over Madison Square Garden in the next few years.

Reuters

Madison Square Garden could be ready to host another huge sporting event[/caption]

Alamy

Chess enjoyed a massive boost by The Queen’s Gambit and Covid lockdowns[/caption]

Instagram / @mosalah

Mo Salah wants to take on the world’s best after conquering his family at home[/caption]

And that is chess.

It may not be a new sport – in fact, it’s been around for more than 1,500 years – but chess is enjoying a revival that is ready to take over.

Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit coinciding with the Covid lockdowns propelled the game into the forefront of people’s minds again, dusting off the chequered boards and playing with Boris Johnson’s daily press briefings on the TV in the background.

It is now estimated that a whopping 605million people across the world play chess – including plenty of top athletes such as Harry Kane and Mo Salah.

However, just 10,000 watch it – the total inverse of most popular sports.

Now, grandmaster and 17-time world champion Magnus Carlsen has teamed up with Norwegian entrepreneur Mats Andre Kristiansen to create a streaming app to revolutionise chess into a spectator sport.

Kristiansen – who founded Norway’s first billion-dollar start-up company with an online groceries business – told SunSport: “In Norway, because of Magnus, we watch chess like any other sport on television.

“But the chess ecosystem is a bit broken. It’s very hard for a casual fan to come in and understand who the best players are and when they are playing.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

“Our app Take Take Take is the first serious platform to push chess into the level of spectating sport.

“If you could get everyone that has ever played chess to get excited about watching chess, I think easily a billion people could follow a top-level chess game.

“The sky’s the limit in terms of where this could go.

“I could see in five years’ time that we could sell out Madison Square Garden and make big live events.

“One of the reasons this hasn’t happened before is that spectators are asked to be absolutely silent during a chess event because it’s very easy to cheat and give the players hints.

“You would need to put the players inside a glass box or something so spectators can cheer and scream and be loud.

“If someone could solve that over the next couple of years, I think really we could see chess turn into a fantastic spectating sport.”

The Take Take Take app, launched in October, enables fans to keep tabs on live matches, socialise with other fans, complete interactive challenges and will introduce various games – including fantasy chess in 2025, with Carlsen originally having the idea because he is one of the best fantasy football players in the world.

Kristiansen likened chess to golf, tennis and cycling as sports that can take a while but have key, critical moments with big ramifications.

To make chess into a spectator sport, you need to help people watching understand what is going on inside two people’s minds

Mats Andre Kristiansen

So Take Take Take will cover the upcoming World Championship final with broadcasts in the app and make the most of commentators, AI and graphics such as the “evaluation bar” to ‘Give, Give, Give’ an education to newer, casual fans.

CEO Kristiansen, 38, added: “Chess is very relatable because people play chess from five to 105 years old.

“To make it into a spectator sport, you need to help people watching understand what is going on in the action on the board because everything is inside two people’s minds.”

The app – downloaded in 180 countries in the first seven days – received investment backing from Breakthrough Initiatives, the company spearheaded by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and Google founder Sergey Brin.

Clearly, they too see the huge potential of growing chess’ spectator and commercial value.

And that is largely down to the influence of Carlsen, Netflix and viral YouTubers – who together have raised its profile across the sporting and entertainment world.

ALL ON BOARD

Oslo-based Kristiansen, who played Carlsen as part of 25 simultaneous matches in 2016, added: “Magnus Carlsen is the best chess player, he’s renowned as the first chess superstar and his influence for chess has been insane.

“Mo Salah from Liverpool plays chess. He would love to play Magnus. That would be great. Harry Kane is a chess fan.

“Netflix made The Queen’s Gambit and is launching their Drive To Survive-style documentary for chess next year and Emma Stone bought the production rights for the cheating scandal between Magnus and Hans Niemann.

“Chess.com’s biggest surge in growth was when all the YouTubers and content creators got brought on to the platform to play chess.

“There are definitely lots of things happening to popularise chess even more.”

Without doubt, for more than a millennium-and-a-half, people all over the world have fallen in love WITH chess.

And now Kristiansen is delighted to see people falling in love THROUGH chess.

He concluded: “I travel a lot with Magnus and there are more and more chess bars opening in Europe… in Paris, in London, in Berlin, in Stockholm where one is a nightclub with 100 chess boards set up in the basement.

“And now in Los Angeles, there is even the LA Chess Club which is a speed-dating event. You can see casual chess fans want to meet in bars and play chess.”

Check it out, mate.

Getty

Harry Kane is a fan of chess[/caption]

Rex

Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has helped launch a new app to make chess a global spectator sport[/caption]

SunSport

Norwegian entrepreneur Mats Andre Kristiansen is CEO of Take Take Take[/caption]

Getty

Mark Zuckerberg’s company invested in the Take Take Take app[/caption]

instagram @lachess.club

The LA Chess Club sets up speed-dating events in Los Angeles[/caption]