British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly emerged as the highest bidder for Manchester United. 

The Ineos Group CEO has offered more than $6.2 billion to buy the Premier League club, according to the Daily Telegraph. 

Ratcliffe is bidding against Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose final offer reportedly also eclipsed $6.2 billion and promised to erase Manchester United’s $620 million in debt, according to The Times of India. 

Third and final bids for the storied soccer club were submitted Friday. United’s current American owners, the Glazer family, are looking to sell the club at a $7 billion valuation, per the Independent. 

While Sheikh Jassim is reportedly attempting to buy 100% of Manchester United, Ratcliffe has proposed buying a non-full majority stake that would allow the Glazer family to retain minority interest.

Over the weekend, Manchester United supporters protested, calling for the complete removal of the Glazer family from ownership. The family has held majority control of United since 2005 and also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

ESPN finds itself caught between past glory and future uncertainty.

Faced with a falling number of cable TV subscribers – and a rising number of  ESPN+ subscribers — the sports network is embracing the streaming future.

“We’re going to get to a point where we take our entire network, our flagship programming, and make it available direct-to-consumer,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro told Bloomberg. “That’s a ‘when,’ not an ‘if’ … We’re only going to do it when it makes sense for our business and for our bottom line.”

Pitaro has reason to be worried. With millions of TV consumers cutting the cord, ESPN’s footprint is down to 74 million homes from 100 million two decades ago.

The ESPN+ streaming service has signed 25 million subscribers in five years, but most of the network’s marquee events, like “Monday Night Football,” still air on the linear channel.

TV is still huge for the network, generating $28 billion in revenue for Disney. But if Pitaro gets his way, more live sporting events will shift to ESPN+ at $9.99 a month — including the NBA, with which ESPN is hoping to extend a 21-year relationship.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan analysts recently reported that the increasing rate of media rights deals is becoming unsustainable for networks, which are attempting to course-correct their business models.

“I’m confident we’re going to see eye-to-eye on how to prioritize streaming,” Pitaro said of talks with the league.

Pitaro is viewed as a potential successor to Disney boss Bob Iger. 

To comply with Iger’s mandate to slash 7,000 jobs and save $5.5 billion in costs, ESPN launched the first of several rounds of layoffs last week. Among those getting pink slips were FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver and 43-year ESPN veteran Mike Soltys, the network’s second-longest-tenured employee.

After cutting ties with two U.S. pop stars, Adidas is looking for new inroads to the American audience.

The company is leaning into its U.S. operations, particularly basketball and soccer, as it seeks to grow its presence and identity in the U.S. 

“We want to double down on all of the things that are U.S.-centric, particularly around sport,” Adidas North America president Rupert Campbell told the Wall Street Journal.

Adidas spent hundreds of millions on a new facility in Los Angeles, which will be the center of its basketball product team, and on upgrades to its North American headquarters in Portland. 

The company is also seeking a boost from its relationship with MLS, with the World Cup coming to North America in 2026. Sales on soccer products are up 50% from last year, following the launch of new MLS jerseys in February.

Last year, Adidas cut ties with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in a public breakup that is now the subject of a shareholder class action lawsuit. In March, the company parted ways with Beyonce by mutual agreement over creative differences around her clothing line after a four-year partnership.

This is one of the first major moves by Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden, who assumed the role in November.

The company is expecting a $548.7 million profit impact on its fiscal 2023 from unsold inventory due to ending ties with Ye, plus $219.5 million in one-off costs.

After winning the 2022 World Cup — and securing its record $42 million grand prize — in December, Argentina soccer is laying down roots in the U.S. for future success.

The Argentina Football Association recently announced plans to build an official training facility in North Bay Village, a small waterfront community situated between Miami and Miami Beach that would serve as its headquarters in the U.S.

The American facility will be modeled after the AFA’s main complex in Ezeiza, Argentina. The AFA also said that it may want to establish satellite locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta.

Notably, U.S. Soccer doesn’t have an official training facility in the country — meaning that Argentina will have one in the U.S. before its own national team does.

A big reason for the stateside move is to scout and recruit dual-national talent in the U.S. and maintain the momentum it has built from six World Cup finals appearances, winning three titles (2022, 1986, and 1978).

“We know that there are many players in the U.S. who have Argentine parents,” AFA chief commercial and marketing officer Leandro Petersen told The Athletic. “We’ll continue to track those players who leave Argentina at a young age. If not, they’ll end up representing another country.”

Petersen says Argentina hopes to open the facility before the 2024 Copa América, which will be held in the U.S. as part of the buildup to the 2026 World Cup in North America.