I Dig Sports
SEBRING, Fla. IndyCar Series teams hit the track on Monday for the first day of IndyCar Spring Training at Sebring Intl Raceway.
Another full day of testing is scheduled for Tuesday as teams prepare for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Feb. 28 to March 2.
IndyCar enters the 2025 season with a new television partner as FOX Sports launches its inaugural season of IndyCar coverage with the seasons first practice in St. Pete on Friday, Feb. 28 on FS1.
All 17 races for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season will air on FOX, with two additional days during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying May 17-18 ahead of the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge creating a series-record 19 network windows.
The NTT IndyCar Series is the only premier motorsport series in North America with all races broadcasting on network television.
All IndyCar programming also streams live on the FOX Sports app.
This will be a season of unrivaled exposure for the NTT IndyCar Series, IndyCar President Doug Boles said. With phenomenal support of our sport across multiple massive platforms including Super Bowl LIX FOX Sports has proven to be a superb partner and promoter. With the season approaching, we know their unique style of engaging and innovative broadcasts will continue to raise the bar and drive an unparallelled growth opportunity for IndyCar.
As IndyCar moves forward with a new partner, the series announced several updates on Tuesday.
Lap counts at several IndyCar races have been extended, creating added dynamics for race teams.
Five laps have been added to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which will now be 90 laps. Ten additional laps have been added to the races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which will now be 90 laps in length.
The Hy-Vee IndyCar Race weekend at Iowa Speedway doubleheader will increase by 25 laps to 275 laps for each of the two races.
Five laps have been added to Toronto for another 90-lap event and 19 laps have been added to the final race of the season at Nashville Superspeedway for a 225-lap contest.
The Hybrid Assist Unit was unveiled at Mid-Ohio on July 7 midway through the 2024 season but will be utilized at every IndyCar Series race in 2025.
The hybrid assist developed specifically for IndyCar through a first-of-its-kind collaborative effort by Chevrolet and Honda provides an added boost of 120 horsepower when used with traditional Push to Pass on road and street circuits. Used in tandem, a total of 800 horsepower is available to drivers for the first time in two decades.
New this season, use of the hybrid power unit will be allowed to start or restart the 2.2-liter twin- turbocharged V-6 engines on pit lane. As in 2024, hybrid assist will be allowed to restart a stalled race car on the race track on non-ovals.
From its full-field integration at the Milwaukee Mile Open Test on June 11 through the end of the 2024 season, 94,244 miles were completed with the system. Overall use and influence of hybrid assist increased race-over-race on road and street circuits and ovals.
Twelve of the 14 on-track passing records broken last year came after the introduction of the hybrid power unit.
Some IndyCar Series practice sessions will have an updated look in 2025.
At select road and street circuits (Streets of St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Detroit and Toronto and Barber Motorsports Park, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Portland Intl Raceway), weekend tire allotments this season will include:
-One additional set of Firestone Firehawk alternates (five total).
-One less set of Firestone Firehawk primaries (five total).
Race teams will be allowed the freedom to use their weekend allotments as they see fit, reserving one set of new alternates, per the rulebook, for use during the race.
Tire allotments for event weekends at The Thermal Club and Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course remain unchanged from last year.
Also, on road and street circuits, split group practice sessions in Practice 1 will expand to all tracks except for Road America and its lengthy 4.014-mile layout. All cars will receive an initial 45-minute practice session before the start of two 10-minute segments, with groups split by odd and even numbered pit boxes. As in qualifying, the clock in Segments One and Two will stop for the first red-flag condition of each practice segment.
Popular high-line practice sessions will continue on all short ovals in 2025. The additional track time allows for drivers and teams to work in the upper groove of the race track, providing more grip ahead of the race.
An annual IndyCar review also has led to adjustments to procedures and rules for the upcoming season:
Ahead of a race start on ovals, there will be a mandatory pair up location with one to go to reduce the chance of incident and the need for waved off starts.
Where feasible for oval restarts, IndyCar will extend the beginning of the restart zone to give the leader wider discretion on the choice to accelerate. The ending location of oval restart zones will remain the same as in previous seasons.
A multistage pit lane speed limiter, as utilized at pit in at Road America and at pit out at World Wide Technology Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway, will be expanded to pit lane entry at WWT Raceway, Iowa Speedway and Nashville.
The 2024 road and street circuit restart line, where drivers must remain in single file and are prohibited from passing until reaching the designated line in the last corner, remains intact for 2025.
Additional EM Motorsport light panels, first used in 2022, will be used at all circuits. The additional lights will enhance the forewarning of conditions, particularly around blind corners.
Also, for safety, drivers will be alerted of local yellow conditions by a notification on driver cockpit dashes in addition to the light panels and traditional cloth flag notifications at marshal posts around each circuit.
Also noteworthy, alternate tires at Nashville Superspeedway again will be available for the 2025 IndyCar season finale at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Last season, the championship race featured 653 on-track passes the most on record for the series at the track.
For the first time, an entire Indy NXT by Firestone season will be featured on live television. Announced in Dec. 12 Indy NXT races will appear live on FOX Sports FS1, with two airing on FS2.
Additionally, all practice and qualifying sessions for the IndyCar Series development series will air on a combination of FS1 and FS2.
After last season averaged the most starters (19.5) since 2009, the 2025 season is expected to match or exceed that number in a field featuring drivers from 10 countries.
Chip Ganassi Racing will add even more intrigue to the championship as it fields cars in Indy NXT for the first time since 2007.
Building on the series continued momentum, 2024 featured on-track passing records at four circuits, with qualifying records broken at six. Sixteen of the 33 starters in last years Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge were graduates of Indy NXT.
The pathway to North Americas premier open-wheel series once again features a purse of $1.4 million. The series champion will receive $850,000 to be applied to a rookie oval test, the Indy 500 Open Test and Rookie Orientation Program, an entry for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and an entry for an additional 2026 NTT IndyCar Series event.
The 2025 championship team will receive a prize of $35,000.
The Incredible Career Of Racing Pioneer Earl Cooper
Racing Hall of Famer Earl Cooper was one of the most formidable racers of his era and, perhaps, among the best from any era.
He displayed remarkable versatility, competing on dirt ovals, superspeedways, road courses and board tracks to win AAA National Championships in 1913, 1915 and 1917 against the likes of Tommy Milton, Ralph DePalma and Jimmy Murphy.
Cooper was born in Broken Bow, Neb., on Dec. 2, 1886. When he was five his family moved to San Jose, Calif., a fortuitous move for Coopers future. For even at the dawning of the automobile age, California was a hotbed of racing activity.
As a teenager he found work as a mechanic in C.H. Letchers garage, and in 1904 he helped Letcher prepare a Cadillac for a race at San Joses Agricultural Park. With Cooper only 17, Letcher decided to race the car himself.
Desperate to race, Cooper borrowed a Cadillac from one of the shops lady customers. At the races halfway point, Cooper blew by his boss for the win. None too happy about his employees perceived betrayal, Letcher fired Cooper.
Cooper wasnt out of work, or off the race tracks for long. Inspired by his initial success, he pursued racing on the dirt ovals scattered throughout California. By 1910, Cooper was so dominant the magazine Horseless Age claimed he was ruining racing by winning so frequently.
That caught the attention of the automotive manufacturer Harry Stutz, who latched onto the young talent. Cooper successfully raced the white No. 8 Stutz factory car from 1912 until Stutz pulled out of racing in 1916.
With the outbreak of World War I, Cooper semi-retired, racing only sporadically after the hostilities ceased. However, he became restless and returned to the cockpit in 1922, competing for another four years.
Naturally talented as a driver, Cooper was equally an excellent mechanic and engineer. He designed and built successful race cars after retiring. His on-track success materialized because he blended those abilities with meticulous preparation, cool-headedness and intense focus.
Perhaps theres no better example of this than his 1913 victory in the Corona Grand Avenue Boulevard race. The city of Corona had built a 2.75-mile, circular track around the city. Originally intended for horses, the city converted it into a paved boulevard for the new horseless carriages.
To celebrate the grand thoroughfares opening, a 300-mile auto race was promoted, attracting racings most prominent names. Cooper started preparing a month early. He camped nearby, daily testing tire and speed combinations. Though capable of running quicker, he determined that a 79-mph pace would suffice. Any faster and tire wear would jeopardize victory.
So as Barney Oldfield, Ralph DePalma and Spencer Wishart battled at over 90 mph, Cooper let his strategy play out. Multiple pit stops forced others out of contention, while he led the most laps and won easily.
Strangely, Cooper competed in two races simultaneously that afternoon. The first race was for 250 miles, for engines up to 450 ci. The second race was an open-class event, of an additional 50 miles.
Cooper received the checkered for the first race, and the green for the additional distance, taking that win and with it the $5,200 grand prize. The two wins ensured his first national championship.
1913 was also Coopers first year at Indianapolis. Although not entered, he relieved teammate Gil Anderson before a broken cam put the car out of the race. Cooper ultimately ran Indianapolis seven times and was consistently a favorite for a win.
He set track records there. In 1926, he captured the pole and led the race. But as it has for many great drivers through the decades, victory eluded him at the Brickyard. He did come tantalizingly close in 1924.
From his sixth-place starting spot, he raced into the lead on lap 42. A blown tire put him to the rear, but he fought his way back to the front and was again leading at the 400-mile mark when another tire blew. He still managed a second-place finish.
Afterward, while his mechanic bemoaned their loss, Cooper seemed unperturbed. Interrupting, he said, Never mind that. I saw this redhead in the stands where I stopped when the tire blew. Thats the most beautiful woman Ive ever seen. Im not going to rest until I know her name.
He did come to know it and married her.
That couldve been American racing hero, Earl Coopers finest display of coolness and intense focus in the heat of a race.
The Ultimate Improving Machine: BMW Trending Up in 2025
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. It may not have been obvious to the outside world, but BMW M Motorsports Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) prototype program made a great deal of progress in 2024.
On the surface, it was a challenging season for the Munich marque as its pair of entries dropped from sixth and eighth in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class standings to seventh and eighth. But the year ended on a high note, with the BMW M Hybrid V8 earning its first on-the-track victory in international sports car competition at the six-hour TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a commanding 1-2 finish for BMW M Team RLL, no less.
That trend of improvement carried over into 2025, as BMW M Team RLL turned in strong performances at Daytona International Speedway in both the Roar Before The 24 test session and the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It came with a thoroughly revised driver lineup, as BMW believes having its core drivers pull double duty with BMW M Team RLL in IMSA and BMW M Team WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship will strengthen the overall effort by speeding up the development of the BMW M Hybrid V8 common to both series.
Philipp Eng is BMWs only full-season 2024 IMSA driver returning in 2025, joined full-time this year by Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 car. Meanwhile, Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann command the No. 25 car. The lineup for IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races expands to include Kevin Magnussen in the No. 24 and Robin Frijns in the No. 25. The two teams were joined at Daytona by Raffaele Marciello and Rene Rast, respectively.
The philosophy seemed to pay immediate dividends at Daytona, as a BMW placed first or second in all five dry test sessions at the Roar, with Vanthoor fastest overall in the No. 24. Vanthoor maintained that form in Rolex 24 qualifying as he earned BMWs first Motul Pole Award in the current era of GTP competition.
Clearly when you have a good sanctioning test and a good Roar, it always helps for going into the race week, observed Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport. On the other hand, we know testing is testing and racing is racing. But we felt strong. We had a good run through all the sessions, and for sure, the pole position from Dries Vanthoor was amazing. Super pleased to get our first pole position with this car.
When we started the program, we were late with the decision to enter and we always had to catch up, Roos added. But I think especially from the middle of last year, we saw some great development in terms of our performance. We were getting there. It looked quite promising for us, and we knew we still had some things to tweak on the car to make it even better.
Roos confirmed BMW has deployed one of its available performance evo joker updates.
We used the small winter break that we had to improve that in testing. We took a joker on the car on the brake system side, he said. This is nothing which improves the lap time, but more the consistency and drivability of the car, which also in the end helps the drivers to perform consistently over 24 hours.
Higher Expectations
BMW was unable to add a second GTP win at Daytona, but the BMW M Hybrid V8 continued to demonstrate its pace. Vanthoor built a 25-second lead at the start before full-course cautions brought him back to the field. The No. 24 led a total of 90 laps and ran second for the final restart, when it incurred damage to the nose after contact with the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 that ultimately finished as the runner-up to the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.
The No. 24 BMW finished fourth at Daytona, while the No. 25 also led laps but was delayed and lost several laps during its overnight brake change, claiming seventh in the GTP class. BMWs also clocked the two fastest race laps, with van der Linde in the No. 25 car quickest at 1 minute, 35.858 seconds (133.684 mph) and Vanthoor in the No. 24 just over a tenth of a second off. Both BMWs ran all 24 hours without any mechanical problems.
Obviously finishing P4 in a 24-hour race is not the end of the world, stated Vanthoor. But at the end of the day, its very sad to fight for 22 hours and to come home with a podium, which we for sure deserved. I feel sorry for the guys who have been working very hard, and also to my teammates. Most important is that we showed that we were strong and able to fight.
For Roos, the benefits from consolidating BMWs worldwide driver lineup are already showing dividends.
I would say it is clearly paying off, Roos said. The fact that the season starts in January with the 24-hour race at Daytona is very beneficial for us. This allows us to have all eight drivers together for an extended period early in the season, helping us to optimally synchronize with each other. We did a lot of development from the start of the program, and we clearly realized that the (IMSA and WEC) cars are very specific. We had a lot of drivers jumping from one car to the other and we clearly saw that we wanted the (WEC) Hypercar drivers to focus more on the Hypercars.
Sheldon and Dries will do the double duty, which not only helps us with the exchanges on the engineering side, but now we also have a big exchange with drivers who run both championships, he continued. This helps us to accelerate the program and share the information. For us, its a win-win situation. The drivers get more seat time, which is always beneficial to improve the speed and feel more comfortable and confident in the car, and we have the ability to share information.
Both van der Linde and Vanthoor have a couple other things in common: they were both part of BMW M Team WRTs FIA WEC lineup in 2024 and theyve both got older brothers who race successfully. Sheldons older brother Kelvin is a BMW factory driver as well and competed at the Rolex 24 with Paul Miller Racings BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class. Dries older brother Laurens is a Porsche factory ace and emerged victorious ahead of Dries in the Rolex 24 in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.
The younger van der Linde is keen to take on the double duty challenge, even if it means a punishing trans-continental travel schedule.
Luckily I dont have a wife and kids! joked van der Linde. Well, not lucky, but its good timing for me, lets put it that way. Im 25 now, I live alone in Munich. There are a lot of positives. Im racing less than last year, but Im probably going to be on the road more.
Last year I did DTM (German Touring Car Championship) and WEC as well, so I was jumping from GT3 car to Hypercar, he continued. Thats not an easy transition, and I think the fact Im committed to one car now is really going to set me up to get used to the car and exploit those last few tenths. When you jump into the GT3 car, it always takes you a session or two to get back into the rhythm again. Whereas now you jump straight back into the car and youre on it from lap one and you know exactly what to expect. Just small things like the steering wheel buttons or whatever.
Roos is confident that BMW has the potential for a breakout season in IMSA in 2025.
We must take the positives from Daytona: The strong trend from 2024 clearly continues, we were able to build on it and field a competitive car in the GTP class, he said. There are things we are still working on and for sure, because its very competitive in IMSA and WEC with all the manufacturers. You always have to get everything together and work on every single bit.
Vancouver Canucks forward Drew O'Connor agreed to a two-year, $5 million contract extension on Tuesday.
O'Connor, 26, has recorded two goals in four games with the Canucks since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 1.
"Drew has really made a good first impression since joining our team from Pittsburgh at the beginning of the month," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. "We like his size, speed and ability to get in on the forecheck and hound pucks. Our staff also feel confident that they can help Drew take his game to another level and we are excited to see what the future holds for him with the Vancouver Canucks."
Vancouver traded defenseman Vincent Desharnais and forward Danton Heinen to the Penguins in exchange for O'Connor, defenseman Marcus Pettersson, forward prospect Melvin Fernstrom and a protected 2025 first-round draft pick.
O'Connor has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 57 games with the Penguins and Canucks this season. He has 68 career points (32 goals, 36 assists) in 214 games since making his NHL debut with Pittsburgh in January 2021.
Capitals commemorating Stanley Cup celebration with plaque at Washington Harbour fountain
When the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018, their celebration was one for the ages.
It was a party that raged everywhere: the National Mall, a Washington Nationals game, "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" and perhaps most famously a fountain in Georgetown where captain Alex Ovechkin frolicked half-naked.
It was June 9 when Ovechkin and teammates T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson followed up keg stands at a waterfront bar with a swim in the Washington Harbour fountain.
Ovechkin doffed his shirt before diving into the fountain, joining his teammates as they made "snow angels" and danced in the water with fans who joined the party.
This season marks the Capitals' 50th anniversary as an NHL franchise. On Friday, they'll commemorate that infamous aquatic Stanley Cup celebration with the unveiling of a special permanent plaque at the fountain.
The Capitals announced today plans to unveil a special permanent plaque in commemoration of the 2018 Stanley Cup championship celebration at @TheWashHarbour fountain in Georgetown.
The unveiling will take place at the Washington Harbour Ice Rink on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5 PM.
Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 17, 2025
The plaque will read: "Home of the 2017-18 Washington Capitals Fountain Celebration" and "In Vegas They Became Champions ... Here They Became Legends."
It will be placed on the fountain tower in the middle of what's currently an ice rink for the winter.
Nicklas Backstrom and Oshie -- members of the 2018 and current Capitals who are on long-term injured reserve -- will take part in the ceremony.
Ovechkin said at a fan event in 2019 that swimming in the fountain was the craziest part of their Cup celebration.
"We had a couple beers. Osh and Tom came to me like, 'Hey let's go swim in the fountains.' I said, 'OK, let's do it, we're champions,'" he said, via Russian Machine Never Breaks. "There were policemen and we said, 'Hey, is it OK we're going to do it?' And they were like, 'You can do whatever you want, guys.' So I think it was a pretty fun moment for all of us and for you guys as well."
Club Brugge coach Nicky Hayen has said he would be talking to his dead mother before Tuesday's second leg of their Champions League playoff against Atalanta, keeping up a pre-match ritual he feels helps him.
"Before the match I always talk to my mother, who passed away four years ago, much too early," he told a press conference on Monday as Brugge prepare to defend their 2-1 lead from last week's first leg in Belgium.
"Last year before the [Belgian league] playoffs I told her we wanted to do something crazy, and in the end winning the title was the result.
"Am I deeply religious? No, but I do feel that it is something for me. I must believe there is something," Hayen added.
The 44-year-old was thrust into the Brugge job in March last year on an interim basis and then turned around the club's fortunes by guiding them to the Belgian championship.
He signed a permanent deal as coach in June and has steered Brugge into this season's Champions League playoff, plus second place in the Belgian standings.
He said he expected a tough night in Bergamo on Tuesday.
"Atalanta will definitely play more attacking. At home they also want to be more dominant. They also have the team for that, so we expect a difficult evening," he said.
"We have to play our own game and especially show the tactical discipline of last week.
"My plan for the match hasn't changed because it was 2-1 last week. We did very well, because Atalanta is a very strong team. I believe in my squad. We play with a lot of guts in this Champions League, but that mustn't turn into naivety."
Inter Miami's Major League Soccer season opener against New York City FC will now be played on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after originally being scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The decision to delay the game by five hours comes due to the postponement of the Concacaf Champions Cup match between Inter Miami and Sporting Kansas City.
The two teams were set to face each other on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET in Kansas City, but the regional governing body moved the match to Wednesday due to severe weather conditions around the city.
Multiple winter storm warnings were issued, stating that Kansas City could see 5-7 inches of snow with temperatures as low as 5 degrees.
The first leg of the first round CCC match will now be played on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET with predicted temperatures of 3-5 degrees.
"The decision to reschedule the match has been made to prioritize player and fan safety, and in close coordination with the two participating clubs and the local authorities," Concacaf said in a statement.
New Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano revealed in the prematch news conference that both teams agreed to change the date of the match date given the difficulty of playing in harsh conditions.
"It's not just a matter of the game, if the snow falls like they say is going to fall, we believe that the city is going to completely collapse, so people won't be able to go to the field, the accesses may be closed. Many times you only think about the game itself and not everything that surrounds it," Mascherano said Monday.
Sporting Kansas City's MLS season opener against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium is set to be played at 9:30 p.m. ET and is not expected to be delayed or postponed due to the Concacaf Champions Cup match.
Barça get salary cap boost as financial woes ease
Barcelona's financial situation continues to improve after LaLiga confirmed their annual spending cap is now over 463 million ($483.7m), an increase of nearly 40m from the beginning of the season.
At this same time last year, Barça's limit had been slashed to 204m.
The boost to the club's economic situation comes after the sale of 475 VIP seats at Spotify Camp Nou, which is still being redeveloped, for a maximum of 30 years to two different investors from the Middle East. Sources told ESPN the two deals in total are worth around 100m.
Barça's cap remains the second highest in LaLiga, a long way behind Real Madrid, whose limit is 755m, as it was at the start of the season.
Atlético Madrid (314m), Real Sociedad (160m) and Villarreal (135m) complete the top five, while Sevilla's financial problems have led to their cap being cut from an already low 2.5m to a measly 684,000, the lowest in the league.
The limit is roughly determined by the difference between a team's revenue minus non-sporting outgoings and debt repayments.
The final figure accounts for the maximum amount clubs should spend on wages, bonuses and amortisation payments on transfers across a season, not how much they are necessarily spending.
Clubs that are in excess of their spending limit, as Sevilla are, are subject to severe financial restrictions in the transfer market which only allow them to spend a fraction of anything they save or raise.
Barça, meanwhile, as LaLiga confirmed in January, are now within their limit and are able to spend 100% of anything they save or raise, known as the 1:1 rule.
However, there is still an element of uncertainty over the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor.
LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] say Barça missed a Dec. 31 deadline to prove they were compliant with their spending cap, claiming the VIP seat deal was only completed afterwards.
As a result, Olmo and Victor were unregistered, with RFEF regulations not allowing players to be registered for a second time in the same season, even if the club can afford to financially.
Barça won an injunction against LaLiga and the RFEF's ruling from Spain's sports ministry, the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), who agreed to investigate their appeal, which could take up to three months.
LaLiga subsequently counter-appealed the CSD's decision, but Olmo and Víctor remain available for selection as it stands.
Jude Bellingham swore that joining Real Madrid over Man City was best move. He was right
A great deal of the past few days in LaLiga has been taken up with the subject of Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and how to interpret, and punish, his profanity that resulted in a red card in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Osasuna.
But not a lot of consideration has been given to how loud and long Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola must have sworn about the brilliant Englishman over the past couple of years. Turning the air sky blue, you might say.
City and Madrid meet up again on Wednesday in an all-or-nothing Champions League knockout match, with Madrid taking a 3-2 first-leg lead back with them to the Bernabéu. Guardiola is no doubt still cursing that Bellingham, who scored Madrid's late winner at the Etihad last week, will be dressed in white rather than City colors, as was his explicit intention.
In January 2023, I was in a meeting in London with somebody who is unimpeachably close to City's legendary, record-breaking coach. I was informed with 100% authority that City had only two major transfer targets that summer: one being RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol; the other was Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham.
The Croatia defender joined and, across the three times City have played Madrid since, he has shone with a goal and an assist. But Bellingham turned down the reigning English and European champions, opted against the chance to work for one of the all-time great football coaches in Guardiola (a chance he'll now never have again) and chose a notoriously demanding, political club where both the language and culture were wholly new to this ferociously talented and ambitious prodigy.
The nearest Bellingham has come to confirming City made him a tantalizing offer came when he said: "Guided by my family I spoke to a lot of clubs in my last season at Dortmund ... but when Madrid called I didn't have to think twice."
Although there is still scope for City and their slightly beleaguered guru to strike back and even the balance on Wednesday, it's been a pretty good choice for Bellingham when you compare his fortunes to those of Guardiola & Co. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, and his English No. 5, are simultaneously reigning Spanish and European champions for only the third time since 1958, while City have not only seen their Champions League status decline this season but their English dominance too.
The moment when Bellingham chose Madrid over City became a significant tilt in the balance of power. But not just on the pitch either.
I'm guided by the same unimpeachable source on Manchester City that their work in trying to convince the very best footballers, particularly if they are already in their peak, to come and live in the city of Manchester with its punishing climate and how far it is from the other European capitals, is extremely tough going. They're exceptional in what they offer, how they offer it, and in terms of promising superb treatment. But the No. 1 "extra" element, beyond salary, was Guardiola himself.
The attraction of working under him and successfully mastering the brand of football with which he's become associated in the Premier League has proven tremendously alluring over and over again. But not to Bellingham.
There was a clue to his rationale after he scored his first Champions League goal for Los Blancos, in added time, in a 1-0 victory over Union Berlin at the beginning of last season. That night I asked him about the significance of the moment and he told me that he had been lucky enough to have a television in his bedroom from the age of about 12 or 13 and that he'd "watched Madrid come back to win in unbelievable circumstances over and over again." It had been for moments like that that the youngster had turned his back on England's champions and opted for legend, history, tradition and the lure of a different kind of glory instead.
Nor is it, by any means, the first time Madrid have stripped the city of Manchester of a talent that they massively desired. The best other example, given that Cristiano Ronaldo had already starred at Old Trafford before he made his then-world record move to the Bernabéu, came in the shape of Gareth Bale.
Unlike Bellingham, still a youthful prodigy when he signed for Ancelotti's team, the Wales winger was an established star and desired by the majority of the world's top clubs when he was leaving Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United still had Ryan Giggs on their coaching staff at the time and he made a personal phone call to his international teammate, promising that United would pay Spurs the same transfer fee and would even hand Bale higher wages than Madrid were offering -- but the answer was still no.
Bale and Bellingham actively chose Madrid -- something which Ronaldo did during his final year when, despite United and Madrid having agreed a fee, Sir Alex Ferguson demanded that the Portugal captain stay for one more season.
That was when the then-Barcelona vice-president Ferran Soriano, now long-established as a behemoth executive at City, went directly to Ronaldo and his agent to offer them a better salary if they would dump Madrid and come to Barcelona at the end of the season instead. Just like Bale and Bellingham, Ronaldo turned him down, as his irrevocable choice was to play for Real Madrid.
Nobody can really pretend it's specifically because Madrid have won so many LaLiga or Copa del Rey titles that, if salary concerns are equal, so many of the world's elite stars will choose Real Madrid over just about anywhere else. It's because of the glamour and irresistible glory attached to winning over and again on floodlight Tuesday and Wednesday nights until Europe kneels and another glorious Champions League final beckons.
Anyone young enough to be playing professional football has never seen Madrid lose a European final. In fact there are a multitude of fans and journalists who have never seen that either -- the last time was 42 years ago. Now Bellingham has the chance to further underline, to himself and to anybody else who's interested, that he chose well in selecting his current employer rather than Manchester City for the next stage of his career.
There are only two sides he's played against more regularly than Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Union Berlin, and it was not until last week that he truly knew what the taste of victory was against Manchester's Sky Blues. He played and scored against them aged 17 as he tried six times to get the better of them but failed, along with his Borussia Dortmund colleagues. Last season, while his converted penalty in the shootout helped put Los Blancos into the Champions League semifinals, it was technically yet another draw (after 90 and then 120 minutes) to go with his previous three defeats and two draws.
This Wednesday he comes up against Guardiola's side with his last-minute goal the difference in the tie, with the row over that controversial red card rumbling on and with the entire Bernabéu just aching to sing "Hey Jude" once again. Time for Bellingham to deliver again. I swear it is.
Rizwan says Rauf is 'fully fit' for Champions Trophy opener
"Haris bowled 6-8 overs a couple of days ago, and bowled a fair bit yesterday too," Rizwan said at the captain's press conference on the eve of the tournament. "He's bowling with full rhythm today, too. He's also putting work in the gym and isn't complaining of any pains. We think he's fully fit."
Rauf sustained a muscular sprain in his chest while bowling in the opening game of the tri-series against New Zealand on February 8, and was in a race against time to be fit for the start of the tournament. He did not play the remainder of the series, though ESPNcricinfo understands that was more out of an abundance of caution than an indicator of the injury's severity.
After the press conference, Rauf was seen bowling in the nets during Pakistan's final practice session before the tournament at the National Stadium. It clears Pakistan up to play what they view as their first-choice bowling lineup, one that features Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Rauf. The three played together in an attack that ultimately ended up on the wrong side of a result against New Zealand in the opener of the tri-series. They play the same side tomorrow in the Champions Trophy curtain-raiser as Pakistan prepare to host their first ICC tournament since 1996.
"We suffered for 10 years when no side came here," Rizwan said. "But Pakistan still produced solid results. So we have no doubts about our ability."
However, it is hard to escape the idea that Pakistan go into their first game as relative underdogs. New Zealand beat them twice in the tri-series, going unbeaten across the tournament to lift the title. They went on to demonstrate their all-round ability, defending a total against Pakistan in one game before easing to two chases in games against South Africa and Pakistan. At the same time, they brushed aside injuries to fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, retaining their fast-bowling threat, while reigning Pakistan in through the middle overs with a varied array of spinners.
"There are ups and downs and certain deficiencies in our side," Rizwan said. "We are aware we need to bring about certain improvements in our professionalism and consistency.
"We tried to learn from the tri-series, which is why we batted first in the final to work out where our weaknesses lie. We used that series as a training experience. We hope we've learned enough to cover for those weaknesses tomorrow."
But along with the usual cheery optimism, Rizwan's statements were laced with a kind of naked hunger he has rarely let slip in the past. Wearing his religion on his sleeve, he tends to resign himself to "the will of Allah" as he often says. It can take the pressure off, a valuable skill for a Pakistan captain, but today, Rizwan seemed to teeter on the edge of fantasising how much he wanted to win an ICC event, and how good it would be to win this one at home.
"We've come so close a few times," he said. "We need to work out how to get that extra one per cent to win those big matches. No one can guarantee that success, and we're still in search of that final step where we lose big games or tournaments.
"Every player is desperate for this title. And we're doing everything we can to work out how to win. I don't think any country works as hard as we do."
It's uncommon to hear Rizwan speak with that kind of edge. Soon enough, he was back to his usual gregarious self, talking about how "all 15 players were captains" and the value of team performances over individual brilliance. But then again, perhaps that is the "extra one per cent" Pakistan, and Rizwan, are so desperately hunting for.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
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