☀️🌇👋 Good Morning and Happy November Team. Hope everyone had a safe Halloween filled with treats, unless you feel tricked on the ballon d’or results. We likely have seen Messi win his last Ballon d’or, and this now opens up the playing field for a ridiculously talented young class - the future is in good hands 😎.

Giveaway: We like to reward our supporters, and for our latest giveaway, we’re raffling off a $30 gift card to Miami based soccer jersey store: Golaco Kits. Every time you refer a new reader, you get an entry to the raffle, share us on your Instagram stories for some extra credit too 😉😉

Awards

French News Magazine’s Ballon d’Or

🏆️🐐♌️ A congratulations to Lionel Messi on his 8th Ballon d’Or. In what may have been arguably the closest Ballon d’Or podium, Messi edges out young grasshoppers Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, to secure glory in France this weekend. To make the evening even more special, the Argentine won the coveted award on what would have been Maradona’s 63rd birthday. Lionel Messi's remarkable achievement of winning his 8th Ballon d'Or has made us look back at those runners up to the award in recent years that were not named Messi or Ronaldo:

2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣: Erling Haaland. The young superstar from Norway helped Manchester City win a treble, scoring a total of 52 goals.

2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣: Robert Lewandowski. With a total of 61 goals in all competitions, 10 assists and 4 trophies won.

2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣9️⃣: Virgil van Dijk. With a world class season, Virgil lead Liverpool to their first Champions League in 14 years.

2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣7️⃣: Neymar Jr. The Brazilian had a superb season with PSG, finishing third in the Ballon d’or voting this year.

2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣6️⃣: Antoine Griezmann. Leading Atletico Madrid to a Champions League Final as well as France to a Euro Cup final, along with 32 goals scored in all competitions.

Goals of the day

▶ Wilder Cartagena beauty for Orlando City SC

▶ Logan Ndebe for Sporting KC against St. Louis

▶ Nikola Moro with a strong volley for Bologna in Italy

World

World Cup 2034: Saudi Arabia

🌍🏆 FIFA President has confirmed the 2034 World Cup host. As of Tuesday, Saudi Arabia is the sole bidder to host the tournament in 2034, effectively making them the winning bidder. FIFA gave countries a short turnaround time of 1 month to formerly submit hosting bids. For this bidding round, only countries in Asia and Oceania were invited, with Australia being the the only country to rival the Saudi bid, strongly considering throwing their name in the hat, but pulling out at the last minute.

🎅⚽ A growing influence in the world of soccer. The Saudi Nation has been able to lure players to its professional soccer league offering salaries that other clubs have been unable to match. The vision of hosting the World Cup has been a long time in the making and we likely have seen the vision come true. Of course, the lawyers have to come together and the dotted line has to be signed in order for all of this to be official.

Banter

Domino’s Strikes Again

🍕🚚😂 Cheeky Delivery on a Derby Night. In the aftermath of Manchester United's disheartening 0-3 loss to Manchester City at Old Trafford, Domino's Pizza didn't miss a beat to stir the banter pot. Taking to social media, the pizza chain remarked, "Sorry if your pizza is delayed again tonight - our drivers are struggling to get through all the tears of Man Utd fans"​ (pictured above)​. This jest found its way around social media, offering a light-hearted interlude to the intense rivalry that colored the pitch.

🦵🃏📲 Familiar Kick of Humor. Domino's Pizza is no stranger to football banter, having previously roasted teams and players on Twitter. An earlier instance saw them making a cheeky remark about Chelsea’s goal drought over a month ago, showcasing their knack for timely humor amidst football events​​. Their jests, while light-hearted, add a unique flavor to the ongoing football narrative, much to the amusement (or dismay) of fans.

Around The Web 🕸️

▶ Absolutely iconic Adidas commercial celebrating Messi’s 8th Ballon D’or

▶ FC Cincinnati fans with impressive TIFO in the playoffs

▶ Upcoming documentary on the kickstart of the U.S soccer boom in 1967

Tweet of the day: @espnfc

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