Eventually, everybody's bill comes due.
That is the lesson the Los Angeles Rams are learning in an extremely hard way in the 2022 season.
The price the Rams are paying, one which has them 3-5 and above only the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West, is one they will be happy to pay in the grand scheme of things given they lifted the Lombardi Trophy last season.
But their struggles this season are a consequence of the ultra-aggressive strategy that has seen the Rams consistently part with draft capital to acquire star players.
Now the stars of their top-heavy roster are failing to elevate those around them, and while many may view this pain as tolerable for 2022, there is reason to be concerned about the viability of this team as a long-term contender.
Even in a less than stellar NFC, it is tough to see this version of the Rams recovering to make a run at the postseason, and right now it is just as difficult to envisage a path through which Los Angeles can return to prominence in the years to come.
Stafford slumping under duress
The root of the Rams' problems is on offense. That is not a revelation to anyone who has even briefly watched Sean McVay's group in 2022. The Los Angeles attack poses nothing close to the same threat it presented last season and is one of the worst in the NFL through eight games.
In Sunday's defeat to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team who had lost five of their previous six games, the Rams averaged a pitiful 3.7 yards per play. Their season average of 4.71 puts the Rams last in the NFL, while only the Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans have produced fewer explosive plays of 10 yards or more than Los Angeles (86).
Blame could be laid at the feet of Matthew Stafford, the quarterback the Rams gave up a pair of first-round picks to acquire last offseason and who put them over the top in 2021. His well-thrown percentage of 80 is below the league average of 80.6 for quarterbacks with a minimum of 100 attempts, yet it is actually a stark improvement on his first season with the Rams, when he delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 73.7 per cent of passes.
The number to focus on with Stafford is his air yards per attempt, which has dropped off substantially from 8.62 in 2021 to 6.35 this season. In other words, Stafford's accuracy is up because the degree of difficulty on throws he is attempting is significantly down, and that is a symptom of dreadful pass protection.
Los Angeles' sack rate allowed of 8.7 per cent is the fourth-worst in the NFL, while the time from Stafford's snap to release has dropped from 2.72 seconds in 2021 to 2.54 this campaign, a reflection of the short passing attack the Rams have adopted to prevent their quarterback taking too much damage and how often he has been hurried into getting the ball out.
In the Week 8 loss against the San Francisco 49ers, Stafford averaged 4.71 air yards per attempt, the lowest of any quarterback to attempt multiple passes, with the Rams' attack reduced to one reliant on the screen pass and the occasional deep shot to Cooper Kupp that had no answer when both those options were taken away.
The Rams' lack of a riposte has been jarring to watch this season, and even Kupp has not been as effective as they would hope.
Counterpunches in short supply
Of course, it would be difficult for Kupp not to endure a drop-off after a 2021 season in which he led the NFL in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns.
But the fall, at least by one measure, has been drastic.
Kupp's burn rate, which measures how often a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, is 58.7 per cent, a huge dip from his 2021 rate of 66.5 per cent, which was the ninth-best in the NFL among wideouts with at least 100 targets.
When he does win his coverage matchup, Kupp is at least still consistently creating clear separation. His burn yards per route average of 4.8 is up on his league-leading tally of 4.0 from last season and trails only Tyreek Hill (5.6) for receivers with a minimum of 50 targets.
The problem the Rams have is not necessarily that Kupp is not performing at the level of his 2021 zenith; it is that has no support from his surrounding cast. Down the stretch last year, he had Odell Beckham Jr. to divert coverage away from him. This season, no Rams wideout with at least 10 targets has a burn rate higher than Kupp's, with Allen Robinson (48.8 per cent) among the worst in the league by that measure. At tight end, Tyler Higbee (52.7 per cent) is below the average for his position.
And the lack of non-Kupp difference-makers extends to the run game.
Los Angeles' ground attack largely consists of jet sweeps to Kupp, with carries of any other variety resulting in precious little gain.
The Buccaneers (2.98 yards per carry) are the sole team with a worse rushing average than that of the Rams (3.2), but no offense has a worse ratio of successful runs than that of Los Angeles. McVay's attack has a success rate of just 22.7 per cent on the ground. The team directly above the Rams, the New England Patriots, are a full eight percentage points clear.
The Rams' decision to try to trade running back Cam Akers and then reintegrating him after failing to do so encapsulates their woes on the ground and is emblematic of a season where nothing has gone right for an offense that is fourth-worst in the NFL with an overall success rate of 35.2 per cent.
Any room for optimism comes on the defensive side of the ball.
Time for a Rams reset?
While Stafford and, to a lesser extent, Kupp may be in the midst of down years, the cornerstones the Rams possess on defense are still performing at an extremely high level.
The Los Angeles defense had the Rams in position to get back to winning ways in Tampa, holding the Bucs to six points going into the final quarter, and remains one of the better units in the NFL on that side of the ball.
Allowing 5.29 yards per play, the Rams rank 10th in the NFL by that metric, with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey both continuing to excel.
Donald headed into Week 9 having won 37 of his 50 pass rushes, good for an incredible stunt-adjusted win rate of 73.66 per cent, and his frequent interior pressure forced Tom Brady to get the ball out at an average of 2.21 seconds from snap to release. Only Zach Wilson (2.04) was quicker among QBs with 20 attempts in Week 9.
Ramsey, meanwhile, went into the Bucs game with a combined open percentage allowed across man and zone of 27.66 per cent (the average for cornerbacks is 34 per cent).
But the Rams' defense has a similar issue to that of the offense. Save for emerging linebacker Ernest Jones, this group is short of young impact players who can develop around Donald and Ramsey.
And on the final Tampa Bay drive of the Buccaneers' 16-13 win, a defense that had seen the offense inexplicably give the ball back after running the ball three times and using under a minute of clock with the chance to kill the game with a first down proved powerless to stop Brady authoring another game-winning series.
Brady's decisiveness and quick release rendered Donald a non-factor, and Ramsey found himself similarly helpless and picked on as the Bucs successfully attacked the Rams' soft zone coverage on a drive capped by tight end Cade Otton's decisive score.
Asked if he thought the defense would be back on the field after the Rams stopped the Bucs in the red zone on Tampa's penultimate drive, Ramsey replied: "We should not have been."
Those five words spoke volumes as to what Ramsey thinks of the offense, but the cold hard truth is that – even though the defense is the superior unit – the Rams in their current guise are not doing anything well enough to escape avoidable situations.
And their avenues to get better are not obvious. Their offensive fortunes could be improved by a greater reliance on play-action, which the Rams are utilising just 10.4 per cent of the time (the average is 12.5 per cent) but racking up 11.52 yards per play when they do.
That is unlikely to be a cure-all, though, and any reticence on Stafford's part to turn his back to the defense for a play-fake while playing behind this offensive line would be understandable.
The resources with which they could boost the O-line, their collection of playmakers or the defense in the coming offseason are thin. The Rams have a second and third-round pick this year and four selections across the final two rounds, but asking the front office to unearth instant impact players from those non-premium picks is a tall order for a franchise that has racked up its share of misses with the draft selections it has held on to in recent years.
Projected to be $2million over the cap in 2023, don't expect a free agency splurge from the Rams either.
Given the retirement rumours that have previously swirled around Donald and McVay, this is a situation that would be ripe for a rebuild, were the Rams not locked into Stafford's contract until 2026. Instead, if they cannot produce a second-half surge, it is likely to be more of an attempt at a reset that quickly gets the Rams back in contention.
With the paucity of tools they have to attack that challenge, successfully doing so would be as impressive as the comebacks this star-studded team produced to lift the Lombardi back in February.
Carlo Ancelotti refused to blame the officials after Real Madrid's 3-2 loss at Rayo Vallecano, putting Monday's defeat down to a "bad game".
Oscar Trejo scored the winner for Roya with a retaken second-half penalty, converted after the VAR penalised Dani Carvajal for encroachment, to condemn Madrid to their first defeat in LaLiga this season.
Los Blancos trail Barcelona by two points at the top-flight summit after just their second loss to Rayo in 21 league games.
Madrid are also without a win in their last two LaLiga outings after a 1-1 draw with Girona and coach Ancelotti acknowledged his side struggled at Vallecas.
"We knew they played like that, they were more forceful than us in the duels. It was a bad game, that's it," the Italian said.
"It cost us. We had to change our strategy and we didn't. Then, in the duels, we lost a lot when we were not capable of being as forceful as our opponent.
"Vinicius [Junior] missed two or three shots that he normally scores. [Marco] Asensio has done well. It hasn't been a good game for us."
Madrid profited from a touchline review in the first half, with referee Juan Martinez Munuera deeming Asensio to have been felled by Fran Garcia inside the area before Luka Modric converted to equalise following Santiago Comesana's opener.
But Ancelotti's side were on the receiving end of overturned decisions in the second half after referee Munuera again consulted the screen to give a penalty for handball against Carvajal for Trejo's winner.
Despite the contentious decision for the winning goal, Ancelotti insisted he had no complaints towards Munuera as he acknowledged the role the VAR can play in the decisions.
Asked about the referee, Ancelotti said: "I have no opinion, none. VAR is involved in these things.
"We lacked freshness and it's normal after so many games... We have to make an evaluation of this first part of the season, we've done well.
"We're in the Champions League last 16 and we're doing well in LaLiga."
Madrid host Cadiz on Thursday in their final game before the November break for the World Cup in Qatar.
Thibaut Courtois expressed his frustration at Real Madrid conceding "too many silly goals" after falling to their first LaLiga defeat of the season in a 3-2 loss at Rayo Vallecano.
Santiago Comesana netted a fifth-minute opener on Monday against Madrid, who have kept just two clean sheets in their first 13 LaLiga games, their lowest tally at this stage of a season since 2013-14.
Luka Modric's penalty and Eder Militao's header gave Madrid the lead before Alvaro Garcia's first-half equaliser, and Carlo Ancelotti's side were left frustrated by a contentious Oscar Trejo winner after the interval.
Trejo scored a retaken penalty after Dani Carvajal was penalised for encroachment following Courtois' initial spot-kick save, but the Madrid goalkeeper acknowledged his side were far from their best after the defeat.
"Rayo are having a great season, we knew it was going to be difficult, and we weren't up to the task in the first half," the Belgium international said.
"We conceded too many silly goals, due to mistakes or not being 100 per cent in the match.
"Then the penalty, bad luck. The referee told me that because of Carvajal, that's what they told him in the VAR, that he gets into the area earlier.
"Then I wanted to stay in the centre, but I threw myself and I had a better corner than the one I stopped. It's a shame, I saved the penalty and in the end everything changes. I hope it's our only defeat in LaLiga.
"With so many games, it may be normal that we are tired. The draw against Girona was more bad luck. Today was not our best day and Rayo played well."
While Courtois refused to criticise referee Juan Martinez Munuera, Madrid team-mate Lucas Vazquez questioned why the VAR and officials have not been as "rigorous" in other games this season.
"It was a complicated game, they got ahead very quickly, and although we turned it around, they equalised again and that hurt us," Vazquez said.
"It was difficult for us to find our football, and Rayo is a complicated team that today has been very good.
"But they [the referee and the VAR] send Trejo to shoot again and in other games they don't, they should always be just as rigorous."
Madrid trail LaLiga leaders Barcelona by two points and host Cadiz on Thursday in their last game before the World Cup break.
Kalvin Phillips hopes to make England's squad for the World Cup after "recovering as fast as I possibly can" from shoulder surgery.
The Manchester City midfielder left Leeds United in the last transfer window to join Pep Guardiola's side, but he has only played 14 minutes for the Premier League champions this season.
That has largely been down to a shoulder issue that required surgery in September and left him as a doubt to make Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad for the World Cup.
Guardiola confirmed Phillips will be among the substitutes against Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, though, and the 26-year-old hopes a timely recovery will see him make Southgate's travelling party.
"The shoulder's perfectly fine now," Phillips told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Speaking on the Monday Night Club, he added: "I have gone through a seven-week process of recovering as fast as I possibly can for the World Cup. Everything is going great.
"I've obviously not done it for quite a long time now, but I've kept my fitness up, and I'd like to think I could play 90 minutes."
England face Iran in their first game at the World Cup on November 21, but Phillips' place may be far from guaranteed after making just three substitute appearances since joining City.
When asked about his chances of boarding the plane to Qatar, Phillips said: "I'm not too sure yet. I'm very hopeful that I can be involved. We will have to wait and see."
While chances have been limited for the England international at City, battling with the likes of Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan for a midfield spot, Phillips praised Guardiola's management during his injury issues.
"Pep has been great, and he has spoken to me quite a lot. It is part of football, and he understands that," Phillips said.
"After my first full contact session the other day, he said he would hopefully try and get me minutes against Chelsea.
"[Following surgery] I spoke to Gareth and told him about my situation. I said I understood if he didn't select me, but he reassured me that 'as long as you're fit enough, and you prove you're progressing well, there's always a chance you will be called up'.
"I've done everything in my power to be as fit as possible, and hopefully I will be involved."
Oscar Trejo scored the winner with a contentious second-half penalty as Real Madrid missed the chance to return to the LaLiga summit after falling to a 3-2 defeat at Rayo Vallecano.
Carlo Ancelotti's side trail leaders Barcelona by two points after losing at Vallecas, where referee Juan Martinez Munuera and the VAR played a significant part on Monday.
Luka Modric's penalty and an Eder Militao header had put Madrid into the lead after Santiago Comesana's opener, before Alvaro Garcia equalised during a breathless first half.
Yet there was to be more drama when Dani Carvajal was deemed to have encroached as Thibaut Courtois saved a 67th-minute penalty from Trejo, who converted the retake to secure victory.
Comesana fired Rayo into a fifth-minute lead after angling a first-time left-footed shot past Courtois following Fran Garcia's whipped left-wing cross.
Martínez Munuera gave a 37th-minute penalty to Madrid after consulting the touchline monitor following a tangle of legs that saw Marco Asensio felled by Fran Garcia, with Modric coolly converting down the middle from the spot.
Militao directed a header into the bottom-left corner from Asensio's inswinging corner to give Madrid the lead, only for Alvaro Garcia to power a left-footed strike past Courtois to equalise three minutes later.
Courtois saved Trejo's penalty after Carvajal was adjudged to have handled in the second half – again following a review of the touchline monitor – but the Madrid right-back was penalised for encroachment, allowing the Rayo midfielder to find the bottom-right corner at the second attempt.
That was to prove the winner, although Madrid almost salvaged a draw when Rodrygo spurned a glorious 89th-minute chance, turning over Asensio's centre.
What does it mean? Madrid slip up again
With Liverpool confirmed as their next Champions League opponents in the last 16, reigning European and Spanish champions Madrid will have to improve both domestically and on the continent after faltering in back-to-back LaLiga games.
A 1-1 draw against Girona coupled with only Rayo's second win against Madrid in 21 LaLiga attempts will leave Ancelotti much to ponder with a game to go before November's World Cup break.
Andoni Iraola will have much to celebrate, though, despite his second-half dismissal for dissent, after Rayo won three league games in a row for just a second time under his stewardship.
Classy Comesana
Comesana appeared to be everywhere for Rayo against Madrid, scoring the opening goal with a coolly taken finish that belied his defensive-midfield position.
The Rayo man was a dominant force in the middle of the park as well, though, creating three chances and regaining possession eight times – both game-leading figures in just 79 minutes.
Defensive issues for Madrid
Madrid often relied on late fightbacks on their way to Champions League and LaLiga glory last season, perhaps masking their defensive issues.
But Los Blancos have come unstuck this term after keeping just two clean sheets in their first 13 LaLiga games, their lowest tally at this stage of a season since 2013-14 – also under Ancelotti.
What's next?
Madrid host Cadiz on Thursday in their last game before the World Cup break, while Rayo are at home to Celta Vigo on the same day.
Jordi Cruyff is relishing a “special” Europa League tie between Barcelona and Manchester United but thinks it is a shame they will not meet later in the competition.
Barca finished behind Bayern Munich and Inter in Champions League Group C, plunging them into the Europa League for a second consecutive season.
Monday's knockout round play-off draw handed the Catalan giants a heavyweight clash with United, which Xavi lamented as the "most difficult" assignment possible.
Blaugrana sporting director Cruyff, who represented both clubs during his playing days, would like such a mouthwatering tie to have taken place in the latter stages of the Europa League.
"I think it's a draw that both teams would have preferred to have further down the line, not so quick, but that's the beauty of football, you never know what's going to come," Cruyff said.
"It came now, and it's probably going to be a tough match for both, but also very special as these are two historic football clubs.
"Barcelona is a club where the pressure is always at the max, everything you start, you always need to win. That's the pressure that these sorts of clubs have, the same that United will have.
"For us, it's a motivation and the fact that we get a team like this so quickly means that this competition isn't easy at all. It's difficult, but you know that we're motivated."
Barca have fond memories of their recent fixtures against United, having beaten the Red Devils in four successive meetings – including Champions League final triumphs in 2009 and 2011.
Jordi Cruyff is relishing a “special” Europa League tie between Barcelona and Manchester United but thinks it is a shame they will not meet later in the competition.
Barca finished behind Bayern Munich and Inter in Champions League Group C, plunging them into the Europa League for a second consecutive season.
Monday's knockout round play-off draw handed the Catalan giants a heavyweight clash with United, which Xavi lamented as the "most difficult" assignment possible.
Blaugrana sporting director Cruyff, who represented both clubs during his playing days, would like such a mouthwatering tie to have taken place in the latter stages of the Europa League.
"I think it's a draw that both teams would have preferred to have further down the line, not so quick, but that's the beauty of football, you never know what's going to come," Cruyff said.
"It came now, and it's probably going to be a tough match for both, but also very special as these are two historic football clubs.
"Barcelona is a club where the pressure is always at the max, everything you start, you always need to win. That's the pressure that these sorts of clubs have, the same that United will have.
"For us, it's a motivation and the fact that we get a team like this so quickly means that this competition isn't easy at all. It's difficult, but you know that we're motivated."
Barca have fond memories of their recent fixtures against United, having beaten the Red Devils in four successive meetings – including Champions League final triumphs in 2009 and 2011.
LeBron James will miss the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Utah Jazz on Monday due to foot soreness.
James scored 27 points in the Lakers' 114-110 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
But the four-time NBA MVP had been struggling with illness last week, as well as being troubled by a foot problem.
The Lakers announced that James will not face the Jazz at Vivint Arena in the first game of the week.
Guards Patrick Beverley and Lonnie Walker will also miss the meeting with Utah due to illness.
The Lakers (2-7) have made a poor start to the season, with only the Houston Rockets (1-9) keeping them off the bottom of the Western Conference.
Jurgen Klopp remains optimistic heading into the knockout stages of the Champions League, despite Liverpool being drawn against Real Madrid in a repeat of last season's final.
Liverpool finished as runners-up to Napoli in their European group, allowing them to be paired with holders Madrid in the competition's last-16 draw on Monday.
Klopp's side have lost two Champions League finals to Madrid in the past five seasons, but the German is looking forward to two "special" meetings with Carlo Ancelotti's men.
"I know we have played Real Madrid in a couple of recent finals, but it is not so often that our two clubs have met in a two-legged tie, so now we can look forward to this happening," Klopp told Liverpool's website.
"Real's European record is the best around. We know this. But we also know that ours is not too bad. On top of this, we know that we have Anfield and everyone knows what this means.
"It is a really good draw, a really exciting draw. The games themselves are still a few months away, but it does not take a great deal of imagination to think what the atmosphere will be like at both games.
"There is a lot of football to be played before this, of course, so we will focus on each game as it comes. But yes, this draw has given us something special to look forward to."
Madrid have won all three of their Champions League meetings with Liverpool when facing them as European champions, and their former striker Emilio Butragueno believes Ancelotti's side will handle the pressure of being considered favourites.
"I think that for the world of football, it will be an exciting tie because of the history of the two clubs," Butragueno said after the draw.
"They are a very strong rival, who have had a lot of stability in recent years with the same coach and with the same group of players, and that makes it very dangerous.
"At the same time, we are the champions, and we will naturally do everything possible to qualify and return to the draw for the quarter-finals.
"We fully trust our players, they have shown us what they are capable of in moments of maximum pressure."
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic is excited by the prospect of facing former BVB heroes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic after they drew Chelsea in the Champions League.
Dortmund finished second to Manchester City in Group G of the Champions League, and were subsequently handed a tie against Graham Potter's Blues in Monday's last-16 draw.
The first leg – set for February 15 at Signal Iduna Park – will see Aubameyang and Pulisic return to their old club, for whom the Gabon striker scored 98 Bundesliga goals in a prolific five-year stint.
Asked about the draw at a press conference on Monday, Terzic said: "With Chelsea, a top team from England awaits us.
"With Aubameyang and Pulisic, they have players that were with us up until a few years ago.
"I am also close friends with the coach Graham Potter. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. But we won't play them now, but in February.
"Until then, there is a lot to do, so much homework to do, but we definitely look forward to those games.
"Attractive opponents like this are what we expect from the Champions League, and we will try to progress to the next round."
Meanwhile, Chelsea's director of football operations David Barnard is relieved they will not be facing former Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, who has made a flying start to life in England with Manchester City.
"We're looking forward to playing Dortmund because this will be the first time that we've come across them in the Champions League, it will be interesting from that point of view," he said.
"They played in the City group, as you know, and hopefully we'll get some inside knowledge from City on this particular one. At least Haaland is not playing for Dortmund on this occasion.
"We've obviously got Pierre going back to one of his old clubs, so we are looking forward to it."
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will team up to face Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas for the 'The Match' next month.
It was announced on Monday that 15-time major champion Woods and world number one McIlroy will take on the American duo at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida on December 10.
Spieth and Thomas, who have five majors between them, will take on Woods and McIlroy in what will be the seventh edition of the exhibition series.
Woods faced Phil Mickelson when the event launched five years ago, then came up against his compatriot again when Peyton Manning and Tom Brady played in 'The Match' in 2020.
Thomas and Spieth will be making their first appearances in the competition.
The legendary Woods made an incredible return at the Masters in April after he suffered serious injuries in a car crash last year, before also teeing off in the PGA Championship and The Open.
The Indianapolis Colts made a stunning decision on Monday by naming former Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday as interim head coach after firing Frank Reich.
Saturday has no NFL or college coaching experience and had been working as a consultant for the Colts as well as an analyst for ESPN since retiring from the NFL following the 2012 season.
The 47-year-old Saturday played for Indianapolis from 1999-2011 before his final season with the Green Bay Packers in 2012.
He earned six Pro Bowl selections and was named a first-team All-Pro twice in his career. Saturday helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI, their first title since leaving Baltimore for Indianapolis, at the end of the 2006 season.
The Colts fired Reich on Monday after Sunday’s 26-3 defeat at the New England Patriots dropped the team to 3-5-1. Indianapolis are last in the NFL with 14.7 points per game.
Reich went 40-33-1 with the Colts after they hired him prior to the 2018 season. Indianapolis advanced to the playoffs twice during his tenure, reaching the AFC Divisional Round in 2018 before losing in the Wild Card Round in 2020.
South American football confederation CONMEBOL has backed FIFA and called for participating nations to "leave controversies behind" ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
The decision to stage the World Cup in Qatar has attracted renewed criticism on the eve of the tournament, with critics focusing on the host country's criminalisation of same-sex relationships and the conditions faced by migrant workers.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino and secretary general Fatma Samoura recently wrote to all 32 nations participating in Qatar, requesting they "focus on the football".
That letter led Amnesty International to accuse organisers of brushing human rights concerns "under the carpet", while a UEFA working group of 10 European nations responded by stressing the need to "support human rights".
CONMEBOL issued a statement of its own on Monday, outlining a belief in the need for "unity in support" of the tournament.
"CONMEBOL and its 10 member associations join the call for world football unity in support of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022," the statement began.
"A country eager to show its hospitality and warmth, magnificent sports venues and 32 prepared teams with their greatest potential, ensure a tournament that will undoubtedly go down in history.
"As few times in history, human society today needs the powerful message of sport in general and football, the most popular of them, in particular.
"This message is powerful because it is universal, it goes far beyond political or ideological disputes, temporary disagreements and occasional confrontations. It is a message full of optimism, tolerance, inclusion, diversity, union.
"The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is the best opportunity to consolidate the values on which football is founded.
"This is especially so in the new generations, in girls, boys and young people, who hope and seek that football is not tarnished or distorted with biased or partial visions.
"The time has come to leave controversies behind and value and enjoy a true all-embracing party, eagerly awaited by the entire planet."
Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain believes they face a difficult task in the last 16 of the Champions League after drawing RB Leipzig.
Pep Guardiola's men will take on the Bundesliga side in the knockout stages next February, having faced them twice in the group stages last term.
On that occasion, City opened their European campaign with a 6-3 rout at the Etihad Stadium, before losing the reverse fixture 2-1 at the Red Bull Arena.
Having dodged heavyweight foes such as Paris Saint-Germain and Milan, City have theoretically one of the easier ties on paper, but Begiristain says they will not take their opponent lightly.
"Leipzig are not new ones in this competition - they are doing an unbelievable job," he said. "They are in Europe, always, and they are fighting us in the last 16. They are growing as a club and growing as a project.
"This is German football - very open, box-to-box, which we don't like too much, because we like to have the control. It's going to be difficult, this kind of football.
“We are going to meet old friends - we played last season against them. They were very open games, and we can be sure they will be very attractive games."
In comparison to their rivals, City have indeed been handed a kind draw, with Liverpool facing Real Madrid and Bayern Munich squaring up with Paris Saint-Germain.
With possibly two of the last four tournament winners set to miss out on the quarter-finals, Begiristain feels it shows the increased competition within the Champions League.
"Some big names and big clubs are already out - some of them are now not playing in Europe because they were last in the group," he noted.
"It shows how difficult it is in this competition. Everyone has to respect their opponent in this competition and that is what we try to do.
"Liverpool and Real Madrid are two unbelievable clubs, and they were two of the candidates to win, but one will be out.
"But still the ones who are there in the quarter-finals are going to deserve to be there. We want to be one of them."
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