Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami has brought more attention to MLS, with Giorgio Chiellini hailing the impact of the World Cup winner and likening his move to when David Beckham arrived.
Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England star Beckham left the Spanish capital for LA Galaxy in 2007 as the dazzling midfielder's move captured the imaginations of many in the United States.
Beckham has since retired and created his own MLS franchise in the USA, bringing the likes of Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to his newly established Miami side.
Juventus great Chiellini also joined MLS, signing for Los Angeles FC, winning the MLS Cup Final last year before defeat in this season's edition on Saturday to Columbus Crew.
And he vouched for the impact of Messi's move to Miami.
"I think that when Messi joined it was comparable to when Beckham joined," Chiellini told Stats Perform.
"And it's something that the league, but also the players, are very happy about because there is a lot of possibility for the future.
"What Messi did was huge for everyone and now there is much more consideration for the league, much more attention and it helps everyone."
Former Italy centre-back Chiellini announced his retirement on Monday, with reports suggesting the 39-year-old will move back to Juventus to take up a boardroom role.
The European Championship-winning defender will at least be thankful he does not have to face Beckham's Miami again next season.
A Messi-inspired Miami powered to a Leagues Cup triumph, with the Argentina captain scoring 10 goals.
"I don't know how every team could face and beat Miami next year," Chiellini added on Miami, who are reportedly close to signing former Barcelona and Liverpool forward Luis Suarez.
"Fortunately this year I met with Messi when they were at the bottom of the table and then he had one month out.
"They were still a really good team, it was one of the best nights and atmospheres. That's very good for the league, very good for the future of the league."
Newcastle United 5-1 Sheffield United: Blades relegated after thrashing
Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League following a 5-1 thrashing by Newcastle United at St James' Park on Saturday.
Alexander Isak netted in both halves as the Magpies came from behind, with Bruno Guimaraes helping to complete the turnaround after Anel Ahmedhodzic's early opener.
Callum Wilson rounded off the scoring after Ben Osborn's own goal had taken the game away from Chris Wilder's side, sending them back to the Championship.
Newcastle stay in seventh place, four points above West Ham in eighth, while the Blades sit bottom of the table after a 25th league defeat of the season.
Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal
Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.
Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.
Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.
His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances.
He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.
The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.
That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.
Las Palmas 0-2 Girona: Michel's men close in on Champions League dream
It was a tale of three penalties as Girona went second in LaLiga with a 2-0 win over Las Palmas on Saturday, edging closer to a Champions League place for next season.
Artem Dovbyk made sure of the win from the spot in the second half, after David Lopez had put them in front in the 26th minute.
Lopez was on hand to blast into the roof of the net after Alvaro Valles saved Dovbyk's first penalty of the game, conceded by Las Palmas captain Kirian Rodriguez.
Las Palmas had earlier squandered a spot-kick of their own, with Paulo Gazzaniga springing to his right to push Sandro Ramirez's strike away.
Girona now possess a 13-point buffer to fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who have just 18 points to play for, so it appears a mere matter of time before Michel's side secure Champions League qualification.
Data Debrief: Dovbyk in fine company
Dovbyk wasn't deterred after seeing his first-half penalty saved, his second attempt from 12 yards finding the bottom-right corner to make the points safe for Girona.
He has now scored 19 goals in just 31 appearances in LaLiga. Only four players have previously reached that figure in fewer outings in the competition – Cristiano Ronaldo (23), Radamel Falcao (24), Robert Lewandowski (28) and Julio Baptista (29).
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