U23 Vietnam receives 1 billion VND bonus; Ronaldo's income far exceeds Messi's

Entering the final of U23 Southeast Asia, U23 Vietnam received 1 billion VND

After the semi-final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship on the afternoon of July 25, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) decided to reward the Vietnam U23 team with VND500 million for reaching the final. Combined with the previous VND500 million bonus - when they passed the group stage undefeated, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team were encouraged with an amount of up to VND1 billion.

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan called to congratulate the Vietnam U23 team, reminding the whole team to stay healthy and focus on preparing for the final match.

This is the third consecutive time that U23 Vietnam has entered the cup match of the U23 Southeast Asian Championship. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are expected to successfully defend their championship title against U23 Indonesia or U23 Thailand (depending on the result of the second semi-final match taking place on the evening of July 25).

Vietnam U23 faced many doubts about their ability when entering the match against Philippines U23, due to their unconvincing performance in the group stage. However, Khuat Van Khang and his teammates showed a clear improvement in their playing style. Vietnam U23 created many opportunities and only conceded a goal due to a moment of personal negligence.

After Nguyen Hieu Minh made a mistake that allowed U23 Philippines to score the opening goal, U23 Vietnam quickly equalized. Nguyen Dinh Bac and Nguyen Xuan Bac scored in turn to help coach Kim Sang-sik's team turn the situation around.

U23 Vietnam controlled the match when the opponent tried to attack. Coach Kim Sang-sik's players played safely and confidently, not allowing U23 Philippines to put pressure on them. U23 Philippines' hopes were dashed when Nguyen Quoc Viet forced an opponent to commit a foul and receive a red card in the last minute.

National U15 Finals: 5 teams to enter the quarterfinals

The 5 teams that qualified for the quarterfinals of the National U15 Tournament - Acecook Cup 2025 were revealed after the matches on the afternoon of July 25.

The Group A match between PVF and Hanoi was extremely exciting. In the first half, Tran Manh Quan scored a hat-trick to help the capital team take a 3-1 lead, PVF also had an equalizer thanks to Tuan Kiet. In the second half, Khac Hieu reduced the score to 2-3 before Van Tan sealed a 4-2 victory for Hanoi. These are also the 2 teams that are certain to enter the quarter-finals in Group A.

Meanwhile, Tay Ninh played with determination against SHB Da Nang - the team that was eliminated early after the first two matches. In the first half, Vu Phat opened the score for Tay Ninh before Xuan Phuc equalized for SHB Da Nang at the end of the half. In the second half, Quang Tung scored to bring a 2-1 victory for Tay Ninh. This team has 4 points and still has to wait for the results in Group C to know whether they will continue or not.

In Group B, The Cong Viettel affirmed their strength with a resounding 4-1 victory over Dong Nai. In the remaining match, Kon Tum won 2-0 over Dong Thap, earning 6 points and being one of the two third-placed teams with the best results.

Thus, PVF, Hanoi (group A), Kon Tum, Dong Thap, The Cong Viettel (group B) are the first teams to win tickets to the quarterfinals.

Liverpool's dream team with Ekitike and Isak

This summer, "The Kop" has been active in the transfer market, spending more than 300 million pounds to bring in Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Hugo Ekitike. However, Liverpool are said to be ready to launch another "blockbuster" Alexander Isak from Newcastle.

The Swede wants to leave St James' Park. He did not participate in the pre-season tour of Asia and has left the door open for a move to Liverpool. If both Ekitike and Isak arrive at Anfield, Slot will have an extremely strong squad and will face the problem of how to arrange the positions appropriately.

Under Slot, Liverpool could continue to use their familiar 4-3-3 formation. With this formation, Isak will replace Darwin Nunez as the striker, while Ekitike will support from the left. This will help Liverpool somewhat fill the void left by Luis Diaz if he leaves. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo becomes a quality option from the bench.

In defence, coach Slot will have to make changes as Trent Alexander-Arnold leaves and Andrew Robertson is getting older. Liverpool have brought in Kerkez and Frimpong, players who can replace the wing duo.

If Marc Guehi joins from Crystal Palace, Liverpool's defence will be more solid, and Guehi can partner Virgil van Dijk in the centre when needed. For now, the central defensive duo is still Ibrahima Konate and Van Dijk.

It is impossible not to mention Wirtz, the most expensive new signing in Liverpool's transfer history. With a fee of 116.5 million pounds, Wirtz will take on the role of an attacking midfielder, connecting the midfielders and the attack. He will coordinate with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch to create strength in the midfield.

Alternatively, Slot could experiment with a new formation, such as a 3-5-2, to get the most out of Isak and Ekitike. This would give Kerkez and Frimpong more freedom as full-backs, while Robertson could play as a left-sided centre-back. This would give Salah a chance to rest when needed.

With these ideal additions, Liverpool strengthens their formidable squad and creates tactical flexibility. "The Kop" promises to be ready to defend the Premier League title and go far in the Champions League in the 2025/26 season.

Garnacho sets conditions to leave MU

Sky Sports reports that Garnacho's ambition is to stay in the Premier League and join a club playing in the Champions League next season. The Argentine midfielder sees this as an important factor in helping him continue his career development.

MU is also looking for a partner to buy Garnacho. According to the Telegraph, the "Red Devils" are willing to let Garnacho go for about 40 million pounds, a significant decrease compared to the previous valuation (70 million pounds).

Recently, Garnacho turned down the opportunity to play for Aston Villa. According to ESPN, Aston Villa coach Unai Emery called and convinced Garnacho to join. However, the midfielder did not show any interest.

Chelsea is one of the teams closely monitoring Garnacho's situation. British media reported that "The Blues" and MU could exchange players between Garnacho and Nicolas Jackson. Chelsea would get a young winger, while MU would add a striker with experience in the Premier League.

In case MU does not want to exchange players, Chelsea may have to sell some players like Raheem Sterling or Mykhailo Mudryk to balance the finances before asking to buy Garnacho.

Ronaldo's income far exceeds Messi's

The latest statistics from Sporting News show that Ronaldo is leading the income race with a total of 261 million USD. Of which, CR7 pocketed 211 million USD thanks to signing a new contract with Al Nassr in June. This is the highest salary in history that a player has ever received.

In addition, Ronaldo also earned about 50 million USD from sponsorship contracts. In the past year, the Portuguese superstar is said to have earned more than 250 million USD.

With Messi, the Argentine superstar earns a salary of $60 million per year at Inter Miami. This figure is much lower than Ronaldo. In return, M10 earns a lot of money from large sponsorships from partners such as Apple, bringing his total income to $135 million.

After leaving Barcelona and PSG, Messi turned down a huge offer from Saudi Arabia worth up to $500 million per year, showing that he has his own principles in his career.

Up to now, Messi has shown no regrets about playing football in the US. He also attracted many former teammates from Barcelona such as Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets to play with him at Inter Miami.

If Ronaldo received favor when being "chosen" by Saudi Arabia to help promote the country's sports, Messi also received great support when coming to the US to play football. A series of brands are ready to roll out the red carpet to invite Messi to cooperate, in order to take advantage of the huge attraction of M10.

With the rapid development of American football, Messi's income will likely increase in the future.