Major League Soccer and its players association have reached agreement in principle on a new five-year collective bargaining agreement that eases rules on player spending, expands free agency and increases the number of charter flights each team can use during the regular season.

The agreement, a major victory for the players, must be ratified ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The Galaxy paid the highest transfer fee in franchise history to acquire Javier Hernandez, then gave him what could prove to be their second-most-lucrative contract ever, all to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the most dominant player the team has ever had.

But if that sounds like enormous pressure, Hernandez said he has nothing to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- The Galaxy have agreed to a three-year contract with Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez that will make the Mexican striker the highest paid player in MLS, a person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed Friday. Precise terms of the deal were not known, but the team is expected to officially announce the signing next week.

...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- MLS is ushering in a new sports era for Charlotte.

It awarded the 30th Major League Soccer team to Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper on Tuesday, as MLS Commissioner Don Garber joined Tepper and Mayor Vi Lyles at Mint Museum Uptown for the long-anticipated announcement.

The event capped months of frenzied speculation and ...Read more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri officials are balking at approving $30 million in state aid to help finance the construction of a Major League Soccer stadium in downtown St. Louis.

Without explanation, officials canceled a meeting of the Missouri Development Finance Board set for Tuesday where the first $15 million installment of state tax ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With an official Major League Soccer announcement expected soon, eight trademarks for potential Charlotte soccer team names have been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by a top Carolina Panthers official.

Billionaire Panthers owner David Tepper has been leading an aggressive drive to land an MLS soccer team in ...Read more

Lionel Messi received his record sixth Ballon d'Or on Monday, after scoring 46 times and helping Barcelona claim the La Liga title this year.

In 2015, Messi became the first player to win the prestigious award five times, after also being honored in 2009-12. Cristiano Ronaldo tied that achievement in 2017. Luka Modric won it last year, becoming...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Andreas Heyden, head of digital operations for Germany's Bundesliga, knows his league is fighting an uphill battle to capture soccer fans' attention.

"1.5 billion people in the world speak English. 600 million people in the world speak Spanish," he said in a recent interview with The Inquirer, compared to just 150 million German...Read more

Women's soccer coach Brendan Faherty is out at Yale, the school announced Wednesday, amid allegations that he groped one former player and had a consensual sexual relationship with another.

Faherty's alleged conduct, reported on Wednesday night by the Yale Daily News, is said to have occurred while he coached at the University of New Haven from...Read more

CHICAGO -- The list of changes to the Chicago Fire is growing larger ahead of the 2020 season. And now come two of the biggest changes yet: a new crest and a tweaked name.

The Fire on Thursday unveiled the new crest, ditching their previous logo for a complete overhaul, one day after trademark applications became public.

Additionally, the Fire...Read more