Soccer

Lionel Messi is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expires at the end of the season after two years with the French soccer team a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly comment on the Argentine great's position. The person said Messi's departure was a mutual decision and his contract has effectively been allowed to run down since January. The news comes a day after PSG suspended the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner following a trip to Saudi Arabia without the club's permission.

Season 2 of “Welcome to Wrexham” is set to get the Hollywood ending the first one failed to deliver. But with Wrexham a last-minute plot twist isn't out of the question. It's hard to imagine that even A-list owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney anticipated the unscripted drama created by this unlikely union between Tinseltown and a former mining town in Wales.

Ricardo Pepi scored on his first touch of the match in the 62nd minute, and the United States beat El Salvador 1-0 to reach the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals. The 13th-ranked U.S. extended its unbeaten streak against No. 32 El Salvador to 22 matches since 1992, including 16 wins. The Americans joined Mexico in the Nations League semifinals at Las Vegas on June 15.

Gio Reyna started in his first match with the U.S. after his parents disparaged then-coach Gregg Berhalter for his lack of playing time at the World Cup, a 7-1 rout of 173rd-ranked Grenada in the CONCACAF Nationals League at St. George’s. Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie had two goals each, Alejandro Zendejas scored his first international goal and Christian Pulisic and Brenden Aaronson also scored for the Americans. Pepi ended a 10-match international scoreless streak when he put the No. 13 U.S. ahead with a fourth-minute header off Pulisic’s cross.

Ali Krieger has decided to retire at the end of this season after a professional soccer career that has stretched some 16 years. 

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been re-elected by acclaim to another four-year term after suggesting the financial results under his leadership would keep an industry CEO in the job for life. 

Research by players' union FIFPRO claims most players from last year's World Cup do not want the tournament to be held again in November and December.

Mallory Swanson scored in the 45th minute, and the United States shut out Japan 1-0 Sunday to remain undefeated in the SheBelieves Cup. Swanson got the ball on a pass from Alex Morgan and outraced the defender before beating goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita with a shot off her right foot to the far corner.

U.S. Soccer has introduced a Safe Soccer program that will require comprehensive vetting of individuals involved in the sport as the federation continues to address the abuses uncovered in its investigation of coach misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League. 

Sean Johnson kept his sixth career clean sheet, and four more U.S. players made their senior international debuts as the men's senior team wrapped up its annual January training camp with a scoreless draw with Colombia. Interim head coach Anthony Hudson's young U.S. squad couldn't find the net during its second friendly of the week in Southern California. 

U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart is leaving to join PSV Eindhoven following the departure of American general manager Brian McBride. The management shakeup leaves men’s coach Gregg Berhalter in uncertainty. 

Few women are coaching at the top of American soccer — a result of how the sport offers scarce opportunities for female players and imposes a high price on coaching licenses. The shortage of qualified women was highlighted by a glut of vacancies created by men who were pushed out of the sport. 

A long-running corruption probe surrounding FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, has culminated in a trial that got underway in Brooklyn Federal Court.