Saudi Arabia is still crashing European club soccer’s party — and the situation is still dividing the sport’s leading figures.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pushed back on the notion that the Saudi Pro League isn’t a threat — a claim recently made by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. The SPL has reportedly been exploring potential entry into the UEFA Champions League as it signs more soccer stars.

“It feels rather like a threat or a concern than not because I can’t see how we really deny it,” Klopp said. Saudi club Al-Ittihad has been making escalating transfer bids — the latest reportedly nearing $200 million — for Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, who is Muslim and captains the Egyptian national team.

Over the summer, Liverpool lost captain Jordan Henderson to Saudi side Al Ettifaq, which is reportedly paying the English international at least $20 million a year. That’s more than double the 33-year-old’s previous contract at Liverpool. 

“I strongly believe that me playing in Saudi Arabia is a positive thing,” Henderson said in his first public comments since making the controversial move.

International Intrigue

The Saudis are also tussling with Europe over world soccer’s biggest event.

Saudi Arabia reportedly wants Europe’s support in its efforts to bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s new SRJ Sports Investments fund wants to bring more international events to the Middle East.

The ongoing Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes have already dealt a significant financial blow to Warner Bros. Discovery — and now could ultimately impact the company’s ability to acquire additional sports rights.

On Tuesday, the parent of networks such as TBS and TNT said in a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that the tandem Hollywood strikes — the first such paired actions since 1960 — have negatively impacted its projected full-year adjusted earnings by about $300 million to $500 million. 

“While WBD is hopeful that these strikes will be resolved soon, it cannot predict when the strikes will ultimately end,” the company said. “With both guilds still on strike today, the company now assumes the financial impact to WBD of these strikes will persist through the end of 2023.”

It is already a delicate period for WBD. Having gone through multiple waves of layoffs over the past 17 months, the company is now seeking a new NBA rights deal to succeed the current one expiring in 2025, but with changes to reflect the transforming media landscape.

WBD officials have downplayed the potential impact on sports, and other major programmers face similar challenges due to the strikes. But some analysts have still conveyed concern regarding the company’s overall situation, in part due to its $47.8 billion in gross debt.

“The issue facing Warner Bros. is a scenario where the networks segment remains in decline and the [direct-to-consumer] segment collapses due to no original [entertainment] content for months,” said Stone Fox Capital. “At the same time, Netflix, Amazon, and Apple can all afford to absorb any losses and continue investing when the strikes end.”

WBD CEO David Zaslav will appear Wednesday at a Goldman Sachs investor conference in San Francisco — along with top executives from Charter, T-Mobile, Verizon, Paramount, and Comcast, among others — and is expected to discuss the strikes and their financial impact.

Meanwhile, WBD is preparing a formal announcement of its long-awaited sports tier for Max, projected to debut around the start of the MLB playoffs next month. 

Laura Ricketts’ purchase of the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars has grown into a larger transaction designed to jumpstart the franchise in one of the league’s key markets.

The deal, expected for several weeks, includes a purchase price of up to $35.5 million, a record for an existing NWSL team — just edging out the $35 million Michele Kang paid last year for the Washington Spirit. But the Red Stars agreement also includes another $25 million to be invested directly into the club.

“To build the world-class organization that our fans deserve, we need to attract the world’s best players, coaches, and staff, as well as create an environment that fosters their success. We’re going to make that happen,” said Ricketts, who is heading an investor group of numerous local and international business leaders. 

Ricketts is also part of the family ownership group of MLB’s Chicago Cubs and a minority owner of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.

The final price Ricketts and her group will pay outgoing owner Arnim Whisler — who put the club up for sale late last year after he was found to be part of a pattern of abuse and sexual misconduct within the league — will depend on factors including short-term business metrics such as sponsorship and ticket sales, and the size of the NWSL’s next media rights agreement. The current, three-year pact with CBS expires at the end of this season.

Stadium Challenges

Perhaps first on Ricketts’ Red Stars to-do list is determining the team’s long-term home. 

The Red Stars currently play at SeatGeek Stadium in suburban Bridgeview, Illinois — a tough-to-reach venue not convenient for public transportation. The team is averaging a league-worst 4,033 per game at the venue, and the current lease extends through 2025. 

Ricketts describes pursuing a facility upgrade as a “challenge-slash-opportunity.”

Cost controversy or not, Red Bull Racing continues to dominate Formula 1 — but finally, its supremacy has the official validation of the sport’s governing body.

After last year’s high-profile spending scandal — which resulted in a punishment for the defending champions and a $7 million fine — the FIA announced all 10 F1 teams were under the $140 million cost cap for the 2022 season. 

Last year, the FIA ruled that Red Bull had breached the 2021 cost cap by less than 5%, and some reports earlier this summer suggested some unnamed teams had broken the rules yet again during the 2022 season.

There are eight races left this F1 season — but Red Bull could secure its second straight constructors’ title as soon as the next grand prix in Singapore on Sept. 17, while Max Verstappen could seal his third straight drivers’ championship later this month in Japan. 

Red Bull’s Dutch superstar won his 10th consecutive race on Sunday, a new F1 record.

Stars Will Keep Shining

Red Bull and Verstappen are likely to have clinched their respective championships before F1 completes its North American swing — including the highly anticipated inaugural running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix — but fans can still expect full effort when the grid visits this side of the Atlantic. 

Last year, both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles were clinched with three races to go, but Verstappen and Red Bull still won two of the remaining events.