Imagine the stadium announcer on La Liga's first weekend. Imagine the impact on the crowd and opposition when he's finished reading out the first seven names on Barcelona's team sheet: "Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Dani Alves (which may get a roar in itself), Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba: Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong ..."

Then comes the shock and awe. "Numero siete (7): Neymar! ... Numero diez (10) Lionel Messi! ... Numero catorce (14) Antoine Griezmann! ... y numero nueve (9) Luis Suarez!"

In this scenario, lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Barcelona have achieved the seemingly impossible by sending Philippe Coutinho, plus €100m, to PSG for Neymar and sticking to their pre-planned €120 million buyout-clause "smash-and-grab" to take Griezmann from Atletico Madrid.

To many this transfer market feat would be akin to the row of buses Evel Knievel refused to jump on his trusty 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750, the icy Himalayan peak Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes wouldn't climb, or the straightjacket from which Harry Houdini couldn't contort himself to freedom. One challenge too far.

But Barcelona made a club-to-player deal with Griezmann back in March that they'd spend the money when his buyout clause lowers from July 1. And the club are most certainly weighing up the opportunity to bring Neymar back, less than two years after his world-record €222m move to PSG.

- Marcotti's transfer guide: What's real and what's not?
- Transfer to-do list for Europe's top clubs

It's not so fanciful that this could be the XI in mid-August -- complete with 36-year-old right-back Dani Alves' return after his contract ran out at PSG -- but there are another couple of logical, if less daring, solutions.

1) Stick to the strategy of buying Griezmann and ignore Neymar's mewling and scratching at the back door, keeping Coutinho instead.

2) Manoeuvrer Griezmann to PSG, then repatriate Neymar for significantly less (outlay and wages) than it cost PSG to acquire him in 2017 -- using some of the €120m they would have spent on the Frenchman on the Brazilian instead, plus Coutinho.

OK, now we've got those two "frugal" alternatives out of the way, we can dismiss them. Because neither option is what sources have told ESPN that the bean-counters, strategists and mad-eyed-dreamers at Camp Nou are interested in pushing through.

By forcing a powerful Coutinho valuation on PSG, dropping the near €90m purchase of Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt (re-deploying the cash they'd earmarked), totting up another €100m in squad-player sales and imposing the appropriate wage-agreement on Neymar, Barcelona are trying to have their cake and eat it.

If, and that's a big if, the Camp Nou club could pull off this truly remarkable, and hellishly risky, deal would Messi, Neymar, Suarez and Griezmann constitute the greatest attacking quartet any club in history has possessed at one time?

I can assure you that marketable slogan itself would be sufficiently attractive to some club presidents or board members to press the button on the deals and damn the consequences. Ego and popularity contests play a far bigger role in football club decision-making, masquerading as strategy, than most would like to admit.

But if it comes to pass it would strike an interesting historic chord.

We're still celebrating the 20th anniversary of Manchester United winning what was, then, only the fourth Treble of domestic league, main domestic cup and European Cup/Champions League (they followed Celtic, Ajax and PSV) in history.

One of the fundamentals of Sir Alex Ferguson's achievement in 1998-99 was how rare it was to successfully group four such exceptional, proud, demanding, internationally recognised strikers as Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham in one squad.

Across United's four competitions the four men combined to score 76 times. One or other of them hit the net on the final, decisive, day of the Premier League, the FA Cup final and, of course, the added-time Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich at Camp Nou. That Treble bore the strikers' signatures more than any other department, though of course Fergie didn't start all four of his musketeers in the same XI.

Contrastingly, you'd better believe that if Messi, Suarez, Griezmann and Neymar were all with Barca then manager Ernesto Valverde would be required to make all four start as the rule, rather than the exception. Not every single week, obviously, but wherever possible.

Notably, the only two clubs other than Barcelona to have won the Treble since United in 1999 have boasted similar firepower: Inter Milan, lifting Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League under Jose Mourinho in 2010, used Diego Milito, Samuel Eto'o, Mario Balotelli and Goran Pandev. Bayern Munich, steered to Bundesliga, Pokal and Europe's top prize by Jupp Heynckes in 2013, could choose from Mario Mandzukic, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez but also from Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Claudio Pizarro.

Barcelona's 2009 Treble under Pep Guardiola was powered by a massive goal total from: Messi, Thierry Henry, Eto'o, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Bojan Krkic. While Luis Enrique's trophy triplet of 2015 had the MSN of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, plus Pedro.

The financial gymnastics in which Barcelona are indulging to sign both Neymar and Griezmann are, to any Barca purist from the Johan Cruyff/Guardiola/Txiki Begiristain school of thought, an aberration. It's the mentality of Real Madrid-esque Galactico purchasing -- nearly €300m lavished on Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, but hey "cash them in and re-splurge!" if the team seems jaded, or wilts in the red-hot heat of Anfield. Just like in Paris, Turin or Rome in recent years.

Adding Griezmann and Neymar is another nod of disrespect, indeed disdain, not only towards the youth academy (La Masia) work and ideals, but more specifically to Carles Alena and Ricki Puig whose form and maturity are beginning to demand significantly more game time in the first XI.

Let's not ignore the dilemma of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, either, after he explicitly stated that one of his legacies, before his mandate ends in 2021, should be renewing Messi's contract once again. If, as I believe, Messi has made it clear to Bartomeu that he must try to bring Neymar "home," then how does the president slap that request down, or ignore it, but then start what he hopes will be fruitful, effective negotiations with team Messi?

In summary, Barcelona want this remarkable double deal to take place. They can probably pull it off. In fact that's the slight favourite in the betting.

It'll hamstring them financially, and it's a direct kick in the teeth to what was once Barcelona's football philosophy, but it'll fixate world attention on Camp Nou once more, it'll charm both current and potential sponsors and, should the players click on the pitch, it's feasible that the Treble could finally be re-achieved.

Tell me seriously, what would you try to do in the club's position?

Buckle up, it's time for England v India. Here's our blog with live updates from Edgbaston. (If the blog doesn't load for you, please refresh your page.)

Fifteen-year-old American qualifier Cori Gauff says it is "a dream" to be facing her idol Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon.

The world number 301 became the youngest player to qualify for the main Wimbledon draw since the Open era began in 1968.

She says the Williams sisters were her idols growing up and that Serena is "the reason why I play tennis".

"I kind of felt like I was going to play one of them," Gauff said.

"Many people have been like 'do you like your draw?' - I love my draw. Playing one of the greatest players of all time is a dream - I'm excited to see how I do."

Gauff, who will be the first 15-year-old in the main draw since Britain's Laura Robson in 2009, received a wildcard to get into qualifying.

"I found out last minute," she said. "I wasn't even packed to come here so it's just crazy how life can turn around in a second."

In facing Venus, she takes on a player 24 years her senior who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at the All England Club.

Of the age gap, Gauff said: "I don't think of Venus as old - she's still killing the game right now.

"It's crazy to show her longevity - that's how I look at it. I hope I'm still playing and doing well at 39."

'She reminds me of Venus'

It is Venus' younger sister Serena who features in a poster on Gauff's bedroom wall in Florida - "a reminder to work hard every day", according to the youngster.

And the 37-year-old, winner of 23 Grand Slams, is a fan.

"She's an exciting young player, and she's so cool," she said. "She's a great girl, I love her dad - they're just really cool people

"It's a great moment for her and for Venus.

"It's going to be a big moment for Venus as well - she's playing against a player who reminds me of Venus. Just her body and everything."

Gauff reached the US Open girls' final aged 13 in 2017, and won the French Open girls' singles title a year later.

Asked about being called "the future of tennis", she added: "It's crazy that people call me the next this, next that. I'm just trying to be me."

JOLIET, Ill. – Justin Allgaier’s hopes of a happy homecoming to Chicagoland Speedway were dashed well before the finish of Saturday’s Camping World 300.

Allgaier, a two-time Chicagoland winner who hails from nearby Riverton, Ill., hoped to rekindle the magic he brought to the 1.5-mile Illinois oval in 2017 – when he won with JR Motorsports.

However, what played out on Saturday was better described as a nightmare.

The race started strong for Allgaier, who qualified fourth and climbed up as high as second in the first 10 laps, but spun off turn two from the runner-up spot on lap 12, costing him a set of tires early on and starting his downward spiral.

Allgaier rallied back into the top 10 by the end of the second stage, but was later squeezed into the wall by the No. 81 Toyota of Jeffrey Earnhardt on lap 117 of 200, forcing him to duck to pit road shortly after with significant right-side damage to his No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet Camaro.

After a few minutes of attempted repairs, Allgaier’s crew pushed the car to the garage area, ending the 33-year-old’s afternoon by rule under NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy.

Though he ran among the top 10 for most of the day, Allgaier was relegated to 33rd-place in the final rundown after completing 127 circuits, marking his fourth DNF of the season.

“The biggest thing there was following the (No.) 81 (Jeffrey Earnhardt) and trying to get a run,” explained Allgaier. “I know Joey (Logano) had a good run to his outside after he got loose, and I thought there would be just enough of a hole to his outside that I could sneak by him … but once I got into his dirty air, there was just nowhere to go and I hit the fence.

“That really caused all the problems. We tried to fix it, but unfortunately, the right-front tire went down.”

Allgaier’s misfortune on Saturday means he’s still looking for his first Xfinity Series win of the season, after having two victories at this point in the year last summer.

He dropped from fourth back to fifth in the regular-season standings, as well, 152 points behind leader Tyler Reddick.

“I’m really bummed to finish here (in the garage). It’s a home race and such a fun track for me, but we had a rough day,” Allgaier said. “Our car wasn’t great at the beginning; we thought after practice we were good, but we were too loose in. I spun out early and everything just compounded after that.

“I hate it for our guys. This is just a really disappointing day.”

SOUTHWICK, Mass. – The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, reached the halfway point of its season Saturday at New England’s The Wick 338.

The most storied sand track in American motocross was the setting for an exceptional day of racing at the MB Tractor & Equipment Southwick National, where Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Marvin Musquin took his second straight 450 Class victory.

Musquin picked up where he left off to start the opening 450 Class moto by grabbing the MotoSport.com Holeshot over Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac. The Frenchman dropped the hammer on the opening lap to establish a lead over the field.

Meanwhile Tomac, the reigning series champion, began to drop positions, first to Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczen and then to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne. That shuffled Tomac off the podium and into the clutches of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb.

Musquin was able to distance himself from everyone else and soon enjoyed a multi-second lead.

As the moto wore on, Roczen started to lose pace and lost his hold of second to Osborne. Tomac was able to regroup from his sluggish start and march his way back to the front. He got around Roczen to get back into podium contention in third, and continued to push his way up to Osborne.

The rookie held the champ at bay for a few laps, but Tomac made an impressive pass to return to third. However, by this point Musquin was simply too far out front.

Musquin was flawless en route to his second moto win of the season, with a wire-to-wire effort that saw him take the checkered flag 9.1 seconds ahead of Tomac.

Osborne followed solidly in third, with Webb fourth and JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Fredrik Noren earning a season-best moto result in fifth.

Roczen, who led the points multiple times this season and has two overall wins to his credit, continued to lose ground, eventually dropping outside the top 10 for a season-worst 12th-place finish.

The final moto of the afternoon saw Webb capture the MotoSport.com Holeshot, with Osborne and Musquin in tow. Tomac found himself just outside the top 10. Webb had a solid hold on the top spot, but a bobble on the opening lap opened the door for Osborne to storm into the lead, dropping Webb into second just ahead of his hard-charging teammate.

Musquin gave chase, but just after the completion of the opening lap Roczen, who was looking to rebound from his tough first moto, passed him for third.

Roczen didn’t stop there. He kept his charge going and after a persistent chase of Webb, he successfully made the pass for second. Not long after that, Musquin took advantage of an opportunity to pass Webb for third.

The intense battle between Roczen, Musquin and Webb allowed Osborne to open a gap of more than three seconds. Roczen briefly settled into second, but Musquin was able to attack and take away the position.

As all this action unfolded, Tomac quietly moved his way up into the top five and had the lead group in his sights. Roczen started to lose pace again a little more than 10 minutes into the moto, and quickly fell from third to fifth as both Webb and Tomac got around.

The German continued to drop back deep into the top 10.

Tomac proceeded to stalk Webb for third as they approached the halfway point of the moto. The KTM rider was able to hold off the champ for several laps, but Tomac eventually made the pass and move into podium position.

At this point, Tomac went to work to try and chip away at his deficit to the lead duo. He sat about three seconds behind Musquin for second, and after several laps he closed to within a few bike lengths of his longtime rival.

Musquin responded by picking up his pace, which allowed him to stop the threat.

Out front, Osborne managed the moto with the poise of the veteran racer he is, despite being a rookie in the 450 Class.

The 29-year-old rider took his first moto win in the premier division by 11.1 seconds over Musquin, who capped off his winning afternoon with a second. Tomac came home in third.

Musquin’s 1-2 effort asserted himself as the hottest rider in the championship, where he became the first rider to claim back-to-back victories this season.

He also successfully defended his Southwick win from a year ago.

“Winning Southwick means a lot. Last year I kind of got lucky because Eli [Tomac] crashed out, but this weekend Zach [Osborne] and I were on it,” said Musquin. “Eli was coming on strong at the end, but I responded and eventually he gave up, thankfully.

“It was a rough start to the season, and it’s hard mentally when you’re not on the podium, but I’ve still got it.”

In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo added to his dominant start to the season with his fifth victory in six rounds.

Cianciarulo’s 1-2 effort gave him the sixth overall victory of his career, five of which have come this summer alone.

He also became the 27th different winner in 34 seasons of 250 Class racing in Southwick.

CANTON, Ill. – Despite starting 11th, Tennessee’s Anthony Nicholson methodically marched his way through the field to win Saturday night’s POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League event at Spoon River Speedway.

Nicholson charged into contention for the lead by halfway of the 25-lap main event, sneaking by Mario Clouser and Kory Schudy, to assume the lead on lap 13 and holding on for his second-career series victory.

A four-car inversion pulled by Mitchell Davis lined the feature field up with Mario Clouser and Joe B. Miller on the front row.

Clouser claimed the initial lead aboard his Yokahoma Tires No. 6, but his control was short-lived, as Kory Schudy made a wild four-wide move down the backstretch and slid underneath Clouser to take the lead on the second circuit.

Schudy started to run away, in firm command before a caution on lap 12 bunched the field up and changed the entire narrative.

On the ensuing restart, Clouser took a peek to the inside of Schudy into turn one, but slight contact created a bobble and Nicholson took advantage by slipping into second.

He didn’t stop there, however, as coming out of turn four Nicholson dipped inside of Schudy and drove by him down the frontstretch to assume the lead on lap 13.

Checking out as the laps wound down, Nicholson’s lead only grew until a lap-23 caution set up a nail-biting green-white-checkered restart to decide it all.

Determined to break through for his first Spoon River triumph, Clouser showed his nose and dove into turn one looking to squeeze by Nicholson for the lead. However, as Clouser caught Nicholson’s left rear, the No. 6 went spinning.

Clouser saved his car with a quick 360 recovery, but faltered to the tail of the field in heartbreaking fashion.

Keeping the DHR Suspension/Razor Edge Graphics No. 16 Maxim under control, Nicholson remained calm, cool and collected as he survived the final two laps to pick up the victory.

Miller brought the McGarry Motorsports No. 31B home with a second-place finish, while Riley Kreisel snuck his way on the podium with a sixth-to-third burst on the final restart.

Current point leader Schudy finished in fourth and Logan Faucon rounded out the top five.

Wesley Smith crossed the line in sixth, followed by Korey Weyant, Don Droud Jr., Jack Wagner and Trey Gropp.

The finish:

Feature (25 laps): 1. 16-Anthony Nicholson (11); 2. 31B-Joe B. Miller (2); 3. 90-Riley Kreisel (5); 4. 28-Kory Schudy (3); 5. 52F-Logan Faucon (8); 6. 12-Wesley Smith (6); 7. 99-Korey Weyant (12); 8. 1M-Don Droud Jr. (15); 9. 77-Jack Wagner (9); 10. 54-Trey Gropp (13); 11. 6-Mario Clouser (1); 12. 2A-Austin Archdale (16); 13. 77K-Katlynn Leer (20); 14. 22S-Slater Helt (14); 15. 6B-Andy Baugh (10); 16. 4-Braydon Cromwell (7); 17. 7C-Craig Campton (18); 18. 20-Steve Thomas (19); 19. 56-Mitchell Davis (4); 20. 29-Mitch Wissmiller (17); 21. N2-Nic Harris (DNS).

Lap Leader(s): Clouser 1, Schudy 2-12, Nicholson 13-25.

Hard Charger: Nicholson (+10)

JACKSON, Minn. – Brad Sweet has stepped on the gas going into the summer stretch of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Sweet stormed to his seventh win of the year and fourth in the last five races with a dominant performance during Saturday night’s finale to the 41st annual AGCO Jackson Nationals.

The driver of the No. 49 NAPA Auto Parts machine started from the pole, but didn’t take command of the 35-lap feature until a lap-12 restart, passing second-starting Daryn Pittman and never looking back en route to a $41,000 victory.

After Pittman elected the outside lane following a red-flag period for Austin McCarl’s flipped car in turn two, Sweet made him regret the choice by virtue of a deep dive into turn one as racing resumed.

The Big Cat’s big move paid big dividends at that point, as Sweet grabbed control at the four-tenths-mile oval by the throat and crushed the opposition from there, holding off Donny Schatz in the closing laps.

“This is awesome. These big-money races are hard to win, and it didn’t surprise me at all when the 15 (Schatz) was there on me,” Sweet said. “He had me chasing my tail a little bit, so we either need to work on the car a little bit or I need to do a little better job of driving, but either way … we were able to hold him off.

“I’m just really excited to get this NAPA Auto Parts car back in victory lane, because we’re on a bit of a run here and it’s a lot of fun to drive right now.”

Though Sweet made his dance through traffic look effortless in the second half of the race, it didn’t come without some pressure from the 10-time and defending World of Outlaws champion.

Schatz followed Sweet past Pittman on the same lap-12 restart where Sweet took the lead and chased his championship rival for the remaining distance, cutting the gap down to as little as two tenths of a second at times and sliding alongside Sweet at one point during the closing stages.

A caution with five to go however, after Kerry Madsen tagged the wall in turn two, gave Sweet clean track that he capitalized on – running the two fastest laps of the race on laps 31 and 32 to gap Schatz.

Sweet ultimately took the checkered flag in front by a full second over Schatz, with Pittman hanging on to complete the podium in third.

Schatz said there simply wasn’t much more he could do once Sweet got back in clean air.

“We were there, doing everything we could, but I think that last yellow with five to go really killed us,” lamented Schatz. “When you get a clean race track, everyone’s going to run in the same groove at that point. Hats off to my guys, though. They’re digging. We’ve got an awesome race car right now; the driver just has to step up to the plate a little bit more and start swinging a bit bigger bat.”

Pittman, who led the first 11 laps from the outside pole, was quick to note that his car was unaffected despite contact with the slower car of McCarl just before the latter driver turned over to stop the field with 11 laps in the books.

His frustration is mounting, however, as a four-month winless drought dating back to the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in February got one race longer on Saturday night.

“The red flag stopped the pace of the race, and ultimately gave us a restart where we found another way to lose a race,” said Pittman. “It is what it is, though. It’s frustrating, but Roth Motorsports is working hard and giving me cars capable of winning. I just have to sit up in the seat and get it done.”

David Gravel crossed the line fourth and David Gravel completed the top five.

To view full race results, advance to the next page.