Liverpool secured a third consecutive victory across competitions with a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, courtesy of goals from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike. Minutes after breaking the deadlock, Isak went down following a challenge from Micky van de Ven and required several minutes of treatment on the pitch before he was forced off. Jeremie Frimpong was introduced in his place.

The forward’s injury is described broadly as a leg problem. Initial fears included the anterior cruciate ligament, but reports suggest the issue may not be so serious. Isak has been sent for tests to determine the severity of the problem.

Slot offered limited detail after the match but said the situation looked worrying on instinct. “I don’t have any news on him, but if a player scores, then gets injured and then doesn’t come back on the pitch and doesn’t try to come back—which Conor Bradley, for example, did, but I had to take him off as well because he couldn’t go on—but if a player doesn’t even try to come back, that’s usually not a good thing,” he said. “But I cannot say anything more than that, that is just a gut feeling. Nothing medical to say about it.”

Slot added: “I haven’t spoken to him about it yet. It’s a good thing that he scored—a good goal, assisted by Florian Wirtz.”

Projected recovery windows depend entirely on the test results. A minor ankle sprain could rule Isak out for roughly 2 to 6 weeks. A more serious high ankle sprain would likely extend the absence to around 8 to 10 weeks. In the worst-case scenario, if the ACL is damaged, the former Newcastle striker could be sidelined for as long as nine months.

Liverpool and the player now await the medical findings to set a clear timetable for return.

Arne Slot gave a guarded assessment after Alexander Isak was forced from the pitch following his goal in Liverpool’s win over Tottenham Hotspur. The 26-year-old summer recruit converted a first-time finish after Florian Wirtz slid a perfectly weighted pass into Isak’s stride, but his celebration never began. Spurs centre back Micky van de Ven’s challenge missed the ball and caught Isak, whose left knee appeared to twist awkwardly while his studs were caught in the turf.

Isak was left writhing on the turf and, after lengthy medical attention, had to be helped off with an arm draped across two physios. Slot declined to offer a firm medical update straight after the match. “We’ll have to wait and see,” he warned. “It is too short after the game to speak about it but it is never good when a player has to come off.”

“I don’t have any news on him,” the Liverpool boss reiterated in his postmatch press conference, “but if a player scores, then gets injured and then doesn’t come back on the pitch and doesn’t try to come back … that’s usually not a good thing.

“But I cannot say anything more than that, that is just [a] gut feeling. Nothing medical to say about it.” Slot had not yet spoken to Isak by the time of his media duties but worked to emphasise positives from the brief cameo.

Slot noted the link between the club’s two most expensive signings of all time. “It’s a good thing that he scored: a good goal, assisted by Florian Wirtz,” he said. “I said last week already players are getting better and the team is getting better. Again, it wasn’t perfect today, especially not in the last 10 minutes, but in the meantime we pick up points and I see the team developing in a way I like to see.”

The strike was Isak’s second Premier League goal for Liverpool and his first at Anfield remains pending. It was also the first assist Wirtz had created for a teammate in England’s top flight. Wirtz’s pass for Isak was recorded as his 27th Premier League chance created this season; the previous 26 had not resulted in goals.

Forbes’ 2025 valuations underline a simple truth: global sports wealth remains concentrated outside soccer even as the game retains massive global support. Forbes estimates that 20 soccer clubs worldwide carry a value of at least $1 billion, yet when measured against the richest franchises across all sports, soccer clubs are part of the crowd rather than the clear leaders.

Forbes again places the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys top of the list at $13 billion, a figure that represents 29% growth from 2024. The Golden State Warriors ($11 billion), LA Rams ($10.5 billion), New York Giants ($10.1 billion) and LA Lakers ($10 billion) complete the five teams that reach 11-figure valuations in 2025.

Forbes calculates a team’s value as its “enterprise value (equity plus net debt) and include the economics of each team’s stadium but not the value of the stadium real estate itself.” That approach produces a list where the first soccer club appears at 20th overall: Real Madrid is valued at $6.75 billion. That remains an enormous valuation, even if it sits well below the very top of the overall rankings.

Manchester United, despite consistently documented on-field problems and substantial debt, stands at $6.6 billion and is tied for 24th place overall. Barcelona follows at $5.65 billion and 42nd overall. Liverpool creeps inside the global top 50, tied at 48th place with two North American franchises, and is valued at $5.4 billion.

Those four clubs are the only soccer representatives among the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world in 2025. The figures underline how the biggest soccer clubs operate on a huge commercial scale but also how other sports, notably the NFL and elite NBA franchises, continue to lead the global valuation table.