Two men who worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR public filing system were charged with insider trading after allegedly pocketing $1 million by stealing non-public information obtained through their jobs.
Justin Chen and Jun Zhen, both of Brooklyn, New York, were charged in a federal complaint with obtaining material, non-public information about companies like Purple Innovation Inc., Ondas Holdings Inc., SigmaTron International Inc., and Signing Day Sports Inc. through their work at EDGAR, according to Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella.
Prosecutors say that between March and June 2025 the pair engaged in a scheme to obtain information about these companies, which announced they had entered into merger agreements or partnerships “that resulted in significant increases in the share price of each company’s stock.”
Chen, 31, and Zhen, 29, purchased shares in the companies before the announcements, “and sold those shares at a significant profit immediately after the announcement,” according to a complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn. “In total, Chen and Zhen have made a profit of more than $1 million from their trading.”
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Chen and Zhen Friday night at John F. Kennedy International Airport as they were planning to board a flight to Hong Kong, said John Marzulli, a spokesman for Nocella.
Chen worked as an EDGAR operator and assistant manager while Zhen worked as an EDGAR operator and typeset manager, prosecutors said. The two had access to the company announcements before they were filed.
Both men are charged with securities fraud, which carries a prison term of as long as 25 years, prosecutors said.
Chen and Zhen made their initial court appearances in federal court in Brooklyn on Saturday before US Magistrate Judge Vera Scanlon, who ordered them held without bail.
Chris Wright, a lawyer for Zhen, and Charles Millioen, a lawyer for Chen, didn’t immediately return email messages seeking comment about their clients.
Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in America. Explore this year’s list.
H/T to Tencor for the inspiration for this article.
On Saturday in Samorin, Romanian David Popovici swam a new best time of 46.71, which is the #2 performance in the history of the event.
The result is building anticipation for an explosive head-to-head showdown in Singapore between Popovici and China’s Pan Zhanle. Both swimmers are only 20 years old, setting up as much as a decade of battles between the two.
In spite of their relatively-young age, the two now hold 9 of the 12 fastest performances in history in an event where no other swim in the top 50 performances was done by a swimmer as young as they are.
Top 15 Performances in History – Men’s 100 LCM Freestyles
Popovici is currently 7,591 days old. In his most recent entry on the list, the World Record swim from August, Pan was a few days shy of his 20th birthday, or 7,306 days old.
While there are a few other 20 year olds on the list, none were as young as Pan or Popovici currently are. Australian James Magnussen was 7,644 days old when he swam the #22 time in history (47.10). American Chris Guiliano was 7,664 days old when he swam the #42 time in history (47.25).
The next-highest ranked swimmers who were younger than Pan and Popovici is a tie: Russian Kliment Kolesnikov was 7,574 days old when he swam 47.31 in history in 2021, and American Jack Alexy was 7,494 days old when he swam 47.31 in 2023. That ties them as the #53 performances in history.
While the men’s 10o free isn’t exactly an event dominated by veterans, most elite swimmers go their best times at ages 21 and 22. The graph below shows the age distribution of the current top 51 men’s performers in history.
That means that Pan and Popovici are, based on historical standards, coming into their prime.
Nope, we’re not talking about a Tesla Robotaxi we’re talking about. This is the self-driving ID. Buzz, a fully autonomous van created and engineered by Volkswagen’s mobility-focused sub-brand, MOIA. Unlike retrofitted cars, the ID. Buzz has been built from the ground up specifically for mobility services.
For the past few years, the ID. Buzz has been frequently spotted during tests on the streets of Hamburg. MOIA plans to launch the vehicle in Germany first, with wider rollout across Europe and the US expected by 2026.
Just days ago, Elon Musk announced that Tesla’s Robotaxis would begin official testing in Austin, Texas. VW’s announcement signals that competition in autonomous mobility is heating up. But there’s a key difference: MOIA is aiming at corporate clients and mobility providers, while Tesla is targeting the passenger ride-hailing market directly.
This means you’re more likely to see fleets of ID. Buzz vans operated by companies than owned by your next-door neighbor.
MOIA plans to launch the autonomous van in Germany
Volkswagen
“With our fully autonomous complete solution, we are creating a mobility offering that is unique in this form: cities, municipalities, and fleet operators can provide autonomous mobility for all simply and reliably,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group. “Our driverless ID. Buzz shuttles are part of a fully connected 360-degree package made up of leading technology, an attractive vehicle fleet, intelligent fleet management, and a customer-centric booking system – all from a single source and quickly scalable to fleet size on the road.”
The ID. Buzz comes bundled with a comprehensive support suite for public and private transportation operators, including self-driving tech, operator training, fleet management software, and passenger assistance tools.
The van uses Mobileye’s validated self-driving technology that has been validated to meet automotive safety regulations. Paired with MOIA’s Autonomous Driving Mobility-as-a-Service (AD MaaS) platform, the ID. Buzz doesn’t just drive itself, it integrates with ride apps, manages fleets, and can respond to operational challenges autonomously.
VW even offers end-to-end operator enablement, including simulation, training, deployment, and real-time fleet monitoring. Operators will be able to serve rural, suburban, and urban areas on their own terms.
The van has a simple interior with only four passenger seats
Volkswagen
The van features a full 360-degree view enabled by 27 sensors: 13 cameras, nine LiDAR units, and give radar sensors. Its AI meets the requirements for Level 4 autonomy, meaning it can handle all driving without human intervention in specific scenarios, which is on par with Waymo’s fleet of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in the US.
There is already vigorius competition in this market. Waymo is apparently handling around 250,000 trips a week, and Tesla says it is close to launching a robotaxi service with its Model Y.
Where Tesla and Waymo favor standard car formats, the ID. Buzz looks and feels different with a vehicle that sits somewhere between a minivan and a small bus. Expect generous legroom, a taller roof, a longer wheelbase, and even a luggage rack where the front passenger seat would typically be.
Inside, passengers will find a plush cabin with four seats, large grab handles, faux-wood flooring, and visible Start/Stop, Support, and SOS buttons. “Intuitive boarding via smartphone” allows users to unlock the van using their device.
There’s even a luggage rack where the front-row passenger seat would usually be
Volkswagen
If regulatory approval goes ahead, deployment could begin as early as next year.
“As part of our journey to become a global technology leader in the automotive industry, we will introduce sustainable, autonomous mobility to large-scale deployment in Europe and the US starting in 2026,” said Blume.
The ID. Buzz boasts a complete 360-degree view of the road thanks to its 27 sensors
Volkswagen
Hamburg is already confirmed as MOIA’s first municipal client, using the Buzz as a complement to existing public transport. Meanwhile, a partnership with Uber will bring the ID. Buzz to Los Angeles in 2026, marking its entry into the US ridesharing market.
Senate Republicans narrowly advanced a budget bill that is pivotal to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda ahead of a self-imposed 4 July deadline.
In a 51-49 vote largely along party lines, the Senate has moved to open debate on the bill, a key initial hurdle that Republicans scrambled to overcome. Two Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the move to take up the bill.
Party leadership had been twisting arms for the initial vote on the “Big Beautiful Bill” on Saturday, following the release of its latest version – all 940 pages – shortly after midnight.
Republicans were divided over how much to cut welfare programmes in order to extend $3.8tn (£2.8tn) in Trump tax breaks.
The bill’s fate on the Senate floor remains uncertain, as Republicans in the chamber continue to quarrel over the bill’s provisions. Vice-President JD Vance travelled to the Capitol on Saturday night to offer a tiebreak vote, though party leaders were ultimately able to negotiate majority support without his help.
Meanwhile, Democrats say they will drag out the process in protest at the bill, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying his party will force Republicans to read out the nearly 1,000 pages of text before the Senate can begin debate and potentially take up a final vote.
Separately, some Republicans in the House of Representatives have expressed concerns over the changes in the Senate version of the bill. The sprawling tax and spending measure passed the House of Representatives by a single vote last month.
The Senate’s version of the bill included a series of changes meant to address points of disagreement among Republicans. Still, party leaders struggled to secure enough votes.
In a memo sent to Senate offices, the White House endorsed the latest revisions to the bill and called for its passage.
The memo reportedly warned that failure to approve the budget “would be the ultimate betrayal”.
Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined Democrats in rejecting the bill.
As the Senate vote concluded, President Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, that Tillis was making a “BIG MISTAKE”. He wrote that he would be meeting with candidates who “come forward wanting to run in the Primary against “Senator Thom” Tillis”.
However, the bill did win over some Republicans who had expressed scepticism, including centrist Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin intially voted against it, but changed his vote at the end of the voting session.
The latest version was designed to appease some backbench Republican holdouts.
Other amendments incorporate input from the Senate parliamentarian, an official who reviews bills to ensure they comply with the chamber’s procedures.
It includes an increase in funding for rural hospitals, after some party moderates argued the original proposal would harm their constituents.
There are also changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which provides food benefits to low-income Americans.
Under the latest bill, Alaska and Hawaii would be temporarily exempt from a proposed requirement for some states to start footing the bill for the programme, which is currently fully funded by the federal government.
The revision comes after Alaska’s two Republican senators pushed for an exemption.
The legislation still contains some of its core components, including extending tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017, as well as the addition of new cuts that Trump campaigned on, such as a tax deduction on Social Security benefits and the elimination of taxes on overtime work and tips.
More contentious measures are also still in place, including restrictions and requirements on Medicaid – a healthcare programme used by millions of elderly, disabled and low-income Americans.
Democrats have heavily criticised this piece of the bill, saying it will limit access to affordable healthcare for millions of Americans.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 7.8 million people would become uninsured due to such Medicaid cuts.
Senator Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, took to social media on Saturday to argue the bill contains “the largest healthcare cuts in history”.
Another critic of the bill is Elon Musk, who wrote on X on Saturday that the latest iteration of the bill “will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harms to our country”.
Musk took issue with taxes the bill proposes on solar and wind energy projects.
The bill now needs a simple majority to clear the Senate. With Republicans holding 53 seats out of 100, plus a tiebreaker from Vice-President JD Vance, the party can only afford three defections.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Nvidia insiders have sold more than $1bn of the company’s stock over the past 12 months including a recent surge in trading as executives cash in on investors’ enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
More than $500mn of the share sales took place this month as the California-based chips designer’s share price climbed to a record high.
Investors have piled back into the stock, making it the world’s most valuable company as they bet on huge demand for chips to power AI applications. The price rise comes after a turbulent year in which Nvidia was knocked by US-China trade tensions and Chinese AI breakthroughs that threated demand for its products.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia chief executive, started selling shares this week for the first time since September.
Nvidia said all of Huang’s sales were part of a pre-arranged trading plan, agreed in March, that set the prices and dates at which sales would be triggered. Huang still retains the vast majority of his shares in Nvidia.
“When the stock [dropped] in the first quarter, he did not sell, [which was] was really smart,” said Ben Silverman, vice-president of research at VerityData.
“[Huang] waited for the stock to return to levels that he felt more comfortable selling at,” Silverman added.
VerityData, which tracks insider sales based on regulatory filings, said in a report that Nvidia’s share price bump above $150 appears to have triggered Huang’s sales.
Huang started selling just after a mandated 90-day cooling-off period for his sales plan expired. Directors and senior executives often agree these plans to avoid insider trading allegations.
Under the plan, Huang can sell as many as 6mn shares before the end of this year. At the current share price, that leaves Huang on track to earn more than $900mn.
Huang’s net worth is estimated at $138bn, according to Forbes.
Nvidia’s market capitalisation has quadrupled to $3.8tn in the space of a few years as companies and nation states pour billions of dollars into the infrastructure behind AI.
A number of other top Nvidia executives are also reaping a windfall from the company’s growth.
These include longtime board member Mark Stevens, a former managing partner at Sequoia Capital who was one of the earliest investors in Nvidia. On 2 June, he announced he would sell up to 4mn shares, currently valued at $550mn, and has since sold $288mn of them.
Nvidia’s executive vice-president of worldwide field operations, Jay Puri — a two-decade veteran of the company who has deputised for Huang on trips to China to meet officials — sold shares worth around $25mn on Wednesday.
Two other board members, Tench Coxe and Brooke Seawell, have moved to sell, with Coxe offloading around $143mn on June 9 and Seawell around $48mn this month.
Coxe, a former managing director of Sutter Hill Ventures, is another longtime board member who has been at the company since its early days. Huang co-founded the company in 1993 as a video game graphics card company in a Denny’s restaurant in San Jose.
Seawell, who joined the board in 1997, is a partner at venture firm New Enterprise Associates and a former executive at chip design software company Synopsys.
Nvidia’s shares have rebounded in recent weeks, with its market capitalisation regaining about $1.5tn since its lowest point in April. The stock took a hit following breakthroughs by China’s DeepSeek and new US export controls on AI chips destined for China.
A Russian drone attack killed a teacher and her husband in Ukraine’s Odesa, and wounded 14 others, according to Ukrainian officials. Three of the victims, including a child, were in critical condition.
At least two others were killed in another Russian attack on the villages of Kostiantynivka and Ivanopillia in the eastern region of Donetsk on Friday, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.
Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Saturday night, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko warning residents to take shelter from Russian drones “heading for the city”, according to the official Ukrinform news agency.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Chervona Zirka in Donetsk. The ministry later said it had also seized the area between the Vovcha and Mokri Yaly rivers.
Top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskii also said on Telegram that Russia’s military was “surging towards” the key city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk, but that “apart from sustaining numerous losses, [it] has achieved nothing”.
In Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack caused several injuries to a 43-year-old man, including a traumatic brain injury, in the village of Glushkovo in the Kursk region, the TASS news agency reported, citing a local official.
Ukraine’s SBU security service said Ukrainian forces using special drones attacked the Kirovske military airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea, destroying three attack helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system.
Russia’s military said it destroyed 64 Ukrainian drones over western Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight and into Saturday.
Politics and diplomacy
Poland’s outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, during a visit to Kyiv, asked Ukraine to “please be patient” during the handover to his nationalist successor, Karol Nawrocki. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters he would “of course” invite Nawrocki to Ukraine after he assumed office.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker and chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament, told Ukraine’s ongoing marathon television broadcast that a bill is being drafted to hold elections after the war, Ukrinform reported.
Budapest advertises itself as a party town. On Saturday, the party spilled out onto the streets, and occupied, in the scorching heat of summer, the Elizabeth Bridge and the river banks and downtown areas on both shores of the Danube.
Between 100,000 and 200,000 mostly young people danced and sang their way from Pest to Buda.
A distance that usually takes only 20 minutes on foot stretched to three hours.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ban, many Budapest Pride participants told me, spurred them to attend an event they usually stay away from. Last year, just 35,000 took part.
Many banners mocked the Hungarian prime minister. It was like a peaceful revenge by some of those he has declared war on during his past 15 years in power.
“In my history class, I learnt enough, to recognise a dictatorship. You don’t need to illustrate it – Vik!” read one hand-made banner. “I’m so bored of Fascism,” read another.
T-shirts with Orban’s image, in bright eyeshadow and lipstick, were everywhere.
Reuters
A mocking, glammed-up image of PM Viktor Orban adorned T-shirts
While the LGBT community with its vivid paraphernalia made up the core of the march, this year’s Pride turned into a celebration of human rights and solidarity.
“We don’t exactly look as though we were banned!” a beaming Budapest mayor, Gergely Karacsony, told the crowd, in a speech in front of the Budapest Technical University.
Today’s march could go down as the crowning moment of his political career. A city hall starved of funds and in constant struggle with the central government dared to host an event the government tried to ban, and won – for now at least.
“In fact, we look like we’re peacefully and freely performing a big, fat show to a puffed-up and hateful power. The message is clear: they have no power over us!” Karacsony continued.
Nick Thorpe, BBC
All sorts of people – across the generations – turned up for the Pride march
Among the attendees was Finnish MEP Li Andersson, who felt Orban was using arguments on family values as a pretext to ban the march.
“It’s important to emphasise that the reason why we are here is not only Pride – this is about the fundamental rights of all of us,” she said.
The ban was based on a new law, passed by the big majority held by Orban’s Fidesz party in parliament, subordinating the freedom of assembly to a 2021 Child Protection law that equated homosexuality with paedophilia, and therefore banned the portrayal or promotion of homosexuality in places where children might see it.
The police justified a ban on Saturday’s march on the grounds children might witness it. In response, the mayor cited a 2001 law stating events organised by councils do not fall under the right of assembly.
In the end, the police officers present at the march kept a discreet presence, looking on mournfully at a party from which they were excluded.
In another part of the city, Orban attended the graduation ceremony of 162 new police and customs officers, and new officials of the National Directorate-General for Policing Aliens.
“Order does not come into being by itself, it must be created, because without it civilised life will be lost,” Orban told the students and their families.
Earlier, he and other prominent Fidesz officials posted pictures of themselves with their children and grandchildren, in an attempt to reclaim the “pride” word.
“Post a picture, to show them what we’re proud of,” Alexandra Szentkiralyi, the head of the Fidesz faction in the Budapest Council, posted on Facebook, alongside a picture of herself in a rather plain “Hungary” T-shirt.
The police presence was restrained in Budapest on Saturday, but temporary cameras installed ahead of the march and mounted on police vehicles recorded the whole event.
Getty Images
A vast crowd poured across the famous Elisabeth Bridge
The 18 March law that attempted to ban the Pride gave the police new powers to use facial recognition software. Fines of between £14 ($19) and £430 could be imposed on participants.
The pro-government media was scathing in its criticism of the day’s events, echoing remarks by leading Fidesz politicians that the march was a celebration of perversity, with nothing to do with freedom of assembly.
“Chaos at Budapest Pride,” proclaimed Magyar Nemzet, the government flagship.
“The notorious climate activist and more recently terrorist supporter Greta Thunberg posted on her Instagram page that she is also at Budapest Pride,” it continued.
“After the demonstration, this will be a question for the courts,” Zoltan Kiszelly, a political analyst close to the government, told the BBC.
“If the courts decide in favour of the mayor and the (Pride) organisers, then Orban can say, okay, we have to change the legislation again.”
If the courts decide for the government, however, the prime minister can be pleased with the law he pushed through – despite the fact Pride went ahead.
The Senate is preparing for a key procedural vote during a rare Saturday session as Republicans race to pass President Donald Trump’s package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline.
Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks.
Ahead of the expected roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it “strongly supports passage” of the bill that “implements critical aspects” of the president’s agenda. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about it on social media.
“It’s time to get this legislation across the finish line,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
But as the day dragged on, billionaire Elon Musk lashed out, calling the package “utterly insane and destructive.”
“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” the former top Trump aide said in a post.
The 940-page bill was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through the days ahead with hours of potentially all-night debate and countless amendments. Senate passage could be days away, and the bill would need to return to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House.
With the narrow Republicans majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board in the face of essentially unified opposition from Democrats.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans dropped the bill “in the dead of night” and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what’s in it.
Make-or-break moment for GOP
The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump’s party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up, even as he sometimes gives mixed signals, allowing for more time.
At recent events at the White House, including Friday, Trump has admonished the “grandstanders” among GOP holdouts to fall in line.
The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump’s first term that would otherwise expire by year’s end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
But the spending cuts that Republicans are relying on to offset the lost tax revenues are causing dissent within the GOP ranks. Some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation’s debt, are pushing for steeper cuts.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he remains concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been opposed to the measure to raise the nation’s debt limit by $5 trillion. And Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., pushing for deeper cuts, said he needed to see the final legislative text.
GOP Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana said he would agree to proceeding to the bill only after being assured a provision for public lands sales he opposes would be taken out with an amendment.
After setbacks, Republicans revise some proposals
The release of that draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarianreviewed the bill to ensure it complied with the chamber’s strict “Byrd Rule,” named for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va. It largely bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 GOP edge and Democrats unified against Trump’s bill.
Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals were determined to be out of compliance by the chief arbiter of the Senate’s rules. One plan would have shifted some food stamp costs from the federal government to the states; a second would have gutted the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them.
The final text includes a proposal for cuts to a Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary objections and opposition from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers.
Most states impose the provider tax as a way to boost federal Medicaid reimbursements. Some Republicans argue that is a scam and should be abolished.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without health care and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The CBO has not yet publicly assessed the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions.
Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said.
SALT dispute shakes things up
The Senate included a compromise over the so-called SALT provision, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a top priority of lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, but the issue remains unsettled.
The current SALT cap is $10,000 a year, and a handful of Republicans wanted to boost it to $40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $40,000 cap, but for five years instead of 10.
Many Republican senators say that is still too generous. At least one House GOP holdout, Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, had said that would be insufficient.
Trump’s deadline nears
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans to be on call to return to Washington, had said they are “very close” to finishing up.
“We would still like to meet that July Fourth, self-imposed deadline,” said Johnson, R-La.
Johnson and Thune have stayed close to the White House, relying on Trump to pressure holdout lawmakers.
Who: Paris Saint-Germain vs Inter Miami What: FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States When: Sunday, June 30 at 12pm (16:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 9am local (13:00 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.
FIFA’s Club World Cup serves up a treat in the round of 16 as Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami against his former club, Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentinian international forward joined the French giants, and now first-time European champions, from the club he represented since childhood, Barcelona.
PSG’s coveted European success was not forthcoming, and Messi headed for new pastures with his 2023 move to Major League Soccer.
Now, Messi faces a PSG side shorn of many of the Galacticos recruited to seal European glory, but full of youthful exuberance and riding the crest of their Champions League wave.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the match.
Why does Messi’s Miami vs PSG carry such weight?
When PSG meet Inter Miami, it will mark a rare reunion of European football greats, all layered with old loyalties, recent regrets and the chance for Lionel Messi to settle a score.
Sunday’s game features a compelling contrast of eras – a PSG side powered by youth and energy fresh off their maiden Champions League title, and an Inter Miami team built around ageing-but-iconic former Barcelona stars.
On the PSG touchline, Luis Enrique comes face to face with four players he once led at Barcelona: Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
They are all now reunited under Miami coach Javier Mascherano, another figure from Luis Enrique’s treble-winning era at Camp Nou.
“Luis Enrique is a phenomenon,” Alba said this week. “I’m excited to see him and will give him a hug, but when the ref blows the opening whistle, we’ll try to beat him.”
Suarez, now 38, reflected on his former manager’s impact: “I already had a competitive DNA, but he injected even more into me,” he said.
Lionel Messi during training before the match against PSG [Hannah Mckay/Reuters]
Do the Barcelona contingent have history with PSG?
In another layer of intrigue, Miami’s contingent of former Barcelona players were all part of 2017’s “Remontada” against PSG.
That was PSG’s darkest night, when Barca thrashed them 6-1 in Spain after losing 4-0 in Paris in their last-16 Champions League tie.
That was when Miami’s veterans were at their peak.
Now, they rely on memory and rhythm, while PSG’s core has been reshaped by a rising generation: Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and Vitinha have helped inject fresh energy into Luis Enrique’s system, culminating in a Champions League triumph just weeks ago.
How did PSG fare in the group stage?
The Parisian side arrive in Atlanta after a 1–0 loss to Brazil’s Botafogo in the group stage, which raised questions about fatigue following a long European season.
Though PSG remain heavy favourites on paper, that defeat showed cracks in a squad that has played more high-stakes matches than most of their rivals.
PSG took their group with wins in their opening games against Atletico Madrid and Seattle Sounders.
How did Inter Miami fare in the group stage?
Inter Miami finished second in their group behind Palmeiras with one win and two draws to their name.
“It will be an honour for me facing a great coach, one of the greatest I’ve had in my career,” said Mascherano of Luis Enrique.
Now in his first major club coaching role, Mascherano brings an emotional edge and tactical sharpness to a Miami side that, while physically limited by age, can still threaten, especially with Messi in form.
The Argentina great endured a turbulent two-year stint at PSG after leaving Barcelona in 2021. Though he won domestic silverware, Messi never found peace in Paris and, after his World Cup win in 2022, some fans turned on him.
“I didn’t enjoy myself at PSG,” Messi told reporters earlier this year. “It was a tough period.”
Mascherano believes that memory still drives him.
“When something’s stuck in his mind, Messi gives a little extra,” he said this week.
Messi is pictured with PSG teammates including Neymar, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, Kylian Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos after winning the 2023 Ligue 1 title in France [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
What went so wrong for Messi at PSG?
PSG had made it to the Champions League final and then semifinals in the two seasons prior to Messi’s arrival, so he looked like the final piece in the jigsaw.
Instead, they went backwards with him in the side, going out of Europe’s elite club competition in the last 16 two years running.
Having to fit in Messi, with his estimated annual salary of 30 million euros ($35.2 million) after tax, as well as Neymar and Mbappe, may have increased the star appeal, but it weakened them as a team.
Towards the end, the Barcelona legend was even being jeered by some sections of the PSG support who felt Messi’s commitment to the cause was not what it should have been.
Messi was a PSG player when he inspired Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in late 2022, but there were only flashes of his genius at club level in France.
His statistics stand up to any scrutiny, with 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 appearances, and he did win two Ligue 1 titles while helping increase PSG’s value as a brand.
Miami coach Javier Mascherano, meanwhile, believes the unhappy memory of his time in Paris could spur Messi on.
“It’s clear that for us it’s better if he plays angry, because he’s one of those players who, when he has something on his mind, gives an extra effort,” Mascherano told ESPN.
How did PSG fare last season?
PSG’s stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich at the end of last month, which allowed them to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time, completed an incredible treble-winning season for the Qatar-backed side under the coaching of Luis Enrique.
How did Inter Miami fare last season?
Miami finished as the club with the most points in Major League Soccer’s (MLS) regular season, handing them a place at the Club World Cup instead of LA Galaxy, who won the MLS Cup, which is regarded as the highest prize in the MLS.
FIFA announced Miami’s addition to the Club World Cup in October after they broke MLS’s regular-season points record with a 6-2 win over New England Revolution to reach 74 points, one better than the previous record set by New England in 2021.
PSG team news
Ousmane Dembele has just resumed training after overcoming a hamstring injury, but may not even be fit enough for the bench.
Goncalo Ramos and Bradley Barcola are vying to start with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in. Youngster Senny Mayulu was selected for the match against Seattle in Dembele’s role.
Inter Miami team news
Jordi Alba has returned from injury and will challenge youngster Noah Allen for the left-back position.
Drake Callender, Gonzalo Lujan and Yannick Bright are all still sidelined. Veteran goalkeeper Oscar Ustari will continue to deputise for the former.
