Stateside, there's a bevy of stars playing in the Copa America tournament. However, of the biggest South American stars are holding out until the knockout rounds. Leo Messi and Neymar are prime examples with Neymar missing the entire tournament in order to appease Barcelona enough to release him to play in the Olympics to be held in Rio de Janiero.
A look over to the other side of the pond and all the biggest European stars will be suiting up for the entire tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta, Wayne Rooney, the list goes on. Here are a few others you should keep your eyes on for reasons other than star power.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden
Zlatanism is a way of life, and the Swede might have as many French supporters rooting for him as the French national team. The PSG star has resurrected his stardom in the City of Light, and even at 34 is one of the most prolific scorers in Europe. He has been carrying Sweden for years, and will need to but them on his back in order to get out of the group stage. With the high unlikelihood that the Swedish make it out of their group, chances to see Zlatan may be finite.
David de Gea, Spain
It's tough work taking over for a legend, and that's exactly what de Gea is doing in front of goal for Spain. Iker Casillas is still on the team, but has reluctantly been relegated to the bench by head coach Vicente del Bosque. Add to that the recent controversy involving de Gea in Spain, with sexual assault allegations coming out of Spain. Reports in the Spanish media say that he didn't break any laws but was involved in setting up an encounter that ended in sexual assault. Even without the allegations the pressure was on for him to live up to the former captain's shadow.
Gareth Bale, Wales
Like Zlatan, the reason for seeing Bale is that you may not see much of him. In fact 2016 is the first year that Wales has qualified for the Euros, so seeing Bale on the biggest international stage should not be the given that seeing say Ronaldo for Portugal is. He really came on for Real Madrid towards the end of the season, creating for others as well as himself. And now as the main man on his team, without a Ronaldo to share the ball with, his skills should be on full display for the full 90.
Photo: Flickr/Dan Farrimond
Rumors flying about towards a 120M pound deal with Bale and Man U. You put any credence at all into them? Or is it back to the Zlatan angle for United?
We Gunners are stoked about the possibility of Henrik Mkhitaryan. Any thoughts on him?
Yeah, rumors will always fly around Man U and the best around Europe, but with Bale likely to miss out on big international competitions with Wales (save for this Euro Cup), he will want to make up for it by playing in the Champions League with whatever club he's with. And Man United at the moment aren't the sure bet to compete in the Champions League that they once were.
As for Zlatan, he should be a great signing for Manchester, although he's never played in a league that has the pace of the EPL, so I'll be quite interested to see how he adjusts. That and press conferences that feature him and Jose Mourinho, the English media must be salavating.