Weeks after his controversial interventions during the 2026 World Cup, US President Donald Trump has waded into sport once again. This time his target is American professional basketball.
Trump admitted lobbying FIFA to review and overturn the sending-off and suspension handed to American striker Folarin Balogun in the Bosnia and Herzegovina match, freeing him to feature against Belgium.
Spanish newspaper "Marca" reported on Thursday that Trump discussed the deal which took Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, speaking during the Republican Party conference in Dallas, Texas.
Trump said: "This is a great team, the Dallas Mavericks, and I hope they are good... I have to tell you, I don't understand the Doncic deal. What do I know about basketball? I say it won't go down in history as the greatest deal in sport. In fact, it might go down as the worst deal in sport."
The President went further, advising the Mavericks, who count Spaniards Santi Aldama and Sergio de Larrea among their squad this season, that "the Doncic transfer to the Lakers should be reconsidered".
Playing the role of sports analyst, Trump then declared that "the worst deal in the history of sport" was the one that sent Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees.
On 26 December 1919, the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for 100,000 dollars in cash, a record figure at the time, along with a loan of 300,000 dollars.
That transfer sparked what became known as the Curse of the Bambino. The Yankees went from having no titles to winning four World Series with Ruth, while the Red Sox suffered a drought that lasted 86 years.
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He continued: "The Babe Ruth deal will remain the worst. But... is the Doncic deal the worst? This isn't good. Was it good? Maybe we can renegotiate that deal. I renegotiate deals all the time. We have to renegotiate. We have to renegotiate that deal. I don't understand that deal."
Trump added: "As you know, there are deals that can be understood. I understand deals, but I did not understand that particular deal."
Once again, he urged the Dallas Mavericks to reverse the Doncic deal.