Feeling more like a nightclub than Old Trafford, music bumped through speakers as former Manchester United midfielder Josh Harrop walked into a concert-like atmosphere in London’s Copper Box Arena. The referee threw the ball into the air as an airhorn went off and social media influencers recorded the videos on their phones a few feet from the sideline.
Harrop, now a free agent, had only skimmed the rulebook for the Baller League before signing up, but he quickly realized that what he signed up for was nothing like the Premier League — or anything he had played before.
“[Once the game began] I’m thinking, ‘Jesus Christ, what’s going on here?’ This is chaos,” Harrop, who scored on Matchday 1 for FC Rules the World, told ESPN. “But the more the weeks have gone by, the more I’ve learned the rules. It’s easier to adapt.”
The Baller League — which features an eclectic cast of managers like Portugal icon Luis Figo, British rapper/actor Dave, England international Chloe Kelly and streamer Angryginge — is one of…
