El Salvador’s authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele met with Real Madrid and Barça Legends last week. It’s a classic soft power move: using global sports icons to burnish a leader’s international image while consolidating control at home. (DiarioElSalvador)

2/ Inviting legendary players to El Salvador fits a familiar authoritarian strategy: using spectacle and sports diplomacy to legitimize power and distract from democratic backsliding. (LeMonde)