Month: August 2020

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Usain Bolt waits for corona test results

Jamaican former sprinter and eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt is awaiting results of a recent coronavirus test while self-isolating.

Bolt, 34, revealed on social media

he will “stay at home” as a precaution despite not having any symptoms.

“Just to be safe, I’ll quarantine myself and just take it easy,” he said.

Bolt held a birthday party in Jamaica and it is understood Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling was one of the guests.

England are set to play Iceland in the Nations League on Saturday, 5 September, before taking on Denmark on Tuesday, 8 September.

“I did a test on Saturday, because I have work,” Bolt added. “I’m trying to be responsible, so I’m [going to] stay in and stay here for my friends.

“Also I’m having no symptoms, so I’m going to quarantine myself and wait on the confirmation to see what is the protocol on how I should go about quarantining myself from the Ministry of Health.”

The sprinter retired from athletics in 2017 following the World Championships in London.

He began training with Australian club Central Coast Mariners in 2018 but did not pursue a career in football.

Several high-profile sports stars have already tested positive including tennis world number one Novak Djokovic in June and Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic on Sunday.

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Maguire Trial set to start

The trial of Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has begun on the Greek island of Syros.

He is represented by Alexis Anagnostakis, one of Greece’s top human rights lawyers.

The 27-year-old was released from police custody on Saturday following his arrest on the island of Mykonos on Thursday after an alleged altercation with police officers.

He is not obliged to be in attendance.

Maguire has already pleaded not guilty.

He did not comment after leaving court on Saturday and his lawyer told Sky he was a free man “right now”.

The Syros prosecutor’s office said on Friday that “three foreigners” had been arrested after an alleged altercation with police officers in Mykonos on Thursday.

The court listing for the case says the other two defendants are Maguire’s brother Joe, 28, and family friend Christopher Sharman, 29. Maguire’s father Alan was at the court hearin

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ARSENAL’S AINSLEY MAITLAND-NILES CLOSE TO WOLVES MOVE.

Arsenal are reportedly close to selling Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Wolves.

According to reports, the clubs are still working on a fee, although other outlets have it in the £20M range. Maitland-Niles and Wolves have also yet to agree to personal terms. But it looks like, out of nowhere, this move is a “when” not an “if” question.

Earlier this summer, it was reported that Maitland-Niles had decided that he needed a move away from the Emirates to get regular first team minutes. I had hoped that his strong performances and important role in the big games to wrap up the season might have convinced the club and AMN to find some common ground, but alas, no such luck.

I don’t like the move, but if the player wants out, there’s not much Arsenal can do. The Gunners need a rebuild, and even though a 22-year old, homegrown player like Maitland-Niles would have been a nice piece, the club should be able to turn around and reinvest the funds he brings in to help reconstruct the roster.

Mikel Arteta has other targets for the window, and Arsenal were always going to have to sell to buy. If we’re being realistic, the guys most fans want sold aren’t likely to bring back much in the way of a return. AMN has value and will go for meaningful money. I just wish that money wasn’t coming from a club that was fighting for the same table positions as the Gunners last season; strengthening a competitor doesn’t feel good.

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“WE GAVE IT OUR ALL”; VICTOR MOSES RUES INTER EUROPA LEAGUE MISS.

Victor Moses has described Inter Milan’s 3-2 defeat to Sevilla as devastating after they gave their all in the Uefa Europa League final.

The former Nigeria international came on as a 78th-minute substitute on Friday as Antonio Conte’s men bowed to the Spanish outfit at the RheinEnergieStadion.

Romelu Lukaku got Inter Milan off to a flying start from the penalty spot in the fifth minute but Luuk de Jong’s double within 20 minutes turned the game around for Sevilla.

Diego Godin drew the Nerazzurri level in the 35th minute but Romelu Lukaku’s own goal in the 74th minute sealed the five-goal thriller for Sevilla and secured their sixth Europa League title.

Moses who joined Inter Milan on a short-term loan from Chelsea in January, was hoping to end his temporary stint in Italy with a trophy after he helped them finish second in the Serie A this season, behind Juventus.

“Devastated to lose the final on Friday. We gave everything but it just wasn’t to be,” Moses wrote on Instagram. “Thank you so much to all of the fans for your amazing support for the team during the season.”

Moses contributed three assists in 20 games for Inter Milan in the second-half of the 2019-20 season, which include 15 Serie A appearances.

Prior to his move to Italy in January, the 29-year-old spent the first-half of the season on loan in Turkey with Fenerbahce but he was restricted to first-team action.

Inter Milan have the option to make Moses’ stay permanent with his Chelsea contract expected to expire in June 2021.

He has been at Stamford Bridge since 2012 after leaving Wigan Athletic.

Moses called time on his international career in August 2018 after representing Nigeria in two Fifa World Cup tournaments and he was part of the team that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

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THIAGO SILVA AGREES TWO YEAR CONTRACT TO JOIN CHELSEA – REPORTS.

Thiago Silva has reportedly agreed a two year deal to join Chelsea in weeks to come

The Brazilian seems to to be quick about wiping his tears of Champions League final sorrow with a shiny new Chelsea contract.

According to reports, the now-former PSG captain has agreed terms with Chelsea today, with the deal set to be completed in the “next days”. Salary figures have been reported as low as €6m and as high as €10m (£50k-85k weekly, post-tax or double that if the figures were reported as net numbers, which usually isn’t the case).

The two-year deal is less than ideal, though there is a chance it’s a one-year deal with a one-year option. Guaranteeing two years to a soon-to-be 36-year-old defender, regardless of how great he’s been over the years and regardless of how the financial impact is lessened by the free agency, is a bit generous.

It appears that Fikayo Tomori will be the one to make way in the squad for Thiago Silva, with the Academy graduate linked with loans to Rennes and Everton recently.

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Pogba will not leave Manchester united this season

Paul Pogba will not be sold by Manchester United this summer and new contract discussions will start soon, says the France midfielder’s agent.

The 27-year-old – an £89m signing from Juventus in 2016 – suffered from injuries last season but impressed in patches on his return as United finished third in the Premier League.

His agent Mino Raiola said: “United will not accept any bid this summer.

“We’re going to speak about a new contract soon, no stress.”

Raiola also told Sky Sports: “He is key player for Man Utd. They’ve an important project and he’s 100% included.”

Pogba, whose deal runs until next summer, made only eight appearances in all competitions before English football was suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After recovering from his ankle injury, the World Cup winner played 14 games following the resumption and helped United reach the last four of the FA Cup and Europa League and qualify for next season’s Champions League

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PJanic contacts Corona Virus

Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic has tested positive for Covid-19, the Spanish club announced on Sunday.

The Bosnian, 30, is “feeling well”, self-isolating at home and will travel to Barcelona in 15 days’ time.

Pjanic is joining Barcelona from Serie A champions Juventus in a swap deal with Brazil international Arthur.

Barca, who finished the 2019-20 season without a trophy for the first time in 12 years, begin their 2020-21 La Liga campaign on 12 September.

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BARCELONA WANTS MANCHESTER CITY’S ANGELINO.

Barcelona have expressed an interest in signing Angelino from Manchester City, with the English side valuing him at €30m (£27m).

The 23-year-old full-back has recently been on loan at RB Leipzig – and helped the German club reach their first Champions League semi-final – before losing to Paris Saint-Germain.

Angelino returned to City in a £5.3m move from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in July 2019 and has made 12 appearances across all competitions in his second stint.

He started in City’s academy after arriving from Deportivo La Coruna but only played for the first team three times in his first spell at the club – instead enjoying loans at New York City FC, Girona, Mallorca and NAC Breda.

The Spaniard was signed by PSV and rejoined City just a year later after the Premier League club activated a buy-back clause in his contract.

Following his latest loan in the Bundesliga, he has now attracted interest from Barcelona, who are in the midst of a rebuild following the departures of head coach Quique Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal.

Barca have appointed Ronald Koeman as their new head coach on a two-year deal, who is reportedly a big admirer of Georginio Wijnaldum.

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“I’M STAYING”; INTER MILAN COACH, ANTONIO CONTE SAYS HE’S GOING NO WHERE DESPITE EUROPA DISAPPOINTMENT.

Antonio Conte said he has no intention of quitting Inter Milan following his side’s 3-2 defeat to Sevilla in a pulsating Europa League final on Friday.

The head coach’s occasional angry outbursts have seen him clash with Inter’s senior executives since taking over the reins in 2019 but the 51-year-old maintained that he would be staying with the club.

“There is no rancour, from me nor the club. There are people I already worked with, so that’s not the issue,” Conte said in a post-match interview.

“It’s about points of view, some situations that I faced this year and didn’t like, with all due respect for everyone. We’ll clarify the situation, without rancour, because I will always be grateful for having the chance to spend a great year at Inter, but on the other it was also very tough … if you think I will step back, I won’t.”

Conte was left rueing the bad luck of Romelu Lukaku, who scored 34 goals this season after arriving from Manchester United but who ended up deflecting Diego Carlos’s overhead kick into his own net in the second half.

“It was a tough, well-balanced game where in the second half one incident could change it. We had the opportunity, but instead there was that unlucky deflection off Romelu, so inevitably it became very difficult after that,” Conte said.

“We have regrets to a degree, as the team gave everything it had against a team with a great deal of experience that was accustomed to these occasions and that had won the final many times. In the end, that made the difference.”

Meanwhile, the Italian press are already talking of Massimiliano Allegri, who succeeded conte at Juventus back in 2014, and went on to win five league titles, as a likely candidate.

Allegri has taken a sabbatical after his departure from Turin in 2019, and would have the task of toppling Juventus under coaching novice Andrea Pirlo, and preventing his former club lifting a 10th consecutive Scudetto. But despite conte insisting “priority becomes football or family” he could decide to remain on for another season and try and win a European trophy which he lifted as a player with Juventus, in the 1996 Champions League and the UEFA Cup in 1993.

“I grew up on bread and football,” he said of his first steps taken when father Cosimino coached Juventina Lecce.

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Bayern win Sixth Champions League

Bayern Munich overcame Paris St-Germain in a tightly contested Champions League final in Lisbon to claim the crown for the sixth time.

Kingsley Coman, who started his career at PSG, settled a tense affair with a 59th-minute header at the far post from Joshua Kimmich’s cross to leave the French giants still searching for that elusive Champions League triumph.

It was a night of joy for Bayern coach Hansi Flick, who added the Champions League to the Bundesliga after initially taking over as interim coach from sacked Niko Kovac in November.

In contrast, it was a night of bitter disappointment for PSG’s two attacking superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who failed to produce their best and found themselves frustrated by Bayern keeper and man of the match Manuel Neuer when they had the best of the first-half chances.

Mbappe’s pain increased in the second half when he looked to be tripped by Kimmich in the area, but PSG’s penalty claims were ignored – leaving Bayern to celebrate being crowned champions of Europe once more, becoming the first team to win the trophy by winning every Champions League game in a single campaign