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AHEAD TITLE VICTORY: REAL MADRID WANTS FANS TO CELEBRATE LA LIGA TITLE INDOORS

Real Madrid are on the vouch of winning the 2019/2020 La Liga title, but after seeing what happened after Liverpool’s Premier League triumph, the Bernabeu side wants its fans to celebrate indoors.


Real Madrid issued a public statement on Tuesday urging fans not to gather to celebrate any potential title considering the coronavirus concerns that still persist in Spain and its capital city. It’s been customary for the club’s supporters to celebrate its many successes at the Cibeles fountain, but Real Madrid strongly prefers that tradition to be put on hold.


“Real Madrid C.F. calls on its club members and supporters not to gather in Cibeles in the event that the team secures the La Liga title,” the club wrote. “We are all aware of the difficult situation that we are experiencing and the efforts being made across society to counter the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Football is also playing its part in this and, with everyone’s help, we managed to resume the competition in extremely complex circumstances.”


Real Madrid will win the league Thursday if it beats Villarreal or Barcelona loses to Osasuna. Real leads Barça by four points with two games remaining and holds the tiebreaker vs. Barcelona by virtue of a better head-to-head mark this season. When Liverpool won its first English title in 30 years, fans flocked to Anfield and drew the ire of the club and local law enforcement. Real Madrid doesn’t want a repeat.


“In the event that Real Madrid are crowned champions, our players will not visit the usual points of celebration, in particular, the Plaza de Cibeles and we therefore also ask our club members and supporters that, in the event that we secure the title, they did not gather in these places. In this regard, all of us must make a contribution, as has been the case to date, and show the utmost responsibility to avoid the risk of contagion,” Real Madrid’s statement continued. 


“Real Madrid thanks our members and supporters in advance for their understanding. All of the effort and work put in by our players, coaching staff and the club towards this possible title success has always been done with a view to sharing the triumph with our fans, but we are aware that the current situation obliges us to maximize the necessary precautionary measures. 

“Real Madrid feels the duty to issue this important call in a show of utmost responsibility and with the firm belief that any possible triumph involving our team must not give rise to a massive backward step in the battle we are all waging against this pandemic.”


Real Madrid and Barcelona have simultaneous kickoffs on Thursday. Should Real Madrid lose and Barcelona win, the title would go down to the final day of the season on Sunday.

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REAL MADRID’S LUKA JOVIC REJOINS TEAM AFTER TESTING NEGATIVE TO CORONA VIRUS FOR THIRD TIME

Real Madrid attacker Luka Jovic rejoined the squad in training on Tuesday after testing negative for Covid-19 for the third straight time.

Jovic had been in touch with a friend who tested positive recently and had to miss the last week of training even though he had been testing negative since the very beginning.


It has not been an easy time for Jovic after the quarantine. The attacker needed to recover from a foot fracture and lost his spot as Benzema’s backup to Mariano Diaz.


Reports from the Spanish press suggest that Real Madrid are willing to sell the attacker even after spending €60 million to sign him away from Eintracht Frankfurt just a year ago, meaning that Jovic’s return to the squad will not mean much for coach Zinedine Zidane right now.

The striker has had a very tough season and should not make a big impact for Real Madrid this season.

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EVERTON SWEATING ON DEFENSIVE INJURIES AHEAD VILLA CLASH

Everton are sweating over the fitness of their major defenders with Mason Holgate bring the fresh victim after the defender missed training again today.


The Blues have been without the 23-year-old defender for the past two matches because of a shin injury picked up at Spurs over a week ago.
Holgate, who has become Everton’s first-choice centre-back since Carlo Ancelotti came to the club, has been sidelined for the games with Southampton and Wolves – and remains a major doubt for Thursday’s visit of relegation threatened Aston Villa.


Carlo Ancelotti will provide an update on Holgate’s chances of facing Villa, when he holds a virtual press conference on Wednesday afternoon. 
The Blues boss will also give greater clarity on the fitness of Andre Gomes who was ruled out of the Wolves game after picking up a knock on his ankle.


Yerry Mina was forced off after just 31 minutes of Sunday’s game at Molineux with an unspecified muscle injury and it remains to be seen if he will be fit for the Villa clash or given the time to fully heal and not rushed back.


Following the Wolves game, Ancelotti said: “Yerry had a muscular problem.
“Unfortunately, when you only have two days to recover, the player doesn’t recover properly and to have an injury like this can happen.

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KLOPP DISAGREES WITH CAS RULING ON CITY’S UCL REINSTATEMENT

Liverpool Manager, Jurgen Klopp has criticised the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to overturn Manchester City’s Champions League ban, declaring: “I don’t think it was a good day for football”.


On Monday, the Switzerland-based body announced that a two-year ban imposed by Uefa for Financial Fair Play breaches would be lifted, with City instead only required to pay a fine of €10m for failing to cooperate.
The news represents something of a blow for clubs like Liverpool, whose owners have previously publicly backed FFP rules that have allowed them to bring success despite moderate spending on transfers.


And, while Klopp acknowledged that City’s reinstatement to European competition is good news for his team’s title chances next term, he expressed concern over the potential long-term consequences.


He said: “From a personal point of view, I’m happy City can play Champions League next year because, when I think about the league and City has 10-12 games less for resting players, I don’t see any chance for any teams in the league, honestly.


“Apart from that, I don’t wish anybody anything bad, but I don’t think it was a good day for football yesterday, to be honest.

“I think FFP is a good idea, it is there for protecting teams and the competition, that was the idea in the start so that nobody overspends and clubs have to make sure the money they want to spend is based on the right sources.


“I’m from Germany, I’m educated in a completely different system, we have different club structures not an owner-based system. It’s clear when you get the money from, before the season you get your licence and if you don’t get the licence then you can’t be part of the competition.


“It’s not up to me to judge this, I don’t, I only think that this FFP frame for all of us, we all should stick to, that’s what rules are for. I really hope FFP stays because it gives kind of some borders. I think that’s good for football.


“If you start doing that nobody cares at all then the richest people and countries can do what they want to do but it will make the competition really difficult. That would lead automatically to a world super league with 10 clubs.


“It would depend not on the clubs but on the people who own the clubs and they can play against each other.
“I think it makes sense that we have these kind of rules. But about the judgement yesterday, I don’t know enough or understand it properly why this was the judgement.”

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Guardiola believes city should be given an apology

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his team deserve an apology after the club successfully overturned their ban from European club competitions.

On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) cleared City of committing “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play regulations between 2012 and 2016.

On Tuesday Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho called it a “disgraceful decision”.

“What we have done is right. Jose and all the managers should know that we were damaged,” said Guardiola.

“We should be apologised (to).

“[I’m] incredibly happy for the decision, which shows what all the people said about the club was not true and to defend on the pitch what we won on the pitch..

“Like I said many times, if we did something wrong we would accept the decision of Uefa and Cas because we did something wrong. We can defend ourselves. We have the right to defend ourselves when we believe what we have done is correct.”

Uefa had issued Man City with a two-year ban in February.

But Cas cleared City of “disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions” and cut the club’s fine from 30m euros (£26.9m) to 10m euros (£9m).

In this year’s Champions League, City face Real Madrid in their last-16 second leg at Etihad Stadium on 7 August. They lead 2-1 from the first leg and will face Juventus or Lyon if they progress.

When asked about his future with last season’s Premier League champions, Guardiola said he was “happy” but added “now is not the time” to discuss a new contract. His current deal runs until the end of the 2020-21 season.

“We have made a step forward in 10 years. We invested a lot of money, like a lot of clubs. We did it the right way. We have not been banned because we followed the FFP rules. If we hadn’t we would have been banned,” Guardiola added.

“We showed it was not true. That’s why people have to be happy or should at least accept it.

“I would love to say, ‘look in our eyes and say something face to face and go out onto the pitch and play as rivals and after if you beat us, we will shake hands and congratulate you’.”

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Champions league not a major criteria for Havertz

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz would consider a move to a club who have not qualified for next season’s Champions League.

The 21-year-old Germany international wants to leave the Bundesliga club this summer and has been linked with Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Although he wants to play in Europe’s elite competition, it is not thought to be a deal-breaker for any move.

Havertz considers a club’s long-term plan just as important.

Chelsea, who host Norwich on Tuesday, are third in the Premier League but lead fourth-placed Leicester and fifth-placed Manchester United by one point.

Only the top four will qualify for the Champions League next season after Manchester City’s European ban was lifted on Monday.

Last month Chelsea boss Frank Lampard described Havertz as a “top player” but said “no bids have gone in”.

Havertz, who can also play as a forward, has two years left on his contract and scored 17 goals in 43 appearances for Leverkusen this season.

That total includes seven in the nine games after the Bundesliga season restarted.

His team finished fifth – missing out on a Champions League place – and were beaten by Bayern Munich in the German Cup final.

But they hold a 3-1 advantage over Rangers after the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Europa League, which is set to be played to a conclusion in August.

Havertz has scored once in seven appearances for the national side.

Chelsea have already signed RB Leipzig and Germany striker Timo Werner for a reported £47m this summer.

Former Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech has also started training at Chelsea after his £33m move.

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Barcelona offer Coutinho to Arsenal & Newcastle

The Liga giants are eager to get the former Liverpool star off their books and may be willing to sanction a loan switch to a Premier League suitor

Barcelona have offered Philippe Coutinho to Arsenal and Newcastle in an ongoing bid to free up squad space and funds that will allow them to launch a raid on Inter for Lautaro Martinez, Goal has learned .

Barca snapped Coutinho up from Liverpool in the winter window of 2018 , but have seen little return on their investment.

A season-long stint at Bayern Munich has only served to raise further questions of the 28-year-old’s form and fitness .

Barcelona are now looking to put another deal in place, with the Liga giants aware that they cannot incorporate another sizeable salary into their plans for 2020-21.

There is acceptance on the part of the Blaugrana that they are going to struggle to find a European suitor willing to take on both Coutinho’s wage and a sizeable transfer fee.

With that in mind, they have started to seek out potential landing spots, and Arsenal and Newcastle have been sounded out, with both clubs having been heavily linked with the midfielder in the past.

No answer has been received from either club as yet, with the Gunners and Magpies continuing to mull over the terms of a deal and their respective standings for next season – on both sporting and financial fronts.

Efforts to bring in alternative options, such as Argentina international Lautaro , can only be made if money is saved and raised elsewhere.

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Westbrook test positive to covid-19

Houston Rockets All-Star guard Russell Westbrook has confirmed he is in quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus.

Westbrook and fellow All-Star James Harden had been notable absentees as the Rockets arrived in Orlando, Florida for the NBA’s resumption later this month. Sponsored link

“I tested positive for Covid-19 prior to my team’s departure to Orlando,” Westbrook said on Monday in a statement released on social media.

“I’m currently feeling well, quarantined, and looking forward to rejoining my team-mates when I am cleared.

“Thank you for all the well wishes and continued support. Please take this virus serious. Be safe. Mask up!”

Later on Monday the NBA confirmed that two players at the Disney World campus had tested positive for the coronavirus since arriving in Florida.

An NBA statement said: “Of the 322 players tested for COVID-19 since arriving on the NBA Campus July 7, two have returned confirmed positive tests while in quarantine. Those players never cleared quarantine and have since left the Campus to isolate at home or in isolation housing.

“Since July 1, during in-market testing, 19 NBA players newly tested positive. These players are staying in their home markets and recovering until they are cleared under CDC guidelines and NBA rules for leaving home isolation and joining the Campus.”

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antonio had said on Sunday that he was expecting Westbrook and Harden to join the team by the end of the week, but Houston’s preparations have now been dealt a major blow with one of their star players unable to rejoin the roster until just before the season resumes on July 31.

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Premier League set to decide new Transfer deadline date

Premier League clubs are expected to approve proposals to open their summer transfer window on July 27 and close on October 5.

All 20 Premier League clubs had until 5pm on Monday to cast their vote on a plan to open the window the day after the season ends – and close 10 weeks later.

Importantly, clubs are also expected to agree to a two-week extension to the 10-week window, when Premier League and EFL clubs can continue to buy, sell or loan players from each other.

Top-flight clubs will not be able to carry out any transfers with each other – or any foreign clubs – during this two-week extension which will end on October 18.

The compromise solution allows EFL clubs a fortnight to carry out sales, purchases and in particular loans with Premier League clubs.

It also allows Premier League clubs to carry out the vast majority of their business before UEFA’s October 6 deadline for Champions League and Europa League registrations.

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No fans in the remainder of the PGA Tour

The remainder of the 2019-20 PGA Tour will take place behind closed doors as cases of coronavirus continue to soar in the United States.

Releasing coordinated statements, the remaining nine tournaments said spectators would not be allowed.

The five tournaments that have been played since the Tour’s resumption in June have taken place with no fans.

Fans had been set to be allowed at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, which starts on Thursday.

The PGA Tour will conclude with the Tour Championship in Atlanta from 4-7 September.

“These decisions are never easy,” said Tour Championship executive director Allison Fillmore, who added it was the “best decision for all involved”.

There are currently more than 3.3 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the US, and there have been more than 135,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.