La Liga
Neymar Set to Sign PSG World Record €222m Transfer
Neymar has reportedly told his Barca team-mates that he wanted to leave the Nou Camp to complete a lucrative switch to France this summer.
Sports Village Square has gathered that the Brazilian has agreed terms on a contract with Paris Saint-Germain after he informed them of his wish to join them from Barcelona.
But FC Barcelona boss, Ernesto Valverde, is quoted as saying that he has not yet talked to Neymar about rumours of a possible transfer away, he could “absolutely” count on his player to remain professional ahead of the new season.
According to 90min, Sources close to PSG are alleged to have told ESPN that the Brazilian superstar has held discussions with the club’s Qatari owners and sporting director Antero Henrique over a move to the Parc de Princes.
The French Ligue 1 club will now press ahead with activating Neymar’s astronomical €222m release clause in his Barcelona contract.
Speculation over a move to the Ligue 1 giants has increased exponentially over the past week as media reports across Europe hit that Neymar’s time at Barca could be drawing to a close.
Neymar and his father are already said to have agree to a four-year contract worth €30million a year after tax with PSG’s hierarchy, and his deal will also include a massive signing-on fee to boot
As well as that humongous salary package, Neymar will benefit from the club’s ties to Oryx Qatar Sports Investments’ other business opportunities both in France and across the globe – deals which would further boost Neymar’s coffers.
It is a monumental pile of cash that the 25-year-old would find hard to turn down, despite being an employee of one of the world’s biggest clubs and, if PSG managed to wrest Neymar from FC Barclona, it would be the biggest transfer coup in the history of the game.
PSG, it was gathered, have a transfer kitty worth €220m and, whilst this falls within UEFA’s Financial Fair Plays rules, is still short of Neymar’s release clause fee.
PSG have run the rule over selling a number of fringe players such as Haten Ben Arfa and Grzegorz Krychowiak to fund their move for the ex-Santos starlet, while another possibility could be the utilisation of a third party agreement.
La Liga
Napkin used by Barcelona to sign Messi sold for nearly $1 million
The napkin on which Barcelona promised to sign Lionel Messi when he was a 13-year-old has been sold for 762,400 pounds ($969,000, auction house Bonhams said on Friday.
The napkin was signed in December, 2000 by Barca’s former sporting director Carles Rexach and transfer advisor Josep Minguella along with Argentine agent Horacio Gaggioli over lunch at a tennis club.
Messi became one of Barcelona’s greatest players, winning over 30 trophies and leaving the Catalan club as their all-time leading scorer with 672 goals.
He also won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards for the world’s best player and led Argentina to the World Cup crown in 2022. Messi now plays for U.S. club Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
“Yes, it’s a paper napkin, but it’s the famous napkin that was at the inception of Lionel Messi’s career,” Ian Ehling, the head of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York, said in a statement.
“It changed the life of Messi, the future of FC Barcelona, and was instrumental in giving some of the most glorious moments of football to billions of fans around the globe.”
-Reuters
La Liga
Racially Abused Senegalese Goalkeeper Speaks Out After Abandoned Spanish Match –
Senegalese goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr has heard racial slurs directed at him from the stands before, but when a fan allegedly approached just to racially insult him during a Spanish third-tier league game last Saturday, he decided he’d had enough.
“I grabbed him and asked why he was insulting me. My attitude was not aggressive, I just wanted to ask him why,” the 23-year-old told reporters on Tuesday of the incident in Sestao, a working-class town in northern Spain, which led to the game being abandoned.
“Other times it could be seen as something playful or a joke. However, this was not the case on Saturday, as it was something horrible and I could not stop myself. It was a very sad and ugly thing what they were saying,” he added.
The match between Sarr’s Rayo Majadahonda and Sestao River Club was suspended in the 84th minute after the altercation first led to Sarr being expelled by the referee, who was too far to hear the alleged insults, and then his team mates leaving the pitch in protest.
Racism in sport has been a hot topic in Spain, especially after Real Madrid’s Brazil winger Vinicius Jr, who has suffered from several incidents of racist abuse and is part of a campaign against racism, last year called LaLiga and Spain racist.
On Saturday, he spoke out in support of those affected on social media again, citing “three despicable cases of racism” on that day alone, including Sarr’s.
Sevilla’s Argentina defender Marcos Acuna and coaching staff were also the target of “racist and xenophobic insults” from fans in a LaLiga game at Getafe, the club said.
Sarr said he was thankful that Vinicius had tagged him on social media showing support.
“If more players said no to racism like he does, they (racists) wouldn’t have the power they have now,” he said.
–Reuters
La Liga
Sex-convict, Alves Spends First Day Of Provisional Freedom With All-night Party –
Former Barcelona star, Brazilian Dani Alves, who was provisionally released from prison after over a year in prison celebrated his temporary reprieve with an all-night party.
Although his release from prison was temporary, after he was convicted and faces a 4-and-a-half-year prison sentence, Italian newspaper, Corriere dello Sport reported that the Brazilian organized a noisy party to celebrate his father’s birthday.
The newspaper indicated that Alves held this party last Tuesday, and continued until five in the morning in the presence of family and friends, to celebrate his father on the one hand, and also to enjoy his freedom on the other hand after spending a long period behind bars.
The camera of the Spanish “Telefónico” network was following the steps of the legend of the oldest Brazilian player to participate in the World Cup, until he arrived at his home, located 25 minutes from downtown Barcelona.
The first thing Alves did after arriving at his home was to order a large amount of “burgers” for dinner, the first meal that the former right-back ate after his release from the “Brian 2” prison in Barcelona.
According to several Spanish media outlets, Alves distributed his belongings such as clothes and a small fan to the prisoners who had been by his side for more than 430 days,
Alves, 40, was accused of raping a woman in a nightclub, and was sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison last February, before a decision was issued for his conditional release
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