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Tag: done deal

  • ‘‘Will be a superstar’: Liverpool gun set to join Spanish giants on blockbuster $450k per week move

    ‘‘Will be a superstar’: Liverpool gun set to join Spanish giants on blockbuster $450k per week move

    Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid from Liverpool at season’s end is a done deal, according to multiple reports from the United Kingdom and Spain.

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    The defender has been tipped to trade Anfield for the Bernabeu on a free transfer at the end of his contract for some time, and it has been reported that the Spanish giants have secured the 26-year-old with a five-year offer worth more than £220,000 a week.

    Carlo Ancelotti’s side view the England international as the long-term successor to 33-year-old Dani Carvajal, who is out with an ACL injury sustained in October, and he would join the likes of top English players David Beckham, Steve McManaman, who backed Alexander-Arnold to “be a superstar” in Madrid, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate to represent Los Blancos.

    Alexander-Arnold has been free to discuss terms with overseas clubs since January, and his impending move to Real would also reunite him with his friend and England teammate Jude Bellingham.

    Real made an approach to Liverpool on New Year’s Eve to try sign Alexander-Arnold during the January transfer window, but the Premier League champions in waiting declined to cash the right-back in for reportedly around £20 million to boost their chances of a league crown.

    That move was vindicated as Arne Slot’s side sits 12 points clear atop of the table with nine matches remaining, but will leave them without any profit on Alexander-Arnold as he can join Real for free like French superstar Kylian Mbappe did last year from PSG.

    Alexander-Arnold is sidelined at present after injuring his ankle during the Reds’ Champions League exit at the hands of PSG and missing the League Cup final loss to Newcastle as a result.

    He is tipped to return next month, in time for the crowning few weeks of the Premier League campaign and what is set to be a fitting farewell to his boyhood club.

    Alexander-Arnold made his first team debut as an 18-year-old in 2016 after joining Liverpool’s academy as a six-year-old.

    Many Reds fans on social media have been outraged however, calling for him to not be selected for the remainder of the season

    Under esteemed manager Jurgen Kloop, Alexander-Arnold won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Club World Cup.

    He is also one of three key Liverpool players out of contract at season’s end, with the futures of golden boot leader Mohamed Salah and star defender Virgil van Dijk still unclear.

    Liverpool have declined to comment on the reports.

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  • End of an era: tributes flow as Barcelona great announces exit after 18 years

    End of an era: tributes flow as Barcelona great announces exit after 18 years

    Sergio Busquets was showered with praise by the football world after announcing Wednesday he will leave Barcelona in June at the end of his contract, ending a highly successful era at the club.

    “The moment has arrived to announce this is my last season at Barcelona,” said Busquets on Instagram.

    “It has been an unforgettable journey.”

    Busquets won the Champions League three times with Barcelona and La Liga on eight occasions before this season, with the Catalans set to triumph for the first time in four years.

    The 34-year-old has been a key player for Barca since breaking into the first team under then coach Pep Guardiola in 2008, becoming the club’s captain in 2021.

    Busquets is third Barcelona’s all-time appearance list, playing for the club on 718 occasions, lifting 31 trophies.

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    Where will Ange end up next season? | 00:56

    “It has been an honour, a dream, a pride. It has been everything to be able to defend and represent this badge for so many years, but everything has a beginning and an end,” said Busquets.

    “Although it has not been an easy decision, I think the time has come.”

    In many ways, Busquets is the last player of an iconic era in Barcelona history. His teammates like Xavi, Pedro, Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, Luis Suarez, Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol, brought an immense amount of success – with Busquets now the final departure of that great line of legends.

    Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez, who played with Busquets in midfield for several years, wanted the midfielder to stay next season, but said the decision was his.

    Busquets’ teammates past and present paid tribute to him on social media after he announced his future lay elsewhere.

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    Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi, a close friend, wrote a heartfelt message on Instagram.

    “On the pitch you were always No 5, but in reality as a player and as a person, you are a 10, Busi,” said the Argentine playmaker.

    “Thank you for everything on and off the pitch.”

    Barcelona defender Jordi Alba also showed his affection for the veteran midfielder.

    “My friend, after so much we’ve lived through together, what can I say that you don’t know?” wrote Alba on Instagram.

    “You’re leaving your home, having made an indelible imprint on Barcelona’s history.

    “More than 700 games and a fundamental part of so many titles, and glorious nights that all Barca fans will forever remember.”

    Even rivals paid tribute, with Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric saying: “one of the best players I have played against.”

    “Sergio is part of our badge, and will always have Barca as his home,” said Barca president Joan Laporta in a video, implying the player would return one day in a different role.

    “He is a Barca fan through his roots and has Barca in his blood — he will have a longer Barca journey.”

    In his video, Busquets did not say where he might go next, with Spanish reports suggesting he may move to a team in Saudi Arabia.

    Former Barcelona forward Messi is another player who may end up in the oil-rich kingdom after a source close to negotiations told AFP it was a “done deal” for the Argentine forward to move to the Middle East.

    However Messi’s father and agent Jorge Messi said Tuesday that the World Cup winner’s future would only be decided at the end of the season.

    Busquets won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 and the European Championship in 2012, a key member of the national team for nearly 15 years until he retired from international duty in December.

    The midfielder was the only member of the 2010 World Cup winning team who was still part of the squad in Qatar in 2022 as Spain reached the last 16.

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  • Messi’s megabucks move to Saudi Arabia a ‘done deal’… but ‘not to a specific club’

    Messi’s megabucks move to Saudi Arabia a ‘done deal’… but ‘not to a specific club’

    Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season under a blockbuster deal, a source told AFP on Tuesday, potentially joining his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo as the kingdom lavishes its oil wealth on sport.

    Messi will sign a “huge” deal with an as-yet-unnamed club, said the source, who is close to the negotiations that are taking place just months after the 35-year-old lifted the World Cup in Qatar.

    “Messi is a done deal. He will play in Saudi Arabia next season,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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    “The contract is exceptional. It’s huge. We are just finalising some small details,” added the source, who is not authorised to speak to media.

    There was no confirmation from Messi’s current club Paris Saint-Germain, which noted simply that he was under contract until June 30 when contacted by AFP.

    A separate PSG source said: “If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier.”

    Leicester fall back into relegation zone | 01:01

    Just five years after allowing its first non-Muslim tourists visit and letting women drive, Saudi Arabia is attempting to open up its conservative society and diversify its oil-reliant economy.

    The world’s biggest oil exporter has thrown hundreds of millions at sports deals including Ronaldo’s signing, F1 in Jeddah and the divisive LIV Golf tour, drawing frequent claims it is “sportswashing” its human rights record.

    Messi was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last week for an unauthorised mid-season trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.

    His expected arrival follows in the footsteps of his long-time sparring partner Ronaldo, who joined Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in a massive deal in January.

    Ronaldo’s agreement to June 2025 is said to total more than 400 million euros ($439 million), making him the world’s highest paid athlete according to Forbes.

    Both deals — along with others including LIV Golf and the 2021 purchase of Newcastle United football club — are being bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, the source said.

    “The negotiations didn’t take as much time as the ones with Ronaldo. As we now know the recipe to contract world-class players,” said the source.

    “It’s Saudi Arabia that brought him not a specific club. The Money comes from one place — PIF.”

    Forest jump clear of relegation zone | 00:58

    Despite several reports linking Messi with Al Hilal, one of the top Saudi teams, club sources told AFP they had not been in direct contact with the Argentine’s team.

    “He is a player at the end of his career and he is not here only for football. He is here to secure international attraction for the kingdom,” said the source following the Messi negotiations.

    “The plan is not only Messi and Ronaldo, the plan is to bring glorious players like these two and also upcoming youth players who have a promising future.

    “We want people to visit Saudi Arabia to watch football stars,” the source added. “Who could imagine that local league matches would attract foreigners? It’s just the Ronaldo impact.”

    Messi, who turns 36 in June, has had two lacklustre seasons in Paris after a glorious era at Barcelona where he won four Champions League and 10 La Liga titles, and is still worshipped by the fans.

    The record seven-time world player of the year, joining a mouth-watering attack featuring Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, scored just 11 goals in his first season as he helped PSG to a routine Ligue 1 title.

    But PSG have got no closer to a coveted maiden Champions League victory, bowing out twice in the last 16 even with the illustrious Argentine in their line-up.

    Frustrations boiled over last week when black-clad PSG protesters let off flares and sang hostile chants targeting the underperforming Messi, Neymar and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.

    The angry scenes contrasted with Messi’s career-crowning moment in December, when he led Argentina to a breathless World Cup final victory over Mbappe and France in Doha to fill the biggest gap in his resume.

    Saudi Arabia has held talks with Egypt and Greece about a joint World Cup bid, according to officials. In coming years it will hold the men’s Asian Cup football tournament, the Asian Games and even the Asian Winter Games on artificial snow.

    On Tuesday, state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco announced quarterly profits of $31.9 billion — more than three-quarters of the incomes of oil majors BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and TotalEnergies combined.

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