List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

The Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris Games will pass through 64 departments and 400 towns over 68 days before the cauldron is lit

Saudi Arabia has been more active than ever in the transfer window this summer, and Liverpool fans thought one of their star players had become the latest to join the Saudi Pro League. There was panic among supporters on social media after the transfer of “Mohamed Salah” to Al-Adalah was announced this week. However, luckily for them, it was a different Mohamed Salah and not the one that’s been so key to their success over recent years. A load of players have been tempted by Saudi cash in recent weeks, with Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Ruben Neves among the big names to move in recent weeks. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, it looks like Liverpool’s Salah will not be one of them - at least for now. Fans voiced their relief on social media after seeing “Mohamed Salah” trending and fearing the worst. One wrote: “For a second I thought it was Liverpool’s Salah.” Another concerned fan wrote: “Don’t play with me man.” “My heart jumped,” another said. Needless to say it's not the same Salah but a footballer with the same name. The good news for Liverpool fans is that Salah signed a contract last year which will keep him at the club until 2025. The Egyptian has played 305 games for Liverpool since joining from Roma in 2017. He scored 186 goals in that time and helped Liverpool to a Premier League title and a Champions League in his six seasons with the club. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

On display at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum are nine empty boxes that should be holding medals

The percentage of Black players in Major League Baseball has been on the decline for decades, but prospects at MLB's Draft Combine this week think that may soon change

Bill Kenwright will stay on in his role as Everton chairman, the Premier League club have announced. Following the departures of chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director and former striker Graeme Sharp last week, the future of long-serving chairman Kenwright had appeared in doubt. However, Everton owner Farhad Moshiri revealed on Friday morning that Kenwright had accepted his request to remain at the club and help them through a period of transition. The recent board changes came in the wake of numerous supporter protests, with Kenwright, who has spent 19 years in his current role and is understood to have been planning to step down, the main target for fans’ anger. “I wanted Bill to remain as our chairman during this important period of transition for the club and I am delighted that he has accepted my request to do so,” Moshiri said in a statement on the Everton website. “Bill’s knowledge and vast experience will be crucial for us as we look to reset, deliver on external investment and position Everton for a successful future.” Everton also announced the appointment of Colin Chong as interim chief executive and director, while James Maryniak becomes interim chief finance officer. Chong is currently the chief stadium development officer and has been focusing on the move to Bramley-Moore Dock, with Maryniak the club’s director of finance. “In Colin and James, we have two experienced senior club professionals who have agreed to take on enhanced roles on an interim basis, and who we know can and will deliver immediately,” Moshiri said. As part of the changes, majority shareholder Moshiri will also join the board as a non-executive director alongside John Spellman, an experienced chartered accountant and Everton supporter. American investors MSP Capital are close to agreeing a deal to buy a stake in the club, possibly up to 25 per cent. Everton are also facing a Premier League charge for breaching profit and sustainability rules, having made cumulative losses of more than £430million over the last four seasons. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ireland international Jean Kleyn cleared to represent South Africa Aston Villa captain John McGinn signs new long-term deal England bowler James Anderson admits struggles on ‘kryptonite’ Edgbaston pitch

Cricket contests between India and Pakistan are difficult to organize but soccer may have shown the region’s most popular sport how to build bridges

“I want to play Champions League football,” said Ruben Neves, as, all of a month ago, he explained why he might leave Wolves. Maybe he had just omitted a word, because, after winning the Saudi league, Al Hilal can provide him with that chance. He is bound for the Asian Champions League. A swift change of destination on the exit from Molineux – to Riyadh rather than Barcelona – has left Neves accused of paying greater attention to his wallet than his heart, to his bank balance than his ambitions. If many of the others decamping to Saudi Arabia are in their thirties, signing up for a final pay day, Neves is 26. He may be a trendsetter if others in their prime follow suit or, like Oscar, who left Chelsea for China at 25, be seen as a player who gave up his seat at the top table too soon. The simplistic accusation may be to brand Neves a mercenary. The reality may be more complex: not for the first time, he is an example of trends in the modern game. He is joining Al Hilal for £47m; the price could appear inflated, given that he had a solitary year left on his contract at Wolves, or market value, considering his class as a passer. Either way, it put him beyond Barcelona’s reach, even before the availability of Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer meant they could acquire a top-class alternative rather cheaper. The dream move was stripped of any realism. Barcelona’s financial difficulties have altered the equation for many another who might otherwise have been bound for Catalonia, as Neves’ Portugal teammate Bernardo Silva can testify. The broader collapse of the European transfer market is part of a wider theme affecting Premier League clubs and their greater struggle to sell. There are only a handful on the continent capable of paying a £47m fee for a midfielder; if, for various reasons, they can be ruled out, it reduces the alternatives to the big buyers in England. That they have overlooked Neves points in part to the high number of talented midfielders on the market this summer, but also to the sense he is a man out of time. A languid passer may not suit sides with a greater focus on pressing. Neves may not be a Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta-style midfielder. But the changing dynamics in the game may have meant he was an ever more incongruous presence at Molineux. Odd as it felt that he traded the Champions League – where, at 18, he was its youngest ever captain in his Porto days – for the Championship, his first three years at Wolves were an unqualified success, with promotion and successive seventh-place finishes. The last three, however, have been underwhelming, with mid-table finishes, a lack of goals, and this season, a flirtation with relegation. Neves has still been excellent. Wolves have not been. He has been their classiest player since their golden age more than six decades ago; the added benefit was that he stayed for six years and 253 games. The axis of Neves and Joao Moutinho brought a level of style Wolves may not see again in midfield for decades. But if Neves is leaving a traditional club for a new player in the football firmament, an alternative perspective is to say he has traded one moneyed project where Jorge Mendes has exerted an influence and where Portuguese players have signed up for another. The super-agent has a habit of spotting opportunities and Wolves, under the ownership of Fosun, provided one. Not that Wolves provides such scope for signings this summer. As even Julen Lopetegui seems to have belatedly acknowledged, they have an issue with Financial Fair Play. Heavy spending in the last two windows was often misguided – Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Cunha, particularly – while a lack of buyers on the continent means Wolves cannot recoup much of their money. Neves was one of the few remaining assets, a footballer who had publicly said his time was up without having a better exit strategy. Lower mid-table at Wolves followed by a spell in Saudi Arabia was scarcely the career trajectory that many envisaged when he was skippering Porto in the Champions League as a teenager. Sympathy may be in short supply, given the probable scale of his remuneration. He may be happy at Al Hilal. But Neves, a quality player at his peak, seemed short of options. And if that is a shame, it is also part of a bigger picture. Once again, Neves is a sign of how the game is changing. Read More Saudi Arabia money has turned transfers into ‘chaos’ – will it last? N’Golo Kante, the midfield miracle worker who changed football

It took Denver 47 NBA seasons to get to the top

In a first for US sports, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has struck a deal to buy a stake

What the papers say Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount looks set to sign for Manchester United after the clubs found a middle ground for the deal, according to the Mirror. United will get their man for £60million after their £50m bid was rejected. The Blues had hoped for £70m for Mount, who scored three goals in 24 Premier League games last season. Arsenal believe their top target Declan Rice could captain the club as they look to secure the West Ham and England international midfielder’s signature, the Daily Mail reports. The Gunners will face stiff competition as Manchester City are planning to join the race for the 24-year-old, the Guardian said. The Guardian also report that Tottenham are the frontrunners to sign Leicester City and England midfielder James Maddison. After Southampton’s relegation to the Championship, the Independent report that James Ward-Prowse is open to a move to Fulham. Social media round-up Players to watch Mohamed Salah: The 31-year-old Liverpool forward is being targeted by the Saudi Pro League, FourFourTwo reports. Viktor Gyokeres: Coventry City’s Swedish forward is in high demand with Brentford, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves fighting for the 25-year-old. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2013: England beaten by India in Champions Trophy final Rory McIlroy claims first PGA Tour ace at Travelers Championship Will Jacks heroics in vain as Middlesex pull off record chase against Surrey

The Raptors took the player with possibly the flashiest suit of the night during the NBA draft

Thanks to their recent success, the five teams in the NBA’s Pacific Division weren’t necessarily trying to draft one of the next generation’s hardwood superstars on Thursday night