England

VIENNA — An unidentified member of English Premier League champions Liverpool has tested positive for the new coronavirus at their summer training camp in the Austrian Alps, tabloid newspaper Kronen Zeitung said on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.

The Austrian paper did not specify whether the person involved was a player or a member of staff, describing them only as a "member" of the club.

Liverpool declined to comment on the report.

Manchester City has signed United States' World Cup-winning midfielder Rose Lavelle from National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) side OL Reign, the English club said on Tuesday.

The midfielder joined OL Reign from Washington Spirit this week but had signed an agreement to join a club outside the NWSL.

Pure art!  @roselavelle

Manchester City midfielder David Silva is departing the club after a decade of service. On Monday, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak revealed the plan for a David Silva statue, as well as the dedication of a training pitch with a mosaic to the Spaniard.

English Premier League club Newcastle United has held talks with the Bellagraph Nova Group (BNG) group over a possible takeover bid, the Singapore-backed company said in a statement.

BNG, co-founded by Singapore-based investors Evangeline Shen, Nelson Loh and Terence Loh, and headquartered in Paris, said that negotiations were at an advanced stage and that the group was willing to "massively contribute" to the club's development.

OL Reign has announced that it acquired the future playing rights of Washington Spirit midfielder and USWNT standout Rose Lavelle. In exchange, the Spirit will receive the Reign’s first round draft pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft and $100,000 in allocation money. 

Friday’s 8-2 humiliation against Bayern Munich will undoubtedly see heads roll at Barcelona, from dead man walking Quique Setién to the elderly cohort of Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Ivan Rakitić. 

But the biggest question mark remains the future of Lionel Messi, who dictates his own future following the most humiliating defeat in Barça history. 

With the millions they have invested in top players and with the most respected coach of his generation in charge, Manchester City should be doing much better than going out of the Champions League in the last eight.

But after their shock 3-1 defeat by Lyon on Saturday that is exactly what City have done in the last three years.

After being eliminated at the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League for a third straight year, Manchester City and manager Pep Guardiola, perhaps unexpectedly, find themselves at a crossroads.

Despite the criticism that Guardiola has faced for his cautious tactics in the 3-1 loss to Lyon on Saturday and the questions about whether he is over-complicating the task in Europe, there is no suggestion that the City hierarchy has lost confidence in the Spaniard.

This was supposed to be the year for Manchester City. Having seen Liverpool run away with the Premier League title, Pep Guardiola’s side focused on the Champions League. The Citizens saw off Real Madrid in the Round of 16 and seemingly had an easy path to the semifinals after Lyon stunning Juventus.

But with just the seventh-place Ligue 1 side in its path, Manchester City once again stumbled in the Champions League.

Arsenal's head of football Raul Sanllehi is leaving the club with managing director Vinai Venkatesham set to take over, the Premier League side announced on Saturday. Reports had suggested Sanllehi was being investigated in regard to Arsenal overpaying for Nicolas Pépé, a transfer fee that reached £72 million ($55M).