Last week I was happily reporting to you that Lionel Messi had touched down back in Barcelona to put pen to paper on a new five-year contract at the Camp Nou. It was so widely accepted that nobody batted an eye at the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s strange status as a free agent following the expiration of his previous deal at the stroke of midnight on July 1.
Lionel Messi won't be a Barcelona player anymore. News has just broken on Thursday that the Argentina star won't continue with the club any longer. Where will Messi go now is the million-dollar question.
LATEST NEWS | Leo #Messi will not continue with FC Barcelona
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 5, 2021
Japan was five minutes and penalty kicks away from reaching the gold medal match against Brazil as the host nation of the 2020 Olympics. Then Marco Asensio did Marco Asensio things.
Asensio, the 25-year-old Real Madrid winger and the oldest player on Spain’s roster, came off the bench to score a beautiful curler in the 115th minute to send Spain past Japan 1-0 in extra time of their Olympic semifinal on Tuesday, setting up a dream final against Brazil on Saturday.
Defending champions Brazil had to struggle to make the final, beating Mexico 4-1 on penalties after the game ended goalless after extra-time.
Brazil went close to settling their match against Mexico inside 90 minutes when Richarlison struck the post with a glancing header in the 82nd minute.
#OlimpicosTelemundo ¡AL PALOOOOOO !
TOKYO — Host Japan displayed nerves of steel as it edged out New Zealand 4-2 in a penalty shootout to reach the men's Olympic soccer semifinals on Saturday, while Spain survived a scare in an extra-time win over Ivory Coast.
After a goalless 120 minutes at the Ibaraki Kashima Stadium, New Zealand full back Liberato Cacace's penalty was saved by Kosei Tani and midfielder Clayton Lewis blasted his spot kick over the bar.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus released a joint statement welcoming a Madrid court's decision on Friday asking European soccer governing body UEFA to revoke action against them for planning the creation of the breakaway Super League.
HONG KONG - With crucial goals in each of Japan's three group games, Takefusa Kubo is delivering on his potential, as the Olympic Games hosts step up their chase for a place on the podium for the first time in over half a century.
Just as he had done in group phase wins over South Africa and Mexico, the 20-year-old opened the scoring for Japan in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over France to set up a quarterfinal meeting with New Zealand on Saturday.
Takefusa Kubo Goal Vs. France
Come August, there are always a few clubs that capture the imagination with their audacious summer spending before inevitably collapsing by October. Usually this is Everton.
The return of a club legend, the signing of a highly touted prodigy or a loan move for a big-name player whose career has stalled (or preferably all three in one window) are the usual fixings for getting way too hyped before the start of a new campaign.
La rivalidad entre Argentina y Brasil nunca descansa y los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio sumaron un nuevo capítulo a la historia.
Argentina igualó hoy 1-1 ante España y quedó eliminada en la fase de grupos del torneo. Su desgracia, eso sí, fue celebrada en redes sociales por algunos de los seleccionados de Brasil que también participan en el torneo y que avanzaron a cuartos de final, luego de vencer a Araba Saudita por 3-1.
MADRID - Former Atlético Madrid striker Fernando Torres has been appointed as the club's youth team coach (Juvenil A).
Torres worked in the academy set-up of his boyhood club last season as an assistant, and will make the step up to head coach for the 2021-22 campaign.
"I'm proud and happy to be returning home. It's an exciting challenge I've got in front of me and we'll give everything we can to continue to serve our club," Torres wrote on Twitter on Monday.