Business

Due to the scheduling havoc wreaked by COVID-19 and the resulting extension of the 2019-20 season, the summer transfer was extended until Oct. 5, but when does the January transfer window 2021 open? It’s been a wild ride, but some semblance of normality has returned to European football with the January transfer window set to open on Saturday, Jan. 2 and close on Monday, Feb. 1.

Has the January transfer window changed?

Lawyers are gearing up to do battle over the estate of Diego Maradona, estimated at between $10 million and $40 million and disputed by the soccer great's children, ex-partners and many others.

The legal wrangling began within days of Maradona's death from a heart attack in Buenos Aires on Nov. 25.

"I do not know if they are not hurting sufficiently or if they wanted to be the first in line, but it's insane because everyone will be able to participate," said lawyer Mauricio Dalessandro, who worked with Maradona for several years.

The head of African football, Ahmad Ahmad, has been banned from football for five years by FIFA following an ethics investigation by world soccer's governing body.

Ahmad, who is president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had intended to stand in an election in March in which he would have faced a number of challengers. FIFA said in a statement the independent Ethics Committee has found Ahmad guilty of offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, and misappropriation of funds.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year contract that will keep him in charge until the end of the 2022-23 season, the Premier League club said on Thursday.

The Spaniard has guided City to two Premier League titles, three League Cups and an FA Cup since his arrival in 2016.

Seattle baseball icon Ken Griffey Jr. is now a part-owner of Seattle Sounders FC, the club announced Tuesday.

Griffey spent 13 of his 22 big league seasons with the Mariners and remains among the most popular athletes in the city's history.

LaLiga has slashed spending limits for its clubs by $724.25 million for the 2020-2021 season due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain's top soccer league said on Tuesday.

Barcelona's salary cap has been cut to $454 million from last season's $796 million, while defending champions Real Madrid can spend $555 million, down $205 million from last season's spending limit.

Lionel Messi must stay at Barcelona so he can lead the team for the remainder of his career and play a strategic role when he retires, the club's presidential candidate Victor Font told Reuters.

The six-times World Player of the Year and Barca’s all-time top scorer came close to leaving the Catalans in August after his relationship with then president Josep Maria Bartomeu turned sour. But the Argentine can leave the club, where he has spent his entire career, for free at the end of this season unless he pens a new contract before the end of June.

After a fire sale of players over the summer that was fiercely criticized by supporters and club greats, Valencia are braced for yet more departures, according to a report published by the LaLiga club with their accounts on Thursday.