List of All Articles with Tag 'ball'

Chelsea have announced the sale of Kalidou Koulibaly to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, having spent just one year at the club. The Senegalese centre-back was much sought-after during his time at Napoli in Serie A but it was the Stamford Bridge club who eventually landed him last summer for an estimated £34 million. However, a chaotic campaign saw the 32-year-old play under four different managers as the Todd Boehly and Clearlake era got off to a tumultuous start and, ultimately, a desperately poor 2022/23 season. A large turnover of transfers was expected this summer at Chelsea after well over half a billion pounds was spent across the course of the past year, and Koulibaly thus becomes the latest exit - and the latest star playing in Europe who has decided to join the Saudi Pro League and the vast sums suddenly on offer there. Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr midway through last term, Karim Benzema followed his former teammate with a switch from Real Madrid to Al-Ittihad earlier this month. And Koulibaly isn’t even the first Chelsea player to tread this path either, with N’Golo Kante moving from west London to the same team as Benzema last week. Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is soon to complete a move to Manchester City as the overhaul continues under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino. Even so, the departure of Koulibaly is a notable one. Koulibaly was initially a starter under Thomas Tuchel last autumn and was seen as a big coup for the club, but he fell out of favour under Graham Potter. The one match under Bruno Sartor saw Koulibaly play in the middle of a three-man defence, before Frank Lampard’s terrible run as interim boss saw a return to a four-man system, with Koulibaly in and out during that period. In total he played 23 times in the Premier League and made 32 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice. During the middle of his sole season with the Blues he also captained Senegal at the World Cup, scoring once before defeat to England in the knockouts. A short statement on the Chelsea website read: “We would like to thank Kalidou for his contributions on and off the pitch during his time at Stamford Bridge and wish him well for the next stage of his career.” As for Koulibaly’s new team, Al-Hilal finished third in the table this past season and their key players for the campaign included former Porto forward Moussa Marega and Saudi national team skipper Salem Al-Dawsari, who scored twice at the Qatar World Cup including the winner against Argentina. Former Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo was also at the club last season but has now departed. Read More Football rumours: Man United end pursuit of Harry Kane over ‘unrealistic’ fee Football rumours: Wilfried Zaha eyes move to Paris St Germain Arteta hypes up Arsenal progress despite pain of losing title race Arteta hypes up Arsenal progress despite pain of losing title race On this day in 2012: Joey Barton stripped of captaincy by QPR Brendan Rodgers regrets ‘hurt’ he caused Celtic fans when he left for Leicester

Kalidou Koulibaly has left Chelsea after only one season to join Saudi Professional League side Al-Hilal. Senegal captain Koulibaly moved to England last summer from Napoli on a four-year deal in a transfer reported to be worth £34million. The centre-back went on to make 32 appearances for Chelsea during a difficult season, but has now departed Stamford Bridge A club statement read: “We would like to thank Kalidou for his contributions on and off the pitch during his time at Stamford Bridge and wish him well for the next stage of his career.” Koulibaly is not the first Chelsea player to make the move to Saudi Arabia. N’Golo Kante agreed to join Al-Ittihad on a free transfer following the expiration of his deal with the Blues. A number of high-profile names have moved to the Saudi Professional League during the past six months. Karim Benzema has already agreed to join Al-Ittihad after 14 seasons at Real Madrid, following Cristiano Ronaldo who moved to Al Nassr from Manchester United in December. Wolves captain Ruben Neves has also agreed a £47m move to Al-Hilal. After Koulibaly and Kante, Chelsea outcasts Edouard Mendy, Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have also been linked with moves to the Gulf state.

College football will be back in our lives sooner rather than later, but now is the time to sink our teeth into delicious news coming out about Dan Lanning, Nick Saban and even Peyton Manning!From Dan Lanning to Peyton Manning, we've got your college football news covered today, aight.L...

VIDEO: Ryan Stanek freaked out after he was called for a balk. The call resulted in the game-winning run.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says it still “hurts deeply” to have missed out on the Premier League title, but he is happy with the progress he has made after taking over a club that had lost its “soul”. The Gunners led the Premier League title race for 248 days last season before they were eventually chased down by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who went on to win the treble, leaving the Gunners trophyless for a third straight season. Arteta admits it still pains him that his side fell short but feels there were plenty of positives to take from last term, and from his tenure overall. In an interview with Marca, the 41-year-old Spaniard said: “To this day, it still hurts me deeply, not having won the Premier (League) after spending 10 months fighting with City. “But that’s the sport. That said, what has been achieved with such a young team is worthwhile. That is clear to me too.” The Spaniard, who took over at the Emirates Stadium in December 2019, continued: “This started (over) three years ago. I was Pep’s assistant at City, we played against Arsenal and I saw that the soul of the club had been lost. “It was not enjoyed, it was not felt. I knew that there was the option, shortly after, of being on the other bench and I knew that this club is so big that you had to connect the team with the fans. It has been hard to do, and now I feel happy. “We have a clear identity, there is union and we are full of energy. That’s the biggest thing. From top to bottom, they all push in the same direction.” I feel loved, valued by our owners, Stan and Josh (Kroenke), and I have a lot to do here at this club. I am happy and tremendously grateful to be at Arsenal. Mikel Arteta to Marca Arteta responded to a question about reports linking him with a move to Paris St Germain, where he spent an 18-month loan spell during his playing career, by insisting he was “happy” and “grateful” to be with the north London club. “I can only say that I am happy at Arsenal,” he said. “I feel loved, valued by our owners, Stan and Josh (Kroenke), and I have a lot to do here at this club. I am happy and tremendously grateful to be at Arsenal.” The Gunners kick off their 2023-24 campaign against Nottingham Forest on August 12. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Chicago Cubs’ Marcus Stroman wants MLB to be embraced globally after London trip On this day in 2012: Joey Barton stripped of captaincy by QPR Justin Steele impressed by support for Chicago Cubs at London Stadium

Joey Barton was stripped of the QPR captaincy on this day in 2012. The midfielder was sent off during Manchester City’s dramatic final-day 3-2 win over QPR in May – which saw them win the title with Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp goal. He was sent off by referee Mike Dean after elbowing Carlos Tevez and, as he left the pitch, Barton kicked Sergio Aguero before aiming a headbutt at Vincent Kompany. He was fined six weeks’ wages, on top of a £75,000 fine from the Football Association and was given a 12-match ban from the FA. Barton said: “My behaviour was wrong and I accept the punishment that has been imposed upon me as a result. I apologise to the manager, my team-mates and of course the QPR fans for my actions. I also apologise to the Manchester City players, staff and supporters.” The current Bristol Rovers manager was loaned out to Marseille the following season but stayed at Loftus Road until 2015, making 99 appearances, before joining Burnley. He also played for Rangers and returned to Burnley to finish his playing career in 2017. In 2018, he was named Fleetwood manager before becoming Rovers boss in 2021. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

A street party will be held where he grew up to honour the Irish international on winning 100 caps.

Luis Suarez overshadowed his Uruguay team’s stunning World Cup victory over Italy when he bit defender Giorgio Chiellini on this day in 2014. The incident took place in the final group game between the sides as Diego Godin headed a late goal to secure a 1-0 win for the South Americans to progress at the expense of the 2006 world champions. Suarez then fell to the floor holding his mouth and Chiellini protested the Uruguayan forward had dived. Chiellini told Italian television station Rai TV afterwards: “It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off. It is clear, clear-cut. “Then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn’t have done.” The then-Liverpool striker had already served a 10-game Premier League ban that season for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic during a league game at Anfield in April 2013. In 2010 whilst playing for Ajax he had been suspended for seven games after a similar offence committed against PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal. He was subsequently punished by FIFA for the bite on Chiellini, receiving a four-month suspension from all football and handed a nine-game international ban, as well as being fined 100,000 Swiss francs. Uruguay were knocked out at the last-16 stage after being beaten 2-0 by Colombia. Suarez returned to football by making his Barcelona debut in an El Clasico clash in October that year following a £65million move to the Nou Camp from Liverpool. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Christopher Nkunku has vowed to “give everything” for Chelsea after completing his move to Stamford Bridge. The France forward this week signed a six-year contract with the Blues as the club finalised his reported £63million switch from RB Leipzig. The 25-year-old had committed to moving to Stamford Bridge when he signed a pre-contract agreement last December. Chelsea will hope he can bolster an attack that scored only 38 goals in the Premier League last season. “We can say that I am a hard worker,” Nkunku told the club’s website, chelseafc.com. “I will give everything for the club, for the fans and to help the team bring some trophies, to give the best of my football. “I hope I will make them as happy as I am to be here at this club.” Nkunku scored 23 goals in 36 appearances for Leipzig in an injury-hit 2022-23 in which he was forced to miss the World Cup. Chelsea’s struggles in the second half of last season, when they limped to a 12th-placed finish, have not dampened his enthusiasm for the move. He said: “I think the project was good for me. It is a good project for me to develop myself as a player and a man also. “And this is a good city, after all, and for sure I want to improve in football and I want to win trophies and improve myself also.” Nkunku is the first new player to arrive at Chelsea since former Tottenham and Paris St Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as manager. The pair have not yet met. “I have not had a chance to speak to him, not yet,” said Nkunku, who began his career at PSG. “I spoke to some of my friends from Paris about him a little bit. I speak about him a little bit with some of the players. “They told me that he’s a very good coach and I’m excited to work with him.”

So far this WNBA season we've had three 40-point performances from individual players. But what is the most points ever scored in a WNBA game?It's still only June, but we've already seenthree40-point performances in the WNBA this season. The first one came on May 21st when Breanna...

Two SEC teams meet in the College World Series Finals after LSU won a thrilling Game 3, 2-0 in extra innings, against Wake Forest, setting up a three game series against Florida for the National Championship.Both teams have been at the top of the odds board all season and meet in the Finals, but...

Wolves have confirmed the departure of captain Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for a club record £47million. The Portugal midfielder scored 30 goals in 253 appearances during six seasons at Molineux. Neves wiped away tears in an emotional video posted on the Premier League club’s Twitter account, saying he had made “thousands of memories which will last forever”. Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs told his club’s website: “Ruben is the embodiment of everything you look for when trying to bring players into a football club: a leader, a humble man and an extremely talented footballer who took Wolves to a different level. “He was part of a great era for this club and will go down as one of our best ever players. “We are grateful for everything he has done for Wolves and wish him and his family the very best for the future.” Neves, who had one year remaining on his contract, was part of the Wolves team which won the Sky Bet Championship title in 2018 following his move from Porto. The 26-year-old then helped Wanderers to two consecutive seventh-placed finishes in the top flight, in addition to an FA Cup semi-final in 2019 and the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020. He becomes the latest high-profile player to move to Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante have already completed free transfers to Al-Ittihad this month, while Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr in December. Shortly before announcing the deal, Wolves posted a video on social media in which Neves sobbed and struggled to contain his emotions. “Wolves, six seasons, 253 games, champions of the Championship, five years of Premier League football, an FA Cup semi-final, our European adventure and some huge wins,” he said. “And thousands of memories which will last forever, what an unbelievable journey. I’ve worked with so many great people along the way. “Every single moment was unforgettable. “I hope we can keep this big connection. I leave as a player but I will always be a Wolf no matter what.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Newcastle have ambition to be number one – Yasir Al-Rumayyan Rafael Benitez set to be named new Celta Vigo boss Carra hits Glasto and Frankie sings Frank – Friday’s sporting social