Neymar staying at Barca, confirms Pique
WASHINGTON: Neymar will stay with Barcelona, according to teammate Gerard Pique, who posted a Twitter message on the striker’s status Sunday.
Spanish international defender Pique indicated the South American maestro would continue at Camp Nou by tweeting a photo of Neymar with the caption “He’s staying.”
The message came hours after Neymar gave Barcelona fans a dazzling reminder of what he brings, the talisman scoring twice as the Spanish giants defeated Juventus 2-1 in a pre-season friendly Saturday in New Jersey.
The 25-year-old Brazilian superstar is at the centre of frenzied speculation linking him to a world record €222 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
‘PEDRO SUFFERED MULTIPLE FRACTURES’
SINGAPORE: Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said on Monday that forward Pedro sustained “multiple fractures to his face after colliding with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina.
The 29-year-old Spaniard was taken to hospital with a bloodied face after Ospina flew into him while clearing a ball with two fists during the Blues’ 3-0 pre-season win over their London rivals in Beijing on Saturday.
Pedro spent the night in a Beijing hospital and returned to London the following day.
Speaking to media in Singapore ahead of a friendly with Bayern Munich, Conte said: “The situation was more serious because I hoped that it would only be a concussion. Instead he had multiple fractures and I think with a mask in 10 days, he could come back to work for us.”
CHELSEA APOLOGISE FOR KENEDY COMMENTS
SINGAPORE: Chelsea apologised to their Chinese fans on Sunday for offensive comments made on social media by Brazilian player Kenedy and said the midfielder had been disciplined.
The 21-year-old Kenedy made the remarks on his Instagram page on Saturday ahead of Chelsea’s preseason friendly against Arsenal in Beijing.
One of the posts was a picture of a security guard asleep which was tagged with: “Wake up China. You idiot.” Another carried an expletive in Portuguese. He later deleted the posts.
Kenedy himself addressed the issue after Chelsea’s 3-0 win at the Bird’s Nest stadium, in which he was jeered by sections of the crowd, saying he had not intended to cause offence.
JAMAICA TO FACE US IN GOLD CUP FINAL
LOS ANGELES: Kemar Lawrence scored in the 88th minute to give Jamaica a shocking 1-0 victory over defending champion Mexico on Sunday in a CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal match.
“The best way I could put it is the Biblical story — David slew Goliath,” Jamaica coach Theodore Whitmore said.
The Reggae Boyz advanced to face the host US in Wednesday’s final.