Messi set to extend Barca stay: report
Lionel Messi is set to remain at Camp Nou for at least another 12 months as his clause to leave Barcelona for free this summer expired at the weekend.
“Messi had signed terms, which run until the end of the 2020-21 campaign, in 2017. At the time, a clause was included that he could leave for nothing in the summer of 2020 as long as he communicated his decision to Barcelona before June,” a report in ESPN said.
As per multiple ESPN sources at the club, the actual deadline was May 30, in sync with the date when this season’s UEFA Champions League final was supposed to be held in Istanbul.
REAL MADRID, BARCA RESUME FULL TRAINING
Liga clubs returned to full training on Monday for the first time in almost three months as Real Madrid and Barcelona stepped up preparations ahead of the season restart on June 11.
Zinedine Zidane oversaw Real’s session, in which “the players completed a very physical first part and continued with individual and group exercises with the ball and goals,” said a statement by the club.
ITALIAN FOOTBALL MAY ALLOW FANS IN JULY
Italian football is considering allowing fans into stadiums next month. The Italian federation issued a 40-page document on Monday outlining strict new rules for the resumption of Serie A on June 20.
However, Italian media reports said that the football federation could discuss at its next meeting a vastly reduced number of fans being permitted to attend matches in July.
“It’s something I really wish for with all my heart,” federation president Gabriele Gravina said. “It’s unthinkable that in a stadium that can hold 60,000 there’s not space for a small percentage of fans with the necessary precautions.”
16 VASCO DA GAMA PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE
Brazilian football club Vasco da Gama said 16 of its players have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Rio de Janeiro club said the positive results came after tests were conducted on about 250 people. Three players have already recovered and the others remain separated from the group. The club says it will begin a series of medical evaluations on squad members.
KLOPP HAILS RETURN TO CONTACT TRAINING
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has said resuming contact training has made a “massive difference” for the Premier League leaders as they step up preparations for the restart of the season on June 17.
“It’s absolutely brilliant, a massive difference ... we could work on all the things we wanted to work on,” Klopp told the club website. “... Hopefully we can make progress in the next two or three weeks, there are a lot of things that need to be organised,” the German added.