Ronaldo not leaving Man U, manager says
`We need quality players'
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reiterated Wednesday that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be leaving the team in the final days of the transfer window.
The uncertainty around Ronaldo's future at United only increased following the signing of another forward, Brazil international Antony, from Ajax on Tuesday.
When asked if Ronaldo remains part of his plans following the arrival of Antony, ten Hag said, “(It is) clear, of course.”
“We need quality players. You need more to cover all the games to keep the consistency going. That is what we strive for.”
Ronaldo has been pushing to leave United this summer to join a club playing in the Champions League.
The transfer window closes late Thursday.
With Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka also set to complete a move to United, Ten Hag said more signings are unlikely in what has been a busy window for the 20-time English champions.
Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen have already joined United.
Fofana joins Chelsea from Leicester
Wesley Fofana became one of the most expensive defenders in soccer history after securing a move to Chelsea from Premier League rival Leicester for a reported fee of US$87 million on Wednesday.
The signing of the 21-yearold French centre back took Chelsea's spending in this transfer window to about $270 million, with the vast majority of that on defenders. Left back Marc Cucurella ($65 million) and centre back Kalidou Koulibaly ($38 million) have already moved to Stamford Bridge.
England international Harry Maguire, who also left Leicester to join Manchester United in 2019 for more than $92 million, is the only defender to have cost more than Fofana. Virgil van Dijk completed a move to Liverpool in January 2018 for a similar fee to Fofana's.
A ball-playing centre back who is an excellent reader of the game, Fofana has signed a seven-year deal with Chelsea.
“Wesley is a hugely promising defender who has already proven his quality in the Premier League at a young age,” said Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly, who has spent big in his first transfer window since fronting the purchase of the club from Roman Abramovich.
“We are delighted we were able to bring one of Europe's most exciting talents to Chelsea and further strengthen that area of our squad, both for this season and many more to come.”
Fofana, who has never played for France's senior national team, joined Leicester from Saint-Etienne in 2020 and made 52 appearances, 37 of them in the Premier League.
He was dropped for recent Leicester games as he looked to force a move to Chelsea and wound up training with the under-23s.
“The two last days have been really big days for me and I'm very happy.” Fofana said. “I trained this morning with the team and it's a dream for me. I'm very excited to start playing games for the fans and the club.”
Yankees purchase minority stake in AC
The New York Yankees have purchased a minority stake in Italian soccer champion AC Milan, which announced the closing of its latest ownership change Wednesday.
RedBird Capital Partners completed the deal to purchase a controlling interest in the seven-time European champion for US$1.2 billion.
The Yankees are also part-owners of Major League Soccer's New York City FC.
Details of the Yankees involvement were not divulged in the announcement.
The Yankees agreed in 2013 to purchase a 20 per cent stake in New York City FC, which launched in 2015. City Football Group, Manchester City's parent company, is the controlling owner.
Women's Euro sets viewership record
The 2022 Women's European Championship was the most watched edition of the tournament, with a projected global cumulative live viewership of 365 million, European soccer's governing body UEFA said Wednesday.
The viewership for this year's tournament, which was won by hosts England after they defeated Germany in the final, was more than double the number in the 2017 edition (178 million) and 214 per cent higher than in 2013 (116 million). The final attracted a cumulative live viewership of 50 million worldwide, more than three times the viewership for the 2017 final.