Ramsey joins Juve in four-year deal
MILAN: Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has signed a four-year deal to join Juventus on a free transfer from next July, the Italian champions said on Monday. The 28-year-old Wales international will arrive in northern Italy on July 1 with his contract running until June 30, 2023.
As his contract will have ended, Arsenal will not be entitled to a transfer fee.
The move brings to an end Ramsey’s 11-year spell with the Gunners having moved from Cardiff City in 2008. Over the past decade he has played 256 Premier League games, scoring 38 topflight goals, and winning three FA Cup and two Community Shield titles.
MAHARASHTRA EDGE PAST RAJASTHAN 1-0
MUMBAI: Maharashtra scored their third successive win on Tuesday when they overcame Rajasthan 1-0 in the concluding Group-b league match of the West Zone leg of the AIFF National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2018-19 at Solapur. Having convincingly defeated Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli in the previous rounds, the hosts finally broke the deadlock when Dhruwesh Nijap scored the winner midway through the second session.
REFUGEE FOOTBALLER RETURNS TO AUSTRALIA
MELBOURNE: Refugee footballer Hakeem al-araibi made a triumphant return to Australia on Tuesday, ending a harrowing two months in Thai detention, as his supporters called for an investigation into why he was arrested in the first place.
“I want to thank Australia,” said a smiling Araibi, ending an ordeal that saw him jailed during his honeymoon and threatened with extradition to his native Bahrain.
“This is my country. I don’t have citizenship yet, but my country is Australia. I will die in Australia and I love Australia.”
A throng of well-wishers decked in #SAVEHAKEEM T-shirts cheered and sang the football anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as they greeted the 25-year-old defender at Melbourne Airport, after an overnight flight to freedom aboard Thai Airways flight 465.
Araibi was detained at a Bangkok airport on November 27 at the request of Bahraini authorities who accuse him of offences linked to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
FIRE STRIKES ANOTHER BRAZILIAN CLUB
RIO DE JANEIRO: A fire broke out at the training centre used by Rio de Janeiro football club Bangu on Monday, sending at least two players to hospital with smoke inhalation but causing no serious injuries.
The accident happened three days after 10 Flamengo youth players died and three others were injured when their lodgings caught fire.
Bangu, one of the oldest and most traditional clubs in Rio, were training at a military athletics centre when the blaze started after lunch.