Daley Blind returns to Ajax
‘Abidal liver transplant legal’
LONDON, July 17, (Agencies): Daley Blind has returned to former club Ajax from Manchester United, telling his Twitter followers on Tuesday it was “time to go home”.
Blind has signed a four-year deal with the Amsterdam club, having left Ajax for United in a £14 million deal ($18 million, 16 million euros) four years ago.
Ajax said they would pay a transfer fee of 16 million euros for the return of the defensive midfielder and full-back, with add-ons that could see the fee rise to 20.5 million euros.
The 28-year-old Dutch international made 141 appearances for United, but his opportunities had become increasingly limited under manager Jose Mourinho and he played only seven Premier League matches for the Old Trafford club last season.
“I want to say how proud I am to be a part of the Manchester United family,” Blind wrote on Twitter.
“To play for the biggest club in the world with such a history meant a lot to me. I had 4 great years with 4 trophy’s (sic)!
“I want to thank you for all the love and support I received and still get. I will never forget some of the special games and moments, I will miss you ‘The Theatre of Dreams’! But now it’s time to go home.”
Blind is the first senior player to leave United in this pre-season, although former England midfielder Michael Carrick had already announced his retirement prior to taking up a post with Mourinho’s backroom staff.
United wrote on their Twitter feed: “We can confirm @BlindDaley has left #MUFC to join Ajax. Thanks for everything, Daley, all the best for the future.”
A liver transplant for cancerstricken ex-Barcelona footballer Eric Abidal was carried out according to the law, Spanish health authorities said Tuesday, dismissing reports of organ trafficking. The transplant “took place according to the law in place and good clinical practice,” said a statement from the Spanish health ministry’s body responsible for monitoring organ donations.
It noted the Barcelona clinic where the transplant took place had the birth certificates and other documents of both the organ recipient and the donor.
Health authorities launched an investigation into allegations that Abidal’s organ transplant may have been illegal.
Online newspaper El Confidencial said earlier this month that wiretaps from a probe into corruption involving then-Barcelona president Sandro Rosell indicated that the club may have illegally procured a liver for Abidal.
Rosell denied the report in an interview published by El Mundo on Tuesday.
Abidal, a former France international, received a liver transplant in April 2012. He resumed his playing career a year later before retiring in 2014. Now Barcelona’s sport director, Abidal maintains that his cousin
Gerard was the actual donor.
The coach that led Iceland to its first World Cup has stepped down.
The Icelandic Football Association says Heimir Hallgrimsson has decided to leave at his own request, ending seven years in the role.
Hallgrimsson was the cocoach with Lars Lagerback of Sweden at the European Championship in 2016, when Iceland reached the quarter-finals after beating England.
After Lagerback left, Hallgrimsson assumed sole control of the national team, which became the least populous team to ever play at a World Cup. Iceland drew with Argentina in its opening group game but failed to advance to the knockout stage.
Hellgrimsson is a part-time dentist.