Reddit founder and husband of tennis legend Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, took a 10 percent stake in Chelsea Women
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Real Madrid have officially announced the departure of Carlo Ancelotti as Los Blancos near a deal for Xabi Alonso to take over as head coach.
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Real Madrid announce Ancelotti's departureXabi Alonso set to take overTributes to be made for ItalianFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Real Madrid's disappointing season has seen them go trophyless despite pre-season predictions expecting Los Blancos to challenge for various honours. As such, club president Florentino Perez and top management knew there was a need for change on the touchline and Ancelotti's departure has been expected ever since their Champions League elimination to Arsenal last month.
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Real Madrid have now officially confirmed that Ancelotti will leave the club this weekend, but does so as the manager with the most titles in Los Blancos' history. The Italian led them to three Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, and two Spanish Super Cups during his six seasons over his two stints.
WHAT PEREZ SAID
Speaking to club media, Real Madrid president Perez said: "Carlo Ancelotti is now forever part of the great Real Madrid family. We are proud to have enjoyed a coach who has helped us achieve so many successes and who has also represented the values of our club in an exemplary manner."
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The 15-time European champions are set to appoint Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso, who led Die Werkself to the 2023-24 Bundesliga title. The Spaniard has been chased by a number of sides since last season; however, he decided to stay with the German side. Reports have suggested that Alonso will soon be announced as Ancelotti's successor.
Tim Southee, Daryl Mitchell and Temba Bavuma also gained spots as the Ahmedabad, Christchurch and Johannesburg Tests ended
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2023
Cameron Green and Usman Khawaja both hit centuries in Ahmedabad•Getty Images
R Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Usman Khawaja, Temba Bavuma and Tim Southee were among those to have gained in ICC’s Test rankings in their respective categories. The latest changes are after the conclusion of the Ahmedabad Test between India and Australia, the first Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Christchurch, and the second Test between South Africa and West Indies in Johannesburg.In the bowling charts, Ashwin, the leading wicket-taker in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 25 strikes at 17.28, regained the No. 1 spot, staying clear of second-placed James Anderson by ten points. New Zealand captain Southee, who bagged seven wickets in his side’s last-ball win on the final day against Sri Lanka, stepped up six spots to 12th.Among batters, Kohli broke his Test-century drought with an innings of 186, thus moving up seven places to 13th. Khawaja got 180 in the same match, and gained two places to sit seventh after he topped the series numbers with 333 runs at 47.57, as his team-mates Cameron Green and Travis Head also benefited from good contributions. Green, who hit his maiden Test hundred, skipped 11 spots up to 26th, even as Head solidified his hold at No. 5, as his match-saving 90 in the second innings in Ahmedabad took him to a career-high 853 rating points.On the other hand, Daryl Mitchell’s twin contributions of 102 and 81 in Christchurch helped him move four places to eighth.Meanwhile, South Africa’s new Test captain Bavuma hit a Test century after seven years, as his second-innings 172 fashioned a comfortable win over West Indies. That knock helped him climb 14 steps up to No. 15, while comeback man Aiden Markram – the leading run-getter of the series, where his knocks included a 115 and 96 – gained 11 spots to get to No. 22.The rankings update also saw allrounders Axar Patel and Kyle Mayers move up the charts. Axar took a step up to No. 4 after contributing 264 runs – including three half-centuries – as he led lower-order rescue acts against Australia in Nagpur and Delhi, apart from bagging three wickets. Mayers sat seventh on the table, after rising three places as a result of taking seven wickets – the joint-most for West Indies – across the two Tests against South Africa, where he averaged an impressive 14.42 with the ball.
Nat Sciver-Brunt dropped to one knee and swung Tuba Hassan perfectly into the gap at wide long-on, cementing a path towards the complete performance England have been seeking at this World Cup.The shot went for four and brought up a 29-ball fifty for Sciver-Brunt but she was far from done and her side will assert collectively that neither are they as they head into a semi-final against either South Africa or New Zealand on Friday. She pulled the next ball for another boundary then advanced on the next, clearing the fence at deep cover.That little stanza in the 16th over at Newlands was indicative of England’s crushing 114-run win against Pakistan – the biggest winning margin at a Women’s T20 world Cup – as they bludgeoned their way to a tournament-record total of 213 for 5.”To put the pressure on them as much as we could with the bat and the ball and in the field, that’s something that we’ve been looking to do over this tournament but not quite got it all right so far, I think that was pretty good, ” Sciver-Brunt said. “I think everyone’s got the confidence that we can repeat that and hopefully get one step further.”Previously in the tournament I think we’ve been building up to a performance like this. We sort of targeted this game as a chance to show everyone as a team what we’re about and, it being the last game in our group as well, a free chance to show off a bit and do the things that we do really well.”The victory was built around Sciver-Brunt, whose unbeaten 81 off 40 deliveries moved her to the top of the tournament’s run-scoring charts with 176 with a strike rate of 147.89, but also contained some other encouraging signs for a side which – along with India – were the pre-tournament favourites to challenge Australia for the title.While Sciver-Brunt’s hot streak continued – she had scores of 40*, 5 and 50 from the previous three games – opener Danni Wyatt ended a lean run in which she has scored just 27 runs in three innings, including a first-ball duck in the previous match, an 11-run win over India on Saturday.Danni Wyatt scored a 33-ball 59 for England•ICC via Getty Images
Having recently expressed her heartbreak at being overlooked in last week’s WPL auction on Twitter, Wyatt also brought up her fifty off 29 balls with a powerful sweep for four before clearing the fence at deep square leg off Nashra Sandhu’s full toss next ball. She holed out to long-off shortly after but her boundary-laden knock may prove a valuable boost and showed off England’s impressive depth as they recovered from 33 for 2. Wyatt and Sciver-Brunt are now equal second-fastest to fifty at this event, behind Alice Capsey’s 21-ball effort against Ireland.Capsey and Sophia Dunkley, Wyatt’s fellow opener who has also been hitting the ball well, only managed single figures on this occasion but Amy Jones, followed up her 40 off 27 balls against India with a rapid 47 off 31 before she fell on the last ball of the innings.”People can’t repeat every time,” Sciver-Brunt added. “I mean, cricket’s a weird sport, things happen and someone could get a duck tomorrow that got runs today, but I guess that’s why as a batting group and as a bowling group we’re really strong and especially have the depth and on any day we’re confident that someone will stand up.”An injury depleted Pakistan missing Bismah Maroof (groin) and Ayesha Naseem (hamstring) didn’t help themselves with a sloppy fielding performance and three of their wicket-takers leaked 40-plus runs each.England also made gains with the ball, however. Katherine Sciver-Brunt, who had gone for 19 runs in the final over and returned figures of 3-0-39-0 against India, took 2 for 14 from her four overs against Pakistan, including Sadaf Shamas with the second ball of the innings. Offspinner Charlie Dean, meanwhile, had two wickets from three matches heading into the game also chimed in with 2 for 28.As complete as the performance was, England know they need a double-encore.”To be the best in the world, you have to beat the current best in the world and Australia have been very consistently at the top of their game for a really long time,” Nat Sciver-Brunt said. “At the moment we’re trying to focus on ourselves and not look too outwardly at other teams. In the past, we’ve probably done that quite a lot and it’s not really worked out for us.”As a group, we are working towards wanting to be number one in the world. But the way we’re doing it is the most important thing. And the way that everyone is really brought in and believes in the way that we’re playing will win us games will win us tournaments, and I think that’s the most important thing.”
Josh Hazlewood remains in contention to play the World Test Championship final against India after being included in Australia’s 15-man squad.Australia have pushed Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw into their reserves from the 17 players that have been selected for the Ashes.Hazlewood returned early from the IPL with some side soreness but scans revealed no damage and he has since returned to bowling. However, speaking last week coach Andrew McDonald said everything would need to go perfectly for him to make the WTC final.He is one of four specialist quicks in the squad alongside captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. Michael Neser and Sean Abbott will train with the team in the lead-up, with Neser a strong contender to replace Hazlewood in the main squad if required. Any changes from now on will require approval of the ICC’s technical committee.Josh Inglis, who is yet to play a Test, has found a place in the squad, as has Todd Murphy, who made his Test debut in India earlier this year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
As for India, there were no late changes apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, as reported earlier in the day, replacing Ruturaj Gaikwad in the list of stand-by players.Both the uncapped Ishan Kishan and Jaydev Unadkat, who had injured his left shoulder during the IPL and was ruled out of the tournament, figure in the squad of 15. Kishan, who came in after the injury to KL Rahul during the IPL, is likely to be back-up for KS Bharat, India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper in Rishabh Pant’s absence.Related
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Also a part of the India squad is Shardul Thakur, who had missed three games in the IPL because of a niggle, and was not fit to bowl in a few games.India’s reserves are Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav and Jaiswal.The match will be played at The Oval from June 7 to 11, with June 12 pencilled in as the reserve day. The winners will earn US$ 1.6 million, while the runners-up will earn $800,000.Australia squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steven Smith (vice-capt), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
James Vince’s latest half-century leads way in Hampshire’s highest-ever chase
ECB Reporters Network23-Jun-2023James Vince proved Essex’s nemesis again as his seventh fifty of the competition underpinned defending champions Hampshire Hawks’ highest-ever Vitality Blast chase.Feroze Khushi and Dan Lawrence – who is Surrey-bound at the end of the season – had blitzed 127 for the first wicket, hitting 61 and 70 respectively, as Essex posted 209 for 7.Vince had struck a century in the reverse fixture at Chelmsford earlier in the season and smashed 76 before James Fuller’s 57 and Benny Howell’s 34 not out got Hawks over the line.It condemned Essex to their third straight defeat and put Hampshire level on 14 points with Eagles with the four-wicket victory, with a superior run-rate.Related
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Chasing 210, Ben McDermott was caught in the fourth over by Paul Walter – which gave him his 13th catch of the season, an Essex T20 record – with Toby Albert also falling in the powerplay. But Hampshire were still on top of the chase, with Vince timing the ball sweetly on his way to a 24-ball fifty.Joe Weatherley and Ross Whiteley came and went but James Fuller stuck with Vince to keep up with the rate in a 50-run stand. Vince’s attempt for a fourth six only picked out safe hands Walter at long off in an over which only went for five runs from Critchley.If that felt like a turning point, Fuller and Howell swung it back in Hawks’ favour with some outrageous hitting and a bit of luck – both were dropped during their time at the crease.Fuller’s fifty came off 27 balls and he celebrated with a huge six over long-on to take the equation to nine off eight balls, although was yorked next ball to end a 63-run stand off 31 balls. But Liam Dawson came in swatted a six first ball with the last three runs coming with four balls to spare.
Hawks: 23-0 (2)
Live Stream https://t.co/MqVOeWDc3J pic.twitter.com/XlxXAxExmn
— Hampshire Hawks (@hantscricket) June 23, 2023
Lawrence and Khushi seemed to be in a race to reach fifty first, having been stuck in on a stunning pitch and an outfield left worn by the recent Arctic Monkeys gig.If Lawrence smashed a towering six down the ground, Khushi would hit one further. If Khushi slapped through point, Lawrence would cut one but even harder.It tied in perfectly with Essex’s in-your-face approach to batting – which had seen them lose plenty of powerplay wickets earlier in the competition, but only sent Hawks fielders sprawling on this occasion. There were 73 runs in the first six overs alone, including 21 off Chris Wood’s opener.Khushi is Lawrence’s heir apparent to be Essex’s middle-order talisman, with both batters similarly wristy and powerful. They both have three fifties in this season’s competition and were only split by a ball in their pursuit of the milestone – Lawrence one ball quicker at 25 deliveries.The 127-run opening stand was Essex’s best versus Hampshire in T20s, beating Mark Pettini and Jesse Ryder’s 2015 effort by a run before Lawrence was stumped for a 33-ball 70.Michael Pepper was bowled to give Benny Howell a wicket on his Ageas Bowl return as Hawks fought back. Khushi was done for pace by John Turner, before the South African-born fast bowler had Walter caught at mid off and Matt Critchley lbw next ball to end with stylish figures of 3 for 19.Essex continued their collapse with Will Buttleman chipping a reverse lap to point and Simon Harmer was leg-before – Eagles losing six for 55 in the last seven overs having been 154 for 1, but it still reached the sixth-highest T20 score on the ground.
Franck Ribery seemingly expressed his bitterness at missing out in 2013 after Cristiano Ronaldo's latest comments regarding the Ballon d'Or award.
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Ronaldo believes Champions League winner should win Ballon d'Or Ribery questioned CR7's latest comments on the individual awardFrenchman salty over being snubbed in 2013 with Ronaldo winning it that yearFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Ribery continues to express his bitterness over missing out on the 2013 Ballon d'Or award. The former Bayern Munich winger took to social media on Saturday to question Ronaldo's comments on what the ultimate criteria to win the Ballon d'Or should be.
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Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the Portuguese icon seemingly hinted that Ousmane Dembele should win this year's Ballon d'Or, despite acknowledging that Lamine Yamal, the other favourite to lift the accolade, has "no shortage of talent."
"The individual awards have lost some consensus; I can’t say anything about who should win. In my opinion, those who stand out and win the Champions League should win. But there is no consensus. I don’t believe much in individual awards because I know what goes on behind the scenes. Lamine could win, like Dembele or Vitinha, other emerging players… But individual awards are irrelevant," said Ronaldo.
WHAT FRANCK RIBERY SAID
Despite winning the Champions League in the 2012-13 season with Bayern, Ribery finished third in the 2013 Ballon d'Or rankings behind Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. "It was unfair," Ribery previously stated in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It was an incredible season for me, and I should have won it. They extended the time for votes, and something strange happened. I felt that it was a political choice."
Now, on Saturday, after Ronaldo's latest comments, Ribery took to social media and posted: "So you NEED to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d'Or?"
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The 40-year-old has already ruled out the possibility of featuring for one of the clubs participating in the revamped Club World Cup, which begins on June 14. However, he can add one more title to his impressive CV when Portugal take on Spain in the Nations League final on Sunday.
GOAL goes over everything fans need to know about the unique transfer window opening from June 1-10 ahead of the Club World Cup
FIFA has opened a special transfer window from June 1-10, allowing teams to make roster additions ahead of the 2025 Club World Cup. It's an unprecedented move to allow players to swap clubs this early in the offseason. Still, with the marquee event beginning in just over two weeks on June 14, they opted to open the window so teams could bolster their core ahead of the competition.
Likewise, U.S. Soccer has reportedly sanctioned a window to run during the same timeline, but has limited it to the MLS teams competing in the tournament – Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders, and potentially, LAFC. The face Liga MX side Club America Saturday evening in a Club World Cup playoff game, with the winner clinching a berth in the competition.
FIFA and U.S. Soccer have introduced new rules and amended existing ones ahead of this summer’s competition, aimed at facilitating player movement. As a result, clubs participating in the tournament have additional flexibility in the transfer window – though some of the changes may not be widely known or understood by fans.
Some players have an opportunity to sign a short-term contract to compete, strictly in the competition, before entering free agency this summer. Others are completing pre-agreed transfers, while some are swapping new clubs entirely on multi-year deals. Then, there's a unique case like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real Madrid, as have now paid the $11.3 million(€10 million) to secure his services ahead of the competition despite his contract ending on June 30.
GOAL goes over and explains everything you need to know about the Club World Cup transfer window.
Details of Cristiano Ronaldo's reported role in Joao Felix's move from Chelsea to Al-Nassr have been revealed.
Felix set to join Al-NassrWill link up with RonaldoForward's role in move revealedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Felix, 25, is set to join Al-Nassr for an initial ÂŁ26 million ($35m) transfer, where he will link up with fellow Portugal star Ronaldo. And according to Foot Mercato, the 40-year-old allayed any concerns the ex-Atletico Madrid man had about joining the Saudi Pro League side by using a 'powerful argument: the national team'.
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Ronaldo reportedly stressed that by playing together at Al-Nassr, the two compatriots will be able to develop a greater understanding on the pitch over the course of 40-50 games next season and that will stand them in good stead ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The report adds that this playing together factor could be 'decisive' in manager Roberto Martinez's final choice for the Portuguese national team.
DID YOU KNOW?
Felix, who spent the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan after struggling for game time at Chelsea following his ÂŁ45m ($60.5m) move from Atletico in 2024, is said to have understood the importance of this deal and 'undoubtedly' played a key role in his decision to join Al-Nassr.
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Ex-Barcelona loanee Felix, who is set to sign a two-year deal with Ronaldo's side on an annual salary of €10m, is expected to join the Saudi team for pre-season training in Austria in the coming days.
Hampshire allrounder content to pursue trophies in franchise tournaments rather than chase England caps
Alan Gardner28-Mar-20242:10
Liam Dawson: Test cricket ‘completely off my radar’
Liam Dawson has conceded that his ambitions as a Test cricketer are at an end after missing England’s tour of India this winter, saying that he was happy with his decision to prioritise commitments in overseas T20 leagues rather than potentially wind up running the drinks again as an unused squad member.Dawson, who won the last of his three Test caps in 2017, was the leading English spinner in last year’s County Championship, taking 49 wickets at 20.00 – in addition to scoring 840 runs – but was not included in the group to take on India. He had previously indicated that he would have to weigh up whether to accept an England call, having agreed a lucrative contract to play for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20, a tournament that clashed directly with the start of the Test tour, and in which he ended up lifting the trophy.England instead selected the uncapped pair of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir alongside Rehan Ahmed, with one Test appearance to his name, and the experienced Jack Leach. Hartley went on to be England’s leading wicket-taker on tour, with 22 at 36.13, while Bashir claimed the first two five-wicket hauls of his first-class career to finish with 17 at 33.35. Even with Leach ruled out due to injury after the first Test, there was no move to call up a replacement, with England eventually slumping to a 4-1 series defeat.Speaking at Hampshire’s media day ahead of the start of the County Championship season, Dawson said that there had been “a few conversations” with the selectors over the winter but that, at the age of 34, he felt his international career was likely behind him.Asked if he was still keen to play Test cricket, he told ESPNcricinfo: “Probably not now, no. Being honest, there’s a few things that have happened over the last year. For me, probably Test cricket now is completely off the radar. But it is what it is, I’m 34 and I want to enjoy my cricket and try to win trophies towards the end of my career.Dawson played a key role in Sunrisers’ success in the SA20•Sportzpics”Knowing that going to South Africa, knowing I was going to play there – obviously with the [Sunrisers] coach, Adi Birrell, here at Hampshire, I knew I was going to play, which was nice. It’s not something I want to be doing, running drinks at my age anymore. I was really happy with what I chose this winter and it went well.”Dawson has won 20 England caps across three formats going back to 2016, as well as an ODI World Cup winners’ medal in 2019. He was a travelling reserve for both the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, but said he did not expect to be in the mix for this year’s tournament in the Caribbean and USA.”I think with my age, 34, realistically that’s probably gone to be honest. There’s been a few things happened over the last few months. Speaking to [England selector] Luke Wright, I know where I stand. I don’t expect to play. I’m looking forward to playing for Hampshire this season, and the Hundred with London Spirit.”That Dawson, a spin-bowling allrounder, had re-entered the frame for Test selection more than seven years on from making his debut in India was in part reflective of the challenge for young English spinners to come through the system – one summed up at Hampshire by the fact the club have allowed Mason Crane (one Test cap in 2018) to join Glamorgan on loan in search of game time.With the rain teeming down at the Utilita Bowl a week before the start of the county season, Dawson said there were no easy answers.Related
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“Without doubt, it’s very, very difficult. I’m lucky enough that I bat as well, so that’s made a huge difference over my career. I’ve always batted in the top seven so that balances teams out. If you’re just an out-and-out spinner it’s not easy to play in these conditions, the time of the year we play. There’s no ideal scenario, what gives, what doesn’t? When do you play Championship cricket? It’s a tough thing to do. If you’re an out-an-out spinner it can be difficult to get game time with the weather, but I’m not sure how you can change that.”I didn’t watch a huge amount [of the Tests in India]. I was in South Africa, so I watched bits and pieces. They [Hartley and Bashir] did very well. They’re good bowlers. I faced Bashir last year here, I thought he was a really good bowler, and the same with Tom Hartley when we played them in Southport, very consistent. Hopefully they can continue to do well.”Having spent several winters fulfilling 12th man duties on tour with England, Dawson on this occasion leapt at the chance to enhance his T20 CV, playing for Melbourne Stars in Australia’s Big Bash League, followed by a full season at the SA20 – where he helped Sunrisers to retain their title – and then two appearances in the knockout stages of the ILT20 with Gulf Giants, although on that occasion he was unable to add to what is an impressive, and growing, collection of silverware.”It was a really nice winter, nice to perform,” he said. “Nice to get the opportunity as well, to play for a few different teams. But it’s always nice to come back to your home county and get ready for a season.”I’m really excited, I love coming back here. It’s the same for everyone at this time of year. We’ve got a huge goal as a team, to try and win trophies here. It’s something we’ve done over the years, we’ve competed in all formats. It’s not different, hopefully we can compete in all formats and maybe win a trophy.””