According to The Times’ Paul Joyce, Liverpool value Cody Gakpo at £85 million as Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur step up their interest in the forward.
The reported asking price is in line with the fee Tottenham paid for former Manchester City winger Savio, despite Savio having less Premier League experience and pedigree than Gakpo.
The 2026 World Cup is now in the past, and attention has shifted back to club football as the Champions League begins to take shape. The draw in Monaco on Thursday confirmed the eight league-phase opponents for Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 2026/27 competition.
Although it is too early to identify the favorites, the two Spanish giants appear to have received contrasting schedules. Real Madrid will host Inter and travel to Arsenal, while Barcelona face major tests against Manchester City, PSG and Galatasaray.
Real Madrid, led by José Mourinho, will play four home matches and four away games during the league phase.
The Spanish side will welcome Inter, PSV, RB Leipzig and LASK. The meeting with Inter appears to be the most difficult of their home fixtures, although playing at the Santiago Bernabéu could give Real Madrid an early advantage as they look to collect valuable points.
On the road, Real Madrid will face Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and AEK Athens. Their trip to England to meet Arsenal is likely to be one of the most closely watched matches on their schedule.
Barcelona’s league-phase campaign includes several opponents capable of making the opening stage particularly challenging.
At home, they will play Manchester City, Aston Villa, Feyenoord and Como. The visit from Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City stands out as the headline fixture among their home matches.
Hansi Flick’s team will travel to face PSG, Sporting CP, Galatasaray and Sabah. Their trip to Paris to meet the reigning European champions is clearly the toughest assignment in that group of away fixtures.
The match will carry additional intrigue because the two teams will meet again after their encounter last season.
Based on the names drawn, Real Madrid appear to have a slightly easier route through the 2026/27 Champions League league phase than Barcelona.
Still, the draw is only the beginning. The true difficulty of each schedule will become clear once the matches begin and every opponent becomes a genuine test capable of influencing the course of the season.
Source: www.marca.com
Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki both scored twice as Manchester City cruised to a 4-1 victory at Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Manchester City face Crystal Palace on Matchday 2 of the Premier League, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 BST at Selhurst Park.
Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias (C), Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Anderson, Guehi, Foden, Cherki, Semenyo, Haaland
Rulli, Kovacic, Ait-Nouri, Reis, Echeverri, Bouaddi, McAidoo, Braithwaite, Lewis
Source: tribuna.com
London (AP) — Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso defended his decision to leave Argentina international Enzo Fernández out of the squad for the League Cup victory over Luton amid reported interest from Manchester City.
Alonso said Chelsea need players who “sientan el deseo de jugar” when discussing the midfielder’s situation on Friday, ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Brighton.
“Necesitamos a los jugadores que estén en la mejor situación para jugar”, señaló Alonso. “Tenemos que tenerlo todo en cuenta: jugadores que están en un buen momento, jugadores que no están sintiendo esa energía para jugar. Para mí es muy importante que sientan ese deseo de jugar y que tengan una buena preparación”.
“Hablamos y decidimos que (para el Luton) era mejor no formar parte de la convocatoria. Es un jugador de primer nivel, no hay duda de eso”.
Chelsea beat third-tier Luton 2-0 without Fernández, relying on a debut goal from new signing Danny Welbeck and a Luton own goal.
Any deal for Fernández, who reached the World Cup final with Argentina last month, would leave Chelsea with little time to sign a replacement before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.
See AP’s complete soccer coverage here.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle should be easier for baseball fans. The daily sports word game, created by The New York Times in partnership with The Athletic, challenges players to find the common threads between words.
Like Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition resets after midnight, with a new set of increasingly difficult words each day. If you want to solve the puzzle yourself, the hints and strategies below can help. If you prefer to see the solution, you’ll find today’s answers at the end of the article.
Connections: Sports Edition is a daily word game available on web browsers and mobile devices. Players must divide 16 words into four groups of four, with each group sharing a common connection.
The categories can include anything from player statistics and team names to schools, countries, and other sports-related references. Although several words may appear to fit together, only one grouping is correct.
Correctly identify all four words in a category and they will be removed from the board. A wrong guess counts as a mistake, and players can make up to four mistakes before the game ends.
Players can rearrange and shuffle the board to make the connections easier to spot. The categories are also color-coded by difficulty: yellow is the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. As with Wordle, players can share their results on social media.
Here are clues for today’s four categories without revealing the answers:
Need more help? Today’s categories are:
Before reading the answers, this is your final chance to solve today’s puzzle.
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, game #704, is:
Don’t worry if you didn’t solve the puzzle today. A new Connections: Sports Edition challenge will be available tomorrow, along with more hints and answers.
Looking for more puzzles? Mashable also offers games including Mahjong, Sudoku, and free crosswords.
Source: mashable.com
Atlético Madrid chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín has revealed that forward Julián Álvarez is experiencing significant mental distress following what he describes as deception by individuals close to the player.
Speaking in an interview with Movistar, the club’s CEO stated that the Argentina international is “really upset” due to the actions of people who have allegedly taken it upon themselves to mislead him.
“Julián is not doing well, he’s really upset because there have been people who have taken it upon themselves to deceive and confuse him,”
The comments from Gil Marín shed light on the off-field challenges facing the 24-year-old striker since his high-profile move from Manchester City. While the CEO did not specify the nature of the alleged deception or identify those involved, his remarks suggest the situation is affecting the player’s well-being.
Álvarez joined Atlético Madrid in August 2024 for a reported initial fee of €75 million, potentially rising to €95 million with add-ons. The transfer ended his two-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, where he won the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League under Pep Guardiola.
Since arriving in the Spanish capital, the World Cup winner has featured regularly for Diego Simeone’s side, contributing goals and assists across La Liga and Champions League competitions. However, Gil Marín’s revelation adds a layer of complexity to the player’s adaptation period at his new club.
The club has not issued a further statement on the matter, and it remains unclear whether Atlético Madrid is providing additional support to the player amid these reported difficulties.
Paris Saint-Germain now know their complete schedule for the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League league phase. The official draw in Monaco has locked in eight fixtures for the reigning Ligue 1 champions, delivering two immediate heavyweight tests against fellow Pot 1 seeds.
The standout matchups pit Luis Enrique’s side against FC Barcelona and Manchester City. Both clubs finished in the top seeding pot, guaranteeing high-profile encounters at the Parc des Princes and on the road. The Catalan giants and the English title-holders represent the stiffest possible opposition in the new single-table format.
While the two Pot 1 clashes are confirmed, the remaining six opponents—drawn from Pots 2, 3, and 4—will complete a balanced home-and-away matrix across the eight-match league phase. Dates, kick-off times, and venue assignments will be published by UEFA in the coming weeks.
Facing Barcelona and City early in the campaign will test squad depth and tactical flexibility. Advancing automatically to the round of 16—or securing a top-eight finish to avoid the knockout play-offs—will likely require maximum points against lower-seeded sides and positive results in these marquee fixtures.
Supporters can expect the official match calendar to drop shortly, setting the stage for another high-stakes European season in the French capital.
The final week of the summer transfer window is shaping up as one of the most dramatic in recent memory, with several Premier League giants racing to close high‑profile deals before the deadline. Read also: Roger Federer Returns to New York for US Open Exhibition.
Liverpool appear to have made a decisive breakthrough in their pursuit of Paris Saint‑Germain winger Bradley Barcola. According to The Times, PSG are prepared to lower their asking price for the France international to £115m after previously demanding £145m, and the clubs have held more positive talks. Read also: WNBA Playoff Race Heats Up: Fire Face Must-Win Against Wings as Bueckers Shines.
“The Times report that PSG are prepared to lower their asking price for the France international to £115m after previously demanding £145m.”
— The Independent
The Reds have also enquired about the availability of Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr as they look to add wide attacking threat, after seeing two bids for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh knocked back.
Meanwhile, the future of Argentine forward Julian Alvarez remains a tangled subplot. Atletico Madrid have insisted there is “zero per cent chance” they sell Alvarez to Barcelona this summer and claim they are “the only victims” in the protracted saga. The 26‑year‑old has made clear he would like to join Barcelona, but Arsenal continue to monitor the situation and may move for a late deal. The Independent understands Atletico would like Alvarez’s future resolved by Friday.
““zero per cent chance””
— Atletico Madrid statement via The Independent
Manchester City have already completed two major moves, sealing a €100m deal for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and selling Savio to Tottenham for £85m. They are also interested in Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and could yet reignite a move for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, potentially making him the biggest transfer of the summer.
Chelsea are also in talks to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and could turn back to Bournemouth’s Alex Scott if they sell Fernandez.
Earlier this month, followers noticed that Maya Jama and Rúben Dias had quietly eliminated images of one another from their social media accounts.
And it quickly led to hypothesis that the pair have cut up with rumours of the reasoning behind it rapidly spiralling.
It’s believed the Love Island presenter and Manchester Metropolis participant met again in November 2024 on the MTV European Music Awards. They then confirmed their relationship in April 2025.
Jama had been dwelling with the Portuguese star in Manchester till just lately it appeared.
And now Dias has spoken out on the hypothesis, confirming the pair’s cut up. The footballer took to Instagram Tales final night time (29 Might) to insist he ‘didn’t cheat’ on the broadcaster.
Jama is but to touch upon the cut up.
“When my 85-year-old grandad is asking me if I’ve cheated on my girlfriend as a result of he is seen it repeatedly on the information, that is the place I draw the road on what’s acceptable and what’s not,” Dias mentioned in his assertion.
“Maya and I’ve all the time had a relationship constructed on mutual respect. No line was ever crossed in that regard.”
The centre-back went on to say {that a} ‘lie instructed typically sufficient can begin to really feel like the reality’, and so, it’s for that motive that Dias says: “I didn’t cheat, nor did I ever have the intention or temptation to.”
He continued: “I imagine Maya deserves all of the respect on the planet.”
Confirming their cut up, Dias added that the ‘causes’ behind their breakup ‘are non-public’ and the pair have ‘each handled it in a really mature method’.
“I’ve all the time chosen to stay silent on these issues as my private life is my enterprise solely,” he mentioned.
“However I additionally imagine it’s fallacious to deceive folks and to painting an reverse picture of somebody only for clickbait.”
Concluding his assertion on Instagram Tales, Dias issued the message “Respect me, respect Maya, and perceive that not all the time one has to betray the opposite to ensure that a relationship to finish.”
Jama is at present in Mallorca, filming for the beginning of the 2026 sequence of Love Island which begins on ITV2 on Monday.
A supply mentioned to be near the pair beforehand instructed The Sun that the pair had come to a ‘crossroads’ however there’s ‘nonetheless a whole lot of love and respect between them’.
“However with each of their careers going into overdrive this summer time, they realised that the connection had run its course and it was higher to separate,” the supply claimed.
“Maya is heading into an intense filming schedule and Ruben’s focus is absolutely on the World Cup, so that they’ve determined to half methods.”
LADbible has contacted representatives for Maya Jama for remark.
