Compiled by Ranjika Perera
* Grealish: “I said I wanted to take one!”
Fingers have been pointed in Grealish’s direction, as an attacking talent with more than enough ability to convert from 12 yards, but he claims to have volunteered. The Aston Villa Captain has posted on social media: “I said I wanted to take one! The gaffer has made so many right decisions through this tournament and he did tonight! But I won’t have people say that I didn’t want to take a peno when I said I will.”
Grealish has never taken a penalty for Villa at senior level, but that is only because alternative options had always been favoured. He is a confident character and would have backed himself to deliver on the grandest of sporting stages.
* Chelsea winger, Pulisic gets death threats
Christian Pulisic has received death threats over a social media video involving a goliath grouper fish, the U.S. and Chelsea star’s father has revealed. Pulisic hit the headlines last week after seeing one of his Instagram stories go viral while on vacation in Florida. The 22-year-old filmed a stunt on a boat above an endangered fish, and has subsequently been criticised by conservationists and animal rights groups.
In the video, Pulisic was seen juggling a ball over a goliath grouper --a giant saltwater fish-- most commonly found in waters off the eastern coast of the Americas. The Chelsea winger, ultimately lost control of the ball and fell onto the fish, which visibly struggled under his weight before he was pulled back into the boat.
Pulusic’s father told Alex Goldberg’s YouTube channel The Byline, “He is off Twitter during the season but he knows what’s going on and the harshness of it after having a bad game. He doesn’t look at it a lot. What hurts him more is the cancel culture. If he wants to post something on the internet and idiots are hiding behind computers. People are just waiting to hate because of their jealousy. That bothers him a lot more. Whether it is regarding guns or regarding going fishing and having a hook in a fish’s mouth... He didn’t even realise it but he is just trying to have a good time. It’s the most ridiculous thing. Christian is such an animal lover. He has horses; he doesn’t want to see animals hurt. Unfortunately, he has got death threats regarding it and it’s got to the point where people are saying they want him in jail.”
* Mings hit back Home Secretary Priti Patel over protest comments
Rashford, Sancho, and Saka were each sent vile messages after their penalty misses in the shootout at Wembley in the Euro 2020 Final on Sunday (11). Many have rallied around the trio in the wake of this, including Home Secretary Priti Patel, who called on the police to find and punish the culprits.
Patel tweeted: “I am disgusted that England players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile racist abuse on social media. It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable.”
However, Patel’s statement didn’t sit well with England defender Tyron Mings, who suggested the Home Secretary herself contributed to his team-mates being racially abused online. She previously said that fans have a right to boo the England players for taking a knee before matches, labelling the move as “gesture politics”.
Mings said, re-tweeting Patel’s post, “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as “Gesture Politics” and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”
* Man United begin official talks with Varane
Manchester United have been given permission to approach Raphael Varane and are negotiating personal terms ahead of a potential move from Real Madrid. If terms can be agreed, United are expected to open talks with Real Madrid over a fee --although Paris Saint-Germain are also in talks with Varane’s camp.
United are believed to be cautious as they do not want a repeat of what happened with Sergio Ramos in 2015, when they were given encouragement, the player would come to Old Trafford --only for him to sign a new contract at the Bernabeu. Varane still has a year left on his Real Madrid contract and United are keen to negotiate a lower transfer fee knowing he is free to sign a pre-contract agreement in January.
* Copa America winner Rodrigo moves to Atletico Madrid
La Liga champions Atletico Madrid have signed Argentina mid-fielder Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese on Monday (12). Atletico said De Paul joined the club on a five-year contract. He had been with Italian club Udinese since 2016.
De Paul started for Argentina in the Copa America final against Brazil on Saturday (10), when the Argentines won 1-0. Speaking after the match, he said, “I’ll be joining the Spanish league champion and I know that it is a big responsibility. It’s a big step in my career.”
De Paul played two season with Spanish club Valencia before joining Udinese. He will be at Atletico under Argentine Coach Diego Simeone. Atletico are fresh from winning the La Liga title, the team’s 11th in club history and second under Simeone.