Compiled by Ranjika Perera
* Messi set for another five years at Barca
According to Goal, Lionel Messi will sign a new five-year contract at Barcelona and take a 50% wage cut. Messi has spent his entire career at Barcelona, having made his debut for the club as a teenager in 2004. He ran out of contract and became a free agent at start of July. The Argentine seems unlikely to take on a new challenge away from the Catalan club anytime soon.
Messi earned a staggering € 550 million (Rs. 129 billion) over the course of his last five-year contract at Camp Nou, which equates to around € 75m (Rs. 17 b) per season. However, Barca were unable to hand the 34-year-old renewal terms after exceeding La Liga’s wage limit. Spanish League President Javier Tebas warned that Barcelona could not legally register Messi without reducing their salary costs.
However, with the likes of Junior Firpo, Jean-Clair Todibo, Carles Alena, and Juan Miranda --all subsequently sold to raise extra funds--, they have not really cut down on the salary due to their expensive players. Messi has also agreed to cut his yearly earnings in order to re-sign for Barca, and Barca will formally announce his new contract in the coming weeks.
* Giroud likely to move to Italy
AC Milan Technical Director Paulo Maldini has confirmed Olivier Giroud will complete a move to the club on Thursday (15). The Serie A side had reached an agreement with the French forward for a € 2 million (Rs. 469.9 m) deal. The 34-year-old will travel to Milan to undergo a medical and will be confirmed as the San Siro side’s latest signing.
Maldini told DAZN, “Yes, (Giroud) should arrive tomorrow (today). Olivier is a champion and a fresh winner of the Champions League. He is a very reliable player who we were looking for, since we need experienced players like him. We are the youngest team in Serie A.”
* Portsmouth to investigate on racial abuse
Portsmouth are investigating claims that a number of their academy players aimed racist abuse towards members of the England squad, including Marcus Rashford, following their Euro 2020 final loss to Italy. England lost their first European Championship final on penalties against Italy on Sunday (11) with Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka all missing from 12 yards.
The Three Lions trio were targeted by social media trolls after the game and Portsmouth have now been caught up as images surfaced on social platforms showing screen grabs from a Portsmouth U18 group chat, during which racist language is used. Offensive pictures are also visible in the posts, which originated from the popular multimedia messaging app Snapchat.
Portsmouth have responded in a statement saying, “Portsmouth Football Club are aware of images circulating on social media that allegedly originate from an academy U18 group chat and which are discriminatory in nature. The club have launched an immediate investigation and will provide an update once this has been completed. Portsmouth Football Club strongly condemn racism and are totally committed to the elimination of all forms of discrimination. There is no place for it in our game or society as a whole.”
* Chelsea, in pursuit of Haaland, offer Abraham
Chelsea want to offer Tammy Abraham to Borussia Dortmund as part of their bid to bring Erling Haaland to London. The 20-year-old - Borrussia Dortmund striker is rated at £ 150 million (Rs. 41 billion) and Chelsea’s top summer transfer target, ahead of Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane. But Dortmund are determined to keep Haaland after allowing Jadon Sancho leave to Old Trafford.
Aston Villa and West Ham are among the clubs keen to sign Abraham either on loan or permanently ahead of the coming campaign. The striker was one of the top scorers last season. All of the clubs interested have been told that Chelsea want to include 23-year-old Abraham on a swap deal so as to bring Haaland.