Compiled by Ranjika Perera
* Neymar extends PSG contract till 2025
The Brazilian has put away all the rumors and months of speculation about his future after he committed himself to a new long-term deal with the French giants. The club confirmed on Saturday (8) that Neymar has signed a new contract with the club that will take him through until 2025 at Parc des Princes. The Brazilian moved to PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world-record transfer fee, breaking MSN (Messi, Suarez, and Neymar) after years of domination in Spain. The 29-year-old has played over 100 games for Les Parisiens since he made a Euro 222 million (Rs. 52.7 billion) switch from Spain to France, helping to significantly raise the profile of PSG as they looked to establish themselves among Europe’s historic elite. In his first three seasons, he helped the club achieve two domestic trebles and a further double, winning the Ligue 1 title in each of those campaigns while continuing to bolster their continental standing. After signing the contract, Neymar said, “I am very happy in Paris. It is a real pride to be part of this group, to work with these players, this great Coach, and to be part of the history of this club. These are things that make me believe even more in this great project. Here I have grown as a person, as a human being, and as a player, too. So I’m very happy to extend and I hope to win many more trophies here.”
* UK eager to host All-English Champions League Final
A Conservative Party MP has revealed that talks are “ongoing” over a potential venue change for the European showpiece. Minister Michael Gove says the United Kingdom Government is currently locked in “delicate negotiations” to move the Champions League final from Turkey to England. Manchester City and Chelsea will contest the all-English final on 29 May, which is currently due to take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. Both sets of supporters are set to miss out on attending the game due to the fact Turkey has been added to England’s coronavirus red list for travel, but Gove says steps are now being taken to switch the location. The Minister for the Cabinet Office spoke to Sky News yesterday (9) adding: “My son is a Chelsea fan and he would dearly love to see the game played in the UK. But there are delicate negotiations that are going on at the moment. My friend, my colleague the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, is talking to people about this at the moment and so I don’t want to cut across that, but I’m sure that fans in the UK would dearly love to see the final played here in the UK.”
* Bayern Munich lift Bundesliga for the 9th successive season
After a surprise early exit from the Champions League and a few jitters mid-season, the domestic dominance has been restored by Bayern Munich as they secured the league title with two games to play. It was the perfect farewell for their Manager Hansi Flick who would be taking over the German national side this summer. This was their ninth Bundesliga title and their 32nd title overall. The title was secured before their match against Borussia Monchengladbach when RB Leipzig slipped to defeat at the hand of Borussia Dortmund. That result was enough to ensure that Bayern headed to their game later in the day with the title already wrapped up. Robert Lewandowski was once again the highest goal scorer with 43 goals, 36 of those coming into the league. Thomas Muller registered the most number of assists with 17, and Muller and David Alaba additionally set a new Bundesliga, becoming the first players to get their hands on the trophy 10 times. However, Alaba is set to leave Bayern as a free agent over the summer.