Bruno Fernandes - shock move to Saudi Arabia?
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes could be the next star heading to the Saudi Pro League, according to Rudi Galletti.
The journalist reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which controls majority stakes in four of the country's biggest clubs, is exploring the possibility of a deal for United's skipper at the end of the season.
PIF representatives believe a move could happen in 2024 and are hoping to begin talks with the Portugal international's representatives over the possibility of future negotiations.
Fernandes has scored 66 goals and added 57 assists in 199 appearances since joining United in 2020 from Sporting CP. This season alone, despite United's indifferent form, he's scored three times in 11 matches.
The 29-year-old midfielder has been handed the captain's armband under Erik ten Hag, but the team is struggling in its second season under the Dutch coach's tutelage.
Fernandes leads a long list of targets set by the Saudi investors and if he leaves England he could join a number of stars who have already made the move to the Saudi Pro League, including former club teammate, and compatriot, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Source: ESPN
Jude Bellingham, in danger after an injury in Real's last match against Rayo
Another weekend of European football provided plenty of drama, excitement and goals. If you checked the box scores, you'd think there were few surprises as the weekend's action got underway, but those full-time figures tell only half the story.
Sunday saw Real Madrid suffer a post-Clasico hangover of their own in a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Rayo Vallecano, a game that also saw superstar midfielder Jude Bellingham suffer a shoulder injury. In the big Women's Super League (WSL) match of the day, Arsenal ended Manchester City's unbeaten run with an impressive late 2-1 victory, while the U.S. stars in Europe endured mixed days.
Source: ESPN
Explaining the chaos at Marseille vs Lyon, and what's next
It has been less than a week since the shocking scenes on Sunday in southern France, where the Lyon team bus was attacked on its way to the stadium for a game against rivals Marseille.
As well as the trauma for Lyon manager Fabio Grosso, who needed 12 stitches around his left eye and on his face, for his assistant Raffaele Longo, also injured, and for the players who feared for their lives, this incident has raised a lot of questions without many answers.
Less than two hours before kickoff, as the official Lyon team bus made the 10-minute journey from the hotel to the stadium, it was ambushed by Marseille fans who threw stones, pétanque boules, glass bottles, cans, flares and other projectiles at it. The side windows of the vehicle shattered, which led the attackers to throw more things and aim directly at the players and staff.
Grosso was initially injured by flying shards of glass, but was then struck in the face by a can or bottle. Some of the players hid in the bus aisle or on the steps behind the back door. The attack lasted less than two minutes, but felt like an eternity for the people who were stuck. Once safely inside the stadium, the players and staff gathered in the dressing room, in complete shock, while Grosso received medical attention from emergency services on scene as well as the club doctor.
As things stand, nobody has been held responsible. Not Marseille as a football club, not the French league, not the private company providing security at the ground, and not the French FA. No one.
Because this incident happened outside of the stadium, l'OM is not deemed responsible, meaning this is now a police issue. In fact, the police are the only group that could potentially be blamed for not sufficiently securing Lyon's route to the stadium or the perimeter around it.
In terms of fulfilling the league fixture, as of Friday morning we have a date, but not a place, for the game to be played. The league has decided that the "Olympico" between l'OM and l'OL will go ahead on Dec. 6, but Lyon don't want go back to Marseille. So in an unprecedented move, the league will wait a bit longer and find out more about the investigation before deciding where to play this game.
Source: ESPN
Toto Wolff labels Mercedes' form in Sao Paulo GP inexcusable and horrible as Hamilton, Russel struggle
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff: "That car finished second last week and the week before, and whatever we did to it was horrible... this car doesn't deserve a win"; Mercedes' pace "totally baffling" after finishing eighth and 63 seconds behind Max Verstappen's Red Bull in Sunday's 71-lap race
Toto Wolff said Mercedes had delivered an "inexcusable performance" with their car in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and that he felt sorry for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for having to drive such a "miserable thing".
On a torrid weekend for the former champions on the circuit they claimed their last F1 win on 12 months ago, Mercedes endured a race-long struggle for pace and tyre wear in Sunday's grand prix as their wildly inconsistent 2023 car toiled around Interlagos for the second day running.
Hamilton slipped from third on the grid at a post-red flag standing start restart to eighth - 63 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen in a 71-lap race - with Russell also unable to avoid falling backwards towards the minor points places before eventually retiring due to high power-unit oil temperatures.
Source: Sky Sports