BARCELONA — From posing for selfies to enjoying seafront meals and taking his children to bouncy castles, Lionel Messi's down-to-earth existence won him the admiration of many locals in his longtime hometown Barcelona.
Messi bade a tearful farewell to FC Barcelona on Sunday, preparing to find a new life away from the Castelldefels suburb where he lived a peaceful, homely existence.
BARCELONA — Lionel Messi wept on Sunday as he bade farewell to his boyhood team FC Barcelona and confirmed he was talking with French club Paris St. Germain over a possible move.
The 34-year-old Argentine's emotional news conference followed Barca's announcement last week that it could no longer afford him after a glittering two decades.
Last week I was happily reporting to you that Lionel Messi had touched down back in Barcelona to put pen to paper on a new five-year contract at the Camp Nou. It was so widely accepted that nobody batted an eye at the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s strange status as a free agent following the expiration of his previous deal at the stroke of midnight on July 1.
Lionel Messi won't be a Barcelona player anymore. News has just broken on Thursday that the Argentina star won't continue with the club any longer. Where will Messi go now is the million-dollar question.
LATEST NEWS | Leo #Messi will not continue with FC Barcelona
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 5, 2021
The long-awaited announcement is imminent: Jack Grealish will complete a transfer to Manchester City. Grealish’s reported $140 million price tag makes him one of the most expensive English players ever.
The biggest deal in English football is effectively done. Jack Grealish is on his way to Manchester, ahead of a medical tomorrow morning. Everything else is completed, he will now become the first £100m English player.
Speculation and excitement grow surrounding Champions League victors Chelsea in the quest to sign a new star striker. Even though the club spent around a whopping $150 million last year to bring in forwards Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, they are still shopping for a special striker before the 2021/22 season. While Havertz was battling Covid issues and Werner couldn’t win over the fans last season, the Blues will look to add a lethal striker to the club.
ROME - Olivier Giroud is confident he can strike up a fearsome partnership with AC Milan talisman Zlatan Ibrahimović after leaving Chelsea to join the Serie A side in what he described as a dream move.
The 34-year-old is expected to compete with Ibrahimović for one striker spot in Stefano Pioli’s side, but he is open to the idea of forming a vastly experienced front two with the 39-year-old Swede.
Liverpool supporters have spent the summer watching the club's rivals get linked to big-name signings.
Manchester United has signed Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, while its neighbor Manchester City is linked with $100m-plus moves for Harry Kane and Jack Grealish. Down in London, Chelsea is being tentatively linked with Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland while Arsenal is in the hunt for Inter striker Lautaro Martinez.
More than a few eyebrows would have been raised at the news of Lassina Traoré's move to Shakhtar Donetsk this summer. Just two years after he joined Ajax from the youth side of the Dutch giant's affiliate in Cape Town, Traoré made the $12 million move to Ukraine as one of the first signings of new manager Roberto De Zerbi, who left Sassuolo to take up the post.
After a potential title chase ended up in a fifth-place finish and a change of manager, Olympique de Marseille has been remarkably active in the transfer window this summer.
Jorge Sampaoli has been backed to the tune of $52 million as Marseille has secured 10 signings thus far. This summer has been one of transition for the side from France's second city, as Valère Germain, Yuto Nagatomo and Florian Thauvin have left the club in addition to academy graduate Maxime Lopez, Kevin Strootman and Hiroki Sakai.