Europe

July 8th marks a tragic date that Ajax will not soon forget. It was on this day that 20-year-old Abdelhak “Appie” Nouri collapsed during a friendly against Werder Bremen due to cardiac arrhythmia. Tragically, the young footballer suffered severe and permanent brain damage as a result. As of July 25th, Appie is no longer in an induced coma and is able to breathe on his own again.

On the pitch, Appie was named the 2016-17 Eerste Player of the Year as a member of Jong Ajax (the second team), and he was expected to make an impact this year in the Eredivisie with the first team.

Barcelona, a club not used to losing star players, accepted the largest transfer fee of all-time as Paris Saint-Germain funded the release clause for Brazilian striker Neymar on Thursday. The $263,480,000 fee didn’t just shatter the old record, it eviscerated it, more than doubling the $117.6 million Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba.

If Reiss Nelson played for Monaco, he’d probably be worth $60 million. But Nelson, 17, is on the Arsenal books and hasn’t seen much first-team playing time. Until this preseason.

Nelson impressed during preseason friendlies and sent Emirates Stadium into a frenzy on Thursday during an open training session. The winger scored an absolutely filthy goal that included a nasty nutmeg. 

Easy 1-2  pic.twitter.com/72sfwHitf5

I don't know what will become of Portsmouth following its acquisition by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, but I can't help but hope it turns out exactly like this:

Holland defeated England 3-0 in the semifinals of Euro 2017 in front of a packed house of over 30,000 at the Grolsch Fortress in Enschede on Thursday night. Although Holland had the backing of a vociferous home support, England entered the match as favorites after defeating France in the quarters.

As opposed to the 2015 World Cup, when England defied the odds to reach the semis before a heartbreaking defeat to Japan, the Lionesses approached this match with the burden of expectation. With Denmark awaiting the winner, England's path to a first major international trophy was clear.

The Neymar transfer saga is finally over. We have heard from Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ronaldinho and Iniesta. But the one person we hadn’t heard from during this entire circus was the ring leader of the entire thing. 

It isn't just a rumor anymore. Neymar has completed his move from Barcelona to PSG. Earlier today, Barcelona announced Neymar and his father had activated the Brazilian forward's buyout clause and now PSG have announced Neymar has officially joined the team.

PSG announced the move with this extremely cryptic tweet:

pic.twitter.com/wxjM9KZWHg

Austria and Denmark played Thursday for a spot in the Women’s European Championship final. Neither team scored in regulation. Most of the match looked like this.

Veje: "This is not a drop ball, and if you go for it, I will find you and you will regret this." #WEURO2017 #AUTDEN pic.twitter.com/k8ghR8WJg7

In a statement Thursday, Barcelona announced the fee to trigger Neymar's release clause had been paid by Neymar and his father, making the Brazilian attacker a free agent.

Barcelona's statement in full:

There is a myth that jersey sales can help recuperate the transfer fee for a new player, that a player’s popularity can overcome a high asking price for a player. The fact is, Neymar’s $263 million release clause to leave Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain will hardly be dented by the French club selling a few more jerseys.

Let’s take a look at some numbers.