حقق برشلونة مساء أمس، فوزًا مهمًا على حساب ديبورتيفو ألافيس بثلاثية لهدف واحد على ملعب الكامب نو، في الدوري الإسباني لكرة القدم.

وعاد مارك بيرنال لاعب خط وسط برشلونة للتشكيل الأساسي بعد أكثر من عام من الإصابة الخطيرة التي تعرض لها في الركبة.

ولم يفقد برشلونة ثقته في أحد لاعبي أكاديمية لاماسيا، الذي كان ينظر له كأحد نجوم الفريق الأول في المستقبل منذ أيامه الأولى، وقام النادي بتجديد عقده حتى 2029 بموافقة هانز فليك.

اقرأ أيضًا.. هونيس: لاعب ليفربول “مسكين” بسبب محمد صلاح.. وهذا موقف كين من الرحيل إلى برشلونة

ووفقًا لصحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية، فإن خوان لابورتا رئيس برشلونة يعد من أكبر داعمي مارك بيرنال ويرى في لاعب خط الوسط الموهوب الشاب قائدًا مستقبليًا للنادي.

وكان لابورتا قد وجه رسالة لمارك بيرنال، بعد تجديد عقده قائلًا: “إذا سارت الأمور كما نتمناها جميعاً فإن مارك بيرنال سيكون قائدًا لبرشلونة يوماً ما”.

ولم يكن العام الماضي سهلاً على مارك بيرنال، بسبب خطورة إصابته وفترة تعافيه الطويلة، ومع ذلك كان يحظى بدعم الجهاز الفني ومجلس الإدارة.

Fast bowler says he is unable to commit to all formats “mentally and physically” at this stage of career

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2025

Jamie Overton, the England and Surrey fast bowler who was a permanent member of the Test squad during this summer’s series against India, has announced an “indefinite break from red-ball cricket”. The decision effectively rules him out of this winter’s Ashes campaign, a development that has left his white-ball captain and Test team-mate, Harry Brook, “shocked”.Overton, 31, played the second and last of his two Tests at The Oval in July, claiming two second-innings wickets in England’s thrilling six-run loss. His previous match had come at Headingley in 2022, when he made a match-turning 97 in partnership with Jonny Bairstow, in the first summer of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s stewardship of the England team.Despite his infrequent appearances, Overton was a near-certainty to feature in England’s Ashes squad, given his sturdy build, strong action and ability to bowl at 90mph – all attributes that the selectors have been identifying in their bid to win in Australia for the first time since 2010-11.However, in an interview with the Telegraph, he spelt out his reasons for the shock decision, saying that at this stage of his career, it was “no longer possible to commit fully to all formats at every level, both physically and mentally”. He will be in Australia this winter, but as part of Adelaide Strikers’ squad in the Big Bash, a team with whom he has spent the past two seasons, and for whom he was named MVP earlier this year for his haul of 11 wickets and 191 runs at 95.50.Related

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“After a great deal of thought, I have decided to take an indefinite break from red-ball cricket,” Overton said. “I feel very fortunate to have played 99 first-class matches, including two Test matches for England. Red-ball, first-class cricket has provided the foundation for my professional career and has been the gateway to every opportunity I’ve had in the game so far. It’s where I learnt the game, and it fuelled the goals and ambitions that have driven me for so long.”However, at this stage of my career, with the demands of cricket across a 12-month calendar, it’s no longer possible to commit fully to all formats at every level, both physically and mentally. Going forward, my focus will be on white-ball cricket, and I will continue to give everything to play at the highest level for as long as I can.”Overton is currently at Headingley, as part of England’s white-ball squad, with their first ODI against South Africa coming up on Tuesday. Speaking on the eve of the match, Brook admitted he was taken aback by the announcement, and its timing.”A little bit shocked to be honest,” Brook said. “I thought he did well in that last Test, he bowled quick. Obviously you’ve got to respect that decision that he’s going to have a little bit of a break from red-ball cricket. Hopefully at some point we’ll see him again in the future.Overton arrives at training ahead of the Headingley ODI•Getty Images

“I’d heard rumours but I hadn’t heard it from him until today. You’ve just got to respect the decision, he obviously doesn’t feel like he wants to play red-ball cricket at the minute and we can’t do anything about it. He’s made the decision now but it’s unfortunate. I thought he did really well in that last Test match and it would have been nice to have him there in the Ashes.”From his perspective as white-ball captain, however, Brook acknowledged that the singular focus could be of benefit to his team. “Absolutely,” he said. “When he is fully fit and firing he bowls thunderbolts and he can whack it out of the park. Hopefully he can upskill even more from what he’s got now and be the best white-ball player he can be.”Overton had only played once in the County Championship for Surrey this season before being recalled to the Test squad. Overall, he has made four first-class appearances for his county since the start of 2024, with injuries limiting his availability.Rob Key, England Men’s director of cricket, said: “Jamie’s news came unexpected and it is sad to see, as he would have been part of our red-ball plans for the foreseeable future. That said, it serves as a reminder of the cricketing landscape we now operate in. We respect his decision and are grateful to him for informing us when he did.”

Gary Stead, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Ajaz Patel and Will Young explain how they beat India in India

Alagappan Muthu05-Nov-20247:20

Bond: ‘Sweeping India 3-0 is NZ’s best result ever’

There was a New Zealand team that came to India and spent a week watching grass dry, but never quite quickly enough, in Greater Noida.There was a New Zealand team that went to Sri Lanka next and lost 2-0, including one where they conceded 600 runs in the first innings and responded with 88 all out.There was a New Zealand team that then came to India, with a new captain, and beat them 3-0.Related

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It feels like the next line should say “pick out the statement which is false” and nine out of ten people would be leaning towards that last one. One of them was inside the dressing room.”Look, incredible result, really,” the head coach Gary Stead said. “I think there’d be not many pundits around the world [who] would say that you would go to India and win 3-0 and probably deep down I’m not sure if we even believed that it was possible ourselves to do this considering it’s never been done in history before.”

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Will Young should look into ASMR. He has the voice for it. Sometimes listening to it, the softness, the lilt, makes you forget to concentrate on important things, like when he talks about how he’s managed to score the most crucial runs in the most crucial times that’s helped New Zealand win three Tests in a series for the first time in their history.”We were in India, and we were meant to play Afghanistan in Noida. Although the outfield was really wet, we could still train on that block and then we went to Sri Lanka and played two Test matches in Galle. There were really good nets there and I could train most days whether it was with Michael Bracewell who was on the drinks with me or Rangana Herath who was bowling to me a lot.”1:18

Manjrekar: ‘Biggest growth in a NZ batter will be in Will Young’

Young made 48 not out in the second innings in Bengaluru when Jasprit Bumrah was bowling with purpose and sometimes that purpose seems to almost border on asking people why they thought it was a good idea to be 22 yards away from him with only a slender stick of wood for protection. Devon Conway ended up stuck at his end and was taking body blows.Young didn’t have it easy either, and enjoyed not having to face Bumrah all that much in that opening spell, but when he did he seemed to have the time to get in behind the ball and when he wasn’t able to, with all the seam movement still around, he was extremely careful not to follow it.In Mumbai, he couldn’t hide, and these were conditions he was less used to, with the ball ragging off the straight at nearly 100kph.”I felt really prepared to be honest,” Young said, “And coming to India to play cricket is always really exciting so I felt well prepared and just excited to give it a go. At times trust my defence and at times know when and where to look to score and thankfully it worked.” To the extent he was hitting Ravindra Jadeja for straight sixes. “It was just a bit of a cat and mouse really. He had long-off for most of his spell and he brought mid-off up. I thought if I get the right length I might be able to give it a go.”Young faced 460 balls in this series, which was a 100 more than any of the Indian batters, and that takes on whole new meaning considering who he had to face and where he had to face them.”[India] probably have a right to [play on a turning pitch] as well when you consider Jadeja and Ashwin with 800-odd Test wickets, 900-odd Test wickets, compared to our guys who possibly had 100 between them,” Stead said. “So I mean, they play in these conditions, they’re an experienced group. And I mean, for me, it’s more possibly around our batting and how we combated that was possibly the difference in the series as well.”We certainly talked a lot about [batting against spin] as a group over the last six Tests here and working out the method for each individual player around how they can best do that. So as I said earlier, though, it’s a challenge. It’s not easy to go away from your natural game. And I think when our players have been brought up on wickets that generally seam and bounce consistently and don’t spin a lot, then it certainly is a real… I take my hats off to the players for the way they’ve gone about it and the way they’ve stuck to their guns.”

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1:24

Manjrekar: Have to take your hats off to Ajaz

Tom Latham wanted to fire the first shot. But really, in India, it’s more about being there at the last.R Ashwin spoke about this during a highly absorbing series against England earlier this year at the end of a day where the opposition was 207 for 2 in 35 overs.Ajaz Patel spoke about it during a highly absorbing battle with Rishabh Pant. These were his views at the end of the first innings in Mumbai, though they are a decent snapshot into what they wanted to do when they found themselves under the pump.”Rishabh batted exceptionally,” Ajaz said. “He’s been phenomenal throughout this tour and he’s kind of the player that likes to put pressure back on us regardless of the situation and so like I said earlier it’s about keeping things simple, it’s about controlling what you can control, if you put the ball in good areas and they play a good shot that’s out of your control.”India’s dominance at home is built on a similar bowling strategy. In Rajkot, they dragged England from that 207 for 2 in 35 overs to 319 all out simply because they kept bowling that good-length ball that could bring the surface and all its vagaries into play.Mumbai’s, for example, offered less turn in the mornings but “after lunch we started to see a little bit more turn and a bit more assistance so that’s when that trust kind of paid off and then it was about keeping that consistency and keeping that going and making it as challenging as possible for batters and putting the ball in good areas for long periods,” Ajaz said.New Zealand clearly did not have the experience on paper but they were making moves like they did. They understood that good periods of play in India don’t mean anything. Success here is contingent on mitigating the bad ones. Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen did in 2012 and history was made. Ajaz and Mitchell Santner did in 2024 and history was unmade. Seventy years of Black Caps struggle ended with this 3-0.”We certainly knew in these conditions, naturally the way that India play, they are quite aggressive and tend to take the game on a little bit more and that’s something we spoke about and something we tried to plan for,” Latham said on Sunday. “As I said, until that last wicket fell I certainly didn’t think it was over. We know India bat right the way down, even having Washington Sundar batting at the end.”We knew that things could easily swing the other way, so we always talk about trying to stay in it. Things happened quickly here, and in these conditions and in the nature of the game, wickets tended to fall in clumps. We knew if we got one we could get a couple in a hurry, and we’re pretty happy we got the job done.”

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1:23

Manjrekar: ‘My respect for Glenn Phillips has grown’

“Aaah, nope,” Glenn Phillips said when asked about New Zealand’s celebrations on Sunday. “That’s just for the team and I’m going to leave it at that.” It was the only question that he didn’t engage with in ten-minute chat about the part that he played over the past three weeks, which took enough out of him that he tapped out of the bacchanalia fairly early. “I shut down. It was a long tour and I was a bit cooked but yeah, we had fun.”In the dying stages of the third Test, Phillips delivered an offspinner’s dream to bowl Akash Deep. Now there was only one wicket standing between New Zealand and victory, and Phillips had the chance to take it and complete a Test-match hat-trick.Where does that moment – and this whole tour – rank in the life of a man who seems to like picking things up – surfboards, bows and arrows, little red cricket balls and maybe eventually a pilot’s licence – and becoming scary good at them?”Pretty high,” he said. “I wanted to bowl the same ball. Hit a good length, let the pitch do the work, but it was a bit full.” Phillips’ mind went back six months ago when he picked up a five-for against Australia and had two-in-two there as well. “I let [Alex] Carey off last time, in Wellington, bowled it wide. But at least I gave myself a chance [here].”Phillips was typecast as a wicketkeeper when he was younger. “I hated it,” he said, “but at 12-15 years old, there weren’t too many kids who could catch. And in New Zealand if you’re a wicketkeeper, that means you’re not suited to be a bowler, you didn’t have the strength. So I had to do a lot of work and it was only at the professional level that people really started noticing what I could do.”Bowling is my favourite thing.” He’s not kidding. Phillips starts a lot of his training sessions with the ball in hand. He shifts to the bat only later. Of course that might simply be coincidence, because he’s down at No. 7 for New Zealand. “And I saw there were spaces in the team for someone that does that kind of role. So I kept at it. Some of it is natural, based on what I think my body can handle. I’ve seen that sometimes my bowling falls away when there’s too much coaching input so I check in with them and then put my own spin on things.”Phillips bowled 69 overs across the three Tests in India. Eight short of Ajaz. He picked up eight wickets. One fewer than Ashwin.

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5:09

Latham: Immensely proud moment for this group

New Zealand admit they had a huge helping of luck securing this 3-0. “I think losing the toss in the first test match definitely helped us,” Stead said referring to the Bengaluru Test where they wanted to bat first too. “We got a jump in the game there and then I think that grew confidence in the group and we played very, very good cricket after that.”Every box that needs to be ticked for a win away from home was. Their top-order batters were stubborn – Daryl Mitchell kept batting even though bits of him were melting away in the Mumbai sun. Their spinners asked questions of India even when they were defending – 29 for 5 happened even as India thought they were playing safe shots.And most importantly, “we wanted to make sure we showed the right attitude, whether we were on top or we were behind,” Phillips said. “No one wants to drop their levels but sometimes when you’re down that’s where it shows and we, like if someone came to the ground and they couldn’t see the score, we wanted them to see us buzzing around, we wanted to keep giving to the team.”A little while after both teams had shaken hands Conway and Rachin Ravindra stepped out from the revelry to try and nick the last two stumps that were left standing. But just as they were about to make another raid on Indian soil they were stopped by some technicians. These stumps were rigged with the mics so they couldn’t have them. It was maybe the only time on this tour that New Zealand didn’t get what they wanted.

The two matches which begin in late January are shaping as a potential decider in the race for the World Test Championship final

Alex Malcolm29-Oct-2024With Todd Murphy and Corey Rocchiccioli about to audition with Australia A for a berth on the Sri Lanka Test tour in January, former Test spinner Steve O’Keefe is urging Cricket Australia to pull spin candidates out of the BBL as early as possible to prepare for the series while the window for the Test players’ involvement in the league could narrow even further if the series dates are earlier than expected.While the immediate focus is on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the associated tussle for a top-order batting slot, Australia’s selectors already have Sri Lanka in mind. The two-Test series could be vital to their World Test Championship final hopes, particularly after India’s defeat at home to New Zealand.Murphy and Rocchiccioli are getting an early chance to book a spot with the two Australia A matches against India A in Mackay and Melbourne. The pair will play one game each and when each offspinner doesn’t feature they will each spend time with Australia’s ODI squad to work one-on-one with bowling coach and former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori.Related

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Australia had thought the first Sri Lanka Test might begin on January 29 but there is a possibility it could start as early as January 26 with the dates still being finalised between the two boards. It is understood the hierarchy wants a 10-day preparation period for overseas Test tours and could fly to the UAE or Oman for a pre-series camp. If the first Test were to start on January 26, it would mean the Australia tourists could be pulled out of the BBL by January 15.Murphy plays for Sydney Sixers and another contender, Matt Kuhnemann, is a key part of Brisbane Heat’s attack. Rocchiccioli does not currently have a BBL deal but was with Melbourne Stars last season and could yet be picked up.Regardless of exact tour dates and who is selected, O’Keefe believes early red-ball preparation is vital. He cited his own experience in India in February 2017 as an example of how important it was to have a long red-ball lead-in. O’Keefe opted not to play in the BBL at all after playing the Sydney Test. His decision to spend six straight weeks bowling with a red ball before the first Test in India paid huge dividends as he bagged 12 for 70 in Pune.”I pulled out of the last six games of the Big Bash that season because I just said, no, this is not the way that I’m going to be bowling over there,” O’Keefe told ESPNcricinfo. “And I copped a bit of criticism. I remember a couple of coaches coming out saying, well, you’re going to get slogged in India you may as well practice in the Big Bash.”I deliberately took that time off, went and played grade cricket, played a Second XI game just to get used to bowling with the red ball. I think if we’re really going to be serious about the young spinners going over there, whoever is going to accompany Nathan [Lyon], is the Big Bash the best preparation?”I’d be encouraging the selectors to let these spinners be going earlier and then I’d be encouraging those spinners to practice with a red ball in between Big Bash games.”It’s two completely different ways of bowling. In essence, sometimes in Big Bash cricket you’re bowling your six worst deliveries to a batter, and then you’re going to be seven to ten days later asked to be landing it on a tea towel for 40 overs straight.”It’s a change for batters as well. The way that you mitigate that is muscle memory, and you need to practice it.”The BBL planned for a clear window for Australia’s Test players to feature between the end of the five-Test India series, which finishes on January 7, and the start of the Sri Lanka series. However, there were already concerns within CA’s high-performance unit about the Test players involvement given their workloads coming out of what is expected to be a gruelling series. There is also concern about the physical and technical preparation for Sri Lanka, with both Tests likely to be played on sharp-turning pitches in Galle.Matthew Kuhnemann is one of the few left-arm options for Australia•Getty ImagesAustralia have recent experience of how difficult it can be for a spinner to prepare for a subcontinent tour while playing in the BBL. In 2023, Ashton Agar played the New Year’s Test against South Africa before returning to play five games for Perth Scorchers. He then had just 19 days, including a camp in Sydney and another in Bengaluru, to prepare for a Test series in India and was unable to find the consistency required to be selected before being flown home. Australia brought Kuhnemann over at short notice, but he had at least bowled 44 overs in a Sheffield Shield game after the BBL before making his Test debut.”It’s tough, because you’re coming out of Big Bash which is bowling cross-seam, cut shots and yorkers, and leg stump [line] into I need to land the ball on a similar spot consistently and allow the wicket to do the work for me,” O’Keefe said.”In Australia, we’re looking for overspin, because it’s a different game. Over there you need to be able to bowl that square spinner, which if doesn’t spin it hits a shiny side, slides on and you get an lbw. But that same ball can hit the same spot and then spin past the outside edge of a right-hand batter [for a left-arm orthodox]. Is that easy to do? I think it takes a bit of practice. But knowing what Matt bowls, and watching him bowl, I think he’s already got it in his armoury. I think Todd Murphy’s got it in his armoury.”I’ve watched Corey bowl. I think he’s got it as well. But you need to go and bowl a lot of it over there. So the preparation that these guys will have hopefully is a month, but I reckon you need a couple of weeks of going over and consistently bowling it. In Australia, you might bowl it once every two overs, over there you’ve got be bowling it 10 times out of 12 balls.”The selectors are investing in Cooper Connolly for his bowling as well as his batting•Getty ImagesThe selectors haven’t picked a specialist left-arm orthodox against India A although Cooper Connolly will play as an allrounder. The value of a left-armer in those conditions has been highlighted by the success of Mitchell Santner against India last week and Prabath Jayasuriya both against New Zealand in September, and Australia in 2022 when he took 12 wickets on Test debut to square the series 1-1.Australia did not take a left-arm orthodox spinner to Sri Lanka in 2022 with legspinner Mitchell Swepson partnering Lyon alongside two quicks, with the support of Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.Chair of selectors George Bailey spoke on Monday of his panel’s desire to find players who bowl left-arm fingerspin for future subcontinent tours.”Happy to very much publicly throw it out there that it’s an incredible skill set in the subcontinent,” he said. “We’ve seen that for many years. Realistically, there’s not a huge amount of players in domestic cricket at the moment that are doing it. It’s something that we’re looking to continue to expose. It’s certainly one of the reasons why we’re excited about Cooper Connolly and his journey.”It’s still very much a work in progress with his left-arm spin. But [beyond] Matt Kuhnemann, Ash Agar, there’s just not a great many players who can do it. We know we’re going to have plenty of subcontinent tours, plenty of Tests where that skill set would be highly desirable. So [we] encourage anyone who’s got that up their sleeve to work hard at it.”

Worcestershire 298 for 5 (Jones 110*, Libby 77) beat Glamorgan 297 for 7 (Tribe 122*, Hurle 56) by five wicketsA career-best List A score of 110 not out from Rob Jones guided Worcestershire Rapids to an important five-wicket win over Glamorgan which keeps them on track for a quarter-final place in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.Asa Tribe had earlier batted through Glamorgan’s innings for 122 in his side’s impressive total of 297 and the visitors looked to be in control early in the reply as they reduced the hosts to 78 for 3.A staggering fourth-wicket partnership of 172 between Jake Libby (77) and Jones anchored the run chase for Worcestershire, as they swung the momentum back in their favour. Jones hit the winning runs in the 49th over.Glamorgan’s bright start in the sunshine was only blemished by the loss of Eddie Byrom for 41.Youngster Henry Hurle caught the eye with some expansive shots, scoring 14 off one Ethan Brookes over as the side bottom of Group A passed 100 in the 20th over.Hurle and Tribe took a liking to a lacklustre Rapids bowling seam attack, as the pair brought up their respective half-centuries in consecutive overs, with Tribe showing his particular disdain towards any short pitched bowling, thrashing the ball through midwicket with frequency.The second-wicket stand of 104 was ended by Brett D’Oliveira, who bowled Hurle for an impressive 56, as Worcestershire seized the initiative, taking three more wickets for just 26 runs.Kieran Carlson was the first in a cluster of three wickets to fall, as he succumbed to Ben Allison, before D’Oliveira (2 for 46) picked up his second wicket of an instrumental spell.Waite’s metronomical afternoon with the ball saw him rewarded when Billy Root feathered a full ball behind to Henry Cullen, as the medium-pacer ended his spell shortly after with outstanding figures of 10-2-23-1.Dan Douthwaite joined the not-out opener, and upped the ante from the get-go, taking Glamorgan beyond the 250 mark, before Tribe notched his maiden List A century with the final ball of the 46th over.Douthwaite’s cameo of 37 from 26 balls was cut short at the death, but Tribe was unbeaten on 122 to see his side finish on an above par 297 for 7.Despite losing D’Oliveira in the first over, the hosts made an otherwise positive start to the chase, largely due to a composed knock for 19-year-old Dan Lategan, that took Worcestershire past fifty without further damage.The 17th over of the proved costly however, as the home side lost both set batters – with Carlson taking a stunning one-handed catch at extra cover to remove Kashif for 22, before a catastrophic mix-up involving Jake Libby saw Lategan run-out four short of a maiden List A fifty.The onus fell on Libby and new man Jones to guide the home side out of their troubling position at 78 for 3, with Glamorgan looking to take advantage of their early wickets.Both batters shouldered the responsibility in fine style, with Jones returning to form and Libby making his way to a fourth fifty of the competition.Their 172-run partnership was ended when Andy Gorvin took a fine catch running back over his head to dismiss Libby for 77, with the departing skipper’s side still requiring 48 from the final six overs.Jones brought up a sensational 101-ball hundred with the chase nearing its climax, but even the departure of Ethan Brookes in the dying stages did not deter the home side, as Cullen batted through with Jones to see the Rapids to a crucial five-wicket victory.

Lionel Messi's Instagram picture of his surprise return to Barcelona has already garnered more likes on Instagram than Cristiano Ronaldo's Nations League celebration post. Messi tearfully bid farewell to Camp Nou in 2021 as Barca's crippling financial crisis left them unable to renew his contract, forcing their greatest ever player to walk away from the club he had called home since boyhood.

Messi returns to Barcelona in dead of night

After leaving Barcelona four years ago, Messi has since donned the colours of Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami. However, the heart of the Argentine maestro never truly left the Blaugrana. Messi quietly returned on the hallowed turf of a revamped Camp Nou this week. While Argentina’s national team prepares for a friendly clash with Angola on November 14, Messi and Rodrigo De Paul made an unannounced detour, straight to Barcelona. He was granted private access to the newly renovated Camp Nou, now nearing completion after its extensive facelift. The last time Messi played there was May 16, 2021, in a La Liga match against Celta Vigo. 

AdvertisementMessi overtakes Ronaldo on Instagram

Messi posted a carousel of pictures on Instagram of his Barcelona return with a caption that read: "Last night I returned to a place I miss with my soul. A place where I was immensely happy, where you guys made me feel a thousand times the happiest person in the world. I hope one day I can come back, and not just to say goodbye as a player, as I never got to…💙❤️." 

The post has now racked up an astonishing 24.2 million likes at the time of writing, surpassing Ronaldo’s Nations League triumph post, which stands at 23.5 million. From Copa America to the World Cup, Messi has repeatedly shattered records. His 2022 World Cup victory post still reigns as the most-liked Instagram post ever, boasting over 74 million likes.  

However, Ronaldo holds the record for the most-liked comment on Instagram history. His cheeky reply to Kylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid announcement, reading “My turn to watch. Excited to see you light up the Bernabéu. #HalaMadrid”, has gathered over 5 million likes. 

Messi’s heartfelt words on returning home

Messi spoke to Spanish outlet revealing the depth of emotion he still feels for the Catalan capital.

"I really want to go back there, we miss Barcelona a lot," he said. "My wife and I, the kids, are constantly talking about Barcelona and the idea of moving back. We have our house there, everything, so that's what we want. I'm really looking forward to going back to the stadium when it's finished because since I left for Paris, I haven't been back to Camp Nou, and then they moved to Montjuic."

Messi still feels a lingering pain about his unceremonious Barcelona exit and got emotional again while turning back the pages. He said: "I was left with a strange feeling after leaving, because of how everything happened, because I ended up playing my last years without fans, because of the pandemic. After spending my whole life there, I didn't leave the way I imagined, the way I dreamed.

"I imagined, as I said, playing my whole career in Europe, in Barcelona, and then, yes, coming here like I did, because that was my plan, what I wanted. And well, the farewell was a bit strange too, because of the situation, because of everything. But well, I think the fans' affection will always be there, because of what I said, because of everything we've been through."

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Getty Images SportA proper Barca farewell awaits Messi

Though a comeback for Barcelona now seems impossible, Inter Miami’s co-owner, Jorge Mas, has promised to give Messi a fitting send-off in Catalonia.

"Messi's departure from Barcelona was not to his liking, he could not say goodbye to his club that welcomed him as a child, and I think the circumstances were not what Lionel wanted," he said. "I gave him my commitment that I will do everything possible in the coming years to give him the opportunity to say goodbye to his fans in Barcelona. Inter Miami will go or we will do some kind of match."

Messi’s contract extension with Inter Miami keeps him in Major League Soccer until 2028, taking him past his 40th birthday and is tipped to feature for Argentina in the 2026 World Cup, where the Albiceleste will be looking to defend their crown.

Celtic are currently searching for their next permanent head coach after they were rocked by the resignation of Brendan Rodgers last month.

The former Hoops boss decided to move on from Parkhead after a 3-1 defeat to Hearts that left his side eight points adrift of first place in the Scottish Premiership at the time.

As shown in the graphic above, the Northern Irish head coach enjoyed a largely successful second spell with the Glasgow giants, winning four trophies in two full seasons.

Martin O’Neill has been in interim charge of the Hoops since Rodgers moved on from Parkhead, and one manager who has been linked with the permanent role is Lee Carsley.

The latest on Lee Carsley to Celtic

It was recently reported that the Scottish giants are eyeing up the England U21 head coach as a potential replacement for Rodgers in the coming weeks.

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Celtic are said to be long-term admirers of the Irish tactician, who has won two U21 European Championship titles, and that he is one of the names under contention for the job.

However, it was also claimed that Carsley is not one of the frontrunners for the vacant position at this moment in time, which does not suggest that he is likely to arrive in Glasgow in the next few days.

The Hoops board, however, should push to bring the England U21 boss to Parkhead because he could unearth the club’s own version of Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer.

Celtic have their own Cole Palmer in the making

One of Carsley’s biggest selling points is that he has worked with and developed some of England’s finest talents. Per Transfermarkt, he has coached Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Conor Gallagher. Just to name a few.

Palmer delivered five goals and five assists in 17 matches as an attacking midfield player for the head coach at England U21 level, per Transfermarkt, and he has scored 45 goals in 101 games for Chelsea so far.

Celtic could unearth their own version of the England international in Arne Engels, who could take his game to the next level under Carsley, who was hailed as “refreshing” by midfielder Declan Rice

The England U21 manager typically plays a 4-2-3-1 system, per Transfermarkt, rather than a 4-3-3, which would allow the Belgium international to push on and play as a number ten, providing him with more opportunities to showcase his quality in the final third.

Engels, with ten goals and 13 assists in 52 matches, showed glimpses of his attacking quality in the 2024/25 campaign for Celtic, but he has yet to find the back of the net in the current campaign.

24/25 Premiership

Arne Engels

Percentile rank vs CMs

xG

10.05

Top 1%

Goals

9

Top 4%

Shots on target

19

Top 5%

xA

8.46

Top 1%

Assists

6

Top 7%

Chances created

57

Top 3%

Stats via FotMob

As you can see in the table above, the former Augsburg central midfielder excelled among his positional peers as an attacking force in the Scottish Premiership last season.

These statistics suggest that Engels can provide a regular threat at the top end of the pitch as an outstanding contributor, just as Palmer has for Chelsea, with 45 goals and 29 assists in 101 matches, per Transfermarkt.

Engels, who assisted the winning goal against Sturm Graz in the clip above, has the potential to thrive as a natural number ten in Carsley’s 4-2-3-1 set-up.

He is also a young player, aged 22, who has time ahead of him to develop and improve, which is the profile of player that the manager has been used to working with throughout his time with England’s U21s.

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Therefore, appointing Carsley, who has shown that he can win trophies with England’s youth team, could help them to turn Engels into their own version of Cole Palmer in the number ten position, because of his attacking potential.

Heading into Leeds United’s Premier League clash against West Ham United on Friday night, Daniel Farke was under some pressure in the Elland Road dug-out to pick up a positive result.

There had been reports, in the build-up to this must-win contest against the Hammers, that the top-flight newcomers had RC Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior on their radar as a potential replacement for the German.

Thankfully for Farke, his team hit back by collecting a 2-1 win over Nuno Espirito Santo’s strugglers, with the ex-Norwich City boss able to survive another day in the pressurised Leeds’ hot-seat, subsequently.

Brenden Aaronson really did step up when he was needed to during this tight win, with the American also able to respond to his critics emphatically with a man-of-the-match worthy display against the visitors from East London.

How Aaronson has turned around his Leeds career

Much like Farke has had to fight back against accusations that he isn’t cut out for the bright lights of the Premier League all across his managerial career to date, Aaronson has also had to deal with his fair share of critics deeming him not capable of being a top-flight level talent.

There had been some weight behind these comments, too, with Aaronson being deemed a “lightweight” presence that’s not “good enough” to pull on Leeds white by former Elland Road defender Jon Newsome, off the back of him only firing home one Premier League goal during his side’s disastrous 2022/23 season, which ended in relegation.

He hadn’t started this campaign in the best light, either, leading to the 25-year-old dropping in and out of Farke’s first-team plans. However, he was a force to be reckoned with against West Ham, perhaps saving his up-and-down career in West Yorkshire in the process.

Indeed, away from being the crucial individual who fired Leeds in front after just three minutes, Aaronson also constantly burst forward with purpose across the full match, with one of his three successful dribbles forward nearly resulting in one of the most memorable solo strikes of the season to date.

To his dismay, the resulting shot – after all his hard work had seemingly paid off – shaved the crossbar, with the ex-Red Bull Salzburg attacker also being praised at the full-time whistle for being a presence that “works his socks off” by his relieved manager, when winning a high eight ground duels.

He wasn’t the only presence in Farke’s XI who turned around their ongoing narrative in West Yorkshire, though, against West Ham, as one of Aaronson’s teammates on the night also breathed life back into their own stop-start tale.

The "monstrous" star who also saved his career

A lot of Leeds’ summer recruits have instantly hit the ground running, with Sean Longstaff already becoming an integral part of Farke’s starting lineup, with five big chances created in league action.

Noah Okafor has also seamlessly slotted into his new environment with two league goals already next to his name, but while those named have found adjusting to life in West Yorkshire to be straightforward, Jaka Bijol has struggled, on the other hand.

Before being handed a start against West Ham, Bijol had found himself rooted to the substitutes bench with zero league appearances to shout about, which was a surprise, considering the 6-foot-4 Slovenian didn’t leave Udinese behind for cheap this summer, having cost the Premier League newcomers a substantial £15m.

Thankfully, he made up for lost time with his commanding showing against the relegation-threatened visitors, with six duels won in total, seeing him already live up to his “monstrous” billing that was handed his way by analyst Ben Mattinson in Serie A.

Joe Rodon would steal his thunder by standing out more in the heart of the Leeds backline, considering the Welshman popped up with a header to gift the hosts a 2-0 lead, but Bijol is also deserving of plenty of praise himself, having won all 100% of his tackles come the full-time whistle.

The “aggressive” number 15 – as he was also lauded by ex-Leeds defender Aidy White after the win was secured – further demonstrated a calmness on the ball under pressure with 53 accurate passes amassed, with Farke surely now ready to hand him even more league opportunities moving forward, considering that he’s finally off the mark.

Bijol’s playing days in England so far have been a slow burner, with the ex-Serie A titan now hopeful of even more minutes heading his way, as more wins are also picked by Farke and Co.

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Just like buses, you wait a while for a Rangers win in the Scottish Premiership and then two come along at once.

On Wednesday night, Rangers, donning their new bright orange fourth kit, for once did not look off colour, beating Hibernian 1-0 at Easter Road, thanks to Danilo’s left-footed strike inside four and a half minutes.

So, having won only one of their first eight league matches this season, Danny Röhl has now won both since his appointment, also battling to a 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock at Ibrox last Sunday.

Next up for Röhl is an Old Firm derby in the League Cup semi-finals at Hampden on Sunday, facing a Celtic side led by Martin O’Neill, wait, what year is this?

Ahead of that massive Glasgow derby, which Rangers star made himself simply undroppable thanks to his exploits in Leith?

Danilo's Rangers resurgence

Fair to say, in general, since arriving from Feyenoord for £6m over two years ago, Danilo has not lived up to expectations.

His goal in Edinburgh this week was only his 15th in 62 outings for the Light Blues, sitting out a whopping 65 matches due to various injuries.

Now though, having also headed home against Killie on Sunday, the Brazilian has scored in back-to-back Premiership matches for the first time in 11 months.

Speaking during Sky Sports’ coverage, Chris Sutton asserted that Danilo has grabbed his opportunity, while former Rangers striker Kris Boyd would like to see him deployed as the centre-forward on Sunday, given that he has shown more promise than either Youssef Chermiti or Bojan Miovski to date.

Well, Danilo’s father Marcelo Silva, who has been a prominent figure at Rangers matches for a few years now, possibly outshone his son in Leith, very much enjoying his night at Easter Road, dancing away at the very front of the away stand.

Nevertheless, despite Danilo’s sudden scoring spree, he was not the biggest Rangers hero on the night.

Rangers' "best player this season"

Worth highlighting that the only reason Rangers departed the capital with all three points on Wednesday was thanks to the contribution of goalkeeper Jack Butland.

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With five minutes to go, Connor Barron bundled over Junior Hoilett and referee John Beaton pointed to the penalty spot.

Jamie McGrath stepped up, but saw his effort spectacularly saved by Butland, preserving victory for the Gers.

Butland has now, remarkably, now saved six of the last seven penalties he’s faced, excluding shootout, already denying Oh Hyeon-gyu of Genk and Lawrence Shankland of Hearts from 12 yards earlier in the campaign, albeit the latter did convert the rebound.

Nevertheless, this save secured Rangers’ first away clean sheet since a 3-0 victory over Ross County in Dingwall on 8 December 2024, a run of 325 days and 24 matches, the latter an unwanted club record, smashing the previous one of 22 set in 1897 when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.

For Butland specifically, irrespective of whom the manager has been, he has been a consistent performer so far this season.

Towards the back end of the last campaign, during Barry Ferguson’s interim tenure, Butland found himself on the bench, following a string of errors, with Liam Kelly starting both legs of the Europa League quarter-final against Athletic Club.

Now though, the England international appears to be back to his best, as the statistics below highlight.

Clean sheets

2

6th

Goals conceded

10

3rd*

Goals conceded per 90

1

4th

Saves

27

7th

Save %

68.8%

10th

Runs out

8

1st

Penalties saved

2

1st

*minimum 600 minutes.

Of course, despite Rangers leakiness at the back, Butland is nowhere near the busiest goalkeeper in the Premiership, with both Scott Bain of Falkirk and Dundee United’s Yevhen Kucherenko facing more than 50 shots apiece to Butland’s 32.

Nevertheless, for the most part, he has made big saves when called upon.

Back when he was at Stoke, then-manager Paul Lambert labelled him the “best goalkeeper in Britain”, while journalist Scott Bradley notes that Butland “was a shell of his former self last season” but has been “Rangers’ best player this season” so far.

Thus, while new manager Röhl is quickly searching for player he can rely on, Butland has certainly proved himself to be one of those, underlining his undroppable status.

If Rangers are going to beat their fiercest rivals at Hampden on Sunday and book their place in December’s League Cup Final, chances are they’ll need their goalkeeper to be at his brilliant best, possibly even in a penalty shootout.

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Alana King takes four wickets as struggling Essex slump to another defeat

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jul-2025A brilliant century from Lancashire and England’s Emma Lamb helped her side ease to their latest Metro Bank One Day Cup victory by 138 runs over struggling Essex at the beautiful surroundings of Sedbergh.Lamb hit a career best 142 and shared a mammoth opening partnership of 162 with Eve Jones (71) as the Red Rose racked up a total of 306 for 4 off their 50 overs after being put into bat by Essex skipper Grace Scrivens.As for Essex there were few highlights with only Jodi Grewcock’s half-century to take back with them on the long journey home from the South Lakelands.Lamb and Jones have proved a hugely effective opening pair this season with three century partnerships before this game and their fourth never really looked in doubt from the moment they began to stroke Essex’s Kate Coppack and Eve Gray around Sedburgh’s lush outfield.44 runs came off the first powerplay but it was after the introduction of Esmae McGregor and Abtaha Maqsood that the openers really got going with the former going for 25 off her four overs.The century partnership was reached in the 20th over with Jones bringing up he half-century soon after with the landmarks coming regularly thereafter with the opening pair reaching 150 in the 30th over.The long-awaited breakthrough for Essex eventually came when Jones mistimed a drive to Coppack off Sophie Smale but the disruption did little to put off Lamb who brought up her century with a huge six off a waist high full toss from the expensive Maqsood.By the time Lamb was out in the 42nd over most of the damage had been done with her superb knock ending off 109 balls with 15 fours and two sixes.Fi Morris quickly followed for five to a caught and bowled from Scrivens but Lancashire powered on through to the end of their innings with some energetic running from Seren Smale and skipper Ellie Threlkeld putting on 38 for the fourth wicket in just under six overs with Smale’s run out in the penultimate over scant consolation for a tired looking Essex.The early departure of opener Scrivens, who edged Mahika Gaur behind for two in the third over, ensured Essex were on the back foot from the off and in truth Lancashire never allowed their innings to gain any momentum.Cordelia Griffith edged Gace Potts’ first delivery to keeper Threlkeld for 13 and Smale, who had battled well for 38, holed out to mid off and a grateful Potts to give Alana King her first wicket.When King bowled Australian Maddie Penna for 15 it looked like the game was up with the visitors 100-4 and over 200 runs still required with the task getting even tricker when Jo Gardner was brilliantly caught by Kate Cross at mid off for eight off left arm spinner Sophie Morris.Meanwhile the stubborn Grewcock was providing the only solace for Essex as she reached her half-century from 54 balls but that would prove as good as it got as she departed hooking a Gaur slower ball straight to Morris for 52.Gaur suddenly found herself on a hat-trick when Amara Carr hit her first ball straight up in the air to Alisa Lister to leave Essex 142-7 and all hope all but gone.Coppack was run out for two and although Gray hit a flurry of fours that was pretty much it with King picking up a third wicket when MacGregor was stumped for one and then repeating the trick the very next ball when Maqsood departed the same way to leave Lancashire challenging at the top of the table going into the break for The Hundred.