Category Sports News

Gareth Bale, a former Wales and Real Madrid player, was a part of a May bid to purchase Cardiff City, his hometown club.

The 35-year-old former Wales captain, who left the sport in January 2023, is thought to have been a part of a group that made a proposal to acquire a controlling stake in the League One side with Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan in writing.

The Malaysian businessman is believed to be having little interest in selling at the moment, but the group is now assuming that it will try again.

The reports about a bid for the newly relegated club from the Championship have surfaced late on Friday afternoon, but Cardiff are not commenting.

The proposal, it is understood, did not advance to the discussion board.

Bale, who won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid, had been linked with a move to Cardiff as a player before making the decision to join Major League Soccer (MLS) side Los Angeles FC.

Jack Draper fulfilled a childhood dream by reaching his first Queen’s semi-final with a testing three-set victory over American Brandon Nakashima.

The 6-4 5-7 6-4 win guarantees Draper will be a top-four seed in next week’s Wimbledon draw and would therefore not be able to meet world number one Jannik Sinner or defending champion Carlos Alcaraz until the semi-final stage.

Draper, who came through a tough three-setter against Alexei Popyrin in the previous round when he was feeling unwell, found himself in another energy-sapping encounter against Nakashima on a hot day in west London.

Having taken charge of the first set with an early break, the errors crept into Draper’s game and Nakashima raised his level to take the second set and force the absorbing encounter into a decider.

Draper made the key breakthrough in the seventh game of the third set, converting his second break point with a powerful forehand and he then served out victory to set up a semi-final against Czech Jiri Lehecka, who had earlier beaten British number two Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2.

“It means the world to me. The support I have received this week has been amazing,” Draper, 23, said. “It’s something I’ve wanted since I was a little kid.”

Draper is bidding to become the first British singles champion at Queen’s since five-time winner Andy Murray’s most recent victory in 2016.

He could be on course to meet top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the final after the world number two beat France’s Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4.

Draper had got off to the perfect start against Nakashima with an early break but the rest of his day was far from straightforward.

But, as he has increasingly been showing in a year that has taken him to a career-high fourth in the world, he manages to bring out his best tennis in the most difficult moments.

From the second-serve ace that warded off a break to a brave drop shot at 15-40, Draper showed he is not afraid to take risks and this confident approach is paying off here.

Having lost the second set to world number 32 Nakashima when he sent a forehand long, Draper tightened up on his errors in the third and broke serve in the seventh game with one of the stunning forehand winners that have become a hallmark of his game.

He had thought he had sealed the game on the previous point with a backhand but the automatic line call of “out” had been drowned out by the crowd’s cheers.

He had to save a break point while serving for the match at 5-4 but recovered to seal victory after two hours and 22 minutes, delivering a 14th ace during that final game.

“I think at times I’ve not played some great tennis and in those moments I’ve just tried to believe in myself and I think that is where the confidence has come from,” Draper said after reaching a 12th Tour-level semi-final and his fourth of the year.

“Hopefully, I can carry on to the next round and get better.”

He will now play only his second last-four match on home soil after reaching the semi-finals at Eastbourne in 2022.

His progress here will help his preparations for Wimbledon, which starts on 30 June, and the top-four seeding is a bonus for him going into the grass-court Grand Slam where he will be viewed as the great home hope.

“Last year I went there [to Wimbledon] ranked 40th and now I’m fourth. To get to that position is an incredible feeling,” he said. “It is testament to the work me and my team have done and I am proud of that.”

Alcaraz was back on court less than 24 hours after coming through an epic last-16 encounter with compatriot Jaume Munar that was the longest match at Queen’s in 34 years, lasting three hours and 26 minutes.

The impact of that initially showed as he found himself going toe-to-toe with Rinderknech in a close first set.

Frenchman Rinderknech had gone out in qualifying but returned as a lucky loser and upset American Ben Shelton in his first match.

He certainly played with a nothing-to-lose attitude, serving particularly well, but Alcaraz got the break at 5-5 before coming through his serve to take the first set.

From then on it was clear Alcaraz had no desire to be on the court for much longer, earning the break in the fifth game of the second set with a brilliant forehand winner down the line before seeing out the rest of the match to extend his winning streak to 16 matches.

“I am feeling great playing on grass,” said Alcaraz, who is hoping for another Queen’s title to add to his 2023 victory before embarking on his bid for a third successive Wimbledon title.

Fearnley had been playing in his first last-eight match of an ATP Tour event after producing a brilliant display against French qualifier Corentin Moutet on Thursday.

But Czech world number 30 Lehecka proved too much for the 23-year-old.

Things had looked promising for Fearnley after he got the first break of the match but the world number 60 gave it up immediately following three double faults.

More mistakes on serve proved costly again as Lehecka got the double break to lead 6-5 before serving out the set.

Denmark forward Nadia Nadim will return to the national team following an 18-month absence after she was named in their 23-player squad for next month’s Euro 2025.

Nadim, 37, represented Denmark in the 2022 edition in England but has not played for the country since a Nation’s League defeat by Germany in December 2023.

The Afghan-born player spent last season on loan at Swedish side Hammarby and has also played for Manchester City, Paris St-Germain and AC Milan.

Nadim has won more than 100 caps for Denmark and guided them to a runner-up finish in Euro 2017 – scoring in a 4-2 defeat by the Netherlands in the final.

“We see Nadia as a player capable of making a difference for us”, Denmark head coach Andree Jeglertz told public television network DR.

“She also has experience in major tournaments, which I believe could be valuable for the squad”.

A medical graduate, Nadim fled Afghanistan with her mother and four sisters when she was 11 after her father was executed by the Taliban.

The Denmark squad is headlined by captain and former Chelsea forward Pernille Harder while Crystal Palace defender Katrine Veje and identical twins Sara and Karen Holmgaard, both playing for Everton, are also called up.

Goalkeepers: Alberte Vingum (HB Koge), Kathrine Larsen (Sampdoria), Maja Bay Ostergaard (Vaxjo).

Defenders: Emma Faerge (Fiorentina), Frederikke Thogersen (Roma), Isabella Obaze (Portland Thorns), Katrine Veje (Crystal Palace), Sanne Troelsgaard (Roma), Sara Holmgaard (Everton), Sara Thrige (PSV Eindhoven), Stine Ballisager (Fiorentina).

Midfielders: Emma Snerle (Fiorentina), Janni Thomsen (Utah Royals), Josefine Hasbo (Gotham FC), Karen Holmgaard (Everton), Kathrine Kuhl (Roma), Rikke Madsen (Everton).

The 33-year-old outsider Cercene won the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in a thrilling finish.

The French-trained favorite Zarigana, the jockey who won, led the way with January in third place, but his mount rallied to win by half a length.

The trainers who have been training in Ireland since 1977, Joe Murphy, who has won the award, said, “This is 50 years of work, that’s what it is, of love and care, and it’s just a whole group of people together.”

“Heaven on Earth,” says the phrase.

Cercene failed to win the Irish 1, 000 Guineas, despite placing third overall.

“It’s unbelievable. She wanted to win, and she’s very tough. It’s magic to do this at Royal Ascot, jockey Carroll said.

Another surprise winner came on Friday in the top-level Group One match, where Shadow Of Light, who was favorite, could only finish fifth despite a 25-1 chance of winning the Commonwealth Cup.

The winner, who is known as “Flip Flop,” was ridden by Richard Kingscote from stall one for Harry Eustace, a seasoned trainer.

After winning the first Queen Anne Stakes on Tuesday with Docklands, Eustace was celebrating a top-level Group One double.

The horses have arrived in excellent condition, according to Eustace, despite being the hardest place on earth.

Trainer Charlie Appleby said the good going going made him unsuitable for the youngster and that he was third in the 2, 000 Guineas last year.

The Albany Stakes saw the end of Aidan O’Brien’s dominance of this week’s junior races with the training of Venetian Sun, trained by Karl Burke.

Horses drawn high performed well on Thursday, but Clifford Lee’s 7-1 winner also advanced from stall one on Friday, defeating O’Brien’s favorite Signora, who is now ninth in ninth place.

The best two-year filly I’ve trained, Burke said, “I think she’s very special.”

Brighton and Hove Albion’s heir Tony Bloom owns a portion of Venetian Sun, hoping that she will compete in the 1,000 Guineas in the coming year.

Ryan Moore won the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes for the sixth time with Ethical Diamond, trained by Willie Mullins.

The 3-1 favorite finished fourth last year, but this time it was without a doubt.

Warren Fentiman, a young jockey for King Charles, rode for him in his biggest performance so far.

The 17-year-old finished 16th overall in the Sandringham Stakes aboard Purple Rainbow, which was trained by William Haggas for King and Queen Camilla’s owners.

This week, the Royal couple finished third behind the field.

The 22-1 chance Never Let Go, trained by Ed Walker, was the winner for Kieran Shoemark in the Sandringham.

Shoemark was claiming his second Royal Ascot crown, after losing his position to trainers John and Thady Gosden last month.

The King Edward VII Stakes winner was steered by Rossa Ryan, who trained Ralph Beckett, by 11-8 favorite Amiloc.

Two-time defending champion Katie Boulter’s run at the Nottingham Open was ended in a dramatic loss to American McCartney Kessler at the quarter-final stage.

Against the world number 42 Boulter found herself 4-2 up in the deciding set but lost 6-3 3-6 6-4 after two hours and nine minutes.

British number two Boulter had won the past two Nottingham Open titles and was on a 12-match winning run at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.

She played well in the first set but took just one of 11 break points, while 25-year-old Kessler converted two of her five.

In the second set Boulter wrestled back control, not conceding a single break point.

But in the decider, despite being two games away from the semi-finals, she lost four straight games to be defeated at Nottingham for the first time in three years.