Category Sports News

Following a successful season in which he assisted the Catalan club win a domestic treble, Lamine Yamal has accepted a new six-year deal with Barcelona.

The 17-year-old Spain winger’s current contract was set to expire at the end of the 2025-26 season, but his new agreement gives him a 10-year contract at Barca.

In his first season as manager, Hansi Flick won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup with the help of Yamal, who made his Barca debut as a 15-year-old in 2023.

The strength of Barca’s project is demonstrated by Yamal’s renewal. Few other players have made it to the world football scene, according to the club.

“The Mataro, near Barcelona, has given incredible performances that are already remembered in the history of Barcelona,” the lad said.

Yamal becomes the youngest player to have scored 25 goals in 115 La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup victories.

Yamal, who turns 18 in July, is also the youngest player to have made 100 Barca appearances.

Yamal also won 19 caps for Spain and was a member of the team that defeated England 2-1 in the Berlin final to win Euro 2024.

Lionel Messi, a legend at Barca, and the youngster, who also graduated from the club’s renowned La Masia academy, have been compared to him.

Wolves have permission to speak with the Brazil international and Manchester United have met the terms of Matheus Cunha’s £62.5 million release clause.

United’s request to pay the fee over a five-year period was earlier rejected by Wolves.

United will have to pay the 26-year-old in three installments over the course of two years.

They now have permission to finalize a deal with Cunha and arrange a medical appointment, which is anticipated to be completed soon.

Mohamed Salah is still in discussions about a potential move to the Saudi Pro League, where he claims he can play until he reaches the age of 40.

As the Reds won the Premier League title, the 32-year-old Liverpool forward had a fantastic season, scoring 29 goals and adding 18 assists.

After a season of speculation, sources told BBC Sport that Salah was interested in making at least £500 million in Saudi Arabia before agreeing to a new deal at Anfield.

Before a car plough into crowds at the club’s trophy parade on Monday, Salah told the Egyptian television station ON Sports: “I will stop playing when I have that feeling.”

I believe I can play until I’m 39 or 40, but if I didn’t want to, I would quit. I’ve accomplished a lot.

In addition to being one goal behind Andrew Cole, a former Newcastle and Manchester United striker, Salah has scored 186 Premier League goals for Liverpool and Chelsea.

After his Anfield contract expires in 2027, the Egypt international has indicated he could still play in the Middle East.

“I’m still in touch with them and maintain a positive relationship with them.” Yes, he continued, making mention of Saudi clubs.

With his first French Open victory of his career, Great Britain’s Jack Draper made up for his slow start.

Draper, who is fifth overall, fought off Italy’s Mattia Bellucci, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, to break through the gears.

Draper made his first two Roland Garros appearances, but he has since proven himself to be a true force on the clay this year.

“I think Bellucci came out and played impressively right away,” Draper said.

“I was more aggressive when I was able to turn things around.”

Six British singles players won the French Open first round for the first time since 1973 thanks to the 23-year-old Englishman’s victory.

For the wrong reasons, Draper’s previous visits to Roland Garros have been forgettable.

The left-hander retired two years ago and complained about being known as “the guy who hurts a lot,” before suffering with his serve in a humiliating defeat against Jesper de Jong, who was ranked 176th overall.

He has come back this year as a different proposition with a compelling case.

Draper has experienced a rapid rise over the past 12 months and achieved a number of notable career milestones.

He won ATP titles on grass and hard courts last year, and he also won his first clay-court final last month in Madrid, making it to the top five of the world. He also won his first Grand Slam semi-final at last year’s US Open.

According to seasoned sportspeople, Draper has the ability to perform well on the red carpet, and Tim Henman, the former world number four, said his best qualities, which include his left-handed serve and his forehand, could “work on any surface.”

Draper once more demonstrated that when he faced Bellucci.

Cutting out double faults also increased the volume of forehand winners, rising from 58% of points won with the opening shot in the first set to 92% in the second, and boosting his first serve’s dominance.

Bellucci was unable to handle the venom of this shot, which wowed the Paris crowd, who frequently quipped about Draper’s power and accuracy.

French Open 2025

Location: Roland Garros, May 25 – June

Sonay Kartal claims that her first-round doubles match at the French Open interfered with her decision to postpone a tattoo appointment.

On her French Open debut, the British number three defeated Russian Erika Andreeva 6-0, 2 and 6-2.

At 11:00 local time (10:00 BST), Jodie Burrage and she are scheduled to return to the court on Wednesday morning for the women’s doubles in Paris.

Kartal already planned things out before the schedule was released, though.

Kartal responded, “You know what? ” when asked if she planned any tattoos in the French Open style. One was actually scheduled for tomorrow at 11:45.

Kartal won eight straight games before a frustrated Andreeva, the older sister of Mirra, managed to get on the board without getting caught up in the dreaded “double bagel.”

However, Kartal dominated the final two sets, breaking again at 5-2 before hitting four winners in a row to claim the victory.

The 23-year-old has 13 tattoos, and the number 14 will go up against her sister.

Kartal continued, “I’m not actually sure what I’m going to get.” I believe she wants matching, so I’ll give her whatever she wants.

In the second round, Kartal will face Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic or Anna Kalinskaya from Russia, and she will also have tattoos planned for her final appearance at Roland Garros.

French Open 2025 match between Raducanu and Swiatek.

Location: Roland Garros, Court Philippe Chatrier, May 29

When the draw was made last week, everyone was hoping Emma Raducanu would face four-time champion Iga Swiatek in the French Open second round.

Even Raducanu from Great Britain acknowledged she couldn’t avoid the potential pitfalls.

Wang Xinyu defeated the 22-year-old on Monday, but victory over Swiatek, who is known as the “Queen of Clay,” in Paris is one of the most difficult decisions in the women’s game. The 22-year-old showed physical and mental resilience.

Former British number one Annabel Croft, who will be covering the game for BBC Radio 5 Live, said, “It’s a tall mountain to climb.”

Because Swiatek has suffered a lot of losses this year, it’s not a foregone conclusion.

Swiatek has a formidable track record on the Paris clay since winning her first French Open title as a teenager in 2020.

The statistics show that she is the best at four of her previous five competitions:

However, the 23-year-old’s reign is now more in jeopardy.

Swiatek hasn’t made a final decision since winning the title in Paris last year, and her clay-court swing was below-par by her standards.

Before the tournament, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash addressed BBC Radio 5 Live, “She has a real problem with her forehand down the line, and players know that.”

Because of her quickness and ability to keep players out of their positions, she might be able to get away with it on clay.

It’s a real liability on other surfaces, and it’s now a problem on clay, they say.

Her backhand has become a more and more effective weapon than her other main natural strengths in Raducanu’s game.

“Her forehand has become one of her game’s best aspects,” Croft said.

The cross-court forehand has height, travels, and makes her dangerous when she is on the run with it, which is what I really like.

Prior to now having a positive few months, Raducanu had little fun playing Swiatek against him. He has since climbed up to 41st in the rankings.

The 2021 US Open champion has lost all four of their previous encounters, including two on clay in Stuttgart and two on hard courts in Indian Wells and the Australian Open this year.

The 6-1, 6 0 0 defeat in Melbourne was particularly troubling because Raducanu found Swiatek’s groundstrokes to be too powerful and precise.

Raducanu told BBC Sport, “She always plays really well and gets really fired up when she plays me. I don’t know why that’s the case, but she’s always done it.”

Although I’m not sure if it’s because of me, every time we’ve played, she has been excellent.

Although Raducanu has improved in the four months since their last meeting, Coco Gauff, the world’s top female athlete, showed how far she still needs to close.

You can tell where Raducanu’s game is headed when you play against a top-notch opponent who won’t go away psychologically, Croft said.

She is aware that she must confront Swiatek in an offensive manner. She won’t be able to escape by moving the ball around.

She will need to get the first strike in, and she will also need to get depth, or angle, to try to control the angle.

Prior to her career, Raducanu was criticized for allegedly not being tough enough to survive matches when she wasn’t feeling completely recovered.

This season, she has made encouraging fitness improvements and gained more confidence in herself.

Raducanu has a more solid foundation from which to base her decision-settings, as she did successfully against Wang.

I’ve won three-set matches a lot more frequently than I’ve previously, which gives me more confidence, said Raducanu.

Before her first-round game, Raducanu awoke feeling “sick,” and Swiatek will find any signs that she may not be feeling well on Wednesday.

However, she gave a consoling update during her post-game press conference.

I feel better,” he said. I had a good meal, “added the former world number 10”.

“I believe it was perhaps just an earlier wake-up call for me,” he continued. My body might be lagging a little bit, perhaps.