The club said on Thursday (June 29) that the former Chelsea and Leicester City midfielder is set to take over ownership from Flavio Becca from July 1. The club, which is situated near the Luxembourg border, did not disclose any financial details for the deal.
* Former South American football boss Juan Angel Napout, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2018 for his role in the FIFA corruption scandal, could be released next week, one of his lawyers said on Thursday. Napout, the former head of South American football's governing body CONMEBOL, was found guilty by a jury in the US of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, crimes stemming from the corruption scandal that engulfed global football body FIFA in 2015.
* Tipped by no less than Carlos Alcaraz as the man with the best chance of denying Novak Djokovic the Wimbledon title, Nick Kyrgios is scrambling even to make it onto court at the All England Club. The 28-year-old maverick lost to Djokovic in four sets in last year's Wimbledon final during his best year on tour but an operation on his left knee in January kept him confined to the sidelines until last week.
* American Coco Gauff returns to the site of her career breakthrough next week at Wimbledon once again on the hunt for a maiden major title that has been predicted ever since she burst on the scene at the All England Club. The youngest player ever in the professional era to survive the Wimbledon qualifying draw, she was 15 when she first made her mark at the grasscourt Grand Slam and beat her idol Venus Williams in a dream run to the fourth round four years ago.
* Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is already reaping the rewards of Ryan Reynolds investing in the Renault-owned Formula One team after securing an invite to join the Hollywood star in filming for 'Deadpool 3'. Reynolds was announced on Monday, along with fellow actors Rob McElhenney and Michael B. Jordan, in a group of investors taking a 24% equity stake in the Enstone-based former world champions.
* England's Ben Duckett expressed only mild disappointment at missing out on a hundred at Lord's on Thursday, focusing instead on how well his side had responded to Australia's first innings score of 416 on the second day of the second test of the Ashes. Duckett hit 98 as England raced to 278-4 in reply in an another high octane "Bazball" batting display, only to sky a ball to David Warner for a comfortable catch.
* Poland's Kamil Majchrzak has been suspended for 13 months by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for failing a drug test, it said on Thursday. The 27-year-old was provisionally suspended in late November last year after samples he provided from tournaments in Sofia in September and Japan and Seoul in October were found to contain three banned substances (SARM S-22, LGD-4033 and PPARδ agonists).
* Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler was appointed coach of Saudi Arabian second division team Al-Qadsiah on Thursday. Al-Qadsiah, who finished 11th last season, posted a picture on twitter of the 48-year-old coach with the club scarf signing the contract.
* Tadej Pogacar has named Jonas Vingegaard as the big favourite for the Tour de France, but the defending champion would not be drawn into mind games two days before the race starts on Saturday. Pogacar, the 2020 and 2021 Tour winner, has had a troubled build-up after breaking his wrist two months ago, with the Slovenian saying one of his bones had not fully healed yet, making his Danish rival the natural front-runner for the title this year.
* Manchester United have reached an agreement to sign midfielder Mason Mount from Chelsea on a five-year deal, The Athletic reported on Thursday. After back-and-forth negotiations, the London club have accepted a third offer from United worth 55 million pounds (US$69.39 million) plus 5 million pounds in add-ons, the report said.
* Feliciano Lopez's 26-year playing career came to an when the 41-year-old lost 6-2 6-4 to Yannick Hanfmann in the quarter-finals of the Mallorca Open on Thursday. The Spanish left-hander had delighted the home crowd with victories over Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson but fell short against Germany's Hanfmann.
* Paris St Germain will begin their Ligue 1 title defence at home to Lorient on the opening weekend of the season after the fixtures for the 2023-24 campaign were released on Thursday. The new season, which begins on Aug. 12, will have only 34 matchdays after the top-flight was trimmed from 20 teams to 18, with only two clubs promoted from the second tier while four Ligue 1 sides went down.
* David Lappartient, head of cycling's governing UCI, has been elected president of the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) until 2025, the body said on Thursday. Lappartient beat fellow candidate Emmanuelle Bonnet Oulaldj in a secret ballot by members of the board of directors, winning 36 of the 45 votes in total, which included one abstention.
* Caroline Wozniacki is set to make a comeback to tennis after the former world number one said on Thursday that she was ready to return to the Tour having retired from the sport in 2020 to start a family. Danish player Wozniacki spent 71 weeks at the top of the world rankings and finished with 30 singles titles - including a Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open in 2018.
