HeadtoHeadFootball -
Soccer

Chelsea complete signing of Werner from RB Leipzig

The rebuild continues at Chelsea, as the club completed the signing of Timo Werner, it announced on Thursday.

Chelsea will pay RB Leipzig roughly €53 million for the German forward, according to James Olley of ESPN.

Werner, 24, will remain with Leipzig until the end of the Bundesliga season. Chelsea stated he’ll join his new teammates in July, meaning he won’t partake in the remainder of Leipzig’s Champions League campaign, which is slated to resume in August.

The deal is subject to the forward passing a medical, which has been delayed due to the travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am delighted to be signing for Chelsea, it is a very proud moment for me to be joining this great club,” Werner said. “I of course want to thank RB Leipzig, the club and the fans, for four fantastic years. You will forever be in my heart. I look forward to next season with my new teammates, my new manager, and of course the Chelsea fans. Together we have a very successful future ahead of us.”

Werner’s in the midst of a career season, with 32 goals and 13 assists in 43 appearances across all competitions; only Robert Lewandowski has more Bundesliga tallies this year.

“We are very excited that Timo Werner has chosen to join Chelsea. He is a player who was coveted all over Europe and it is no surprise, he has that rare mix of being young and exciting and yet established and proven,” Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said.

The Blues beat out the likes of Liverpool and Bayern Munich for Werner’s signature. Though Jurgen Klopp is a longstanding admirer of his compatriot, the soon-to-be Premier League champions reportedly never made an official offer despite the mutual admiration between the club and player.

That opened the door for Chelsea, who shifted gears from targeting Lyon’s Moussa Dembele when it became clear Werner was a realistic option, according to Olley.

The rising star is the second marquee signing for the west London outfit heading into the 2020-21 season, following February’s capture of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax. Werner gives manager Frank Lampard an impressive core of young attacking talent, as the German joins the likes of Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic at Stamford Bridge.

Soccer

Guardiola: Sane will leave Manchester City

Leroy Sane is leaving Manchester City. The only question is when.

Manager Pep Guardiola revealed Friday that the German winger rejected City’s new contract offer while informing the club he wants to join another team.

“Leroy says he doesn’t want to extend his contract. That means he’s going to leave,” Guardiola told reporters, according to The Athletic’s Sam Lee. “If we find an agreement with a club, he will leave this summer. If not, he’ll stay another year and will leave at the end of his contract.”

Bayern Munich remain confident of signing Sane this summer, according to The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano. The 24-year-old reportedly agreed to terms on a five-year contract with the eight-time Bundesliga champions in May.

City reportedly want around €50 million for Sane, but Bayern are apparently offering about €10 million less.

With Sane’s contract expiring in June 2021 and the coronavirus pandemic causing economic difficulties across the board, City dropped their asking price from the initial €125 million they were seeking for the player last year.

The Premier League giants reportedly rejected an €80-million offer from Bayern in 2019.

Sane hasn’t played for City since suffering an ACL tear in the Community Shield in August.

Soccer

UEFA relaxes Financial Fair Play rules for 1 season due to COVID-19 crisis

UEFA is loosening Financial Fair Play regulations and giving clubs a break because of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the original rules, teams participating in European competition were forbidden from posting losses of more than €30 million over a three-year period. But UEFA decided Thursday to give clubs an extra year to show they’re within the guidelines.

In a statement, the governing body said the “assessment of financial year 2020 is postponed for one season and will be assessed together with the financial year 2021.”

Revenue is expected to take a big hit over the next few months. Matchday revenue has already fallen dramatically, with games being postponed and eventually played behind closed doors. Players across the European leagues agreed to slash their salaries as a result of the recent work stoppage.

However, the new measures don’t preclude clubs already charged by UEFA from punishment. Marseille are still at risk of a ban from European competition for breaking an agreement to balance their books. Manchester City, meanwhile, have been kicked out of the Champions League for two seasons, pending an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Soccer

Champions League returns in August, 'Final 8' tournament set for Lisbon

The 2019-20 Champions League season will transition to a knockout tournament from the quarterfinal stage onward and run from Aug. 12 to 23 in Lisbon, UEFA announced Wednesday.

Before that, the four remaining fixtures in the round of 16, which were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will take place on Aug. 7 and 8. It’s yet to be determined whether those games – all second-leg fixtures – will be played at the home teams’ stadiums or in Portugal.

Istanbul, which was supposed to host this year’s Champions League final, will now stage the showpiece event in 2021.

The Europa League will also switch to a single-elimination format from the quarterfinal stage onward. Games will take place within the same region in Germany from Aug. 10 to 21. The final has been moved from Gdansk, Poland, to Cologne.

Second-leg fixtures that have yet to be completed in the round of 16 will be played on Aug. 5 and 6. Teams that haven’t contested the first leg of their last-16 encounters will now play just one match to determine who advances.

Finally, the Women’s Champions League will relocate to San Sebastian and Bilbao in Spain, where all remaining matches will be played from Aug. 21 to 30 in a knockout tournament.

Teams in all three competitions will have the opportunity to register three new players, so long as they were already with the club during the 2019-20 season. Squads will remain capped at 25 players.

Following FIFA’s recommendation, UEFA will allow clubs to use five substitutions throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Half of the Champions League’s last-16 ties reached a conclusion before play was suspended in March. Atalanta, RB Leipzig, Paris Saint-Germain, and Atletico Madrid all advanced and will head straight to Lisbon for the knockout tournament.

The four outstanding Champions League fixtures include some heavy hitters: Manchester City hold a 2-1 aggregate lead over Real Madrid, Barcelona are tied 1-1 with Napoli, Bayern Munich have a 3-0 advantage over Chelsea, and Lyon lead Juventus 1-0.

It was reported Tuesday that Lyon will travel to Turin to face Juventus for the second leg of their last-16 tie. City, Barcelona, and Bayern could then also be in line to host their return fixtures as previously scheduled.

None of the games are expected to have fans in attendance.

Page 220 of 454« First...102030219220221222230240250...Last »