Mykhailo Mudryk is Chelsea’s latest answer to help solve attacking woes that have plagued the Blues this season.
The 22-year-old winger was unveiled by Chelsea after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk and signing an eight-and-a-half year contract that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2031, the Premier League club announced Sunday.
“I’m so happy to sign for Chelsea,” Mudryk said.
“This is a huge club, in a fantastic league and it is a very attractive project for me at this stage of my career. I’m excited to meet my new team-mates and I’m looking forward to working and learning under Graham Potter and his staff.”
The transfer was announced a day after Chelsea agreed to pay Shakhtar Donetsk a transfer fee worth an initial €70 million. The fee could rise to €100 million if various clauses are met, the Ukrainian club confirmed.
It’s understood that a portion of the €30 million in add-ons is contingent on Chelsea winning the Premier League or the Champions League during Mudryk’s stay, reports transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.
“We are delighted to welcome Mykhailo to Chelsea,” said Todd Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, co-controlling owner. “He’s a hugely exciting talent who we believe will be a terrific addition to our squad both now and in the years to come. He will add further depth to our attack and we know he’ll get a very warm welcome to London.”
Mudryk is the second forward to arrive in January following Joao Felix’s loan move from Atletico Madrid last week.
Chelsea currently sit 10th in the Premier League after going winless in their last three Premier League games before Sunday’s tilt against Crystal Palace.
Mudryk had seven goals and six assists in 12 league matches with Shakhtar this season.
Paris Saint-Germain are anticipating talks with Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge, in the French capital before the end of January to conclude an agreement over a new contract for the World Cup winner, ESPN’s Julien Laurens reports.
PSG and Messi’s father reportedly had positive discussions prior to Argentina’s victorious run in Qatar. An agreement in principle was then reached in December for the 35-year-old attacker to extend his terms until 2024. However, Laurens now understands the structure and length of the contract are yet to be determined.
Messi reportedly prefers to stay at the Parc des Princes despite interest from Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami and Thursday’s links with a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia. Al Hilal – cross-city rivals of Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr – are willing to offer Messi a deal worth $350 million per year to bring him to Riyadh, according to Mundo Deportivo’s Fabio Marchi.
But Messi won’t be joining Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, sources told Laurens, and both the player and PSG remain positive about reaching an agreement.
The artful Argentine returned to club action in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Angers. Messi orchestrated and finished a beautiful team move for Les Parisiens’ second goal of the game.
Wales superstar and five-time Champions League winner Gareth Bale announced Monday that he’s retiring from club and international football.
“After careful and thoughtful consideration, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football,” he announced on Twitter.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have realized my dream of playing the sport I love. It has truly given me some of the best moments of my life. The highest of highs over 17 seasons that will be impossible to replicate, no matter what the next chapter has in store for me.”
The 33-year-old ends his illustrious career as one of Britain’s most decorated players after spells at Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, and Los Angeles FC.
At Real Madrid, he was a member of five Champions League-winning teams and played an important role in helping the Spanish giants win La Liga three times, as well as other major trophies.
He’s also Wales’ all-time leading scorer with 41 goals in 111 appearances.
Gareth Bale, Wales’ all-time top scorer, has won more European Cup / Champions League titles than any other British player in football history.
An incredible career comes to an end. ? pic.twitter.com/yZWPdDRvF5
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 9, 2023
Bale was under contract at LAFC until this summer but decided to hang up his boots just over a month after playing for Wales at the 2022 World Cup. It was Wales’ first World Cup appearance since 1958.
“My decision to retire from international football has been by far the hardest of my career,” Bale said in a separate statement, adding, “My journey on the international stage is one that has changed not only my life but who I am.”
After making his professional debut with Southampton at 16, Bale moved to north London, where he developed into a global superstar at Tottenham.
His career continued to blossom after a transfer to Real Madrid in 2013 that was worth a then-record £85.3 million – over £5 million more than the fee Los Blancos paid for Cristiano Ronaldo four years earlier.
Bale lived up to the billing over his first few years in Madrid before his relationship with the club and fans soured.
He was eventually loaned back to Tottenham last season before joining LAFC midway through the 2022 Major League Soccer season. He scored a header in the 128th minute of extra time during the MLS Cup final to send the game to a penalty shootout, which LAFC won to capture the league title.
Brazilian legend Pele, who won the World Cup a record three times and officially scored 767 goals across one of the most celebrated sporting careers of all time, died Thursday. He was 82.
Pele was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2021 and began undergoing chemotherapy that month. He was recently admitted to Hospital Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo to receive treatment for a respiratory infection. The medical center, where Pele spent the last month, said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the aforementioned cancer.
“All that we are is thanks to you,” his daughter, Kely Nascimento, wrote on Instagram. “We love you endlessly. Rest in peace.”
Nascimento announced Dec. 21 that her father’s health was worsening and that he’d spend Christmas at the hospital to receive “elevated care.” Several family members joined Nascimento at the medical facility as Pele’s cancer advanced and his condition deteriorated.
A funeral is planned for next week.
Santos, the club where Pele spent the majority of his iconic career, said the casket carrying his body will be transported to Vila Belmiro Stadium on Monday and placed in the center of the field, where fans will be able to pay their final respects. A procession will take place Tuesday through the streets of the city before a private burial that will be attended only by family.
A inspiração e o amor marcaram a jornada de Rei Pelé, que faleceu no dia de hoje.
Amor, amor e amor, para sempre. . Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today.
Love, love and love, forever. pic.twitter.com/CP9syIdL3i
— Pelé (@Pele) December 29, 2022
Widely considered one of the greatest soccer players ever alongside Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, Pele enchanted fans and opponents for nearly two decades. He helped revolutionize the sport with his elegant playing style, his mesmerizing on-ball skills, and his previously unrivaled scoring ability before becoming one of soccer’s most beloved global ambassadors.
Pele, dubbed “The King,” helped Brazil win the World Cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970. His best performance came at the 1958 tournament where, as a 17-year-old, he scored six goals, including two in the final against host nation Sweden. He was hampered by injuries when Brazil retained the title four years later but was again a talisman for his country in 1970, scoring the opening goal and setting up Carlos Alberto’s memorable marker in the 4-1 victory over Italy in the final. The image of an overjoyed Pele being carried by his teammates after the final whistle remains one of the most indelible in the history of the sport.
Pele is Brazil’s joint-leading scorer with 77 tallies in 92 international appearances. Neymar equaled his idol during the World Cup in Qatar.
“Pele changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment,” Neymar said on Instagram. “Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pele is eternal!”
Pele bagged the majority of his goals for Brazilian club Santos between 1956 and 1974. Santos claim Pele scored around 1,000 goals in his career, but several hundred of those came in unofficial friendlies. His official scoring record, a topic of much debate over the years, is listed as anywhere from 650 goals to 1,281, depending on the source and which competitions and matches are counted as part of the tally.
His goals were only part of the story, though. Pele’s exciting style of play and imagination on the pitch made him one of the most dazzling players to ever grace world football.
His talent was evident from a young age.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in the city of Tres Coracoes in the south of Minas Gerais state, Pele grew up playing on the streets in Brazil before joining Santos’ youth squad at 11 years old. His ascent through the ranks was meteoric; Pele made his debut for Santos’ senior team when he was 16, developing into the global icon who would eventually transcend the game and become the player most often associated with the phrase “The Beautiful Game” – “O Jogo Bonito” in Portuguese – that is part of the sport’s lexicon.
He joined the upstart North American Soccer League in 1975 and played for the New York Cosmos for two years, helping to propel the sport in the United States. Pele called an end to his career in 1977 after playing in an exhibition match between Santos and the Cosmos in New Jersey.
He split the game between his former clubs, playing one half for each. Some 77,000 spectators were in attendance, including Muhammad Ali, one of the only other athletes in history whose celebrity spanned the globe the same way.