Sports
Manchester City and RB Leipzig have agreed a deal of £77 million for defender Josko Gvardiol
Manchester City and RB Leipzig have agreed a deal of 90 million euros (£77 million) for Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol.
The fee for the 21-year-old does not include any add-ons, therefore Manchester United’s £80 million fee for Harry Maguire from Leicester City in 2019 remains the British record for a defender.
In the 87 games he has appeared for Leipzig since joining Dynamo Zagreb in 2021, he has been a crucial player.
Later this week, he is set to go to England for a physical.
The transaction appeared unlikely to go through after Leipzig stated last week that they would not sell for less than €100 million (£86 million).
Manager Pep Guardiola feels Gvardiol will bolster the left side of his central defence, which is also Ruben Dias’ position, and his arrival may cast doubt on Aymeric Laporte’s future at Etihad Stadium.
Gvardiol is City’s second significant summer acquisition, after the arrival of fellow Croatian Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea in June for an initial fee of £25 million. Kovacic will effectively replace Ilkay Gundogan in City’s midfield after the club’s captain left on a free transfer to join Barcelona, while winger Riyad Mahrez joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli last week in a £30 million deal.
Gvardiol, who has two goals in 21 Croatian games, helped his side finish third in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and second to Spain in this year’s Nations League.
He also won back-to-back championships with Zagreb, finishing with a league and cup double before joining the Bundesliga.
During Gvardiol’s stay in Germany, Leipzig qualified for the Champions League twice, finishing fourth and third in the Bundesliga.
His former team has basically knocked him out of the Champions League twice in the last two seasons.
In 2021-22, Leipzig finished third in a group dominated by City and lost 8-1 over two legs in the round of 16 last season, including a 7-0 defeat at the Etihad.
Harry Maguire, a Manchester United defender, has accepted Hon. Isaac Adongo’s apologies for dragging him through the dirt.
The Ghanaian politician previously rated the former Leicester City captain as the worst player recruited by the Red Devils.
Adongo was discussing the budget when he likened Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia’s economic management to Maguire’s on-field performances.
Mr Adongo, however, apologised to Maguire in Parliament on Tuesday, saying the Manchester United defender now performed better for his club than Dr Bawumia, whom he said had repeatedly supervised the country’s economic incompetence and had subsequently gone to the (IMF) for a bailout.
“I was very quick to compare my big brother Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to Harry Maguire. Mr. Speaker, I now apologize to Harry Maguire…Today Maguire has turned the corner; he is a transformational footballer. Maguire is now scoring goals for Manchester United.”
“Mr Speaker, Harry Maguire is now a key player for Manchester United. As for our Maguire, he is now roaming at the IMF with a cup in hand,” he stated.
Following the apology, Maguire stated on social media, “MP Issac Adongo apology accepted.” “Hope to see you at Old Trafford soon.”
Meanwhile, Everton will play Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday at Goodison Park.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning coach, Lionel Scaloni, has indicated that he is considering stepping down after five years in charge.
Scaloni made the stunning statement following Argentina’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying win against Brazil on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro.
Before winning the World Cup in Qatar last year, the 45-year-old guided Argentina to the Copa America in 2021.
“Argentina needs a coach who has all the energy possible and who is well,” said Scaloni.
“I need to stop the ball and start thinking, I have a lot of things to think about during this time.
“It’s not goodbye or anything, but I need to think because the bar is very high and it’s complicated to keep going and it’s complicated to keep winning.
“These guys are making it difficult, so I need to think about it for a while. I will talk to the FA president and the players afterwards.”
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After a brief stint in command of Argentina’s under-20 team, Scaloni took over as manager in August 2018.
Argentina’s 2021 Copa America victory was their first major championship in 28 years, and it qualified them for the Finalissima against European champions Italy in June 2022, which they won 3-0 at Wembley.
Later that year, they won their third World Cup in Qatar, and first since 1986.
“We are sure and hope that Scaloni will continue,” said Argentina and Tottenham defender Cristian Romero.
“Let’s see now he will have time to think, he didn’t say anything in the dressing room about it. We will try to convince him.”
Argentina’s victory against Brazil on Tuesday was their first-ever away win over their rivals in World Cup qualification, and it took them two points clear at the top of the table.
The game at Rio’s Maracana stadium was delayed for 30 minutes due to a scuffle during the national anthems.
Chris Hughton’s Black Stars suffered their first competitive loss as head coach, falling 1-0 to Comoros in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
Myziane Maolida’s first-half goal was enough to give the hosts their second straight victory over the Black Stars.
Ghana is now in fourth position, three points behind early group leaders Comoros, who have won both of their initial qualification games.
Following a tense, late win against Madagascar at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi last Friday, there was some hope that the Black Stars may capitalise on Mali’s slip-up against the Central African Republic to grab the group lead.
Ghana could have grabbed an early lead in Tuesday’s encounter when Inaki Williams set up Antoine Semenyo for a goal, but the Bournemouth striker hit the crossbar.
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