When Lionel Messi won an unprecedented sixth Ballon d’Or in December last year, the speculation had already begun over his career at Barcelona.

The 33-year-old Argentine footballing genius was increasingly unable single-handedly to rescue his imploding club, as he had done so often in the past.

Barcelona, despite lifting the La Liga title, had collapsed at the end of the 2018-19 season, losing a 3-0 semi-final lead, including two Messi goals, to Liverpool in the Champions League.

They then dropped the Copa del Rey final 2-1 to Valencia, where the Argentine was again on the scoresheet, this time though just a late consolation.

But all that paled in comparison to Barca’s barren 2020, capped by a shocking humiliation in Lisbon.

– Bayern embarrassment –

The abject 8-2 quarter-final embarrassment against Bayern Munich in Lisbon 12 days ago meant a first season since 2007 without a trophy for Barcelona.

It marked the first time Barca had conceded eight goals in a game since losing to Sevilla 8-0 in the 1946 Spanish Cup.

But far more significant than that, it convinced the twinkle-toed talisman his final footballing years lay elsewhere.

The fallout was immediate. Coach Quique Setien was sacked after barely six months in charge while sporting director Eric Abidal was also dismissed.

Even the appointment of former Camp Nou fan favourite Ronald Koeman as head coach last week could not convince Messi to stay.

The Dutchman has indicated he will embark on a clear-out and, at 33 years old, Messi must feel he doesn’t have time to wait until Koeman’s rebuilt Barca are able to challenge Europe’s elite.

On Tuesday, Messi informed Barcelona he wanted “unilaterally” to terminate his contract by triggering a release clause, sending shockwaves across the world of sport.

There will be no shortage of clubs eager to employ Messi, who could be snapped up on a free transfer, but the favourites look to be Manchester City, led by his former Barcelona mentor Pep Guardiola.

They were close to European glory again this season, and the addition of four-time Champions League winner Messi could give the Guardiola the X-factor he needs to win the one trophy missing from the Manchester City cabinet.

The growing turmoil enveloping Barcelona has been reflected in Messi’s diminishing statistics.

Though he managed 31 goals in all games during the virus-interrupted campaign just ended, it was his lowest return since 2007-08, when he was just 20.

– Irreplaceable –

Barcelona have insisted in the past they had plans for coping with Messi’s retirement, whenever it came, but the truth is their number 10 is irreplaceable.

He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, winning a club-record 33 trophies, including 10 La Ligas, four UEFA Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups and six Spanish Cups.

Equally effective as a mesmerising playmaker or lethal goalscorer, Messi holds the records for most goals and most hat-tricks in La Liga and has scored more than 700 senior goals for club and country.

But his greatest year was long ago. In the 2011-12 season, under Guardiola, he became Barcelona’s all-time top goalscorer at just 24 years old, breaking Cesar Rodriguez’s 232 goal mark which had stood for 57 years.

That year Messi netted a Liga record 50 goals on the way to a European all-time record season tally of 73, breaking Gerd Mueller’s 67 goals scored in the 1972–73 German season.

Almost a decade on, Messi still harbours unfulfilled ambitions, including another Champions League crown and an elusive major trophy with Argentina to add to his 2008 Olympic gold.

With time running out on a career that has seen a record six Ballon d’Ors and six Golden Shoes, those are major factors in convincing him to end his playing days away from the club that has been his home since he arrived as a 13-year-old.

Source:  AFP

Former Brazil star Ronaldinho was released Monday by a Paraguayan judge after five months in detention over a forged passport.

Judge Gustavo Amarilla also released Ronaldinho’s brother Roberto de Assis Moreira, who also had been held for a month in jail and another four months under house arrest in a hotel in Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion, for the same charge.

The 40-year-old former World Cup winner “is free to travel to whatever country in the world he wants but he must inform us if he changes his permanent residence” for a period of one year, the judge said.

“He has no restrictions except for the fulfillment of reparations for damage to society.”

Dressed in jeans, a black beret and black shirt, Ronaldinho accepted the terms of his release, which include payment of $90,000 damages. His brother, who is also Ronaldinho’s business manager, must pay $110,000.

The pair are also expected to appear before a judge in Brazil every three months — Ronaldinho for a year and his brother for two.

Amarilla accepted a recommendation by four prosecutors to avoid the need for an oral trial.

“There is no indication that he has any personal characteristics or criminal behaviour that … would put society at risk,” the prosecutor said prior to Monday’s trial.

Prosecutors did not believe Ronaldinho took part in the plan to manufacture the fake Paraguayan passports but believed de Assis Moreira was aware that the passports were false.

The brothers arrived in Paraguay on March 4 without any issues, with Ronaldinho, the 2005 Ballon d’Or winner, due to take part in an event in support of disadvantaged children.

However, two days later, the pair were taken into police custody when investigators raided their hotel following the discovery they had fake documents.

After being held in a police station in Asuncion, where Ronaldinho celebrated his 40th birthday on March 21, the two men had been under house arrest for more than four months in a luxury hotel in the capital, on bail of $1.6 million.

The investigation has since expanded into a case of possible money laundering.

Some 18 people have already been arrested in connection with the case, most of them immigration officials or police officers.

Ronaldinho, considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, was crucial in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup win.

He played for European giants such as Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain during a hugely successful 10-year stint in Europe.

He won the Champions League and two La Liga titles with Braca and Serie A with Milan.

After returning home to Brazil he won the Copa Libertadores — South America’s equivalent of the Champions Legaue — with Atletico Mineiro.

Source: AFP

FIFA president Gianni Infantino will “respect any decision by the ethics committee”, world football’s governing body said Monday after Swiss authorities opened criminal proceedings against him last week.

A Swiss special prosecutor has launched proceedings against Infantino, as part of an investigation into suspected collusion with the country’s attorney general, Michael Lauber. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

“I’ve no doubt that Gianni Infantino would respect any decision by the ethics commission,” FIFA deputy secretary general Alasdair Bell told a video news conference. “We don’t see any evidence of criminal or unethical behaviour,” he said.

FIFA on Sunday insisted Infantino would continue to fulfil his duties as president and blasted the Swiss probe.

It gave no indication on Monday whether or not its ethics committee had instigated proceedings against Infantino.

“The ethics committee will have to come to its own conclusion… In every case, it needs to be tested, if there’s something serious, there’s a case for suspension,” said Bell.

Questioned about Infantino’s absence during Monday’s video conference, Bell said the FIFA chief “will be available and will speak in order to clear his name.”

He added: “FIFA and Gianni Infantino have absolutely nothing to hide, we want to be transparent. There’s no factual basis for this criminal procedure.”

Infantino and Lauber are said to have held a series of meetings in 2016 and 2017.

Two such meetings were initially exposed in 2018 by “Football Leaks”, a cross-border investigation by several European news organisations.

In a statement Thursday, Swiss authorities said special prosecutor Stefan Keller “has reached the conclusion that…there are indications of criminal conduct” in relation to meetings between Infantino, Lauber and another official, Rinaldo Arnold.

“This concerns abuse of public office, breach of official secrecy, assisting offenders and incitement to these acts,” the authorities said.

Lauber, who offered his resignation on July 24, was in charge of Switzerland’s probe into the towering corruption scandal that exploded at the heart of Zurich-based FIFA in 2015.

But he was forced to recuse himself from the investigation in June 2019, following media revelations that he had held several undeclared meetings with Infantino during the probe.

Switzerland has pursued a number of cases since a raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich in May 2015 led to the arrests of a several FIFA executives and exposed an allegedly corrupt underbelly in world football.

In total, more than 20 FIFA proceedings have been opened in Switzerland over the past five years into allegations of corruption and vote-buying, and allegations over the awarding of television rights contracts.

Source: AFP

Lewis Hamilton smashed the track record twice on Saturday to grab a record seventh British Grand Prix pole position with a stunning performance in a tense qualifying session.

Hamilton, who on Sunday seeks a record-increasing seventh Silverstone victory, finished ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by more than three-tenths of a second after the Finn had been fastest in final practice and then again in both Q2 and Q3 when he also set lap records.

The defending six-time champion and current series leader bounced back from a ragged performance, including a spin, in the first parts of qualifying to claim his 65th pole with Mercedes and the record-increasing 91st of his career.

It was also a record eighth successive Mercedes pole success in Britain on a day when they were clear of their nearest rivals Red Bull by a full second, Max Verstappen taking third place on the grid ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Rising British star Lando Norris, 20, was fifth for McLaren ahead of Lance Stroll in Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’, Carlos Sainz in the second McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo and his Renault team-mate Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel, who was 10th for Ferrari.

“This track is awesome! But it is tough out there – with the winds, it is like juggling balls on a moving plate,” said a delighted Hamilton.

“I had a spin and as you know qualifying is all about confidence and I was struggling in the first sectors of every lap, but I took some deep breaths, composed myself and in Q3 I had a clear lap and the second one was even better!”

He added that it was strange to drive without any fans in the circuit. “Usually, it’s all sirens, flags and smoke and the atmosphere is buzzing – you get out of the car and have a different energy so I miss them, but I hope everyone is safe and happy at home.”

Source: AFP

Former Cameroon captain Stephen Tataw has died at the age of 57.

He was most famous for leading the Indomitable Lions to the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

That run included wins over Argentina, Romania and Colombia, as Cameroon became the first African side to reach the last eight.

Four years later in the United States it was not such a fairytale as they were knocked out in the first round, including a 6-1 thrashing by Russia.

Tataw’s club career saw him play for Cameroonian sides Tonnerre Yaounde and Olympic Mvolye.

He ended his playing time in Japan with Tosu Futures.

A cause of death has not yet been made public.

Source: BBC

The Ballon d’Or will not be awarded this year due to the extraordinary conditions created by the coronavirus pandemic, organisers France Football announced on Monday.

It will be the first time the trophy given for the world’s best men’s footballer has not been awarded since Englishman Stanley Matthews won the inaugural edition in 1956.

“There will be no edition in 2020, because it turns out, after thoughtful consideration, that all the conditions are not met,” said Pascal Ferre, the editor of the magazine.

The COVID-19 outbreak saw all major football leagues shut down in March, with the German Bundesliga the first to resume behind closed doors in May.

France Football said it would be unfair to vote on the world’s best player when some leagues, including the French Ligue 1, cancelled their seasons early.

Ferre also suggested that it would not be right to judge players based on games played without spectators present.

“We believe that such a singular year cannot… be treated as an ordinary year,” he added.

“Two months (January and February), out of the eleven generally required to form an opinion and decide who should lift the trophies, represent far too little to gauge and judge, without forgetting that the other games were played –- or will be played –- in unusual conditions (behind closed doors, with five replacements, Champions League’s Final 8 played in a single game).”

Lionel Messi won a record-breaking sixth Ballon d’Or last year.

The women’s Ballon d’Or, which was first awarded in 2018, has also been cancelled.

France Football added that it was looking forward to holding a ceremony in 2021, but that this year it would instead organise a vote for the all-time greatest men’s XI.

Source:  AFP

Few players or managers have enjoyed World Cup glory with two countries but Jack Charlton, who has died aged 85, was held in rare affection by English and Irish football supporters.

The World Cup may have brought the best remembered moments of his career but Charlton had no shortage of success at club level during nearly 45 years as a player and manager.

Charlton, a tall, no-nonsense central defender, was part of Alf Ramsey’s England team which won the World Cup in 1966, playing in the same side as his brother Bobby.

As a manager, he took Ireland to their first World Cup, in Italy in 1990 and led them to the quarter-finals of the tournament, which remains the country’s best performance.

Awarded an OBE in 1974 and given honorary Irish citizenship in 1996, after his death was announced in a family statement on Saturday, Charlton was described by the country’s former Prime Minister Leo Varadkar as “Ireland’s most loved Englishman”.

He was a proud Northumbrian, from the mining village of Ashington, but spent his entire club career with Leeds United.

Loyal to Leeds

Charlton was a central part of the Yorkshire club’s golden era in the 1960s and 70s under Don Revie, winning trophies at home and abroad and making a club record 773 appearances.

His popularity crossed generations and football loyalties, with many Northern English school kids in the 1970s enjoying his passionate and unscripted coaching in the Tyne-Tees television series “Play Soccer – Jack Charlton’s Way”.

After leaving school, Charlton had briefly worked, like his father, in the mines at Linton colliery but it was not for him and he was on the brink of joining the police force when he went to Leeds United in 1952.

Despite his boyhood affection for Newcastle United, Leeds was an obvious choice given his uncle Jimmy Milburn played for the club at the time and two other uncles, Jack and George Milburn, had also played for the club.

His early years, with Leeds in the second division and Charlton sometimes asked to play at centre-forward, offered little sign of the glory that was to come under Revie.

At one point Charlton met with Manchester United manager Matt Busby to discuss a transfer which would have seen him team up with his brother at Old Trafford.

But he stayed with Leeds until he retired from playing in 1973 and, with his rugged defending and leadership role on the field, was part of the team which won the English league title in 1969 and FA Cup in 1972.

He also enjoyed success in European football as Leeds won the old Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, later the UEFA Cup and now the Europa League, in 1968 and 1971.

England career

Charlton’s England career began relatively late. He was almost 30 when he made his debut against Scotland at Wembley in 1965 but, as with his tackling, the timing was perfect.

Just over a year later, playing alongside captain Bobby Moore and with his brother in midfield, Charlton became a World Cup winner as hosts England beat West Germany 4-2 in the final.

He retired from international duty after the 1970 World Cup and following three more seasons with Leeds he ended his playing career and moved into management with second division Middlesbrough.

In his first season in charge, ‘Boro won the title by 15 points earning promotion to the top flight where Charlton established them before leaving in 1977.

He applied for the England job after Revie’s departure but said he never received an answer to his application.

Charlton dropped into the third division to manage Sheffield Wednesday and it was there that he adopted the direct, physical style that was to prove so effective later with Ireland.

The Owls won promotion in 1980 but, despite a run to the FA Cup semi-finals, he was unable to take them to the top flight and left in 1983 for a short spell at Newcastle.

Managing the Irish team

Taking over the Irish national side in 1986, Charlton secured qualification for the 1988 European Championship, the first time the country had reached an international tournament although they failed to get out of the group stage.

Then came their first World Cup in 1990, after Ireland had beaten Spain, Malta, Hungary and Northern Ireland to qualify for the biggest stage for the first time.

Despite drawing all their games in the group stage at the finals, Ireland went through to meet Romania in the last 16, beating them on penalties after a goalless draw before losing 1-0 to Italy in the quarter-finals.

The team – and their manager – captured the imagination of the Irish public and four years later, in the United States, they did so again, this time beating Italy in the group stage before losing 2-0 to the Netherlands in the last 16.

“He changed everything about Irish football… Jack came in and changed that mentality… His legacy within Ireland is absolutely huge,” said midfielder Ray Houghton.

Those who knew Charlton certainly have no shortage of stories about his humour and forthright opinions which made him one of the great characters of the game.

(REUTERS)

Neymar, the world’s most expensive footballer, was approved to receive a $120 welfare payment meant for low-paid Brazilian workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, in an apparent case of identity theft, a report said Thursday.

The Paris Saint-Germain star’s name, date of birth and Brazilian ID number were used to register for the 600-real stimulus payment from the federal government, news site UOL reported.

The emergency payments are meant to help Brazilians employed in the informal sector — such as cleaners or cooks — whose jobs and incomes have evaporated with stay-at-home measures to contain the virus.

With a contract at PSG, estimated earnings of $95.5 million this year and the record for most expensive football transfer in history, at 222 million euros, Neymar does not qualify.

Yet according to UOL, the application in his name “was initially approved and scheduled for payment… before being frozen and placed ‘under evaluation’ due to indications it failed to meet the requirements.”

The striker’s communications staff did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

UOL reported his staff said Neymar “obviously never applied for this benefit, and does not know who would have done so.”

Brazil is one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. It has the third-highest death toll globally, at more than 34,000, behind only the US and Britain.

Neymar, 28, is riding out the pandemic at his luxury villa in Mangaratiba, a resort town outside Rio de Janeiro.

Source:  AFP

Spain coach Luis Enrique says playing behind closed doors is “sadder than dancing with your own sister”, as football faces the prospect of games without supporters for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Germany’s Bundesliga became the first major European league to resume last weekend following the two-month shutdown, with strict hygiene measures enforced at all matches across the country.

“(Playing without fans) is sadder than dancing with your own sister. It’s not attractive,” Luis Enrique told the “Colgados del aro” (“Hanging from the hoop”) basketball show on Wednesday.

“I watched the German football and it’s a sad sight. You hear the voices, you even hear the insults… you lose the intimacy of the better moments.

“But you also have to understand it’s a business that generates lots of money, and even if the spectacle is a long way from that when there’s fans it can help in dealing with the confinement.

“Watching football again or any other sport, as a fan it’s interesting,” he added.

Luis Enrique returned to his job as Spain coach in November after resigning last June to take care of his daughter, Xana, who died in August of cancer.

“(As a player), I would have liked to get back playing as soon as possible. I have no fear,” he said.

“I was a bit scared at one moment for my parents, my in-laws and the elderly people I cherish and above all for the people who may suffer. But on a personal level, I have zero fear.”

Euro 2020 has been postponed by a year due to the health crisis and Luis Enrique admitted the uncertainty was affecting everyone involved.

“We’re going day by day. We’re waiting for football to return and later down the line we will restart with some friendlies.

“In theory, the national team should play friendly matches in September as usual. But there are more important things right now so we need to be patient.”

Source AFP