The 32-year-old Brazilian Spanish soccer player has signed with Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro, with the Spaininternational player set to return to action after eight months.
Costa, a former Atletico Madridand Chelseastriker, had been without a club since December following his departure from Atletico Madrid after the LaLiga champions agreed to the Brazil-born player’s request to rescind his contract.
It was his second spell at Atletico Madrid, having earlier played for the club from 2010-14.
In the 2013-14 season, Costa helped Atletico to the Spanish title with 27 goals and they also reached the Champions League final but lost 4-1 to rivals Real Madrid in extra-time after Costa was forced off early with a hamstring injury.
Costa joined Chelsea in 2014 and was an instant hit, firing the London club to the 2014-15 and 2016-17 Premier League titles with 20 goals in each campaign.
He returned to Atletico Madrid in January 2018 but injuries limited him to 43 LaLiga starts in three years as he scored 12 goals, and opportunities were further limited by the signings of Joao Felix and Luis Suarez.
The enigmatic striker joins Atletico Mineiro, who defeated second-placed Palmeiras 2-0 earlier on Saturday and extended their lead at the top of Brazil’s Serie A to five points.
FC Barcelona is finalizing the signing of the 32-year-old Argentine professional footballer on a free transfer this summer, according to ESPN.
Barca have offered Aguero a two-year contract and sources say the Argentina international could arrive to the Camp Nou after the Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelseaon May 29.
Aguero, who will turn 33 next month, has agreed to considerably reduce his wages and will join as a free agent once his contract with Manchester City expires on June 30.
Barca have been looking for a No. 9 since Luis Suarez‘s departure to Atletico Madrid last summer.
Club president Joan Laporta sees Aguero’s potential arrival as a great opportunity for Barca because of the former Atletico star’s experience and that no transfer fee is required.
Barca came close to signing Aguero in 2014 but decided instead to acquire Suarez.
Aguero has other important offers on the table, and his willingness to lower his wages to arrive to the Camp Nou is valued by the club, according to a source.
Barca are convinced that in the short term, Aguero will outperform Martin Braithwaite, who has scored seven goals this season. The Denmarkinternational is expected to be placed on the transfer list this summer.
Barca also believe that Aguero’s signing would help persuade his friend and Argentinateammate Lionel Messi to renew his contract.
Messi, whose contract expires next month, has yet to sign a new deal with Barca.
Barcelonamoved to fifth place in La Liga with a victory at Huesca on Sunday, with the 33-year-old Argentine soccer star earning a special assist.
Frenkie de Jong scored in the 27th minute for Ronald Koeman‘s side, who are now unbeaten over their last six matches.
Messi provided the assist on de Jong’s goal, giving him 200 for his Blaugrana career.
It was Messi’s 500th appearance for Barcelona in La Liga when he took to the pitch at El Alcoraz for Sunday’s La Liga clash against Huesca.
The captain was back in the starting XI to lead his team out for their first game of 2021 after sitting out the draw against Eibar last time out.
Messi becomes the first non-Spanish player to reach 500 games in La Liga and is now just five behind Xavi’s record of La Liga appearances for Barca.
The Argentina international is also close to moving past Xavi and becoming Barca’s all-time appearance maker.
Xavi played in a total of 767 games for Barcelona, while Messi is now on 750.
Former goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta holds the record for the most La Liga appearances. He managed 622 during a career which saw him play for Athletic, Barcelona and Valencia.
Barca now have 28 points from 16 matches, one behind fourth-placed Villarreal and 10 behind table-toppers Atletico Madrid, who still have a game in hand.
Huesca sit at the bottom of the table with 12 points after 17 matches.
The Catalans next face Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, while Huesca will host Real Betison January 11.
The 33-year-old Uruguayan professional footballer, a forward for Atlético Madrid and the Uruguay national team, has bought and donated 1,000 Big Macs as part of an annual charity event that McDonald’s carries out in his native country.
Suarez purchased the hamburgers in Spain, at €4.75 each, spending a total of €4,750, via the McDelivery platform in order to take part in Friday’s event.
All the funds generated from the purchases of those hamburgers are donated by McDonald’s to the Ronald McDonald House Association and the young people from the school Liceo Impulso.
The Ronald McDonald House in Uruguay helps more than 7,000 children and their families each year, working every day to provide accommodation and support to families of hospitalized children, children undergoing medical treatment and pregnant women that are at risk.
The former Liverpool and Barcelona player decided to donate all the Big Macs to the children from a youth league of Pando, a city 32 kilometers from the country’s capital Montevideo.
McDonald’s Uruguay thanked Suarez for his generosity and invited others, saying that distance is no impediment to donate.
“Luis Suarez proved that the Big Day has no frontiers. He bought 1,000 Big Macs from Spain via McDelivery to help the House Ronald, Liceo Impulso and donate to Pando’s BabyLeague,” tweeted McDonald’s Uruguay. “Thank you, Luis, for putting the jersey on the Big Day! Anyone can join in wherever you are.”
Manchester United and the 33-year-old Uruguayan soccer player are close to agreeing to a two-year deal, according to ESPN.
Cavani, a free agent since leaving Paris Saint-Germainat the end of last season, has been offered to every major club in Europe but United are now actively working on an agreement that could see the striker travel to England on Sunday for a medical.
Sources told ESPN that talks accelerated quickly on Saturday with final discussions scheduled for Sunday morning.
Cavani is keen to move to Old Trafford and could sign an initial one-year deal with the option for another 12 months.
He has already held talks with a number of clubs this summer. The first offer arrived from Benfica, although they weren’t able to pay as much as he was hoping to receive.
Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Juventus also weighed up making a move but, for various reasons, dropped out of the running for his signature.
The Uruguay international scored 200 goals in 301 games for PSG following his move from Napoli in 2013.
Atletico Madrid have signed the 33-year-old Uruguayan professional footballer from FC Barcelona.
Barca confirmed on Wednesday that Suarez will leave for the Spanish capital and will hold a farewell press conference on Thursday.
Suarez joins Atletico on a free transfer, although Barca could make up to €6 million on the move based on a number of performance-related variables.
The deal is expected to be for two years, with Atletico stating the deal is subject to a medical examination.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone was the driving force behind the move for Suarez, which fell into place once Alvaro Moratajoined Juventus on loan on Tuesday.
The Rojiblancos, like Barca, are in a period of financial uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic and needed to make room on their wage bill before signing new players.
The move draws parallels with David Villa‘s switch from Barca to Atletico in 2013. With Villa up front, Simeone’s side won the La Liga title and reached the Champions League final, knocking Barca out along the way.
Suarez, who recently became the third-highest scorer in Barca’s history with 198 goals, was told he was surplus to requirements by new coach Ronald Koeman last month.
That prompted the player’s legal team to begin talks with the Catalan club over the early termination of his contract, which had one year left to run.
An agreement was eventually brokered on Monday, which would see Suarez give up a percentage of what he was owed in exchange for being allowed to leave for free.
But, when it came out that he planned to join Atletico, Barca, who didn’t want to strengthen a direct rival for free, backtracked on the original agreement.
Suarez had previously rejected the chance to join Inter Miami, who offered him the chance to become the highest-ever paid player in Major League Soccer with a deal worth around €8m annually.
He also looked close to joining Juventus at one time. To move to the Serie A champions, though, he needed to obtain Italian citizenship, which meant passing a language exam in Perugia last week.
The striker leaves Barcelona six years after signing from Liverpool for €75m. During his time at Camp Nou, he won 14 trophies, including four La Liga titles and one Champions League.
The 33-year-old Uruguayan professional footballer and Barcelona striker has been given the green light to return to action almost five months after undergoing a knee operation
Suarez last played for Barca in a 3-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid on January 9 and underwent surgery three days later to repair a problem in his right knee.
The striker’s return will be a boost for Barca manager Quique Setien, with Suarez having scored 11 goals and set up seven more in 17 league appearances before he sustained the injury.
Barcelona trained at the Camp Nou stadium for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown on Saturday.
Barca are set to return to action against relegation-threatened Mallorca on June 13.
Barca hold a two-point lead over rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with 58 points after 27 games. Their last game in the league was a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad on March 7.
Lionel Messi leads Barcelona back to the top of the standings…
The 32-year-old Argentine soccer star hit a sensational late goal on Sunday to give Barcelona FC a 1-0 win against rival Atletico Madrid, as the team reclaimed the top spot in La Liga from Real Madrid.
Messi, playing his 701st game for Barca, settled a pulsating and tense encounter in the 86th minute, galloping down the right wing before cutting inside and playing a one-two with Luis Suarez before guiding the ball into the bottom corner.
It was Messi’s first goal against Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium and gave his side their first win over their rivals at the ground in three attempts after successive draws in the last two seasons.
“Whenever you have a game like this which is really tight and really tough, being able to count on Messi is always an advantage,” said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde.
The strike saw Barca return to the top of the standings with 31 points after 14 games, ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference, while Atletico were left in the sixth spot with 25 points, having played one match more than Barca and Real.
Both sides hit the woodwork and Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen also made two stunning saves, while Atletico felt that Gerard Pique should have been shown a second yellow card in the second half for a late tackle on Alvaro Morata.
Atletico were also fortunate not to have a player sent off when Vitolo slammed into Pique’s knee with a fierce challenge a few minutes later after picking up an earlier booking.
“We feel very hard done by,” said Atletico midfielder Saul Niguez. “We played superbly and Barcelona had hardly any chances but when Messi appears he is capable of doing anything and he made it look so easy, that’s why he is the best.”
Atletico had won only one of their previous six games in all competitions and looked intent on making an early statement as they came out pressing Barca high up the pitch and peppering their box with crosses.
An investment group including the 37-year-old Spanish professional footballer and former World Cup champion has been granted a United Soccer League( USL) franchise in New York City.
Queensboro FC will begin play in 2021 in the USL Championship, the second division of professional soccer in the United States. It will host its home matches in a new, modular stadium at York Collegein Queens that will have a capacity of around 7,500. The new team will also play select home matches at Citi Field, home of MLB‘s New York Mets.
“Bringing professional football to Queens’ diverse community is an exciting and unique opportunity,” Villa said in a statement to ESPN. “The beautiful game already lives here, thanks to the melting pot of cultures who are so passionate about the sport. I can’t think of a better place for QBFC to grow. I’m proud to be part of this project.”
Rumors that the USL was planning to place a team in New York City, as well as Villa’s involvement, emerged last summer. Now those plans have come to fruition for the former New York City FCforward and 2016 MLS MVP.
Villa, who counts Sporting Gijon, Real Zaragoza, Valencia, Barcelonaand Atletico Madridamong the clubs he’s played for, spent the 2019 campaign in Japan with J1 Leagueside Vissel Kobe.
“I’m proud to say I’ve had a long-running connection to Queens,” said Villa. “I lived here for four years while I was developing my football academies, teaching kids not just how to play the sport but to appreciate the game’s values, too. Queens is — and always has been — special. You feel the passion for football walking the streets.
“It’s why we’re proud to bring a professional team to this borough. It’s the obvious next step following the clinics, summer camps, academies and various other programs for boys and girls we’ve held in Astoria, Flushing and at Queens College.”
The investment group is led by Jonathan Krane, CEO of New York City-based asset management companyKraneShares. Krane has previously been involved with the USL. This past season KraneShares was the away jersey sponsor of USL Championship side New Mexico United.
“The opportunity to bring professional soccer to Queens has long been a dream of mine and I can’t wait to deliver a USL Championship club that Queens can be proud of,” he said. “I’m thrilled to work with David and represent the borough to the fullest as we look forward to kickoff in 2021.”
In order to focus on his ownership responsibilities, as well as leading the day-to-day soccer operations, Villa will have retired from professional soccer by the time the team begins playing in 2021. Among his goals is to build an academy for local and international talent to develop.
“We will recruit the best players in Queens as we become the home team,” said Villa. “We have a built-in advantage in the number of talented players in the borough. The sporting level in USL is high, which means we have to be demanding in the quality of our athletes. But our goal is to have as many Queens-bred players as possible.”
The USL Championship currently has 34 teams, with San Diego set to come on board next season. Oakland East Bay will join alongside QBFC in 2021.
“Announcing a USL Championship club in Queens is a big moment for our league,” said USL CEO Alec Papadakis. “When we consider expansion, we’re primarily looking for three things: A community who is passionate about soccer, a strong local ownership group, and a pathway towards a soccer-specific stadium. With QBFC, we have all three, and with Jon and David at the helm, we believe this has the potential to be something very special.”
Bayern Munich have completed the signing of the 23-half-Spanish professional soccer player and Atletico Madrid defender for €80 million.
The France international will officially join the team on June 30.
A move to the Allianz Arenahad long been mooted for the World Cup-winner, and he will sign a five-year contract, with Atletico Madrid confirming Bayern met Hernandez’s buy-out clause.
“Today is a very important day in my career,” Hernandez said. “Bayern Munich are one of the best clubs in Europe and the world.
“I am proud to be able to fight for every trophy with Bayern in the future. I would like to thank Atletico, the management, the coaches, my teammates and the fans for a wonderful 12 years. Atletico will always be a part of me. Now I’m happy that I’m taking the next step at Bayern. “
Bayern director Hasan Salihamdzicadded: “I am very happy that in Lucas Hernandez we have been able to sign one of the best defensive players in the world and world champions.
“Lucas can be used both in central defense and on the left. In addition, Lucas will continue our tradition of outstanding French players and strengthen our team.”
Hernandez is sidelined with a knee injury picked up during the 3-1 defeat to Real Madridin La Liga, but Bayern are confident he will be fit for the beginning of the next campaign.
