Tag Archives: Europa Conference League

Lionel Messi Leads Shortlist of Nominees for FIFA’s The Best Mens Player Honor

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Lionel Messi is hoping to best his fellow professional soccer players…

The 36-year-old Argentine soccer star leads the 12-player shortlist for FIFA’s The Best Mens Player nominees alongside Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.

Lionel MessiMessi, Haaland and Mbappé are joined by Declan Rice, who is nominated after captaining former club West Ham United to Europa Conference League success.

Argentina’s national team captain, Messi, now playing for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, is aiming to win the award for a record third time having been given the honor in 2019 and 2022.

But despite helping Argentina to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022, Messi faces stiff competition from Manchester City forward Haaland after the Norway international scored 52 goals as Pep Guardiola‘s side completed a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble last season.

Julián Álvarez, Marcelo Brozovic, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gündogan, Rodri, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen and Bernardo Silva make up the shortlist alongside Messi, Haaland, Mbappe and Rice.

Voting for the eighth annual awards opened on Thursday on FIFA.com and closes in mid-October. National team coaches, captains, journalists and fans make up the list of voters.

Pau Torres Leaving Hometown Club Villarreal for Premier League’s Aston Villa

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Pau Torres is ready to Aston-ish…

Aston Villa has signed the 26-year-old Spanish professional soccer player from Villarreal for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.

Pau TorresTorres had a reported release clause of €70 million ($77.8m) but with the centerback having only a year left on his contract with Villarreal, the English side agreed a fee in the region of €36.7 million ($40.8m).

“The 26-year-old defender, who has been capped on 23 occasions for his country, arrives at Villa for an undisclosed fee,” Villa said in a statement.

“A native of Villarreal, Torres came through the ranks of his hometown club and went on to become a key player for the LaLiga side.”

Torres won the Europa League with Villarreal under current Villa boss Unai Emery when they beat Manchester United in the 2021 final.

Villa have been looking to add experience to their squad ahead of their Europa Conference League campaign and Torres is the club’s second signing of the transfer window, following the arrival of midfielder Youri Tielemans from Leicester City earlier this week.