BERLIN (GERMANY) (ITALPRESS) – Roma wanted him, but his future is likely to be in the Bundesliga. According to Sky Deutscheland, Claudio Echeverri is close to joining Bayer Leverkusen. The two clubs have reportedly already reached an agreement, and a financial agreement has also been reached between the German club and the young Argentine midfielder from Manchester City. His medical and signing are scheduled for the next few hours.

Already called up to Scaloni’s Albiceleste, the 19-year-old is moving to Germany for a season on loan with no option to buy, as the Citizens have no intention of risking losing him. Bayer will pay his full salary without the English club’s participation. “El Diablito,” as he was nicknamed, was also popular with Borussia Dortmund, Girona, and, as mentioned, Gasperini’s Roma, but ten Hag’s Bayer won out.

-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ROME (ITALPRESS) – Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil will play two matches in September. The Verdeoro, in the South American qualifiers for the next World Cup, will face Chile (September 4) and Bolivia (September 9). Meanwhile, the coach has already communicated the players on his preliminary list to the clubs involved, and Globo Esporte have obtained access to some of these names.

Goalkeepers: Gabriel Brazão (Santos); Defenders: Éder Militão (Real Madrid); Full-Backs: Vitinho (Botafogo) and Paulo Henrique (Vasco); Midfielders: Danilo (Botafogo) and Marcos Antonio (São Paulo); Forwards: Kaio Jorge (Cruzeiro), Neymar (Santos), and Rodrygo (Real Madrid).

Suspended for the match against Chile due to his second yellow card against Paraguay, Vinicius Junior will not be called up, at least for now. The official list will be published on Monday at 3:30 PM, with the team training on September 1st at the Granja Comary in Teresopolis.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

NYON (SWITZERLAND) (ITALPRESS) – While waiting for the draw to be finalized, preparations are underway for one of the most anticipated events for football fans across Europe. The draw for this year’s Champions League domestic phase will take place in Monaco on August 28th at 6:00 PM and will follow exactly the same procedure as last year.

The 36 participating teams will be divided into four pots based on their individual coefficients, with the Champions League title holder, PSG, seeded in Pot 1. From Pot 1, a physical ball will be drawn before the automated software, already in use last year, will select eight opponents, taking into account the following principles: – Two teams from each of the four pots, with one home and one away match against the teams in each pot drawn at random by the software. – No team from the same association will be drawn against another. – No more than two opponents from the same association. The same procedure will be repeated for all other teams until all pairings have been drawn. The Champions League match schedule, including dates and kick-off times, will be announced by Saturday, August 30th.

However, something changes for the Europa and Conference League draws. “This season’s new feature,” UEFA emphasizes, “is that for the first time the draws will be combined into a single special show, broadcast live from the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, simplifying the content and maximizing the impact of both draws. The event will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday, August 29. The two draws will be conducted in a fully digital format, using the same digital technology used last year to instantly draw the opponents, allowing for a smooth, efficient, and fast draw process. The software will be the same as already in use. Thanks to its flexibility, the system can draw the opponents for all teams one after the other—as in the Champions League—or draw all the pairings instantly with the press of a button. The latter will be the case for the Europa League and the Conference League. No physical balls will be used on stage. The draw button is pressed once at the start of both draws, thus activating the random selection of opponents, including home and away teams. The teams will know all their opponents by the end of the draw. of the draws, however the match schedules with the dates and start times will be drawn up later and communicated no later than Sunday 31 August.

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Source: medNews

LONDON (ENGLAND) (ITALPRESS) – According to the British tabloid, Inter consider reuniting with Onana. The Cameroonian goalkeeper was sidelined by Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, who did not call him up for the season opener against Arsenal, starting Turkish player Altay Bayindir, who was later criticized by the press and Red Devils fans for Calafiori’s goal that decided the match.

According to “SunSport,” Inter are interested in bringing Onana back to the Nerazzurri, and the goalkeeper would also be happy to return to Milan. United have certainly lost faith in the player and are looking for a reliable goalkeeper. In the past, Gigio Donnarumma has also been talked about for Manchester United, but the other Manchester team is said to be in pole position for the Italy captain: Pep Guardiola’s City.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LONDON (ENGLAND) (ITALPRESS) – The Serie A season is about to begin, but most likely not for Noah Okafor, who is on the verge of leaving AC Milan. The Swiss player is close to joining Leeds, according to the Daily Mail. A four-year deal is reportedly already in place, while Milan is said to be paying around 13.5 million pounds (just over 15.6 million euros) for the 25-year-old.

According to the British press, Everton and Arsenal were also interested in the player, but Leeds (yesterday they beat the Toffees in their Premier League debut thanks to an 84th-minute penalty from Nmecha) are ready to close the deal.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Electricity imported through the Malta-Sicily interconnector accounted for 32.4% of Malta’s power supply in 2024, up from 22.9% the previous year, according to figures released by Enemalta, the national energy provider. The increase reflects higher demand driven by rising temperatures, stronger economic activity, and planned maintenance at the Delimara 4 gas-fired plant, which limited local generation. Most imported power continued to come from natural gas (66.5%), while renewables made up just 8% of imports—a slight rise from 7.3% in 2023. Coal still represented 11.9%, down from 22.8% the previous year, while nuclear, petroleum products and other fuels made up the rest.

Overall, 60% of Malta’s electricity was locally generated in 2024, mainly from natural gas, compared to 69.1% in 2023. Renewables supplied 7.3% of the total, with petroleum products contributing just 0.3%. Enemalta noted that Malta has no control over the mix of imported electricity, since renewable energy certificates in Europe are traded separately from actual supply. To strengthen security and prepare for offshore wind integration, Malta is building a second interconnector to Sicily, with production of the subsea cable already underway in Norway and the US. The project is expected to help stabilise the grid and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, while ensuring supply continuity in the event of cable damage.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ROME (ITALPRESS) – Fifa will consider holding the Club World Cup every two years from 2029 in a move that would put more pressure on the international calendar, according to “The Guardian”. The next Club World Cup is due to take place in four years time, following the first expanded 32-team tournament held in the US this summer, but the world governing body is under pressure from leading clubs to make it a biennial event.

Real Madrid raised the issue during talks with the Infantino-led body in Miami last June, finding support from other clubs that failed to qualify, including Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Napoli. FIFA sources told the Guardian that, although the idea of holding the Club World Cup in 2027 is not being considered, it is likely that the situation will change after 2029. There is therefore the possibility of holding a Club World Cup in 2031.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

MADRID (SPAIN) (ITALPRESS) – “The rejection of the request to postpone the match against Osasuna? We would have liked to receive that kind of support, especially for the players’ health. We only had two weeks, but there are no excuses. The team can play tomorrow. Heart and desire sometimes push harder than legs.” Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said this in a press conference on the eve of the match against Osasuna, regarding La Liga’s refusal to postpone the debut of the blancos, fresh from their efforts at the Club World Cup.

“These have been two short but intense weeks, and we can’t wait to set foot at the Bernabéu. We want to start well. The first match is always important,” the coach added. “We are making progress. It’s difficult to measure, but I’m sure we can still improve. We’ve already introduced the main ideas and fundamentals at the Club World Cup and have been working on them over the last two weeks. The feeling is good,” said Xabi Alonso. And about the refereeing controversy: “We’ll see how things go. Hopefully we won’t have to talk about the referees,” concluded Xabi Alonso.

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(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

ROME (ITALPRESS) – Roma have made progress in the race for Jadon Sancho. The Giallorossi are advancing in negotiations, but—according to TEAMtalk—the deal with the player is far from being finalized. United have verbally accepted an offer from Roma for the winger, reportedly worth around €25 million, but negotiations with the 25-year-old will not be easy.

Sancho has a contract for another season at nearly €300,000 a week and wouldn’t be too keen on missing out on next season’s Champions League. Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini, meanwhile, is personally trying to convince him. Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Besiktas, and Atletico Madrid are also interested in Sancho, and they continue to monitor developments closely.

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Source: medNews

ZURICH (SWITZERLAND) (ITALPRESS) – “It is unacceptable that incidents occurred during two German Cup matches in Germany. Racism or any form of discrimination has no place in football,“ FIFA President Gianni Infantino posted on social media, commenting on the weekend’s events. Infantino stated that FIFA’s Players’ Voice Panel will be in contact with the German Football Association.

“All of us, the Players’ Voice Panel, and the entire football community stand firmly with all those affected by these events: we are committed to ensuring that players are respected and protected and that competition organizers and law enforcement authorities take appropriate action,” Infantino added.

There were two alleged incidents of racism: one involving Schalke 04’s Antwi-Adjei in the match against Lokomotive Leipzig, and the other during the match between RSV Eintracht and Kaiserslautern. Incidents which – among other things – occurred two days after Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo reported being insulted against Liverpool.

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Source: medNews