Christian McCaffrey has reset the running back market in the NFL.

McCaffrey agreed to a two-year, $38million extension with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, making him the league's highest-paid running back.

The new deal keeps McCaffrey, who turns 28 on Friday, under contract for the next four years after he signed a four-year, $64million extension in 2020 following his third season with the Carolina Panthers.

The 49ers acquired McCaffrey from the Panthers via a trade during the 2022 season, and he won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award in his first full season in San Francisco in 2023 after leading the NFL in rushing with 1,459 yards with 14 touchdowns.

He added another 564 receiving yards and seven TD receptions to help the 49ers secure the top seed in the NFC.

In 27 games with the 49ers, he has 2,205 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns to go with 1,028 receiving yards and 11 receiving TDs.

Since his 2017 rookie season, he leads all players with 10,505 scrimmage yards, while his 81 scrimmage touchdowns trail only Derrick Henry's 88.

Known for his bruising running style, McCaffrey also leads all players with 72 runs of at least 10 yards over the last two seasons.

McCaffrey attended the first day of San Francisco's mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday after skipping voluntary work-outs over the last two weeks.

Tottenham have confirmed Ryan Sessegnon and Japhet Tanganga are following Eric Dier and Ivan Perisic through the exit door as free agents.

Dier and Perisic had already agreed moves ahead of 2024-25, with Dier making his loan stay at Bayern Munich permanent and Perisic returning to boyhood club Hajduk Split.

Both players have now left the club following the expiration of their contracts, as have Sessegnon and Tanganga.

Sessegnon was considered one of the hottest properties in the English game when he joined from Fulham in a £25million deal in 2019, but he made just 57 appearances in five injury-affected years in north London, scoring three goals.

Sessegnon has been linked with several Premier League clubs, having seen his 2023-24 campaign ended by hamstring surgery in February.

Academy graduate Tanganga made 50 appearances for Spurs after breaking through under Jose Mourinho in 2019-20, and he spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Millwall. 

Kyrie Irving is the "most gifted player the NBA has ever seen" and holds the key to the Dallas Mavericks' chances of victory in the NBA Finals, according to former team-mate LeBron James.

James and Irving played together with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017, making the NBA Finals in each of those seasons and triumphing in 2015-16.

Irving then enjoyed stints with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets before joining Dallas last February. 

He has been in great form during the offseason, averaging 22.8 points and 5.2 assists as well as shooting 48.5 per cent from the field to help put Dallas in contention for their second NBA championship. 

Speaking on an episode of his 'Mind the Game' podcast, James said of Irving: "I'm so happy and so proud to watch him continue his growth. 

"I'm so f****** mad at the same time that I'm not his running mate any more.

"I would call Kyrie 'the wizard' all the time. There was nothing on a basketball floor that Kyrie couldn't do."

James highlighted Irving's performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, when he scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves, as the standout moment of this postseason.

While Boston may be favourites for the NBA Finals, which tip off on Thursday at TD Garden, James says Irving's ability gives Dallas a chance.

"That was like, 'oh s***, Dallas may be able to not only win the Western Conference finals, they might be able to win the whole thing'," James said of Irving's Game 1 display.

"Because of that wild card. He's the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen."

Rookie Luis Gil pitched six scoreless innings to win his seventh straight start and Aaron Judge continued his torrid pace with a two-run double to lead the New York Yankees to their sixth straight win, 5-1 over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Gil gave up just one hit with three walks and six strikeouts to improve to 7-0 with a 0.60 ERA in his last seven starts. He is the first pitcher in Yankees history to throw at least six innings and allow no more than one run in seven consecutive starts. 

Gleyber Torres hit a solo home run and Giancarlo Stanton added a two-run shot for the Yankees (43-19), who have won 17 of 21 to tie Philadelphia for the majors’ best record.

Judge went 2 for 3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. He is 41 for 100 (.410) with 15 home runs, 31 RBIs and 32 runs in his last 29 games.

New York is 105-42 against Minnesota since 2002 – the best record for any team against an opponent in its own league during that span.

The Twins’ lone run came on Royce Lewis’ home run in his return from a 58-game injury absence.  That snapped a 32-inning scoreless drought for the Twins against Yankees pitching.

Fried stifles Red Sox as Braves win

Max Fried had a career-high 13 strikeouts in seven innings and Ozzie Albies snapped a tie with a three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Boston Red Sox, 8-3.

Fried allowed two earned runs and four hits with one walk while pitching at least seven innings for the sixth time in his past eight starts.

His previous best of 11 strikeouts came most recently on Sept. 30, 2019, against the White Sox.

Orlando Arcia also homered to help the Braves improve to 3-0 this season against the Red Sox.

Albies’ homer off Kutter Crawford snapped a 3-all tie and came after Austin Riley walked and Marcell Ozuna reached on an infield single.

Phillies walk-off Brewers in 10th

Nick Castellanos lined an RBI double in the 10th inning after Alec Bohm tied it with a solo homer in the eighth as the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 in a matchup of division leaders.

After Bryson Stott was intentionally walked to open the bottom of the 10th, Castellanos doubled to right off Joel Payamps to score Whit Merrifield with the winning run for Philadelphia’s 43rd win, tied for the major league lead.

The Phillies have won five of six and lead the NL Central by seven games over Atlanta.

Bohm lifted Philadelphia into a 1-1 tie when he led off the eighth against Elvis Peguero with his sixth home run.

Milwaukee’s lone run came in the third when Bryce Perkins doubled, moved up on a flyout and scored on Andruw Monasterio’s groundout.

Rookie Luis Gil pitched six scoreless innings to win his seventh straight start and Aaron Judge continued his great pace with a two-run double to lead the New York Yankees to their sixth straight win, 5-1 over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Gil gave up just one hit with three walks and six strikeouts to improve to 7-0 with a 0.60 ERA in his last seven starts. He is the first pitcher in Yankees history to throw at least six innings and allow no more than one run in seven consecutive starts. 

Gleyber Torres hit a solo home run and Giancarlo Stanton added a two-run shot for the Yankees (43-19), who have won 17 of 21 to tie Philadelphia for the majors’ best record.

Judge went 2 for 3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. He is 41 for 100 (.410) with 15 home runs, 31 RBIs and 32 runs in his last 29 games.

New York are 105-42 against Minnesota since 2002 – the best record for any team against an opponent in their own league during that span.

The Twins’ lone run came on Royce Lewis’ homer on his return from a 58-game injury absence.  That snapped a 32-inning scoreless drought for the Twins against Yankees pitching.

Fried stifles Red Sox as Braves win

Max Fried had a career-high 13 strikeouts in seven innings and Ozzie Albies snapped a tie with a three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-3.

Fried allowed two earned runs and four hits with one walk while pitching at least seven innings for the sixth time in his past eight starts.

His previous best of 11 strikeouts came most recently on September 30, 2019, against the White Sox.

Orlando Arcia also homered to help the Braves improve to 3-0 this season against the Red Sox.

Albies’ homer off Kutter Crawford snapped a 3-all tie and came after Austin Riley walked and Marcell Ozuna reached on an infield single.

Phillies walk-off Brewers in 10th

Nick Castellanos lined an RBI double in the 10th inning after Alec Bohm tied it with a solo homer in the eighth as the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 in a matchup of division leaders.

After Bryson Stott was intentionally walked to open the bottom of the 10th, Castellanos doubled to right off Joel Payamps to score Whit Merrifield with the winning run for Philadelphia’s 43rd win, tied for the major league lead.

The Phillies have won five of six and lead the NL Central by seven games over Atlanta.

Bohm lifted Philadelphia into a 1-1 tie when he led off the eighth against Elvis Peguero with his sixth home run.

Milwaukee’s lone run came in the third when Bryce Perkins doubled, moved up on a flyout and scored on Andruw Monasterio’s groundout.

England coach Matthew Mott blamed nerves for his side's "sloppy" start against Scotland, but believes they had "all things in their favour" in the chase had the game not been abandoned.

Their World Cup opener was rained off after only one innings, which was split in two due to the bad weather, though Scotland's Michael Jones and George Munsey scored an impressive 90-0 in their 10 overs.

England were then set a target of 109 in 10 overs, but another rainstorm denied them a chance to begin the chase before the match was called off.

Prior to the first rain break, Mark Wood had George Munsey caught on 16, but the opener was reprieved when Wood was shown to have bowled a front-foot no-ball, while misfields allowed extra runs.

Despite what Mott labelled as "sloppy" play while bowling, he was confident his side would have been able to mount a successful chase.

"It was probably just a bit of nerves at the start of a tournament," Mott told the BBC.

"There's definitely areas we want to improve on, but there was a lot of good stuff in there as well.

"That was certainly an achievable chase. We probably would have had all the things in our favour in terms of only 10 overs, 10 wickets in hand and a wet ball [for Scotland's bowlers].

"It was frustrating not to get back out there, but that's the way it is."

Next up for England in Group B is Australia on Saturday at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

"I definitely think Australia is a big game but it's our next game and that's why it's a big game, and then depending on how we go there we reset and go again," Mott added.

"I'm sure, if the weather allows us, I think it'll be a fantastic contest."

Carlos Alcaraz continued his perfect start to the French Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the semi-finals on Tuesday.

It is the second year running that Alcaraz has brushed aside Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, this time with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory in just two hours and 15 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The Spaniard set the tone early on with a break in the opening game as he comfortably cruised through the first set and was 3-0 up in the second before Tsitsipas started to mount a comeback.

The momentum stayed with Alcaraz as he stretched his lead following the tie-break though, and held his nerve to see out the third set.

The world number three has reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive year, and has booked a meeting with the new world number one, Jannik Sinner. 

Data Debrief: Alcaraz keeps chasing records

Alcaraz has become the youngest player since Andy Roddick in 2003 (v Xavier Malisse) to defeat a player in all his first six meetings in ATP events.

Not only that, but among players who started their career in the Open Era, only Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe (59 each) have registered 50 Men's Singles Grand Slam wins in fewer matches than Alcaraz (60).

Troy Parrott proved the last-gasp hero as Ireland stole a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary, who suffered a blow less than two weeks before their Euro 2024 campaign starts.

Adam Idah opened the scoring in the first half at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, only for Adam Lang to level for the visitors four minutes later.

Yet Marco Rossi's team, who face Switzerland in their Euros opener on June 15, fell to late defeat as Parrott delivered a 92nd-minute winner for the home side.

That late strike ended Hungary’s 14-match unbeaten run (W9 D5) since losing 2-0 to Italy in a Nations League match back in September 2022.

Rossi may not be too concerned as that run was their longest undefeated streak since an 18-match streak between September 1954 and November 1955.

Hungary will also take comfort from the dominance of Dominik Szoboszlai, who created six chances in this match, the most of any player on the pitch and the same amount as all of his team-mates combined.

Switzerland, who join Hungary, Scotland and hosts Germany at the upcoming European Championship, were victorious on Tuesday after a 4-0 success against lowly Estonia.

Steven Zuber, Xherdan Shaqiri, Zeki Amdouni and Nico Elvedi were all on target at Swissporarena in Lucerne as Murat Yakin's men eased to a convincing warm-up win.

Switzerland continue their preparations for the Euros with their next friendly against Austria, who battled to a 2-1 victory over Serbia in Vienna.

Christoph Baumgartner scored one and assisted another for Patrick Wimmer before Strahinja Pavlovic pulled one back for Dragan Stojkovic's side.

Serbia open their Euro 2024 campaign against England on June 16 before meeting Slovenia, who were triumphant earlier in a day littered by international action.

Armenia's Varazdat Haroyan levelled after Jan Mlakar's early opener for Slovenia before veteran Josip Ilicic snatched a 2-1 victory for England's group opponents.

In the least entertaining game of the midweek action, Romania and Bulgaria shared a goalless draw in Bucharest.

Italy extended their unbeaten run with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Turkiye on Tuesday, though potentially suffered another injury blow in the process.

Luca Pellegrini was taken off in the 68th minute and was seen on the bench with an icepack strapped to his knee, following Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini's withdrawals from the squad in the last week.

In the first of their two warm-ups ahead of Euro 2024, Italy came closest to breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time when Bryan Cristante thumped a header against the post.

Guglielmo Vicario denied Merih Demiral on the half-volley in a bright second half for Turkiye, while Giacomo Raspadori's tame shot was held by Altay Bayindir in the final seconds as both sides failed to find a way through.

Data Debrief: Not good signs for the reigning Euros champions

Italy are not favourites going into their title defence in Germany later this month, and they struggled to show much attacking flair.

Although the Azzurri extended their unbeaten run over Turkey to 14 games, they created an expected goals (xG) of just 0.67, hitting the target with two of their 11 shots.

Portugal ramped up their Euro 2024 preparations as Bruno Fernandes was twice on target to stave off a late Finland fightback in Tuesday's 4-2 friendly victory.

Roberto Martinez's side were on course for a routine win in their first of three warm-up matches as captain Ruben Dias and Diogo Jota – the latter from the penalty spot – scored in the first half on Tuesday.

Fernandes furthered the hosts' lead after the break at Jose Alvalade Stadium, only for Finland to threaten a comeback just two weeks before Portugal's Euros opener against Czech Republic.

Former Norwich City forward Teemu Pukki twice fired past Jose Sa late on, though his efforts were not enough to salvage an unlikely draw after Fernandes made sure of victory six minutes from time.

Data Debrief: Dominant Portugal avoid late scare

Although Pukki's two strikes within five minutes offered Portugal a little to think about, Martinez's hosts were good value for their win – accumulating 3.05 expected goals to Finland's 0.96

Alongside Fernandes' heroics, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha was the star of the show in midfield, creating a game-leading five chances, three more than the entire Finland team managed all game.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta says his decision to dismiss Xavi came after doubts the Blaugrana head coach had lost faith in his squad.

The LaLiga giants were expected to part ways with former midfielder Xavi at the end of the season, only for the Spaniard to change his mind and opt to fulfill his contract with the club.

Yet in another unexpected turn of events, Xavi was given his marching orders – and chief Laporta claims the Barcelona boss had expressed concerns over the capabilities of his current players.

"If Xavi can change his mind, so can we," Laporta said in an interview with Barca One, the Blaugrana's in-house television channel.

"Everything was a bit forced when we decided to keep him on. Xavi is a club legend and his enthusiasm led us to the decision to ratify his position.

"At the time of his U-turn, I asked him: 'Do you believe in the team?' He told me 'Yes.' He said he had faith in this team.

"However, there were then comments in which he changed his discourse after conversations with [sporting director] Deco with respect to necessary changes to the squad.

"That forced me to reconsider the situation and I felt the squad needed a new impetus to be more competitive and get the best out of what we have.

"I have had to make these tough decisions with Barca legends. My heart told me he should stay on, but not my head.

"I hope [our] relationship can continue. I have been through it with [Ronald] Koeman, [Lionel] Messi, [Gerard] Pique, [Sergio] Busquets, [Jordi] Alba and now Xavi. All decisions are made for the good of Barca -- the club comes first."

In stark contrast, Laporta assured new head coach Hansi Flick – formerly of Bayern Munich and Germany's national side – backs Barcelona to succeed, with or without further investment.

"Flick feels capable of competing with this squad," the Barca president continued. "That was decisive."

"Flick's task is to win and he's accepted the challenge. The players must be well-prepared physically. The youngsters, the substitutes, players like [Robert] Lewandowski ... everyone has to be in good shape physically.

"The physical preparation is essential because, with that, and having the ball, we can win everything. This season we saw the team dip after the 60th minute physically. We didn't finish games as we wanted –in the two Clasicos, for example.

"I am not saying the team was not well prepared, but there are always things to improve. We need more."

Although adding to the playing squad was a contentious issue leading to Xavi's exit, Laporta expressed an interest in renewing the loans of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix.

"We want the two Joaos to continue," he said. "The idea is that they are here for another year. Deco is working on it. Flick rates them highly and when he was at Bayern he was interested in signing Felix.

"Just as we don't need a big transfer out, we don't believe we need big signings. Maybe a midfielder, a winger, but we also have an academy which can help fill these positions.

"We can compete in Europe with a squad based on the academy. That's what Flick has conveyed to us and what we think.

"We have a squad that can compete in Spain and Europe with the chance of success."

Novak Djokovic was left to rue his "tough decision" after a knee injury forced him to pull out of the French Open. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the tournament organisers announced Djokovic would not be continuing his title defence after picking up a knee injury in his incredible comeback win against Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.

His withdrawal also means he has relinquished his world number one ranking, with Jannik Sinner set to take his place in the standings following the end of the tournament.

In a social media post, Djokovic confirmed the news himself.

"I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros," his post read.

        View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole)

"I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday's match and unfortunately, due to a medial meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.

"I wish the best of luck to the players competing this week and sincerely thank the incredible fans for all the love and continued support. See you soon."

The 37-year-old now faces a race to be fit for Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion, with the tournament beginning on July 1.