Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is set to be issued a six-game suspension following a disciplinary hearing conducted by former US district judge Sue L. Robinson.

The former Houston Texans star faced 24 civil lawsuits following sexual assault and misconduct allegations. He was not charged by two grand juries.

The NFL was seeking a suspension for a breach of the league's personal conduct policy, and Robinson has ruled Watson should be suspended for six games with no additional fine, according to NFL Network.

That would see the Browns without Watson for games against the Carolina Panthers, the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Atlanta Falcons, the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots.

His Cleveland debut would potentially follow against the Baltimore Ravens on October 23.

The NFL and the NFLPA have three days to appeal the decision, although the latter had already confirmed on Sunday it would not oppose any decision taken by Robinson. 

"Every player, owner, business partner and stakeholder deserves to know that our process is legitimate and will not be tarnished based on the whims of the league office," the NFLPA said in a statement.

"This is why, regardless of her decision, Deshaun and the NFLPA will stand by her ruling, and we call on the NFL to do the same."

Watson settled 20 of 24 lawsuits in June, with a further three settlements reported on Monday ahead of the hearing verdict.

He has not played since the 2020 season and was traded to the Browns in March, signing a fully guaranteed five-year $230million contract.

Real Madrid have confirmed the departure of forward Borja Mayoral, who has joined Getafe on a five-year deal.

The 25-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with Getafe, scoring six goals in 18 matches, and leaves Madrid after 15 years associated with the Spanish giants.

With Madrid, Mayoral has won the Champions League, Club World Cup, Super Cup and Supercopa de Espana, although he never quite established himself as a regular within the first-team squad.

Mayoral made his debut for Madrid in 2015 but subsequently went on loan to Wolfsburg for the 2016-17 season, returning to the Santiago Bernabeu the following year.

A two-year loan with Levante was followed by a two-season spell with Roma, which was cut short in January with Getafe taking over the deal for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign before securing his permanent signing.

Jules Kounde has detailed the role Xavi played in bringing the defender to Barcelona from Sevilla, describing how "important" it was the coach was pushing for the deal.

The 23-year-old was long courted by Premier League outfit Chelsea, who were widely reported to be set to secure a deal before Barcelona moved to hijack the agreement.

It was the second time in the window a late Barca move had frustrated the English side, with the Blaugrana beating them to the signature of Raphinha from Leeds United, while they also signed Andreas Christensen on a free transfer from the Blues.

For Kounde, though, the key to his decision was the conversations he had with Xavi.

"I had some good conversations with Xavi, he always expressed desire for me to come here, and that was important for me," he told a news conference.

"This is an important moment in my career, and in the conversations, he asked me to continue to do what I was doing in Sevilla, to continue to be aggressive, bring the ball out from the back, distribute, those are some of my strengths. 

"Barcelona is a great club, very demanding as well, and that's something that Xavi talked to me about."

Kounde's arrival at Barcelona comes as part of a significant recruitment drive from Xavi's side, with Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Christensen and Franck Kessie fellow new arrivals.

However, the France international has an advantage due to his experience of playing in Spain and believes he will quickly settle into the club.

"My knowledge of the league is going to make it easier to adapt as soon as possible, to adapt to the Barcelona style as well," he explained.

"My coach is obviously going to ask me to know my team-mates as well, and that's going to take time, but it won't be a problem.

"There is lots of competition, I think it's very good for the team. It's good to have a lot of competition in each spot; there are lots of games, of course.

"What I have to do here is grow and learn. I'm very young still, and I'm here to help the team at any given moment, whatever the coach asks of me and my team-mates.

"It's good that there is competition, I'm really looking forward to playing, and when there's competition, it's a challenge and that's great."

Orlando Brown Jr is set to return to the fold for the Kansas City Chiefs with reports he will attend Monday's training camp.

The left-tackle had skipped the first week of camp amid a contract dispute but ESPN's Robert Griffin III states he will return to play on the one-year franchise tag, earning him a $16.6million pay out for the upcoming season.

Brown's return comes as NFL teams have their first padded practice on Monday and it will provide a huge boost for the Chiefs, as well as quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs are looking to tie Brown to a multi-year contract but it is reported Brown turned down the team's last offer of a six-year, $144million contract with a $30.25m signing bonus – with the sticking point being no guaranteed money after the first two years.

Brown was a third-round pick by Baltimore in 2018 and has been selected to three Pro Bowls in four seasons, all of which came during his three years with the Ravens.

In Brown's absence from the training camp, the Chiefs have turned to fifth-year tackle Roderick Johnson who took the majority of first-team reps last week.

On Johnson's role, head coach Andy Reid said: "Johnson] was productive in the offseason, so coming in, we thought he could help out. We'll just see how it rolls."

The Chiefs begin pre-season at the Chicago Bears on August 13th, then host the Washington Commanders and the Green Bay Packers before the regular season starts on the road at the Arizona Cardinals on September 11th.

Bournemouth have completed the signing of versatile midfielder Marcus Tavernier from Middlesbrough ahead of their Premier League return.

Tavernier follows Ryan Fredericks and Joe Rothwell in joining Bournemouth, who begin their campaign at home to Aston Villa on Saturday.

The 23-year-old, who made 155 appearances for Boro, has signed a five-year deal at the Vitality Stadium for a reported upfront fee of £10million.

Bournemouth confirmed the transfer on their website on Monday and chief executive Neill Blake said: "He was one of the standout performers in the Championship last season.

"He has a great pedigree, tremendous energy and is a versatile young player who can play a number of different positions.

"Marcus was attracting a great deal of interest and we are delighted he has decided to join us. Everyone at the club is looking forward to working with him."

Tavernier is comfortable playing in midfield, out wide or up top and scored and assisted a combined 10 goals in 44 Championship appearances last time out.

"I'm happy to be here, it's been a long time coming," Tavernier said. "I'm just delighted to be here now."

Neymar insists team-mate Lionel Messi has nothing to prove to his critics in his second season as a Paris Saint-Germain player.

Messi had an underwhelming first campaign with PSG following his move from Barcelona, scoring 11 goals in 34 games – down on the 38 scored with Barca the previous year.

Those 11 goals came from an expected goals (xG) value of 16.8, suggesting Messi underperformed in front of goal based on the quality of his chances.

Messi assisted 14 goals, though, 10 of which came after the turn of the year – only Barca's Ousmane Dembele (11) has managed more across Europe's top five leagues in 2022.

The 35-year-old impressed in his first competitive outing of the 2022-23 campaign on Sunday as he opened the scoring in PSG's 4-0 Trophee des Champions win over Nantes.

However, when asked if that display is a sign of a new Messi at PSG, Neymar leapt to the defence of his colleague.

"I don't think so. I think people talk too much," he told Amazon Prime. "They don't know what's going on every day, what's going on inside.

"Leo, it's Leo. It's still Leo, it doesn't change. No, he continues to make the difference. He adapts.

"It is obvious that we hope that everything goes well for the three of us, for me, for Leo, for Kylian [Mbappe]. If the three of us are well, I'm sure it's good for the team."

Neymar scored twice after Messi had opened the scoring in Tel Aviv and Sergio Ramos was also on target as PSG won their first silverware under Christophe Galtier.

The Parisians have now won 11 Trophee des Champion crowns, including nine of the past 10 editions of the competition.

Neymar, who also created a game-high three chances, is pleased to have started the new campaign – his sixth with PSG – in style.

"I'm satisfied. We had a very good match with the team," he said. "It's very important to start winning and it's a match that ends in a trophy. Whatever happens, you have to win."

Fernando Alonso has agreed a multi-year deal to replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin from the 2023 Formula One season.

Four-time F1 world champion Vettel announced last week he is retiring at the end of the current campaign.

Aston Martin have moved quickly to bring in a replacement, with Alpine driver Alonso – himself a two-time world champion – set to join next year.

"This Aston Martin team is clearly applying the energy and commitment to win, and it is therefore one of the most exciting teams in Formula One today," Alonso said.

"I have known Lawrence and Lance [Stroll] for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula One.

"I have watched as the team has systematically attracted great people with winning pedigrees, and I have become aware of the huge commitment to new facilities and resources.

"No one in Formula One today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me."

Alonso returned to F1 with Alpine in 2021 after a two-year sabbatical and finished 10th last season, which is also the position he finds himself in midway through 2022.

The Spaniard made his F1 debut in 2001 and won his two world titles in back-to-back years in 2005 and 2006.

Now at the age of 41, Alonso is still as motivated as ever as he prepares to embark on another new chapter with Aston Martin.

"I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organisation that is committed to learn, develop and succeed," he said.

"We all appreciate that there is much to be done to get to the front, and that we must apply all our energies in working together to find performance.

"The passion and desire to perform that I have witnessed convince me to maintain my enjoyment and commitment to the sport.

"I intend to win again in this sport and therefore I have to take the opportunities that feel right to me."

Alonso finished eighth at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday to secure his eighth consecutive points finish.

He brings a wealth of experience to Aston Martin, where he will link up with Lance Stroll, the son of executive chairman Lawrence.

"I have known and admired Fernando for many years and it has always been clear that he is a committed winner like me," Lawrence Stroll said.

"I have set out to bring together the best people and develop the right resources and organisation to succeed in this highly competitive sport.

"Those plans are now taking shape at Silverstone. It seemed natural therefore to invite Fernando to be part of the development of a winning team. 

"We very quickly established in our recent conversations that we have the same ambitions and values, and it was logical and easy to confirm our desire to work together."

Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler have agreed England's Twenty20 International series defeat to South Africa was "a line in the sand moment".

Mott was recently appointed England's new limited-overs head coach, with Buttler newly installed as white-ball skipper.

But the pair have not enjoyed the sort of strong start seen in the Test arena under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.

England lost ODI and T20I series' to India, both 2-1, before facing South Africa.

A three-match ODI series was drawn, but Buttler's men then let slip a 1-0 lead in the T20Is to lose again.

England looked to be on the right path with their opening 41-run win, only for subsequent reverses by 58 and 90 runs to prompt serious concern.

Following that latest dismal defeat, Mott was not shying away from the need for vast improvement.

"I've just spoken to Jos very briefly, and this is a line in the sand moment for the team," the coach told Sky Sports.

He added: "We were down on confidence with bat and ball. It was disappointing.

"I thought we put ourselves in a good position to win the series, and we'll have take a lot out of that game."

This sequence of underwhelming results comes ahead of a T20 World Cup at the end of the year, too.

"It's been a bit of a struggle," Mott told BBC Sport. "We've had ups and downs throughout the summer.

"We've played two great teams and come out second both times, so we're disappointed."

Mohamed Salah was affected by his contract saga in the latter stages of last season, according to Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk.

Egypt international Salah signed a new deal at Anfield last month worth a reported £350,000 a week, making him the highest-earning player in the club's history.

That brought an end to months of speculation regarding the 30-year-old's future, having himself hinted that he may move away as he entered the final year of his previous deal.

Despite Salah finishing last season as the Premier League's joint-top goalscorer alongside Son Heung-min, Van Dijk believes the contract standoff took its toll on the Egypt star.

"At the end of the season, from maybe April until the end, there was a lot of talk about his contract and stuff," Van Dijk told The Telegraph. 

"We're all human beings and maybe that affected him a little bit, unfortunately."

The 118 Premier League goals Salah has scored since his first Liverpool campaign in 2017-18 is 13 more than next-best Harry Kane.

Former Chelsea forward Salah scored 27 goals in his first 31 appearances for the Reds in all competitions last season, compared to four goals in his final 20 games.

He was on the scoresheet from the penalty spot in Saturday's Community Shield win over Manchester City, and Van Dijk has backed his colleague to continue scoring regularly.

"He still showed high levels and quality and he played with a free mind and obviously he's happy to be here and I think everyone is happy to be here," the Dutchman said.

"He showed it already for the last three years. He's under the microscope all the time. He created that himself. He's such a good player and shows that consistently all the time."