Nemanja Matic wasted little time in deciding to join Roma and work with Jose Mourinho, explaining the Giallorossi coach "convinced me in less than five minutes".
The Serbia international will play under the stewardship of Mourinho for a third time in his career, having already featured for the Portuguese at Chelsea and Manchester United.
Mourinho first signed the midfielder for Chelsea from Benfica in 2014 in a deal worth £40million ($50m), winning the Premier League in their sole season together.
Matic played at Stamford Bridge for a further two years after Mourinho's departure, before the Portuguese coach re-signed him at United in 2017.
The following year Mourinho was relieved from his duties at Old Trafford, with Matic staying at United until last month, when he reunited with his former coach on a one-year deal in the Eternal City.
Matic has played 118 matches under Mourinho, the 33-year-old's most appearances under a single manager in the Premier League, and could not turn down working with him once more.
"He convinced me in less than five minutes to come to Rome: when I left United he called me and I immediately said yes," Matic told Il Messaggero.
"Mou has something extra that motivates and spurs you. I've never seen him satisfied, when he wins he already thinks about the next day. He is the first to be hungry for victories.
A dream team of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray will be complemented by Novak Djokovic at the Laver Cup.
Nadal, Federer and Murray had already been confirmed for the 2022 edition of the tournament, to be held in London in September.
And Djokovic, who won his 21st grand slam title at Wimbledon earlier this month, has now joined his fellow greats to add to a formidable Team Europe line-up.
The Serb last competed in the Laver Cup in 2018, and while it is yet unclear if he will be able to feature at the upcoming US Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status, Djokovic is relishing the chance to play alongside the best players of the modern era.
He said: "It's the only competition where you can play in a team environment with guys that you're normally competing against and to be joining Rafa, Roger and Andy – three of my biggest all-time rivals – it's going to be a truly unique moment in the history of our sport."
"I don't think I could have imagined having these four icons of the sport on one team together," said Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg.
"I know they, like I, appreciate the significance of this moment and will be truly up for it.
"Each year our goal is to win. With Rafa, Roger, Andy and Novak on the team, I like our chances."
The quartet have accounted for 66 of the last 76 grand slam titles won in men's tennis, while one of them held the number one spot every week between February 2004 and February 2022, when Daniil Medvedev ended that run.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Diego Schwartzman have been confirmed to be competing Team World - led by John McEnroe.
Six players will compete on each team, meaning Team Europe still have two more spots to fill, while Team World have three spare.
Erik ten Hag has warned Manchester United's board the club need to sign an attacker to be competitive this season, though he remains excited to integrate Cristiano Ronaldo into his plans.
United travelled to Thailand and Australia for the first part of their pre-season obligations with reserve left-back Tyrell Malacia the only new signing Ten Hag has been able to work with.
Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez have since agreed switches to Old Trafford, while a move for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong – who worked with Ten Hag at Ajax – is still in the works, albeit that deal is fraught with difficulties.
But Ten Hag wants attacking reinforcements to bolster a forward line including Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho.
Superstar striker Ronaldo is too still on the books despite reports suggesting he wants to depart Old Trafford less than 12 months after returning.
A move for Ajax's Antony has been touted, with one of the winger's representatives, Junior Pedroso, said to have been in Manchester for talks, though an asking price of €80million (£68m) is thought to be a sticking point.
When asked if an injury up top could leave United short, Ten Hag told a news conference: "That is a reason but also the number of games. You need more options in the offence.
"I think it’s vital if you want to get success – the season is really long – but we also still have time to fill that in."
Ronaldo did not travel with United for personal reasons unrelated to his future. Asked if there was any update about when he might join up with the squad Ten Hag added: "No – it is the same [situation] as last week."
Questioned on whether there was "concern" over Ronaldo's fitness for the new campaign, Ten Hag said: "Of course, but concerned is maybe not the right word.
"I focus on the players who are here. They are doing really well, they are in good shape. I prefer to focus on that and develop that.
"But I cannot wait for [Ronaldo] to come in. Then we will integrate him [into the team]."
United's competitors by contrast have concluded business swiftly, with Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham acting quickly in the market.
Ten Had concedes it is not ideal working without new signings but is confident the squad will adapt.
"It is definitely an advantage we could have but we are not in that situation," he said.
"Then you have to deal with that situation. You have to develop the team with the players you have. That's what we do.
"Back in Manchester, Eriksen, Martinez, will join in, we have more options. I think they can quite quickly integrate into the team."
Another headache for Ten Hag is how to get the best out of skipper Harry Maguire, who has endured a difficult 12 months and was the subject of boos during United's 4-1 win over Melbourne Victory on Tuesday.
Ten Hag told the England centre-back the only way to win over the doubters is via his performances on the pitch.
"About Maguire we heard [the boos] but you see, if you perform, it slows down," he added. "I think [Maguire] and the team impressed with the way we played.
"I don't think it matters to find out if I understand it [the boos]. It’s about how we can change it. So it's the team and Harry himself by performing. That is what we're working on. That is the only focus."
Barcelona have sold off a further 15 per cent of the club's LaLiga broadcasting rights to Sixth Street, a global investment firm.
In June, Barca confirmed 10 per cent of its TV rights had been sold to Sixth Street, and the company have now increased their investment into the club.
Sixth Street will now receive 25 per cent of the club's TV rights for the next 25 years, as Barca aim to appease their financial issues.
A statement from Barca president Joan Laporta read: "We continue to move forward on our strategy and are pleased to have completed this additional agreement with Sixth Street providing us with a meaningful increase in capital strength.
"Over the past few weeks, we and Sixth Street have engaged and collaborated with a shared understanding of what we are seeking to achieve for our organisation, and we look forward to our long-term partnership."
Alan Waxman, co-founder of Sixth Street and the organisation's chief executive, said: "FC Barcelona is one of the world's premier sporting organisations, and we are glad to be expanding our relationship through this additional investment.
"Our flexibility and cross-platform expertise continue to be of value to management teams when seeking to execute highly strategic initiatives."
Barca have required an influx of cash in order to boost Xavi's squad ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
While Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen arrived on free transfers, Barca have spent big on Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, with the duo arriving over the course of the last two weeks in deals worth around a combined €100million, according to reports.
Barca face rivals Real Madrid in a friendly in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Yordan Alvarez was full of belief that the Houston Astros could beat the New York Yankees, even before they went out and swept a double-header.
Houston claimed two wins over the American League leaders on Thursday, triumphing 3-2 and 7-5 respectively at Minute Maid Park.
That puts the Astros to within two and a half games of the Yankees, with the best records in the American League having gone head-to-head.
The Astros have now moved to a 5-2 record for the season against the Yankees, who have now lost seven of their past 10 games.
Alvarez homered in the second game and, along with Alex Bregman, combined for five RBIs as Houston won for the 61st time this season.
"I'm not going to say it doesn't mean anything," Alvarez told reporters.
"They're a really good team, but we also know we're a really good team as well.
"Beating them feels good, but we know that we’re capable of doing it."
The next time the teams face off could be in the postseason, with the Astros - thanks to their positive season series record - holding home-field advantage should that be the case.
"We were trying to chase a team and wanted to really win this first game, and that put us in a position that if we end up tied, we won the tiebreaker," said Astros coach Dusty Baker after the first game, having taken a risk by utilising his best pitchers in the early encounter.
"We really didn't want to take that into the second game. We went through our bullpen in the first game and that's why it was important for us to win it."
The Astros and Yankees faced off in the 2017 American League Championship Series, with the home team winning all seven games and Houston triumphing. Two years later, the Astros again succeeded, this time thanks to a walk-off home run from Jose Altuve in Game 6.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone understands the recent history of the rivalry, though his hope of claiming two victories failed to come to fruition.
"I'm aware of that, but it doesn't change the fact that we're going to try to win this game and win the night game," Boone said before the games.
"We're in the business of being the best team we can be right now and trying to win every time we are out there."
Newly crowned women’s 200m world champion, Shericka Jackson, insists she was determined to put on a show for the much-anticipated event at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Oregon on Friday.
By any measure, the young Jamaican certainly succeeded in doing so. En route to the gold medal, Jackson clocked the fastest time recorded for the event in 34 years. As it stands, only American Florence Griffth-Joyner, whose record still stands at 21.34, has gone faster.
The Jamaican’s time of 21.45 was a new national record and eclipsed the previous mark of 21.53 recorded by her compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah at the Beijing Olympics last year.
“I wanted to come out here and put on a show and I did just that. The fastest woman alive, a national record, and a personal best, I can’t complain,” Jackson said.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to her lofty position in world sprinting having begun her professional career at the 400m distance in 2015. The win was the first gold medal for the athlete at any major championship.
Griffith-Joyner’s world record, however, continues to be elusive but Jackson insists that isn’t a cause for concern at the moment.
“I wasn’t thinking about any time, the world record wasn’t on my mind. I was just going out there to execute each round as best as possible and when the time comes it comes.”
The Houston Astros started their second half of the MLB season in positive fashion, claiming a double-header sweep over the New York Yankees on Thursday.
The two best records in the American League (AL) faced off and the Astros bested the Yankees once again, moving to a 5-2 head-to-head record for the season with respective 3-2 and 7-5 wins at Minute Maid Park.
After splitting a four-game series in the Bronx in June, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman both homered and combined for five RBIs to hand the Astros the third win at home this season over the AL leaders.
In the earlier game, Bregman, Korey Lee and rookie JJ Matijevic combined for RBIs while Cristian Javier struck out three but only gave up two hits over 99 pitches in five innings.
With the sweep coming out of the All-Star Game, the Astros suddenly moved to within three games of the AL-leading Yankees, who have now lost seven of their past 10 games.
Gray gets Rangers rolling
Jon Gray led the way for the Texas Rangers as they commenced an 11-game road trip, shutting the Miami Marlins out for an 8-0 win.
Gray struck out five and conceded only four hits over 94 pitches in six innings, while Adolis Garcia homered and drove in three runs.
The Marlins slipped further away from the National League's wild card race with the defeat, now six games back with a fourth consecutive defeat and extending their scoreless streak to 34 innings.
Betts denies Giants comeback
Mookie Betts saved the day for the Los Angeles Dodgers after they almost squandered a big lead, eventually claiming a 9-6 win over their rivals in the San Francisco Giants.
Things were looking good early for the Dodgers, taking a 5-0 lead after the opening three innings off star Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon, with Freddie Freeman scoring a solo home run in the first inning with two out.
The Giants fought back in the seventh through Evan Longoria and Darin Ruf, though, with the two scoring home runs to set up a five-run inning.
A Trayce Thompson triple drove Gavin Lux home to tie after Thair Estrada was walked in the eighth, before a three-run shot from Betts off Jarlin Garcia gave the Dodgers the eventual win.
Betts confirmed the win with a great defensive play in the following inning, making a spectacular sliding catch deep in right-field to retire Joc Pederson.
Shericka Jackson produced the second fastest 200m time in history to win gold in the women’s 200m final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene on Thursday night.
Jackson, who won silver in the 100m with a 10.73 personal best on Sunday, ran a spectacular championship record 21.45 for victory ahead of teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (21.81) and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (22.02). Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah finished seventh in 22.39.
Jackson’s time also makes her the fastest woman alive over the distance and is a new national record.
In the men’s equivalent, the USA completed their second sprint sweep of the championships with Noah Lyles defending his title from Doha with a phenomenal world-leading and lifetime best of 19.31 to become the third fastest man in history over the distance.
Kenny Bednarek ran 19.77 for the silver medal while 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton took the bronze in 19.80. The Dominican Republic's Alexander Ogando and Trinidad & Tobago's Jereem Richards were fifth and sixth in 19.93 and 20.08, respectively.
In the Women’s 800m, Jamaica’s 1500m semi-finalist Adelle Tracey ran a personal best of 1:59.20 to finish third in heat one and advance to the semi-finals.
Joining Tracey in the semis will be her Jamaican teammate and 2019 World Championships finalist Natoya Goule, who won the sixth and final heat in 2:00.06.
In the field, the world leader and defending world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada needed only one throw to advance to the final of the men’s javelin, registering a mark of 89.91m. Trinidadian 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott failed to advance, finishing 16th overall in qualifying with a throw of 78.87m.
Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez jumped 17.06m to advance to the final of the men’s triple jump.
Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah believes he will be able to form a threatening strike partnership with Gabriel Jesus, who arrived from Manchester City in the off-season.
Nketiah finished the Premier League season in solid form last term, scoring five times in the Gunners' final seven games amid speculation over his future at the club.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, the 23-year-old renewed with the North London club, while Gabriel Jesus joined on a reported £45million transfer from the eventual Premier League champions.
Despite the potential of both fighting for the same spot, Nketiah feels Mikel Arteta could potentially get the best out of them together on the pitch, as witnessed in Wednesday's 3-1 pre-season win over Orlando City.
"I think we can play together, and I think we’ve shown that," he said. "Obviously, he’s a great player and it’s nice to play with him.
"Naturally with the kind of strikers we are, we’ve been able to combine quickly. It’s also good that we have a common celebration. I’m enjoying playing with him and hopefully we can continue to link up.
"Obviously, I like to play in the middle but I can play on the left as well and enjoy that. I’m just happy to be on the pitch in areas where I know I can be a threat and be dangerous. When 'Gabby' came on in the second half it was good to link up with him."
Jesus is the highest-profile signing for Arsenal in what has been a busy transfer window, with Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos also joining, and Oleksandr Zinchenko's signing reportedly imminent.
With the arrivals in mind, the England youth international added Arsenal was ultimately the best place for him to progress his career, despite interest from elsewhere.
"I wanted to wait until the end of the season and of course I had a lot of offers," Nketiah said. "I sat down with my team and with the manager and my family and we felt like Arsenal was the best place.
"When you get down to that stage of your contract you’re obviously going to have options and I sat down with my agent and family to go through them all.
"But Arsenal is a great club for me. I support the club and it’s a great project to be part of. I hope I can contribute to that in the future."
Five-time 100m World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce considers her longevity in the sport of track and field to be a blessing having seen so many of her contemporaries bow out.
The colourful Jamaica star first burst onto the world stage in 2008, as a 21-year-old, after capturing gold at the Beijing Olympics. One year later, the athlete proved she would be a force to be reckoned with after repeating the feat at the 2009 Berlin World Championship.
In a sport that is marked as much for its brevity at the very top level, as much as it is for blazing speed, 13 years later Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was once again crowned world champion in Oregon this week after dashing to gold in a blistering 10.67, her fastest time at a major games, at a jaw-dropping 35-years old.
As a testament to her remarkable longevity, the sprinter has remained the one constant in a changing sea of 100m athletes during the period. In the previous four World Championships finals, Fraser-Pryce has competed against 23 different athletes, the majority of which have now retired from the sport.
“Each time I step out on to the track I’m always feeling blessed to be able to do it because I know there are so many people I’ve competed with who have retired or they are injured or whatever it is. I’m just feeling blessed and am grateful to be able to continue,” Fraser-Pryce said.
In addition to being the oldest sprinter to win the 100m title, she also embarked on the journey of motherhood after taking time away from the sport in 2017 to have her first child, only to return to dominate.
“Age is a part of life, everyone will get to that stage, and taking time out to have a child is just part of the journey.”
After the first round of the 3M Open played at TPC Twin Cities, the two leaders – Im Sung-jae and Scott Piercy – sit two strokes clear of the chasing pack at six under.
There was no secret to the pair's success, as both were outlier performers with the putter, topping the day's rankings for strokes gained on the greens. Im was the best at 4.57 strokes gained, with Piercy in second (4.33) – nobody else finished better than Brice Garnett's 3.69.
The success for Piercy came after a week of sweeping changes to his game, entering the tournament with a new coach, new swing, new caddie, new driver and a new putter, saying afterwards that it was nice to be rewarded for his constant quest for improvement.
"I put in the work to make sure the stuff’s right," he said. "When it’s under the gun, it sometimes can be a little different, but the results with the putter today, I couldn’t be happier.
"It actually made me smile, and I don’t smile much."
Garnett finished part of the five-man group tied for third at four under, along with fellow strong putter Doug Ghim (2.90 strokes gained putting), while Tony Finau, Tom Hoge and Emiliano Grillo reached their score in a different fashion.
Grillo was solid all around without excelling in one area, while both Hoge (minus 0.73 strokes gained putting) and Finau (minus 0.56) struggled on the greens.
However, they were the top two in the tee-to-green category, with Hoge at 6.62 strokes gained and Finau at 6.45, with Hank Lebioda a long way back in third at 4.97.
Lebioda is one of nine players a further stroke back at three under – tied for eighth – along with Canada's Adam Hadwin and Sweden's David Lingmerth.
Taiwan's C.T. Pan and South Korea's Noh Seung-yul are part of the group at two under, while Australian trio Jason Day, Cam Davis and Greg Chalmers shot one-under 70s.
Recent PGA Tour winner J.T. Poston highlights the group at even par, with England's Danny Willett at one over, and Canada's Adam Svensson at two over.
Raphinha has credited former boss Marcelo Bielsa as the man who changed his career, following the winger's recent signing with Barcelona.
After protracted negotiations with Leeds United, the 25-year-old's signing was finally confirmed last Friday, joining on a five-year deal.
The transfer punctuates what has been a sudden rise to prominence for Raphinha, who spent only one season at Sporting CP and Rennes respectively before heading to Leeds in 2020.
From there under Marcelo Bielsa, the winger believes he played his best football to this date and helped him achieve a "bigger" footballing dream than once imagined.
"He was very important for me," Raphinha told Barca TV. "He got me out of France, gave me confidence, and then I managed to get to the Brazil team, with the way he made me play, he got the most out of me.
"My real dream was to play professionally in Brazil, to show my work for the Brazilian fans. I didn't get it but I had another opportunity, to stay in Europe. It was closer to my dreams, arriving here, playing in the Champions League, playing with Brazil. Today I am realising a bigger dream."
The Porto Alegre native was one of few shining lights for Leeds as they managed to stave off relegation from the Premier League last season, with Bielsa also replaced by Jesse Marsch in February.
Contributing to 29 goals in 65 Premier League appearances, and scoring in his debut on Tuesday against Inter Miami, Raphinha added he hopes to emulate compatriots who have worn the Barcelona shirt on the way to World Cup success with the Selecao.
"When the team goes well, the individual shows up, I really want to win the league, the Champions League, everything," he said.
"Individually, I have the dream of winning the World Cup with Brazil and I will stay at Barca for many years. It was a dream to follow in the footsteps of Ronaldinho and Neymar, Dani Alves too, Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, they are the Brazilian idols.
"Following in their footsteps is a huge honour for me, there are no words to explain the feelings. I always talk about Ronaldinho, because since I remember that I began to understand football, it was when Ronaldinho arrived at Barça, I always saw him play, do spectacular things."
Second seed Yulia Putintseva was eliminated from the Palermo Ladies Open at the quarter-final stage by Diane Parry on Thursday.
Putintseva was the strong favourite to overcome world number 86 Parry, but it was the latter who prevailed 6-3 6-4 to reach her first tour-level quarter-final.
Caroline Garcia also advanced through after recovering from a heavy first-set loss to overcome Elisabetta Cocciaretto 0-6 6-3 6-4.
Home hope Lucia Bronzetti awaits in the final eight following a 6-1 6-3 win over Elina Avanesyan, while Nuria Parrizas-Diaz beat Julia Grabher 6-2 6-4 in the day's other match.
At the Hamburg European Open, in-form Bernarda Pera beat Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-1 to make it 10 wins in a row without dropping a set.
Pera is through to her second semi-final in a row, where she will take on Maryna Zanevska, who saw off Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets for a second career top-50 victory.
Top seed Anett Kontaveit advanced after Andrea Petkovic withdrew injured when 6-0 2-0 down, but Barbora Krejcikova was on the end of a 6-1 6-3 upset against Anastasia Potapova.
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