Joao Mendes – the son of Barcelona legend Ronaldinho – will join the Blaugrana following a successful trial, club president Joan Laporta has confirmed.
Former Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho enjoyed a successful five-year spell with Barca between 2003 and 2008, helping the Catalan giants win two LaLiga titles and the Champions League, while he now serves as a club ambassador.
And his 17-year-old son, who previously played for Corinthians, is set for an opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps, having departed Cruzeiro to embark on his trial with the Blaugrana.
"We are really happy Ronaldinho — and his brother [Roberto Assis] — thought of Barca to continue his son's career," Laporta said.
"He's very young and he's training with us, but we will give him a contract. There are a few things to finalise, but we are very happy with him.
"The pressure on the boy is great, because Ronaldinho has been one of the best in history. The son has pressure, but it's the job of our coaches to develop his skills."
Meanwhile, director of football Mateu Alemany says the club are still confident of signing Julian Araujo, having narrowly missed out on landing the LA Galaxy defender during the January transfer window.
"He is a footballer that we have been following for a long time that due to circumstances – due to a failure of the FIFA system – it could not be closed," he said.
"The famous 18 seconds. He was a footballer who would play for second team. We are looking for a solution, via [the] CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] or to play in another team for the next five months and then join."
Officials involved in Spurs-Liverpool VAR ‘error’ not selected for this weekend
The two match officials stood down from duty following Saturday’s incident that saw Liverpool wrongly denied a goal will not be involved in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
Darren England and Dan Cook were VAR and assistant VAR respectively when a “significant human error” resulted in Luis Diaz’s effort incorrectly being disallowed for offside in the Reds’ 2-1 loss at Tottenham.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) on Sunday announced the pair had been replaced for their next matches – England was due to be fourth official that day at Nottingham Forest v Brentford, with Cook to be assistant referee for Monday’s Fulham-Chelsea clash, but Craig Pawson and Eddie Smart stepped in.
And on Tuesday, England and Cook did not feature as the Premier League released its list of officials for matchweek eight this Saturday and Sunday.
Simon Hooper, the on-field referee for the Tottenham-Liverpool contest and fourth official for the subsequent Fulham game, is to be VAR when Everton host Bournemouth on Saturday.
After Diaz’s 34th-minute effort at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the score was 0-0, was disallowed PGMOL put out a statement saying “a significant human error occurred” and that a goal should have been given but “the VAR failed to intervene”.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool have formally requested the audio from PGMOL of the conversation between Hooper and England related to the incident.
Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday night saying they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.
Francis Lee hailed one of Man City’s ‘all-time greats’ after his death, aged 79
Manchester City have hailed former striker Francis Lee as one of their “all-time greats” following his death at the age of 79.
Lee, who also had a spell as City chairman in the 1990s, died on Monday morning following a long battle against cancer. He scored 148 goals in 330 appearances for the club between 1967-74.
In a statement on their official website, City said: “It is with the deepest sadness and heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of former Manchester City player and chairman Francis Lee.
“Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time.”
The reigning Premier League champions described Lee as “a club legend in every sense”.
City said: “He won one First Division title, one FA Cup, one League Cup, a European Cup Winners’ Cup and two Charity Shields during a glittering eight-year spell as a player – a legacy that ensures his position among Manchester City’s all-time greats is secure.”
Lee, who began his playing career at Bolton, joined Derby from City in 1974. He won 27 England caps, scoring 10 goals, after making his full international debut in 1968 and appeared at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
City added: “Franny passed away in the early hours of this morning after a long battle with cancer.
“His wife Gill and children Charlotte, Jonny and Nik say he will be sorely missed and would like to thank everyone for their kind words.
“Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time.
“As a mark of respect, flags around the Etihad Stadium and City Football Academy are flying at half-mast. More tributes from the club will follow in the coming days.”
Lee spent eight seasons at first club Bolton, scoring 106 goals in 210 games after breaking into the side at the age of 16, before City splashed out a then club-record £60,000 to sign him in 1967.
Bolton posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “All at Bolton Wanderers are saddened to learn of the passing of former forward, Francis Lee.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Francis’ family, friends and loved ones at this difficult time.”
City sold Lee to Derby for £110,000 in 1974 and in his first match against his former club he scored a spectacular winning goal before helping the Rams lift the First Division title in his first season.
Derby said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of 1974/75 title-winner Francis Lee. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and all who knew him.”
Lee enjoyed huge success as a businessman following his football career – he retired as a player in 1976 – and sold his waste paper recycling company, FH Lee Ltd, for £8.35million in 1984.
After success as a racehorse trainer, Lee bought City from Peter Swales in 1994, but after being lauded by the club’s fans as a returning hero, his spell as chairman turned sour.
City were relegated to the second tier and were on their way down to the third when Lee resigned in 1998.
During his spell as a player with Derby, Lee was involved in an infamous on-field fight with former Leeds defender Norman Hunter and the Match of the Day footage is now a YouTube cult classic.
Lee, whose record of 10 goals scored in Manchester derbies was broken by Wayne Rooney in 2013, was made CBE for services to sport and charity in 2016.
Steven Davis ‘very honoured’ to become Rangers interim boss
Steven Davis declared himself “very honoured” after getting a call “out of the blue” to take charge of Rangers on an interim basis following the sacking of Michael Beale.
The 38-year-old Northern Irishman, who had two fruitful spells as a player at Ibrox, was invited by the Gers board on Sunday evening to take the reins until they appoint a new permanent boss.
Davis will be assisted by fellow former Rangers players Alex Rae and Steven Smith, as well as coach Brian Gilmour and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart.
“I’m very honoured,” he told Rangers TV on Monday. “The call came out of the blue a little bit. I wasn’t expecting it but I’d just like to try and repay the trust the club have shown by putting me in this position.
“Obviously it’s not a position we would like to be in, we’re disappointed with where we’re at at this moment in time but I’m really looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m delighted to get the opportunity. I believe in the group we’ve got. Things haven’t gone the way we would have liked and we find ourselves in this situation but I’m sure with ourselves and the fans pushing in the same direction we can go on and get some good results.”
Beale paid the price for a dismal start to the season, with Rangers third in the cinch Premiership – behind St Mirren – and seven points adrift of city rivals Celtic after three defeats in seven league matches.
In addition, they suffered a 7-3 aggregate defeat by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League play-off round in August, with a raft of summer signings having failed to shine so far.
Davis and the rest of the interim coaching staff must rouse the team following Saturday’s humiliating 3-1 defeat at home to Aberdeen as they prepare to head to Cyprus to face Aris Limassol in the Europa League on Thursday.
Rangers’ next league match is away to second-placed St Mirren on Sunday before the international break brings a fortnight in which they can try to regroup and bed in a new manager.
“Ultimately we have to get results first and foremost at a club like Rangers,” said Davis. “I just want to try and get some pride back in terms of the way we play and try and get the boys’ confidence back as well.
“We’ve got a really good group here. I see the level of application here, I’ve been in and around it long enough with the majority of them, so I just want to get that belief back in the team and give them a platform to go and show their best performances.”
Davis is unlikely to be considered for the role on a permanent basis, with Kevin Muscat, Chris Wilder and Frank Lampard among those having been linked with the vacancy in the aftermath of Beale’s exit.
However, the Northern Irishman intends to use his spell in charge as a learning curve.
“Management was something I’ve considered for further down the line,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting this opportunity, it hadn’t crossed my mind, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.
“It’s going to be a great experience for me and I’m really looking forward to the challenge. Everybody knows what the club means to me. My approach is just going to be the same as I was as a player, and that’s just to give it my best. Hopefully that will be good enough.”
Beale wished Rangers well for the future as he issued a social media post within hours of his sacking backing the Ibrox club to get back on track.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx4Ku0AoE86/?hl=en
The 43-year-old took to Instagram in the early hours of Monday morning to wish Davis all the best.
“Thank you @RangersFC to everyone behind the scenes at the training ground and Ibrox, to the board, staff, fans and all the players,” he wrote. “I will always follow and support the club from afar and wish you every success.
“Now is the time for everyone to unite fully behind Steven Davis and the team in the coming games.
“There is still so much to play for this season and I have a strong belief in this group of players. Thank you and good luck.”
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