Azeem Rafiq was left with "mixed emotions" after a report into English and Welsh cricket found discrimination to be "widespread".

The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) published its findings from a two-year investigation on Tuesday, concluding that racism – alongside other forms of discrimination such as sexism and elitism – was "entrenched" in the sport. 

Rafiq, who played for Yorkshire over two spells between 2008 and 2018 before becoming a whistleblower over the racism he faced while with the county, spoke of his "sadness and anger" following the release of the report, though he remains hopeful of a brighter future for the sport.

"I got briefed yesterday [on the report's findings]," Rafiq told Stats Perform. "[It is] mixed emotions, you know, a bit of sadness, a bit of anger.

"Naturally, I'm a human being, and the question I ask myself is, 'why have I had to go through the mill when this data is there in numbers for everyone to see?'

"I just wanted to thank the commissioner Cindy Butts and her team. It's been an important piece of work. They've stayed strong and they've really given cricket an opportunity and I just want to thank them.

"For over 4,000 people who built up the courage to talk about their experiences, I hope this gives them a bit of closure. 

"A lot of my experiences are about race. But there's a lot in there, a lot about elitism, classism, sexism, misogyny. It's important to understand that this is way, way, way wider than my experiences."

Rafiq revealed he was frustrated by the lack of response from his former team-mates and other players, saying: "If I'm being very honest, I think the players have shown exactly where the game is in terms of a lack of acceptance.

"These are people that I know very closely, and I've not heard a single thing. It's been upsetting me. I'm not going to lie. 

"The players are the role models. The players are the big names and they need to drive this. It needs to be with actions as opposed to PR initiatives.

"There's a lot going on behind the scenes that's been tough, and one of the things is fellow players and their lack of acceptance of how we, as people of colour, have suffered.

"Even this morning, I read an article from Michael Atherton, using his platform to try and undermine, downplay the abuse that we've all suffered. 

"It's sad, it's upsetting. I hope we can take Michael and his friends on a journey of education, of what it's like to live in these shoes."

Gilles Simon believes Andy Murray's inferior trophy haul means he cannot be grouped with tennis' 'Big Three' of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Murray has enjoyed a long and stellar career, reaching 11 major finals and claiming three grand slam titles, as well as spending 41 weeks ranked as the world number one.

But with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer boasting 23, 22 and 20 grand slam successes respectively, Simon feels Murray is not quite on their level.

"He's not part of the Big Three," Simon told Stats Perform at the Roland-Garros eSeries by BNP Paribas. 

"You don't have to compare him with the Big Three, because he played at the very same time and we have the result.

"Andy was a fantastic player, just under these three guys in terms of level. In the end, the gap is huge in terms of titles: 23, 22 and 20, compared to three, so he's not part of the Big Four.

"He played at the same time as everyone and he has three and they have 20 or more. That's how I see it."

Simon – who won three of his 19 meetings with Murray before retiring in 2022 – feels the Scot was unfortunate to have competed with the 'Big Three' and would have been remembered as one of the game's greats in another era.

"He could have won 17 slams without the Big Three," Simon explained. "What is hard for Andy is to compare him to other players from other generations, when other players maybe have more slams than he has.

"If he had played at that time, he could maybe have had 15 and been one of the greatest. You cannot compare him with the Big Three, we saw it already, we saw the results.

"Where I feel sad for Andy is that if you play in a different era, you have 10 [grand slam titles] and then if we take the all-time rankings, we go to [Pete] Sampras with 14 and you say maybe he's here.

"This is where I feel it's a bit of an injustice for him compared to his level, because he would be closer to something like this than to someone who has three slams. He would be much higher in the all-time rankings."

Women's football could surpass the men's game, according to Jean-Michel Aulas.

Former Lyon president Aulas has been a major backer of women's football, with the French club having one of the most successful club sides in the female game.

During Aulas' time as president, Lyon's women's team have won a record 16 Division 1 Feminine titles and a record eight Women's Champions League crowns.

Speaking to Stats Perform at the inaugural European Club Association (ECA) Women's Football Summit in London, Aulas was bullish about the future of the women's game.

"In any case, whether you like it or not, it's inevitable. Tomorrow, women's soccer will be the equal of men's soccer, and maybe even better," he said.

"And it's an absolutely fantastic growth driver. You can see it when people try and I have this responsibility at the French Football Federation, to create a women's soccer that is overpowering.

"We don't want to let ourselves be overtaken by the English league or other leagues.

"So we're trying to create a dynamic and a self-generating model not only of belief, but also of economic results that will enable us to continue investing."

Aulas believes women's football is already more entertaining than men's.

"It's not marketing, it's not, it's concrete," he said when asked about athletic differences between the genders.

"It's that the effective playing time of women's soccer is far greater than the effective playing time of men's soccer. Why is that? Because we're not looking to gain time. We're not trying to betray the referee.

"And these figures show that, in athletic terms, there will soon be no difference. And then, in terms of state of mind, it's all in favour of women's soccer."

The 2023 Women's World Cup is set to be another huge driver in attracting a wider audience, and Aulas believes there are four clear favourites to succeed in Australia and New Zealand.

He explained: "I'm actually a double player in this World Cup since I'm responsible in France for leading the French team delegation. On a general level, I think that this World Cup will reflect what has already been the case in France, i.e. a very significant development in terms of spectators and television viewers.

"The competition is going to be even more competitive because the number of teams that can win and play a role today has increased.

"And then for the French team, of course, to try to go a little further than we have done in recent competitions with a new coach, Herve Renard, and also with a team that will be keen to reach the final rounds, to try to defend the image of France which, in the boys' game so far, has been very successful.

"For me, I see four teams who are perhaps the best of the lot. The United States, as always, obviously. And of course England, who have just won the European Cup with a lot of certainty and a lot of ambition.

"I can also see Brazil, who have some excellent players and are trying, as with the boys, to bring a highly technical style of women's soccer to the table. And then there's France.

"I see these four teams in the top places. There are always surprises, so it's simply a prediction."

Aulas also emphasised that the ECA presidents are firmly in favour of growing the women's game.

"The club presidents of the ECA, who are among the greatest club presidents of all European clubs, believe strongly in it," he said.

"So they're going to keep investing. And since we're in London, we can also see Chelsea investing heavily with American shareholders.

"That's what's going to enable us to strengthen women's soccer by developing the rules and bringing them closer together."

European Club Association (ECA) president Nasser Al-Khelaifi says women's football deserves more investment as he predicted "amazing" growth for the game.

Al-Khelaifi, who is also the president of Paris Saint-Germain, was speaking at the inaugural ECA Women's Football Summit in London.

In under a month, the eyes of the footballing world will be on Australia and New Zealand for the Women's World Cup.

And while women's football is arguably in a stronger position than ever before, Al-Khelaifi wants more to be done to ensure a bright future.

He said: "I think women's football deserves more from us, definitely. It deserves more focus and investment financially.

"If we're all together we can achieve much better results, we are much stronger.

"I promise, as ECA chairman, on behalf of the entire board and management that we are committed to woman's football. We see the growth and we see, if we are together, the growth will be amazing."

FIFA's chief of women's football, Sarai Bareman, added: "It was after that World Cup four years ago when we had 1.12 billion people tuning in to experience that watershed moment when we felt this huge explosion in the women's game. More than what we've ever felt before.

"Particularly since 2019 and particularly here in Europe, leagues and clubs are giving the world's best players more regular opportunities to earn a full-time living from football with professional structures.

"They have opportunities to experience the conditions that their male counterparts have been accustomed to for so long."

And Bareman believes this World Cup will prove another landmark moment in the development of the women's game.

"Although it's the ninth edition, it is a tournament of firsts. It's the first time we will have 32 teams. It's the first to be co-hosted by two countries across two confederations, and it's the first to be in the Southern Hemisphere and the Asia Pacific region," she said.

"We want to have two billion people tuning in from around the world. That's our target.

"We will have 1.5 million people filling the stadiums, and I'm happy to say that we're well on track to achieving those ambitious goals.

"The future for women's football is really, really bright. And I can't wait to see what this landscape will look like in September when we reflect on what will be the biggest FIFA Women's World Cup of all time."

Developing women-specific football boots might be the way forward when it comes to reducing the number of ACL injuries suffered by female players.

That is the hope of the European Club Association (ECA), which has backed research into the development of boots made specifically for women.

Several star players have suffered serious knee injuries in recent years, with Beth Mead and fellow Arsenal stars Leah Williamson and Vivianne Miedema among the big names set to miss this year's Women's World Cup due to ACL problems.

Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, meanwhile, missed last year's Women's Euros after sustaining an ACL tear in her left leg.

Claire Bloomfield, the head of women's football at the ECA, is hopeful new research can help mitigate the issue.

"High performance is actually the topic of our six strategic goals, where we're really committed to investing in first-of-its-kind research to tackle neglected areas of high performance and medical research," she told Stats Perform at the inaugural ECA Women's Football Summit in London.

"We know that boots on the market today are engineered for white males.

"So we need to work closely with our clubs and our Women's High-Performance Advisory Group to develop a study in partnership with industry experts to allow us to edge closer to this goal of making sure that every woman and girl is playing in football boots that are engineered specifically for her needs.

"Now this is an extraordinary project that took many, many months, and we're still only at phase one. So I anticipate there will be further layers of research and conversations to come.

"But it's great that we're having this conversation with the industry right now. There is a lot of appetite and interest in this topic and I'm hopeful that together as an industry, we will be able to get to a point where in the very near future women's football boots are accessible for all.

"One of the reasons why we launched the group, which is composed of club doctors, physios, sport scientists, all working specifically with the women's team in Europe, was so that we could tackle topics like [ACL injuries].

"So we're looking at things like menstrual cycle and performance. We're looking also at ACL injuries, and we held a session with our high-performance advisory group at Roma earlier this year where we were looking more closely with experts at the biomechanics of ACLs, and even the situations which can impact an ACL.

"There are many contributing factors, and it's a priority topic for us.

"We obviously want to work with the global game to find a way to minimise the number of players who suffer ACL injuries, but also make sure that we are better informed when it comes to things like the rehabilitation and even the training and performance."

Katrine Kryger, a medical researcher for FIFA, added: "A football boot is shaped so that it has a really tight fit to the foot. And it should be because you need to run around and change direction.

"So you can't just wear something that's loose as a normal running shoe, but having something that is not perfectly fitted to the foot will cause discomfort and pain.

"And therefore based on our new data, we have the data to design a football boot that is truly fitted to a woman's foot.

"It will give you data on where the foot should optimally bend, and we provide information about what players like in terms of the most important features of the football boot, what studs they like and where the pain and discomfort that they're currently experiencing is."

Asked whether women not wearing specifically fitted boots could have resulted in a higher number of ACL injuries, Kryger said: "I'm an academic and we base our answers on data, and we don't have the data on that.

"But if you look at it from a sort of a global perspective, we know that there are so many inequalities between men's and women's football that are contributing factors, like playing on poor quality pitches.

"But also things like wearing boots that aren't designed for them are likely to be factors that will impact the risk of injury."

The 2023 Women's World Cup will be the "biggest ever", according to the European Club Association (ECA) head of women's football Claire Bloomfield.

Australia and New Zealand will host the tournament across July and August, with 32 teams competing in the competition for the first time in its history.

With women's football in a stronger position than ever before, Bloomfield is confident this year's World Cup will prove to be the best yet.

"This is undoubtedly going to be the biggest Women's World Cup ever," Bloomfield told Stats Perform at the inaugural ECA Women's Football Summit in London.

"You heard the FIFA chief of women's football, Sarai Bareman, talking about what a landmark occasion this was going to be. We have an extremely close alliance with FIFA, particularly through the extension of our new MOU, which references women's football for the first time.

"So we fully support the work that is going on to deliver this record-breaking World Cup.

"It's obviously an incredible showcase also for the players who are playing at European clubs, likely to be a record number of players from Europe, I'm sure.

"We will actually be travelling out to Australia and New Zealand to experience the competition and use it as an opportunity to strengthen our relationships with national teams and other stakeholders."

Bloomfield also emphasised the importance of the inaugural ECA summit for women's football.

"This is a hugely significant landmark for ECA and for women's club football across Europe. We're really fortunate to have the leadership in our chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi and our ECA CEO Charlie Marshall, who truly believe in women's football," she said.

"And it's with this passion that they have all sought to drive women's football forwards that we're able to put on an event like this and bring stakeholders from all around the world to be with us as we celebrate the achievements of our women's football strategy so far."

The 2023 Women's World Cup starts on July 20, with co-hosts New Zealand taking on Norway.

Carsten Ramelow believes Germany are being held back by a mentality issue as the former international warned: "Talent alone doesn't win you games."

Germany lost 2-0 at home to Colombia in a friendly on Tuesday – a third defeat from their last four matches.

The other game in that run finished 3-3, with Germany forging a late comeback to draw with Ukraine in a charity match.

Hansi Flick's side flopped in the 2022 World Cup, too, going out in the group stage, and Ramelow – a World Cup runner-up in 2002 – says German football as a whole has a mentality problem.

"I think there's multiple issues. That was not just about a bad performance in Qatar. The problems lie much deeper," he told Stats Perform.

"This is what aggravates everything. Having seen the game yesterday, I have only seen 15 minutes, that was enough. It shows which state the team has been in for weeks and months. Or maybe you have to say years.

"In that regard, we have big problems in Germany concerning youth players. I think [the team] lacks mentality. Talent alone doesn't win you games. Talent alone also doesn't bring you team spirit.

"People talk a lot about team spirit. Where is that team spirit? All those years, we have been saying that we have great talent. Maybe that's true but after this long period of suffering, you have to recognise that we have a lot of talent, but as I said, it lacks mentality, it lacks team spirit.

"We are not able to form a team, a unit. Be it Hansi Flick or any other coach, and you can see that in many Bundesliga teams. I think mentality is very, very important. A manager once told me something I will never forget: 'Passion is more important than skill'.

"You have to see how the players will develop. I don't know when it continues, in September or October. The ones that will be available then. There is quality but currently but at the moment this is not enough to compete with teams like [Colombia] or Ukraine and Poland."

Ramelow sympathises with Flick, and is unsure a change of coach would necessarily result in a change of fortunes. The pressure, though, is on ahead of Euro 2024.

"I think we all agree that the coach and his staff have an important role," he added. "We know what the business is like and the fact that the manager has to listen to a lot of criticism now is justified.

"He also accepts that. I see a lot of helplessness right now. No one in the interviews can say how things will continue. We all know we have good young players, which is fine, but to reach the final stages of an international tournament again is being considered very difficult. But what is the solution now?

"I feel like the manager had a lot of helplessness. He won't give up and it will go on as he said. He wants to prepare well for the next games. His task is to put a good team together and to bring back passion and mentality. You have to see a unit.

"Mentality is also a matter of character. A coach can barely train that. You either have it or you don't but he has to form a team and the results have to be good. I'm not saying anything new here, the business is tough. I think you could put anyone else on the touchline, it would be difficult for every coach."

Elano believes Newcastle United "will become powerful in Europe" after they qualified for next season's Champions League.

The Magpies finished fourth in Eddie Howe's first full term at St James' Park, their highest top-flight finish since the 2002-03 campaign under Bobby Robson.

Howe was appointed in 2021 shortly after Newcastle were taken over by a Saudi-backed consortium with the club spending over £200million in the transfer market since, a number that is sure to increase in the upcoming window ahead of a busy fixture list next season.

Elano, who scored 14 goals in 62 Premier League appearances for Manchester City between 2007 and 2009, feels the huge financial backing for Howe should see them become major players in Europe.

"Things are getting much more equal," Elano told Stats Perform. "Especially the clubs that didn't have the structure of [Manchester] United, Arsenal, Chelsea, who were the winning clubs.

"Newcastle, for example, who are in the Champions League, are also a powerful club. And they will become powerful in Europe, because they have the money for that. It is a club with an absurd growth margin."

Elano revealed he wanted to wear Newcastle's colours after facing them and maintains the Magpies can catch up to the Premier League's elite clubs.

"I confess to you that I wanted to play for Newcastle," Elano added. "I played a few games against Newcastle and I saw the quality of the fans, the stadium and the structure of the club.

"In world football, today, whoever doesn't have the training structure, the staff, the club structure, will be left behind.

"If we look at the Premier League, Liverpool didn't fight for the title. Arsenal were six or seven points ahead and lost the title. [Manchester] United were almost out [of the Champions League] again. Chelsea are out of the next Champions League.

"So, the organisation and the project of each club needs consistent work. Otherwise, whether it's the Premier League or any other league, clubs will fall behind."

In a career that also saw him play for the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk and Santos, attacking midfielder Elano made 50 appearances for his national team Brazil between 2004 and 2011.

With fellow South American native Mauricio Pochettino being appointed at Chelsea after the Blues finished in the bottom half of the Premier League last season, Elano says the former Tottenham boss must be given time to succeed after a tumultuous spell at Stamford Bridge.

"I think he can be successful if they give him time to work," Elano said. "If they detected that he should be the coach, they should give him time.

"A player, in three or four months, can be sold for £100million. Because in three months you can score goals, put in brilliant performances, then someone sees you and takes you. Not the coach. The coach in three months is formatting the team, setting up the team with his ideas.

"You get a team of 20 players, each one is different, each one has his own characteristics. And the coach has to put this together. It takes time."

Andrew 'Beef' Johnston believes an Indian Premier League-style draft would make the LIV Tour more exciting and appealing following its merger with the PGA Tour.

In a contentious move earlier in June, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Tour were merged, with all three now backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Johnston now wants to see improvements made to the sport, and one suggestion he has would be the introduction of a draft system for the LIV Teams.

Speaking to Stats Perform on behalf of the Beef's Golf Club podcast, Johnston pointed to the success that the IPL cricket competition has enjoyed using a similar formula.

"I'd like to see a kind of IPL draft. They have the franchises and then they do the draft, don't they? So, I'd love to see that," he said.

"Golf going into almost that kind of situation where the PGA and DP [Tours] play up until the end of July, and there's a big draft for the LIV [competitions].

"So, no one knows what team they're going to be on. You're going to have captains for that team, but no one really knows who they're going to be playing for and then go into a big team shoot-out for a few months, and I think that'd be a really good way to work it.

"I don't think it happens but in my perfect world, I'd love to see that happen."

LIV Golf caused much controversy after its emergence in 2022, with plenty of big names heading over to the rival tour.

"It'd be interesting if there's another one that comes up in a year's time - you never know, you can never say never, look what's happened," said Johnston when asked if the merger would prevent any other rival tours from emerging.

"You've seen it with cricket with the IPL and now there's loads of T20 leagues knocking around all over the world. So, you can never say never.

"Hopefully, now these three can settle down and build something good. And as a player, I want to be able to step off on that first tee knowing that if I play well, you can have a lot of crazy opportunities.

"If you do so, I don't think it's bad for the players. I think it's good for golf, that we're out of this crazy standoff.

"The standoff was not healthy for golf. So, we can move on."

Johnston added that some players may struggle to trust the tours after the move.

He said: "I think a lot of players are going to struggle with trust. And I think the whole thing that's quite interesting is generally the PGA Tour and DP Tour are built on the fact that the players own that, so we have control.

"Now, literally, we have zero control. And you've seen that the players don't have an actual say in it, not even Rory [McIlroy] or Tiger [Woods].

"You look at the football players who play for [PIF-backed] Newcastle [United], we're in the same situation now. So, I think the players should be freed up of any questions. We're supposed to have a say, and we don't."

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Instagram: @beefsgolfclub

Lionel Messi chose to join Inter Miami in part due to the desire for a quieter life.

That is the view of former Manchester City and Brazil midfielder Elano, who believes Messi made a "personal" not "professional" choice by electing to move to MLS.

Messi confirmed last week that he had decided to leave Europe for the United States, where he will join Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham.

He is departing Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent after two years in the French capital. Barcelona wanted to re-sign the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, but Messi did not wish to wait for his former club to put together a package that might have resulted in other players having to be sold.

Asked by Stats Perform what he thought of Messi's impending MLS switch, Elano said: "Well, I'm not Messi's friend, I don't know him. It's an assumption from a distance.

"It seems more like a family matter to me. The guy wants to play football but wants to have a quieter life. To be closer to his kids.

"I'm not saying he doesn't want to be under pressure, because he is Messi and he will never stop being under pressure wherever he is. Because he will always be Messi, one of the greatest players of all time.

"I think it's a personal choice, a family choice, to go to a wonderful place and be able to live there with your family. To have a life project. I don't condemn it.

"He has always done well for football where he has been and it will be no different in the United States. He will do well for his club and for the league. I think it was a more personal choice than a professional one."

Messi is joining a Miami team that are sat bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Herons parted company with Phil Neville earlier in June.

Manchester United is "more than a club", according to Thomas Zilliacus, who bid to take over the Premier League giants in March.

Zilliacus failed in his bid for the club, which would have included the consortium he led to creating a vehicle for fans to purchase up to half of the shares.

The 69-year-old, who is the founder and chairman of novaM Group, suggested that failure was down to some members of the Glazer family being unwilling to sell.

Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani are the bidders left in the race.

Speaking to Stats Perform, Zilliacus said: "Manchester United is more than a club. It's an institution that is known all over the world.

"I've lived in Asia for a long time and Manchester United is as famous as Big Ben out in Asia.

"So it's an institution that has been there long before any of the current investors were born and it is going to be there long after we all have died.

"So I think it's more of the privilege of being a caretaker of an institution that if you become an owner of a club like United.

"I think whatever happens, it needs to be something that is beneficial to the club and its fans. And like I said, I think both these bidders have a genuine interest to improve the club and obviously are also willing to put in a lot of money."

Zilliacus did not hide his frustration at the bidding process.

He explained: "I didn't like the process in the way it was run. To be honest, I don't think it was run in a very professional manner.

"I think that probably reflects the fact that the Glazer family has six siblings and I don't think that they all have the same view on what they want to do.

"What I would normally have expected is that if you have a deadline for bids, and you get serious bidders as they got there, at least three that we know in public; Sheikh Jassim, Jim Ratcliffe, and myself, then you sit down and negotiate with those bidders.

"What instead happened here was that there was, again, a new round and again, a new round kind of starting from scratch.

"That was one reason but the main reason why we then finally withdrew was, frankly, financial. I felt, and my consortium felt that the price simply went up too high.

"It's a business that has to be profitable at the end of the day. And I think with the price tag that the Glazers put on the club, I think it is very tough to make a profit."

Asked why he wanted to take over at Old Trafford, Zilliacus said: "Manchester United has one of the biggest, maybe the biggest, fan base in the world.

"So the fan base was something that, in particular, we felt was very interesting. The other part is, of course, the club in itself. It's a club that I've been following since I was 11 years old. I'm not investing because I'm a fan, but it helps when you like the club as well.

"Last but not least, the UK as a market is very interesting because of the substantial money that is coming from media rights. So those would have been the main reasons."

The merger of the PGA Tour with Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf will help preserve the Ryder Cup.

That is the view of Andrew 'Beef' Johnston, who was speaking to Stats Perform on behalf of the Beef's Golf Club podcast.

It was announced last week that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) had merged with LIV Tour's backers – Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

While the merger has left high-profile players like Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in difficult positions, Johnston does believe the move will help save golf's flagship team competition.

Players who had left for LIV Golf were set to be barred from competing in the Ryder Cup, which takes place in Rome in September and early October.

"Yeah 100 per cent [it's saved the Ryder Cup]," he said. 

"You want to see the best players go head to head, 100 per cent. The best players of their time you want to see playing, that's what makes great Ryder Cups, when you've got the best players and if you're missing certain players, I don't think it's ideal.

"On the flip side, there's always going to be players coming up, the new generation and there are great players no matter what happens.

"So, I always thought the Ryder Cup would be in safe hands, but it's better that everyone can play."

As for welcoming LIV rebels back onto the PGA and DP World Tours, Johnston has few issues.

"Yeah, I have never been fussed at all," he added.

"I know there's been some players unhappy about them going, a few have been a bit awkward about it. I'm not too sure exactly who it was or why it was or whatever reason. But I still keep in touch with a couple of them.

"You've got to do what you've got to do. You're not doing anything terrible. The whole moral situation I found quite interesting from the start and the PGA Tour and DP Tour were saying it's morally wrong to go. But we already played in Saudi a few years ago. So, I found that a bit funny.

"We're self-employed. If you get that opportunity, go, and take it. What I didn't quite understand were some of the guys trying to come back and play on the DP Tour.

"If they've signed the full contract to go and play on LIV, my perspective would have been: 'Alright, I'm gonna move over to LIV Golf, sign on for a lot of money. I'm going to go and play the 16 events, enjoy my time off with family or whatever I want to do'.

"I'd personally go and BBQ a lot and hang out with my mates. But that's their choice again and everyone's got their choice. I don't think we should be saying: 'Oh, you can't come back. You can't come and do this'. I'm not really fussed [about them doing that]."

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Instagram: @beefsgolfclub"

Novak Djokovic might have won the French Open, but Gilles Simon does not foresee too many more grand slam victories for the world number one.

Djokovic overcame Casper Ruud 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-5 at Roland Garros on Sunday to claim his 23rd major title, taking him clear of Rafael Nadal (22).

The Serbian turned 36 last month, however, and speaking before the tournament, former world number six Simon suggested Djokovic must enjoy the major triumphs while they are here.

Simon pointed to the now-retired Roger Federer and Nadal, who will retire next year, as prime examples of top players being unable to retain their level beyond the age of 37.

"There's a lot less serenity and so he's into his own thing," said Simon, speaking to Stats Perform at the Roland-Garros eSeries by BNP Paribas.

"[Djokovic winning the French Open] will stop the GOAT, not the GOAT debate. In fact, it won't stop it, but at least we'll stop talking about this famous number of grand slam records and we'll understand that, in the end, there are those for whom the best player is the best on the court, but he's already the one who has the best stats.

"Of course he doesn't have the easy road in the sense that he has not ten years in front of him. In other words, he's [winning] two more grand slams, maximum. It's not easy, so he better win slams now.

"He does not have time. He's 36, he's struggling and it's easy to see why. Roger, 37 years old, nothing after that. Rafa, 36 last year [37 now], and nothing after that. Novak will be no exception to the rule.

"Rafa, the last grand slam he won (2022 French Open), it was very hard physically. Novak, he's won several grand slams with the adductor tear, elbow, abs, whatever. It's been a long time since they won a slam by rolling over everyone, as they did before."

Ange Postecoglou has an attacking style of play that will suit Tottenham ideally, according to club icon Ledley King.

It was confirmed this week that Postecoglou will leave Celtic to take charge of Tottenham on a four-year contract.

The 57-year-old spent two years with the Scottish champions and departs after winning a domestic treble in 2022-23.

Australian Postecoglou will take charge of a Spurs team that struggled to eighth place in the Premier League and will not play in Europe next season.

But King is taking an optimistic stance about what can be achieved under the new Spurs boss.

"He is a very good manager and he had a fantastic time at Celtic," said King, who was speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive kit launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace.

"He is a front-foot manager who loves to play attacking football and score plenty of goals and I think he is someone that suits our style. Also, developing young players is really important. 

"I'm looking forward to him starting his reign and I think it's important that we sorted it early. He's just finished the [Scottish Cup] final with Celtic and we've been able to get over the line, the deal has been sorted. Now we know what direction we're moving in. 

"If I look through our history, we've always had players that want to go on the front foot, express themselves, and score goals – that has just been in the DNA of the football club. 

"And, of course, to develop young players. We always have to see players given an opportunity. So I think for these reasons, it'd be a big hit with the fans. 

"If you're an attacking player, the thought of that is fantastic. I know that players want to play, they want to play with the ball. They want to be dictating games – that is what players want to do. 

"They want to play in a team that is enjoyable to play in and plays good, stylish football. We have a manager that plays that style. 

"I'm sure the players are excited and will be looking forward to pre-season."

Conte was sacked in late March, with Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason taking temporary charge. 

There was a dismal finish to the season, but King pointed out Tottenham had spent much of the campaign in the battle for a top-four finish and is hopeful there will be a prompt recovery from a disappointing year.

He added: "It was a difficult season. Obviously, there were a lot of different reasons. 

"There's a World Cup that came in the middle of the season. Then Conte had a few health issues and he lost a coach during the season. 

"So it was not an easy season, but I would say that the team, for most of the season, was in and around the top four. 

"It is a talented group and now the new manager coming in has a chance to look at the whole group. 

"The players that have been on loan get a chance to impress him and for him he has a chance to see who we can move forward with."

Lionel Messi's impending transfer to Inter Miami will be a great tool to help MLS grow, says Michael Dawson.

Messi confirmed on Wednesday that he will join Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.

Barcelona wanted to re-sign the 35-year-old, but could not make the finances work, with Messi claiming he did not want a potential return to his old club to result in other players having to cut their salaries or be sold.

Now, a new venture in the United Stats awaits, and former Tottenham defender Dawson thinks it will be a huge positive for the growth of the sport in the United States.

Speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace, Dawson said: "I always look back to the MLS when David Beckham went [in 2007 to LA Galaxy] and I always believe he was the start of the MLS improving and growing.

"You look at Cristiano Ronaldo going to Saudi [Arabia] and playing over there, it gives people a different interest.

"Messi [and Ronaldo], they are icons of football, the best players of my generation. So if you attract that to your country, to your league, it's only going to bring people watching it.

"I say the Premier League is the best league in the world. I've never played in a different country. Maybe that's something I would have maybe liked if the opportunity to come along.

"But with these kinds of players going over there, it will always attract interest from the supporters because as a fan, you follow Messi, you follow Ronaldo, and that's why the owners of these football clubs spend all the money to go and get them because they try and enhance their brand, their football team and their league."