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The summer transfer window is into its final week for the major European leagues, which means the biggest clubs are looking to make a splash in the market while they still can. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.

TOP STORY: Ronaldo agrees deal to join Man City

Cristiano Ronaldo has reached an agreement with Manchester City over a sensational transfer from Juventus to the Premier League champions, according to AS.

The Spanish sports daily reports that Ronaldo has struck a deal with City, who have offered him a two-year contract with a salary of €15 million per season, about half of what he earns Turin.

Sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson that City have not dismissed the possibility of signing Ronaldo after Harry Kane committed his immediate future to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday. Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio reported on Tuesday that Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, had flown in to settle Ronaldo’s future, with the Portugal captain wanting to move and Juventus willing to let him go.

However, no deal has yet been struck between City and Juventus, who are seeking a €25 transfer fee for the 36-year-old and would be interested in signing City forward Gabriel Jesus, but City do not want to pay a transfer fee or let their Brazil international leave this summer.

Last week, Ronaldo lashed out over the transfer rumours regarding his future, accusing people of being “disrespectful” yet stopping short of committing his future to Juventus. The ex-Manchester United man has been also linked with a return to Real Madrid as well as a move to Paris Saint-Germain.

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– Laurens: Is PSG’s Mbappe set for a summer move to Real Madrid?

LIVE BLOG

14.19 BST: Barcelona are still pursuing the option of signing another forward before the transfer window closes, various sources have told ESPN’s Moises Llorens and Sam Marsden.

Due to Barca’s precarious financial situation, sources admit it will be “complicated” to get a deal over the line but the club are assessing their options.

Coach Ronald Koeman has said publicly he wants another attacker. Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero have already arrived this summer but Lionel Messi left for Paris Saint Germain. Barca also have Antoine Griezmann, Martin Braithwaite, Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati. However, Aguero, Dembele and Ansu are all currently out with injuries.

Ansu is expected back in September but Barca don’t want to put too much pressure on the 18-year-old after nine months out with a knee problem. Therefore, the club’s recruitment team are looking at cheaper options or players available on loan, which hugely reduces the amount of players available to them.

Barca’s cash crisis, couple with LaLiga’s spending limits, has complicated the registration of their new signings with the league this summer. However, Gerard Pique’s pay cut allowed them to register Memphis and Eric Garcia, while reductions for Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba should allow them to register Aguero and any other potential arrivals this week.

13.53 BST: Serie A champions Inter Milan have signed Argentina international forward Joaquin Correa from Lazio.

Correa has signed a four-year contract with the Nerazzurri, who have brought him in on an initial loan deal with an obligation to make to transfer permanent.

The 27-year-old, who scroed 22 goals in three seasons at Lazio, was part of the Argentina squad that won the Copa America in the summer.

13.33 BST: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has ruled out striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaving the club this summer.

Sources have told ESPN’s James Olley that the Gunners are seeking to offload several members of their squad after spending more than £130m on new signings, and there had been speculation that the club were willing to listen to offers for their leading striker.

Aubameyang scored a hat-trick on Wednesday as Arsenal thrashed West Brom 6-0 in their Carabao Cup second-round tie at The Hawthorns (stream the replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.) on the same day Manchester City’s pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane collapsed.

Sources have told ESPN that City are still in the market for a striker, but when asked at a news conference on Thursday whether he was concerned they could move for Aubameyang, Arteta replied: “I don’t know. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is our player and he will remain here.”

12.58 BST: Harry Kane is reportedly “angry” with Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy for refusing to negotiate with Manchester City over a potential transfer, and is now seeking a bigger contract with a release clause from the club.

Kane confirmed in a social media post on Tuesday that he is staying at Spurs “this summer” despite the striker telling them he wanted to leave and the Premier League champions preparing a bid for the England captain. The 28-year-old’s announcement brought to an end a saga which began with the striker believing he had a verbal agreement with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy that he would be allowed to leave if a suitable bid was received.

Tottenham valued Kane in excess of £150m and were hugely reluctant to enter into negotiations given the striker had three years left on his £200,000-a-week contract and is of central importance to the team. Sources told ESPN’s James Olley and Rob Dawson that City were willing to offer £100m and potentially include players as part of any deal, although sources at both clubs denied a formal offer was ever made.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Kane is “angry” and “deeply upset” with Levy for not allowing the two clubs to negotiate over a potential transfer. The Times, meanwhile, claims that he now wants improved terms on his contract — which expires in 2024 — worth £400,000-a-week and with a release clause inserted.

12.24 BST: Chelsea are hopeful of completing a deal worth in the region of €50m for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde as defender Kurt Zouma closes on a move to West Ham United from Stamford Bridge, sources have told ESPN’s James Olley.

Talks with Sevilla over Kounde have been ongoing for some time but Chelsea needed to offload a centre-back first before pushing ahead with a move. West Ham agreed a €29.2m (£25m) fee for Zouma earlier this month but personal terms were an issue with the 26-year-old reluctant to leave Stamford Bridge.

Zouma has two years left on his Chelsea contract and has turned down moves in previous years to fight for his place at the club. He was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s lineup for their opening two Premier League games but did start their UEFA Super Cup win over Villarreal.

Sources told ESPN another stumbling block came as Zouma asked for a wage in the region of £120,000-a-week — around double what he currently earns at Chelsea — to even consider moving to West Ham.

However, negotiations have progressed positively and Zouma underwent a medical on Thursday as all parties near an agreement. The deal is not yet finalised but Chelsea are optimistic that Zouma will depart, allowing them to press ahead with their pursuit of Kounde before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

11.41 BST: Donny van de Beek should consider leaving Old Trafford, according to former Manchester star Dimitar Berbatov.

Van de Beek signed for United from Ajax in a £35m transfer last September after being linked with several of Europe’s top clubs, but has started just four Premier League games since arriving at Old Trafford.

The Times reported this week that the 24-year-old’s representatives have been approached by clubs during the summer transfer window, but Van de Beek is not willing to consider any offers as he remains committed to succeeding at United. However, Berbatov believes the Netherlands international needs to move to revive his career.

“I don’t think we’re going to see any more playing time from Donny van de Beek,” Berbatov told Betfair. “It’s a really strange, disappointing and surprising situation. They spent around £35m on him and, to pay that for a player who isn’t starting many games, doesn’t make sense. I’m not blaming the player at all, but for me it’s one of the most disappointing transfers ever.

“He has got a lot of quality. I don’t like it when clubs buy for the sake of buying and this is one of those situations. I’m sure he’s banging on the manager’s door and asking questions.

“I think if he’s not happy, Van de Beek should push to leave. His place in the national team is at risk, especially now with Louis van Gaal in charge. Van Gaal is a disciplinarian who like his players to play football.”

10.56 BST: Barcelona and Ousmane Dembele are close to reaching an agreement over a new contract, according to the Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

The report says there has been a breakthrough in talks with Dembele’s camp and that Barca will focus on closing the deal once the transfer window closes next week.

Dembele, 24, is sidelined until November with a knee injury picked up at Euro 2020 while playing for France. Prior to that, talks over a contract extension had been at a standstill.

Barca believed the forward wanted to run his deal down and leave for free next summer, when his current terms expire, pocketing a huge signing on fee in the process.

However, his latest injury setback has cooled any real interest from elsewhere for now and Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain has increased Barca’s need to keep their best attackers at Camp Nou.

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10.13 BST: Former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere has admitted he is seriously considering retiring at the age of 29 if he is unable to find a new club.

Wilshere made almost 200 first-team appearances for the Gunners during his decade at the club, but a succession of injuries hampered his career.

He joined West Ham in 2018 and spent two-and-a-half seasons there before ending last season with a six-month spell at Championship club Bournemouth.

Wilshere remains a free agent and says he may hang up his boots before his 30th birthday on Jan. 1 next year.

“Yeah, that does cross my mind quite a lot,” he told The Athletic.” “When you’re at a club and training every day, you wake up and if you’re not in a team, or even if you are in the team, you think, ‘Right, I’ve got to train well today. I need to show the manager I’m ready for the weekend’. I don’t have that.

“So I’m waking up in the mornings at the moment and I’m thinking, ‘Right, I need to go and train somewhere’. Normally it’s on my own… OK, I’ve been training with a club in pre-season but that’s finished now. I’m back to waking up, training on my own and finding that motivation. And the question I keep asking myself at the moment is: What am I doing it for?

“When I left West Ham and I was trying to find somewhere I thought, ‘Right, it’s going to come, it’s going to come’. But it’s not coming at the minute. And so now I’m waking up thinking, ‘I need to train today, but why do I need to train today?’ I want to find a club but is it going to happen?”

09.27 BST: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is likely to leave the Premier League champions when his contract expires in 2023 as he wants to take a break before venturing into international football, he said on Wednesday.

Guardiola signed a new deal at City in November 2020, and said it will likely be his last before leaving the Premier League side.

“The next step will be a national team, if there is a possibility,” Guardiola was quoted by Spanish daily Marca. “After seven years at this club, I think I’m going to have a break. I will need to rest after being somewhere so many years and also stop to evaluate what we’ve done and to try to learn from other coaches.

“If, during this process of stopping, there is a chance to coach a national team then I think I’d like that. I’d like to coach at a European Championship or Copa America or World Cup. I’d like to experience that.”

08.44 BST: Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo said that Kylian Mbappe wants to leave the club and confirmed the French giants turned down an offer from Real Madrid for the France international.

Sources told ESPN’s Julien Laurens and Rodrigo Faez on Tuesday that Madrid saw their €160m offer to sign the 22-year-old rejected, but were hopeful of agreeing to a deal before the transfer window closes on Aug. 31.

“Kylian Mbappe wants to leave, that seems clear,” Leonardo told French outlet RMC on Wednesday. “If he wants to leave, we are not going to keep him, but it will be done under our conditions.

“We have spoken a lot with Kylian and he always tells us the same thing. Kylian has always promised us that he would never leave the club on a free transfer.”

Mbappe has a year left on his PSG contract and has refused multiple offers of a renewal, meaning the Ligue 1 club risk losing him on a free transfer in June 2022.

08.00 BST: Manchester United will not be able to firm up their interest in either Eduardo Camavinga or Saul Niguez until they raise funds through letting some players move on, sources have told ESPN.

Rennes are open to cashing in on Camavinga, who has a year left on his contract, in the final week of the transfer window. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have told Saul he can leave if they receive a suitable offer, and Chelsea are in talks with the LaLiga champions over a season-long loan with an option to sign a permanent deal for the midfielder.

Both remain of interest to United — who have prioritised midfield reinforcements over a right-back ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline — but any move is set to depend on players leaving Old Trafford, something club bosses believe is increasingly unlikely as the window draws to a close.

PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)

– There is a chance Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo could be reunited with Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore, according to AS. The Portuguese boss made the move from Molineux to North London, where he is already teaming up with former Wolves man Matt Doherty again. However, the issue is in the type of deal they’re looking at, as Spurs want a loan with an obligation to sign the 25-year-old for €46m.

FC Porto and Mexico winger Jesus “Tecatito” Corona is still an option for AC Milan, reports Calciomercato. The move remains complicated, though — partly due to the Portuguese giants’ asking price. Sevilla FC were also previously rumoured to be interested in Corona. If Milan are unable to close the deal, Brest star Romain Faivre could be the man to join the Italian side.

West Ham United are working to sign Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma, but the move is proving complicated and problematic, as has been reported by Sky Sports. Personal terms and the structure of payment have been the biggest causes of resistance, with the clubs negotiating a fee in the region of £25m.

Domenico Berardi wants to make a move to Atalanta, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport. Sassuolo are keen to keep the winger, but having seen Manuel Locatelli join Juventus after featuring in the Italy side that won Euro 2020, Berardi is also looking for a new challenge.

– AC Milan are hoping to sign Bordeaux midfielder Yacine Adli, according to Calciomercato. They are hoping to bring the Frenchman in for below €10m, while the Ligue 1 side want €15m. Even though they’re looking for a cheaper deal, Milan feel the 21-year-old is someone who can be invested in for the future.

– Wolves are seemingly on the lookout for a centre-back, with Sky Sports reporting that they are hoping to bring in Marseille‘s Duje Caleta-Car for a fee in the region of £17m. Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has claimed that they also have an eye on Lille‘s Sven Botman, while the Dutchman is also being considered by Sevilla.

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Hernandez has surgery after Dodgers’ title run

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Hernandez has surgery after Dodgers' title run

Free agent utility man Enrique Hernandez had left elbow surgery Friday for an injury he played through during the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ World Series-winning run.

Hernandez posted about the surgery on Instagram, saying he had played through the injury since May and that it would keep him from playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic next year.

He missed more than a month on the injured list during the season due to his elbow but returned in August.

Hernandez, 34, batted .203 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 92 games during the regular season before posting a .250 average with one home run and seven RBIs in the playoffs as the Dodgers won a second straight title.

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Congress wants MLB answers on betting scandal

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Congress wants MLB answers on betting scandal

Members of Congress sent a letter to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Friday, expressing concern over a “new integrity crisis” facing American sports and asking for answers about the alleged betting scheme that led to the recent indictments of two Cleveland Guardians pitchers.

Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which oversees professional sports, called the allegations against Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz “markedly more serious” than other recent betting incidents in baseball. Federal prosecutors on Sunday indicted Clase and Ortiz and accused them of rigging individual pitches over multiple games so gambling associates could profit on wagers.

Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, who lead the committee, questioned why Clase’s alleged actions, which began in May 2023, were not discovered for two years. They contrasted the case with that of former major leaguer Tucupita Marcano, who was banned in 2024 for betting on baseball.

“How did MLB catch Marcano and ban him for life but failed to notice Clase allegedly rigging pitches for two years?” the letter states. “The integrity of the game is paramount. MLB has every interest in ensuring baseball is free from influence and manipulation. … But in light of these recent developments, MLB must clearly demonstrate how it is meeting its responsibility to safeguard America’s pastime.”

The committee members asked when and how MLB was made aware of the alleged activity by Clase and Ortiz and for documentation detailing the league’s betting policies and details of any other betting-related investigations since Jan. 1, 2020. The committee requested the information and documentation by Dec. 5.

ESPN has reached out to MLB for comment. On Monday, MLB announced that its sportsbook partners had agreed to place a $200 limit on all bets involving individual pitches and prohibit such wagers from being included in parlays. The measures were taken to reduce the amount that could be won from pitch-level bets and therefore decrease the incentive of manipulation.

The same committee sent a letter to the NBA in October, asking for information related to that league’s handling of the alleged betting scandal that led to the indictments of Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, former player and coach Damon Jones and Miami Heat veteran guard Terry Rozier.

“An isolated incident of game rigging might be dismissed as an aberration, but the emergence of manipulation across multiple leagues suggests a deeper, systemic vulnerability,” the committee wrote. “These developments warrant thorough scrutiny by Congress before misconduct issues become more widespread.”

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In Skaggs court case, Angels’ challenges mount

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In Skaggs court case, Angels' challenges mount

Testimony in the wrongful death lawsuit against the Los Angeles Angels underscores the difficulties team attorneys face convincing the jury they were unaware of addiction concerns before employee Eric Kay provided a fentanyl-laced pill that killed pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019.

The court case, now entering its sixth week, continues to focus on the team’s handling of Kay’s drug addiction treatment and whether officials did enough to protect Skaggs as Kay’s behavior became increasingly strange, causing Kay’s wife and some Angels employees to raise questions of drug abuse.

Kay was present in Skaggs’ hotel room the night he overdosed on alcohol and opioids, less than a month after Kay returned to work from a drug addiction treatment program. In Kay’s 2022 criminal trial, witnesses testified that Kay distributed pills to other players.

The team doctor testified last week that he prescribed more than 600 opioid pills to Kay over several years before learning how addictive the pills could be.

Contradictory testimony by current and former Angels representatives has sharpened scrutiny about what the Angels knew — and whether officials relayed concerns about Kay to Major League Baseball. Among the trial’s key elements in the past two weeks:

  • Deborah Johnston, the Angels vice president of human resources, testified Monday that the team worked with MLB to address Kay’s addiction, despite her own deposition and previous testimony by other Angels officials saying they had no knowledge of any such coordination.

  • MLB sent a statement to ESPN denying any knowledge of or involvement in Kay’s treatment. In front of the judge after jurors left the courtroom on Wednesday, the Skaggs family attorneys accused Johnston of committing perjury, a serious allegation. Angels attorneys immediately denied the perjury accusation.

  • Angels officials testified they believed Kay’s problems came from prescribed medication to address mental health issues, while clubhouse employees testified they either witnessed or believed Kay had a problem with drugs.

  • Angels officials testified they believed Kay suffered from bipolar disorder even though Kay’s medical records when he entered rehabilitation in April 2019 showed no record of medication to treat bipolar disorder. Kay’s ex-wife, Camela, testified she was not aware of a bipolar diagnosis.

  • The team doctor, Craig Milhouse, testified that he prescribed Kay 600 pills of the opioids Norco and Vicodin over a 44-month period between 2009 and 2013.

The crux of the case is whether the Angels knew Kay was abusing drugs and providing them to players, including Skaggs while working in his official capacity. Kay is serving 22 years in federal prison for providing the drug that killed Skaggs in a Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019. The team contends he and Skaggs were acting privately in their off time when the overdose occurred.

The plaintiffs claim the Angels put Skaggs in harm’s way by continuing to employ Kay when his behavior showed warning signs of drug abuse. Angels officials say they are not responsible for Skaggs’ death, were not aware of his drug use and that it was Skaggs’ reckless decision to mix alcohol with illicit drugs that killed him. Officials also testified they were not aware Kay was providing drugs to players when Skaggs died.

The Skaggs family is seeking $118 million in estimated lost wages, in addition to potential punitive damages.

Johnston testified last week that the franchise had worked with MLB to get Kay help for his drug addiction. It’s the first time an Angels official suggested MLB was informed of Kay’s problem — a major bone of contention on the question of team responsibility.

Johnston said that when the Angels investigate potential use of illegal substances on team property, one option is immediate termination, depending on the findings. “Another option is to work with MLB, as we did in this case, and with our physician, Dr. [Erik] Abell,” she stated. Abell was the team’s liaison with MLB for such issues.

Johnston also testified that Kay was drug-tested under MLB’s policies, not those of the Angels.

In a text-messaged statement to ESPN about the perjury accusation, Angels’ attorney Todd Theodora wrote: “The accusation that Ms. Johnston committed perjury is completely false and defamatory. Her testimony was truthful based on several text messages she was recently shown demonstrating that Dr. Abell was treating Eric Kay.”

He added that Johnston “did not make any statements about whether Dr. Abell reported this further to MLB.”

An MLB spokesperson denied the league knew of Kay’s drug use or was involved with Kay’s treatment.

In separate weekend comments to ESPN, Theodora and lead plaintiffs attorney Rusty Hardin argued about the perjury issue, with Theodora characterizing the absence of a ruling by the judge on the accusation as a win for his side, while Hardin insisted that no ruling means the issue remains alive — including plaintiffs’ efforts to get MLB testimony.

California-based civil attorney Geoffrey Hickey told ESPN that perjury can only be proven if Johnston “willingly and knowingly” made a false statement under oath. Hickey said Hardin has a “good-faith argument,” but he doesn’t think Johnston’s statements rise to the level of perjury.

Johnston testified in a September pretrial deposition that no one had reported Kay’s drug use to MLB. She explained Monday she “learned additional information” about the Angels’ communications with MLB after giving her deposition. She said she couldn’t remember the exact document where she learned the information.

Kay’s immediate superior, Tim Mead, and the Angels’ traveling secretary, Tom Taylor, testified earlier in the trial that Abell worked with Kay but made no mention of reporting his case to MLB.

Team doctor Milhouse testified that he believed Abell, the team’s sports psychologist, was the liaison to MLB for such an issue. MLB documents state that player drug issues were subject to investigation and disciplinary follow-up by the office of the MLB commissioner.

While Angels officials testified they never saw Kay take illicit drugs, former clubhouse attendant Kris Constanti testified that Kay told him he was taking Norco. Another ex-clubhouse attendant, Vince Willet, testified he saw Kay crush and then snort a pill in the Angels’ clubhouse kitchen during spring training.

Former clubhouse manager Keith Tarter testified that he suspected Kay was using drugs and that Kay told him in 2019 he was concerned because his supply of Suboxone, a drug to treat opioid dependence, was running out. Tarter said he never saw Kay actually use drugs.

Milhouse testified he didn’t learn about the true addictive nature of opioids until 2014 or 2015. He stopped prescribing them for Kay in 2013.

Camela Kay testified that after her ex-husband had a breakdown at Yankees Stadium the same year, he stated in front of Taylor and Mead he was taking five Vicodin a day. Taylor denied it, and Mead said he didn’t recall the conversation. Milhouse also said that during 2009-2013, he typically only prescribed opioids on a short-term basis and that he had put other patients on similar treatment regimens and quantities as Kay. Milhouse testified that he considered the use of opioids five times a day to be an addiction.

The trial continues in Orange County Superior Court this week, with the witness schedule including Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and mother, Debbie Hetman.

Two jurors have already been excused — leaving two alternates for the remainder of the case, which is slated to go to the jury in mid-December.

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