La Liga
BALE RETURNS TO MADRID’S SQUAD AFTER INJURY LAYOFF
Gareth Bale is expected to make his return to Real Madrid’s line-up in a Copa del Rey match this week after being sidelined for more than two months because of injuries.
According to AP, Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane said Monday that the Wales forward has recovered from a left leg muscle injury and will play at least part of Tuesday’s match against Fuenlabrada at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Madrid won the first leg 2-0 against the third-division club.
Bale hasn’t played since Madrid’s 3-1 win at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Sept. 26. Plagued by injuries this season, his latest ailment came in practice while trying to recover from another muscle injury.
“He will be with us tomorrow and will play,” Zidane said. “But I still don’t know for how long he will play. We will see how the match goes.”
The coach did not say whether the 28-year-old Bale will start or come off the bench.
Bale has played only nine matches with Madrid this season, scoring three goals. He missed the final World Cup qualifiers with Wales, which was eventually left out of next year’s tournament in Russia.
Zidane said he is looking forward to seeing Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema playing together again, although that is not likely to happen on Tuesday.
“We will take a look at some of the players from the youth team,” Zidane said. “It’s important to do that.”
Ronaldo and many other regular starters were left out of the first leg last month.
Zidane said goalkeeper Keylor Navas is fully fit again and will be available for Tuesday’s match, as will defensive midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who also had been nursing an injury.
Defender Sergio Ramos, who broke his nose in the Spanish league match against Atletico Madrid nearly 10 days ago, has been practicing with a protective mask but will not play Tuesday.
In other matches this week, Barcelona defends a 3-0 first-leg win against Murcia, while Atletico Madrid looks to overcome a 1-1 draw against Elche.
La Liga
Atletico-Real Madrid derby suspended after fans throw objects onto the pitch
Sunday’s LaLiga derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid was temporarily suspended in the 69th minute due to fans hurling objects onto the pitch after defender Eder Militao scored the opener for the visitors.
While Real players celebrated the goal in the 64th minute, Atletico ultras Fondo Sur, who are located in the south lower stands, threw objects towards visiting keeper Thibaut Courtois, who alerted the referee and he decided to halt the match.
Atletico captain Koke and defender Jose Maria Gimenez went to the south stand to calm the fans down but the referee ordered the players to go to the dressing rooms as the announcer warned that if the behaviour continued the game would be abandoned.
After a delay of over 20 minutes the players returned to the pitch and the game resumed.
-Reuters
La Liga
Father of Spain soccer star Lamine Yamal stabbed
Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona and Spain star winger Lamine Yamal, was stabbed late on Wednesday at a parking lot in the northeastern Spanish town of Mataro, La Vanguardia newspaper reported, citing official sources familiar with the matter.
Reuters was not able to independently confirm the report. The regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force and a spokesperson for the Mataro local government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to La Vanguardia report, Nasraoui was taken to the Can Ruti hospital in the nearby city of Badalona and his diagnosis was “serious”. It added that local and regional police had located several witnesses of the incident.
However, a later report by sports website Relevo, also citing official sources, said Nasraoui had been released from hospital and was back at his home.
Yamal, a soccer wonderkid who grew up in coastal Mataro – a working-class, multi-ethnic suburb of Barcelona – became the breakout star of the recent Euro 2024 held in Germany.
Spain won the tournament, helped in part by the 17-year-old scoring against France in the semifinal on July 9.
-Reuters
La Liga
Vinicius set to leave Real Madrid one billion euro offer
Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr is open to an offer of more than one billion euros from Saudi Arabia, sources close to the player told Reuters on Monday.
Vinicius, 24, was approached by Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) officials to inquire about his interest of moving to the Saudi Pro League (SPL) on a five-year contract worth around 200 million euros per season fixed, plus bonuses.
The package would also include a separate 10-year contract to become an ambassador for the 2034 World Cup, which is set to be held in the country, but those terms and financial numbers are yet to be discussed.
Although an official, formal offer has yet to be presented, Vinicius has not dismissed the move and gave permission to PIF to approach Real Madrid.
Despite being “happy and motivated” in the Spanish capital, Vinicius and his representatives believe that a lucrative offer like this needs to be studied carefully.
Another source close to the player said that Real have shown no interest in negotiating a transfer, highlighting the player’s one billion euro buy-out clause.
Real Madrid and PIF did not respond to requests for comment.
Obsessed to be taken seriously as a soccer force, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced a Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project, with PIF taking ownership of 75% of the capital of the country’s four main clubs: Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
The biggest Saudi transfer came from the country’s most successful club, Al Hilal, who spent 90 million euros to buy forward Neymar from Paris St Germain.
With Karim Benzema at Al Ittihad and Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr, PIF tried to persuade France captain Kylian Mbappe to be the big name Al Ahli is still missing last year.
The forward, however, turned down Saudi’s lucrative offer and joined Real Madrid in June.
The proposal for Vinicius is understood to be similar to the Mbappe offer. The Brazilian would join Al Ahli, linking up with former Premier League players Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino.
Vinicius, who is under contract until 2027 after signing an extension in 2022, is a contender to win the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world after helping Real to a Champions League and LaLiga double last season.
-Reuters
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