Page 96 - Soccer360 - Issue 103

90TH MINUTE
SOCIAL MEDIA
ROUND-UP
Ian Waterhouse
THERE IN SPIRIT
Twitter
England Womens’ National Team captain Leah Williamson could not feature in her team’s remarkable World Cup 2023 campaign because of an injury, but the Arsenal star was not far away as she flew Down under to cheer for Lionesses.
Instagram
I’LL BE BACK
Jurrien Timber posted a heartfelt message to fans after he damaged his ACL in his Premier League debut for Arsenal. The defender, who joined the North London outfit from Ajax this summer, is expected to be sidelined for months.
Instagram
THE O-TEAM
Arsenal left-back and member of the Ukrainian national team, Oleksandr Zinchenko, along with the former coach of Natus Vincere, Mykhailo Kane Blahin, have founded the esports organization Passion UA. Zinchenko will be the primary sponsor of the new Ukrainian club. Kane, in turn, will occupy one of the managerial positions. The first, and possibly the only, lineup of the organization will be a CS:GO team.
Twitter
STAYING PUT ?
Mohamed Salah posted a picture of him playing chess on his iPad, accompanied by a pumpkin emoji. He posted the Instagram story amid reports linking him with a blockbuster transfer to Saudi Arabia.
TIME SERVED
Former Juventus President Andrea Agnelli has seen his ban reduced from 16 to 10 months on appeal due to the so-called ‘salary manoeuvres.’ While others largely accepted their punishment, Agnelli took the matter to the FIGC Court of Appeal and it was partially successful.
The ban was reduced
to 10 months and the fine cut from €60,000 to €40,000. During the first wave of the COVID pandemic in 2020, when the football world ground to a halt and matches were suspended, Juventus announced that their players and staff had agreed to give up four months of wages to help out the club. However, evidence including WhatsApp messages between players showed that they were always aware it was going to be only one month of their salary left behind. The rest would be given back through other avenues, such as bonuses and sponsorship deals, effectively trying to ‘disguise’ the payments. Along with the scandal over transfer fees artificially inflated to boost capital gains, this all prompted a 10-point Serie A penalty and their exclusion from UEFA competitions for the 2023-24 season.
DONNARUMMA SURPRISE
Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was surprised by Roberto Mancini’s resignation from the Azzurri but felt that Luciano Spalletti can do ‘super well and great things’.
Mancini unexpectedly resigned from his post as the Italy
head coach earlier this month and left for Saudi Arabia, where he’s signed a lucrative three-year contract with the national team. Fresh off the back of his historic Scudetto success
with Napoli, Italy decided to replace Mancini with Spalletti. “Nobody expected Mancini’s resignation. I spoke to him, we talked, I thanked him because we made history. Unfortunately, there was the failure to qualify for the World Cup, but we made history by winning the European Championship and
it will remain forever. “I’ve never met Spalletti, but after what he did with Napoli, he can do super well and great things.” Donnarumma was asked if he misses living in Italy. “At the beginning, it was normal to miss it a little. Playing in Italy is different, you’re at home and everything is different. “Now I’m very happy, I’ve got used to it, I still don’t miss it but Italy is missing in everything and that’s normal. Once a month I come back and I’m very happy.”
ENGLAND CAPT IS GERMAN!
Bayern Munich have unveiled England captain Harry Kane in traditional Okotberfest gear following his £100million move to the Bundesliga champions
this summer. The former Tottenham striker, who scored twice in Bayern’s 3-1 win over Augsburg, sported authentic lederhosen alongside German international Thomas Muller and Canada star Alphonso Davies. Kane revealed after his summer move that he plans to ‘embrace the German culture’ by learning the language, and he’s taken things
one step further by getting better acquainted with Bavarian fashion. Oktoberfest 2023 runs from September 16 until October 3.
NEYMAR ON A MAGIC CARPET
Neymar Jr’s move to the Saudi Pro League on a two-year contract is comparable to the €200 million a year that Cristiano Ronaldo earns at Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr. Additionally PSG will receive a fee said to be worth €90 million. But that’s not all, as the deal also includes some out-of-the-world perks and even some bending of Saudi Arabia’s laws for Neymar’s benefit. Those perks include a private plane for the Brazilian star, a house with staff, € 80,000 (estimated $87,395) for each Al-Hilal win, and a reported € 500,000 (estimated $546,220) for each story or social media post that promotes Saudi Arabia. As if that weren’t enough, the country is allowing Neymar something that isn’t even legal – the possibility of living with his girlfriend Bruna Biancardi, even though they are not married.
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