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August 7, 2023

August 7, 2023 IFMSPORTS

Paris St-Germain, Kylian Mbappe, Striker Excluded from First Team Training

Paris Saint-Germain's all-time leading goalscorer Kylian Mbappe will not train with the first-team squad when they step up preparations for the start of the Ligue 1 season on Monday.

The France forward has been in a contract stand-off with PSG amid a desire to join Real Madrid. His current contract expires next summer, and PSG are keen to sell him now and secure a transfer fee rather than let him go for nothing.

As a result, Mbappe was left out of PSG's touring squad for their pre-season trip to Asia. He subsequently refused to meet with representatives of Al-Hilal, who made a world record offer to bring him to the Saudi Pro League.

It is understood that Mbappe will now train with the 'loft' group, which is a group of players who are not seen as part of the club's first-team plans this season.

PSG sources say their most recent attempt to broker a solution to the situation was to offer Mbappe a guaranteed sale clause in his contract for the end of this season. This offer was rejected.

After years of underachievement at Champions League level with their 'galactico' model of signing superstar players, PSG are now going down a different path. They are understood to be close to completing a deal for Benfica's Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick for Portugal at last year's World Cup in Qatar.

PSG are expected to pay 80m euros (£69m) for the forward.

The situation with Mbappe is a complex one, and it is unclear what the next steps will be. However, it is clear that PSG are determined to sell him, and they are unlikely to back down from their demands.

What does this mean for PSG?

The decision to train Mbappe with the 'loft' group is a clear sign that PSG are no longer counting on him for the upcoming season. This is a significant development, as Mbappe is one of the best players in the world, and his absence will be a major blow to PSG's hopes of winning the Ligue 1 title and the Champions League.

It is also worth noting that PSG are close to completing a deal for Ramos, who is a talented young player with a lot of potential. This suggests that PSG are already looking to the future, and they are prepared to move on from Mbappe.

August 4, 2023

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 IFMSPORTS

Sexual Misconduct Allegation Surfaces Against Zambia’s Women’s World Cup Coach

FIFA has launched an investigation into a formal complaint lodged against Zambia's head coach, Bruce Mwape, accusing him of sexually assaulting a player during a training session at the Women's World Cup in New Zealand.

The alleged incident, in which Mwape is accused of touching the chest of one of his players with his hands, is said to have occurred on 29 July.

A spokesperson from FIFA confirmed the receipt of the complaint, stating that they take any allegations of misconduct very seriously and have a clear reporting process for incidents in football.

However, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) expressed surprise at the news, claiming that they have not received any such complaint. They also stated that all training sessions for the Zambian team, known as the Copper Queens, were filmed by the FAZ media team and no footage of the alleged incident exists. Additionally, a FIFA film crew was present at all training sessions.

Following the complaint, Zambia's national team has returned home after finishing third in Group C and being eliminated from the tournament.

The FAZ emphasized that they maintain the highest standards of integrity and transparency and are committed to upholding ethical conduct among players and officials on and off the field. They pledged to take disciplinary action once an official complaint is received or if evidence related to the alleged incident is presented.

Last year, social media also saw sexual abuse allegations against Coach Mwape, but the FAZ clarified that no official complaint had been received at that time. However, an investigation had been initiated due to the seriousness of the allegations. Mwape denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the previous allegations as "fake."

In response to the recent accusation, the New Zealand police were informed but concluded that no further action was required after making initial inquiries. The situation remains under FIFA's scrutiny, and the outcome of the investigation will be awaited with keen interest.

August 3, 2023

August 3, 2023August 3, 2023 IFMSPORTS

Arsenal Striker Gabriel Jesus To Miss Start Of Season After Undergoing Knee Surgery

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus will miss the start of the Premier League season and be out for "a few weeks" after undergoing knee surgery, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.

The Brazil forward has undergone a "procedure" on his knee, Arteta said after Arsenal's penalty shoot-out win over Monaco to secure the Emirates Cup on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, he had a little procedure this morning," Arteta said. "He's had some discomfort in his knee that caused him some issues so they had to go in. It's not something major but he's going to be out for a few weeks.

"It's a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially with the way he played against Barcelona and he was in good condition but unfortunately we lost him.

"We had to look at it and we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible. We decided to do it."

The Arsenal boss also revealed Jesus' latest set-back was related to a previous knee injury suffered during last winter's World Cup, which forced him to miss most of the second half of the season.

"He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved," Arteta added.

The 26-year-old started Arsenal's previous pre-season friendly, a 5-3 win over Barcelona on Thursday in the US, and played 79 minutes before being singled out for praise by Arteta after the game.

August 3, 2023

August 3, 2023August 3, 2023 IFMSPORTS

Man City Agree £77m Fee For Leipzig Defender Gvardiol

Manchester City have agreed a 90m euro fee (£77m) with RB Leipzig for Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol.

The deal for the 21-year-old does not include add-ons, meaning the £80m Manchester United paid Leicester City for Harry Maguire in 2019 remains the British record for a defender.

He has been a key player for Leipzig in the 87 games he played for them since signing from Dynamo Zagreb in 2021.

It is expected Gvardiol will fly to England for a medical later this week

The deal looked unlikely to be agreed last week when Leipzig insisted they would not sell for less than €100m (£86m).

Manager Pep Guardiola believes Gvardiol will strengthen the left side of his central defence and, with Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake also able to fill that position, his arrival may put the future of Aymeric Laporte at Etihad Stadium under the microscope.

Gvardiol, who is also able to play left-back, becomes City's second major signing of the summer following the arrival of fellow Croatian Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea in June for an initial £25m.

Gvardiol, who has scored twice in his 21 caps for Croatia, helped his country finish third at the 2022 World Cup as well as runners-up to Spain in this year's Nations League.

He won back-to-back titles with Zagreb, signing off with a league and cup double before making his move to the Bundesliga.

Leipzig also twice qualified for the Champions League during Gvardiol's time in Germany as a result of their fourth and third-placed finishes in the Bundesliga.

The club that has sold him were effectively knocked out of the Champions League twice in the past two seasons by the club he has now joined.

Leipzig finished third in a group topped by City in 2021-22 and lost 8-1 over two legs in the round of 16 last season, including a 7-0 defeat at the Etihad.

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Author: IFMSPORTS

What does this mean for PSG?

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