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This would come as very welcome news for fans of the Blaugrana, as the defending LaLiga champions had been without a quality backup to Jordi Alba at left-back for the last few seasons which proved detrimental to their chances of success. The 22-year-old Firpo garnered attention for his performances with Real Betis last season, playing an integral role as Los Verdiblancos finished in a respectable 10th position and reached the semifinal of the Copa del Rey....

According to todofichajes.com, the Spanish club have revved up their interest in signing Sule. With Gerard Pique now 34-years-old and Ronald Araujo reportedly looking for a transfer, Blaugrana need to strengthen their defense. However, with their financial woes, they might not be able to spend a lot on quality defenders. Hence a potential free transfer for Sule comes as a golden opportunity for the La Liga club. Sule joined Bayern Munich in 2017 from 1899 Hoffenheim....

Suarez broke the deadlock with a composed finish against his former employers after 26 minutes, shortly after midfielder Naby Keita (groin) was forced off injured for Jurgen Klopp’s men. The Reds created promising chances of their own - Sadio Mane, James Milner and Mohamed Salah all coming close - but goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was alert to the danger and dealt with their opportunities with poise to keep his clean sheet intact....

Trailing following a contentious 2-1 defeat in Bilbao last week, Barca had to wait for their breakthrough before it arrived in landmark fashion 10 minutes from half-time. Luis Suarez volleyed his 100th goal for the club on the end of a move that fittingly featured Messi and Neymar – it was the 300th goal for MSN since the awesome forward trio began playing together in 2014. Neymar won and converted a penalty early in the second period, but Athletic hit back through wideman Enric Saborit, a Barcelona-born product of the Espanyol youth system....

The 53-year-old stepped down after four seasons in a second spell at Athletic Club last week and was widely expected to take over from Luis Enrique this summer. Barca had promised an announcement after the Copa del Rey final and a statement on Monday confirmed Valverde as the new coach on a two-year deal. Messi leads Luis Enrique tributes “I have spoken personally with Ernesto Valverde and I told him of our decision,” said club president Josep Maria Bartomeu....

Bale scored Wales’ equaliser in Cardiff as they drew 1-1 with Group E leaders Croatia in Euro 2020 qualifying, although the result leaves Giggs’ men with plenty of work to do. The Real Madrid winger was one of three Wales players who appeared to take a knock, with Dan James recovering from an early blow, Ethan Ampadu later substituted off, and Bale then limping badly after indicating a calf issue....

The Wales winger “worked inside”, Madrid said, as Zinedine Zidane’s men hit the track on Monday following their return from a turbulent pre-season trip to the United States. Bale’s relationship with Los Blancos boss Zidane plummeted during the tour and he appeared set to leave the club to take up a lucrative offer at Jiangsu Suning. But board members at the LaLiga giants reportedly blocked his departure due to their demand for a transfer fee and the deal fell through on Sunday....

NBCSports.com reported that Turner, the MAC’s 2014 Freshman of the Year last season, was suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules. MORE: Florida guy may have season-ending injruy | Tarkanian hospitalized The Ball State Daily published a statement from Whitford: “We are committed to high standards, and there are consequences for poor judgment,” Whitford said in the statement. “We place a high emphasis on the culture within our program, and we strive to develop players both on and off the court....

In case you didn’t know… Los Blancos and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric emerged as the winner of the coveted Ballon d’Or on Monday, thereby breaking five-time winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s decade-long stronghold over the award. The Croatian has had an incredible year, to say the least, having previously won the UEFA Best Player of the Year award as well as The Best FIFA Men’s Player award. The Real Madrid midfielder played a pivotal role in the side’s third consecutive Champions League win after which he led his country to the first FIFA World Cup finals in their history....

The ballot which ended on Wednesday, saw nearly 78 percent of voters back the amendments to update the Russian Constitution which had been passed in 1993. Voted on as a package, they included changes to the minimum wage and pensions index as well as social changes such as defining marriage to be between a man and a woman. Critics said that these were simply camouflage for the main priority, which was to extend Putin’s rule by resetting his term limit to zero in 2024 when his current tenure ends....

The Australian opener appeared to rub the ball with a yellow item, which was then returned to his pocket before being dropped down the front of his trousers. Bancroft produced a black sunglasses carrier when pressed over the incident by the umpires, appearing to imply that the case was the only item in his pocket. Spectators speculated on social media that the item used and then swiftly hidden by Bancroft was sandpaper, although there is no concrete evidence to confirm whether this was the case....

Bangalore lost their first match but roared back into the contention by winning Chennai’s trump match, which dashed visitors’ semifinals hopes as getting six points from the tie became impossible. After losing the first match, Bangalore came back strongly as Praneeth beat veteran Parupalli Kashyap 15-11 15-12. Earlier, the hosts were off to a dreadful start when Chennai’s doubles pair of Chris Adcock and Chin Chung Or beat Bangalore’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, who are former doubles world champions....

In Chittagong, the hosts restricted the Proteas to just 248 in the first innings and then scored 326 to take a 78-run lead before rain washed out the last two days. Bangladesh still had a 17-run lead when the match was called off last Saturday, reports bdnews24.com. The hosts draw inspiration from that for the second Test that starts at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday. “I have said before that if we could draw the Test, it would be a big achievement for us....

But most of the changes only bring regulations in line with the realities of the corporate financial world, which hasn’t been waiting for Washington to act. The agreement will put an end to a long-outdated ban on stock speculation by banks and other “crossover” businesses that stemmed from the Crash of 1929. The new law will allow banks, securities firms and insurance firms to jump with both feet into each other’s businesses....

The 32-year-old, a two-time Grand Slam winner in women’s doubles, was punished on Wednesday by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), the game’s anti-corruption body. It said that Peng “used coercion and offered the possibility of financial reward” to convince her doubles partner to pull out of Wimbledon in 2017 after the sign-in deadline so that she could swap partners. Peng, the number one doubles player in February 2014, had the “offer” rebuffed and failed to play doubles at the prestigious tournament....

The former president was talking about how Republicans want “an economy that’s very good for folks at the very top, but not always so good for ordinary people” when a heckler interrupted him. “Like you, Obama!” the man yelled. “Are you gonna start, are you gonna start yelling?” Obama asked him, as the crowd started booing. “Don’t start yelling. Come on. Why you start yelling?” Obama then urged the crowd not to “get distracted....

At the height of the tech boom, Microsoft inspired an equal mix of loathing, awe and imitation in Europe. Mostly what’s left is the loathing. The U.S. court ruling against what critics claim is a predatory monopoly has shattered the image of Microsoft as a role model for young European entrepreneurs. Now that the American government has abandoned efforts to break up the world’s largest software company, the center of anti-Microsoft activity has shifted to Europe....

Barcelona’s Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez miraculously escaped unhurt after wrecking his Audi R8 in the early hours of Thursday. Sanchez, who was driving back home after Barca’s penalty shootout win against Espanyol, lost control of his supercar and crashed it into the road divider barriers. It is not known how Sanchez lost control of the car. Such was the impact of the crash that the Audi’s front got smashed, writing it off completely....

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez took the goal scoring responsibility after the departure of Neymar. Defensively, Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti performed well this season. Busquets, Iniesta, and Rakitic are having a good season in the middle of the park. Here in this article, we will rate the Barcelona players (with a minimum of 10 competitive starts) based on their performances this season. #18 Andre Gomes 3/10 Andre Gomes’ 2017/18 season has been a disaster....