West Ham United may have to vacate the London Stadium temporarily if the 2029 World Athletics Championships are awarded to the city. Last week, the UK government officially committed to supporting the bid financially, pledging £35 million ($47m) from the Treasury. An additional £10m ($13.5m) was also secured from the Mayor of London’s office, taking the total public funding support to £45m ($61m).
Aston Villa paid a heartfelt tribute to Black Sabbath frontman and music legend Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away aged 76. Osbourne performed his final live show at Villa Park, a homecoming farewell concert attended by 42,000 fans. The concert, dubbed Back To The Beginning, was staged as a celebration of Osbourne’s monumental career and life in music.
Kevin De Bruyne’s much-anticipated first appearance for Napoli ended in disappointment as the reigning Serie A titleholders suffered an unexpected 2-0 defeat to third-division club Arezzo in a pre-season friendly. The Belgian midfielder, who recently joined from Manchester City, was handed a starting role by manager Antonio Conte, but the night didn’t unfold as planned for the star-studded Italian side.
Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe is reportedly on the verge of taking over the famed No. 10 shirt as the club gears up for the 2025–26 season. After his first year in the Spanish capital, the 26-year-old appears set to trade his current No. 9 shirt - previously worn by the likes of Karim Benzema - for the number vacated by club legend Luka Modric, according to MARCA.
Gary Lineker defended Marcus Rashford over his poor spell at Manchester United and believes that he will succeed at Barcelona. The England international is on the verge of sealing a season-long loan deal to the Spanish champions, in what many see as a bold attempt to reignite his career after a challenging spell at Old Trafford.
David de Gea, the former Manchester United goalkeeper, has addressed the saga of his failed transfer to Real Madrid back in 2015. While still choosing to keep many of the details under wraps, the Spaniard hinted that he will eventually share the full story, but only after he hangs up his gloves for good.
Arsenal have reached a full agreement with Sporting CP to sign Viktor Gyokeres in a transfer valued at €63.5 million (£55m/$74m) upfront, with an additional €10m (£8.6m/$12m) in performance-based add-ons. The final breakthrough came after protracted discussions over the structure and attainability of the bonus payments, which had previously stalled the move despite a general agreement on the main fee.