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Ex-Rangers chief shatters transfer records in €65m deal

Ex-Rangers chief shatters transfer records in €65m deal

The National4 days ago
Italy international Mateo Retegui has officially completed his €65m move from Atalanta to Al Qadsiah. Add-ons could take the fee higher in the future.
In doing so, this makes Retegui the most expensive Italian player ever.
The previous record was broken by Newcastle when they bought Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for €59m.
Bisgrove has been the CEO of the Saudi Pro League side for just over a year, making the move to the Middle East in June 2024.
The Englishman is believed to have sanctioned the deal for the Italy international at his new club.
This will see Retegui pocket an eye-watering €20m per season.
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Atalanta have made a tidy profit on the striker, having purchased him from Genoa last summer for €20.9m plus €3m in bonuses.
He became a transfer target for Al Qadsiah after he scored an impressive 25 goals in 36 games.
Bisgrove spent five years at [[Rangers]] in a variety of roles, eventually leading to being in charge of the daily operation of the Scottish Premiership giants.
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Ribot, Grundy, Shergar, Enable – the King George has them all
Ribot, Grundy, Shergar, Enable – the King George has them all

South Wales Guardian

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Ribot, Grundy, Shergar, Enable – the King George has them all

RIBOT (1956) Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Flat racers of the post-war era, the unbeaten Italian champion made his one and only trip to Britain for the 1956 King George. The dual Arc winner used the Gran Premio di Milano as his prep race for the King George, which was set to be his hardest race to date. The going was sticky, and the 2-5 favourite looked uneasy at one stage, with jockey Enrico Camici urging him to go with the leaders. The pacemaker, Todrai, did his job and led Ribot into the straight but it was only in the last furlong that the champion showed his real worth. Some argued that the win was unimpressive; the horse's record, though, speaks for itself: 16 runs, 16 wins. NIJINSKY (1970) Vincent O'Brien's Triple Crown winner was another easy winner of this great race. The son of Northern Dancer had already captured the 2000 Guineas, the Derby and the Irish Derby, and started at odds of 40-85 at Ascot. Nijinsky was the only three-year-old in a field of six that included the previous year's Derby winner, Blakeney, and Coronation Cup winner Caliban. Caliban provided the early pace, but it was soon apparent that Nijinsky was in a different league. He cruised past his rivals on the bridle and left Blakeney for dead. Lester Piggott could not have had an easier winner. MILL REEF (1971) Trained by Ian Balding, Mill Reef won six Group Ones in a row. That sequence began with the Derby, and he lined up for the King George as the 8-13 favourite, having taken the Eclipse in the interim. Ridden by Geoff Lewis, he was nicely settled in third as they entered the straight. He pulled to the front a furlong from home and ran away to win by six lengths. He sealed a brilliant year by routing a top-class Arc field by three lengths. He won the Prix Ganay and Coronation Cup as a four-year-old, but sadly injury curtailed his career soon afterwards and the great rematch with Brigadier Gerard never happened. GRUNDY (1975) To many, this really was 'the race of the century'. The clash of the generations pitted the Derby winner, Grundy, against Bustino, winner of the 1974 St Leger. Two pacemakers were thrown in by Bustino's trainer, Dick Hern, and they set up the race nicely for an epic duel in the final half-mile. Bustino was clear by three into the home straight, but Grundy was gradually eating into his lead. They fought all the way to the line and Grundy looked beaten at one stage. Yet he dug deep and just prevailed in a never-to-be forgotten finish. We must not forget also that the brilliant dual-winner Dahlia was a distant third. Such was the courage both horses had to show that not only did the race-record time stand until Harbinger in 2010, but neither managed to win again. SHERGAR (1981) Shergar is famous for being kidnapped and for winning the Derby by 10 lengths, and it is easy to forget that the legendary colt also won the Irish Derby and the King George in a memorable summer. 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Alexander Isak future: PIF intervene as Newcastle chairman takes control
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Telegraph

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