
EXCLUSIVE JOAO PEDRO reveals how his mother sacrificed meals to give him the best chance in football - and why chat with Enzo Maresca played a key role in £60m Chelsea move
When Chelsea 's new £60m man instantly repaid a large chunk of his transfer fee with that double against Fluminense to send the Blues into Sunday's Club World Cup final against , he held up his hands and stopped. He had just adhered to the 'Lei do Ex' (law of the ex) – a Brazilian maxim that players always seem to score against their former clubs.
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Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Enzo Maresca 'trials Chelsea star in a new position' - as the Blues boss gets creative with the £50million signing
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has reportedly trialled moving one of his player's positions in a bid to find a place for the star. Since taking the reins at Stamford Bridge last summer Maresca has led the club to victory in the Conference League and steered them back into the Champions League. However, having already inherited a bloated squad upon his appointment and with yet more new arrivals during his tenure, a number of expensively-acquired stars have found themselves struggling for minutes. One of the players to become lost in the shuffle is France international Christopher Nkunku. Signed for £53million in the summer of 2023, Nkunku had been prolific in back-to-back Bundesliga campaigns with RB Leipzig. An knee injury suffered during a pre-season game curtailed his involvement however, and he was ultimately limited to just 14 appearances in all competitions in his maiden season in west London. In the Premier League last season Nkunku was largely restricted to appearing off the bench, and he is expected to be allowed to depart for pastures new this summer. Although it appears his time at the club is coming to an end, reports from France suggest Maresca had experimented with deploying Nkunku deeper. According to L'Equipe, the 27-year-old has often played in defensive midfield during training sessions, a move that has been described as potentially intended as a means of testing Nkunku's strength of character. The move also be an experiment on Maresca's behalf to see if Nkunku's talents could be adapted to a more defensive role, similar to Joelinton at Newcastle under Eddie Howe. The report also suggests that Nkunku is keen on a move this summer in the hopes of being able to figure in Didier Deschamps' plans for next summer's World Cup in North America.


The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Princess Kate shows concern for Wimbledon staff as she takes place in Royal Box
The Princess of Wales appeared to show concern for the Wimbledon staff before taking her place in the Royal Box for the women's final. Princess Kate met a string of tennis champions as she arrived at SW19 on Saturday (12 July), before she was introduced to several members of staff She asked them: 'How have you coped in this heat? It has been so hot, hasn't it?' Wearing a cream high-collared belted top and flowing skirt, Catherine also met Bob Flin, Wimbledon's longest-serving honorary steward. The mother-of-three, who is making a steady return to public duties following her cancer diagnosis.


The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
World Cup will use more indoor venues for day-time kick-offs to combat heat
Fifa's president, Gianni Infantino, has said indoor air-conditioned venues will be used as much as possible for day-time kick-offs at the 2026 World Cup to combat expected high temperatures. Concerns have been raised about player welfare during the Club World Cup in the US, which will co-host next year's tournament with Canada and Mexico. Enzo Fernández described conditions during Chelsea's semi-final against Fluminense, when the temperature was 35C, as 'very dangerous'. Infantino said better use would be made of indoor air-conditioned venues in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Vancouver. There are 16 host venues – 11 in the US, two in Canada and three in Mexico. Vancouver has by far the coolest average June and July temperatures of the indoor venues. 'The heat is definitely an issue,' Infantino said. 'It's an issue around the world. I remember it was the same in the Olympics in Paris and in other football games. But we have stadiums in America that are covered and one in Canada in Vancouver and we will definitely use these stadiums more during the day.' Infantino declared the Club World Cup a huge financial success and said the revamped, 32-team tournament had generated close to £1.5bn in revenue. The competition concludes in New York on Sunday with a final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, which is due to be attended by Donald Trump. Infantino said: 'The golden era of global club football has started. We can say definitely this Fifa Club World Cup has been a huge, huge, huge success. Of course, there are a lot of positives, some negatives. We respect everyone's opinion. It has been successful. 'We heard financially it would not work but I can say we generated over $2bn (£1.48bn) in revenues with this competition. We earned on average $33m per match. There is no other cup competition in the world that comes close to $33m per match. It is already the most successful club competition in the world.' Infantino responded to criticism over poor attendances at some matches by saying 2.5m tickets were sold, equating to an average of 40,000 per match. 'There is no league in the world with that number, except the Premier League which, of course, has home teams.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Infantino thanked Trump for his endorsement of the tournament. 'He loves the game,' he said. 'You cannot organise a competition like this without the full support of the government. Great thanks to president Trump – he has been fantastic and he is attending the final tomorrow as well.'