Latest news with #GerardPique
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Second-tier club build 20,000-seater temporary stadium in just SIX MONTHS as home ground is renovated to host World Cup
A TEMPORARY stadium has been built in just SIX MONTHS while a second-tier club renovates their ground ahead of the World Cup. Spanish outfit Real Zaragoza have moved out of their La Romareda as it was picked as a host stadium for the 2030 World Cup. 6 Estadio Ibercaja has been built in just six months Credit: Twitter 6 Real Zaragoza have had to move out of La Romareda Credit: Getty 6 The historic ground has had one stand demolished Credit: Alamy The historic ground is being expanded from a capacity of 33,608 to approximately 43,000 ahead of the tournament. This is due to Fifa requiring all stadiums to have a minimum capacity of at least 40,000. The competition will be played across The Nueva Romareda - the New Romareda - is set to be completed in 2028 at an estimated cost of £117million. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS But in the meantime, Zaragoza have to play their football away from their home of the last 68 years. Los Manos will now play at the temporary build Estadio Ibercaja. The stadium has been built in just SIX MONTHS and will open to tours this week. The ground is notably smaller than the Romareda with a capacity of just 20,000. Most read in Football SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN Tours will take place over the next week before its official opening. Fans will also have the chance to take part in a safety measure stress test at the stadium. Leaked footage shows shocking state of Barcelona's Nou Camp as club 'consider delaying new stadium opening' The board of the Nueva Romareda SL have agreed the rental deal for the club to use the ground with the lease lasting 26 months. The club will have the option to extend the deal until the Romareda reopens. Zaragoza will pay £216,960 to rent the stadium, but that will reportedly be increased by 70 per cent if they are promoted to LaLiga. The club will also have to pay for any upgrades that are required by league regulations. 6 Diego Milito is one former star at Real Zaragoza Credit: EPA 6 Gerard Pique spent a season on loan at Zaragoza before his move to Barcelona Credit: AFP 6 Former Chelsea star Gus Poyet won the Uefa European Cup Winners' Cup at the club Credit: Getty Zaragoza play their first match in the Estadio Ibercaja against Mirandes on July 30. The match is a pre-season friendly ahead of the clubs' campaign in the Segunda Division. Zaragoza will be hoping for an improvement on their 18th-place finish from last term. The team is managed by former player and The team was last in LaLiga in 2013 and have previously boasted players such as World Cup 2030 stadiums Here are all the stadiums that will be used in the World Cup in 2030... SPAIN Estadio Riazor, A Coruna- 32,490-capacity (expanded to 42-43,000) Camp Nou, Barcelona - 105,000-capacity RCDE Stadium, Barcelona - 40,000-capacity San Mames Stadium, Bilbao - 53,331-capacity Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas - 32,392-capacity (expanded to 44,500) Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid - 78,297-capacity (expanded to 85,000) Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid - 70,692-capacity Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastián - 39,313-capacity (expanded to 42,300) La Romareda, Zaragoza - 33,608-capacity (expanded to 42,500) PORTUGAL Estadio da Luz, Lisbon - 68,100-capacity Estadio José Alvalade, Lisbon - 50,095-capacity (possible expansion to 52,095) Estádio do Dragão, Porto - 50,033-capacity MOROCCO Adrar Stadium, Agadir - 43,500-capacity (expanded up to 46,000) Hassan II Stadium (New), Casablanca - 115,000-capacity Fez Stadium, Fez - 45,000-capacity (expanded to 55,800) Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh - 45,240-capacity (expanded to 45,860) Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium (New) - Rabat - 68,700-capacity Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier - 65,000-capacity (possible expansion up to 87,000)
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Official: Barcelona goalkeeper leaves the club on loan
Aron Yaakobishvili has left FC Barcelona on loan to join FC Andorra in La Liga 2, the club have officially confirmed. 'FC Barcelona and FC Andorra have reached an agreement for the loan of player Aron Yaakobishvili, until June 30, 2026,' the statement from Barça read. Advertisement The teenager becomes the second La Masia goalkeeper to leave on loan, following in the footsteps of Ander Astralaga. Yaakobishvili has been at Barcelona since 2018, when he joined from the youth ranks of Atletic Sant Just. The 19-year-old was one of the key players last season in Barça Juvenil A's treble triumph under Juliano Belletti as they won the Division de Honor, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Youth League. Yaakobishvili also made his debut for Barça Atletic in September last year and went on to play three times for the reserve team. The youngster could have had a shot at becoming the starting goalkeeper for Barça Atletic in the Spanish fourth tier next season, but will now play for Andorra – the club owned by Barcelona legend Gerard Pique – in the second division.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Messi, Ronaldinho in – Lamine Yamal picks his all-time greatest Barcelona lineup
Barcelona return to training tomorrow and it will thus be a special day for not only the coaching staff but also for the dressing room. The day will only be made sweeter by the fact that it is Lamine Yamal's 18th birthday, and in all likelihood, the day he is officially handed the number 10 shirt. Advertisement Over the past year and a half, the youngster has made the impossible seem possible, helped change the mentality of the team and established himself as a bona fide starter all at the age of just 17. The coming season, needless to say, sees massive expectations pinned on him. Yamal picks his best XI In a recent interaction with Barça One, the young star was asked to pick his all-time Barcelona XI, including players from the past and the present. Given the sheer quality the club has seen and the legends it has housed over the years, it is not surprising that Yamal was excited about the challenge. He began from the goal where he picked Victor Valdes, the only homegrown goalkeeper to have scripted a historic legacy at the club. Advertisement 'In goal, I say Victor Valdes, because in my head he is the most historic goalkeeper we have had and the one I have seen play.' Moving to the defence, he opted to go for a three-man backline and thus did not pick any fullbacks but only central defenders. 'In defence, I say Gerard Pique, Puyol and Mascherano,' he said, picking the three greatest defenders in the club's history. The midfield, needless to say, was the most difficult department for Yamal to pick for the club has seen several big names render their services to the crest over the years. 'In the centre of the field, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, obviously,' he began. Advertisement Yamal even opted to name an extra member in the department, particularly in the attacking midfield, because he had no space to accommodate him in the forward line. 'I will put Ronaldinho, because in attack I already know who I will put and I will not have space.' Finally, Yamal revealed his all-time greatest Barcelona forward trio to be the MSN partnership that tore through European defences year after year in the last decade. 'Up Messi obviously, and I wanted to put Neymar because he is my favourite player and as a striker, Luis Suarez, for me, he is top.'
Reuters
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Fast-expanding Kings League eyes US launch by 2026
PARIS, June 14 (Reuters) - The Gerard Pique-founded Kings League said on Saturday that it aims to launch its seven-a-side soccer format in the United States by 2026, adding to the list of nations where the online-orientated competition already has a footprint. At a briefing in Paris, Kings League CEO Djamel Agaoua told reporters that a U.S. Kings League could be launched around the end of this year and start of the next. "We feel ready to attack the big animal, which is the U.S. market ... we start on the East Coast for operational reasons," said Agaoua, who was in the French capital for the Kings World Cup Clubs final at La Defense Arena on Saturday evening. Various new buzzy soccer formats, with smaller teams and shorter games than traditional 90-minute football, have sprung up round Europe and elsewhere in recent years, attracting a host of online influencers and former professionals. With special rules to heighten entertainment, the leagues are attracting major investment and large streaming audiences, even as some traditional fans deride them as a glitzy distortion of the world's favourite sport. Created by former Spanish international Pique in 2022, the Kings League has expanded fast to Italy, Germany, France and Brazil. It also plans to launch a MENA league for the Middle East and Africa later this year in partnership with Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund's sports arm. The league estimates a 5-7 million euro ($5.8-$8.1 million) investment in each new market, though the U.S. venture would cost more, Agaoua said. The Kings League raised 60 million euros from investors in its latest funding round last year. However, it was staying away from China due to regulatory challenges and from the U.K. because streaming, including the Twitch platform, was less developed, the Kings League CEO said at the briefing with Pique. The Baller League, already in Germany and the UK, also plans to launch its six-a-side format in the U.S. later this year, with online personality iShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., its president. Pique, 38, a defender who played for Barcelona, told Reuters the existence of rival leagues was not a deterrent. "In Italy, for example, we had Goa7 League before we arrived ... It doesn't exist anymore," he said. "We have already two copycats that have created some similar concept ... in Germany, but we decided to go to Germany anyway and we've been there with also great success." The two competitors in Germany are the Baller League Germany and ICON League, which was set up by ex-player Toni Kroos and content creator Elias Nerlich. With an eye to videogame rules, the Kings League has novel twists such as 'President Penalties,' which gives club bosses a chance to get on the scoresheet as well as players. "You have a portion of fans that are a little bit tired of seeing the same thing every year," Agaoua said of traditional soccer. "We estimate that we have probably 60% of our fans that are football fans and 40% that are not football fans that came to football through us." Pique said 85% of Kings League viewers were under 35, consuming sports via Twitch, YouTube and other social media. The league says it has generated over 7 billion impressions and 400 million engagements globally on social media. ($1 = 0.8657 euros)
The Irish Sun
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Backstage with Shakira as we reveal the truth about her life on the road and she teases massive UK shows
'DON'T you see, baby, this is perfection?' Shakira sings in front of a 65,000-strong crowd at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. As she wiggles her bum and gives the audience a cheeky grin, it is hard to disagree with 10 Shakira and her dancers wear embellished bodysuits on stage at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Credit: Getty 10 Shakira is reaching incredible new heights two decades after she first sang that line from Hips Don't Lie Credit: Getty 10 Shakira's is the biggest female tour of 2025 so far, by both box office takings and ticket sales Credit: Getty Two decades after she first sang that line from Hips Don't Lie, she is reaching incredible new heights — and it has now been confirmed that hers is the biggest female tour of 2025 so far, by both box office takings and ticket sales. Outselling But now she is having the best time on the road with her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour — translated as Shakira took me backstage for a UK newspaper exclusive at the first of two sold-out shows on Friday. Read More on Showbiz After her performance, I couldn't help but tell her how much I'm looking forward to her long- rumoured UK dates next year. 'Better journey' Confirming they will indeed be happening, she says: 'I can't wait.' After giving me a massive hug, the down-to-earth and downright lovely star continues: 'You flew all this way just for me? Thank you so much.' And reflecting on the show, she beams: 'I had so much fun.' Most read in Bizarre That's evident from the moment Shakira bursts on to the stage, after a film showed an AI version of the singer with a missing arm, emerging from a pile of sand and putting itself back together. That symbolism is important because this is Shakira's first tour since a torrid spell which threatened to derail not just her career but her life. Huge pop star set to make a spectacular comeback with a string of UK gigs She has been dragged through the Spanish courts over an unpaid tax bill, which was settled in November 2023. At the same time, she had a highly publicised split from former footballer Gerard Pique after 11 years together. It followed allegations he had cheated. The hurt has inspired a lot of She opens the two-hour show with her 2024 song La Fuerte, which features lyrics about waking up alone and deleting an ex's number. In an empowering speech, she tells the crowd: 'Many of you know that the past years haven't been the easiest for me, right? But who doesn't have a fall here and there, right? What I've learned is that a fall isn't the end, but the beginning of an even better journey.' 10 She opens the two-hour show with her 2024 song La Fuerte Credit: Getty 10 Track La Fuerte features lyrics about waking up alone and deleting an ex's number Credit: Getty 10 Shakira balances her own turmoil with fun and froth — with a whopping 14 outfits on show Credit: Getty 10 Shakira, 48, seems to have discovered the elixir of life, because she looks and moves like someone half her age Credit: Getty And there are more nods to those difficulties in her personal life. During Te Felicit, a song in which she says congratulations to a man who has broken her heart, she tries to reprogram a dancer dressed as a male robot so that he isn't a misogynist. But he still touches her bum and turns out to be a dud in bed when she gets cosy with him in the centre of the stage. During one interlude, there are visuals of a wolf with two cubs, representing the She-Wolf singer and her But Shakira balances her own turmoil with fun and froth — with a whopping 14 outfits on show. For her second song, the catchy There is a sea of lights across the stadium as fans wave their light-up wristbands in unison. And Shakira pulls on everything from sparkly bodysuits to ball gowns and bra tops. I'm told it took ten months to design the show, and given the attention to detail you can see why. At 48, Shakira seems to have discovered the elixir of life, because she looks and moves like someone half her age. By the halfway point of the concert, temperatures are 30C and I have sweat running down my face. Yet Shakira, who is marking three decades since her first headline concert, is running across the stage and twerking without so much as a moist brow. In fact, she looks even fitter and healthier than when she first became a household name in the UK in the early-Noughties. She is in tip-top form for this tour, which kicked off in February and Shakira describes as her 'most ambitious'. She is constantly working out and has two physiotherapists with her on the road. And I can attest that her backstage catering area, where I had dinner before the show, has plenty of healthy options including grilled red snapper, Peruvian chicken and cauliflower steak. A significant part of the show features Spanish-language songs, which have sometimes held the singer back in the UK, given most of us Brits can barely understand a word. Tender moment But as more and more non- English acts gain traction here in Blighty — such as K-Pop stars BTS and Blackpink and Spanish-speaking rapper Bad Bunny — now is her time. At the show she is joined by two special guests: Puerto Rican singer Ozuna, to perform their song Monotonia together for the first time, and Spanish Alejandro Sanz for the danceable La Tortura. During Soltera she pole- dances on a giant letter S before changing the pace for the piano-driven ballad Ultima, which she sings atop a mound of diamonds. When the tour does eventually come to our shores, it is bound to be the English language tunes that keep the audience on their feet. There's an understated rendition of her 2002 belter Underneath Your Clothes, a traditional dance with knives for her megahit Whenever Wherever, and a mass howl-along for She-Wolf, complete by a gigantic wolf image that towers over the audience. Then she throws an on-stage, multi- coloured carnival for 2010 smash-hit World Cup anthem, Waka Waka (This Time For Africa). One surprising omission from the setlist is Beautiful Liar, her 2006 collaboration with Beyonce, which topped the charts here. But in a tender moment, Shakira reveals it was her fellow artist's 2023 Renaissance tour that inspired her to organise her own. Shakira, whose North American dates were upgraded from arenas to stadiums due to overwhelming demand, explains: 'To see this place this packed, it's a dream for me. It's surreal. 'The last time I came to Hard Rock Stadium, I saw Beyonce's show and I said to myself, 'How amazing would it be if I could play the stadium one day?' 'How amazing that tonight, I'm here playing two stadiums. I have the best crowd in the world. You make all of my dreams come true.' There is no doubt that she is stronger than ever before. This show cemented Shakira as a true music icon. OZZY UP FOR GIG ONLINE OZZY OSBOURNE's massive farewell performance at Villa Park on July 5 sold out in minutes, but you'll now be able to watch the legend on a livestream. Fans who missed out on the chance to attend the Back To The Beginning concert, which has a star-studded line-up including 10 Ozzy Osbourne's massive farewell performance at Villa Park on July 5 sold out in minutes Credit: Getty Ozzy's wife Sharon said: 'We had such overwhelming demand from fans around the globe who couldn't get tickets to the show, and they took to social media, pleading with us to broadcast a livestream. 'Seeing as this is such a historic event, we couldn't let them down.' JET setter Rita Ora was back on stage at the World Club Dome festival in Frankfurt on Saturday, mere hours after singing at Washington Pride on Friday. But I couldn't help but wonder if she'd lost her suitcase in the rush over, as she was missing some gear when she performed in her bra and pants. 10 Rita Ora was back on stage at the World Club Dome festival in Frankfurt on Saturday Credit: Getty HARRY TASH FOR XX BASH HARRY STYLES made a rare public outing to party the night away at a The Watermelon Sugar singer, who is on a break from music, was spotted in the VIP section at Lido Festival in East London, where producer Jamie had curated the line-up ahead of his headline performance. 10 Harry Styles made a rare public outing to party the night away at a Jamie XX gig on Saturday Credit: Eroteme Harry wore a blue baseball cap, hoody and jacket for the event to try to go unnoticed, but was still spotted by eagle-eyed fans. The moustachioed star had an extra-special treat when Jamie reunited his band The XX on stage, bringing out Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim. But he won't have long to wait for music from them as I'm told they've almost completed their first album in eight years. This week in Bizness... TODAY: The new live action remake of How To Train Your Dragon, featuring Gerard Butler and Nick Frost, finally lands at cinemas – 15 years after the original hit animation arrived on screen. TOMORROW: Sydney Sweeney joins Julianna Moore and Domhnall Gleeson in London for the European premiere of their film Echo Valley ahead of its Friday launch on Apple TV+. WEDNESDAY: James kick off ten days of shows at Hampton Court Palace Festival, with Rag'N'Bone Man, Tom Jones, Chaka Khan, Elbow, Bananarama and Gary Barlow also on the bill. SUNDAY: The Capital Summertime Ball takes over London's Wembley Stadium with a star-studded line- up including chart-toppers Mariah Carey, Will Smith, Benson Boone, Lola Young and Tate McRae.
