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Messi in Miami shirt seems ‘strange’ – Barca president

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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has told ESPN it is a “strange feeling” to see Lionel Messi in an Inter Miami CF shirt, but he wishes the forward the best in MLS.

Messi, 36, left Barca for Paris Saint-Germain two years ago, but the Catalan side attempted to re-sign him earlier this summer when his contract with the French side expired.

Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal also offered Messi a contract, but the Argentina international opted to join Inter Miami, where he has scored three goals in his first two appearances.

“It’s a strange feeling,” Laporta told ESPN of watching Messi play in the United States. “We identify Messi with Barcelona. That’s the way I think most supporters see Messi, because most of his career has been at Barca.

“But we respect his decision and we wish the best for him. We want the best for our players. He came to Barcelona as a kid, 14-years-old, and he spent 20 years with us. I hope he can be very happy in Miami.”

Messi has already been joined in Miami by former Barca teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, while Luis Suarez has also been linked, although sources have told ESPN the Uruguay striker will remain at Gremio until at least the end of the year.

Laporta said he understood Messi’s decision to take on a new challenge in the U.S., even if Barca had cleared his possible return with LaLiga financially.

“It was very close,” the Barca chief added. “We had to manage our financial fair play situation so we needed time. At the end, we reached an agreement with LaLiga that authorised us to add him to the squad.

“But Leo was coming from a situation in Paris where he was under a lot of pressure. His father told me that he needed a place where he won’t be under pressure and at Barca that would not be the case because of the meaning of the return of our hero.”

During his 21 years at Barca, Messi became the club’s record appearance holder and top scorer, scoring 672 times in 778 games. He won four Champions Leagues, 11 LaLiga titles and won the Ballon d’Or on seven occasions.

“In Miami, it is different for him, it’s a new league for him, one that is improving and Messi can help with the developing of the league,” added Laporta.

“With Busquets and Jordi Alba as well, maybe Luis Suarez. It will be very attractive for the fans in the United States. So he preferred to go to Miami. We respected it and understood his decision.”

Messi has made a fast start to life in South Florida, scoring the game-winning free kick on his debut against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup and then adding a brace in a 4-0 win over Atlanta United FC on Tuesday.

In California, meanwhile, Barca finally kicked off their preseason with a 5-3 defeat against Arsenal at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood as part of the Soccer Champions Tour they are taking part in.

Their opening game against Juventus in Santa Clara was postponed last weekend because of a stomach bug which spread across the squad.

They are back in action on Saturday when they play the Clasico against Real Madrid in Dallas before closing their trip against AC Milan in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

“We lost against Arsenal, but it’s preseason and we will get better,” Laporta said. “I hope against Madrid and in our last game in the U.S. we can be better.

“This tournament is fantastic. There are full stadiums, the fans are great and everything is so well organised. Last night we played in front of 70,000 with people coming from abroad to watch us.

“And training is also going great. The facilities in Los Angeles are perfect for us. We just had the problem with the viral infection, but we feel thankful to be here.”

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Meet Thomas Tuchel’s Brazilian Girlfriend 13 Years His Junior After Divorcing wife

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Thomas Tuchel’s Brazilian girlfriend is Natalie Max, who became the England manager’s partner after the German coach divorced his former wife in 2022.

Tuchel, who was officially announced as the new head coach of the Three Lions on Wednesday to replace Gareth Southgate, has been dating Max for over two years.

Max is 13 years younger than Tuchel and it is believed that the duo have been in a relationship since May 2022, just a month after his marriage ended in April 2022.

Here’s everything you need to know about Tuchel’s love life since his divorce with former wife Sissi.

Who is Thomas Tuchel’s current girlfriend Natalie Max?
Natalie Guerriero Max is the 37-year-old girlfriend of England head coach Thomas Tuchel.

The Brazilian brunette has worked as a director at consulting agency Natexo since March 2014.

Max, who has two children from a previous relationship as well as a pet dog, lives in London and it is thought that things got ‘serious’ with Tuchel in July 2022 when they went on holiday together to Sardinia.

‘Tuchel and Natalie are smitten with each other,’ a friend told the Daily Mail two years ago. ‘They’ve been spending a lot of quality time together in west London.

‘Tuchel is really lovely and has made Natalie’s friends feel welcome, he’s definitely in this for the long haul.’

Who is Thomas Tuchel’s ex-wife Sissi and do they have any children?

Thomas Tuchel was married to his ex-wife Sisi for 13 years. They divorced in April 2022 after they ‘exhausted all avenues’ and there was no hope of a reconciliation.

The couple had two daughters – Emma and Kim – and the family set up a home in Cobham, Surrey when Tuchel became Chelsea’s head coach in 2021.

It was reported that Sissi, a journalist, gave up her job at German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung to focus on raising the two children.

Sissi was an ‘integral part’ of Tuchel’s inner circle and was seen running across the pitch when the German led Chelsea to glory in the 2021 Champions League final.

Culled from Metro.co.uk

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England Finally Named New Manger After Guardiola Declined

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Italian coaching legend Fabio Capello tore down Thomas Tuchel for ‘incredible mistakes’ in the Champions League semi-final as Bayern Munich

Thomas Tuchel was named England’s new manager on Wednesday, with the German set to start on January 1, 2025.

The 51-year-old, who has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, succeeds Englishman Gareth Southgate as permanent coach and becomes the third foreign manager of the Three Lions after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

A former coach of Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich, Tuchel has the trophy-winning pedigree that the FA is seeking to help end a 58-year wait to win a major tournament.

However, the move has drawn criticism over the FA’s unwillingness to trust an Englishman with its top job.

Tuchel will be assisted by English coach Anthony Barry, who worked alongside him at Bayern Munich.

“I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team,” Tuchel said in a FA statement.

“I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already. To have the chance to represent England is a huge privilege, and the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting.”

Tuchel won league titles at PSG and Bayern and the German Cup with Dortmund, but his greatest success came during his time in English football at Chelsea.

He led the Blues to Champions League glory just months after taking charge in 2021 and also won the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup with the London club.

Tuchel was sacked in September 2022 in a bold early move by Chelsea’s new ownership group that did not pay off.

He becomes the permanent successor to Southgate, who led the Three Lions to back-to-back finals of the European Championship, plus a World Cup semi-final and quarter-final in his four major tournaments in charge.

England are still yet to win a major men’s tournament since the 1966 World Cup on home soil.

“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world,” said FA CEO Mark Bullingham.

“Since Gareth resigned, we have worked through the candidate pool, meeting a number of coaches and evaluating them against that criteria.

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Senegal, Egypt Seal 2025 AFCON Ticket, Ghana In Dilemma

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A 96th-minute winner from Sadio Mané earned Senegal a 1-0 win over Malawi and a place at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco next year, but Ghana are in serious danger of missing out after a surprise loss to Sudan on Tuesday.

Senegal had 30 attempts at goal against their hosts but it took until the final seconds for Mané to seal victory with a 25-yard free kick that curled into the bottom corner of the net.

The 2021 winners, who recently parted ways with long-time coach Aliou Cissé, join Burkina Faso as the qualified nations from group L in the 24-team finals with two more matches to play in the November international window.

Ghana slumped to a 2-0 loss against Sudan in neutral Libya as Ahmed Al-Tash and Mohamed Abdel Rahman scored within three minutes of each other in the second half.

Ghana look set to miss a first continental finals since 2004 having managed a paltry two points from their four games, five adrift of the qualification positions with a difficult trip to pool leaders Angola next up.

Angola sealed their place with a 1-0 win over Niger in Casablanca thanks to Zini’s first-minute goal.

Record seven-time winners Egypt cruised to a place in the finals with a 1-0 win over Mauritania. Ibrahim Adel got the only goal of the game five minutes from the end.

Democratic Republic of Congo qualified with a 2-0 victory in Tanzania as Meschack Elia scored a brace, but defending champions Ivory Coast suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Sierra Leone after Amadou Bakayoko’s 85th-minute winner.

The Ivorians remain top of their group and will be favourites to book their place next month.

Coach Avram Grant’s Zambia claimed an important 1-0 win over Chad to take a big step towards qualification thanks to Kennedy Musonda’s goal 20 minutes from the end.

Gabon are also on course after a 2-0 win over Lesotho in neutral Durban, while Morocco completed a statement 4-0 win over Central African Republic as Eliesse Ben Seghir scored twice.

Uganda beat South Sudan 2-1 in Juba and top their pool ahead of South Africa, who were held to a 1-1 draw in Congo despite Elias Mokwana scoring the opener. Both are expected to seal their places next month.

Rwanda beat Benin 2-1 in group D with the other fixture on Tuesday between Libya and Nigeria postponed after the latter refused to play over travel chaos in the build-up.

Nigeria head the pool with seven points from three games, followed by Benin (six points from four games), Rwanda (five from four) and Libya (one from three).

Tunisia were held to a 1-1 draw by Comoros with two points separating the North Africans at the top of the pool and Gambia in third.

Hosts Morocco, Cameroon and Algeria are the other teams already in the finals line-up.

TIMESLIVE

 

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