Football legend Pele’s son has been acquitted of drug trafficking charges after he was previously linked to a drug gang despite him strenuously denying being part of it.

Nine defendants were named in the ruling by the courts of Praia Grande, on the coast of Brazil’s state of Sao Paulo, and the son of football legend Pele, Edinho, was the only one acquitted, local media reported on 3rd December.

Edinho, whose full name is Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, 54, is a Brazilian football manager who used to play as a goalkeeper. He was arrested along with 16 other people in 2005 for money laundering and drug trafficking and was jailed.

The courts in Praia Grande acquitted the former goalkeeper due to lack of evidence that he was part of the gang, sentencing Naldinho to 25 years in prison in absentia.

The defendant disappeared on December 29, 2008, while in an open regime. Like Edinho, he was also sentenced to 33 years in prison for money laundering from drug trafficking.

Some believe that Naldinho was killed while others think that he escaped, according to local media.

An Italian footballer has drowned after suffering a jet ski accident while on holiday at a Caribbean beach in Colombia.

The body of Nicholas Cudini, 26, from Pocenia, in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, was found after a 22-hour search by the Colombian coastguard in the waters of the popular tourist hotspot Cartagena de Indias, on the country’s Caribbean coast.

Nicholas was riding a jet ski with another person when the vehicle collided with a boat in the area of ​​Cholon Island, about 30 miles south of Cartagena, at around 4.30pm on December 2.

The person who was with Nicholas immediately raised the alarm after realising that the young man had not resurfaced, triggering the search operations. Unfortunately, after hours of operations, his lifeless body was found.

The Colombian Navy confirmed the discovery of Nicholas’ body after a long search. In an official statement, the Coast Guard said: “After more than 22 hours of searching, units of the Armada de Colombia have recovered the lifeless body of Nicholas Cudini, a 26-year-old Italian citizen who had been missing since Monday evening.”

His body was later transported to the Cartagena docks and then transferred to the forensic morgue for an autopsy, which will determine the exact cause of his death.

Originally from Pocenia, a small town in the Lower Friuli region, Nicholas studied at the Zanon Technical Institute in Udine and later moved to the United States to continue his studies at Santa Clara University in California, according to Italian media.

assion was football and played as a midfielder on the Santa Clara University team. His football career also saw him as a player with Udinese youth teams and with ASD Cjarlins Muzane, with whom he made his debut in Serie D.

National World

Since Chelsea booked their place in the inaugural edition of this summer’s Club World Cup by winning the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League, there has been plenty of change at the west London outfit.

The Blues have cycled through six different head coaches, spent £1.2bn on transfers and finished 12th in the Premier League.

Nevertheless, Chelsea will be one of 32 teams involved in this week’s draw to decide the eight groups of four for the global jamboree in Miami. Based upon FIFA’s convoluted – and entirely arbitrary – seeding system, Enzo Maresca’s side are in Pot 2, leaving themselves open to a daunting slate of potential opponents.

No group can feature two clubs from the same association, so Chelsea would never be able to come up against Pot 1’s Manchester City. However, FIFA have split the European and South American top seeds to keep the big names apart until the semi-final.

That finger on the scale ensures that Chelsea can only come up against three Brazilian Copa Libertadores champions or Argentine giants River Plate, the highest-ranked South American club which haven’t won a continental title in the last four years.

While Flamengo and Fluminense have their qualities, the prospect of a clash with Palmeiras is particularly enticing. The Brazilian giants are spearheaded by the record-breaking talents of Estevao Willian – the 17-year-old forward who will join Chelsea after the competition’s conclusion in July 2025.