MADRID: Real Madrid has signed highly rated Spain defender Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth in its first reinforcement of the offseason.
The Spanish powerhouse said Saturday that the 20-year-old Huijsen had signed a five-year deal through June 2030. Madrid reportedly agreed to pay the player’s 50-million pound ($66.4 million) clause to sign him from Bournemouth.
Huijsen is a Dutch-born, ball-playing center back who joined the Premier League team from Juventus for a reported 12.5 million pounds (now $16.6 million) in the offseason last year. He was a regular for Bournemouth since breaking into the team in November.
He impressed so much that he earned a call-up by Spain for the Nations League playoffs in March, coming on a substitute in the first leg against the Netherlands and then starting the second leg.
Assured on the ball and a good reader of the game, Huijsen had been linked with some of the biggest teams in the Premier League in recent months, including Liverpool and Arsenal, so it was increasingly inevitable Bournemouth would be losing the tall defender over the summer — but making a big profit in the process.
Madrid needs to rebuild a defense after multiple injuries to its backline during a trophyless 2024-25 campaign.
Real Madrid signs Spain defender Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth
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Real Madrid signs Spain defender Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth

Jannik Sinner: Quiet man of tennis basks in the limelight of Wimbledon glory

- Jannik Sinner is the quiet man of tennis who has become a big noise, burnishing his legacy on Sunday by winning his first Wimbledon title
LONDON: Jannik Sinner is the quiet man of tennis who has become a big noise, burnishing his legacy on Sunday by winning his first Wimbledon title.
The Italian beat his fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the latest instalment of their captivating rivalry to claim his fourth Grand Slam at the age of 23.
The pair are the new dominant forces in men’s tennis, sharing the past seven Grand Slams between them as the memory of the “Big Three” era fades.
While Alcaraz is the flashy showman of the game, adored by the fans for his high-risk, high-reward tennis, Sinner stays ice-cold on the court and mild-mannered off it.
His game is based on relentless power and accuracy from the baseline, resembling that of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
The Italian is getting used to life at the top, reaching his fourth successive major final at Wimbledon this year — a run that started with the US Open last season.
Sinner defended his Australian Open title in Melbourne in January but his career was put on hold after that as he served a three-month ban for twice testing positive for banned anabolic steroid clostebol last year.
Sinner has always maintained the product entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing it to treat a cut.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said “Sinner did not intend to cheat” but that he would serve his suspension as he is responsible for the actions of his entourage.
Sinner returned to the court in May, reaching the final of the Italian Open, where he was beaten by Alcaraz.
Next on his schedule was the French Open and again he reached the title match, this time suffering heartbreak as Alcaraz came back from two sets down, saving three match points to defend his title.
That gave the Spaniard an 8-4 lead in the rivalry between the pair and was his fifth straight win.
But the tables were turned on Sunday as Sinner showed impressive mental strength to come back after losing the first set.
Sinner was born in German-speaking San Candido, in northern Italy, near the border with Austria.
A career in professional tennis was not a given.
He was a champion skier as a youngster and still enjoys the sport in the off-season. He was also a keen footballer.
The right-hander, who stands six feet 3 inches (191 centimeters) tall, won his first title indoors in Sofia in 2020.
The 2024 season was his breakthrough year as he collected his first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, and followed up with seven other titles including the US Open.
He became world number one — and the first Italian to reach top spot — in June last year.
Sinner’s super-power is his extraordinary ability to stay calm on court.
“I know he’s just 23 years of age, but sometimes it feels like he’s much older and wiser than what we are,” said his coach Darren Cahill. “He’s an incredible young man.”
Sinner makes no secret of the fact that he loves the job he has chosen.
“I’m very lucky because tennis started off a hobby when I was young, and now it becomes my job,” he said.
“In my mind it’s still a hobby. I love to go on court and just play. There is no better place to do it than in big stadiums with packed crowd.”
Japan outclass Pakistan 3-0 to win Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 title

- Japan’s Yuma Fujiwara scored goals in the 22nd and 38th minutes of game
- Skipper Tatsuaki Yasui scored the final goal to end Pakistan winning streak
ISLAMABAD: Japan defeated Pakistan 3-0 to win the Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 final at the National Hockey Training Center in Dazhou, China on Sunday.
Despite both teams attacking each other, the opening quarter of the match ended without a goal. Japan’s Yuma Fujiwara scored the first goal in the seventh minute of the second quarter.
Fujiwara found the net once again in the third quarter, followed by Tatsuaki Yasui extending Japan’s lead to 3-0 on a penalty corner in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
“Japan are crowned champions after a commanding 3–0 victory over Pakistan in the final,” the Asian Hockey Federation commented on X.
“A flawless campaign, built on discipline, skill, and teamwork, earns Japan the top spot on the podium.”
Pakistan had entered the final unbeaten, after defeating Malaysia 4-3 in the semifinals.
Prior to that, the Pakistani side beat hosts China 2-1, Bangladesh 6-3, Sri Lanka 9-0 and Hong Kong 8-0.
Britain’s Rowland takes Formula E title with two races to spare

- Rowland had needed to lead Pascal Wehrlein by 59 points after the second of two races in Berlin
BERLIN: Nissan’s Oliver Rowland won the Formula E title for the first time and with two races to spare on Sunday, the Briton becoming the all-electric series’ 10th different champion in the space of 11 seasons.
Rowland had needed to lead Pascal Wehrlein by 59 points after the second of two races in Berlin, the championship’s penultimate weekend, and he did it by finishing fourth with his Porsche rival only 16th despite starting on pole.
The Briton now has 184 points with Wehrlein on 125.
Sunday’s race at Berlin’s old Tempelhof airport was won by Jaguar’s Nick Cassidy, completing a weekend sweep after teammate Mitch Evans won on Saturday, with Andretti’s Jake Dennis second and Jean-Eric Vergne third for DS Penske.
The final two races of the season are in London on July 26-27.
It was the first time a Japanese manufacturer had won the championship. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Christian Radnedge)
Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

- Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final
- Alcaraz won in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way
LONDON: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final.
Sunday’s matchup at Center Court between the No. 1-ranked Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz marks the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, defeated Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris on June 8, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way.
That made Alcaraz 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, including victories in 2023 and 2024 at Wimbledon.
He also carries a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday and has beaten Sinner five times in a row.
Sinner owns three major trophies and will be playing in his fourth consecutive Slam final — but first at the All England Club.
He won the US Open last September and the Australian Open this January.
Sinner has been wearing tape and an arm sleeve to protect his right elbow since falling in the opening game of his fourth-round win on Monday. After eliminating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Sinner said he doesn’t think his elbow will be an issue on Sunday.
Play is scheduled to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. local time, which is 11 a.m. ET.
Sinner was listed Saturday as the slight money-line favorite at -110 by BetMGM Sportsbook, with Alcaraz at -105.
Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

- The US president is attending the final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday
BEDMINSTER, United States: Donald Trump will on Sunday showcase his unexpected attachment to a sport in which “America First” remains a dream, for now.
The US president is attending the final of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup in his latest use of the beautiful game as a soft power political weapon.
His appearance at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea, is very much a trial run for the World Cup final, which will take place in the same stadium next year.
Trump has made it clear he sees both tournaments, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as showpieces for what he calls the “Golden Age of America” during his second term.
The billionaire Republican’s close friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House, is also a factor in his appearance.
Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since Infantino dropped by in March.
But Trump’s embrace of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.
The president’s 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.
Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.
“He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”
As a student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.
Trump’s apparent fondness for football may seem unusual for a country where, despite growing popularity, the sport still lags behind American football, basketball and baseball.
The former reality TV star has, however, always had an eye for popularity, power and influence. And football in its own way brings all three.
Trump pointed out when Infantino visited the White House in March that the United States won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, during his first term as president.
He said he was “so sad” because he assumed he would not be president when the tournament came around — but his 2020 election loss meant that he would after all.
The FIFA Club World Cup has meanwhile proved more successful than its critics predicted, with around 2.5 million people attending games across the country and some gripping games.
Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed leaders around the world, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.
He said Trump “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year.”
Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.
But in typical form Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.
Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?“
Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.”
“He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.
Trump’s hard-line immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States.
In May, Vice President JD Vance said that 2026 World Cup fans were “welcome to come... but when the time is up they will have to go home.”