BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Tuesday he and his staff have chosen Wojciech Szczesny over Inaki Pena as the team’s first choice goalkeeper.
The Catalan giants brought former Polish international Szczesny out of retirement as an emergency signing in October after Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a severe knee injury.
Pena has been the club’s number one during the first half of the season but Szczesny was chosen in the previous two matches.
“My job is to make the decision on this position... for me Tek (Szczesny) is an experienced player and he has a good personality, but both of them are great goalkeepers,” Flick told a news conference ahead of the Champions League clash with Atalanta on Wednesday.
“I decided, also with my team, my coaching staff, for Tek... both are very good, and in the past Inaki did a good job, but now I decided like that.
“I always look for the (good of) the team, and this is how we act.”
Barcelona already secured qualification directly to the last 16 of the Champions League with a 5-4 win over Benfica last week, in which Szczesny made two big mistakes which led to goals.
However Barcelona have won each of the five matches in which the former Juventus stopper has featured this season.
Barcelona will be without defender Andreas Christensen, who will miss three weeks with a calf injury, the club said in a statement.
The Danish defender had only just recovered from an Achilles tendon issue and has not played since August.
Atalanta, third in Serie A, are hoping to secure a top eight Champions League finish, with the Italian side currently seventh.
Flick backing Szczesny as Barca’s number one
https://arab.news/nqqkb
Flick backing Szczesny as Barca’s number one
- “My job is to make the decision on this position,” Flick told a news conference
- “I always look for the (good of) the team, and this is how we act“
Marseille president rules out move to sign Man City great De Bruyne
Signing a player of such stature might prove disruptive
MARSEILLE: Kevin De Bruyne will be hot property when he leaves Manchester City and many clubs would love to sign him next season.
Marseille are not one of them.
Club president Pablo Longoria has ruled out a move for the 33-year-old playmaker because he thinks signing a player of such stature might prove disruptive.
“If we take a player with a much higher salary than the players we have in the squad today, who qualified us for the Champions League, it destroys all the balance, all the good things, the good dynamic the players built,” Longoria said. “It would be, on the part of a club, a total lack of respect for the players who helped us qualify for the Champions League.”
Marseille finished second in Ligue 1 behind champion Paris Saint-Germain and qualified directly for next season’s Champions League.
De Bruyne was set to make his final home appearance for City later Tuesday against Bournemouth after 10 trophy-laden years at the club. He is one of City’s greatest ever players and won 16 trophies with the club, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.
De Bruyne shares the record for the highest number of assists in a single Premier League season with 20, and scored more than 100 goals for City.
Ben Sulayem leads FIA to major financial recovery with best results in almost a decade
- Global motorsport organization returns to profit in FY2024, reversing years of deficits
Dubai: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile has reported its strongest financial performance in almost 10 years, marking a significant turnaround under the presidency of Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
According to figures released this week, the global governing body for motorsport and mobility organisations achieved an operating result of €4.7 million ($5.2 million) for the fiscal year 2024, a dramatic recovery from the €24 million loss recorded in 2021, the year before Ben Sulayem took office.
The turnaround is attributed to a wide-ranging strategic transformation led by the administration. Since taking office, Ben Sulayem has prioritized reforms in financial governance, transparency and operational efficiency across the organization.
“Upon my election as president of the FIA, I committed to ensuring a profitable operation,” said Ben Sulayem. “Today, I am incredibly proud to show that we have achieved this mission, delivering the strongest set of financial results in eight years.”
The FIA reported a total operating income of €182 million for 2024, a 17 percent year-on-year increase, with no outstanding financial debt and an equity ratio of 45 percent, signaling improved financial stability.
Key reforms introduced since 2021 include strengthened procurement controls, the introduction of quarterly internal reporting and a robust financial steering model. These changes have improved budget oversight and allowed the FIA to better allocate resources in line with its strategic objectives across both motorsport and mobility.
The federation also introduced a mid-year general assembly, ensuring more timely financial accountability, and will publish its second consecutive annual activity report ahead of the 2024 general assembly in June. The latest report will include a newly enhanced profit and loss presentation format aimed at increasing transparency.
The improved financial position enables the FIA to reinvest in its core programs, including support for 245 member clubs worldwide and the development of the seven world championships under its governance. It also strengthens the FIA’s ability to deliver on key objectives, including sustainability initiatives and grassroots motorsport development.
A nonprofit organization, the FIA is now well positioned to build on its financial recovery and continue delivering on its broader mandate to promote safe, accessible and sustainable motorsport on a global scale.
Bianca Andreescu on challenges of finding purpose away from the tennis court
- Ranked 102 in the world this week, Andreescu is competing in the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open
MADRID: Bianca Andreescu has spent more time than she would have liked away from the tennis tour since she stormed onto the scene back in 2019.
That breakthrough season six years ago saw a 19-year-old Andreescu become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title when she defeated Serena Williams in the US Open final.
She ended that year ranked No. 4 in the world after starting it ranked outside the top 150.
Her career has been a stop-start journey since then, as a slew of injuries, a self-imposed break for mental health reasons, and more recently an appendectomy, have kept her on the sidelines for various stretches of time.
Currently mounting yet another comeback following a six-month hiatus, Andreescu opened her Roland Garros qualifying campaign with a bang, delivering a 6-0, 6-0 performance against China’s Yao Xinxin on Monday to advance to round two.
Ranked 102 in the world this week, Andreescu is competing in the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open.
The 24-year-old Canadian returned to action in April after missing the first three and a half months of the season due to personal reasons, as well as an emergency surgery to remove her appendix back in February.
Looking fitter and feeling healthier than, perhaps, ever, Andreescu sent out a signal of intent in Rome last week, where she claimed two top-20 victories, over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic, en route to the round of 16.
A long journey of soul-searching and self-development is what helped Andreescu get to where she is today. But ever the seeker, she admits her appetite for learning and finding meaningful off-court experiences doesn’t always make her life easier on court.
For years now, Andreescu has been working on finding fulfilment beyond winning a tennis match. During a break she took in 2022, she started volunteering at various charities, including a women’s shelter dedicated to victims of domestic violence.
She made sure her most recent hiatus was just as productive.
“I did a lot of things. After Tokyo [in October 2024], I was not too good mentally, so since I was in that area, I went to Thailand, and I did a lot of volunteer work there with kids,” Andreescu told Arab News earlier this month.
She spent time in Phuket and Chiang Mai, helping bring food, water, and clothes to impoverished areas.
“It was very humbling, obviously, and just such amazing people,” she added. “That definitely helped me get into a better mindset.”
Just as she was preparing to return to the tour for March’s ‘Sunshine Double’ in Indian Wells and Miami, Andreescu’s progress was delayed by appendectomy surgery.
“But that led to other things; so I went on two retreats,” she explained.
“I did an online Tony Robbins retreat, and then I did a Joe Dispenza retreat in person [in Basel]. I've read all of his books, and I talk about him quite a lot. I went to one of his retreats to really get into that mindset of, coming back into the sport.”
She also visited her grandparents in Romania.
“They are my biggest supporters, and, honestly, when I have tough times on court, I really think about them, and they really give me that confidence to push harder and to be better on the court, so it was really nice,” said Andreescu.
Getting healthy has been a top priority for Andreescu, who spent months researching various nutrition plans before settling on Dave Asprey’s ‘Bulletproof diet’. She said a lot of her previous injuries could have been attributed to being overweight and is pleased with all the work she’s done to “get leaner”.
Now back on tour and working her way through the qualifying rounds of the French Open, Andreescu is armed with a wealth of knowledge and real-life experiences she never would have amassed had she been on the tennis circuit full-time.
“It is definitely great, but sometimes I can get too much in my head with all the information that I'm seeking,” she confessed.
“Because, yes, I have a lot of interests outside of the court, and that can be beneficial, but also not. Because if I go back to 2019, yes, I read books and stuff, but I was still in that era of ‘ignorance is bliss’, and sometimes that's really nice, because I can definitely get into my head.
“But it helps me so much in the way of growing as a person on and off the court, a million percent. And I think that's what life is all about, and I think that's why I also seek those experiences, especially volunteer work. For me, that's, like, super, super important, giving back.”
‘Getting in her head’ can manifest in different ways and Andreescu tries to elaborate with a few examples.
“Let's say I'm feeling nervous. I have all of these tools under my belt that I can use to help me tame that nervousness. But then I can also take the way of going with the flow and just letting the nerves hit me and use that to my advantage,” she says.
“So it's like finding that balance, for instance, because I know that I can do well when I am nervous, but I know I can also do well when I'm more calm and centered, so it's a bit weird in that way.
“And then the other part is I feel like I always need to be doing something and always needing to learn something, and that can get quite overbearing because sometimes, let's say, if I don't write in my journal one day, I can get in my head, if I lose my match today, I'll maybe think, ‘Oh, if I wrote in my journal yesterday, maybe I would have won’. Little things like that.”
Striking that balance remains a work in progress for Andreescu but she certainly feels empowered by all her off-court endeavors and feels “super different than even six months ago”.
Her biggest challenge is shedding all the comparisons people draw between who she is now, as a player, and who she was during her breakthrough 2019 campaign. She admits it’s a trap she herself sometimes gets caught up in.
“It's like how can I be Bianca now instead of how can I be Bianca from last year, or even, you know, 2019, right? Because everyone talks about 2019, but it's never going to be the case. So it's like finding who Bianca is now is the most important thing,” she states.
“I can definitely have a toxic relationship in a way with the sport, and so it's just really focusing on giving myself grace of, yes, I'm a perfectionist and I know where my level can be, but it's also like, I'm not the same person I was back in 2019, because people always compare me to 2019, and me too. That's kind of been the narrative of my career.
“So it's just giving myself grace and patience because in a way I'm still young.”
A month shy of her 25th birthday, Andreescu has every reason to believe the best is yet to come.
Chelsea FC-branded project is ‘first of its kind’ says Damac’s Amira Sajwani
- Managing director of sales said the Dubai Maritime City development is ‘epitome’ of Damac’s philosophy
- The Premier League club-branded residences were officially introduced to UK-based investors at an exclusive Stamford Bridge event
LONDON: Amira Sajwani, managing director of sales and development at Damac Properties, has called the newly unveiled Chelsea Residences by Damac “the epitome of our philosophy” and a “first of its kind” following last week’s official unveiling of the development, which will be built at Dubai Maritime City.
This launch, announced at the Premier League club’s Stamford Bridge stadium last week, marks the debut of the first-ever Chelsea FC-branded residential project.
The exclusive event attracted leading investors, potential buyers and brokers, and executives from Chelsea FC, and targeted potential British and European buyers seeking premium real estate opportunities in Dubai.
“Chelsea Residences by Damac is the epitome of our philosophy to bring global partnerships to life through world-class design and lifestyle experiences,” Sajwani said. “Our collaboration with Chelsea FC … offers an unmatched residential opportunity for buyers who value exclusivity and quality. With Dubai’s reputation as a leading global city for luxury real estate, we are confident this project will set new benchmarks for branded residences.”
Strategically located within Dubai Maritime City, one of the last remaining prime waterfront plots in the city, Chelsea Residences by Damac comprises six striking towers soaring to 130 meters, with over 1,400 sea-facing residences offering sweeping 270-degree views of the Arabian Gulf and the spectacular Dubai skyline.
Todd Kline, president of commercial at Chelsea FC, added: “This partnership with Damac signals an exciting chapter in the Chelsea story, bringing our club’s spirit and prestige into the real estate world. Chelsea Residences by Damac will give our fans and discerning buyers the chance to become part of the Chelsea legacy in an entirely new and extraordinary way.”
Residents will enjoy a specifically curated Chelsea FC-inspired lifestyle, featuring an array of exclusive branded amenities including a rooftop football pitch, Athlete Performance Centre, Chelsea Sports Bar, a private cinema, and the Aquarium Lounge. A wellness offering will include a cryotherapy center, an aerial yoga studio, forest relaxation pods, and a starlit wellness center. Dining concepts will feature Dubai’s first healthy mono-diet cafe and the exclusive “Captain’s Table” event series hosted by Chelsea legends.
Unit prices start from AED 2.17 million (approximately $590,000), with one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations available.
Tour de France’s new Montmartre climb could be a game changer. It sparks controversy
PARIS: Breaking with tradition at the Tour de France is stirring controversy.
Since race organizers announced plans last week to climb the iconic Montmartre hill in Paris during the final stage in July, the cycling world has been abuzz. Could the climb actually decide the Tour winner? Or disrupt the final sprint by injecting tactical uncertainty into what is usually a celebratory day?
Well, that remains to be seen. But one thing seems certain: The stage will be a spectacle.
At last year’s Olympics, massive crowds lined the streets of Montmartre — the area in the northern part of Paris that is popular among artists and offers grand vistas of the city — to cheer on riders.
Inspired by the frenetic atmosphere and willing to build on the momentum, Tour organizers said this month that riders competing in cycling’s biggest race this summer would climb the Montmartre hill and pass beneath the Sacré-Coeur basilica before “battling it out on a stage that may break from the traditions established over the past 50 years in the heart of the capital.”
Traditionally, the Tour final stage is largely processional until a sprint decides the day’s winner on the Champs-Élysées. Last year’s final stage was held outside Paris for the first time since 1905 because of a clash with the Olympics, moving instead to Nice. The world famous avenue is back on the program this year for the conclusion of the 3,320-kilometer (2,060-mile) race.
The inclusion of the steep Montmartre climb could dramatically change the dynamics of the stage. If the hill features just a few kilometers from the finish line, or is climbed several times, pure sprinters will likely be dropped before they can compete for the stage win. And if the general classification remains tight ahead of the final stage, the yellow jersey itself could be decided in Paris.
Riders not happy
Full details of the route will be presented at a news conference on Wednesday. With a peloton roughly twice as big as it was at the Olympics, organizers are working with Paris authorities and the Prefecture of police to ensure the security of the race on the narrow and cobbled streets of the area. But some top riders have already expressed their lack of enthusiasm about the addition.
“Montmartre was nice to do in the Olympics, it seemed good, a lot of people, a really good atmosphere,” two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard told reporters this week. “But when they came to the Montmartre, there was only 15 riders left in the bunch. And when we do the Tour de France, there will be 150 guys fighting for positions on a very narrow climb. It could end up being more stress than they want to have.”
Even Remco Evenepoel, who won the Olympic men’s road race in Paris last year and the gold medal in the time trial, is also opposed to the idea.
“There will be enough battle for positioning in the first week of the Tour,” he told sports media Sporza. “With Montmartre added, that would mean we have to do the same on the last day. We will be tired enough by then.”
Evenepoel also lamented the fact that sprinters would be robbed of a rare chance to claim a prestigious win on the world famous avenue.
“They get a big chance every year to sprint for a stage win on the Champs-Elysées,” he said. “That chance is then taken away from them. In my opinion, Montmartre is an unnecessary obstacle.”
Marc Madiot, who manages the Groupama-FDJ team, said bad weather on the final day could make the stage more treacherous.
“Imagine a slight rain in Paris; it’s not going to be easy for the riders,” he told RMC Radio. “Do we want a show? Do we want to visit Paris? Do we want to commemorate the Olympics? If we expect a real race, we could be disappointed. And if we do get a real race, we put everything that has happened in the last three weeks in jeopardy.”
The Tour starts from the northern city of Lille on July 5, and the women’s race kicks off on July 26 from the Brittany town of Vannes.
