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‘We’re going in there to win it’: Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success

‘We’re going in there to win it’: Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success
Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak has provided his annual review of the season to the club’s official online channel. (Lexy Ilsley/Manchester City FC)
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Updated 31 May 2025

‘We’re going in there to win it’: Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success

‘We’re going in there to win it’: Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success
  • In part 2 of his review of the 2024-2025 season, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak looks forward to the FIFA Club World Cup and and the developments taking place across City Football Group

ABU DHABI: Manchester City’s chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, has provided his annual review of the season to the club’s official online channel. In part 2 of the interview he reveals the team’s desire to retain the FIFA Club world Cup taking place in June and discusses the developments taking place across City Football Group. Here are some of the highlights.

On the FIFA Club World Cup…

“Well, as the defending champions coming into this new format, of course, we’re very excited. We’re very excited to come in as champions. The format actually, I really like it.

“This is a very, very serious competition. I think, in the summer, the whole world will be watching this with a big number of the top teams in the world will be competing in this tournament.

“I can assure you we’re going to give it our best shot. We’re going in there to win it. This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season.

“The team will take the rest that they will take right now, and then they start pre-season and then immediately straight into the Club World Cup.”

On Manchester City’s North Stand redevelopment…

“It’s coming up very fast. It’s going to be a great addition to the campus. Once we start the new season, everybody will start physically seeing it a lot clearer.

“The hotel is also coming up nicely. It’s moving very, very fast, but we’re happy with the contractors on the ground. This is going to be a game changer. You will see over these next 12 to 18 months. This is going to be a game changer for the campus and for the club.”

On NYCFC…

“Well, more than the foundation, the work is fully now in full effect. Construction is happening at a fast pace. This is going to be an incredible stadium. We’re very excited about what we’re doing in New York, what we’re doing for that community in terms of a proper football stadium, with a team that now is closing in on 10 years.

“It’s been a great journey. And they’ve earned (it). They deserve a stadium, and finally, they’re going to get it. And we have now a line of sight of when it’s going to be finished and it’ll be transformative for football fans in New York, for our fan base, and really at a time where football is booming in America.”

On City Football Group…

“It’s developed very well. We look at City Football Group as a group, but then each team individually and each team gets the attention it requires and gets a lot of attention from the whole leadership team.

“There’s individuality with each club. Depending on where they are around the world, each one has its own requirements. But overall, one of the things that gives us confidence is how many similar models now are following our CFG model.

“There are a lot of other groups now that are pursuing what we have built at City Football Group, which tells you there’s an appreciation that this is a good model and it’s a model that’s effective.”


Besiktas reappoint former player Yalcin as manager

Updated 8 sec ago

Besiktas reappoint former player Yalcin as manager

Besiktas reappoint former player Yalcin as manager
The 52-year-old Turk has agreed a deal until the end of the 2026-2027 season
The club sacked Solskjaer on Thursday following their exit from the Conference League

ISTANBUL: Turkish Super Lig club Besiktas have appointed former leading player and manager Sergen Yalcin at their new boss, the club announced on Saturday.

The 52-year-old Turk, who will be making his second stint as the club’s manager, has agreed a deal until the end of the 2026-2027 season.

Besiktas, who have won the Turkish Super Lig title 16 times, finished fourth in the league last season.

The club sacked Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the former Manchester United manager, on Thursday following their exit from the Conference League.

Besiktas had already been knocked out of the Europa League by Shakhtar Donetsk in the qualifying rounds and defeat by Swiss side Lausanne-Sport in the Conference League playoffs brought an end to Solskjaer’s time at the club after seven months.

During Yalcin’s first term as manager, Besiktas won a domestic double in the 2020-2021 season.

Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League

Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League
Updated 56 min 50 sec ago

Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League

Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League
  • City will play an away match at Norwegian champion Bodo/Glimt on Jan. 20
  • Pep Guardiola and his team of mega-stars will face harsh temperatures at the 8,000-capacity Aspmyra stadium

NYON: Manchester City face a trip north of the Arctic Circle in the middle of the European winter after the dates of this season’s Champions League games were published on Saturday.

City will play an away match at Norwegian champion Bodo/Glimt on Jan. 20, meaning Pep Guardiola and his team of mega-stars will face harsh temperatures at the 8,000-capacity Aspmyra stadium — a venue farther north than soccer’s top club competition has ever been.

Bodo/Glimt are a tournament debutant like Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty, whose first-ever Champions League match — at Sporting Lisbon — is the longest away trip in the competition’s history.

Kairat will have to travel across three time zones and more than 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) to Lisbon from Almaty, near Kazakhstan’s border with China, for the Sept. 18 game on the Champions League’s first matchday.

Almaty can have temperatures as low as minus-20 C (minus-4 F) in January — chillier even than Bodo/Glimt — so Club Brugge’s visit to Kairat on Jan. 20 could be the coldest game in Champions League history.

Paris Saint-Germain open the defense of their title at home to Atalanta on Sept. 17.

Kevin De Bruyne won’t have long to wait before his match against Man City, his former long-time club. He will make his return to Etihad Stadium on Sept. 18.


AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea

AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea
Updated 30 August 2025

AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea

AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea
  • The French player signed a five-year contract, Milan announced without providing financial details
  • The 27-year-old Nkunku came up through Paris Saint-Germain’s youth system

MILAN: AC Milan signed dribbling expert Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea on Saturday for a reported fee of 37 million euros ($43 million).
The French player signed a five-year contract, Milan announced without providing financial details.
The 27-year-old Nkunku came up through Paris Saint-Germain’s youth system before moving to Leipzig in 2019. He spent the last two seasons at Chelsea and his extra-time goal sparked the Blues to a win over Benfica in the round of 16 at the Club World Cup – which Chelsea went on to win – in July. He scored 18 goals in 62 matches for Chelsea.
Known for his 1-on-1 abilities and speed with the ball, Nkunku will be counted on to add pace to Milan’s attack. He can play both as an attacking midfielder and as a forward. He has made 14 appearances for France.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said in August that Nkunku would no longer be part of the squad – after joining on a six-year deal in 2023 that was worth 52 million pounds (nearly $70 million).
“Christo is a fantastic professional,” Maresca said Friday. “The only problem with him is that in his position we have Cole Palmer, so it was tough to find minutes for him.”
Milan bounced back from a loss at the San Siro to promoted Cremonese in its Serie A opener with a 2-0 win at Lecce on Friday.


Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots

Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots
Updated 30 August 2025

Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots

Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots
  • Most of the wet day at TPC Boston was a series of rain delays, and it wound up taking Wang some 10 hours to finish the round
  • Wang: I didn’t expect the weather because on the forecast we didn’t see any thunderstorms coming in this morning. But, well, that’s golf

NORTON, Mass.: Miranda Wang waited a long time to make a short birdie and finally finish a 5-under 67, giving her a two-shot lead Friday among those who completed their second rounds in the rain-delayed FM Championship.

Most of the wet day at TPC Boston was a series of rain delays, and it wound up taking Wang some 10 hours to finish the round.

Nelly Korda, scheduled for an afternoon start, managed to get in four holes (two birdies) and will return with the second half of the field Saturday morning.

Jeeno Thitikul, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, joined Hannah Green and defending champion Lauren Coughlin in jogging down the ninth fairway when they saw darkening skies and wanted dearly to finish their round before the next delay.

“I don’t think I could have mentally prepared myself for another delay,” Green said with a laugh.

Wang already has 16 birdies over 36 holes and has stretches of big birdie runs. She started the tournament with eight birdies in her opening nine. She finished the second round with three in a row, only it didn’t go all that quickly.

She had an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th when the horn sounded — again — stopping play. Wang returned some two hours later and holed the putt to reach 11-under 133.

“I didn’t expect the weather because on the forecast we didn’t see any thunderstorms coming in this morning. But, well, that’s golf,” Wang said. “We’re playing in nature, so it’s sometimes unpredictable. We just have to face it and prepare mentally, physically for the thunderstorms and just try to stay calm and every time warm up just like you didn’t stop and just keep going.”

Madelene Sagstrom had a 66 and was at 9-under 135. Green (68), Azahara Munoz (68) and Celine Borge (66) were another shot back.

The LPGA was hopeful that with a reasonable weekend forecast, the tournament could be close to getting back on schedule by Saturday evening or Sunday morning. The plan was for the cut to be made and then to send threesomes off both nines.

Korda, who has yet to win this year, faced 32 holes on Saturday as she tries to stay in position for a chance at her first victory of the year.

Thitikul, who replaced Korda atop the world ranking earlier this month, charged into the mix with four birdies on the back nine. But she played the front nine in event par for a 68 and was four shots behind.

On this day, what mattered was finishing. It was her idea the group waste no time playing the ninth when they saw the clouds.

“The security guard told us ... three minutes left, so run, ready and go,” Thitikul said. “It was start and stop, start and stop. It was frustrating a little bit, but glad we’re done.”

Also four shots behind were Women’s British Open champion Miyu Yamashita (66) and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who finished the opening round with four straight birdies to share the 18-hole lead. She had to settle for a 72 on Friday.


Hat-trick for Joao Felix on debut as Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal start their seasons in style

Hat-trick for Joao Felix on debut as Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal start their seasons in style
Updated 30 August 2025

Hat-trick for Joao Felix on debut as Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal start their seasons in style

Hat-trick for Joao Felix on debut as Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal start their seasons in style
  • Al-Nassr thrash Al-Taawoun 5-0, while last season’s Saudi Pro League runners-up Al-Hilal enjoy comfortable 2-0 victory over Al-Riyadh
  • Reigning champions Al-Ittihad begin the defense of their title on Saturday at Al-Okhdood

RIYADH: Al-Nassr began their 2025-26 Saudi Pro League campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Al-Taawoun on Friday, while Al-Hilal also kicked off their season comfortably with a 2-0 victory over Al-Riyadh.

Joao Felix scored a hat-trick on his league debut for visiting Al-Nassr after his summer move from Chelsea, the first of his goals coming after just seven minutes. Angelo pulled the ball into the area from the left and Portuguese star Felix fired a first-time shot from the left side of the penalty spot into the opposite corner.

Cristiano Ronaldo increased the lead from the spot in the 54th minute after a handball in the area. And just a minute later it was effectively game over when Kingsley Coman scored his first goal in ֱ, heading home from the edge of the area.

Midway through the second half, Felix grabbed his second with another fine strike from distance. He wasn’t done yet, though his third, Al-Nassr’s fifth, came from close range.

Earlier, Al-Nassr’s Riyadh rivals, and last season’s SPL runners-up, Al-Hilal also took three points from their opening game, at home. After impressing at the FIFA Club World Cup this summer under new coach Simone Inzaghi, it did not take them long, after an early claim for a goal from new signing Darwin Nunez was ruled out, to begin their campaign in spectacular style during a dominant first-half performance.

The opener came midway through the opening 45 when Salem Al-Dawsari found Moteb Al-Harbi on the left and the 25-year-old unleashed a rocket from just inside the area that left goalkeeper Milan Borjan with no chance.

Al-Dawsari assisted once again for the second, just before the break, and it was another beauty. Malcom, now wearing No. 10, cut inside from the right, exchanged a quick one-two with Saudi international Al-Dawsari on the edge of the box and then curled the ball into the bottom corner.

There would be no more goals for the 19-time champions but nor was there ever much indication that they would fail to take all three points come full time.

In the day’s other game, visiting Al-Khaleej comfortably defeated Al-Shabab 4-1. Champions Al-Ittihad begin the defense of their title on Saturday at Al-Okhdood.