Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan set to join Barcelona on free transfer
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan is poised to join Barcelona, the PA news agency understands. The Germany international, who is out of contract this summer, now seems unlikely to renew terms with the treble winners. City had offered the 32-year-old a new one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months but Barca are understood to have presented a more tempting three-year, and more financially-rewarding, package. City are comfortable with the situation and the player would leave with their blessing. The development comes on the same day City are understood to have agreed a £30million deal with Chelsea to sign Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic. The champions are set to pay an initial £25million for the 29-year-old with a further £5m to follow in potential add-ons. Kovacic, who joined Chelsea from Real Madrid in 2018, is entering the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge. City now expect to complete formalities with the player and an official announcement will follow in due course. Kovacic’s versatility and experience would go some way to compensating for the loss of Gundogan. The influential former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League in his seven years at City. This year Gundogan lifted three trophies as City became only the second English side to win the treble. The club had been keen to retain his services but, given his age, did not want to match Barcelona’s offer and have taken a pragmatic decision. Kovacic would arrive at City as a four-time Champions League winner having been a member of Chelsea’s victorious side in 2021 and triumphed on three occasions with Madrid. He also had a spell with Inter Milan earlier in his career. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Leading figures summoned to Senate hearing over shock PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger Southampton choose Russell Martin as their new manager The greatest show and spotlight on bowlers – Women’s Ashes talking points
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2023-10-26 00:45
How AI Can Help Clean Up the Biggest Climate Messes
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Amazon Covid Changes and CEO's Anti-Union Comments Broke Law, Labor Board Alleges
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Lithuanian president to meet Zelenskiy to discuss NATO summit
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China holds major financial conference as leaders maneuver to get slowing economy back on track
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2023-10-30 17:14
Mark Zuckerberg says he is ‘ready today’ but ‘not holding breath’ for cage fight with Elon Musk
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg says he is “ready today” but “not holding his breath” to take on Tesla boss and Twitter owner Elon Musk in a proposed cage fight. In a post on Sunday in Meta’s recently launched social media platform Threads, Mr Zuckerberg said he had proposed 26 August for the bout with the Tesla titan. “I’m ready today. I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn’t confirmed. Not holding my breath,” the Meta chief said in response to Mr Musk’s post on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X. Earlier on Sunday, the Tesla and SpaceX boss said he was preparing for the fight, “lifting weights throughout the day”. Mr Musk said the fight would be “live-streamed on X” with proceeds from the match up going to charity for veterans. “Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X....All proceeds will go to charity for veterans,” Mr Musk tweeted on Sunday. The Meta chief quipped that “a more reliable platform” could be used “that can actually raise money for charity” – likely hinting that Facebook and Instagram have a built-in fundraising feature. The cage match proposal started when Mr Musk, responding to a tweet about Twitter rival Threads, took a dig about the world becoming “exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options” to which a Twitter user jokingly warned the Tesla chief of his rival’s jiu jitsu training. “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol,” Mr Musk responded to the user. Replying to another user about the point of the fight with his rival, the Tesla titan said “It’s a civilised form of war”. In the following days, there were several back-and-forths on social media between the two tech rivals, which ended in them agreeing to face each other off in a cage match. In the lead-up to the possible clash, Mr Zuckerberg said he had built an octagon in the garden outside his house, which seems to have not gone well with his wife Priscilla Chan. “I have been working on that grass for two years,” Ms Chan said, according to a screenshot of their conversation shared by the Meta chief. Read More Netflix leaves fans distraught as it announces end of beloved series Jake Paul: Biggest moments from boxer and YouTube star’s Netflix documentary Jake Paul vs Nate Diaz prize money: How much did fighters earn for boxing match? Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order Meta’s Twitter rival Threads sees ‘steep drop in daily users by 80 per cent’ Mark Zuckerberg has lost $40 billion on the Metaverse – and plans to lose more
2023-08-07 13:18
Pro surfer Mikala Jones dies at 44 after surfing accident in Indonesia
Hawaiian pro surfer Mikala Jones has died at the age of 44 following a fatal accident while surfing in Indonesia's Mentawai Islands on Sunday.
2023-07-11 16:56
Kaley Cuoco reveals she is suffering from Tendonitis 3 months after welcoming daughter Matilda: 'They call it mommy wrist'
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2023-07-12 01:09
Poland plans to send up to 10,000 soldiers to border with Belarus
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2023-08-10 14:28
How did Jake Paul lose $1K? Exploring boxing star's 'striking challenge' with UFC star Bo Nickal
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2023-08-01 12:18
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