The Italian Football Club Roma is studying the possibility of contracting with Alejandro Balde, the Spanish Barcelona player, during the winter transfer period, but the matter requires dealing with some potential obstacles, according to a news report, Tuesday.
The Italian club is seeking to complete the deal according to a specific financial formula. Given the high value demanded by Barcelona, in addition to the large salary received by the Spanish full-back.
According to the Spanish newspaper “Sport”, Roma’s sporting director, Tony D’Amico, joined the list of those interested in including Baldi, after the player caught the attention of coach Gian Piero Gasperini, as the coach of the Italian capital team believes that the Spanish international player may constitute a qualitative addition to his team, and help it compete for the Italian League title.
The plan is to obtain Baldi's services on loan for a financial fee, with the inclusion of a clause requiring Roma to convert the deal into a permanent transfer if the team qualifies for the next edition of the Champions League.
This formula allows the Italian club to include the player next January, while postponing the bulk of the financial cost until the next summer transfer period.
Despite Gasperini's desire to include the Spanish player, there are two financial obstacles: Barcelona's insistence on a high evaluation of the deal, and the huge salary that Baldi receives, which requires a large financial investment by Roma to complete the negotiations.
For its part, Barcelona does not rule out the idea of abandoning Balde this winter; The Catalan club sees in selling him an opportunity to provide the financial liquidity necessary to sign another player in the center of defence, which is one of the positions placed by the German Hansi Flick. The team's technical director is a priority for the second half of the current season.
Roma is not the only club interested in the player; Italian Juventus is also monitoring him, in light of the possibility of Andrea Cambiasso leaving the ranks of the team nicknamed “The Old Lady.” The list of interested clubs from England also includes Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham, in addition to French club Monaco.
In light of strong competition from other clubs and high financial demands from Barcelona, Roma faces a complex task; For this reason, the Italian club is studying the optimal formula to persuade Barcelona to agree to Balde's departure during the upcoming winter transfer period.
Tom Brady, the American Football (NFL) star, gave up his minority stake in Birmingham City FC, the leader of the English second-tier Football League (Championship), after becoming a partner in the club 3 years ago.
Birmingham City Football Club said in a statement published on its website: “Birmingham City Football Club extends its sincere gratitude to Tom Brady for his unwavering commitment and support to the club over the past three years.”
Brady, who is considered the greatest player in the history of the American Football League and won the Super Bowl 7 times, surprised everyone in August 2023 by announcing the acquisition of a minority stake in the club, along with the new owner, the American company Shelby Companies Limited, which is a subsidiary of Knighthead Capital Management.
Birmingham added: “It was great to have someone with Tom Brady’s experience and passion associated with the club.”
The 49-year-old star gave up his share at a time when Birmingham leads the overall standings of teams.
Brady, who retired from playing in 2023 after a career that lasted 23 seasons, includes winning the Super Bowl 7 times during his stints as a quarterback with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Former German tennis star Boris Becker toned down his criticism of his compatriot Alexander Zverev, currently ranked number one in the world, denying the existence of a power struggle between them, and stressing that he is one of his biggest fans.
Becker said, during the “Becker Petkovic” podcast, which he presents jointly with former German tennis player Andrea Petkovic, that Zverev sometimes acts too spontaneously during press interviews, explaining: “Sometimes he is too frank, sometimes too direct, and sometimes he should slow down a little.” But he did not do so in this case, which gave yellow journalism rich material.”
Becker, who is 58 years old, compared the behavior of Zverev, who is 29 years old, to the behavior of his children, some of whom are close to his age, saying that they also “say things spontaneously in a moment of anger, so I tell them to think a little about what you are saying.”
He added that his children sometimes come back to him after a week and say: “Maybe I did not express myself appropriately, or I chose the wrong words,” indicating that he does not see a problem with that.
Becker described himself as Zverev's "biggest fan", considering that the presence of a German player at the top of the world rankings represents an ideal thing for tennis in his country, and that the high rates of television viewership and interest in the game are also linked to the successes achieved by the player.
“For this reason, I am happy that he is performing well, and I hope he continues like this for a long time,” Becker said. "That's it."
The crisis began after statements made by Becker in an interview with the German magazine "Der Spiegel", during which he criticized Zverev's way of dealing with the media, considering that he sometimes appears brief and sharp in his responses to journalists, especially during interviews in German.
Becker also touched on Zverev's reservations, who was born in Hamburg to Russian parents, regarding declaring a political position on the Russian war in Ukraine.
Zverev responded to these criticisms by saying: “I think that, as usual, he talks a lot of nonsense,” adding that he feels that Becker is looking for anything that would belittle him, and that this is “his choice.”
