A media report stated that the Spanish Football Club, Barcelona, began moving early in preparation for the upcoming transfer periods, and is closely monitoring the players who play in the right and left back positions.
The Spanish newspaper "Sport" reported that although Barcelona has good options on the right front with the presence of Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia, along with Cancelo, Balde and Xavi Espart on the left front, Barcelona believes that a suitable opportunity may appear in the market, especially in light of its limited resources, and therefore the sports administration focuses mainly on players whose contracts are expiring, allowing them to be contracted without paying transfer fees.
According to the report, there are a number of experienced players on Barcelona's radar, including David Raum, Leipzig's captain, along with Crystal Palace's Tyreek Mitchell, who is also preparing to become a free player at the end of the season.
Barcelona had previously discussed the possibility of signing Alejandro Grimaldo, the Atletico Madrid player, and Andrea Cambiasso, the Juventus player.
Barcelona's management will need to move quickly, as players whose contracts expire can negotiate and sign with their future clubs starting next January.
The new, old coach of the Italian national team, Roberto Mancini, stressed the focus on facing France, on Friday, in the third round of the European Nations League football competition.
Mancini regained the tone of victories at the head of his country's national team's technical management in his second match in his second term when he defeated his Turkish host 4-1 on Monday in the first group.
Mancini was met with boos in the capital, Rome, on Friday, when the national team lost its opening match at home to Belgium 0-2, but his team made a remarkable display in the heavy rain during the first half in Turkey.
He told Italian television after the final whistle: “All the players gave an excellent performance today. “It was a difficult match and we dealt with it the right way, by applying high pressure and playing hard throughout the match.”
Italy imposed its complete control, deciding the result in the first half with a hat-trick by Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Fratesse and newcomer Michael Caiode, before Francesco Pio Esposito added the fourth goal after the break.
Italy has never achieved an away victory by a margin of 3 or more goals since defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 on November 15, 2019.
Most importantly, the “Azzurri” returned to winning ways under Mancini’s leadership for the first time since their victory over the Netherlands 3-2 on June 18, 2023, ending a wait that lasted 1,198 days.
Mancini told the Italian media: “We will try to regain our strength and be ready for the Paris match.” I'm confident. We have a lot of young, active and ready players.”
He added: “We know that we did not start this journey well, and it is a journey that may be long or short, I do not know.”
He continued: “But it will certainly require some time, especially since we only had two training sessions between the two matches, one of which was dedicated to recovery and getting rid of fatigue. However, I do not feel that time is our enemy at this stage.”
Midfielder Sandro Tonali appealed to the media and fans not to attack the Italian national team, a position that Mancini agreed with.
He said: “No one should be attacked, because in the end it is a football match. All we need to do is focus on what we see and football ideas, and that should always be in good faith, not in bad faith.”
He added: “We participate in the Nations League, so we can take some risks. “I don’t understand why no one showed great enthusiasm in the past when we reached the final rounds of the tournament on two occasions.”
He continued: “In fact, people now act as if the Nations League is the most important tournament in the world. “It may be an important competition, because we want to reach the semi-finals, but we know that we are in a difficult group, and there are still 4 more matches to play.”
On the other hand, the brothers Pio and Sebastiano Esposito entered the history of Italian football by equaling a 111-year-old record by leading the “Azzurri” attacking line as key players, recording a new achievement as their first family, three of whose sons represented the first team.
The match represented the first time that Italy's starting lineup included two brothers since the participation of Aldo and Luigi Civenini against Switzerland in 1915.
The Esposito brothers also ended a 24-year wait since Filippo and Simone Inzaghi shared the pitch for 11 minutes against England in November 2000.
The Esposito family also registered its name as the first family to have three of its children represent the first Italian national team.
The eldest brother, Salvatore, was the first to do so when he played his first international match under Mancini’s leadership against England in 2022, setting a standard that his two younger brothers followed in his footsteps.
Speaking about his determination to join them, Sebastiano recently joked: “After Salva and Pio, if I had not reached the national team, I would not have forgiven myself.”
Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), indicated the possibility of distributing larger sums of money to the federation’s members from FIFA’s cash reserves estimated at 4.4 billion pounds sterling, according to a news report, today (Tuesday).
In a letter seen by the BBC, and sent late yesterday evening (Monday) to the six continental confederations affiliated with the game’s governing body, Infantino stated that he would support “the maximum possible amount of additional funding that can be provided responsibly.”
Infantino has faced mounting pressure over his aborted plan, known as the “FIFA Future Ventures Initiative,” which proposed selling stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors, sparking angry reactions and widespread opposition.
Infantino's message comes after the European Football Association (UEFA) and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF) demanded that FIFA pay $10 million to all of its 211 members from its financial reserves.
The FIFA Council is scheduled to consider this proposal during its meeting on October 15.
Infantino said in his letter, according to the BBC: “I will not pre-empt events by determining the amount in advance. A specific number can open the door to discussion, but it is not enough to formulate a comprehensive global policy.”
Infantino also presented a new defense for his failed proposal, which sparked calls for his resignation from his position, to sell part of the commercial rights to the World Cup, stressing again that its goal was to generate additional funds to support the game. “The aim of the latest commercial proposal, which has now been withdrawn, was to enable FIFA to increase its investments in football,” the Swiss-Italian official wrote.
Earlier this month, Debbie Hewitt, president of the English Football Association and vice-president of FIFA, demanded that Infantino disclose all documents related to his controversial plan, calling for an independent review of his unsuccessful initiative.
It is noteworthy that Infantino will run in the FIFA presidential elections for the fourth time next March, while his competitors have a deadline of November 18 to present an alternative candidate.
