Rodri, the newcomer to the Barcelona team, confirmed that he apologized to the Valencia players, after television cameras captured words attributed to him in which he described the team as “very weak” during the two teams’ match in the Spanish League, which ended with Barcelona winning by 5 goals without a response last Sunday.
Rodri appeared talking to his teammates Pau Cobarsi and Rafinha from the bench, while the Movistar network claimed to have read the movement of his lips as he said: “They are very weak.” They did not cross the halfway line of the field.”
The comments attributed to Rodri sparked criticism from Spanish fans and media, especially since Valencia is in last place in the Spanish League standings without any wins in its first 4 matches.
Rodri said after Barcelona's 5-1 victory over Dutch Feyenoord at the start of his new team's Champions League campaign on Wednesday evening: “I apologized to my friend Jose Gaya and to the entire Valencia as well. “I want to make it clear that it was just an expression of astonishment, and anyone watching the video can see that.” He added: “At no point did I mean to mock anyone or take advantage of a difficult situation a team was going through and take it out of context. On the contrary, we all want Valencia to return to the position it deserves in the league, as it is one of the best clubs in the competition. This is simply what I wanted to say. Rodri continued: “I would also like to stress that it was a private conversation, and I think we should all learn more from that; Because things are sometimes taken out of context. But I meant no disrespect. “I apologize to Valencia.”
The owners of the Italian club Inter Milan are looking into the possibility of acquiring a second European club to help develop the Italian team's young talents and increase its market value, according to Italian press reports.
La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported that the American fund Oaktree, which owns Inter Milan, is currently studying the acquisition of clubs in Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, without specifying a specific club yet.
Oaktree prefers to acquire a club active in the first division in one of these countries, allowing young Inter players the opportunity to obtain more playing minutes and experience, while remaining within the same ownership structure.
This trend comes within the framework of Oaktree's search to expand its presence in football, through a multi-club ownership model, similar to major investment groups, such as: City Football Group, which owns Manchester City, Red Bull and the owners of Chelsea.
The recent acquisition of the Portuguese club Casa Pia by the Krause Group, which owns Parma, is one of the models that Oaktree might emulate, especially since the club is located in Lisbon and competes in the Portuguese Premier League.
Reports indicate that Oaktree hopes to find the right opportunity and complete the acquisition during the current season, which may allow the new club to begin work as of the summer transfer period of 2027.
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will seek to move one step closer to winning the US Open tennis championship for the third time in a row when she faces her usual rival Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals on Friday, while Elena Rybakina will play against local fan favorite Coco Gauff in the other semi-final match.
For the first time since Wimbledon in 2009, the top 4 seeds have qualified for the semi-finals of a major tournament, as Sabalenka, Rybakina and Gauff have all previously won a major championship title, while Pegula, the third seed, is seeking to win her first Grand Slam title.
Sabalenka has reached the US Open semi-finals for the sixth year in a row, and is now only two wins away from becoming the first player to win three consecutive titles in New York since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014.
The player from Belarus did not lose a single set before she passed her toughest test in the tournament on Tuesday, as she narrowly defeated the Wimbledon champion, Linda Noskova, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6.
The 28-year-old player will face her rival, third-seeded Pegula, as their rivalry returns to the Flushing Meadows courts for the third year in a row, after Sabalenka deprived the American player of the title in 2024, then defeated her again in the semi-finals of last year.
Sabalenka leads them 9-4 in their head-to-head record, but Pegula has won two of her last three matches, including her win in the semi-finals of the Berlin Open earlier this year, after winning the deciding set 6-0.
“I think it's fun to look at how competitive we are,” Pegula said. You've beaten me here the last two years. I managed to beat her a few times, perhaps on a smaller stage; “So I think that will be a hurdle I have to get over.”
Pegula qualified after coming back from behind to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 over her American compatriot, Emma Navarro, to reach the semi-finals in a major tournament for the second time this year after the Australian Open.
The 32-year-old player also reached 5 final matches this season, which is the highest number in the WTA tournaments.
Sabalenka will play a semi-final match tomorrow after giving up the top spot in the world rankings, which Rybakina secured with her victory in the quarter-finals over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen yesterday, Wednesday.
The winner of the Australian Open will become the 30th player to top the WTA rankings, and the first from Kazakhstan to reach first place in the world when the new rankings are released after the end of the tournament.
Sabalenka, who has held the top spot since October 2024, said she would gladly give up the top spot in exchange for another US Open title. She added: “I would be more than happy.” Yes, winning the title for the third time in a row, that sounds great.”
Rybakina's reward for reaching the semi-finals for the first time in New York appears to be facing Gauff, the fan favorite, who made a stunning comeback to beat fifth seed and French Open champion Mira Andreeva 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.
The 2023 US Open champion was on the verge of defeat in the second set before she saved two match points and turned the tide of the match in her favor.
With this victory, Gauff reached the semi-finals of a major tournament for the second time in a row, after reaching the same round at Wimbledon, and she will enjoy the support of the local fans in her quest to win her second US Open title.
Rybakina will seek to win her third Grand Slam title, while Gauff will seek revenge after the player from Kazakhstan beat her in 3 sets in the semi-finals of the Canadian Open last month.
Each player achieved one victory over the other in their previous two matches, and they will face off to compete for a place in the final match on Saturday.
