Lionel Messi was greeted with abuse upon his arrival at the Eighth Court of Barcelona to testify in a tax case.
Messi and his father, Jorge, have been charged with three counts of tax fraud worth €4.1million which date back to a period from 2007 to 2009.
The Barcelona forward s lawyer Enrique Bacigalupo was present when proceedings began on Tuesday, but the 28-year-old arrived to testify personally on Thursday.
Messi was met with a mixed reaction during his walk up the courthouse steps, but one voice from the crowd jeered: P*** off and play in Panama, b*****d!
Messi is due to represent Argentina in the first match of their Copa America Centenario campaign against 2015 winners Chile in California on Monday.
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Bayern Munich have confirmed Uli Hoeness will run for the club s presidency.
The 64-year-old was released from prison in February after serving half of a three-and-a-half-year jail term for tax evasion, and he will now look to regain the post he held for five years prior to his conviction.
Hoeness will learn whether his bid is successful at Bayern s next AGM, in November 2016, as members vote in an election to decide the club s president and committee.
Karl Hopfner, who succeeded the former West Germany international in the role, will not stand for election, the club announced in a statement.
In a nine-year playing career, Hoeness won three European Cups with Bayern, before serving as a sporting director until he took the presidency in 2009.
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Fenerbahce are maintaining a long-standing interest in Marcos Rojo of Manchester United, according to Turkish outlet Fotospor.
The defender, who played for Estudiantes, Spartak Moscow and Sporting Lisbon before fine displays for Argentina in the 2014 World Cup earned him a transfer to Old Trafford, has made a total of 114 appearances the Red Devils so far. However, the number of times his name appears on the team sheet per season has gradually diminished, from 41 in 2016/17 to just six last term.
United have signed Harry Maguire from Leicester City for a world-record fee for a defender this summer, and together with Victor Lindelof, the England international has instantly become the preferred option in the heart of defence for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. So much so th…
Inter s poor start to the Serie A season continued as Federico Dimarco s stunning late strike saw them suffer a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Parma, who claimed their first win back in the top flight.
Luciano Spalletti s men appeared to kick-start their campaign with a 3-0 win at Bologna before the international break, but they were wasteful in front of goal and ultimately paid the price.
The absence of Mauro Icardi – who could only make the bench due to a recent thigh injury – seemed to be particularly felt in the first half, when Inter crafted several chances but failed to take any.
Parma became more defensively minded after half-time and Inter struggled to break them down, before getting caught out late on.
Dimarco, who previously denied Ivan Perisi…
Michael Beale knows Rangers duo Kemar Roofe and Tom Lawrence will now be desperate for more game time after both returned to action after lengthy spells in a friendly against Hamburg at Ibrox.
First-half goals from attacker Fashion Sakala and captain James Tavernier, with a penalty, had the Light Blues comfortably ahead at the interval and before a slew of substitutions took place.
Amid the replacements, Nigeria forward Cyriel Dessers – signed from Cremonese – made his home debut with Roofe coming back to action after a hip injury had kept him out since February, with fellow attacker Lawrence making his first appearance since August 2022, after he had recovered from a knee problem.
Hamburg substitute Jean-Luc Dompe curled in a fantastic free-kick in the last …
Ernesto Valverde has called on his Barcelona team to help star man Lionel Messi as they cope with the absence of the departed Neymar and injured Luis Suarez.
Barca were thrashed 5-1 on aggregate by rivals Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana, with Neymar missed and Suarez suffering a knee injury that will see him miss four or five weeks.
Now, ahead of their LaLiga opener against Real Betis, Barca have only Messi remaining of their famed MSN strike force and Valverde wants his other players to contribute.
Messi is the best player in the world we are lucky but we all have to help him, he told a pre-match news conference.
We have to make him feel at ease so he can play his game and make his team shine. He needs a compact group around him.
31 ha…
England boss Sarina Wiegman is confident the Lionesses are capable of getting creative should Nigeria target breakout talent Lauren James in their last-16 clash in Brisbane.
Chelsea forward James was awarded player-of-the-match against China in England’s final group stage contest after contributing two goals and three assists in the 6-1 victory.
Having shown the world just how dangerous she could be, it would not be a surprise if Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum spent plenty of time planning a corresponding response to mitigate the potent threat posed by the 21-year-old.
Back to Brisbane.
— Lionesses (@Lionesses)
Asked if she was prepared for that to happen, England boss Sarina Wiegman grinned and said: “Well, first of all we didn’t make…
A return to Barcelona could be on the cards for Adama Traore.
Wolves star Traore has taken the Premier League and Europe by storm with his performances this season.
Barcelona s LaLiga rivals Real Madrid are also reportedly interested.
TOP STORY – BARCA AND MADRID EYE TRAORE
Barcelona are plotting a move to bring Wolves star Adama Traore back to Camp Nou, according to the Daily Mail.
LaLiga rivals Real Madrid are also interested in Spanish winger Traore, who left Barca in 2015.
Wolves are set to command a big transfer fee for Traore amid links to Manchester City and Liverpool, having signed the 24-year-old from Middlesbrough two years ago.
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Gazzetta dello Sport claims Manchester United a…
Arne Slot got off to a winning start at Liverpool as the Reds kick-started their 2024-25 Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat of Ipswich Town.
Ipswich impressed in flashes in their first Premier League match since 2002, but Liverpool ultimately had too much as the Slot era began with a comfortable triumph at Portman Road.
Their goals came in quick succession – Diogo Jota opening the scoring on the hour with a composed close-range finish.
Having supplied the assist for Liverpool’s opener, Mohamed Salah got in on the act himself in the 65th minute, and Slot’s side showed no sign of slipping up from there.
Jota had squandered a golden chance just before putting Liverpool ahead, though the Reds were arguably second-best for much of the first half.<…
Memphis Depay will not be joining Inter from Barcelona in the January window, his lawyer has said.
The Netherlands striker is expected to leave Barca this month, with Inter among the clubs reported to be keen to sign him.
Following Barcelona s signing of Robert Lewandowski, Depay has found first-team opportunities difficult to come by – making just two starts in LaLiga this season.
Depay s lawyer Sebastian Ledure has denied that the 28-year-old, also linked with the likes of Atletico Madrid, could be on his way to San Siro.
There are no negotiations ongoing for Memphis to join Inter, he told Fabrizio Romano.
I can deny all these links, it s not a possibility that we are discussing.
The former Lyon and Manchester United forward joined …