Sandro Tonali is the target of another gambling investigation.
The 23-year-old faces the possibility of further sanctions after the Football Association in England opened a fresh investigation into whether he bet on football in the months after his £55-million transfer from Milan to Newcastle, according to Jacob Whitehead of The Athletic.
Tonali is already serving a 10-month ban for betting on games involving his former teams, Brescia and AC Milan. He confessed to gambling on illegal platforms to Italian prosecutors in October and was banned from all football activity until next year.
Suspicions over further breaches arose after his agent revealed that Tonali has a gambling addiction.
Tonali is currently only allowed to train with his Newcastle teammates until the suspension ends.
Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth refused to rule out the possibility of initiating legal action against Milan. However, he wouldn’t speculate about whether the Italian side knew about Tonali’s problems before selling him in July.
He added that the club wouldn’t have pursued Tonali had it been aware of the Italian football federation’s investigation.
“It’s really difficult for me to get into what other clubs do or don’t know,” he said, according to The Guardian’s Louise Taylor. “All we can do is look at our own internal investigation and internal process. It’s a really difficult question for me to answer – I just don’t know.”
There have been “no conversations” between the two clubs since they met in the Champions League in September after Tonali’s betting breaches were made public, Ashworth says.
Tonali played 12 times for Newcastle before the suspension came into effect on Oct. 27.
Manchester United’s faith in Erik ten Hag is waning in the wake of a pair of defeats that have put the club in a perilous position.
The Dutch head coach is “on thin ice” after back-to-back 3-0 losses at home against Manchester City in the Premier League and Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup, according to Charlotte Duncker and Matt Lawton of The Times.
With the team enduring its worst start in 61 years, Manchester United officials are now considering possible replacements in the event Ten Hag gets sacked. Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane and Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim have been identified as possible candidates to succeed the 53-year-old.
Zidane has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid in 2021, three years after winning his third Champions League title at the club. Meanwhile, Amorim, 38, is regarded as one of the top young coaches after leading Sporting to their first league triumph in Portugal in 19 years. Amorim was also linked with Chelsea before the Blues appointed Mauricio Pochettino.
But a decision over Ten Hag’s future could be delayed due to the uncertainty around Manchester United’s ownership, Duncker and Lawton add.
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly set to purchase an initial 25% stake in Manchester United for £1.3 billion and is keen to take up the responsibility of having a say in football decisions. But while an agreement between United and the founder of chemicals giant INEOS could be announced next week, it could take until the new year before Ratcliffe’s affiliation is finalized.
Along with the front office reportedly starting to lose confidence, some Manchester United players have questioned whether Ten Hag is suited for the job of getting Manchester United back on track. There have also been concerns about the intensity of Ten Hag’s training sessions, which have been blamed for some injuries this season, Duncker and Lawton report.
Wednesday’s Carabao Cup exit compounded issues facing a Manchester United squad that’s lost eight of its opening 15 fixtures in all competitions this term, which equals the club’s worst start since the 1962-63 season.
Ten Hag, who vowed that he was a “fighter” after losing to Newcastle, is expected to be on the touchline for United’s clash against Fulham on Saturday. But anything other than a victory could possibly expedite Manchester United’s decision, considering that the club’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League already look bleak.
Manchester United sit eighth in the Premier League, eight points back of the top four, and face the risk of being eliminated in the Champions League group stage after losing two of their first three games.
LENS, France (AP) — Forward Elye Wahi salvaged a 1-1 draw for Lens against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday in a disappointing result for the French team after its surprise win over Arsenal in the previous round of games.
Przemyslaw Frankowski provided a cross for Wahi to volley in an equalizer in the 65th minute of the Group B game.
“I would have loved to win the game, that was the goal but … proud of the team for coming back after going 1-0 down,” Lens defender Kevin Danso said.
Johan Bakayoko had put the Dutch visitors ahead. The 20-year-old Belgium forward broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second half with an angled attempt inside the far post for his first Champions League goal.
“Our destiny is still in our own hands,” Bakayoko told RTL 7. “But we do have to beat Lens in Eindhoven, and hopefully that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
In the first half, PSV survived initial pressure from Lens before coming close when forward Hirving Lozano hit the post of Brice Samba’s goal with another angled shot.
Lens extended its unbeaten Champions League streak to three, with a win and two draws.
It’s the third appearance for the club from northern France in Europe’s top club competition after the 1998-89 and 2002-03 seasons.
Arsenal recovered from the loss to Lens with a 2-1 victory at Sevilla to top the group with six points. Lens is one point behind to remain in contention to reach the knockout stage for the first time.
The Argentine icon won his record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or on Monday. He captured the sport’s most prestigious individual accolade on the power of his 2022 World Cup performance, in which he led his country to glory.
Messi, 36, beat prolific Manchester City striker Erling Haaland for the award, which was presented at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
Haaland smashed the Premier League’s single-season scoring record and helped Manchester City claim a historic treble in his first campaign with the club in 2022-23. However, Norway’s inability to qualify for the World Cup, combined with Messi’s superlative showing at the tournament, tipped the scales in favor of the diminutive Inter Miami superstar.
Messi’s seven goals, including two in the victory over France in an exhilarating final, guided the South American nation to its third World Cup title and finally gave the former Barcelona forward the one piece of silverware that had been missing from his trophy cabinet. He also recorded three assists in Qatar, oftentimes willing the Albiceleste to victory with dazzling moments of magic.
“I couldn’t imagine having the career that I’ve had. Everything that I’ve achieved,” Messi said upon winning the latest award in his storied career. “The fortune I’ve had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history. It’s nice to win these individual trophies.
“To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing. All of them (Ballon d’Or awards) are special for different reasons.”
On just club form alone, Messi almost certainly wouldn’t have taken home the hardware Monday. He endured a frustrating final season at Paris Saint-Germain – Messi later admitted he was unhappy in the French capital – before making a sensational summer move to Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.
But, as is always the case when the Ballon d’Or is presented in a World Cup year, the month-long event outweighed any other considerations.
Messi has now claimed the honor three of the last four times it’s been bestowed; the Ballon d’Or wasn’t awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Karim Benzema is the only male player other than Messi to get his hands on the famous trophy during that span.
Messi’s eight triumphs put him well clear of perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who sits second all time with five.
Messi, the first Argentine to captain his country to a World Cup title since Diego Maradona, used his acceptance speech to remember his late compatriot, who would have turned 63 on Monday.
“Today is his birthday. So I would like to remember him from here, surrounded by the best players, coaches and people who love football like he did,” Messi said. “Wherever you are, Diego, happy birthday. This goes also to you.”
2023 Men’s Ballon d’Or rankings
Player
Club
1. Lionel Messi ??
Inter Miami/PSG
2. Erling Haaland ??
Manchester City
3. Kylian Mbappe ??
PSG
4. Kevin De Bruyne ??
Manchester City
5. Rodri ??
Manchester City
6. Vinicius Junior ??
Real Madrid
7. Julian Alvarez ??
Manchester City
8. Victor Osimhen ??
Napoli
9. Bernardo Silva ??
Manchester City
10. Luka Modric ??
Real Madrid
11. Mohamed Salah ??
Liverpool
12. Robert Lewandowski ??
Barcelona
13. Yassine Bounou ??
Al-Hilal/Sevilla
14. Ilkay Gundogan ??
Barcelona/Manchester City
15. Emiliano Martinez ??
Aston Villa
16. Karim Benzema ??
Al-Ittihad/Real Madrid
17. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ??
Napoli
18. Jude Bellingham ?gbeng
Real Madrid/Borussia Dortmund
19. Harry Kane ?gbeng
Bayern Munich/Tottenham
20. Lautaro Martinez ??
Inter Milan
21. Antoine Griezmann ??
Atletico Madrid
22. Kim Min-jae ??
Bayern Munich/Napoli
23. Andre Onana ??
Manchester United/Inter Milan
24. Bukayo Saka ?gbeng
Arsenal
25. Josko Gvardiol ??
Manchester City/RB Leipzig
26. Jamal Musiala ??
Bayern Munich
27. Nicolo Barella ??
Inter Milan
T28. Randal Kolo Muani ??
Eintracht Frankfurt/PSG
T28. Martin Odegaard ??
Arsenal
30. Ruben Dias ??
Manchester City
Also on Monday, Spanish superstar and World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati took home the Ballon d’Or Feminin. In other awards, Real Madrid phenom Jude Bellingham claimed the Kopa Trophy as the world’s best player under 21 years of age, while Messi’s international teammate Emiliano Martinez earned the Yachine Trophy as the game’s top goalkeeper.