Newcastle United have agreed a deal to sign Ajax sensation Seun Steur in a deal worth around £20m, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Magpies have had a busy window so far after selling Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £70m, while a deal for Sandro Tonali to join Tottenham Hotspur for £100m was completed earlier this week.
That has allowed the club to seal a deal for Bazoumana Toure in attack, while they are also pushing to sign World Cup star Johan Manzambi to bolster their midfield. But they have now moved ahead with a deal for another midfield star to help Eddie Howe.
Fury vs Joshua has been scheduled for later on this year without a set date or location being confirmed. Many fans have speculated where the fight will take place, with Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium or Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena being the most likely venues for this historic bout.
While these venues are highly regarded, many British boxing fans have voiced their outrage at even the possibility of this fight taking place outside the UK.
While Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has claimed that the clash is contractually bound to take place in the country, event organiser Turki Alalshikh has disclosed that there have been some roadblocks in getting the event confirmed for Wembley Stadium.
Why Wembley Stadium Might Not Host Fury vs Joshua
“I’ve said from the beginning, it depends on whether England gives us all that we need.
“We want the fights here in England, but we want the time zone and the time zone of all the world, especially in America.
Dave Allen, who has sparred both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, has revealed who out of the British pair punches harder.
“Also, if they allowed us to have Wembley late in the night, we want to do it in England.”
In the UK, the main event usually commences around 10pm, with Brent council being strict with event organisers regarding licensing conditions, which usually see events conclude by 11pm in order to prevent any late-night disruption to residents.
With a huge focus on US markets, with west coast audiences being eight hours behind the UK, a 10pm start to the main event will be seen as too early in the eyes of Alalshikh and other event organisers.
In 2024, UFC 304 took place in Manchester and the company managed to negotiate with the local council to secure a 3am main event commencement time in order to cater to the US audience and market.
Alalshikh will have this in mind and will be hoping to be able to push back the event’s start time to ensure that Fury and Joshua make their entrances beyond midnight.
Tyson Fury & Anthony Joshua’s Next Fights Confirmed
Despite the uncertainty of when and where they will meet, Joshua and Fury have already begun preparation for their clash, with the former taking on Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in Riyadh at the end of the month, while Fury will be in Thailand the day prior, fighting former WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight challenger Mariusz Wach.
UFC fans have expressed concern that Conor McGregor‘s comeback fight this weekend is in jeopardy after recent activity.
The controversial MMA legend is slated to be on the UFC 329 card in a rematch with Max Holloway after walking away from the organisation five years ago.
The Irishman was set to return two years ago at UFC 303 against Michael Chandler, but a broken toe led to McGregor having to cancel his return to the sport.
McGregor has not won in the Octagon since his 40-second victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in 2020 and many fans are eager to see “The Notorious” in action this week.
However, some eagle-eyed fans have noticed that some suspicious activity within the organisation is pointing towards McGregor not making it to the clash after all.
What UFC Fans Have Spotted That Raises Questions
For a period of time last night, the link to buy tickets for UFC 329 directly from the UFC’s website was not working and would show an error. While the link has been restored since, it was also noted that his after-party in Las Vegas had been cancelled and there was a suspicious lack of pre-fight content from the Irishman.
@CasualMMAinc on X noted: “Conor is pulling out and forcing the UFC to cut him. Genius plan to get out of his contract without getting knocked out cold.”
While rumours are circulating that the fight will no longer go ahead, there is no indication from the UFC or McGregor himself that there will be any change to the schedule.
What Conor McGregor Has Said About His Return
Despite not appearing on the first episode of Embedded for UFC 329, McGregor did appear on UFC 329 Countdown, and expressed gratitude for being able to return to the sport, seemingly killing any rumour of the fight not going ahead.
“When that injury happened, I put it to myself. Now is the time when what you say to yourself behind closed doors, it’s now time to act on that. You’ve got to put in the work on yourself. And that I have done.
“I’ve been gifted this ability to walk, pursuing my craft. And for too long I disgraced that gift. And no more. So every day I count all of my stars and prayer to God that I’m able to get up and go. Keep going. Keep going. I am ecstatic with the opportunity that lies ahead of me and I look very forward to my return.”
The Notorious is set to return to the Octagon to fight Max Holloway for a second time.
Holloway and McGregor last met in the Octagon in 2013, where a young McGregor secured a victory over the former featherweight champion and BMF titleholder by unanimous decision.
The two will, hopefully, clash once more at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on Saturday.
Winning the World Cup is often cited as one of the hardest things to do in football. Cristiano Ronaldo is a living testament to this. Despite being an icon of the game, the Portuguese star will now finish his career having failed to achieve this one dream.
The hopes of his nation fell apart in the Last 16 clash against Spain. The game was actually a bit of a damp squib and did not really spark into life until the dying stages. Substitute Mikel Merino came off the bench to net a 91st-minute winner, while Bernardo Silva then missed a good late chance as Portugal fell to a 1-0 defeat.
And with that, 41-year-old Ronaldo left the pitch in tears, his hopes of ever winning the World Cup finally over.
The former Man City teammates were at each other’s throats during the game.
Ronaldo Confirms World Cup Dream Over With Bold Interview
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Jerome
While most players would have long retired, Ronaldo has continued to play into his 40s. Many feel as if this has been to the detriment of the Portuguese team, but manager Roberto Martinez (who has now quit) continued to trust in the Al-Nassr star throughout.
Ronaldo appeared desperate to win the World Cup before retiring, but has now confirmed that he won’t be part of the national team in four years time at the next tournament. That said, when speaking to the press, he did not reveal whether or not that was his final international game, saying:
“I’m sad to be leaving the World Cup like this. I gave it my all. I did my best. It was my last World Cup, yes, but I’ll now have time to reflect and be with my family. I won’t be making any rash decisions. I don’t decide anything in the heat of the moment. Now is not important whether I will continue [to play].”
Ronaldo then continued, and his next comments have caused a bit of a stir. Not necessarily known for his humility, the striker’s ego was on full display once again as he talked about his achievements with Portugal just moments after their disappointing World Cup campaign came to an underwhelming end:
“Tomorrow I will get up the same way I got up today: with a clear conscience. I played 23 years in the national team and won three titles. Before Cristiano, Portugal had not won anything. The Euros was the most important. For me, 2016 has the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly.”
The interview quickly circulated online and sparked a big response, with fans less than impressed by his arrogance. From talking in the third person to claiming the European Championship win of 2016 is as big as the World Cup, supporters took aim at Ronaldo for his comments.
One fan wrote: Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego is genuinely one of the most fragile things in football history.” They added: “This is a man who played SIX World Cups, failed in all six, never scored a single knockout goal and then started devaluing the competition he spent his entire career desperately trying to win.”
Before then concluded: “The biggest fraud, the biggest victim complex, and the most shameless propaganda machine football has ever seen.”
Another simply called him an ‘Utterly charmless individual,” while somebody else added:
“Used to not understand Cristiano Ronaldo hate but I see why now.”
One couldn’t believe the comments were real, asking: “Did he really say this?” While another added: “It’s impossible for feel sorry for him man, I tried, I did.”
Adding to the hate, somebody suggested: “This is why his teammates will never play for him… sore loser!” While a final fan said:
“You wonder why people don’t respect him despite his achievements, well this is one. You never see Messi making statements like this. For someone that had little goal contributions on the course of winning those trophies, it’s very arrogant and selfish to take the glory of the win all to yourself.”
Spain will now play Belgium in the World Cup quarter-finals, while Portugal will have to fly home and prepare for a future without Ronaldo.
