12/07/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | JULY 12, 2025

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Wenger defends Club World Cup … amid Klopp criticism of Fifa’s revamped 32-team competition A RSENE WENGER has dismissed Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of Fifa’s revamped 32-team Club World Cup, calling the tournament a “fantastic competition” “Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don’t share Jurgen Klopp’s view at all,” Wenger told reporters. “I feel that a Club World Cup, a REAL Club World Cup was needed.

Spurs sign Kudus from West Ham

SIDENETTING

Alvarez suspended for doping ATHLETIC BILBAO defender Yeray Alvarez yesterday said he has been provisionally suspended for testing positive for a prohibited substance following a Europa League clash against Manchester United in May. The 30-year old centreback said he took the substance “involuntarily” through medicine he was using to combat hair loss following treatment for testicular cancer. Alvarez was diagnosed in 2016 for the disease and after treatment returned to play in 2017, but suffered a reoccurrence later that year, making a second comeback in 2018. “After overcoming my illness, I have been taking a treatment against alopecia for years and after studying the issue, we have found out that the positive test came because I involuntarily took a preventative medicine against hair loss which contained a prohibited substance,” said Alvarez in a statement. “The disciplinary proceedings are currently in an investigatory phase and confidential, so I am provisionally suspended and I am not authorised to make further public comment.” Hernandez joins Al-Hilal SAUDI CLUB Al-Hilal yesterday signed AC Milan’s French fullback Theo Hernandez on a three-year contract. The 27-year-old leaves the Serie A side in a deal worth € 25 million (RM124.5m), Italian media report. Hernandez has played 38 times for France with two goals, and figured in the last World Cup, including the defeat by Argentina on penalties in the 2022 final in Qatar. Moving to the Saudi Pro League a year before the next World Cup could be considered a risk for his chances of getting called up again by coach Didier Deschamps. But he can take encouragement that Deschamps selected N’Golo Kante for Euro 2024 whilst he was playing for another Saudi club, Al Ittihad. Theo is the younger brother of Paris Saint Germain and France defender Lucas Hernandez.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR have signed forward Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United on a long-term contract, the North London club said yesterday. Financial details of the transfer were not disclosed but British media reported the deal is worth around £55 million (RM317m) for the Ghana international, who turns 25 next month. Spurs did not reveal the exact length of the contract but British media reported that Kudus had signed a six-year deal until 2031. “One of the most important parts of why I came here is the project and how the manager (Thomas Frank) sees it, and to develop under him,” Kudus said in a statement. “With the history of where he’s come from, I’ve seen the amount of talent he’s developed to become great players. It’s a big sign of why I wanted to work under him as well.” Spurs appointed former Brentford boss Frank in June to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou. Kudus joined West Ham

“If you make an inquiry today with all the clubs who were here at this competition, I’m basically sure that we have 100% of answers of people who want to do this again. So that’s basically the best answer.” Wenger also pointed to the unexpectedly high attendance figures as evidence of the competition’s success. “The decisive question is, do the fans like it? Attendance projections were low, but in reality, they were much higher. The answer is there,” he added. He singled out Orlando as one of the venues where pitch conditions proved difficult, though he praised the quality of natural grass pitches overall. Philadelphia’s surface, he said, would serve as a benchmark for future competitions in the US. “The heat in some games was a problem,” Wenger admitted. “We tried to combat that with cooling breaks and watering the pitches during breaks. We learned a lot on that front.” – Reuters

and emphasising the support it has received from participating teams, players, and managers. Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, described the expanded summer competition as “the worst idea ever invented” in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt two weeks ago. Wenger, now Fifa’s chief of global football development, countered these r e m a r k s yesterday during a Fifa Technical Study Group (TSG) briefing in New York.

from Ajax Amsterdam in 2023 for around €40m (RM199m) and scored 13 goals and registered 12 assists across two league

seasons with the club. – Reuters

Mohammed Kudus. – REUTERSPIC

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