Qatar - players.bio

Honda Brings In Luca Marini To Replace Marc Marquez In MotoGP

Honda announced on Monday it had signed Italian Luca Marini, the half-brother of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, to a two-year deal with its factory team. Marini, 26, will take over from Marc Marquez, the six-time world champion who is leaving Honda a year early to join his brother at Ducati satellite team Gresini Racing. After making his MotoGP debut in 2021, Marini earned his first two podium finishes this season -- in the United States and Qatar -- as he came eighth overall riding for VR46, the Ducati satellite team owned by Rossi. He also finished in the top three in four sprint races and twice took pole position. Marini will get a first outing on his new Japanese bike at the post-season tests in Valencia on Tuesday. He will pair up at Honda with 2020 world champion Joan Mir, who endured a disastrous past season in which he finished 22nd after scoring only 26 points. Honda finished bottom of the constructors' standings this season, just as they did in 2022.

Kylian Mbappe No Longer Untouchable As PSG Prepare Champions League Return

Kylian Mbappe will face former club Monaco for the final time as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Friday, provided coach Luis Enrique selects his star player. The France captain's relationship with the PSG boss has come under the spotlight with Mbappe discovering he is no longer assured of a place in the line-up since telling the Qatar-owned club he would leave at the end of this season. Mbappe informed PSG in mid-February that he intended to depart when his contract expires in June, after seven years at the Parc des Princes, with Real Madrid his likely next destination.