Young Spanish star embraces transition from Barcelona to Al-Ittihad
JEDDAH: Although a statement addition to the Roshn Saudi League in January, Unai Hernandez had to wait a little before making his debut.
NBA Sport News
Fraud case designed to wreck Platini’s chance of FIFA top job, lawyer says
ZURICH: French footballing great Michel Platini was accused of fraud to torpedo his chances of becoming the head of world soccer’s governing body FIFA, his lawyer told a Swiss court on Wednesday. Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team who also used to run Europe’s football authority UEFA, is facing corruption charges in an appeal against his acquittal two-and-a-half years ago. The Swiss federal prosecutor says the 69-year-old illegally took payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.25 million) from FIFA in 2011, after it was approved by the organization’s former President Sepp Blatter. Blatter is also accused of fraud in the hearing at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the municipality of Muttenz near the city of Basel. Blatter and Platini, once among the most powerful men in global football, both deny the charges and were acquitted by a lower court in July 2022, which prosecutors are contesting. “These criminal proceedings never had the goal of punishing an alleged crime. Rather, it was a means of getting Michel Platini out of the way,” his lawyer Dominic Nellen said. The investigation into the payments wrecked Platini’s hopes of succeeding Blatter. Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced. Nellen said the prosecutors had allowed themselves to be used by FIFA to prevent Platini, a three-time European footballer of the year, from taking the reins. When he was questioned by prosecutors in September 2015 about the payment, details were announced to media even though no charges were made, Nellen said.
LeBron James becomes first NBA player to score 50,000 career points
LeBron James has become the first player to score 50,000 NBA points.
LeBron James first player in NBA history to score 50,000 points
LOS ANGELES, United States: LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 career points on Tuesday, extending his lead as the league’s all-time record scorer by reaching a milestone tally that may never be surpassed. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar went into the game against the New Orleans Pelicans with 49,999 regular and postseason points after a 17-point performance in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. It did not take long for the 40-year-old NBA icon to get the solitary point needed to reach the 50,000-point barrier. James, who is in dazzling form in the 22nd season of a glittering career, gathered a pass from Luka Doncic and unfurled a sublime 25-foot three-pointer to move to 50,002 points with the Crypto.com Arena crowd roaring their acclaim. James had passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous all-time regular-season scoring record of 38,387 points in 2023 – itself a record that had stood for 39 years. James is now nearly 6,000 points clear of Abdul-Jabbar’s total career points tally of 44,149, with Karl Malone third (41,689 points) and the late Kobe Bryant fourth with 39,283 points. Michael Jordan is fifth on the all-time scoring list with 38,279. Among active NBA players, only Kevin Durant with just over 35,000 points – roughly 15,000 points behind James – makes the top 10.
Dubai Basketball extend winning streak to four games after victory over Croatia’s Cibona
DUBAI: Dubai Basketball began their busy month by registering their fourth straight victory in the ABA League at Coca-Cola Arena following a dominant 90-61 win against Croatia’s Cibona — a result that sees them edge closer to securing a play-off berth.
Cavs rally to beat Blazers in OT for 10th straight NBA victory
LOS ANGELES: The Cleveland Cavaliers erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 133-129 in an NBA overtime thriller and boost their league-best record with a 10th straight victory Sunday, as Boston defeated Denver in a clash of the past two champions.
Bayern Munich reportedly withdraw contract offer to Joshua Kimmich
MUNICH: German media is reporting that Bayern Munich have retracted their contract extension offer to midfielder Joshua Kimmich, whose deal expires at the end of the season. Kicker magazine on Thursday corroborated a report from the Bild tabloid saying Bayern decided at their supervisory board meeting on Monday to withdraw the offer they made to the player because of his hesitation in accepting it. The 30-year-old Kimmich, who has played more than 400 games for Bayern since joining as a 20-year-old from Leipzig in 2015, reportedly earns around 20 million euros ($21 million) a year at the Bavarian powerhouse. The proposed new deal reportedly included a modest pay rise. Bayern’s board member for sports, Max Eberl, told broadcaster Sky this month that talks between the two parties were positive after the club announced new contract extension deals with Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Manuel Neuer. “We’ve done our work bit by bit. We’ve had very good discussions with Joshua.
Hamilton goes fastest for Ferrari as rain in Bahrain hits F1 testing
SAKHIR, Bahrain: Lewis Hamilton was fastest in his new Ferrari on the morning of the second day of Formula 1 preseason testing as rain in the desert affected Thursday’s session. The seven-time champion’s best time was nearly four-tenths of a second faster than his former teammate George Russell of Mercedes. Carlos Sainz, Jr.