BRAZIL
Santos to sell Neymar
Neymar is on the verge of choosing one of two offers from unnamed clubs, likely to be Spanish suitors Barcelona and Real Madrid, after Santos agreed on Friday to transfer him. Santos made the announcement on the club’s official Twitter feed and said the 21-year-old player, Brazil’s big hope for next year’s World Cup finals on home soil, had the right to choose which offer to accept. “In the face of the offers and the player’s contract, the management committee of the club decided to sell the player,” the statement said. “We await Neymar and his father at the Vila Belmiro to choose which proposal the player is going to accept.” Neymar, who helped Santos win the Coppa Libertadores in 2011, was the only player not based in Europe among the 23 finalists for FIFA’s Player of the Year award last year. Should Neymar go for the most likely option of moving to Barcelona, he will play alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Ballon d’Or winner for the last four years.
ENGLAND
Townsend charged by FA
Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend was charged with breaching betting regulations by the Football Association (FA) on Friday. It is understood that Townsend is not being accused of betting on matches he had any involvement in, but the FA has strict betting rules that forbid players from gambling on a wide spectrum of matches they are not involved in personally. Townsend, who spent the second half of the season on loan at Queens Park Rangers, responded by withdrawing from the England under-21 squad for the forthcoming European under-21 Championship and will be replaced by Birmingham City’s Nathan Redmond.
ENGLAND
Moyes overhauls United staff
David Moyes started his Manchester United overhaul on Friday as the club’s new manager parted company with coaches Mike Phelan and Eric Steele. Phelan had been a long-serving assistant to former United manager Alex Ferguson, who retired after nearly 27 years in charge at the end of the season, while Steele had worked as goalkeeping coach at Old Trafford since 2008. Both have been told they will be released by Moyes, who wants to bring several of his own backroom staff with him from Everton. “I would like to put on record the club’s thanks for everything Mike and Eric have done,” Moyes said. Moyes is reported to be keen to bring Everton goalkeeping coach Chris Woods to Old Trafford to replace Steele, with his Toffees coach Steve Round likely to step in for Phelan. He also wants veteran coach Jimmy Lumsden to work with him at the Premier League champions.
ENGLAND
Blackburn stick with Bowyer
Blackburn Rovers appointed Gary Bowyer as their new manager on a 12-month rolling contract on Friday. Bowyer had two spells as Blackburn’s caretaker boss this season and managed to steer the troubled Championship side away from the relegation zone in the final weeks of the campaign. That was enough to persuade Venky’s, the Indian poultry firm that owns Rovers, to give Bowyer the job on a permanent basis. “It is a huge honor and a proud moment for me,” Bowyer said. The 41-year-old was first placed in charge of Blackburn in December following Henning Berg’s sacking and he remained unbeaten during his four-game spell. After Berg’s successor Michael Appleton was dismissed just 67 days into his reign, Bowyer took charge again in March and steered the club away from the bottom three.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was