Football | La Liga : Barcelona 'fully support' Messi

La Liga club Barcelona have expressed their support for Argentine striker Lionel Messi and his father after the Spanish Supreme Court upheld their prison sentences over tax fraud charges, although neither are expected to go to jail.

Five-time World Player of the Year winner Messi, who has been at Barcelona since the age of 13, was handed a 21-month prison sentence and fined 2 million euros ($2.25 million) for three counts of tax fraud between 2007 and 2009.
"The club reiterates, once again, its full support for Leo Messi, his father Jorge Messi, and his family," a statement on the club's official website read. (www.fcbarcelona.com)
"FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu contacted the player's family to communicate this support.
"The family was very grateful, not only for today's gesture, but also for the support the player and his family have received from the club throughout this process. The club will continue to stand with Leo Messi, his father, and his family."
Argentine international Messi has scored 506 goals in 582 senior appearances for Barcelona, winning eight league titles and four Champions League trophies.

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Football | Europa League : Mou relishes United's 'victory of pragmatism'

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said his side's season had been a triumph of pragmatism over poetry following their Europa League success against Ajax in Stockholm.

In a poignant match scarred by Monday's terror attack in Manchester, which left 22 people dead, United prevailed 2-0 via goals from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to win the tournament for the first time.
Mourinho has received criticism over the quality of United's football and sixth-place finish in the Premier League, but he finishes his maiden season with three trophies and a place in next season's Champions League.
"The poets are the ones that win every match," said the Portuguese, who had previously led United to success in the Community Shield and League Cup.
"I think I am going to have one of these jobs in a few years. I always lose matches, but some guys win every time and I don't.
"But in a bad season, in a season where sometimes I felt my team is the worst in the world and I am the worst manager in the world, we won three trophies and go to the Champions League by winning a trophy.
"Not by finishing second or third or fourth, and we have the honour of going to the Super Cup.
"So the season was the victory of pragmatism and the people who respect the opponent and try to exploit the opponents' weakness. Based on pragmatism and humble principles. Not poets."
The United manager celebrated Wednesday's victory exuberantly at the Friends Arena, at one point being bundled to the turf in an embrace with his jubilant son.
A two-time European champion with Porto and Inter Milan, Mourinho once declared he did not want to win the Europa League, saying success in the competition would be a "big disappointment".
He has now won the tournament twice, having led Porto to glory in the Uefa Cup – as the Europa League was previously called – in 2003.
'IT MEANS EVERYTHING'
"To me it is the most important trophy of my career because it is the last (most recent) – that is how I look at things," he said.
"Of course, Champions League is bigger than Europa League, but that is the last trophy and that is when the feelings are under the skin and obviously it is a fantastic feeling for the team.
"It means everything. It means the third trophy and going back to the Champions League and winning a European trophy and playing Super League in Macedonia in August and means for the club the last piece of the puzzle.

Football : Messi loses appeal in tax fraud trial

Spain's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi and stood by a Catalan regional court's 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud, court documents showed.
The five-times World Player of the Year is unlikely to go to prison, however.
Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty by a Catalan court last July on three counts of tax fraud between 2007 and 2009 to the tune of 4.1 million euros on image rights and were also fined 2 million euros ($2.24 million).
The court reduced Jorge Messi's sentence from 21 months to 15, however, for returning the defrauded amount to Spain's tax authority.
Neither Messi nor his father are expected to serve time in jail, as under Spanish law sentences under two years can be served under probation.
A court statement said Messi "unequivocally understood his obligation to pay tax on income obtained from exploiting his image rights...therefore it is not logical that he should ignore his duty to pay tax on them".

The Supreme Court's ruling brings an end to a case which began in 2013.
Messi, 29, and his father defrauded the Spanish tax office of 4.1 million euros between 2007 and 2009 by using a web of shell companies based in Belize, Switzerland and Uruguay to evade taxes on income from the player's image rights.
Messi, who has won eight La Liga titles, four King's Cups and four Champions League crowns with Barcelona, finished top scorer in Spain this season with 37 league goals.
He is set to play in the King's Cup final next Saturday in Madrid, the last game of the domestic season.
Messi is Barcelona's all-time top scorer and their highest paid player. He is expected to sign a new contract with the Catalan club later this summer, with his current deal expiring in June 2018.
Messi's lawyer was not available for comment.
Barcelona, who last year released a statement in support of Messi following his guilty sentence and launched a campaign in support of him on social media, have not yet commented on the Supreme Court's decision.

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Football | Premier League : Chelsea cancel parade after explosion

Chelsea have cancelled a planned victory parade in London on Sunday in light of Monday's bomb attack in Manchester. Antonio Conte's side won the Premier League title and could claim the double by winning Saturday's FA Cup at Wembley. Thousands of fans were expected to turn out for the parade.
"In light of these tragic events, we feel it is inappropriate to go ahead with the victory parade in London on Sunday," the club said in a statement.
"Given the heightened security threat announced by the (British) government, and recognising that this is a developing situation, we have given this careful consideration," it said.

"We strongly believe, in the interests of everyone, this is the correct course of action. We are sure our fans will understand this decision."
The club said black armbands would be worn by the players in Saturday's final against Arsenal and that a donation would be made to a fund supporting the victims.
An Islamist suicide bomber blew himself up and killed 22 people at a packed pop concert at Manchester Arena on Monday.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Theresa May's government announced that the security threat level had been raised to "critical" as the bomber, Salman Abedi, had probably not acted alone.

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Football : Ajax could be United’s worst nightmare - Oliseh

In the early 1970s, a refreshingly new set of young Dutch players, led by the now late, but still legendary Johan Cruijff, mesmerised and dominated European football, as Ajax Amsterdam played a free-flowing football based on mobility and non-stop interchanging of the ball as “total” football was born.
After the departure of the Cruijff generation, Ajax continued to rule Dutch football and became the world’s best school for youth players’ development. Many wanted to imitate the Ajax philosophy but fell short, many tried to dismantle it by prizing away the youth players, but the then transfer rules barred them.
That was until the Bosman Ruling came into effect in 1995. It was a ruling that made, among other thing, players free from all attachments from their parent clubs once their contracts ran out without a fee being paid to their clubs. It was a nightmare scenario for Ajax as their edge over the others was youth development, utilisation and eventual sale.

Coincidentally, 1995 was the last time Ajax Amsterdam won a European title as they beat then European giants AC Milan by 1-0, a goal scored by one of their youth products, Patrick Kluivert.
From the year 2000 until now, Ajax have had mixed fortunes and several crisis-ridden years, especially on the European scene, though managing to still be competitive and sometimes dominant in the Netherlands.
Manchester United are record title holders of the prestigious and lucrative Premier League in England. Unlike Ajax, they thrive on their financial strength in buying and assembling quality star players.
Man United have spent almost a billion euros on player acquisitions in the past three years under managers Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, with an FA Cup and League trophy to show for it.

Ever since Sir Alex Fergusson retired as coach in 2013, Man United have struggled and looked at times quite ordinary. They are gradually beginning to shift towards being mid-table contenders in the Premier League as opposed to their usual top-three podium slot.
Manchester United in Paul Pogba, now boast of the world’s most expensive player. Bought for 105 million euros in the summer of 2016, he epitomises the hunger and need of this great club and institution to get back to the top of European club football.

Football | Premier League : Welbeck have faith Cup win can lift Arsenal

Arsenal are disappointed with their fifth-placed Premier League finish but focused on winning the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, striker Danny Welbeck has said.

Arsenal's five-game winning streak at the end of the season was not enough to grab a Champions League spot as the club stuttered in the second half of the season, losing six and drawing one of the previous 11 games before the unbeaten run.
"As a club, with the way the season's panned out, it's not a (league) position we want to be in at all," Welbeck told the club's official website.
"We know that we've got the opportunity of playing in the FA Cup final and it's something we really want to do our best in."
Welbeck missed the FA Cup final in 2015 through injury as Arsenal won the competition for the second time in as many years, but the England international is looking ahead to Saturday's showdown against the newly crowned Premier League champions.
"With the last cup final, I wasn't on the pitch and that was disappointing for me... " Welbeck said.
"It's difficult but it's now something that's behind me and you can't change it. I've got the final to look forward to this season, so it's something that I'm going to enjoy. I'm going to play the game and try to win the final."
Welbeck has played at Wembley several times with England, Arsenal and former club Manchester United.
"If you know the surroundings a bit better, it gives you that kind of familiarity," Welbeck added.
"It's a great place to play and what better occasion than the FA Cup final. Hopefully we'll be able to lift the cup again."

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Football | Premier League : Arsenal face injury crisis ahead of final

Arsenal face a defensive crisis ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea with Gabriel ruled out with a knee injury and Laurent Koscielny suspended after being red-carded against Everton last weekend. With Shkodran Mustafi also an injury doubt, manager Arsene Wenger is running out of central defensive options.
The only good news was that Brazil defender Gabriel's injury is not as bad as first feared when he was taken off on a stretcher in Sunday's league finale.
"Gabriel is out for six to eight weeks," Wenger told a news conference on Wednesday. "We had a scare about his cruciate but it's medial. He avoids surgery.
"Shkodran Mustafi, we have some worries, because he is still sick at the moment. He has not trained yet," said Wenger.
"It's unbelievable and unpredictable and we are hit hard in a position where we need to be strong on Saturday. We have to find solutions and hopefully I can find those solutions."
Per Mertesacker came on for Gabriel for his first action of the season against Everton and look set for a place in Saturday's final squad.

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