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Real Madrid-bound Endrick pulled out the 'floss' Fortnite dance during Palmeiras' clash against Fluminense.

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Endrick pulls out the Fortnite dancePalmeiras beat Fluminense 1-0Palmeiras on verge of winning Brazilian leagueWHAT HAPPENED?

Palmeiras edged out Fluminense by a solitary goal thanks to a strike from Breno Lopes in the 30th minute – which has maintained their three-point lead at the top of the Brazilian league.

Real Madrid-bound Endrick featured in the team's starting lineup and played for 71 minutes. During the match, he was seen performing the famous 'floss' dance made famous by the Fortnite video game.

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The Verdao currently have 69 points from 37 matches and are on the verge of sealing their second consecutive Brazilian Serie A title. A draw against Cruzeiro in their final game of the season on December 7 will seal the title in their favour

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The teenager has enjoyed a successful season with the Brazilian club in 2023, as he has scored 13 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions and provided one assist. He is set to join Los Blancos in July 2024 when he turns 18.

Which of the wonderkids featuring in Israel could become big names for African national sides?

Getty ImagesEl Chadaille Bitshiabu

The towering centre-back will be the rock at the heart of the France backline during the U-17 Euros, where he’ll be keen to bring his outstanding form from Paris Saint-Germain’s Youth League campaign to bear in Israel.

He’s already featured for Mauricio Pochettino’s side at senior level, although with his route to more playing time with PSG’s first team arguably blocked, the likes of Bayern Munich, ManchesterCity and RB Leipzig are all understood to be monitoring his services.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesDario Essugo

With experience already of having played with Portugal’s U-19 team, Essugo has the potential to dominate contests at the U-17 Euro.

He’s already become Sporting Lisbon’s youngest ever player—a remarkable achievement at such an institution—and the youngster, who’s also eligible for Angola, should impress with his defensive qualities and work with the ball.

Realmadrid.comElyaz Zidane

Son of French footballing royalty, Zinedine’s son Elyaz certainly has some high standards to live up to, although having progressed through the ranks at Real Madrid, he’s well used to demanding environments.

Eligible for both Algeria and Spain, Zidane jr is turning out for France at the U-17 Euros, and while he’s the youngest of Zidane’s four boys, he may turn out to be the most exciting.

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Antoni Milambo

Feyenoord’s youngest ever first team player, Milambo made his debut for the Dutch giants only four months and nine days after his 16th birthday—testament to his maturity and his raw ability.

Eligible for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but featuring for the Netherlands at the U-17 showpiece, Milambo has the quality to hurt teams between the lines, and there won’t be too many players at the tournament who already have experience of playing in senior level continental club competitions.

Manchester United will have to wait to hire Dan Ashworth as their sporting director as he serves Newcastle notice period on gardening leave.

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Newcastle put Ashworth on gardening leaveSporting director has asked to leaveMan Utd interest prompted decisionWHAT HAPPENED?

Newcastle have announced that Ashworth has been placed on a period of gardening leave, having made the club aware of his desire to leave in order to take up a new sporting director role in Manchester's changing structure instead.

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Newcastle CEO Darren Eales said in a statement: "We are naturally disappointed that Dan has chosen to leave, however our exciting journey doesn't stop and the process to recruit a new sporting director will begin immediately. We thank Dan for his efforts at Newcastle United and we wish him and his family well for the future."

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe's impact at Manchester United since agreeing a 25% investment deal with the Glazer family is quickly being felt. Before approaching Ashworth, the British billionaire's contingent from INEOS had been influential in a deal to appoint Omar Berrarda as chief executive, formerly in charge of football operations at the rival City Football Group. It is hoped the more robust structure will give Erik ten Hag the tools and support he needs to deliver success on the pitch.

Yet Manchester United still need to firm things up with the Magpies over the formal acquisition of the 52-year-old, with claims that a £20m request for compensation has been baulked at by those at Old Trafford which could prove a major problem to getting the deal done.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ASHWORTH & MAN UTD?

It's simply a waiting game now for Ashworth. He has to serve his notice period with Newcastle, who don't want him privy to their inner workings and deals in the knowledge that he will be joining a rival club once his notice is up, before he can take up a new job.

Rafael Leao insists that AC Milan winning the Champions League is worth more to him than a potential €10m (£9m/€10.5m) salary in Saudi Arabia.

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Leao believes Milan can win UCLNot interested in Saudi Arabian moveSays he has not achieved enough yetWHAT HAPPENED?

Leao maintains that while he will not close the door on a potential move to Saudi Arabia in the future, he insists that he is happy at Milan and believes the club are close to reaching a point of being able to win the Champions League again.

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Milan have endured something of a European trophy drought, and have not won the Champions League since 2007. Last season, they reached the semi-finals, and have thus far kicked off their European campaign this term with a 0-0 draw against Newcastle.

WHAT THEY SAID

Leao told Portugal GQ: "I think the club is on the right track, we managed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. Now the club’s goal must be to keep going up, to keep adding, to keep being strong. And I’m sure Milan will soon return to winning a Champions League, which is our goal. I speak for myself, I’m young, I’m a player who wants to win big things, the Champions League I think is the dream of every player and we are working for that."

He added on the potential of a move to Saudi Arabia: “You can never say never, but I’m at a club that has welcomed me very well, I’ve renewed now, if I had plans to leave I wouldn’t renew. I’m focused on doing great things in two or three years at AC Milan. I have not yet achieved great things to leave for a league like that [Saudi Pro League]. These days money has spoken louder, but for me a Champions League is worth more than a €10 million salary, for example.”

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Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Milan are next in action on Wednesday against Cagliari in Serie A.

Steve Davies’ first Championship hundred for a year carried Surrey’s fight until Yorkshire hit back strongly with a late flurry of wickets at Headingley

ECB Reporters Network08-May-2016
ScorecardStephen Davies is congratulated on a hard-won century•Getty ImagesSteven Davies kept his cool in the sun to complete a solid century that held Surrey together on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship match against title-holders Yorkshire at Headingley.It was the 21st first class century of Davies’ career and his first in the Championship for almost exactly a year. He was eventually out for a defiant 117 off 163 balls with 20 fours and Surrey were bowled out for 330 after winning the toss. Yorkshire were left with two overs in which to bat and they closed on 15 without loss.”I have not got the wicketkeeping gloves at the moment, so it is all about scoring big runs,” Davies said. “There are a few spots there in the England side and I just need to keep knocking at the door. I just wanted to concentrate on my batting for a while and I didn’t want the gloves but I feel motivated and energised again and would like to wear them but so far the club have not gone down that route.”For much of the time, Surrey appeared to have the upper hand but Yorkshire rallied late in the day, six wickets falling in 20 overs and four of them to the second new ball.Many in the 1,803 crowd were not in their seats by the starting time, a half-marathon in Leeds causing roads leading up to the ground to be closed off from early morning until lunchtime.But those who did make it saw a first hour of fluctuating fortunes with 40 runs scored, two wickets going down and three catches being dropped.When Rory Burns nicked David Willey into Jonathan Bairstow’s gloves with the score on 14, Arun Harinath had already survived a sharp chance to Gary Ballance at fourth slip and he enjoyed two further lives, Jack Brooks failing to hold on at long leg and Adam Lyth putting one down at second slip.The latter escape came off the third ball of Liam Plunkett’s spell but his next delivery was miscued by Harinath and popped to Ballance at cover.Surrey were 38 for two but Kumar Sangakkara and Davies soon rattled along with the Sri Lankan in his most majestic form and finding the boundary with a succession of drives through the cover point region.Sangakkara was 45 and Davies 21 at lunch which arrived with Surrey on 96 for two but the third wicket pair continued to blossom in the afternoon as each batsman reached his half-century, Sangakkara off 78 balls with nine fours and Davies from 94 deliveries with eight boundaries.Yorkshire were beginning to wonder where a wicket would come from but after skipper Andrew Gale had temporarily left the field for treatment after diving on to the rope, two went down in consecutive overs.Sangakkara had looked invincible until he tried to guide Plunkett over the slips and was well caught by Alex Lees for 73 off 101 balls with 13 boundaries to take his runs tally for Surrey to 470 in seven knocks.Then Jason Roy departed to his fourth ball from Brooks, superbly held low down to his left at third slip by Joe Root. Roy hung around for a while, possibly feeling he had played the ball into the ground, and he responded gently to the jeers of the crowd as he left the field.At 161 for four, Surrey could have slipped further if Davies had not calmly held things together by following up his 122 stand with Sangakkara with another century partnership with Ben Foakes.Runs came steadily and without too much difficulty, Davies on-driving Root to complete a handsome century off 137 balls with 18 fours and at tea Surrey were well placed on 230 for four.But just as two wickets had gone down unexpectedly earlier on, the same was to happen again in consecutive overs from Steve Patterson as Davies drove gently to Root at short cover to end his 103 stand with Foakes who was caught by Lees at first slip for 45.Again, Yorkshire had the chance to make further inroads with Surrey on 273 for six but James Burke and Tom Curran kept the initiative with the visitors until Burke and Gareth Batty fell lbw at 309 to leave Willey on a hat-trick, the first ball of his next over being safely pushed out to gully by Ravi Rampaul.Yorkshire were hitting back in some style and Brooks comprehensively bowled Curran at 321 to bring the Champions maximum bowling points. The innings was wrapped up when Rampaul top-edged a high catch to Bairstow of Brooks who finished with three wickets, as did Willey.

USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe has been accused of "narcissism" for her "proof there isn't a god" remark after her final professional game for OL Reign.

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Rapinoe made final pro outing against Gotham FCCame off after just six minutes due to Achilles problemClaimed injury blow was proof that god doesn't existWHAT HAPPENED?

Rapinoe made her final professional appearance during OL Reign's NWSL final clash against Gotham FC on Saturday, but saw her night cut short in unfortunate fashion. The 38-year-old had to be substituted after injuring her Achilles six minutes into the game, with OL Reign going on to lose 2-1 in her absence.

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It was undoubtedly a cruel way for Rapinoe to bring the curtain down on her illustrious career, but she stirred up some controversy with her post-match comments. "I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a god, like, this is proof that there isn’t," Rapinoe said. "This is f***ed up. It’s just f***ed up. Six minutes in and I eat my Achilles."

WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT MEGAN RAPINOE?

SportsCenter presenter Sage Steele, formerly of , did not take kindly to Rapinoe's remarks. The 50-year-old, who is open about her faith and calls herself 'a believer' in her bio on X, said in a response to a video of Rapinoe's interview on the social media platform: "Narcissism at its finest."

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DID YOU KNOW?

Rapinoe will go down as one of the most influential women's players of all time, having won two World Cups and 203 caps for the USWNT. She also lifted three NWSL Shields at OL Reign and won the Ballon d'Or Feminin back in 2019.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has put his weight behind the continued presence of Associate Nations at the World Cup, as he believes allowing them to participate is “the least cricket can do”

Gaurav Kalra16-Mar-20153:39

Dravid: Need to encourage as many teams as possible

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has put his weight behind the continued presence of Associate Nations at the World Cup, as he believes allowing them to participate is “the least cricket can do”. Dravid told ESPNcricinfo that he was firm in his opposition to the ICC’s decision to reduce the next World Cup, in 2019, to 10 teams, saying that according to him “14 is a pretty good number.””I favour encouraging Associates to play in this tournament and giving them every single opportunity,” Dravid said. “I just know how important this is for the growth of their game to be seen at a World Cup, the games being telecast Live back home in terms of sponsorship, government funding; its so important for them to be a part of this premier event. I think that’s the least cricket can do, it’s a tournament once in four years to try and encourage as many of them as possible to play. You don’t want an inflated tournament, but I’ve always been of the view that 14 for me was a pretty good number, give everyone a chance.”Although none of the four Associate teams were able to qualify for the quarter-finals, they gave an encouraging account of themselves over the last few weeks. Ireland came the closest to a spot in the last eight, winning three of their six league games, including victories over two Full Members- West Indies and Zimbabwe. Dravid said that while he wasn’t surprised by Ireland’s improvement, the progress made by first-timers Afghanistan was a “great story” for the game.”You expect to see a good performance from Ireland every time they come to a World Cup. It was great to see Afghanistan register a win, I think it’s a great story as well, great for the game,” he said. “We’ve seen some very good performances from the Associate teams, that’s terrific for the tournament. It’s nice to see that people have also appreciated those performances, while they haven’t played to packed stadiums all the time, there have been a good bunch of their supporters coming in to support their teams.”While Dravid enjoyed watching the Associates in action, he was less enthused by the high-scoring nature of many of the games at the World Cup. In the 42 matches played in the league stage, the 300-run mark has already been crossed 25 times, while teams went past the mark just 17 times at the last World Cup in 2011. The 350-run barrier has already been broken six times, twice as often as the last World Cup, while three scores of 400 or more have been made, a landmark not achieved even once in 2011.”It was great to see Afghanistan register a win, I think it’s a great story as well, great for the game”•ICCThirty-five centuries were scored in the league phase, eight more than in 2011. On six occasions already, batsmen have gone past 150, while it was only done twice in 2011.”There have just been too many high scoring games for my liking, it’s one thing I have been disappointed by,” Dravid said. “It comes down to the fact that maybe the wickets in Australia have been very good, they’ve been flat and a lot slower than people have expected.”Dravid believes that the administrators will have to reconsider the rule allowing a maximum of four fielders outside the 30-yard circle once the World Cup is over. In the course of the league stage, 100 or more runs were scored 17 times in the last 10 overs, while that mark was accomplished just six times in 2011. As many as 388 sixes have already been hit, while only 258 were struck during the entire 2011 edition.”The fact that five fielders have had to be in the ring is something that needs to be looked at. I think it will have to be reconsidered,” Dravid said. “There is no doubt that it is putting too much pressure and bowlers have not been able to cope with it. It’s leading to these huge scores and I think that’s not necessarily good for the game.”We haven’t seen enough close games, what really builds excitement is not really seeing people hit sixes and fours all the time, but what you want to see is a good contest between bat and ball, which would result in a close game. The games have been just too one-sided for me.”

The France international leads the charts after finalising an €80 million (£68m/$90m) move, but who else ranks near the top?

Getty25. LUCAS ALARIOTransfer fee: €24 million (£20m/$27m) | from River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen | Season 2017/18AdvertisementGetty Images22. ARJEN ROBBEN

Transfer fee: €25 million (£21m/$28m) | from Real Madrid to Bayern Munich | Season 2009/10

Getty22. THIAGO ALCANTARATransfer fee: €25 million (£21m/$28m) | from Barcelona to Bayern Munich | Season 2013/14ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty Images22. ANDRIY YARMOLENKO

Transfer fee: €25 million (£21m/$28m) | from Dynamo Kiev to Borussia Dortmund | Season 2017/18

Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that Jude Bellingham is still struggling with a shoulder injury despite a goal-scoring return for Real Madrid.

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Bellingham suffered dislocated shoulderMissed England dutyReturned with goal vs CadizWHAT HAPPENED?

The midfielder sat out consecutive games before the international break and was forced to withdraw from the England squad for their final two Euro 2024 qualifiers after dislocating his shoulder against Rayo Vallecano. However, he started against Cadiz on Sunday and was on the scoresheet once again.

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Bellingham wrapped up a 3-0 victory on the road with a fine finish across the goalkeeper in the 74th minute. He was withdrawn shortly afterwards, and his manager Ancelotti has admitted his star man still hasn't fully recovered from his injury.

WHAT ANCELOTTI SAID

Speaking to reporters, the Italian tactician said: "Bellingham is fine. He still has the problem he had but he is fine with the protection."

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Bellingham's strike made it 14 goals in 15 games in all competitions since his big-money arrival at the Bernabeu, meaning he has surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 13 in the same number of matches.

Lionel Messi is facing up to the longest break of his remarkable career, with Inter Miami still sweating on their involvement in the MLS play-offs.

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Argentine superstar nursing a knockHoping to book post-season spotOnly international games in the autumnWHAT HAPPENED?

As things stand, the Florida-based franchise have a five-point gap to bridge through five fixtures in order to make the post-season. They have savoured Leagues Cup glory this season, but suffered defeat in the U.S. Open Cup final and have seen talismanic captain Messi sit out four of their last five games – with only 37 minutes played by the iconic Argentine during that run.

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Inter Miami hope that Messi can return to full fitness and keep them in the hunt for a historic MLS Cup triumph. If they fall short in that quest, then their 2023 campaign will come to a close on October 21. Messi may then be out of action until late February 2024 – when the next MLS season gets underway.

DID YOU KNOW?

He could figure for Argentina in 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil in November, but will still have a 95-day wait from the last of those fixtures through to February 24 – a potential start date for MLS in 2024, according to . If he does not play in both games for the 2022 World Cup winners in the autumn, then a new record rest period for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will be set.

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Only once has Messi gone more than 95 days without a game – taking in 99 match-less days with Barcelona at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. When it comes to enforced breaks through injury, he once sat out 87 days with a foot fracture while still in his teens. Inter Miami will be desperate to avoid making unwanted history for their superstar summer signing by forcing their way into the play-off places before the end of the regular season.