Sports
Mbappe ‘confused’ by ‘political and economic pressure’, Perez says
AFP
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed Kylian Mbappe decided to stay at Paris Saint-Germain because he was “confused” after being put under intense “political and economic pressure”.
But when asked about the possibility of Mbappe joining Real Madrid in the future, Perez kept the door open to the 23-year-old.
“This Mbappe is not my Mbappe,” Perez said. “But if he changes, who knows? Life takes a thousand turns.”
Mbappe stunned Real Madrid last month by rejecting a move to the Santiago Bernabeu in favour of signing a new three-year contract at PSG, with a reported salary of between 40 to 50 million euros ($41.6 million to $52 million) .
“They practically offered him the chance to be the leader, not only of a football team, but the management,” Perez told the Spanish television programme El Chiringuito on Wednesday.
“We saw that it was not the Mbappe that we wanted to bring – but it was a result of the pressure he was under that he changed his dreams.
“If a kid is called by the president of a country, of course it affects him… that influenced him a lot. But you can succeed at Real Madrid, like Zidane did, and also be a source of pride for the president of your country.”
Perez believes Mbappe was influenced most by French and Qatari political pressure, due to the reported involvement of French president Emmanuel Macron, as well as PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is chairman of Qatar Sports Investments.
“I think the pressure that might have affected him the most was the politics,” Perez said.
“That, plus the money and the offer of leadership have made him change his mind. He had a hard time. When you get into a panic, you try to get out of that as quickly as possible, I can understand that. But what I can’t understand is the King of Spain calling a Spanish club to tell him a player should stay.
“There are two states involved there, one is Qatar and the other is France,” Perez continued. “I have been here since 2000 and I have never seen that before, that a president of a state calls a player. You can be a world-class player and not play in France, like (Zinedine) Zidane or (Karim) Benzema.”
Asked for a second time about Mbappe joining in the future, Perez said: “I tell you calmly, that life is not over yet.”
Real Madrid had also been linked with a move for Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund but by the time Mbappe chose to stay at PSG, Haaland had joined Manchester City.
“It had nothing to do with it. We already have the best centre-forward in the world (Benzema) so this situation was incompatible with Haaland,” Perez said.
International
Arsenal stun Real Madrid at the Bernabéu to reach Champions League semifinals
Arsenal enjoyed a “historic night” on Wednesday after defeating Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, knocking them out of the Champions League quarterfinals, midfielder Declan Rice said.
“It’s such a special night for this club, a historic night for this club,” said Rice, who scored twice in the first leg in London, speaking to TNT Sports.
The English international was named Man of the Match in both legs — the 3-0 win in London and the second leg in Madrid.
“It’s amazing. I knew we were on an upward trajectory and we’ve done incredibly well in this competition. We deserve it and we have full confidence in our coach. Reaching the semifinals is unbelievable,” Rice added.
International
Two fans killed in gate collapse outside Chile’s Estadio Monumental
Two people lost their lives near the Estadio Monumental in Santiago, Chile, following a chaotic incident that occurred before the Copa Libertadores match between Colo Colo and Brazil’s Fortaleza on April 10. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the victims were crushed after a fence on the stadium perimeter collapsed, though authorities are investigating whether a police armored vehicle may have played a role.
It was a black Thursday at Chile’s Estadio Monumental. Two local fans died outside the stadium after a yet-unclarified incident caused a metal gate to fall on them, leading to fatal asphyxiation.
Local media reports indicate that a group of fans attempted to force their way into the stadium before kickoff. In response, local police allegedly deployed armored vehicles to block the breach.
Preliminary reports cited by local newspapers and news agencies like EFE identify the victims as two young individuals—one 18 years old and the other just 13.
Sports
Neymar Returns to Santos Training After Month-Long Injury Layoff
Neymar returned to full training on Tuesday with the Santos squad after spending a month recovering from a left thigh injury, the Brazilian club reported.
The number 10 joined warm-up activities with the team and later took part in a ball control and passing drill. According to the sports outlet Ge, he “did not show any discomfort from the injury” during the 30-minute session that was open to the press.
The Brazilian star had spent the past month undergoing physiotherapy, recovery work, and muscle strengthening due to the injury that had kept him out of Santos matches and even from the Brazilian national team. He had initially been called up, but was later withdrawn from the squad ahead of the World Cup qualifying matches against Colombia and Argentina.
Santos will continue daily training sessions this week ahead of their upcoming match against Fluminense on Sunday in the Brazilian Championship.
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