Sports

Napoli probed over suspected Osimhen transfer fraud

AFP

Napoli are being investigated for potential false accounting in the transfer deal which brought Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen to the Serie A club, prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday.

Prosecutors in Naples said in a statement that Italian finance police searched Napoli’s Castel Volturno and Rome offices to collect documents regarding Osimhen’s 70 million euros ($73.9 million) move from Lille in 2020.

They added that the searches come following requests from both Italian and French judicial authorities, with Lille having been also been the subject of a search in last month.

Italian media report that club owner Aurelio de Laurentiis was also under investigation.

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Osimhen’s transfer was one of dozens of suspicious deals looks by Italian Football Federation (FIGC) investigators in a probe into allegedly inflated transfer values designed to artificially boost clubs’ balance sheets.

The deal stood out as it involved four players valued at just over 20 million euros moving to Lille as part of the deal.

Three of them never played for the French club and are now in Italy’s lower divisions.

One of the latter trio, Luigi Liguori, told Italian daily La Repubblica in December that he “never went to Lille” — not even to sign the contract — after being sold for four millions euros.

Movie mogul De Laurentiis was one of 61 people, including a raft of Juventus directors, who were acquitted of any wrong doing by the FIGC’s own tribunal in April.

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The defendants successfully argued there was no objective way to gauge a player’s worth after prosecutors had based their own valuations on data from popular website Transfermarkt.

Sports

Lamine Yamal and Raphinha lead Barça to a 4-1 aggregate victory over Benfica

Young talent Lamine Yamal and Brazilian forward Raphinha secured Barcelona’s spot in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory over Benfica (4-1 on aggregate) on Tuesday at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc.

Raphinha (11’) opened the scoring for Barça after a brilliant assist from Yamal. However, Benfica’s Nicolás Otamendi (13’) quickly leveled the match with a header from a corner kick. Yamal restored the lead (27’) with a stunning goal, and Raphinha sealed the victory (42’) just before halftime.

Determined to avoid any surprises, Barcelona started aggressively, with early attempts from Yamal and Lewandowskisignaling their intent to dominate. All goals came in the first half, securing a convincing win and a place in the next round.

Sports

Manchester United knocked out of FA Cup after penalty shootout loss to Fulham

Another disappointment for Manchester United: the defending FA Cup champions were eliminated in this edition’s round of 16, losing in a penalty shootout (4-3 after a 1-1 draw) to Fulham on Sunday at Old Trafford.

Swede Victor Lindelof and Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee were the ‘Red Devils’ who missed their shots against goalkeeper Bernd Leno, sending the ‘Cottagers’ to the penultimate round of the oldest football competition.

The elimination is a heavy blow for a United team that is currently struggling in the Premier League, where they sit in a lowly 14th place.

Now, the Europa League, where they will face Real Sociedad in the first leg of the round of 16 next week, appears to be their only chance to lift a trophy this season. Last year, the FA Cup, in which United triumphed in the final against their neighbors Manchester City, was the competition that saved their campaign. The previous season, they had reached the final, finishing as runners-up.

Sports

The prince is back: Neymar’s homecoming to Santos draws thousands of fans

Neymar was greeted by thousands of fans at his childhood club, Santos, on Friday, with a concert at the local stadium and a sign that read, “The Prince is Back.”

The Brazilian star’s private jet landed in São Paulo from Saudi Arabia in the morning, but Neymar requested a few hours of rest before being flown to Santos by helicopter.

The 32-year-old forward is expected to sign a short-term contract with Santos as he aims to regain his standing in Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Posters saying “The Prince is Back” were being sold for 10 reais (about $1.50) around the 20,000-seat Vila Belmiro Stadium, located on the outskirts of São Paulo.