Al Nassr boss confirms Laporte's departure
These words have fueled rumors about a possible return of the center-back to Athletic Club, the team where he was developed and made his professional debut.
The Bilbao club is looking to strengthen its defense, and the return of the Spanish international, who maintains a strong connection with Lezama, is sounding more and more likely.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.
📸 - - AFP or Licensors
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report: Newcastle striker returns amid uncertain future
Alexander Isak's Newcastle Return Amid Transfer Drama Newcastle United's summer has taken another twist with the unexpected return of Alexander Isak from his personal training camp in Spain. As reported by Sky Sports News' Keith Downie, the Swedish striker is 'due back in Newcastle today following his personal training camp in Spain,' having opted out of the club's pre-season tour of Asia. Isak's Unconventional Recovery Raises Eyebrows Isak's decision to rehab at Real Sociedad's training base in San Sebastián—his former club—has raised eyebrows, not least because of how Newcastle manager Eddie Howe learned of it. 'Eddie Howe said this morning out in South Korea that he found out Isak had travelled to Spain via the media,' Sky Sports confirmed. That revelation underscores potential friction between the player and club, especially with a reported thigh injury keeping him out of the team's Asian tour. Photo IMAGO Isak's absence, while unexplained by Newcastle publicly, hints at deeper complexities behind the scenes. His choice to train alone and with personal staff could signal dissatisfaction or uncertainty about his future at St. James' Park. Liverpool's Bid and Newcastle's Response Adding fuel to the fire, Liverpool reportedly made a massive move for the striker, with Sky Sports reporting that 'Liverpool yesterday had a £110m bid for the striker rejected by Newcastle.' Such a sizeable offer, though ultimately turned down, suggests Newcastle could be preparing for life without their star forward. In response, the Magpies are not standing still. According to Sky Sports, 'Newcastle this morning made a £70m offer to RB Leipzig for Benjamin Sesko as they attempt to line up a replacement for Isak, should he leave for Liverpool.' The club's swift action in pursuing Sesko implies they are at least open to cashing in on Isak—if the price is right. Key Decisions Loom for Eddie Howe Newcastle's pre-season tour concludes on Monday, at which point decisions about squad structure and Isak's role must be made. Whether Isak remains central to Howe's plans or becomes a headline-grabbing exit, this story is far from over. Our View – EPL Index Analysis From a Newcastle fan's perspective, the entire Isak situation is concerning but not altogether surprising. On one hand, Isak has been a phenomenal asset since joining, offering pace, flair, and crucial goals in last season's top-four push and cup win. Fans will understand his need to manage fitness carefully—especially with a recurring thigh issue—but choosing to train solo in Spain, and not informing the manager, feels like poor communication at best. Moreover, Eddie Howe finding out through the media is a red flag. This hints at either mismanagement or discontent from the player's side, and Newcastle supporters will want clarity from both the club and Isak himself. If Liverpool's £110m bid is accurate, the potential even higher fee would be excellent, but replacing Isak won't be easy. Sesko is a talent, but he's unproven at Premier League level. Many fans would prefer the club hold firm unless Isak explicitly asks to leave. At the same time, if his head has been turned, it may be better to cash in now and reinvest smartly while there's time in the window. Whatever happens, clear communication and a quick resolution are essential to avoid disruption in what promises to be a pivotal season for the Magpies.
New York Times
10 minutes ago
- New York Times
Real Madrid's Raul Asencio and the sex-tape allegations which prosecutors claim warrant a prison sentence
Editor's note: This is an updated version of an article that first appeared on The Athletic in May 2025. On Friday, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Spain called for a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio over allegedly sharing a sex tape involving a minor. Three former Madrid youth players are also facing potential charges in the same case. It centres on the filming, allegedly without consent, of a sexual encounter in the private area of a beach club in the Canary Islands in June 2023, as well as the alleged distribution of the video, again without consent. Advertisement Asencio, now 22, was promoted from Madrid's 'B' team in November of last season during an injury crisis in defence and went on to make 46 senior appearances in all competitions. So, what are the allegations against him, who else is involved, and what has the reaction been like in Spain? The Athletic talked to sources with knowledge of the situation, who all asked to remain anonymous to speak freely about an ongoing legal case, to explain. This is also why comments are turned off on this article. The events under investigation took place in Puerto Rico, a town on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, on June 15, 2023, where five players from Madrid's youth academy were on holiday. There, at the Amadores Beach Club seaside resort, a sexual encounter took place between three of the players and two girls, one of whom was 18 years old, the other under the age of 16. The case focuses on the alleged recording and sharing of a video of this sexual encounter made on the mobile phone of one of the players, allegedly without consent. A complaint was filed by the younger of the girls, accompanied by her mother, at Guardia Civil offices in the town of Santa Maria de Guia, close to Las Palmas in the north of Gran Canaria, on September 6, 2023. Subsequently, the second alleged victim also filed a complaint. According to their testimony, which was leaked in Spanish media that year, when the girls found out they had been recorded, that same day they asked the players involved to delete the footage. One of the girls also said, speaking anonymously in an interview with Spanish newspaper Diario AS in September 2023, that the players told them they would delete the footage but had instead 'transferred it to other mobiles'. According to their leaked testimony, the girls also said they did not find out until August that the footage still existed and was allegedly being shared. They said they found out the footage had not been deleted when a boyfriend of one of their friends, also a member of the Madrid C team, told them he had seen the video. Advertisement On September 15, 2023, several Guardia Civil police officers turned up at Madrid's training facilities, dressed in civilian clothes. There, they asked the director of the youth academy, Manuel Fernandez, to accompany them to the changing rooms. Three players were arrested — Ferran Ruiz, Juan Rodriguez and Andres Garcia — while Asencio was first questioned as a witness. During the taking of statements, he went from being a witness to being investigated as a suspect. Ruiz, Rodriguez and Garcia are facing charges over allegedly recording and distributing videos of sexual content of a minor and one other woman. Asencio is facing two charges — allegedly distributing the video without consent, and allegedly sharing a sex tape involving a minor. The Athletic reported in February that a Spanish court rejected an appeal on behalf of Asencio for the provisional dismissal of the case. Court documents during that appeal confirmed that one of the women was under the age of 16 when the incident took place. The Athletic first reported in May that Asencio could face criminal proceedings for the alleged sharing of the sex tape involving a minor. On Friday, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Spain called for a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Asencio. The body also called for prison sentences for the three other men. The Prosecutor's Office alleged in a summary provided to The Athletic that two former Madrid youth players had consensual sexual intercourse with a minor and another girl and recorded images without their consent. Asencio, who was not present at the time of the incident, is alleged to have asked for these videos and to have shown them to another friend. This would constitute two crimes against privacy, per Article 77 of the Spanish Criminal Code. Advertisement The summary also alleged that the alleged victims were both suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the events and called for Asencio to pay €5,000 (£4,360/$5,792) to each of them. The prosecutor's office also called for sentences of four years and seven months for the three other men and for them to pay a joint total of €25,000 (£21,800/$28,900). In March, Asencio made brief comments to Television Espanola when he was called up by Spain's national team for the first time. He said: 'Everyone is very aware of what they are doing, so I am very calm.' Then in May, Asencio made a statement in response to an erroneous court document. It read: 'I have not participated in any behaviour that violated the sexual freedom of any woman, much less of minors. The court order, as far as I am concerned, limits its content to the possible momentary viewing of some images by a third party, without attributing to me any participation in their recording or dissemination. 'The accusation made against me, as expressly stated in the court decision itself, is strictly provisional in nature. Therefore, the presumption of innocence must continue to prevail. In the event that charges are finally brought and an oral trial is opened, I will continue to exercise my defence before the Courts and Tribunals, in which I maintain full confidence, reaffirming that I am not involved in any criminal conduct.' When contacted by The Athletic on Friday evening, Asencio's representatives said they were trusting justice would prevail. In May, the court in Gran Canaria signalled its intention to take the case to trial. Asencio and his fellow defendants have two chances to appeal: first to the judge who is ruling on the case and secondly to a superior body in the event they do not agree with that initial decision. If a trial does take place, it is unclear when it would start, although in Spain, similar cases have previously taken several months to reach that stage, with some even taking up to a year or more. Advertisement Asencio will be tried by a provincial court, as the Public Prosecutor's Office has asked for less than five years in prison for the alleged offences mentioned above. If they do go to trial, he and the other defendants would have to physically appear in court. Asencio is a centre-back who joined Madrid's academy in 2017 from Las Palmas, a team from Gran Canaria. He was playing for their reserve team Real Madrid Castilla, mostly made up of youth players, in the Spanish third tier until last November. That was when a spate of injuries affected every senior centre-back in the first-team squad, leading to Asencio unexpectedly breaking into the starting XI. He went on to feature in Champions League knockout-phase games against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Arsenal. He also played regularly during the recent Club World Cup, although he was suspended after a red card in Madrid's second group game against Pachuca, starting Madrid's last competitive match, a loss to Paris Saint-Germain in that tournament's semi-finals. The investigation started in September 2023 — when Asencio was still playing for Castilla — and the player has not been removed from the team or squad at any point since for reasons related to the case other than on December 21, 2023, when club sources said the player was withdrawn from consideration for a first-team La Liga match away to Alaves because he had to testify in the investigation the following day. Madrid have signed fellow centre-back Dean Huijsen this summer while Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger, who also play that position, both returned to action at the Club World Cup after injuries. David Alaba, another central defender, is also closer to a comeback having been out since April. Xabi Alonso replaced Carlo Ancelotti, the manager who gave Asencio his debut, at the beginning of July. But there is an expectation that Asencio will continue to play a key role in the short term. When the investigation became public knowledge in September 2023, Madrid issued a statement which said they had 'learned that a player from Castilla and three players from Real Madrid C have given statements to the Guardia Civil in relation to a complaint about the alleged dissemination of a private video via WhatsApp'. They added: 'When the club has detailed knowledge of the facts, it will take the appropriate measures.' Advertisement Madrid have not publicly commented since. When contacted by The Athletic on Friday night, they declined to comment. Club sources previously consulted by The Athletic pointed to the presumption of innocence — a key principle of criminal law in Spain enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — when asked about Asencio's situation. Ruiz, Rodriguez and Garcia all left Madrid last summer. Ruiz moved to Girona, and the club's sporting director, Quique Carcel, said in November, 'I respect the presumption of innocence,' in relation to the investigation. Rodriguez and Garcia joined teams in Spain's third tier (Tarazona and Alcorcon). The trio have not commented on the allegations. In recent months, some fans at Spanish stadiums, including Real Sociedad's Reale Arena and Alaves' Mendizorroza home, have chanted death threats at Asencio. In March, Madrid boss Ancelotti said he was not considering dropping the player to protect him after he was targeted during the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie away to Real Sociedad. 'No, no, no,' Ancelotti said. 'This (the insults) is what shouldn't be happening.' Referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez decided to stop that match momentarily after Madrid captain Vinicius Junior spoke to him to activate La Liga's anti-hate protocol. A message was read out over the loudspeakers asking fans not to shout insults, and Sanchez Martinez included the incident in his report from the game. That same protocol was also activated in the game against Alaves the following month.
New York Times
10 minutes ago
- New York Times
Alexander Isak to return to training with Newcastle United
Alexander Isak is returning to the UK and is set to resume training with Newcastle United following a spell working individually at Real Sociedad. Isak has been training alone at his former club's Zubieta Facilities in the Basque country, but is now set to return to Newcastle's base – although the majority of the rest of the first team squad are currently on a pre-season tour in Asia. Advertisement The news of Isak's return comes the day after The Athletic reported that Newcastle had rejected a formal bid from Liverpool of £110million for the Sweden international, who wants to leave St James' Park this summer. Liverpool's stance is that they are not inclined to bid again after the quick rebuttal to their first offer, but their interest in the player is ongoing. The Premier League champions initially made an informal approach to Newcastle, expressing interest in doing a deal in the region of £120m, as reported by The Athletic on July 15. Newcastle, who will compete in the Champions League next season, have tried to tie Isak to an improved contract which would include a release clause next summer, and attempted to convince him to stay through his senior team-mates. The forward, however, has not changed his stance, which has been made clear to the club for some time. Isak has been absent from Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia, with sources, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to do so publicly, saying the decision was the player's preference. The club cited a minor thigh problem for his absence. Speaking on Saturday, ahead of Newcastle's pre-season friendly with Tottenham Hotspur in Seoul, South Korea, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said the club continued to support Isak and hoped he would remain in the north east. 'I really don't know what is going to happen next, but from our perspective, we still support Alex in every way, and my wish is still that we see him in a Newcastle shirt again,' Howe said. Newcastle have begun searching for potential replacements for Isak, whose contract has three years remaining, despite the club's ongoing stance he is not for sale. Liverpool completed the signing of Hugo Ekitike from Frankfurt earlier this month, a forward Newcastle also held interest in, for an initial £69m. Advertisement Newcastle subsequently made RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko their top candidate and have made a bid worth €80m for the Slovenia, who is also of interest to Manchester United. Liverpool have been active in the summer transfer window, signing Florian Wirtz for a club record €136.3million (£116m) transfer fee from Bayer Leverkusen in June, also adding Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Ekitike to their squad. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili also joined the club after his transfer from Valencia was agreed last summer. Liverpool are expected to have plenty of headroom with the Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR) for 2025-26 with The Athletic estimating a comfortably profitable 2024-25 season.
