Milan sign Italy midfielder Ricci from Torino
AC Milan said they have signed Italy midfielder Samuele Ricci from Torino on a contract until June 2029 with a club option for an additional year.
Financial details were not disclosed but Italian media reported that the transfer fee for the 23-year-old was around 23 million euros ($27 million).
A product of the Empoli academy, Ricci made the switch to Torino in 2022 and went on to make 113 appearances for the club. He has won 10 caps for Italy since his debut in 2022.
Ricci's arrival will boost Milan's midfield options following Tijjani Reijnders' move to Manchester City. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
19 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Naomi Osaka's early dominance fades against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's comeback
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Japan's Naomi Osaka in action during her third round match against Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. LONDON – No seeding these days, no problem – at least early on. Naomi Osaka, back at Wimbledon without the trappings of a top-ranked player, looked every bit the Grand Slam great for a set on July 4. But the old rhythm ebbed away, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova stormed back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. 'A majority of you were cheering for Naomi, but that's OK,' the Russian, who turned 34 on July 3, told the crowd at Court Two. 'I'm mentally tough, so that didn't bother me at all. The opposite: It gave me energy.' Earlier this week, Osaka admitted she had feared playing on the surface for much of her career. 'I don't know, with age fear kind of crept along and, I guess, paralysed me in a way,' she said. 'Now I'm kind of just getting over that and trying to spread my wings on grass.' It has been more than four years since she last lifted a Slam – the 2021 Australian Open – a stretch shaped by introspection, a battle with depression, and the birth of her child. And for a while on a sun-drenched Court Two, she summoned her vintage self – painting lines, pummelling serves, playing with purpose in this third-round clash. But after dropping the second set, the momentum slowly slipped through her fingers. A double fault handed Pavlyuchenkova a 2-0 lead in the decider, and Osaka, despite flashes of brilliance, never fully recovered. The errors began to creep in, the confidence to ebb, and the comeback trail was quietly closed off. No fourth-round debut this year – just a glimpse of what once was. 'I felt like I was behind for the majority of the match, so I played point-by-point. I'm incredibly happy because I was mentally tough in the three matches that I have won,' added Pavlyuchenkova. 'I'm usually not so good on grass.' Wimbledon, meanwhile, paid tribute to Diogo Jota after the Liverpool star's death as Portugal's Francisco Cabral wore a black ribbon during his doubles match. Cabral was allowed to put the ribbon on his shirt sleeve for the second-round tie after the All England Club relaxed its strict all-white dress code to allow tributes to the Portugal forward. Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in northern Spain on July 3 while travelling to catch a ferry to England ahead of the start of pre-season training. Cabral said he was driving to Wimbledon when he heard the news and praised Jota as 'an idol, such an icon, such a good person'. 'I know what he's been through, what he conquered through his career and through his life. So he's just very inspiring for me,' he said after losing with Austrian partner Lucas Miedler against Czech duo Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl. 'I just wish all the best for his family. I know they have good people around them so I hope they can get through it.' Earlier on July 3, Jannik Sinner swept into the third round as the world No. 1 thrashed Australia's Aleksandar Vukic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. While several of Wimbledon's top stars have suffered shock exits, including third seed Alexander Zverev and world No. 4 Jack Draper, there has been no hint of an upset in the Italian's opening two matches. The 23-year-old has dropped just 12 games in demolishing Vukic and Luca Nardi to make the last 32 at the All England Club. Sinner's biggest struggle came in the final game as he had to wait until his sixth match point to serve it out and saved a break point with a sensational cross-court forehand winner. 'I enjoyed it because I won the game! If not, I don't know,' said Sinner after an unusual show of flamboyance as he whipped up the crowd's adulation on saving the break point. 'The match can change very, very quickly. If he breaks me there it can go long distance. 'I was lucky with that shot so thank you to my racket which somehow made it to put the ball in court. I'm very happy to win in straight sets.' AFP, REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Arsenal part ways with defender Tomiyasu after injury-ridden season
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Soccer Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Everton - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - May 19, 2024 Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.. Japan defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is leaving Arsenal by mutual agreement after playing only six minutes last season due to a knee injury, the club said on Friday. The 26-year-old suffered multiple knee and calf injuries during his four years at the North London club, some of which sidelined him for months. He remains sidelined since undergoing knee surgery in February. "Unfortunately, injuries have limited Tomi's time on the pitch in the past two seasons, with the defender making just one substitute appearance last season," Arsenal said in a statement. "It was therefore mutually agreed to end Tomi's contract in order for him to start a new chapter in his career." The former Bologna player made 65 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, scoring two goals. Arsenal, who have finished second in the league for the last three seasons, begin their 2025-26 campaign at Manchester United on August 17. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Liverpool's Diogo Jota mourned by family, Portugal's PM in hometown wake
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Flower tributes are left outside Liverpool's Anfield Stadium after Liverpool's Portuguese soccer player Diogo Jota died in a car crash near Zamora, Spain, in Liverpool, Britain, July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY GONDOMAR, Portugal - Prime Minister Luis Montenegro joined members of Diogo Jota's family for a private wake on Friday in the Liverpool footballer's hometown in northern Portugal following his death alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain. Jota's longtime agent Jorge Mendes was also seen joining the family, including wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier. Montenegro spent almost half an hour with the family before leaving without making a statement. A convoy of hearses carrying the bodies left for Gondomar near Porto on Thursday evening from the morgue of Puebla de Sanabria, near where the Lamborghini the brothers were traveling in had veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst. A public wake is expected to take place at a chapel in Gondomar from 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) and a funeral on Saturday at a church nearby at 10:00 a.m. local time, the office of Gondomar's mayor said. The death of Jota at the age of 28 has jolted the world of football, with messages of homage pouring in from former teammates, clubs, national leaders and fans. Outside Liverpool's Anfield stadium fans left flowers, scarves and hand-written notes, many from children. Football clubs including Paris St Germain, who have several Portuguese internationals in their squad, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid observed a moment of silence during training for their matches in the Club World Cup taking place in the United States. MOURNING HIS FRIEND Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on Thursday that forward Pedro Neto was weighing whether to play in Friday's quarter-final against Palmeiras, as the Portuguese international mourns the tragic death of his close friend. Jota's manager at Liverpool, Arne Slot, said in a statement on Thursday that his thoughts were with his family. "My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone," Slot said. "For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special," he added. In Gondomar, a town of about 160,000 people in the Porto metropolitan area that is known for artisanal gold and filigree jewelry, residents were struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of a local hero. At the Diogo Jota Academy in Gondomar – whose motto is "It's not important where we come from, but where we are going" – people placed candles, flowers and scarves and shirts from the various clubs he played for and from the Portuguese national team, in tribute to the player. Jota opened the academy in 2022 for children aged 6-9 at the Gondomar Football Club where he played for 10 years as a child. It was at Gondomar's high school that he met his wife. They began dating aged 15 when in the same class and she became a pillar in his life. When they were 19, they moved to Madrid together, when Jota was transferred from the small Portuguese club Paços de Ferreira to Atletico de Madrid. "Besides being his girlfriend and best friend, I'm his number one fan," Cardoso told the newspaper 'A Bola' at the time. Jota was making his way back to Liverpool by car after he was told he should avoid plane travel for up to 6 weeks following lung surgery to address a fractured rib, his physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves told broadcaster Now late on Thursday. Goncalves said Jota was recovering well from the pneumothorax surgery and that he had planned to take a ferry to the UK from Spain. REUTERS
