
Leverkusen's Xhaka on flight to Brazil despite reports of transfer
Dusseldorf
Bundesliga runners-up Bayer Leverkusen flew Granit Xhaka to their training camp in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, despite multiple reports the midfielder is poised to leave the club. Xhaka was part of the squad flown to Rio de Janeiro for a 10-day training camp, the club announced.
Multiple German reports have linked Xhaka to a move to Saudi Pro League club Neom SC. Sky TV said late on Sunday that the 32-year-old Swiss international has 'an verbal agreement in principle' with Neom SC. Germany's Bild paper and Kicker sports magazine also reported the Neom interest.
Sky said that Neom have informed Leverkusen of their intentions, with a transfer fee estimated at ?6 million ($7 million) for Xhaka, who is under contract at Leverkusen until 2028.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Svitolina hits out at online abuse
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has made abuse on social media public and hit out at the haters. World number 13 Svitolina shared a number of abusive posts in her Instagram story on Wednesday, after a quarter-final defeat against Naomi Osaka in Montreal the previous day. Messages included 'kill yourself', 'I wish you die tonight', were related to Russia's invasion of her home country, and to betting. 'To all bettors: I'm a mom before I'm an athlete. The way you talk to women - to mothers - is SHAMEFUL. If your mums saw your messages, they would be disgusted,' she said. Svitolina, 30, is married to French player Gael Monfils, and they have a little daughter. Svitolina is among many tennis players to be the target of online abuse. German players Eva Lys and Tamara Korpatsch had recently exposed hate comments, with Korpatsch after a defeat singling out people who had bet on her. The women's body WTA has started offering players a technological solution which filters abusive posts and comments with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). (DPA)


Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Nunez set for Reds Community Shield squad despite possible exit
PA Media/dpa London Forward Darwin Nunez is expected to be in Liverpool's squad for the Community Shield on Sunday despite ongoing speculation about his future. The PA news agency understands the Uruguay international's representatives are in talks with Al Hilal, who have been linked with the striker for several months, but the Saudi Pro League club have yet to open discussions with the Reds. Until the 26-year-old makes a decision on whether he wants to move to the Middle East there is unlikely to be any approach. A similar situation surrounds midfielder Harvey Elliott, who is wanted by RB Leipzig. The 22-year-old, player of the tournament as England won the European Under-21 Championships this summer, made 28 appearances last season but only three were starts in either the Premier League or Champions League. His opportunities are likely to be even more limited heading into the new campaign and after featuring in Monday's 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao he was last to leave the pitch, waving and blowing kisses to all four sides of the ground.


Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Russian doping whistleblowers fear deportation from US
DPA Frankfurt Whistleblowers Yulija Stepanova and Vitaliy Stepanov, who helped uncover state-sponsored doping in their home country of Russia back in 2014, fear deportation from the United States as they are yet to be granted asylum. Stepanov told German broadcasters ARD in a report published on Wednesday that their requests for help from major sports organizations and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have fallen on deaf ears and that they fear being sent back to Russia. Stepanova, a former 800 metres runner who doped herself, and her husband Stepanov, an employee of Russia's anti-doping body RUSADA, provided hidden camera footage and insight in an ARD documentary 11 years ago which set the stage for Russia's eventual exclusion as a nation from the Olympics due to the doping practices. They left Russia for Germany, and then for security reasons went to the United States where they live together with their two sons at an undisclosed location. Wednesday's report said that four administrations have failed to grant them asylum, and that they now fear having to return to Russia in a more and more hostile climate towards immigrants in Donald Trump's second tenure as president. 'Unfortunately for us, 10 years down the road, the world moved on and we have no rights, no documents. We don't have any understanding if we can ever live like normal people again,' Stepanov told ARD. Looking at a possible return to Russia, he said: 'You try not to think about it, you try to live your life. But some days you just can't. And it's like, it's in your head. 'I suppose this is how Olympic and anti-doping authorities thank you. This is how they thank you for exposing cheating and doping.' Their case differs from that from former Moscow anti-doping laboratory chief Grigory Rodchenkov, who has also left Russia but enjoys better whistleblower protection in an official US witness protection programme. Stepanov said he last week wrote a letter high-ranking sports officials, including former International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, asking for help. ARD said there was no reply by Wednesday. 'I am hoping that there is a human side to you as well. So, I'm writing to you, asking: Should whistleblowers have rights and documents? Or should they be misled and moved to another country and then forgotten? I hope somebody replies,' Stepanov said in the letter made available to ARD. World Athletics told ARD it would 'talk to other sports organisations' to see what help could be offered to the Stepanovs. The IOC said it had supported Stepanov via an advisor role between 2016 and 2022 with $400,000. It said it could not get involved in immigration matters because they were in the hands of local authorities. Former German athletics federation president Clemens Prokop, who was the contact for Stepanov and his family while they were in Germany, spoke of a 'terrible, unbearable situation' which could also be a deterrent for other key witnesses.