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The England captain was finally able to learn what lifting silverware feels like, but it proved to be a tough weekend for some of his fellow expats

Saturday May 10, 2025: The day Harry Kane was finally able to loft a trophy above his head. The England captain and his Bayern Munich team-mates enjoyed celebrating regaining what they believe is rightfully theirs over the weekend, though Kane (and Eric Dier) might not be alone among the British stars who ply their trade abroad in earning silverware before the season is out.

A host of English and Scottish players find themselves in title fights that look likely to go down to the wire, while others are looking to earn themselves European qualification for the 2025-26 campaign. Some also have cup finals to look forward to after what has been a memorable season for many Brits who have opted to move overseas in recent years.

So how did our Brits abroad fare over the weekend? GOAL has the lowdown on the biggest stories…

Getty Images SportBeer showers for Kane

It is tradition that the Bundesliga champions spend much of their title celebrations drenching one another in beer, and Bayern's festivities were no different on Saturday as they first saw off Borussia Monchengladbach before getting to the real important stuff and began throwing alcohol around the Allianz Arena. Having seen his trophy curse lifted last week, Kane threw himself into the party atmosphere, earning himself a "wet and freezing" shower in the process.

For what it's worth, it should be noted that Kane took his Bundesliga goal tally for the season to 25 as he opened the scoring against Gladbach with a flicked header that diverted Michael Olise's shot into the back of the net, and he will be hoping to add to that on the final day of the campaign at Hoffenheim next week. For now, though, the Tottenham icon can be forgiven a day or two off to recover from a well-earned blowout.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportBellingham loses control of El Clasico

Last season, Jude Bellingham was the king of El Clasico. The England midfielder scored three goals across Real Madrid's two La Liga meetings with Barcelona, including stoppage-time winners in both games. This season, though, the story has been different.

Sunday's 4-3 win for Barca was their fourth victory out of four against their great rivals in 2024-25, as the Blaugrana also took their tally of goals for the year against Los Blancos to 16 while stretching their lead at the top of La Liga to seven points with just three games left to play. Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick kept the scoreline close, but Carlo Ancelotti's side were again largely outclassed by the champions-elect.

For Bellingham, it proved a day to forget, as he was largely bypassed in midfield due to most of Madrid's counter-attacks coming via wide areas. He completed just 24 passes in the whole game, while singled Bellingham out for being "completely out of control and unable to participate in possession." Fellow Spanish newspaper were even harsher with their analysis, as they wrote that the ex-Borussia Dortmund star "gave the impression that he'd given up physically and mentally".

It was reported last week that Bellingham will finally undergo shoulder surgery this summer to rectify the injury issue that has seemingly limited him for much of the campaign. If Sunday's performance was anything to go by, that can't come a moment too soon.

Getty Images SportAssist-king McTominay suffers Scudetto setback

Another week, another Player of the Match award for Scott McTominay. The Scotland international was again singled out as the outstanding performer for Napoli on Sunday, but his display wasn't enough to secure a fifth-successive victory for Antonio Conte's side as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Genoa.

Having scored five goals across those previous four wins, former Manchester United midfielder McTominay tried his hand at assisting this time around, and did so with devastating effect as he twice played excellent passes into the penalty area from which Romelu Lukaku and Giacomo Raspadori were able to score. However, Genoa twice pegged the Serie A leaders back, meaning Napoli now sit just one point clear of Inter at the summit with two games left to play.

McTominay, who was hailed by for showing "flashes of genius" during Sunday's game, was keen to stress the importance of keeping a clear head through the final fortnight as he told at full-time: "We have to stay calm, this is not the time to panic… It's important to stay calm, keep doing what we're doing, then see where the end of the season gets us."

Greenwood guides OM to the Champions League

Mason Greenwood has had an up-and-down first season at Marseille. Having started the season in electric fashion, the England international was then singled out by manager Roberto De Zerbi for blame as the club suffered a mid-season slump in form. However, things seem to have been patched up between Greenwood and his Italian coach, and on Saturday they were both able to celebrate as OM secured their return to the Champions League after two seasons outside of Europe's premier club competition.

Greenwood was the man who made it happen, too. With five minutes left against relegation-threatened Le Havre, Marseille were being held to a 1-1 draw, only for the ex-Manchester United forward to cut inside onto his left foot and unleash a shot from 20 yards that arrowed into the bottom corner. Amine Gouiri then added some gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time, but it was Greenwood's goal that had secured a spot in Ligue 1's top four.

Marseille will now be looking to secure second place behind Paris Saint-Germain when they host Rennes on the final day of the season this coming Saturday, while Greenwood's 19th goal of the season leaves him two behind Ligue 1 top scorer Ousmane Dembele in the race for the Golden Boot.

The ACC finally made an official announcement but the detailed schedule of games is still awaited

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2023The dates and venues for the 2023 Asia Cup have finally been officially confirmed, with the tournament set to take place in Pakistan and Sri Lanka between August 31 and September 17. A detailed schedule, however, has not yet been released.The tournament was originally meant to be held entirely in Pakistan but a hybrid model became necessary after the BCCI said India would not travel to Pakistan. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, in the hybrid model approved by the Asian Cricket Council, four of the 13 matches will be played in Pakistan and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka.This will be the first time since 2008 that matches of a multi-nation tournament will be staged in Pakistan. “I am elated that our hybrid version for the ACC Asia Cup 2023 has been accepted,” Najam Sethi, chair of the PCB management committee, said. “This means the PCB will remain as the event host and stage matches in Pakistan with Sri Lanka as the neutral venue, which was required due to the Indian cricket team’s inability to travel to Pakistan.”Our passionate fans would have loved to see the India cricket team in action in Pakistan for the first time in 15 years, but we understand the BCCI’s position. Like the PCB, the BCCI also requires government approval and clearance before crossing borders.”I now look forward to continuing our discussions and deliberations with the ACC and Sri Lanka Cricket to iron out a few minor operational and logistical details so that we can launch our event planning and preparations.”The 2023 edition will have India, Pakistan and Nepal in one group, and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in another group, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the Super Four stage. The top two from the Super Four stage will then face off in the final. Matches will be played in the 50-over format as preparation for the ODI World Cup in India in October-November.The hybrid model was proposed as a solution due to India refusing to tour Pakistan owing to strained political relations between the two countries. The PCB, as appointed hosts, were keen to ensure that at least part of the tournament was played in Pakistan. The UAE was in the running as a neutral venue but Bangladesh raised concerns over the extreme weather there in September.Sri Lanka are the defending champions, though the 2022 event was played in the 20-over format. The last 50-over Asia Cup was played in 2018 in the UAE, where India beat Bangladesh in a thrilling final.

da fezbet： Leeds United and 49ers Enterprises are “in negotiations” to seal a “complicated” transfer, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Leeds’ transfer plans after Nmecha and Bijol deals

da betobet： The Whites have made a start on their summer business ahead of their Premier League return, with Daniel Farke bringing in forward Lukas Nmecha on a free transfer from Wolfsburg as the first addition of the summer.

Nmecha has since been joined by centre-back Jaka Bijol, who looks like he could go straight into Farke’s side after Leeds spent £15m and gave the Slovenia international a five-year deal at Elland Road.

The 49ers and co also want to bring in a goalkeeper, central midfielder and marquee striker, bolstering the spine of Leeds’ side in the process, and they are willing to spend big on each position.

A top goalkeeping target is yet to be indetifned, whereas in attack, Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz appears to be the priority. In midfield, Strasbourg captain Habib Diarra is viewed as an ambitious target, and there have been claims that Leeds have made two offers for the Senegal international.

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Diarra appears to be keen on a move to England, however, whether that will be with Leeds remains to be seen, and Romano has shared what he knows about a potential transfer.

Leeds "in negotiations" to seal “complicated" Diarra deal – Romano

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Romano said that Leeds are “in negotiations” to seal a deal for Diarra, however, any move won’t be easy because of the valuation.

Leeds’ second bid was thought to be worth around £24m, and if that isn’t enough, the Whites may soon be into the territory of their most expensive signings of all time in Georginio Rutter and Brenden Aaronson.

Leeds United’s most expensive signings of all time

Rank

Player

Fee

Signed from

Year

1

Georginio Rutter

€34m

Hoffenheim

2023

2

Brenden Aaronson

€32.84m

RB Salzburg

2022

3

Rodrigo

€30m

Valencia

2020

4

Dan James

€29.1m

Man Utd

2018

5

Rio Ferdinand

€26m

West Ham

2000

Still just 21 years of age, Diarra has already played more than 100 games for Strasbourg, something which Liam Rosenior hailed.

“For Habib it’s been amazing. At his age? To play 100 games for this club? A club that he’s been at since he was 14 years old? A club that he loves? For him to be captain at his age says a lot about his character and mentality.

“I think he’s going to have an amazing career. He’s been magnificent in my time working with him and it was nice to see him with his family celebrating a really special moment.”

He went from being their top wicket-taker to being benched in the space of two IPL seasons, but the mystery spinner believes this is his year to bounce back

Deivarayan Muthu31-Mar-2023Varun Chakravarthy burst onto the cricketing scene in 2018 as a mystery spinner with a bagful of variations, but his life – and career – has had more twists and turns than there are variations in his repertoire.He started his career as a wicketkeeper-batter who wanted to become the “next Dinesh Karthik”, then had a cameo as an actor in a Tamil movie, , when he was trying to break through as an assistant director. Somewhere along the way he ditched cricket and movies for architecture. He then returned to cricket again as a mystery spinner who could turn the ball both ways at a quick pace.Related

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It was those abilities, a prized and uncommon skill set, that gave Kolkata Knight Riders’ attack a potent point of difference in the 2020 and 2021 IPLs. Soon after, Varun played for India in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. However, in IPL 2022, his form and rhythm plummeted so much that he was benched for three games. The ball wasn’t quite turning both ways or he wasn’t giving it much of a chance to do so by uncharacteristically tossing it up too full, which allowed batters to get underneath the length and pump him over the top. The mystery in his bowling seemed to have disappeared.

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There is one constant theme in Varun’s life: he has bounced back from setbacks – both on and off the field. In 2017, for example, he started his own architecture business, but the floods in Chennai that year damaged his sites, resulting in heavy losses. He managed to find a way to overcome that disappointment. If anything, setbacks have been catalysts for him to bounce back. Just like when he decided to switch his career path to cricket from architecture.Having experienced such lows in life, Varun didn’t allow a few bad games in the IPL last season to send him into a shell. “Yes, obviously, I take the lessons [from life],” he says. “Cricket is part of my life and whatever happens in life also affects cricket. So I try to implement life lessons into my cricket as well and what I have understood is that even during your ups and downs, you should be level, and the only people who will always be with you are your family.Varun went wicketless in the three T20 World Cup matches he played in the UAE in 2021•Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images”I know that I’m not foolproof or damage-proof and I was expecting this kind of an [IPL] season at some point. Everyone will go through a low time, but it’s about coming back.”Sriram Krishnamurthy, Varun’s coach at Madurai Panthers in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and a former coach with Northern Brave Men in New Zealand, credits Varun with maintaining an equilibrium in both his cricket and life. “Even though he had that IPL season he had, one good thing about Varun we’ve seen from day one is, he never gets too high and never gets too low,” Sriram says. “While his confidence was dented after the last IPL, he wasn’t broken, and that comes down to the person that he is. He’s very practical and realistic about understanding the game and life per se. That’s a big strength of his because I feel like for someone who has had the life he has – being a late entrant into cricket – and how far he has gone, for anyone else, it could have taken them away from reality. We’ve seen other players get lost after this sort of quick success, whereas I feel with Varun, he is always focused on what he has to do and I feel the mental element of bouncing back from failures is there with him.”

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What went wrong with Varun last season?Having worked his way up from a tennis-ball background, he previously hadn’t played or practised as much as he did in the last five years. As a result, he veered away from his strengths and some undesirable technical changes also crept into his bowling. His run-up became slower, his lengths fuller, and overall his bowling lost some of its fizz.In the UAE, Varun got some of his fuller ones to skid or hold off the pitch, but on fairly easy-paced hit-through-the line Indian tracks last season, batters lined him up easily. According to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, he conceded 107 runs off 48 full balls last IPL.Around the time he was relegated to the sidelines by the Knight Riders, he sat down and watched his old videos to remedy his bowling. “After those games, I had a break,” Varun says. I was basically trying to flight the ball, which was not my expertise. I [now] bowl quicker and that has worked for me. It was better sticking to that. Personally, I worked on my run-up as well. I realised it quite late, but I came to know that was a mistake.Sriram Krishnamurthy, Madurai Panthers coach: “If, with his pace, Varun ensures the batsman doesn’t have much time to think, I feel that will set him up well”•BCCI”I [had] just started running slower because… if a cricketer practises for a long time again and again, there are a few basics you might forget, which you usually get right. It was a case of that and then when I watched previous videos of my bowling, I realised I was running slow. Then my run-up was quicker, like what it was before, and I feel that was the difference. The last three matches for KKR went well for me after the break.”Once he returned to action for Knight Riders in the last stretch of IPL 2022, Varun hit the pitch much harder, increased his pace, dragged his length back, and denied batters easy access to the boundary. He stuck to his guns in the TNPL 2022 that followed and he and Sriram tried to recreate what had worked for Varun when he first broke into the IPL.”I remember having a conversation with him about what he was doing well when he was going well, in terms of the pace and length he bowled,” Sriram recalls. “By being slower through the air and bowling fuller, he was also giving batsmen an opportunity to sort of get to the pitch of the ball, and when you’re doing that you take away the element of [doubt about] which way the ball is going to go. From that perspective, we discussed how he was successful by bowling that length or slightly back of a length, which made the batsmen play him pretty much only off the pitch. The quicker pace with which he bowls means batsmen will have slightly less time to react.”He did go towards doing something different in the last IPL. For a player to evolve, he has to constantly keep working, and that was probably the journey Varun was going on as well. On the basis of performance, it didn’t necessarily reflect too well on how he did for KKR in that IPL, which again dented his confidence a little bit. But again, the clarity he had about his own bowling and whatever the conversation we had was not about me telling him what to do, but it was a process of rediscovering what he did well before, and to his credit, he was fully aware of his strengths. So he recreated that confidence. [Also] there is a difference in the quality of batting in TNPL and IPL. So it gives him a bit more space and time to get his confidence back, so to say.”With the IPL returning to the home-and-away format, Varun is set to play for KKR at Eden Gardens for the first time. He is usually not a big turner of the ball and particularly relishes bowling on bouncier or even flatter pitches. With Eden Gardens no longer the turner that it once used to be, Sriram thinks Varun has the tools to be penetrative at the venue.After his three-game break in the IPL last year, Varun returned to take two wickets in two games•BCCI”Varun is slightly taller than most average spinners and the other thing is his high release point,” Sriram says. “That release point helps him get bounce off the wicket. He has to bowl that length to extract that bounce. If he uses his height and release point… like he said, maybe he’s not a massive turner of the ball, but he turns the ball enough. If he ensures that the batsman doesn’t have too much time to sit back and think, which comes down to the pace at which Varun bowls, then I feel that will set him up well.”Varun has tuned up for the new IPL season after getting ample game time with Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Madurai Panthers in the TNPL, and Vijay CC in the Chennai league during the city’s oppressive summer.”At Tamil Nadu and in the TNPL, they’ve been using me as a death bowler, so it’s something that challenges me and hopefully I’ll be able to do the job in the IPL as well,” Varun says. “KKR have shown a lot of faith in me, which is important for any player. The KKR management has always been in constant touch with me on how I’m doing and all those things. I’ll always be grateful to KKR for what they’ve bestowed upon me and the responsibility that they’ve given me.”Right after the end of the IPL, we had another camp at the KKR academy. Normally people have a camp before the IPL, but the same players were part of another camp. You don’t know if you will be retained or not, but still we trained with the same bunch of guys. That’s something I liked about what they did last year, and it basically helped our preparation for Syed Mushtaq Ali [Trophy]. Regardless of whether they’re going to retain that player or not, they called all the Indians for the camp again. Hopefully, I can live up to the expectations this IPL.”As a retained player, the expectations on Varun to deliver are even greater this IPL and whichever way this season goes, it could well add another twist to his career.

India’s newly appointed T20I vice-captain has suggested that only the openers’ roles will be fixed

Sreshth Shah20-Jan-20253:12

Axar: Shami’s return a ‘big positive’

All of India’s batters apart from their openers can expect to have flexible roles in the T20I line-up. Axar Patel, India’s newly appointed vice-captain in the format, suggested this could be the case in his press conference ahead of the five-match T20I series against England.The series is set to kick off in Kolkata on Wednesday, with Chennai, Rajkot, Pune and Mumbai to host the remaining T20Is.Related

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Shami puts in the hard yards at India's first training session ahead of England T20Is

In recent years, India have used Axar to good effect as a floater. It’s a reflection of his improvement with the bat – having averaged 21.26 and struck at 131.25 in all T20s until the end of 2022, he has upped his performances significantly, averaging 30.32 and striking at 145.62 since the start of 2023 – and his versatility, with India, Delhi Capitals and Gujarat sending him out in a variety of situations. He has scored six half-centuries in these last two years, from Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 7.Over recent months, India have used not just Axar but also Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar and Rinku Singh as floaters with varying levels of success.”Batting wise, it’s not just with me, but we spoke in 2023-24 itself that the openers are fixed, but everyone from Nos. 3 to 7 have been told that they can come into bat anytime, in any situation. It is not just that one batter will bat at a particular position,” Axar told reporters on Monday. “Our middle order will come to bat depending on the match situation, what kind of bowlers are bowling at the time, which match-up works well.”We’ve spoken about that, how we can all be floaters, be it coming in early or obviously finishing. This is not just for me, but for everyone from No. 3 and below, especially if they are in good touch in the nets. We will adjust accordingly. In T20Is, how you use your batters is so crucial, so this is an important factor in batting.”‘As part of the leadership group, you have to learn to take harsh decisions’•Associated Press

As Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy in T20Is, Axar felt he would have to to learn to take difficult calls. It is a topic he has discussed with the support staff too.”It has just been a day, but as part of the leadership group there is an extra responsibility,” Axar said. “The T20I side is settled, so there’s not much pressure, but there are small decisions that need making and during the game I need to work closely with Suryakumar.”As part of the leadership group, you have to learn to take harsh decisions. We have spoken about sharing our genuine opinions and that will help build trust in this group.”The T20I format is such that it is so fast that you have to make decisions quickly, so the larger conversations [with the coaches] is about how to do that.”India’s immediate focus is on ODI cricket, with the Champions Trophy looming, but T20Is will assume greater significance once that tournament ends. Defending champions India and Sri Lanka are set to co-host the T20 World Cup in February-March 2026. Apart from these five matches against England, India don’t have too many T20Is lined up before they embark on their title defence: currently, they are scheduled to play three T20Is in Bangladesh in August, and five at home against South Africa later in the year.”The World Cup is coming up in a year so how we approach leading up to that, we want to try it from now itself. That’s the main target,” Axar said. “Momentum is a big thing because if you start well, you can carry it. We finished 2024 well so we want to carry the momentum into this series too.”But we’ve discussed that the past is past, however, we want to move ahead with the positives we gained from there. We have taken forward the points that brought us success.”Transition is also something happening, across all formats, but that’s a call for the selectors and captain to take.”

Reports suggest the Brazilian club is willing to pay up to $14 million for the player, but his priority is a move to Europe

• Palmeiras has reportedly opened talks with Toluca
• Marcel Ruiz’s priority is a move to Europe
• He will play the Leagues Cup with Los Diablos

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Palmeiras has reportedly submitted a multi-million dollar offer for Marcel Ruiz, the current Toluca midfielder and standout performer with the Mexican national team during the last Gold Cup. Despite the bid – believed to be around $14 million – journalist César Luis Merlo reported that Ruiz has no intention of leaving Mexican football for Brazil at this time.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Beyond the transfer speculation, Marcel Ruiz’s main goal is to move to European football – the only scenario in which he would consider leaving Toluca this summer. Unless an offer arrives from Europe, the midfielder is expected to stay with Los Diablos for at least one more tournament.

  Following his strong performance in the Gold Cup, Ipswich Town from England’s second division made an offer, but Ruiz reportedly wasn’t interested in the move. The player is set to be part of Toluca’s roster for the upcoming Leagues Cup.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT ANTONIO MOHAMED SAID

  “We hope he stays because he’s an extremely important player,” said the Argentine coach and reigning Liga MX champion. “We gave him limited minutes to manage his workload. The hope is that he remains with us – especially because, playing at this level and playing here, he has a better chance of making the World Cup squad.”

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR TOLUCA?

  Mohamed’s team will make their Leagues Cup debut Tuesday against Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field.

Images of the Indian players and six-month-old Fatima became the source of great happiness on social media

Annesha Ghosh07-Mar-20220:24

Maroof – ‘My mother and daughter were here, so it was very special’

India vs Pakistan is always special, but this Sunday at the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup was more so, thanks to a six-month-old member of Pakistan’s touring party.On the field, it was a dominant 107-run win for India, with Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad calling the shots. Off it, it was all about Fatima. Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof’s daughter became the centre of attention after the game when the Indian players – Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur among them – just couldn’t have enough of the toddler.In no time, visuals of the interaction were all over the internet.

So much fun with the players trying to get our little Fatima to look into the camera.

Happy that I got to share and immortalise these moments#CWC22 #BackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/ofkBOdGMn2

— Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi (@ahsannagi) March 6, 2022