Philippa Kaur

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    World’s third-highest paid defender set to be unemployed after ripping up £390k contract with Cristiano Ronaldo’s side

    AYMERIC LAPORTE is set to become unemployed after ripping up his contract at Al-Nassr.The former Manchester City star is the third-highest-paid defender in the world with a weekly paycheck of £390,000.Aymeric Laporte is set to leave Al-NassrCredit: GettyHe joined the club back in 2023 from Manchester CityCredit: GettyOnly former Chelsea flop Kalidou Koulibaly and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk earn more than the Spaniard.Koulibaly is on an eye-watering £553,225-per-week at Al-Hilal while Van Dijk recently signed a £400,000-per-week deal at Anfield.Laporte, 30, made the move to Saudi Arabia in 2023 and has made 69 appearances for the club.He signed a three-year deal with Al-Nassr that was due to expire in 2026.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHowever, he could walk away from the club – and his monster salary – before it ends.Spanish outlet AS reports Laporte has endured a “difficult relationship” with manager Stefano Pioli.He was left out of the squad for Al-Nassr’s Asian Champions League semi-final defeat against Kawasaki Frontale.Laporte will not be short of options should he leave the club in the coming days.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSReal Madrid were previously linked with a move for Laporte before he left Man City.The LaLiga giants are again in the market for a defender but are more likely to swoop for a younger player.Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, 14, given dad’s number and copies iconic pose as he makes Portugal debut with grandma watchingElsewhere, Ligue 1 outfit Marseille are among the favourites to snatch up the 40-capped ace.Laporte has been joined by some star names at Al-Nassr such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Jhon Duran and Marcelo Brozovic.He has previously admitted to making the move to Riyadh for non-footballing reasons.He said: “To be honest, many of us have also come here not only for football.”Many of us are happy with that, but I am also looking for something beyond that is not the economic part and such.”In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here you spend three hours a day in the car.”Riyadh is a waste of traffic, of time wasted in the car.”Laporte’s career by numbersHere is a look at Aymeric Laporte’s career…ClubAthletic Bilbao, 2012–2018Appearances – 222Goals – 10Manchester City, 2018–2023Appearances – 180Goals – 12Al-Nassr, 2023-presentAppearances – 69Goals – 9International Spain, 2021-presentCaps – 40Goals – 2Honours:Supercopa de Espana x1, Premier League x5, FA Cup x2, EFL Cup x3, Community Sheild x1, Champions League x1, Uefa Super Cup x1, Euros x1, Nations League x1 More

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    French football considering major change to Ligue 1 format after PSG domination every season

    FRENCH football chiefs are considering a major change to stop Paris Saint-Germain dominating Ligue 1, according to reports.The capital club have won 11 of the last 13 seasons after becoming one of Europe’s top forces.French football chiefs are looking to end PSG’s Ligue 1 domination with a major changeCredit: GettyThis season has seen them go 19 points clear of second-place Marseille with one game remaining.And with stars like Ousmane Dembele shining bright under Luis Enrique, PSG’s dominant era does not look like ending any time soon.They are now hoping to crown their achievements with a first-ever Champions League crown in this month’s final against Inter Milan.However, PSG could be set for a new challenge on the domestic front.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAccording to L’Equipe, French football chiefs are considering a major change that would give other teams a chance to get their hands on the Ligue 1 trophy.Instead of the first-placed team winning the title, playoffs would be used to decide the season’s victor.Two semi-finals would take place involving 1st vs 4th, and 2nd vs 3rd.The winners would then meet in a grand final where the prize is the Ligue 1 title.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSAnd chiefs believe that would open the door for the likes of Marseille, Monaco and Lyon to once again get their hands on French football’s top prize.Ligue 1 is also seeing teams like Nice and Strasbourg come to the fore. Arsenal condemn racism in statement after fan filmed making sickening slurs towards PSG supporters in vile videoLille, who won the title in 2021, are also continuing to make waves.It’s reckoned the LFP, French football’s governing body, could also be scrapped for a new governance structure just like the English Premier League.A League Cup could also be resurrected for the first time since 2020 as part of the huge shake-up. More

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    P.G.A. Championship: An Intimate Look at Quail Hollow

    The pro Webb Simpson lives near the seventh hole and knows the ins and outs of the course where the P.G.A. Championship will be played.Webb Simpson has what many recreational golfers dream of.Simpson — who won the U.S. Open in 2012 and Players Championship in 2018, and has played on multiple Ryder and Presidents Cup squads — can walk out his back door and be on the seventh hole of the Quail Hollow Club, the host of this week’s P.G.A. Championship and an annual tour stop on the PGA Tour.Better still, Simpson, who has five children, can hop in his golf cart like any golf dad and take his children around the course at dusk to chip and putt. He admitted, “I might owe the club a cart fee or two.”Major golf championships have long gone to storied, private clubs — think Baltusrol, Oakmont, Oak Hill and Winged Foot. More recently, they have ended up at challenging public or resort courses like TPC Harding Park, Bethpage Black and Kiawah Island.But it’s rare that these events go to a top-notch private club that also has members living around its perimeter, let alone touring pros who can walk out their doors and tee up.Yet this is the third time that the club has hosted a major international competition: It put on its first P.G.A. Championship in 2017 (won by Justin Thomas) and a Presidents Cup in 2022.Simpson — whose best professional finish at his home club was a tie for second in 2015 at the Wells Fargo Championship, seven shots behind the winner and this week’s favorite, Rory McIlroy — appreciates what he has.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Five P.G.A. Championships to Remember

    Here are five that stand out over the long history of the tournament.The P.G.A. Championship, which gets underway Thursday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., might not be as popular or prestigious as the game’s other three majors, but there have been plenty of magical moments and striking duels.That includes from its inception in 1916 through 1957, when it featured a match play format — one competitor pitted against another — as well as since 1958 when the tournament switched to medal play, the winner being the one with the fewest total strokes.Among the high-profile champions: Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen, who each captured the title a record five times, and Tiger Woods who has four victories.Here, in chronological order, are five P.G.A. Championships that stand out:1923: Pelham Country Club, Pelham Manor, N.Y.The battle in the 36-hole final was between two of the greatest players in the game: Hagen and Gene Sarazen. They would go on to win a combined 18 major championships. And the fight delivered from start to finish.Sarazen, the defending champion, appeared in control down the stretch, up by two holes with just three to go. He bogeyed 16 and 17, however, and the match was suddenly all square. Both players made pars on the final hole of regulation to set up a sudden-death playoff.Which was when things really got interesting. After each birdied the first extra hole, Sarazen hooked his tee shot on the second. Fortunate that it didn’t go out of bounds, he hit his next shot to within two feet of the hole and knocked in the putt for the victory.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    The P.G.A. Championship: Pressure and Expectations

    The leading players have had mixed success at this tournament and at this year’s course, Quail Hollow.In the world of expectations leading up to a major championship, Justin Thomas may have just won himself a free pass with his recent victory at the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town on Hilton Head Island, S.C. He’s a two-time major champion, but had been struggling.His first major came in 2017 — a two-shot victory in the P.G.A. Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C., where the event returns this week. The second major was also a P.G.A. Championship, in 2022 at Southern Hills.The pressure on Thomas came because he went three years without a win before his victory at Harbor Town last month. That stretch was characterized by more downs than ups, including being a controversial captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup in 2023. He was seen as having edged out the more-deserving Keegan Bradley, who had won the Travelers Championship that year and was playing well. But then came the Ryder Cup itself, where Thomas won only his singles match, losing two others and winning a halve in the third.Thomas, the world No. 5, is sure to be asked about what it’s like to be returning to Quail Hollow. But the weight of expectations will most probably rest on others. The focus will likely to come center on two players, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.Scheffler notched his first win of the season at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas this month.In the past, he hasn’t played Quail Hollow that well, at least compared with his high standards. When the club hosted the Presidents Cup in 2022 — the biennial match between the United States and the International squad — Scheffler lost three matches and contributed only half a point.Scheffler, who joined the PGA Tour in 2020, has skipped the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow over the years. He didn’t play it last year because his wife was about to give birth.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Nuno Espirito Santo looks unrecognisable with shaggy hair in playing days as backup goalkeeper

    WE ALL know management is stressful… so much so that it makes your hair fall out.Just ask Nuno Espirito Santo.Nuno Espirito Santo is known for his bald head and grey beardCredit: PAThe stresses of management came to the forefront on SundayCredit: AFPThe Nottingham Forest gaffer, 51, has led Nottingham Forest back into Europe for the first time in 30 years.Forest still have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League – although Sunday’s painful draw at home to already-relegated East Midlands rivals Leicester dented those dreams. And their manager has a very distinct look – the bald head and the grey beard. But it turns out that has not always been the case.READ MORE ON FOOTBALLIn fact, Santo once had a shaggy mop of hair back in his playing days as a goalkeeper.The Portuguese spent 18 years as a senior pro across eight different clubs.That included two stints at Porto, where he scored a penalty and was part of the Champions League-winning squad under Jose Mourinho. And he did so with a full head of curly, dark hair.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSPhotos from his playing days show off the thick mop, making him barely recognisable from the man we have got used to seeing in the dugout over recent years at Wolves, Tottenham and Forest. And although it does start to recede towards the end of his career on the pitch, Santo still has a decent amount of hair.Nuno Espirito Santo argues with Nottingham Forest owner on City Ground pitch moments after disastrous drawThe goalkeeper retired in 2010 but fast forward to his days as Valencia manager and it is a very different story.Gone are the curls and replaced with the buzzed shaven look, with his dark beard grown out. He spent just over a season in charge at Valencia – where he was replaced by Gary Neville – before one campaign with Porto.Then Santo arrived in England with Wolves in 2017, enjoying four years at Molineux before his brief 17-game nightmare at Spurs. Santo played as a goalkeeper for 18 yearsCredit: RexHe used to have dark curly hairCredit: APHis look was very different to what it is nowCredit: .The former shot-stopper started receding by the end of his careerCredit: APHe was part of the Porto squad that won the Champions LeagueCredit: AFPHe regrouped at Al-Ittihad before heading back to the Premier League to take over at Nottingham Forest in December 2023. Forest finished 17th last season but Santo has masterminded an incredible surge towards the top of the table this term. However, a run of one win in their last six matches has threatened to derail the team who were third from December to April. Nuno Espirito Santo’s coaching careerRio Ave 15 May 2012 to 19 May 2014 – P80 W32 D17 L31 Win % 40.00Valencia 4 July 2014 to 29 November 2015 – P62 W32 D16 L14 Win % 51.61Porto 1 June 2016 to 22 May 2017 – P49 W27 D16 L6 Win % 55.10Wolverhampton Wanderers 31 May 2017 23 to May 2021 – P199 W95 D49 L55 Win % 47.74Tottenham Hotspur 30 June 2021 to 1 November 2021 – P17 W8 D2 L7 Win % 47.06Al-Ittihad 4 July 2022 to 7 November 2023 – P56 W36 D12 L8 Win % 64.29Nottingham Forest 20 December 2023 to Present – P68 W26 D19 L23 Win % 38.24Total P531 W256 D131 L144 Win % 48.21The draw with Leicester saw Forest drop to seventh with two games left to try and get back into the top five – and crucially they host Chelsea on the final day of the season. But the 2-2 stalemate was arguably most notable for what happened after the full-time whistle when owner Evangelos Marinakis stormed on to the pitch to confront Santo.The fiery Greek businessman’s frustration was over the confusion regarding Taiwo Awoniyi, who got injured late on when he clattered into the post. After initially suggesting he could carry on, Santo used his final substitution window to take off Elliot Anderson – meaning Awoniyi could not be replaced despite realising he could not continue. SunSport revealed Marinakis erupted again and far more ferociously in the tunnel – at Santo, Awoniyi and the club’s medical staff. Read More on The SunAwoniyi, meanwhile, underwent an urgent surgery on Monday with the rest of the procedure unable to be completed on Tuesday.That meant doctors placed the Nigerian striker in an induced coma and hope to conclude the surgery on Wednesday. Santo shaved his hair by the time he was Valencia gafferCredit: AFP More

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    Samir Nasri told me he made a mistake not signing for Man Utd after winning league with City, claims Patrice Evra

    PATRICE EVRA has claimed Samir Nasri regretted snubbing Manchester United in 2011 – despite having just won the Premier League title with rivals City. The ex-United full-back believes his fellow Frenchman would have been a “beast” if he’d joined him at Old Trafford. Patrice Evra claims Samir Nasri regretted not joining Manchester UnitedCredit: XThe French star joined City in 2011 and won two league titlesCredit: Action Images – ReutersNasri, 37, spent three years with Arsenal before a high-profile move north to Manchester City. He would win two Premier League titles with the club, scoring 27 goals in 176 games.Evra – who played for United between 2006 and 2014 – believes Nasri’s heart wasn’t in the move and he “regretted” joining City. And he claims the Frenchman had agreed terms with Sir Alex Ferguson and United before having his head turned. READ MORE ON FOOTBALLSpeaking on the SDS podcast, Evra said: “[Nasri] agreed the terms [with United] and everything [in 2011].”I remember we were going into pre-season and I was on holiday.”I text him and say ‘Samir, what time you coming? We can go to training together’.”There was no answer. I then saw Alex Ferguson, he said, ‘Did you see what your French boy did?Most read in FootballBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK”He said, ‘He’s going to sign for City’. I said, ‘No boss, you’re joking.”Evra went on to claim Nasri was offered “millions more” by City. ‘I lived at the training ground’ – Former Man Utd transfer chief lifts lid on most expensive window in club historyThe attacking midfielder won the Prem in his first season with the club. Evra continued: “I remember I saw him after they were celebrating [winning the league].”I asked him, ‘You are happy? You made the right choice?'”He said, ‘I made a mistake. I should have signed for United’. Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plusin-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford”And he’d just won the league! Because he knew what he could have become.”At Arsenal, he was a good player. But I think at United, we could have made him a beast”.Read More on The SunNasri remained with City until 2017, but injuries restricted him to just 14 games across his final two seasons at Eastlands.He enjoyed spells with Sevilla, Antalyaspor, West Ham and Anderlecht before hanging up his boots in 2020. More

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    Liam Delap’s brother Finn, 19, faces uncertain future as Burton Albion release SIX players

    LIAM DELAP’S brother Finn faces an uncertain future after Burton Albion released six players.Liam is a wanted man with Chelsea and Manchester United battling for his signature.Finn Delap faces an uncertain future with his Burton Albion contract expiringCredit: RexBrother Liam is being chased by both Chelsea and Manchester UnitedCredit: ReutersBut brother Finn’s future is now under the spotlight as Albion look to make some big squad changes.The League One outfit avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth as they finished four points above the drop zone.Lee Bowyer’s side are now ready to make some serious inroads in the summer transfer window as they aim for a playoff push next season.And having already promoted youngsters Josh Taroni and Jack Newall to their senior squad, Albion have now confirmed that six players have been released after their contracts expired.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLMason Bennett, Anthony Forde, Cameron Gilbert, Jack Stretton, Toby Oakes and Dylan Scott have all left.While a further seven players remain in talks over a potential new deal, including defender Finn.The 19-year-old, the younger brother of in-demand Ipswich striker Liam, 22, made just one appearance this term after spending part of the campaign on loan at National League North outfit Buxton.However, Albion feel Finn can now challenge for a first-team role and hope he will extend his stay following a switch in 2021 from Derby.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSOther players in talks to potentially remain at the club include Max Crocombe, Ryan Sweeney, Jon Dad Bodvarsson, Kegs Chauke, Fabio Tavares and Kamil Dudek.But Finn’s future isn’t the only one in the air, with brother Liam now being eyed by numerous sides following Ipswich’s relegation to the Championship.Liam Delap tipped to snub Man Utd and Chelsea for EVERTON transfer after fans spot gesture following match vs ToffeesThe £20million signing from Man City scored 12 goals in his maiden term at Portman Road.Man United are now hoping to complete a deal by meeting his £30m release clause.However, SunSport can reveal that Chelsea are now confident of winning the race.It would see Liam reunite with several former City pals including Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, recruitment chief Joe Shields and manager Enzo Maresca. More