La Liga

HUMBLE Jude Bellingham stunned Birmingham schoolkids – just days after signing for Real Madrid.The superstar midfielder, who turns 20 this week, completed his staggering £115million transfer to the Bernabeu on June 14.
Jude Bellingham met with a group of schoolkids in BirminghamCredit: Instagram/@judebellingham
He handed out freebies to the youngstersCredit: adidas
Youngsters were stunned by the teenager’s surprise appearanceCredit: adidas
But he was back in his hometown the following week in yet another classy gesture to give something back to his beloved city.
Bellingham teamed up with his boot providers and sportswear giants adidas to open a pop-up store – named store twenty-two after his old Brum shirt – for 90 minutes in Birmingham city centre.
Not only did local kids pick up free 2023-24 Real Madrid kits, adidas boots and other Bellingham merchandise – but then they were given a huge surprise.
Bellingham himself appeared for a brilliant meet and greet and even went behind the checkout to hand out the freebies.
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The midfielder came through the youth ranks at Birmingham City before joining Borussia Dortmund for £25m in 2020.
The Blues famously retired his No22 jersey upon his departure.
And Bellingham is still very much in touch with the club and city that helped raise him into a Galactico.
The teenager said: “I may now play for Real Madrid, but Birmingham will forever be my home.
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“I am forever thankful to my family and friends for their support throughout my journey so far, as well as to the people of Birmingham.
“Ever since I made my debut here, their support has pushed me on, and helped me to believe that anything is possible.
“Today I wanted to come back and show them what that means to me, and to make sure they can be a part of the exciting next chapter of my career.”
Bellingham’s £115m switch to Los Blancos ensured he became the most expensive British player ever – and a £10m sell-on bonus for Birmingham.
He signed a six-year deal which will make him one of the European giants’ top earners.
The ex-Dortmund ace admitted his “heart was close to stopping” when his dad told him about Real’s interest as he snubbed the “easy” option of heading home to the Premier League.
And he will wear the iconic No5 jersey – following in the footsteps of Zinedine Zidane.
Bellingham was raised in Birmingham and starred for CityCredit: Instagram/@judebellingham
The store twenty-two was opened for 90 minutesCredit: adidas
Kids were delighted with their new Real Madrid shirtsCredit: adidas
Real Madrid paid Borussia Dortmund £115m for the England internationalCredit: Getty More

ROBERT Lewandowki’s wife Anna has revealed she could have entered the world of Mixed Martial Arts – and sill might despite her husband’s fears.The Poland and Barcelona ace tied the knot with Anna in 2013, but he is not the only one in the family with sporting prowess.
Anna Lewandowski has revealed she had the chance to enter MMACredit: Getty
Anna has won medals at karateCredit: Youtube – Gazeta.PL
The Barcelona ace was not fond of her joining MMACredit: Instagram @annalewandowska
In fact, 34-year-old Anna has a remarkable 38 karate medals to her name across both national and international levels.
However, she took a step back from the sport after giving birth to daughter Klara in 2017.
But this has not stopped her from being sounded out for a shock move into the cage.
Speaking on WojewódzkiKędzierski podcast, the fitness guru revealed a meeting she had with the boss of the KSW (Polish MMA organisation), Slawomir Peszko.
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She said: “I had a coffee with the owner of KSW, and he told me to try something new. He told me it was two years of preparation.”
However, the idea is not something Lewandowski is keen on.
She added: “I left the meeting and an hour later, this information appeared in that my husband heard about it in the press and asked me, ‘Anna, what are you doing, what are these articles?’.
“One day I told Robert that if I were not his wife, I would probably participate in such an event.”
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Polish media suggest these talks go back several years.
This being said, the idea has not been ruled out completely yet.
KSW co-owner Julita Gorska hinted at a future inclusion, saying: “To bring new names into this world, I have always aimed high (…) We dream of Lewandowski’s wife, Anna.
“She has already his background, karate experience, so why not? We’ll see, everything is in front of us.”
Fitness guru Anna has 5.3million followers on InstagramCredit: instagram.com/annalewandowska More

ATLETICO MADRID are set to consider changing their club badge again following years of fan fury and protests.The original club crest, featuring the Madrid symbol of a bear and a green and brown tree, was changed in 2017 without any notice, leaving loyal supporters furious.
Atletico Madrid fans want the club’s old badge, on the left, to return in place of the newer design, on the right
Fans have wanted the old crest to return for the last six yearsCredit: AFP
Many did not like the way in which it was modernised, with tree and bear in blue, so a rift emerged between the fanbase and the Atletico hierarchy.
Several supporters are STILL annoyed by the decision, so club chiefs have announced that they will hear them out in a vote.
This weekend, fans will have the chance to declare whether or not they want the badge changed back to the original design.
Former Atletico Madrid stars Gabi, Juanfran and Raul Garcia all hinted on social media that they would like to see the old badge return.
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Midfielder Saul Niguez also suggested that he wants the badge to change.
Atletico’s former badge was introduced in 2016, but it was only used for one season before it was replaced.
Prior to that, the club had the same badge for 46 years.
The crest that was adopted in 1970 included a gold outline – this changed to blue in 2016.
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Atletico Madrid ended the 2022-23 campaign third in the La Liga table, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. More

OSASUNA have been kicked out of the Uefa Conference League next season as punishment for a decade-old match-fixing scandal.Uefa have declared the LaLiga club as “ineligible” to participate in the third tier of European football for the 2023/24 campaign.
Osasuna fans had been excited to see their club in the Uefa Conference LeagueCredit: EPA
Osasun finished seventh in LaLiga last season after beating Athletic Bilbao to the final qualification spot by two points.
However, the club will not be allowed to play in the competition that West Ham won this season as punishment for match-fixing accusations from the 2013/14 season.
A statement read: “Club Atletico Osasuna learned, this afternoon, of the conclusions of the report drawn up by the inspectors of the Uefa Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.
“In said report, the inspectors declare the ‘ineligibility of the club to participate in the Uefa Conference League 2023-2024’, thus denying it the right to participate in European competitions that it has earned fairly on the pitch.
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“The reason goes back to some events that occurred in the 2013-2014 season and which, in the opinion of Uefa, contravene its article 4.1g of the competition regulations.”
Osasuna have confirmed that they will appeal the ban to the governing body.
They added: “Strong with the weak and weak with the strong.
“The Uefa courts have not wanted to take into account that it was the Spanish courts themselves who have literally declared that Osasuna has been the victim of the diversion of money carried out by some of its former directors behind the back of the highest governing body of the entity, the Assembly, and the control mechanisms of the club itself.”
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The club has admitted that it is “prepared for the worst” but has insisted that they will “never give up”.
The Spanish outfit continued to insist that it “deservedly earned” its place in the competition.
Football Espana have reported that LaLiga rivals Bilbao are on standby to replace the Pamplona side in the competition if their appeal is unsuccessful.
The scandal in question is referred to as ‘Caso-Osasuna’ and it ended with former club president Miguel Archanco and five former club directors being sentenced to prison.
This was as a result of a court finding €650,000 (£557,000) of club funds were directed to pay players from other teams to influence results.
The Uefa Conference League has only been in existence for two years but has become popular with participating clubs’ fans.
Jose Mourinho’s Roma won the competition’s first edition in 2022 before West Ham’s victory this season.
However, the club has been banned from the competition due to a match-fixing scandal ten years agoCredit: EPA More