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The Frenchman's potential has never been up for debate, but his attitude has always been a disgrace, as underlined by his decision to leave for PSG

At the end of July, both and claimed that Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain were at "war" over Ousmane Dembele – which felt a little strange, given the Frenchman is not a player worth fighting for, at least not from the Blaugrana's perspective.

PSG's interest was understandable, of course. Dembele is an immensely talented footballer. If Luis Enrique can get him fully fit and firing, the 26-year-old still has it inside him to become a genuine superstar. Xavi knows that too, and is said to have pleaded with the player to "think of Neymar", who has long regretted quitting Camp Nou for Parc des Princes in 2017.

"I am a little disappointed with Dembele," the Barca boss admitted after the friendly with AC Milan. "He has decided to go to PSG. There is nothing we can do."

Some Blaugrana fans have been left enraged by Dembele's perceived betrayal – and that makes sense too, given the majority of them stood by the winger throughout a desperately trying six-year spell at Camp Nou. The mere fact he'd already agreed personal terms with PSG weeks ago seriously stung – even if allegations of a lack of loyalty are arguably a little harsh in light of reports that Barcelona unsettled Dembele by trying to use him as a makeweight in their efforts to sign Kylian Mbappe.

However, fury should soon give way to relief – because Barca really are well rid of one of the most frustrating figures in football.

Getty Images'The boy is special'

Dembele's ability has long been obvious. Former Rennes sporting director Mikael Silvestre described him as the most naturally gifted teenager he'd seen since his time playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, Thomas Tuchel said it was a pleasure to watch his "amazing skills" in training at Borussia Dortmund, while Martin Braithwaite admitted that he was blown away by Dembele when he joined Barcelona in 2020.

"I have never seen someone with his talent. I'm serious!" the dumbfounded Dane told . "Messi is something else but, after him, I haven't seen any player like Dembele. The boy is special."

But he's also proven terribly unprofessional and horribly inconsistent.

AdvertisementGetty'No structure around him'

There were concerns over Dembele's attitude even before he arrived in Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for an initial €105 million (£90m/$116m), with the Frenchman accused of trashing the apartment he had been renting in Germany from Jurgen Klopp.

It's also worth remembering that while former Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu publicly claimed that Dembele was better than the man he had effectively replaced, Neymar, the club were actually considering cutting their losses on the forward as early as October 2018.

By that stage, it was clear that Dembele was dreadfully ill-disciplined. He was repeatedly late for team meetings, with his tardiness attributed to his fondness for playing video games until the early hours of the morning, while his diet was a disgrace for a professional athlete. One source told GOAL of countless fast food cartons found at his house, while a healthy fish dish prepared by his former chef had been discarded.

"It's a messy life," Michael Naya told . "I've never seen alcohol but he doesn't respect the rest periods at all. There's no structure around him." And his lifestyle was viewed as a key contributing factor to the umpteen muscular injuries Dembele suffered throughout his time at Barca.

(C)GettyImages'I didn't work has hard as I do now'

Even Dembele has confessed that he was "very frail" during his first few seasons in Catalunya because of his poor diet, but insisted in 2022 that he had seen the error of his ways and completely changed his mindset

“Now I see that it's essential to work hard on and off the pitch,” he told and . "The injuries came because, when I was 20, I didn't work as hard as I do now. It's clear that if you don't work, you can't enjoy football, you're not going to play much and you're going to get injured. Now, I'm stronger."

He's not, though. In any sense. Dembele missed three months of last season with a hamstring problem and even when he was available, he sparkled only sporadically, scoring just five goals in 25 Liga appearances.

He was a starter for France at the 2022 World Cup and he tormented several full-backs with his genuinely breath-taking bursts of speed – but, as always with Dembele – there was so little end product. In a team that reached the final, he managed just two assists and zero goals, while his performance in the final was embarrassing, with Didier Deschamps deciding to take him off four minutes before the break.

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GettyDembele over Mbappe

The contrast with the efficiency and quality of Mbappe on the opposite flank was stark – and, from a Barcelona perspective, pretty painful. According to agent Junior Minguella, Barca had a €155m (£134m/$184m) deal in place to sign Mbappe before he moved to PSG in the same summer as Neymar, but ultimately decided that Dembele was "better suited to the team's style of play".

When Minguella recounted this story on in February 2021, there was widespread incredulity, so he subsequently produced WhatsApp messages to verify his claims, tweeting: "A gift for the haters and unbelievers."

Jason Roy is aiming to combine his free-spirited batting with “tactical nous” as he and England seek to put behind a forgettable limited-overs series in South Africa going into the World T20

Arun Venugopal13-Mar-2016Jason Roy is aiming to combine his free-spirited batting with “tactical nous” as he and England seek to put behind recent limited-overs defeats in South Africa going into the World T20. England went down 3-2 in the ODIs – after holding a 2-0 lead – and lost both their T20 fixtures, but have started their build-up to the World T20 with a rousing six-wicket win over New Zealand. Roy’s 36-ball 55 set in motion England’s racy chase, and he hoped to replicate that touch without going for broke every time.”I have got to realise I need to give myself time, I’m not a robot,” he said. “It is [fun to go flat out] when you stay in longer than 10 balls. As well as enjoying myself and whacking it I need to give myself a chance, work hard and accumulate runs. A bit of tactical nous instead of just trying to bludgeon the ball is something I have learned a huge amount about in the last two and a half weeks. Mentally I have been getting myself ready for that back at The Oval.””The ball came on nicely,” he added of his productive start in India. “It was my first experience of playing T20 cricket at this stadium. The seamers were coming on nicely in the first few overs. The boundary being smaller one side helped.”Roy managed a meagre 96 runs from five ODI innings in South Africa and scored 15 and 9 in the T20Is but his role in the limited-overs set-up has been defined more by the impact he can provide at the top along with Alex Hales. Roy, however, admitted to being weighed down by the pressure of having to live up to such an image during the South Africa series where he felt England were “mostly poor.””It’s a nice role to have, however you can put too much pressure on yourself like I did in South Africa,” he said. “I put too much pressure on myself to go out there and whack it from ball one. I think I might have expected myself to score more runs than I did and I didn’t really reach my expectations as well as I should have.”I should have just freed myself and enjoyed myself instead of expecting to get runs. That’s what I’m doing now, just going into each game and going ball by ball. I don’t want to think about the game the night before or on the morning. I just want to have no pre-conceived ideas and not think too far ahead. My expectation was I was playing the bowlers before the game started I was doing that wrong.”We didn’t really do as well as we had hoped in South Africa. We played some poor cricket in amongst some good cricket, but mostly poor. The next couple of weeks are huge for us to turn it round. The squad’s been really gelling well together and the training has been high intensity.”Roy dismissed suggestions of insecurity over his place in the side and spoke about the futility of looking over the shoulder, saying it would only reflect poor work ethic. “If you are questioning your place, you are not working hard enough,” he said. “I just take each game as it comes and work as hard as I can in the nets. If I’m not picked, I’m not picked and there’s another player who has earned himself the right to play instead of me. I’m never kind of too worried about whether I’m going to be picked or not.”He said England would aim to sustain the intensity displayed during the New Zealand game as they play a local side, which will feature a few players from the English squad, at the Brabourne Stadium on Monday.”It doesn’t really matter who you are playing against, it is just the environment of being in the middle of the stadium and taking it in, and there are four of our guys playing against us so no doubt they will be putting a huge shift in too. We have had inter-squad games and it does get very feisty, very aggressive. You might fall out for the night but we’re all mates so it’s all good.”From an English perspective there has been a significantly warmer attitude towards the shorter formats of the game following the appointment of Andrew Strauss as the director of England cricket. That Strauss has encouraged coaches and players to partake of the experience of overseas franchise T20 leagues augurs particularly well for the likes of Roy and Hales who have built their reputation in white-ball cricket.”It’s just that in the next few years you have got a huge amount of one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket coming up. Especially now with the World Cup, we are realising that white-ball cricket is important now. And the more experience the better, the boys getting up to the IPL, playing there and playing all over the world is only positive. There probably is a bit of a change.”My first Lions tour was to India, a lot of A tours have been played in the sub-continent, we went to Dubai, won against Pakistan. So we’ve made huge improvements and huge headway and the next couple of weeks will show just how much headway we have made.”

Oman completed their second upset win in as many days with a convincing 40-run win against Afghanistan on the back of a strong bowling performance

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2015
ScorecardFile photo- Jatinder Singh top-scored for Oman on the second consecutive day with a 48-ball 40•ICCOman completed their second upset win in as many days with a convincing 40-run win against Afghanistan on the back of a strong bowling performance. Oman are currently placed second in Group B after three straight wins, behind Afghanistan who have played an extra game.Oman lost Zeeshan Maqsood of the second ball after being put in to bat, but Zeeshan Ahmed and Jatinder Singh, who hit an unbeaten 65 in Oman’s six-wicket win against Netherlands, consolidated with a 49-run stand. Oman’s batsmen continued to form steady partnerships before Jatinder was bowled by Mohammad Nabi for 40 in the 17th over. However, 35 runs were scored of the last four overs as Oman finished with a competitive 144 for 7. Nabi was Afghanistan’s best bowler and picked up figures of 3 for 28.The Afghanistan openers, Mohammad Shahzad and Javed Ahmadi, started slowly before Shahzad was dismissed for 28. Afghanistan were on course at 61 for 1 in the 10th over but Mehran Khan and Maqsood tore into the middle-order with four-wicket hauls. Wickets fell in clumps and the required run-rate kept climbing to make the chase exponentially harder. Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 104 by the 18th over.

Essex suffered a second defeat in the space of 24 hours as they went down by 44 runs in their T20 Blast match against Surrey at Chelmsford.

ECB/PA16-May-2015
ScorecardSteven Davies made his second fifty in two days•Getty ImagesEssex suffered a second defeat in the space of 24 hours as they went down by 44 runs in their T20 Blast match against Surrey at Chelmsford.After the visitors posted 205 for 5, Essex, who lost to Hampshire on Friday, never seriously threatened to deny Surrey their first success in the competition.After losing Jason Roy in the opening over, Surrey seized the initiative with a series of punishing strokes from Steven Davies and Kumar Sangakkara. They put on 80 from only seven overs, with 27 coming from a seven-ball over sent down by left-arm seamer Reece Topley.Insights

Chelmsford is traditionally a high-scoring ground and although they cannot afford to be chasing 200-plus every week it was Essex’s batting that was the most concerning aspect of their defeat. The scoreboard put pressure on their top order but to be two wickets down within three overs of their run-chase for the second successive match was concerning. Indeed, Essex’s first two matches have been opener Nick Browne’s first, while Daniel Lawrence, replacing the injured Jesse Ryder, was playing his first T20 match against Surrey. The return of Ryder, along with Mark Pettini and Tom Westley, cannot come soon enough.

It included two successive sixes from Sangakkara who went on to clear the ropes for a third time before he was to provide Topley with his only success. Sangakkara’s 38 arrived from 21 balls but even he was upstaged by Davies who completed a half-century from just 23 deliveries before he was out for 53 two balls later.Davies was caught at long-on by Graham Napier and although the tempo slackened following the departure of the second-wicket pair, Surrey still breezed along in excess of six an over. Gary Wilson contributed 41 from 34 deliveries with the help of five fours and a six while Zafar Ansari collected an unbeaten 31 from 21 balls.Essex’s hopes of laying a solid foundation disappeared in the second over of their innings when paceman Matt Dunn struck twice. First he persuaded Nick Browne to put up a simple catch to James Burke in the covers before breaching the defence of 17-year-old Dan Lawrence.Greg Smith and Kishen Velani did their best to retrieve the situation with a partnership of 70 but they were never able to get near the required rate.It took them 10 overs to gather those runs before the arrival of Tom Curran saw both dismissed in the same over. First he bowled Velani for 22, before rattling the stumps of Smith to end an innings that brought him 44 form 35 balls.With Graham Napier and James Foster going cheaply, Essex’s last hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of Ryan ten Doeschate. Briefly the Dutchman threatened to keep his side on course for what would have been an astonishing triumph as he plundered his runs in rapid fashion. The fireworks were ended by Burke who had ten Doeschate caught by Gareth Batty and, with his departure, Surrey were left breathing a huge sigh of relief and able to coast to a comfortable triumph.Curran wrapped up the innings by getting rid of Shaun Tait and Topley in the final over to finish with 4 for 35.

Everton are finally set to receive some good news as Burnley, Leeds United and Southampton plan to withdraw their case to sue the Toffees.

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Everton handed 10-point deductionFurther punishment a possibility Trio of clubs withdraw plan to sueGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

According to the, the recently relegated trio are set to seek a negotiated settlement instead of suing the club, after Everton were deducted 10 points following Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Everton were previously at risk of being handed a further nine point deduction, which put them at risk of being plunged into administration, after the three clubs looked for £300million ($374m) in compensation.

DID YOU KNOW?

The 10-point deduction for the Toffees is the most serve punishment in the history of the top flight of English football, with the club now sitting in 19th place following the penalty and 3-0 defeat to Manchester United. Fans used the game as an opportunity to protest heavily against the deduction and treatment by the Premier League.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR EVERTON?

Despite the heavy deduction, Everton remain hopeful of their chances of survival, with the club just five points away from Luton Town in 17th. Sean Dyche and his side are now preparing for a tough trip to Nottingham Forest, who have only lost one game at the City Ground this season.

X-rays have revealed that Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has suffered a sprain on his injured right ring finger on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan

Mohammad Isam in Khulna29-Apr-2015X-rays have revealed that Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has sprained his right ring finger on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan. Imrul Kayes kept wicket in his place from the final drinks break till stumps.”The X-rays didn’t show anything serious like a fracture,” Bangladesh media manager Rabeed Imam said. “He will now be taking medicine and applying ice. Whether he will take the field on the third day will depend on how the pain is managed tonight.”The incident occurred in the 35th over when Azhar Ali edged debutant seamer Mohammad Shahid. Mushfiqur dived full length to his right but the ball struck low on his hand and popped out, giving the batsman a third life. Immediately afterwards though, Mushfiqur needed medical attention from Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam.Mushfiqur kept wicket for another eleven balls before he left for the dressing room at 3.55pm as the drinks trolley rolled out. Tamim Iqbal, the vice-captain, led the side till the end of the day’s play.

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham could reportedly face a 10-match ban for allegedly calling Getafe loanee Mason Greenwood a "rapist".

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Bellingham allegedly called Greenwood a "rapist"Spain's football federation investigatingMadrid star could be banned for 10 gamesGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The two England youngsters clashed during Madrid's 2-0 win at Getafe on February 1, with Bellingham allegedly mouthing the word "rapist" towards the Manchester United loanee. After Getafe lodged a complaint with La Liga's representative and a lip reader looked into the incident, writes that the league has referred this to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE EXPLANATION

The report adds the RFEF are appointing a judge to fully investigate the incident and they will decide within the next two weeks whether the 20-year-old will be punished. If found guilty and it falls under the 'serious' category, the former Borussia Dortmund star could get a four-match ban but if considered 'grave', Bellingham may be suspended for 10 games. Both Madrid and Getafe would have 10 days to appeal that verdict.

Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

Greenwood, 22, joined Getafe on loan last September – seven months after charges of attempted rape, assault, and coercive control were dropped. The forward was first arrested in January 2022 in relation to distressing images and audio released on social media. Despite the charges being waved, Greenwood has not featured for United again and may have already played his last game for the club.

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WHAT NEXT?

adds that Madrid and Bellingham are "surprised" that La Liga have decided to get RFEF involved as reports suggest there is inconclusive evidence on the matter. It remains to be seen what punishment, if any, will be handed out to Bellingham.

A pair of teenagers and a trio of New York Red Bulls headline Goal's selections as the best values, based on salary, in Major League Soccer

Salaries in Major League Soccer continue to rise, and have seen a considerable spike since the infusion of targeted allocation money in the past two seasons. That has led to a near doubling of the number of million-dollar salaries in the league, and a sizable jump in the number of players making more than $500,000.

That doesn't mean there still aren't some super-sized bargains to be had. Players signed via homegrown player deals and those who enter the league via the MLS draft continue to give MLS teams a steady stream of bargains, several of which make up the squad chosen by Goal to be part of the MLS Bargain XI, the best values in the league.

Here is the 2018 MLS Bargain XI, with salaries based on guaranteed compensation as released by the MLS players union last week .

Greg BartramGK Alex Bono, Toronto FC, $102,200The 24-year-old goalkeeper is in the midst of his second full season as Toronto FC's starter and is continuing to show improvement, building on his MLS Cup-winning 2017 season. His exploits in TFC's CONCACAF Champions League run turned heads, and he has also broken into the U.S. national team picture. Still playing on his rookie contract, Bono should be securing a new contract soon, assuming he doesn't head to Europe via transfer.AdvertisementRB Julian Gressel, Atlanta United, $111,250A midfielder who has thrived this season since being moved into a right wing-back role, Gressel has carried over the success from his MLS Rookie of the Year award-winning 2017 into the 2018 season. He has been one of the key reasons Tata Martino has seen his team enjoy such success playing in a 3-5-2 formation. The 24-year-old German-born standout should be drawing attention from scouts and will have a strong case for a new contract this winter.Mark J. RebilasCB Tim Parker, New York Red Bulls, $115,935How is Parker so underpaid? He's still playing on his original rookie contract, which expires at the end of this season. He is in line for a big payday this winter, either in Europe or in a new MLS deal. The Vancouver Whitecaps traded him rather than making him one of the league's highest-paid defenders. Since joining the Red Bulls, Parker has been outstanding and has helped his new team forge the best defense in club history.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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CB Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls $73,125A repeat selection on the MLS Bargain XI, Long has followed up his breakout 2017 season with a strong start to 2018. His skill on the ball, coupled with an improving defensive skill set, make him one of the league's most underrated defenders. It shouldn't be long before the 25-year-old central defender secures a new contract with the Red Bulls.

A collective bowling effort and fifties from R Samarth and KL Rahul underlined Karnataka’s dominance over Assam in Indore

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2015
ScorecardFile photo: KL Rahul scored 73 off 80 balls to add to his 91 in the first innings•Getty ImagesA collective bowling effort and fifties from R Samarth and KL Rahul underlined Karnataka’s dominance over Assam in Indore. The defending champions stretched their lead to 404 runs at stumps on the third day.Resuming from an overnight 58 for 3, Gokul Sharma and KB Arun Karthik pushed their fourth-wicket partnership to 62 runs before the latter fell to Shreyas GopalTarjinder Singh gave Gokul good support and grafted 30 off 80 balls to keep Karnataka at bay for 61 more runs. However, Vinay Kumar struck twice in the 68th over, first trapping Tarjinder lbw and bowling Gokul for 58.A collapse ensued as Assam lost their last four wickets for 16 runs and folded for 185. Shreyas and S Aravind collected three wickets each, while Abhimanyu Mithun and Vinay picked up two apiece.Buoyed by a first-innings lead of 262, the Karnataka openers Samarth and Rahul shared a partnership worth 124. Rahul struck 11 fours and a six, scoring at close to run-a-ball. The stand, though, ended in the 30th over when left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad dismissed Rahul for 73. Three overs later, Manish Pandey was bowled by seamer Krishna Das for a nine-ball duck, but Samarth and Robin Uthappa, stayed unbeaten on 54 and 6.Uthappa dropped down to No.4 as he was tired after keeping wicket. “CM Gautam was injured and Robin kept, so I asked him to bat at four. Robin was tired, I didn’t want him to open and his wicket is crucial to us. Also, Samarth is an opening batsman himself,” said Karnataka batting coach J ArunkumarGautam, who pulled a muscle while keeping, left the field on precautionary grounds, but is expected to bat tomorrow.

Fast bowler Shaun Tait is set to play his first one-day match for three and a half years after being named in South Australia’s squad for their opening Matador Cup game this weekend

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2014Fast bowler Shaun Tait is set to play his first one-day match for three and a half years after being named in South Australia’s squad for their opening Matador Cup game this weekend. Tait retired from one-day cricket after the 2011 World Cup and since then has become a Twenty20 specialist, but he said earlier this year he was keen to help South Australia win more silverware.South Australia’s 14-man squad for their match against New South Wales in Brisbane also includes uncapped batsman Jake Lehmann, the son of national coach Darren, as well as Mark Cosgrove, who has returned to the Redbacks after spending the past few seasons with Tasmania. But it is the presence of Tait that will create the greatest interest after he appeared to be lost to the state system.”Taity isn’t a contracted player, but we have been blown away with his commitment,” South Australia’s coach Darren Berry said. “I told him, mate, you come along when you want to come along because you aren’t contracted, but he hasn’t missed a session. He has been a role model for our players and is bowling very fast, so I am delighted to have him back involved.”Cosgrove brings so much class and experience to our group. He has spent a lot of time with our young batsmen and has been such a positive influence on them. It is fantastic to have him back playing for South Australia.”Jake Lehmann and Alex Ross have been the standout performers in our lead-in games and have been rewarded. It is great to see young South Australian players putting their hand up and demanding their position in our squad.”The Matador Cup begins with two matches on Saturday and continues throughout most of the month, with the final to be played on October 26. All the games will be played in Brisbane and Sydney, with the opening games between Queensland and Victoria at the Gabba and New South Wales and South Australia at Allan Border Field.Victoria have named a 15-man squad for the tournament, with former New South Wales fast bowler Chris Tremain set to make his debut for his new state. The New South Wales squad for their opening match will be captained by allrounder Moises Henriques, and includes the uncapped offspinner Chris Green.Western Australia have also confirmed a 15-man squad for the whole competition, although they do not begin their campaign until October 8. Michael Klinger will make his debut for the Warriors having switched from South Australia, while Craig Simmons will have the chance to return to one-day cricket for the first time since 2011-12, following on from his outstanding form in the BBL last summer.New South Wales squad Moises Henriques (capt), Ryan Carters, Trent Copeland, Chris Green, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Henry, Josh Lalor, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Gurinder Sandhu.South Australia squad Johan Botha (capt), Mark Cosgrove, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Travis Head, Trent Lawford, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Gary Putland, Alex Ross, Chadd Sayers, Shaun Tait, Nick Winter, Adam Zampa.Victoria squad Matthew Wade (capt), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Daniel Christian, Jake Haberfield, Peter Handscomb, Jon Holland, David Hussey, Alex Keath, Clint McKay, Rob Quiney, Ryan Sidebottom, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Tremain, Cameron White.Western Australia squad Adam Voges (capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Harris, Michael Klinger, Simon Mackin, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, Craig Simmons, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman.