BREAKING NEWS, Sports Briefs
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DIEGO Costa, a Spanish football player, has reached an agreement to play for Chelsea football club of England next season. The Brazilian-born striker, who plays for Spain at the ongoing World Cup, is moving from Atletico Madrid, to the Premier League club for £32 million.
According to a statement by Chelsea on Tuesday, July 1, the completion of the deal appears to be imminent after the Blues said they had met the buy-out clause for the 25-year-old forward. “Chelsea Football Club can confirm an agreement has been reached with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa, with Chelsea meeting the buy-out clause for the Spanish international,” a statement on the club’s website said.
Atletico Madrid later confirmed the agreement had been reached on the buy-out clause, and that the player had expressed his desire to transfer to Chelsea at the end of last season. It was also reported the eventual transfer fee could be in the region of £32 million ($55 million, 40 million euros).
Costa scored 35 goals for Atletico last season as they won the Spanish title and reached the Champions League final, only to lose in extra-time to Real Madrid, its city rival.
Costa appeared in two friendlies for Brazil last year before pledging his allegiance to Spain, prompting stunned Selecao and Luiz Felipe Scolari, former Chelsea manager, to state: “He is turning his back on a dream of millions, to represent our national team, the five-time champions in a World Cup in Brazil.” But his aspiration to shine in the Spanish colour was amputated as the reigning world champion crashed out in the first round. After seeing that his dreams of World Cup glory with Spain in Brazil come to nothing, Costa said: “It’s been a good year in many respects but a tough one in others.”
Despite his World Cup travails, Costa appears to have a big fan in Jose Mourinho, Chelsea manager, who had complained that a lack of strikers — despite the presence of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o at Stamford Bridge — last season prevented the third-placed Blues from surpassing Premier League winner Manchester City, and runner-up, Liverpool in the season just gone.
Jordan, a Billion Dollars Man!
MICHAEL Jordan has attained billionaire status. A Forbes magazine estimates that his equity as owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets is $416 million and his net worth outside the team is $600 million.
The former Chicago Bulls centre now owns 85 percent of the Hornets. According to Ester Portoy, his spokeswoman, Jordan bought over an additional stake with the team back in January 2013 but she wouldn’t confirm if he had become a billionaire.
The six-time NBA champion has achieved fame and fortune from the basketball court but a huge part of his earnings came from big endorsements and successful movies.
“Pistorius Was Not Mentally Ill When He Shot Girlfriend” – Experts Says
AFTER one month of psychiatric evaluation, for which his trial was put on hold, it was decided that Oscar Pistorius who shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend, in his home in February 2013, was not mentally ill at the time of the incident. A panel of mental health experts who concluded the test said that Pistorius was not suffering from mental illness when he killed Steenkamp, the chief prosecutor at the murder trial said when the case resumed on Monday, June 30.
The mental experts, a psychologist and three psychiatrists all agreed that Pistorius understood the gravity of his act when he shot Steenkamp through a closed toilet door. The request for evaluation came after his defence team brought a psychiatrist who testified that Pistorius had an anxiety disorder, because of his disability and that could have contributed to the shooting.
— Jul. 14, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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