Back in December, just a few days after Fifa announced its “landmark agreement” with DAZN, the governing body confirmed Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup. But it is not just the timeline that has inevitably led to speculation over a possible connection between Saudi’s investment in the expanded Club World Cup...
More than 1.4 million Muslims have begun this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi holy city of Mecca, a year after 1,300 people died, mostly due to the extreme heat. Saudi authorities say they have stepped up safety precautions for the annual event. They have planted thousands of trees and installed hundreds of cooling units...
Bruno Fernandes has rejected a huge offer from Saudi Pro-League club Al-Hilal. Fernandes has spent the past few days seriously considering the deal which would have more than doubled his salary at Manchester United, where he is one of the biggest earners. However, after discussing the matter with his family, Fernandes has informed Al-Hilal he...
US President Donald Trump has said the US has “no stronger partner” than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip – a whirlwind visit of Gulf countries mainly focused on shoring up investment. Day one of the trip saw the two sides announce a $142bn (£107bn) arms deal, as well as a raft of...
United will be expected to reach a Europa League final against either Tottenham or Bodo/Glimt after their 3-0 semi-final first-leg win over Athletic Bilbao. On the 133 occasions a side has won an away leg in a European match by three goals or more, that team has made it through 133 times. Under normal circumstances,...
Highly improbable. De Bruyne soaked up the acclaim of City’s support at Etihad Stadium after scoring the winning goal against Wolves on 2 May and came out firing in front of the cameras afterwards. “I have shown I can still play here,” said De Bruyne. “Otherwise I don’t do what I do these last four...
Verstappen’s radio messages during the race clearly indicated he did not approve of the penalty he was given, but he was warned to keep his thoughts to himself. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he felt the penalty was “very harsh” and asked rhetorically: “Whatever happened to ‘let them race on the first lap?’...
Leclerc, by contrast, drove an outstanding race with a long first stint on the medium tyres to catch and pass Mercedes’ George Russell for the final podium place. He said: “I feel like we’ve maximised absolutely everything we could have this weekend. There wasn’t anything more in the car. “We need to focus on qualifying...
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took his third win of the year and with it the world championship lead at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Piastri benefited from a penalty for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to take control of the race and score his second win in a week. Verstappen was given a five-second penalty for illegally...
McLaren showed extremely strong race pace during the practice sessions in Jeddah but Norris said he was “going to need a bit of luck” in the grand prix. He said that to “get close” to Verstappen, Piastri and Norris was “not very realistic”. “It’s almost impossible to overtake around here, so I’m not expecting anything...
Norris’ crash interrupted the first runs of all his rivals in Q3 apart from Piastri, who laid down a marker just before his team-mate lost control over the kerb at Turn Five and slid sideways into the wall. When the session resumed, Verstappen went out on his semi-used tyres and took over top spot in...
Norris has admitted to not being comfortable with the new McLaren car since the start of the season, despite leading the championship by three points from Piastri coming into the fifth race of the season. He said he had been concentrating on gaining confidence in the car on the high-speed Jeddah street track. Norris said:...
He added his approach to the high-speed nature of the Jeddah circuit will change slightly, partly because he is struggling to replicate the same form in the car that saw him finish second in the title race to Max Verstappen in 2024. “It is clear that there are things… things that have changed since last...
Verstappen moved to within one point of Norris in the standings with a brilliant win at the Japanese Grand Prix from pole position two weeks ago. His weekend in Sakhir was a stark contrast to the highs of Suzuka as he qualified in seventh and finished the race three places lower than Briton Norris, who...
If it was, he’d have left Liverpool for the Saudi Pro League who, until as recently as last week, still believed they could attract Salah to the Middle East. The financial lure of a move to Saudi Arabia was clear. The ‘homecoming’ of one of the greatest and recognisable Arab footballers – and the synergy,...
