Manchester City break the British transfer fee record to sign 2022 Wo…

English Premier League outfit Manchester City, who are getting used to life without head Pep Guardiola for the first time in a decade, have broken England’s record transfer fee by paying a total of 125 million British pounds to rivals Chelsea for the signing of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez on a permanent deal during the deadline day of the transfer market. chickenroadslot.lat

This was the second time that an English club paid over a sum of 100 million for Enzo Fernandez, who is expected to reinforce Manchester City’s midfield, which needed rebuilding after a number of experienced names left the Etihad Stadium. While some players left after the expiry of their contracts, others were sold to other clubs on hefty sums.

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Like Rodri, Spain’s 2026 World Cup winning captain for example, was sold to FC Barcelona for over 80 million euros. Another two of Pep Guardiola’s trusted servants – Bernardo Silva and John Stones – left as free agents to Real Madrid and Inter Milan. All of these three players were a part of Manchester City’s massive success in the last 10 years or so.

But since Guardiola’s departure at the end of last season and arrival of his former assistant Enzo Maresca as the new head coach, the squad has gone through a massive shake-up, especially the midfield and frontlines. Manchester City also signed the likes of Eliott Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi on huge transfer fees to give the best chance to Maresca to go and fight for major trophies.

Manchester City will be looking to reclaim the Premier League title, something they won a total of seven times, including four in a row, under Pep Guardiola. However, due to the declining squad and some new faces, the Cityzens could not challenge for the coveted title, finishing third in the 2024/25 season and second below Arsenal last term.

After Pep’s departure, City has spent more than 300 million euros in reinforcements with Enzo Fernandez, a 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina, becoming the latest addition. Fernandez was under the club’s radar for most of the summer transfer window and a deal was expected to happen on the deadline day.

City’s interest particularly intensified as Enzo Maresca, who has worked with the midfielder during his short stint at Chelsea, pushed for the signing. The Italian mastermind will be hoping for Fernandez to work his magic at the Etihad Stadium.

Enzo Fernandez has signed a five-year contract, keeping him at the blue side of Manchester until 2031. The midfielder, 25, has won numerous trophies with his former clubs, most notably the Club World Cup in 2025 with Chelsea.

With this transfer, he also becomes the third most expensive signing in the history of football after Neymar and Kylian Mbappe’s transfers to Paris Saint-Germain.

Arjun Rajput is enjoying a phase that every young cricketer dreams of. But while his recent performances are putting him in the spotlight, the story behind his rise is one of perseverance, family support and sacrifices made long before the runs and wickets started coming.

Playing for Ludhiana Lions in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 League 2026, Rajput produced a memorable all-round performance against Bathinda Royals at the I.S. Bindra Stadium in Mohali. He first picked up 4/27 in four overs before smashing a match-winning 82 off 45 balls, helping Ludhiana chase down 166 with three wickets to spare.

The performance comes at an important stage of his career. Rajput has now been selected in the India U-19 squad for the upcoming one-day series against Australia U-19, having previously been part of the India U-19 side that faced Sri Lanka. It is another opportunity for the young cricketer to test himself at international level.

For Rajput, however, the journey started much closer to home.

His love for cricket came from his elder brother, who played the sport. Watching him gradually turned into a dream of his own.

“My elder brother used to play cricket. Looking at him, I decided that I want to play cricket,” Rajput told RevSportz in an exclusive interview.

Pursuing that dream meant understanding early that cricket demanded more than just ability. Fitness, discipline and lifestyle choices became part of his everyday routine.

“You have to work hard. You have to be fit. You have to be disciplined. You have to give up a lot of things,” he said. “You can’t do parties if you want to maintain a good level.”

There were also challenges beyond the choices he made as a young athlete. The academy where Rajput trained eventually shut down, leaving him and other youngsters without the facilities they had relied on.

“It was the main hub of Jalandhar. All the players started coming there. There were good facilities,” he recalled.

The closure made training difficult. “It was heartbreaking. We struggled a little. We didn’t get good practice. We couldn’t practise well,” he said. But instead of allowing that setback to end his progress, Rajput and his family found a way forward.

“But somehow we managed and made it.”

A major part of that support came from his father, Hoti Ram, who worked hard to keep the family going. Until around a year ago, he ran a chhole-kulche cart. He now operates a bakery, preparing and delivering kulchas.

There were financial difficulties, but Rajput says his father never allowed him to feel that he was missing out.

“My father never let me feel that I needed anything. He always provided everything on time.”

His India U-19 journey has already included a memorable outing against Sri Lanka, where he scored 76.

Now, Australia presents another opportunity.

His stint in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 League has allowed him to play alongside experienced cricketers and learn from them. Rajput says sharing a dressing room with senior players like Salil Arora and Arshdeep Singh has been an important part of his development.

“To be honest, you will get to learn a lot by sharing the dressing room with such big names. I feel very proud.”

He has also benefited from conversations with Abhishek Sharma, having previously been part of his Green Knights team.

“He shares a lot of small technical things in cricket,” Rajput said.

The league has also helped him stay in touch with white-ball cricket ahead of the Australia assignment. “The experience I will get from here will be useful there as well,” he said.

There are bigger dreams beyond the immediate challenge. Rajput would like to share a dressing room with MS Dhoni, while he named Ricky Ponting as a player he would like to play against. The IPL, too, remains an ambition.

“If I get the opportunity, I will definitely play,” he said.

But when asked where he wants to be in the next decade, Rajput’s answer was simple: “Represent my country on a senior level.”

For now, Australia is the next challenge. The 82 and four wickets have shown his current form; the India U-19 selection offers another stage. For him, it is another opportunity to prove himself.

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The post Arjun Rajput on Abhishek Sharma’s Advice: “He Shares a Lot of Small Technical Things in Cricket” appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.

PCB May Take Action Against Imam Ul Haq: इंग्लैंड दौरे पर पाकिस्तान की ड्रामेबाजी का पुराना इतिहास रहा है। इसी देश में खेलने आई पाकिस्तान की कई खिलाड़ी फिक्सिंग कांड में फंसे थे, जिनका करियर तबाह हो गया था। अब इसी देश में एक और पाकिस्तानी खिलाड़ी का ड्रामा देखने को मिला है। लॉर्ड्स में दूसरे बल्लेबाजों की हालत देखकर इमाम उल हक बल्लेबाजी के लिए नहीं आए। जिस पर सेलेक्टर ने सवाल उठाया है और जांच करने की बात कही है। ऐसे में अगर इमाम की चोट फर्जी निकलती है तो उनके खिलाफ सख्त एक्शन लिया जा सकता है।

Team India is set to clash against Afghanistan in the three-match T20 series. The first match is scheduled to be played on September 13, followed by the second game on September 15. The third match will be played on September 17.

The Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi will host all three shortest format's matches between the "Men in Blue" and the Afghans.

Ahead of the series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India's squad. Shreyas Iyer will lead the Indian pack and Tilak Varma will be his deputy.

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Harshit Rana have also been included in India's squad for the series. However, their feature will be subject to fitness.

Lead pacer Bumrah will mark his return to the squad after being sidelined due to an injury. Earlier, he sustained a knee injury during the ODI series against England, following which he also missed the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

Recently, Team India won the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka by 1-0 under the leadership of Shubman Gill.

Earlier, opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran was officially named Afghanistan's T20I captain. This will be his first series as Afghanistan's full-time T20I skipper.

Spin star Rashid Khan will lead an elite spin unit alongside Noor Ahmad and Nangyal Kharoti, joined by veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi.

Earlier in the year, Team India hosted Afghanistan in a one-off Test match, which the Gill-led men won comfortably, as Manav Suthar starred with the ball and the skipper scored a century.

The squad for the Afghanistan series is similar to the Asian Games starting later this month in Japan's Aichi-Nagoya.

IND vs AFG T20Is: Full squads

India: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran (C), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Nangeyalia Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Noor Ahmad, Noor ul Rahman (WK), Abdullah Ahmadzai.

(With PTI Inputs)

London [UK], September 2 (ANI): Argentina star Enzo Fernandez has inked a deal with Manchester City till 2031, the club announced on Tuesday.

Fernandez inks the deal with Premier League giants after a successful stint with Chelsea from 2023-26, having won the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. He started off his playing career in his homeland for Defensa y Justicia and River Plate, where he won four major trophies, before a stint from 2022-23 with Benfica, which saw him win the Primeira Liga.

During his time with Chelsea, Enzo developed a reputation as one of the finest midfielders of the Premier League.

At international level, Enzo is a FIFA World Cup (2022) and Copa America (2024) winner with Argentina and recently finished as runners-up in the FIFA WC 2026 final, where they lost to Spain.

On joining Manchester City, Enzo said, as per a club statement: “Manchester City are the most successful club in England in recent times. Every player wants to be part of a club like this because everyone knows how well-run City are.

“I could not be happier to be here, and I am ready for the challenge of helping City continue winning trophies. This is a club built for success. If you look across the squad, City have quality in every area. I want to learn from my new teammates and become a better player."

“I pride myself on continually improving my game. Anyone who has worked with me will know how hard I train every single day and how much I put into matches. I give absolutely everything, and I can promise Manchester City that will continue now I am here."

“I want to thank Hugo, Enzo, Khaldoon and everyone at City who has made this deal possible. I want to take the faith shown in me and repay it as soon as possible," he concluded.

Director of Football Hugo Viana added: “At Manchester City, we are always looking to bring in world-class players and Enzo fits the bill.

“He is a complete midfielder: technically gifted, hardworking, tenacious and a goalscorer. He is adept at playing different styles of football. He is comfortable playing a possession-based game, and he can play on the counter effectively, too."

“To have played in two World Cup finals and won major trophies in multiple countries at just 25 says everything you need to know about his mentality, professionalism and technical quality. We are delighted to bring him here and feel very strongly he will improve our team," he signed off. (ANI)

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