Football news

"Bayer Leverkusen announced on its official website the signing of a contract with Girona midfielder Ales Garcia.

The Spanish midfielder's agreement with the German champion is valid until the summer of 2029. The transfer fee for the 26-year-old footballer amounted to 18 million euros plus 2 million euros in potential bonuses.

Thus, Garcia became the most expensive sale in Girona's history, surpassing the previous record of Pedro Porro and Santiago Bueno, both of whom were sold for 12 million euros.

The president of Catalan club Barcelona, Joan Laporta, praised the Blaugrana's current position in the European arena.

"The Barcelona brand is quite powerful. We are the best multi-sport club in the world, we have 48 wins in the Champions League," said Joan Laporta.

It is worth noting that the 61-year-old added the achievements of men's and women's teams in other sports to the success of the football club.

Real Madrid and Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Lunin will leave the Spanish club this summer. This is reported by the portal El Golazo de Gol.

It is reported that Lunin told his inner circle that he does not plan to extend the agreement with Real Madrid and wants to leave the Madrid club.

The main reason is the lack of trust from the team's head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who considers Lunin to be only the second goalkeeper.

Earlier, there was information that Lunin could move to London's Arsenal.

Legendary forward of Kyiv Dynamo Igor Belanov said what he thinks about the situation in which Ukrainian goalkeeper of this team Andriy Lunin found himself at Real Madrid.

"I am sure that it will not happen that next season Lunin will return to the bench of Real Madrid, giving way to Courtois in the main lineup. His contract with the Madrid club expires in 2025, and Lunin is in no hurry to renew it. He realizes that now it is very important for him to show himself at Euro 2024, as he will be watched by scouts of many important clubs in the world.

If Lunin plays successfully at the European Championship, Real Madrid will receive many offers from top clubs and, perhaps, will let their Ukrainian goalkeeper go. Andriy is definitely not happy with the prospect of being an eternal number two, and with no guarantees of a stable game, he will want to leave.

Keeping a goalkeeper of such quality on the bench and then letting him go after a year for free is simply not profitable for Real Madrid. Therefore, I see only two possible outcomes of this situation: either Lunin will get a promise to play consistently for Real Madrid and sign a new contract this summer, or he will be sold to another top club. The press, for example, has already reported interest in Andrei from Bayern Munich, who need a replacement for Manuel Neuer," Belanov's words are quoted by AS with reference to Winwin.

Translation and stylistic adaptation - Dynamo.kiev.ua, when using the material hyperlink is mandatory!

Former Dnipro and Ukraine goalkeeper Mykola Medin spoke about Andriy Lunin's performance as Real Madrid's main goalkeeper.

- Lunin, class of 2022 and class of 2024, is a goalkeeper with different statuses at Real Madrid. Two years ago, he was constantly on the bench in the Champions League, and this year, we can say that he pulled Real Madrid to the final. Let's recall his phenomenal performance in the game against Leipzig, two penalties saved in the quarterfinals against Manchester City and many other good matches. Andriy has started to act much more confidently and he passes this confidence on to his teammates. And his footwork is fantastic. It's a pity that Lunin missed the Champions League final, because he deserved to be a direct participant in it," the expert believes.

Arsenal are finalizing the acquisition of goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners are in the final stages of finalizing the documents for the full transfer of the 28-year-old goalkeeper. The Spanish goalkeeper will cost Arsenal 27 million pounds.

Last season, Raya played on loan for Arsenal. As a result of the 2023/24 campaign, David received the Golden Glove, which is awarded annually to the goalkeeper with the most "dry" matches in the English Championship.

Real Madrid footballer Daniel Carvajal believes that the Spanish national team can win the 2024 European Championship.

"Yes, I think we have a chance. People may say that we are not obvious favorites, but we still have a chance. I would say that we are candidates to win Euro 2024," Carvajal was quoted as saying by the Spanish online publication Marca.

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has agreed to a huge pay cut for a new contract with the "royal club".

According to a source, under the new agreement, Luka Modric will receive about 5 million euros per season in Madrid, half as much as he used to.

It will be recalled that Luka Modric has been defending the colors of Real Madrid since the summer of 2012. During this time, the Croatian has played 534 matches and scored 39 goals.

Real Madrid and Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Lunin commented on the information that he could move to London's Arsenal in the summer.

"I am currently defending the colors of the national team at Euro 2024. I am focused on this. Then I will decide what to do," Defensacentral.com quoted Lunin as saying.

Earlier, there was information that Lunin could leave Real Madrid this summer, as he does not feel trusted by the team's coach Ancelotti.

Ukrainian coach Myron Markevych expressed his opinion on the possible transfer of Girona forward Artem Dovbyk.

"It seems to me that Dovbyk does not need to leave Spain. He feels confident there. It is clear that he needs to leave Girona if they take him, but he does not need to leave Spain. I once took him to Dnipro, believed in him, even though he was completely raw. Now I advise him not to leave Spain. If Atletico wants him, then he should go there, it's a slightly different level," Markevich was quoted as saying by the Vzbirna telegram channel, citing BurBuzz.

Fenerbahçe head coach Jose Mourinho shared his opinion on the next Ballon d'Or winner.

Who will win the Ballon d'Or? I believe Vinicius Junior will win it," the Portuguese told TNT Sports.

The 2024 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony will take place on October 28. The list of nominees will be announced on September 4.

France forward Kylian Mbappe has once again admitted that he dreams of winning the Ballon d'Or.

- "The Ballon d'Or is my constant dream. I have been dreaming about this award since childhood. I continue to work hard to achieve my goal. I'm constantly improving and not losing my fun," said Kylian Mbappe.

It will be recalled that in the summer transfer window, Real Madrid announced the transfer of Kylian Mbappe to the Spanish club.