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Chelsea Signs Christopher Nkunku from Leipzig on 6-Year Deal

French forward Christopher Nkunku gives a press conference during the preparation of the French squad for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches, in Clairefontaine in June 10, 2023. (AFP)
French forward Christopher Nkunku gives a press conference during the preparation of the French squad for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches, in Clairefontaine in June 10, 2023. (AFP)
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Chelsea Signs Christopher Nkunku from Leipzig on 6-Year Deal

French forward Christopher Nkunku gives a press conference during the preparation of the French squad for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches, in Clairefontaine in June 10, 2023. (AFP)
French forward Christopher Nkunku gives a press conference during the preparation of the French squad for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 football tournament qualifying matches, in Clairefontaine in June 10, 2023. (AFP)

Chelsea signed France forward Christopher Nkunku from Leipzig on a six-year contract on Tuesday.

The London club spent around $630 million last season and has got its latest recruitment drive up and running with the deal for the highly rated Nkunku. His contract starts on July 1.

”A big effort was made to bring me to the club and I am looking forward to meeting my new coach and teammates and showing the Chelsea supporters what I can do on the pitch," the 25-year-old Nkunku said.

Chelsea endured a miserable first year under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. It recorded its lowest ever points total in the Premier League and missed out on qualification for Europe.

Managers Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter were discarded and club icon Frank Lampard returned in an interim role to see out the season. Former Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed and charged with the responsibility of turning around Chelsea's fortunes.

Nkunku is expected to kick off another busy summer at Stamford Bridge.

“Christopher has proved himself one of the standout attacking players in European football over the past two seasons and will add quality, creativity and versatility to our squad,” Chelsea co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said in a statement.

Nkunku has been capped 10 times by France and played for Paris Saint-Germain before joining Leipzig in 2019.

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Morocco Refer AFCON Champions Senegal to CAF and FIFA

Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
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Morocco Refer AFCON Champions Senegal to CAF and FIFA

Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
Senegal's Idrissa Gueye calls players to walk off the ptich during the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco, in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)

The Moroccan Football Federation said Monday it has formally referred to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA incidents involving Senegalese players and supporters protesting a penalty to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Senegal's protest in added time of normal play during Sunday night's clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger.

Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.

The AFCON hosts' football federation said these acts "had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players' performance", with Morocco then missing the penalty that could have granted them their first African title in 50 years.

The federation said "it will resort to legal procedures" with CAF, the tournament's organizing body, and FIFA "in order to rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field"... "as well as on the events that accompanied this decision".

It said the referee's decision to grant the Atlas Lions a penalty was "deemed correct by unanimous opinion of specialists".

FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned "some Senegal players" for the "unacceptable scenes".

Senegal scored the game's only goal just four minutes into extra time after the players returned to the pitch following an appeal from star forward Sadio Mane.

Several Moroccan media outlets on Monday criticized Senegal for a lack of fair play and unsporting behavior.

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Man City Announce Signing of Defender Marc Guehi

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
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Man City Announce Signing of Defender Marc Guehi

Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace v Sunderland - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - September 13, 2025 Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi applauds fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

England defender Marc Guehi has signed for Manchester City from Crystal Palace on a five-and-a-half year contract, the Premier League club announced on Monday, AFP reported.

City stepped up their pursuit of Guehi in a deal reportedly worth £20 million ($27 million) after suffering an acute injury crisis at centre-half and confirmation of the move had been widely expected.

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Djokovic Reaches 100th Australian Open Match Win in Hunt for 25th Grand Slam

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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Djokovic Reaches 100th Australian Open Match Win in Hunt for 25th Grand Slam

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2026 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his first round match against Spain's Pedro Martinez REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Novak Djokovic began his ​hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the Australian Open first round on Monday, the Serb easing pre-tournament concerns about his fitness with a sparkling display.

Doubts had been raised about Djokovic's preparedness for the major he has won a record 10 times after the 38-year-old skipped the Adelaide tune-up event and cut short practice on Sunday, but he had no trouble sealing his 100th ‌match win at ‌Melbourne Park, Reuters reported.

The flawless performance means Djokovic has reached ‌a ⁠century ​of match ‌wins in three of the four Grand Slams, with 95 at the US Open.

"What can I say? I like the sound of it - centurion is pretty nice, it's a nice feeling to be a centurion," Djokovic said as a montage of his greatest Melbourne moments on Rod Laver Arena played out on the big screen.

"History-making is great motivation, particularly in the last five to 10 years of my career. ⁠Once I got myself into a position to eventually make history, I was even more inspired to ‌play the best tennis, and that's what I've done.

"I ‍was very fortunate early on in ‍my career to encounter people who taught me and guided me to ‍play the long shot, not burn out too quickly, to take care of my body and mind and try to have as long a career as possible.

"I'm blessed to be playing at this level and another win here tonight is a dream come true."

A ​potentially tricky start against first-time opponent Martinez turned into a routine workout when Djokovic seized control with a break and never loosened ⁠his grip under the bright lights of the main showcourt to take the opening set.

Despite last playing in November when he claimed his 101st career title in Athens, Djokovic barely missed a beat as he let rip a fiery crosscourt winner en route to breaking early and wrapping up the second set.

While the spotlight has largely swung toward reigning Melbourne champion Jannik Sinner and world number one Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic reminded the duo of his threat with some sublime tennis to power through the third set and prevail at his favourite hunting ground.

"It's definitely my favourite court, a court that has given me so much," added Djokovic, who will ‌hope to return when he takes on Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli.

"I always try to give back and I hope you enjoyed the tennis."