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Crown Prince Hands Saudi Cup Trophy to ‘Forever Young’

Commemorative photos were taken to mark the occasion. SPA
Commemorative photos were taken to mark the occasion. SPA
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Crown Prince Hands Saudi Cup Trophy to ‘Forever Young’

Commemorative photos were taken to mark the occasion. SPA
Commemorative photos were taken to mark the occasion. SPA

Under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, attended the Saudi Cup horse racing ceremony on Saturday evening at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.
Upon his arrival, the Crown Prince was received by Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Equestrian Authority and the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, and Board Member of the JCSA and technical committees Chairman Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz.
The royal anthem was played before the race began. Participating horses then moved from the saddling area to the parade ring, where all the competing jockeys were present.
Following the commencement of the ninth race for the Saudi Cup, the Crown Prince proceeded to the presentation podium and congratulated Susumu Fujita, the representative of the winning horse Forever Young, who lifted the Saudi Cup trophy.
The Crown Prince also extended his congratulations to the horse’s trainer, Yoshito Yahagi, and jockey Ryusei Sakai, both of whom received a horse statuette and a jockey’s helmet. Commemorative photos were taken to mark the occasion.
Several princes, ministers, and high-ranking officials from the Kingdom and abroad attended the event.

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Sports

Quintero Wins Dakar Rally 2nd Stage and Al-Attiyah Takes Overall Lead in Saudi Arabia

Driver Seth Quintero and co-driver Andrew Short compete during the first stage of the Dakar Rally in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP)
Driver Seth Quintero and co-driver Andrew Short compete during the first stage of the Dakar Rally in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP)
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Quintero Wins Dakar Rally 2nd Stage and Al-Attiyah Takes Overall Lead in Saudi Arabia

Driver Seth Quintero and co-driver Andrew Short compete during the first stage of the Dakar Rally in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP)
Driver Seth Quintero and co-driver Andrew Short compete during the first stage of the Dakar Rally in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP)

Seth Quintero won the second stage of the Dakar Rally and missed out by seconds on taking the overall lead on Monday.

Meanwhile, motorbike defending champion Daniel Sanders dominated the 400-kilometer special from Yanbu across the Hedjaz Mountains to AlUla to win the stage and replace KTM teammate Edgar Canet as the overall leader.

Quintero, 18th on stage one, found the second more to his liking. The American driver took the lead by the 143-kilometer waypoint and after four hours won by 1 minute, 42 seconds from Toyota Gazoo teammate Henk Lategan, the Dakar runner-up last year. A third teammate, Toby Price, was fourth.

“If you're battling your teammates for a win then you're having a good day,” Quintero said. “We're in a good way. We've done a lot of strategizing so if I can have an okay day tomorrow and be in mid pack at the start of the marathon (on Wednesday) then I'll be a happy camper.”

Defending champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi was third after an awful stage one in which he finished nearly 29 minutes off the pace. He's cut that to 24.

Eighth place on the day was good enough for Nasser Al-Attiyah to lead overall for the first time since his fifth and last Dakar title in 2023.

Overall, Al-Attiyah was seven seconds up on Quintero, with stage one winner Guillaume de Mévius third. The top seven drivers were separated by less than three minutes.

“The key of the Dakar will be tomorrow because I think it will be hard navigation,” Al-Attiyah said. “This area is not easy.”

Tuesday's stage is a 422-kilometer loop near AlUla without many landmarks to help navigation.

Canet opened the way for the motorbikes for the first 100 kilometers until the novice winner of the first two specials was caught by Sanders. The teammates rode together to the end, picking up bonus times and finishing one-two on the stage and overall.

Sanders won the stage by 1 minute, 35 seconds and replaced Canet as leader by 30 seconds. Ricky Brabec was third on the stage and overall.

“We didn't push or do anything crazy,” Sanders said. “(Edgar) just sat behind and watched, followed and learned. I'm sure he had some fun back there in the dust. He was there to fix a couple of mistakes and it was good fun riding with him.”

Adrien van Beveren, third in 2024 and 2025, hit a tree after the pitstop but finished the stage and was 14 minutes down.

Sports

Amorim Sacked by Man Utd after 14-Month Reign

Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Manchester United - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - January 4, 2026 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Manchester United - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - January 4, 2026 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts. (Reuters)
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Amorim Sacked by Man Utd after 14-Month Reign

Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Manchester United - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - January 4, 2026 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Manchester United - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - January 4, 2026 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts. (Reuters)

Ruben Amorim has been sacked as Manchester United manager 14 months after arriving at Old Trafford, the club announced on Monday.

United said in a statement that the Portuguese had left his role, with the club's leadership having "reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change".

The club added: "This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish.

"The club would like to thank Ruben for his contribution to the club and wishes him well for the future."

Current Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher will take charge of the team against Burnley on Wednesday.

United are currently sixth in the Premier League table after a 1-1 draw at Leeds on Sunday.

After that game, an irate Amorim stressed he was United's manager rather than just the coach during an eye-catching press conference in which he told the scouting department and director of football, Jason Wilcox, "to do their job".

The 40-year-old had alluded to frustration behind the scenes in the build-up to the match as the United boss refused to clarify his recent comments about the club's transfer plans.

He had looked downbeat when he sidestepped those questions but was more forthcoming when asked on Sunday if he still felt he had confidence from the board.

"Guys, to start with that -- and I noticed that you receive selective information about everything -- I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United," Amorim said. "And that is clear.

"I know that my name is not (Thomas) Tuchel, it's not (Antonio) Conte, it's not (Jose) Mourinho but I'm the manager of Manchester United.

"And it's going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change, so that was my point.

"I want to finish with that. I'm not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me."

Amorim was appointed in November 2024 and led the team to the Europa League final in Bilbao in May, losing to Tottenham Hotspur, but they finished 15th in the Premier League last season.

His 14-month stint is the shortest reign of a permanent manager at United since David Moyes was sacked just eight months into his tenure in 2014.

United, 20-time English champions, have not won the Premier League since 2013, in Alex Ferguson's final season in charge.

Sports

Bayern's Lennart Karl Calls Real Madrid his 'Dream Club'

Bayern's Lennart Karl, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Sporting CP in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern's Lennart Karl, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Sporting CP in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
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Bayern's Lennart Karl Calls Real Madrid his 'Dream Club'

Bayern's Lennart Karl, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Sporting CP in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern's Lennart Karl, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Sporting CP in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern Munich's latest young sensation is already thinking about a future elsewhere.

Lennart Karl, the 17-year-old midfielder who became Bayern's youngest Champions League scorer in October, prompted laughs, criticism and confusion Sunday with an admission he dreams of moving to Real Madrid.

During a question-and-answer session at a small-town fan gathering Sunday, the sort of visit that's a new year's tradition for the club's players, Karl was asked if he had a “dream club” other than Bayern.

“Bayern's a very, very big club in any case, and it's a dream to play there, but some day I'd definitely like to go to Real Madrid. That's my dream club, but that stays between us," Karl said, to laughter from the Bayern fans in the audience, in comments broadcast by Sky Sport in Germany.

“But obviously Bayern is something very, very special and it's lots and lots of fun at the club.”

While the fans in the audience seemed to take Karl's comments with good humor, the young midfielder faced criticism from Bayern supporters online questioning his loyalty to the club.

Karl came through Bayern's youth academy and made his first-team debut in a 10-0 thrashing of Auckland City at the Club World Cup in June before becoming a regular this season, with six goals in 22 games.