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Fenerbahce Thanks Erdogan for Backing Kante Deal

FILE - France's N'golo Kante fights for the ball against Ukraine's Yehor Nazaryna during a World Cup 2026 group D qualifying soccer match between France and Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, file)
FILE - France's N'golo Kante fights for the ball against Ukraine's Yehor Nazaryna during a World Cup 2026 group D qualifying soccer match between France and Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, file)
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Fenerbahce Thanks Erdogan for Backing Kante Deal

FILE - France's N'golo Kante fights for the ball against Ukraine's Yehor Nazaryna during a World Cup 2026 group D qualifying soccer match between France and Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, file)
FILE - France's N'golo Kante fights for the ball against Ukraine's Yehor Nazaryna during a World Cup 2026 group D qualifying soccer match between France and Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, file)

France midfielder Ngolo Kante has signed for Fenerbahce thanks to "support" from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish club said on Wednesday.

The length of Kante's contract has not been revealed but it offers the two-time Premier League winning midfielder (Leicester 2016, Chelsea 2017) a chance to further his claim for a place in France's World Cup finals squad.

"Our club has successfully completed the transfer of N'Golo Kante, a prominent figure in world football," Fenerbahce president Sadettin Saran said.

"On behalf of myself and our club, I would like to express my gratitude to our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his significant support in ensuring the positive conclusion of this process, which will contribute to the development of both Fenerbahce and Turkish football," he added.

Fenerbahce, 19 times Turkish champions, have also signed Kante's fellow France midfielder Matteo Guendouzi during the winter transfer window.

They are locked in a tight battle for the league title, three points off fellow-Istanbul side Galatasary, and face English outfit Nottingham Forest in the Europa League knockout phase play-offs later this month.

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Harry Kane Out of Bayern's Next Game with Calf Injury

Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
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Harry Kane Out of Bayern's Next Game with Calf Injury

Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL

Harry Kane will miss Bayern Munich's game against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday with a calf injury in a blow to his hopes of breaking the Bundesliga record for most goals in a season.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said on Thursday the problem wasn't serious but means Kane will play no part in Friday's game, which could see Bayern open up a 14-point lead at the top of the table.

“He got a knock on his calf and hasn’t recovered yet,” The Associated Press quoted Kompany as saying. "It’s nothing serious for the time being but we’d need maybe another a day for him to be involved. We’re pretty relaxed. Of course we would have liked Harry to be involved but these things happen.”

Kompany didn't express concern Kane would miss Bayern's visit to Atalanta in the Champions League round of 16 next week.

Kane has scored 30 goals in the Bundesliga and is 11 short of Robert Lewandowski's record of 41, with 10 games remaining.

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Verstappen Says Too Late to Change Tack on New F1 Era

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 5, 2026 Red Bull's Max Verstappen during the photoshoot ahead of the Australian Grand Prix REUTERS/Mark Peterson
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 5, 2026 Red Bull's Max Verstappen during the photoshoot ahead of the Australian Grand Prix REUTERS/Mark Peterson
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Verstappen Says Too Late to Change Tack on New F1 Era

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 5, 2026 Red Bull's Max Verstappen during the photoshoot ahead of the Australian Grand Prix REUTERS/Mark Peterson
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 5, 2026 Red Bull's Max Verstappen during the photoshoot ahead of the Australian Grand Prix REUTERS/Mark Peterson

Four-times Formula One champion Max Verstappen is no fan of F1's technical reset but believes it is here to stay.

During off-season testing, the Red Bull driver was critical of the more electrified engines, which put more onus on drivers to be tactical with energy deployment and regeneration, describing it as "Formula E on steroids" and "anti-racing.”

Other drivers have also expressed concern in the lead-up to Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix where they will contend with the changes under race conditions for ⁠the first time.

Williams' ⁠Carlos Sainz told reporters at Albert Park that the governing FIA needed to listen to driver feedback and be flexible to tweak the regulations from race to race.

Verstappen said it was a "bit late" for that.

"Everything, the amount of money that has been ⁠invested as well into these regulations, it will be around for a while," he told reporters, according to Reuters.

"Suddenly, now things are raised, it's a bit late."

Verstappen, however, gave a glowing review of Red Bull's RB22 cars which will race with their own engine for the first time in Australia.

"I was really positively surprised with how basically everything felt," he said.

"Also, the rule changes have been really complex for everyone, but in terms ⁠of the ⁠feeling in the car, the driving experience between the engine and the car was good."

Mercedes and Ferrari appeared to have the edge over rivals in winter testing, and Verstappen acknowledged that Red Bull was unlikely to be the fastest team.

"Looking on the performance side of things, I think we want to be a little bit faster," he said.

"And naturally, I think everyone always wants to be faster, but from the things we learned in Bahrain (testing), at least we're not the quickest."

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Djokovic Says he Will Keep Playing as Long as he Has 'Fire and Flair'

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 04: Novak Djokovic of Serbia fields questions form the media during Day 1 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 04, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 04: Novak Djokovic of Serbia fields questions form the media during Day 1 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 04, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
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Djokovic Says he Will Keep Playing as Long as he Has 'Fire and Flair'

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 04: Novak Djokovic of Serbia fields questions form the media during Day 1 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 04, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 04: Novak Djokovic of Serbia fields questions form the media during Day 1 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 04, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

Novak Djokovic said he sees no reason to retire from tennis given that he is still motivated to compete and capable of beating the best players in the world.

The 38-year-old Serb defeated defending champion Jannik Sinner in a thrilling semi-final at the Australian Open in January before falling to world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the final, proving he is still a force on ⁠the sport's biggest ⁠stages.

"It was an incredible feeling to be able to beat Sinner in five sets in one of the epic matches that I played in recent times in Australia, and then have another great match with Carlos, who was just too good in the end," Djokovic told ⁠reporters at Indian Wells.

"For me, that has been a phenomenal result. So I have proven to myself primarily and to others that I can still compete at the highest level and beat these guys," Reuters quoted him as saying.

"So my logic is why not keep going as long as I have that fire and flair and quality and the motivation to do that."

The 24-times Grand Slam champion said he enjoys picking and choosing his schedule, which revolves mostly ⁠around the ⁠four Grand Slams and tune-up events. He also makes space for the Indian Wells tournament in the California desert, where he is a five-time champion.

"I really enjoy the thrill of competition," he said.

"I enjoy still getting out there in front of the fans and being competitive. Still number three in the world, so I don't think it's too bad in terms of the ranking and results and performances.

"So I'm still competitive. I still have that edge, and I'll keep on going as long as I feel like it."