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Newcastle Did Not Want to Sell Guimaraes, Says Sporting Director Wilson

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Crystal Palace - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - January 4, 2026 Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Crystal Palace - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - January 4, 2026 Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
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Newcastle Did Not Want to Sell Guimaraes, Says Sporting Director Wilson

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Crystal Palace - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - January 4, 2026 Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Crystal Palace - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - January 4, 2026 Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)

Newcastle United did not ‌want to sell captain Bruno Guimaraes, sporting director Ross Wilson said on Friday, after reports linked the Brazil midfielder with a move to Arsenal.

British media reported on Wednesday that Arsenal had agreed a deal worth £75 million ($100 million) for the 28-year-old. Neither club has confirmed the reported transfer or responded to requests from Reuters for comment.

"We didn't want to sell Bruno. It wasn't in the plan to sell Bruno. None ‌of us — ‌or ownership — wanted to sell Bruno," ‌Wilson ⁠told reporters at ⁠Newcastle's pre-season training camp in Spain.

"He's our captain, he was very important to us, and the debate over his price — it's a world-record fee for a player of his age.

"What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his ⁠behavior towards us, very emotionally as well, ‌effectively told us he ‌wanted to leave and move on."

Guimaraes, who joined Newcastle from ‌French side Olympique Lyonnais in January 2022, has ‌made 195 appearances in all competitions and scored 31 goals for the Premier League club.

He captained Newcastle to League Cup glory in 2025, ending the club's long wait ‌for domestic silverware.

"There's no part in saying (the transfer) was part of our strategy ⁠and was ⁠in our thinking this summer - it wasn't. But we have got to be flexible and react to things that happen," Wilson said.

"It might have been in our plan to sign one player, but we didn't get him so we move on to another. We can only be honest about that."

Guimaraes' exit would be another setback for Newcastle following the departures of Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and manager Eddie Howe.

Newcastle begin their Premier League campaign against Liverpool on August 23.

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Sports

China in Contact with Real Madrid, LaLiga Over Mbappe’s Mao Comments

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish LaLiga match between Racing de Santander and Real Madrid in Santander, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish LaLiga match between Racing de Santander and Real Madrid in Santander, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP)
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China in Contact with Real Madrid, LaLiga Over Mbappe’s Mao Comments

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish LaLiga match between Racing de Santander and Real Madrid in Santander, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish LaLiga match between Racing de Santander and Real Madrid in Santander, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP)

China is in contact ‌with Real Madrid and LaLiga over the fallout from Kylian Mbappe's remarks about Mao Zedong, China's ambassador to Spain Yao Jing said on Friday.

"There are no negotiations, but there is communication, based on mutual understanding," Yao told Spanish news agency EFE before attending a forum at the University of Salamanca.

"This unfortunate incident hurt the feelings of many people in China, who now have to come to terms with the current situation," he added.

The dispute began after ‌a video circulated ‌online in which the Real Madrid ‌and ⁠France forward discussed ⁠a meme showing his face superimposed on an image of Mao.

Mbappe described the figure as "some guy, I think he's a Chinese dictator" but did not name Mao, modern China's founding leader who governed the country from 1949 until his death in 1976.

LaLiga, Real Madrid and the French footballer ⁠all subsequently apologized.

China's state broadcaster CCTV suspended ‌its coverage of LaLiga and ‌several Chinese brands dropped Mbappe from their marketing campaigns.

Streaming platform Migu ‌omitted Real Madrid's match against Racing Santander last weekend ‌while showing other Spanish league games.

China Media Group said last week that it would listen to what Mbappe had to say after his apology, and "more importantly" watch what he does.

LaLiga president ‌Javier Tebas met Yao last week as Spanish football sought to limit the commercial ⁠fallout and ⁠said on Monday that the league was continuing its dialogue with Chinese authorities.

LaLiga was "working to resolve it", Tebas said at the World In Progress forum, adding that it continued to have an "extraordinary relationship" with CCTV and Migu.

LaLiga and Migu have an agreement allowing the broadcast of Spain's top division matches until the end of the 2029-30 season.

The LaLiga president said the league's broadcasting contracts with CCTV and Migu totaled around €10 million ($11.20 million) per year, having fallen from €100 million annually at their peak.

Real Madrid did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sports

Jude Bellingham’s Brother Jobe Gets First England Call-up

Football - UEFA Champions League - Borussia Dortmund v Real Betis - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - November 4, 2026 Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham in action with Real Betis' Nelson Deossa. (Reuters)
Football - UEFA Champions League - Borussia Dortmund v Real Betis - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - November 4, 2026 Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham in action with Real Betis' Nelson Deossa. (Reuters)
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Jude Bellingham’s Brother Jobe Gets First England Call-up

Football - UEFA Champions League - Borussia Dortmund v Real Betis - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - November 4, 2026 Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham in action with Real Betis' Nelson Deossa. (Reuters)
Football - UEFA Champions League - Borussia Dortmund v Real Betis - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - November 4, 2026 Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham in action with Real Betis' Nelson Deossa. (Reuters)

Jobe Bellingham was named alongside older brother Jude in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the first time on Friday as Chelsea's Cole Palmer missed out.

Fulham teenager Josh King has also been handed his first call-up ahead of Nations League games against Croatia and Spain.

Tuchel said in September that Palmer "misses too many opportunities" to impress at international level after he pulled out of England's previous squad due to injury.

The Chelsea star, who was not included for the World Cup, has been left out as Tuchel takes the opportunity to look at younger options with a place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League almost guaranteed.

Jobe Bellingham, 21, has been rewarded for a strong start to his second season at Borussia Dortmund, where Jude also played for three seasons before moving to Real Madrid.

King has impressed despite Fulham's struggles in the Premier League, while Liverpool's 18-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha is also included.

"Lee Carsley (the England under-21 coach) is talking highly about Jobe since weeks and months that he deserves, if there is a spot and if there is a possibility to join and to make an impression in the first team," Tuchel said in a video posted by England on their social media channels.

"He has had good matches now and he's on a good run of form with Dortmund so he deserves to be with us."

England are second in group A3 after four games, with three wins and a defeat, against Spain at Wembley.

The Three Lions host Croatia, whom they beat 7-0 last month, on Thursday before travelling to take on Spain with just one point needed to qualify for the knockout rounds in March.

Newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane is set to surpass Peter Shilton as England's most-capped men's player after drawing level with the former goalkeeper on 125 appearances against the Czech Republic.

England squad

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton), James Trafford (Leeds)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid/ESP), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa, Ben White (both Arsenal), Djed Spence (Inter Milan/ITA), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen/GER)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid/ESP), Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/GER), James Garner (Everton), Josh King (Fulham), Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze (all Arsenal)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich/GER), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona/ESP), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)

Sports

Bayern’s Danks Eager for Break After Rollercoaster Weeks

Bayern's assistant coach Aaron Danks waits for the start of the Champions League opening phase match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP)
Bayern's assistant coach Aaron Danks waits for the start of the Champions League opening phase match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP)
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Bayern’s Danks Eager for Break After Rollercoaster Weeks

Bayern's assistant coach Aaron Danks waits for the start of the Champions League opening phase match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP)
Bayern's assistant coach Aaron Danks waits for the start of the Champions League opening phase match between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP)

Bayern Munich ‌assistant coach Aaron Danks is looking forward to the international break next week after stepping in to replace Vincent Kompany following his illness in the past two weeks, he said on Friday.

Kompany collapsed on the training pitch on October 23 and was rushed to hospital. He was later diagnosed with meningeal irritation and has since been recovering at home.

Danks has led the team to three wins and a draw in ‌his four ‌matches in charge, including Tuesday's 2-0 ‌Champions ⁠League victory at ⁠Atletico Madrid and a 6-1 demolition of Magdeburg in the German Cup.

"Obviously, I am someone who wants to learn so it was a good challenge for me, but the circumstances were not something I would have hoped or wished for," Danks told a ⁠press conference. "It is not like I am ‌happy for this opportunity ‌but I have embraced it and learned a lot."

While there ‌is no date for Kompany's return to work, ‌the international break after this weekend's matches will give both the Belgian and Danks time to rest.

Bayern, top of the Bundesliga, ahead of Borussia Dortmund on goal difference, travel ‌to Mainz 05 on Saturday.

"I am looking forward to the rest and the ⁠break, especially ⁠for me, to get back home to see the family," Danks said. "Hopefully after a victory I can fly home and spend time with the family in a nice way."

He said the team had so far delivered, with Danks and his coaching staff drawing on the work of the past two and a half years with Kompany.

"It has been about sticking a lot to our processes. It's been difficult, but I think we have done it through Vince's lens, through his leadership style," Danks said.