Manchester United are now readying a move to sign an “exceptional” star after making initial contact, according to a recent report.

Man Utd eye move for Sunderland youngster Jobe Bellingham

This summer is expected to be a busy period for the Red Devils, as Ruben Amorim and INEOS will be looking to move players on as they look to free up space and money, so players can arrive who are more suited to what Amorim wants to do at Old Trafford.

The additions of Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu in January have worked very well for United so far, so there will be a belief that more fresh arrivals and Amorim can really start to get things going at the club.

Man Utd and INEOS eye bid to sign £20m gem who's been likened to Dele Alli

Man Utd missed out on the signing of Dele Alli years ago, but they could now be set to sign a player who has similar attributes.

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One player who looks set to leave Old Trafford is midfielder Christian Eriksen, as his contract expires at the end of the season. Eriksen has revealed in an interview that he hasn’t heard anything from the club and therefore expects to leave.

“I haven’t heard anything from the club, and therefore I assume that the collaboration will stop – that’s how I interpret it. I am prepared to find something new. I am fine with that. Where it will be, I haven’t decided yet.”

As Eriksen closes in on his Old Trafford exit, TEAMtalk have reported that United are considering a move to sign Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland. The Premier League side are among the clubs interested in the young midfielder and are monitoring his progress at the Stadium of Light, as they want to be in a good position to sign him.

Man Utd readying move to sign £75m+ star ahead of Liverpool

But as well as looking to improve United’s midfield, Amorim also has his eye on improving his attacking options. According to TEAMtalk, Man United have made contact and are now ready to make a move to sign Juventus winger Kenen Yildiz.

The report states that United have made initial contact to sign Yildiz, as they look to get ahead of the other Premier League teams who are also keen on signing the Turkish international, which includes rivals Liverpool.

Yildiz, who has started 22 times in Serie A this season, is considered an exciting winger in Europe and has established himself as a regular in Juventus’ first team. But despite that, the Old Lady are willing to cash in on Yildiz as long as they get a fee of around €90 million, which is roughly £75.7 million.

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Yildiz, who has been dubbed “exceptional” by his national manager, may have to wait to see what his future holds, as it could depend on if the club can achieve Champions League qualification this season. United or any other team are yet to hold advance talks over signing the winger, with them only gathering information at this moment in time.

Manchester City are not short of exciting young talent in their squad. Although Pep Guardiola’s side have struggled this season, they still have plenty of exciting youngsters who could all have a part to play in the first team in the years to come.

Two of those players were signed in January. Brazilian defender Vitor Reis and former Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov are just 19 and 21 respectively. Tricky winger Savinho is just 20 years of age, as is academy graduate Rico Lewis. It has been a breakthrough year for teenager Nico O’Reilly, too.

Another young talent City can get excited about is Claudio Echeverri. He’s only just penned terms with the club but looks like a massive talent for the future.

Claudio Echeverri's move to City

City actually signed Argentine attacking midfielder Echeverri in January 2024, but he has only just made the move to the Etihad Stadium, after an agreement with his former club, River Plate. The youngster cost the Citizens a reported £12.5m.

City’s new number 30, who is capped at U20 level by Argentina, has impressed for River over the last year or so.

He has played 48 times, scoring four goals and grabbing eight assists. However, the 2,499 minutes he has played equate to just 27 full 90-minute games, leaving him with an impressive average of 0.44 goals and assists per game.

The youngster shone at the U17 World Cup back in 2023 for Argentina. He played seven games and managed five goals and one assist in that time, as his side finished fourth. Echeverri notably scored a brilliant hat-trick against Brazil in a 3-0 quarter-final win.

Currently valued at £15m by Transfermarkt, it seems like the teenager will be a brilliant investment for City. He is a player who clearly possesses plenty of talent, notably named among the top ten players in GOAL.com’s NXGN 2025 list this week.

However, City have another talented young star who is valued even higher than the young Argentine…

The Man City wonderkid worth more than Echeverri

Few players in and around the first team at City are as exciting as a certain Oscar Bobb. The 21-year-old Norweigan has sadly had his season tarnished by injury but is getting back to full fitness, which will be a massive boost for Guardiola’s side.

Described as a “pure joy to watch” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, the City attacking midfielder has already made a great impression during his short time in the first team at the Etihad Stadium.

In 27 appearances for the Citizens so far, Bobb has two goals and two assists. However, he has only played 909 minutes, the equivalent of just 10.1 full 90-minute games. The youngster has yet to have a proper opportunity for a run of games, and he has already made a big impression.

One of Bobb’s most important goal contributions came last season away against Newcastle United. After being 2-1 down, City managed to pull it back to 2-2. Enter Bobb, who scored a 91st-minute winner after coming on in the 82nd minute.

It is moments like that which suggest the forward could become a star for City. His stats via Sofascore from last season show his quality, too. For example, in the 2023/24 campaign, Bobb averaged 2.3 key passes and two dribbles completed per 90 minutes.

Bobb key stats for Man City (all comps)
Stat (per 90)	2023/24 stats
Matches	24
Key passes	2.3
Dribbles completed	2
Pass accuracy	89.9%
Expected assists	0.24xA
Big chances created	0.4
Stats from Sofascore

With all that in mind, it might not be a surprise to learn that the Norway international is highly valued. Incredibly, he is worth more than Echeverri according to Transfermarkt, a whooping £21m, which shows his quality given he has not played for several months.

Bobb is without doubt, an exciting talent. He has already shown glimpses of what he can dop at senior level for City, and will be hoping he can continue that form when he returns from injury in the coming weeks.

After Echeverri signing: Man City must cash in on Pep's "special player"

Man City only recently welcome Claudio Echeverri into the fold at the Etihad…

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By
Robbie Walls

Mar 5, 2025

كشفت تقارير صحفية عن شراء الدولي المصري محمد صلاح، جناح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول، فيلا فاخرة في تركيا.

ويقضي قائد منتخب مصر عطلته الصيفية بعد الموسم المميز الذي ظهر به مع ليفربول في الدوري الإنجليزي وتصدره قائمة الهدافين بـ28 هدفًا و18 تمريرة حاسمة.

تلك الأرقام جعلت صلاح، يتوج بجائزة أفضل لاعب في الدوري الإنجليزي والجائزة ذاتها المقدمة من رابطة النقاد الرياضيين.

اقرأ أيضًا | “خائف من العودة لليفربول”.. محمد صلاح يكسر صمته ويعلق لأول مرة على رحيل جوتا

وتوج محمد صلاح بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز للمرة الثانية في تاريخه وجعل ليفربول يعادل رقم مانشستر يونايتد كأكثر الأندية تتويجًا باللقب على مر التاريخ.

ووفقًا لصحيفة “ftn” التركية، فإن محمد صلاح اشترى فيلا فاخرة في منطقة جوندوجان بدولة تركيا مقابل حوالي 10 ملايين دولار.

وتتمتع الفيلا بـ إطلالات بانورامية على البحر ومسابح خاصة وحدائق منسقة، وجميع وسائل الراحة المتوقعة من سوق العقارات في مدينة بودروم.

وأفادت الصحيفة أن قرار محمد صلاح، بشراء منزل في بوردوم يعزز مكانتها باعتبارها وجهة سياحية وأيضًا منطقة جاذبة للاستثمارات.

An inside source has suggested Maya Jama is already thinking about tying the knot with Manchester City star Ruben Dias.

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• Stars spent romantic week in Italy
• Dias and Jama confirmed relationship in April
• Love Island host said to be "head over heels" in love

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  With Love Island set to return, and Manchester City's involvement in the Club World Cup, the pair took the opportunity to head to Italy and the Amalfi Coast. Jama shared a number of photos from the trip to her Instagram account at the end of May.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It appears the pair have become more serious about their relationship of late. Dias and Jama went public in April, and have been spotted at a number of events together. A source told Heat that Jama's protective pals have tentatively signed off on their union, as Dias appears to be the model boyfriend. The 30-year-old presenter had previously been in an on-and-off again relationship with grime megastar Stormzy.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  A source close to the couple said: "The trip to Italy was incredibly romantic. There was no wild partying – they just enjoyed some quality couple time and it gave them a chance to talk about their future. Maya knows it’s early days, but she’s head over heels. She wants to settle down, get married and have a family – and she doesn’t want to wait much longer.

  "Rúben seems genuine so far, and she really thinks he could be The One. What Maya loves about him is that Rúben doesn’t come across someone who would mess her about. He was with his last girlfriend for around three years – he’s not been involved in any cheating scandals, like a lot of footballers. In fact, there’s no red flags at all at the moment. He’s got a good sense of humour, and they have such a laugh together, but they’re also focused on their careers and passionate about what they do.

  "Her friends and family are obviously protective of her. After the big heartbreak of her last relationship, they want to make sure Rúben is the right guy for her. But even her most protective friends have found it hard to find any real fault with him."

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR MAYA JAMA AND RUBEN DIAS?

  Dias is now in the US with his City team-mates as they prepare for their opening game against Wydad AC on Wednesday, while Jama is busy presenting the latest season of Love Island.

Inter Miami make their Club World Cup debut this Saturday against Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium

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They share Group A with Al Ahly, Palmeiras, and PortoMascherano spoke to the media ahead of the matchOnly William Yarbrough was added as a reinforcement ahead of the tournamentWatch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

The wait is over for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, and the first teams to take the field will be Inter Miami and Al Ahly this Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Ahead of the opening match, Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano spoke at a press conference, addressing both the club’s challenges and its ambitions.

The Argentine coach was candid about the club’s struggles in the transfer market, which go beyond just preparing for the Club World Cup.

“Anyone following us closely knows we’ve spent months trying to reinforce the squad – not just for now, but also thinking ahead to the season. Injuries have exposed our depth," he said. "At the end of April, we made the decision to open up two roster spots for potential additions. I’ve said it before – my role is to prepare the team, and that’s what I focus on."

Mascherano isn't the only member of Inter Miami to point out the lack of depth on the roster. Luis Suarez also made similar comments Friday.

"Obviously, we know about the restrictions MLS imposes that don’t allow us to compete at the economic level we would like, but we have to go into tomorrow's match and give it our all with the players we have," he said.

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Mascherano emphasized the significance of the Club World Cup for Inter Miami, calling it potentially the most important competition in the club’s young history.

“It’s a privilege that in the present day I can coach a team that’s going to take part in a competition as important as the FIFA Club World Cup, and that’s a responsibility," he explained to DAZN. "I think it’s going to be similar to what a FIFA World Cup might be like, with different cultures, different languages, but a bit more passion, because when it comes down to it, usually football fans are first and foremost fans of their club and then their country. So, it’s going to be slightly different but I’m sure there will be a very similar atmosphere to what we’re used to during FIFA World Cups with national teams.”

Despite Inter Miami's lack of signings, Mascherano insisted the club has high expectations for this tournament.

“The objective is to try to compete to the best of our ability, just as we do in all competitions, knowing that it’s a top-level competition, that we’re going to face top-class teams. In our minds, it’s about trying our best and having the ability to take it one game at a time, trying to give ourselves a chance of making it through the group stage and getting into the last 16. So, we’ll try to do our best, try to compete at the highest level and if we do that, hopefully we’ll do well," he told DAZN.

Looking ahead to the opening match against Egyptian giants Al Ahly, with Espérance de Tunis and Porto also in their group, Mascherano outlined his tactical goals.

“The plan is to be the protagonist, to compete, to neutralize their key players, and limit their strengths. We want to control the match and give ourselves the best chance to get a good result in our debut. This may be the most important tournament Inter Miami has ever played,” he told reporters.

He also addressed the status of Lionel Messi, who trained with the team Friday morning and is expected to start.

“Leo is doing well. There were times we had to manage his workload, but he’s played in our last 15 matches – except for the Dallas game, where we rested everyone. He’s been available and in good form. Luckily, he was also rested during one of Argentina’s recent matches, so he arrived healthy. We have high expectations for him,” Mascherano said.

He added, "He [Lionel Messi] is the No. 1 and the No. 1 transcends sport. They transform sport and revolutionize all the places that they go to. In the case of Leo, it’s striking, the way he’s managed to have such a huge impact on this country, and we have to make the most of the impact that he’s had.”

Getty Images SportWHAT JORDI ALBA SAID

Veteran left back Jordi Alba is also eager to start playing in the Club World Cup, a competition he's played in once before as a member of Barcelona in 2015.

“All the group games will be special. We’ll be facing very difficult opponents, but we have a home advantage, and we hope the fans will come to support us and enjoy the games," he told DAZN. "We know it’s a tough group against great teams, but we are dreaming big and have high hopes to compete and do a great job in a very tough tournament.”

He won the competiton on a team that also featured Messi in his prime along with Luis Suarez in the final against River Plate. Alba, now 36, hopes for more magic from Messi in this tournament.

“The chance to come here and share the dressing room [with Lionel Messi] once again at Inter Miami, as soon as we saw each other, we understood each other again. We’ve been fortunate to combine for many goals, and it’s really easy to do that and play alongside the best player in history," he said.

“It’s a privilege for me, and I have always said this: having Leo makes any team better, and in my case, it also made me a better player. I’ve taken advantage of his passes so many times to score goals, and thanks to him, I have also provided lots of assists. It’s important for any player to improve their stats, and I hope that we get to play together for many more years.”

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AFPWHAT JOSÉ RIVERO SAID

Al Ahly’s Spanish head coach, José Riveiro, spoke at the pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game, emphasizing his team’s plan to contain Inter Miami star Lionel Messi.

“Messi is a great player with extraordinary abilities and global recognition. We’ve prepared well to face him and try to stop him,” said Riveiro. “But he’s not the only threat – they have other experienced players who can make a difference.”

Australia 295 (Smith 71, Woakes 3-61) lead England 283 by 12 runsUnderpinned by Steven Smith, Australia’s tortoises eked out a slender first-innings lead over England’s hares at The Oval. England had thrashed 283 in 54.4 overs on the first day, but Australia responded at a different tempo altogether.They edged ahead after exactly 99 overs of their innings, thanks in no small part to their captain, Pat Cummins. Cummins came in at 185 for 7, with Australia still 98 behind, but shared partnerships worth 54 with Smith, and then 49 with Todd Murphy in making 36.Each of England’s four seamers bowled at least 20 overs with Moeen Ali – who sustained a groin injury while batting on the first day – spending the entirety of the second in the dressing room. Chris Woakes finished with 3 for 61, but Stuart Broad was the pick of the attack.Australia went nowhere for much of the morning session, adding 13 runs off the bat in the first hour of play, but Smith’s arrival at the crease – after Marnus Labuschagne was brilliantly caught by Joe Root at slip – changed the rhythm of the game.He crashed consecutive early boundaries through mid-off off James Anderson, breaking Don Bradman’s record for the most runs by an overseas batter at The Oval with the first of them, and held Australia’s innings together after lunch as five wickets fell at the far end.Broad broke the game open, taking two wickets in his first two overs after the interval to remove Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, while none of Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc reached 20 as England sensed the possibility of a substantial lead.But after Smith survived a narrow judgement call from TV umpire Nitin Menon on a run-out chance and Cummins overturned an lbw decision, Australia chipped away at the deficit. Murphy played his shots from No. 10, hooking Mark Wood for the first, second and third sixes of his professional career, and flicked a single off his pads to long leg to bring them into the lead.After Woakes trapped Murphy lbw, Cummins swiped Joe Root down the ground only for Ben Stokes to take a sharp catch on the boundary at long-on. It meant a first-innings lead of just 12 runs, with the fifth Test effectively becoming a one-innings shoot-out.Australia crawled along in the first session, adding 54 runs in 26 overs before lunch. Conditions were grim and murky, suiting England’s seamers, and Khawaja and Labuschagne opted for resolute defence; Labuschagne was particularly obdurate, taking nearly 90 minutes over adding seven runs to his overnight score.It took a moment of individual brilliance to dismiss him. Mark Wood, slamming one in halfway down the pitch, drew an outside edge which flew towards the gap between Jonny Bairstow and Root at first slip. Bairstow left the ball for Root, who reacted late but flung himself low to his left and grasped it one-handed.Khawaja made it to lunch unscathed, but fell five balls later for 47. He was trapped on the knee roll by Broad, and his review was optimistic. Broad roused the crowd in characteristic style and diverged from England’s usual short-ball ploy to Travis Head; instead, he went full outside off stump, and wheeled away celebrating after finding his outside edge.Marsh decided that the only way to break Broad’s rhythm was to attack, and launched him for a towering straight six. But his dismissal came through a more tentative shot, inside-edging onto his own stumps as he prodded at Anderson, who looked relieved to have taken another wicket, finally ending a 35.2-over drought.With Moeen off the field, Root was England’s only spin option. He was clobbered for a straight six by Carey, who then chipped the very next ball he faced – a slow, loopy, wide offbreak – to Stokes at short cover. When Starc top-edged Wood to long leg, Australia looked in deep trouble.On 42, Smith appeared to have run himself out when working a ball into the leg side and taking on George Ealham, a substitute fielder whose father, Mark, played for England in the 1990s. Ealham charged in from deep midwicket and threw at the stumps before Bairstow whipped the bails off with Smith, diving at full stretch, short of his ground.Or so it first seemed. Menon, the TV umpire, was unconvinced that the shorter spigot of the first bail that was dislodged had left the top of the stumps by the time that Smith’s bat went past the popping crease; the crowd groaned as his ‘not out’ decision flashed up on the big screen. Smith breathed a sigh of relief, then pounded Broad down the ground to reach 50.When England took the new ball, Cummins was given out lbw by Joel Wilson but successfully reviewed, and a couple of inside-edged boundaries gave Australia their first 50-run stand of the innings. Smith eventually fell when looking to whip Woakes over square leg, with Harry Brook brought up from the boundary; Bairstow ran back and settled under his leading edge.England went short to Murphy but abandoned that ploy after he swiped Wood away over long leg, before a flick off Anderson took Australia into a slender lead. He made 34 vital runs before Woakes trapped him leg-before, but his biggest role in this match will come on Saturday as he looks to prevent England setting a substantial fourth-innings target.

MatériaMais Notícias

‘O jogo mais importante do São Paulo no último ano.’ Assim, de maneira direta, o atacante Calleri definiu o duelo de ida da semifinal da Copa Sul-Americana contra o Atlético-GO, às 21h30 (de Brasília) desta quinta-feira (1/9), no Serra Dourada. O argentino projetou o duelo, prioritário para o Tricolor na temporada, após os trabalhos desta terça-feira (30), no CT da Barra Funda. Confira:

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Liverpool are now keen on signing a “total footballer” in the summer transfer window, but there is set to be fierce competition from a number of rival Premier League clubs, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Reds set to continue Premier League title pursuit vs Everton

Despite Arsenal’s 2-1 victory against Fulham on Tuesday, the Reds remain in a strong position to win the Premier League title, and they have the opportunity to restore their 12-point lead at the top of the table in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.

Having crashed out of the Champions League before going on to lose the EFL Cup final, the league title is the last remaining piece of silverware up for grabs this season, but if they manage to go all the way, it will undoubtedly still be considered a successful campaign.

One of the slight criticisms that could be made of Arne Slot’s side this season is perhaps their overreliance on Mohamed Salah, with Diogo Jota struggling with injuries while the likes of Federico Chiesa and Darwin Nunez haven’t exactly set the world alight.

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The Reds are now in the race to sign a “world-class” striker, having made the first move towards getting a deal done.

1 ByDominic Lund Apr 1, 2025

As such, Slot seems intent on bolstering his attacking options this summer, and Liverpool are now keen on signing RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Xavi Simons, as reported by Romano for GiveMeSport.

There is a concrete chance Simons is on the move this summer, despite only recently signing for Leipzig permanently from Paris Saint-Germain, and several other Premier League clubs are also in the race for his signature, such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

The Dutchman could be available for a fee of around £58m – £62m, and the Premier League is one of the top destinations in his mind, particularly with Barcelona’s financial issues making it difficult for the La Liga side to compete for his signature.

"Total footballer" Simons could be destined for the top

Freelance scout Ben Mattinson is clearly a huge admirer of the 21-year-old, having lauded him as a “total footballer”, while also claiming he has “superstar potential” and the IQ to play all over the pitch.

Since then, the attacking midfielder, who can also play on the wing, has continued to impress for RB Leipzig, picking up seven goals and four assists in 19 Bundesliga outings this term, building on an impressive first season in Germany.

The Netherlands international has also been in top form for his country during the recent international break, being lauded as a “game-changer” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig after scoring against European champions Spain.

Liverpool could do with some more attacking depth if they are to compete on all fronts next season, with Jamie Carragher of the belief there are four or five players Slot doesn’t rate in his current squad, and Simons has proven he could be an excellent addition.

New revenue-distribution model sees Indian board earning close to US$ 230 million a year, while no other Full Member has a percentage share in double digits

Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin13-Jul-2023

The BCCI will take home nearly 40% of ICC’s annual net earnings•BCCI

The ICC board has approved a revamped revenue-distribution model which will see the BCCI take home nearly 40% of the ICC’s annual net earnings in the next four-year commercial cycle from. The BCCI will earn close to US$ 230 million annually from 2024 to 2027 – or 38.5% of ICC’s approximate annual earning of US$ 600 million – while none of the other 11 Full Members have a share in double digits in terms of percentage. The 90-plus Associate Members will share approximately US$ 67.5 million per year.ESPNcricinfo had reported on the expected revamp in May, and it has now received the approval of the ICC board, which met in Durban on Thursday, the final day of the global body’s AGM.The distribution model remains mostly the same, though there is a tweak to the draft model that will see an increase in revenues of about US$ 1 million per year for a middle band of five full members: CSA, SLC, BCB, NZC and CWI. The biggest earners in the new model after the BCCI are the ECB, CA and the PCB.Though some boards – lead among them the PCB – had initially raised questions about the workings underpinning the model, it was always expected that the absolute increase in revenues across all Full Members (rather than the percentage shares) would keep those objections from becoming disruptive. A change in the PCB’s leadership since then has also played a part.The new model was developed originally by an ICC team and then worked on by the governing body’s finance and commercial affairs (F&CA) committee. It was first shared with members at an ICC board meeting in March though only some details of the model were revealed then, including the criteria by which each Full Member would be graded when the distribution was calculated. The paper detailing the proposed model was circulated to the Full Members and board directors thereafter.The criteria – “component weightings”, as they are called in the model – are: cricket history; performance in both men’s and women’s ICC events over the last 16 years; contribution to the ICC’s commercial revenue; and an equal weightage for the status of being a Full MemberMuch of this comes from the primer drafted nine years ago by the Big Three. Back then, another F&CA working group (led by the BCCI, ECB and CA) drafted a “position paper” detailing a proposed revamp of the ICC’s administration and distribution of its earnings. A major focus of that paper was the distribution costs – the revenue each member would receive – through a graded percentage share, worked out by a “marked scoreboard method”. That scoreboard was also based on four parameters: revenue contributed to the ICC, historical membership with the ICC, on-field performance over past 20 years in men’s and women’s competitions, and domestic development performance.There are, however, slight differences in this proposed model. Here, every Full Member starts on equal footing, listed to receive an 8.3% share for being a Full Member. But the “effective percentage” each will receive ultimately is based on an average weightage of all four criteria and it quickly changes based on the other three parameters. The key criterion is the commercial value each board brings to the global pot, which is where the scales tilt heavily in favour of the BCCI.This model gives a commercial weightage of 85.3% to the BCCI. Although the document that ESPNcricinfo had seen doesn’t explain how this is worked out, this percentage is in the ballpark of a commonly cited figure, which says that the Indian cricket economy contributes anywhere between 70-80% of the total cricket economy. That approximate figure is bolstered by the nature of the ICC’s next media rights deal which, over four years, is believed to be second only to the IPL in cricket. Its value is considerably greater than the $2.1 billion (approximately) the ICC got (from around the world, not just India) from the previous rights cycle, which ran over eight and not four years (2015-2023).The ICC decided to sell this batch of media rights in different territories globally in the 2024-31 cycle in order to maximise and exploit the commercial value of its world events. The value of the rights in India alone (just over $3 billion) towers over other territories, especially two key markets in the UK and USA. In the UK and Ireland, Sky Sports inked a direct deal with ICC for eight years (2024-31) with an estimated value understood to be close to $260 million. Willow TV secured the four-year rights to broadcast ICC events in the USA and Canada for an undisclosed sum, but it is believed the number fell well short of the expectations the ICC had.The overall figure from rights will be higher ultimately, because it doesn’t yet include the sponsorship and commercial revenues the ICC will generate from the global events, which could go up by another $1 billion-plus.

New Zealand 107 for 5 (Bates 44, Kerr 34, Priyadharshani 3-17) beat Sri Lanka 106 for 9 (Gunaratne 26, Kerr 2-18, Carson 2-20, Kasperek 2-21) by five wicketsNew Zealand’s spinners Eden Carson, Amelia Kerr and Leigh Kasperek combined to take six wickets and restrict Sri Lanka to 106 for 9 to set up a five-wicket win in the opening T20I of the three-match series in Colombo.Opener Suzie Bates and No. 3 Kerr then knocked off 78 runs between them from the 107-run target to ensure New Zealand had scored enough before a middle-order stutter to win with seven balls to spare.New Zealand cashed in on their decision to bowl by getting the big fish Chamari Athapaththu first ball, castled by offspinner Carson. The second-wicket stand of 37 between Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshitha Samarawickrama was the only good sign for the hosts before Kerr took a return-catch to send Gunaratne back for 26. Sri Lanka never recovered from that and lost five wickets for just 35 runs to stumble to 72 for 6 in the 15th over. Returning to T20 internationals after nearly two years, offspinner Kasperek had Samarawickrama stumped and trapped Kavisha Dilhari lbw to finish with 2 for 21.Anushka Sanjeewani and Oshadi Ranasinghe revived Sri Lanka’s innings briefly by stitching a stand of 29 for the seventh wicket to take them past 100 but Sanjeewani’s run out broke the partnership before Kerr ran out Udeshika Prabodhani and took Ranasinghe’s return-catch as well, on the last ball of the innings, to finish with 2 for 18. New Zealand had used as many as eight bowling options.The visitors lost Bernadine Bezuidenhout early in the chase before Bates and Kerr put them in command with a 58-run stand, scoring 44 and 34 respectively. New Zealand withstood a wobble when offspinner Inoshi Priyadharshani struck twice in three balls and then in her next over as well to send back Kerr, Sophie Devine for a duck and Maddy Green for 5. With 30 required off 38 balls, New Zealand were still in command and Bates nearly took them all the way home before falling for 44. Georgia Plimmer knocked off the winning runs not long after.