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Athletes rally behind Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open

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One of the biggest names in women’s tennis has stunned the tennis world, withdrawing from the French Open due to mental health concerns.

After winning her round one match Naomi Osaka refused to speak to the media in what is a traditional press conference – post any match at the grand slams.

Osaka was fined USD$15,000 and initially slammed by other players.

Grand Slam officials threatened to suspend Osaka from future tournaments after she boycotted the press conferences during the French Open.

The 23-year-old said last week she would not do news conferences at the French open to protect her mental health.

World number two Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the French Open, REVEALING A STATEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

It’s a story that turned within the space of a few hours. Initially players including Ash Barty and Rafa Nadal suggested press conferences are part of the sport, but the backlash against the tournament has been fierce.

NBA coach Stan Van Gundy sent out a tweet saying “Just a question for the tennis authorities – is it better for your sport to have Naomi Osaka playing and not speaking to the media or not playing at all?”

Other influential names to support Osaka included Billie Jean King, Venus Williams, NBA Star Steph Curry and Sloane Stephens.

The Japanese four-time major winner says she gets “huge waves of anxiety” before speaking to the world’s media.

Osaka sent out a statement across her social media channels saying quote “Anyone that knows me knows that Im introverted. and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety”

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Football clubs like Manchester United are getting more expensive

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Manchester United: the business tactics that could lead to a record multi-billion-pound sale

It seems that another item can now be added to the long list of things that are getting more expensive: football clubs. The bids coming in to buy Manchester United, reportedly in the region of £4.5bn (the owners are said to want £6bn) would make it the largest amount ever paid for a club.

Given that the current US owners, the Glazer family, bought Manchester United in 2005 for around £800 million, the current valuation makes it unsurprising that a sale may be on the cards.

But can a football club, even one as famous as Manchester United, really be worth £6bn?

For comparison, in 2021 one of its rivals, Newcastle United, sold for a fraction of that sum, at around £300 million. Yet given that Newcastle had been bought for £133 million in 2007 (about £200 million in today’s money), that controversial sale was still seen as providing a decent return.

But it was Chelsea, sold in May 2022, which started the sale bonanza among the biggest British clubs. Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have all been linked to potential sales since then.

Chelsea had been bought for £140 million by Roman Abramovich in 2003, when it was struggling financially. Two decades later, its £2.5 billion price was achieved despite the club being what is known as a “distressed asset” (something that needed to be sold because Abramovich had been sanctioned by the UK government), meaning that bids were probably lower than if the sale had been on the open market.

Crucially though, Chelsea had also become a more impressive club, winning a number of trophies (two Champions League, two Europa League, five Premier League titles and five FA Cups). (The profit from the Chelsea sale is now earmarked for humanitarian causes in Ukraine.)

Another important element behind a club’s value is, of course, how much any potential owner is willing to pay. Research suggests that owning a football club is generally something that loses money, so owners normally fit one of three categories.

First, there are those who view clubs as a trophy asset; second, fans or local benefactors who want to support their side; and third, those that think they can make money from the club by making changes.

The Glazers fall squarely into the last category, and took the opportunity to buy a club through a leveraged buyout – in essence, using comparatively little of their own money – and taking money out annually through dividends.

That leveraged buyout meant that some of the money used to buy the club was secured against the club itself, like a mortgage, so the debt was borne by the club rather than the owners.

And that debt was considerable. Over the ownership of the Glazers, £837 million has been spent on interest payments alone.

Another reason for the increase in value of clubs has been the increase in revenue they can generate. The Premier League, for example, has been significantly increasing its income from selling overseas broadcasting rights (the latest US deal is more than double its previous one), and this leads to more money for the clubs. Increasing global interest in the Premier League has also added value to the small number of clubs which feature in it.

Other things that affect the value of clubs have nothing to do with football. For example, the pandemic led to the very rich getting richer and so there is more disposable income at the billionaire potential owner level.

But ownership comes with plenty of risk too and, like winning matches, financial success is never guaranteed. Around 40% of football clubs in the top four leagues of English football have gone into administration since the Premier League began, including eight of the original 22 Premier League members.

The culture of spending above your means in English football may, in the long term, be tempered by the proposed implementation of an independent regulator. In the meantime football club ownership remains, for most, a loss-making business.

For the Glazers though, selling their club for around £5 billion would surely be seen as a big win. They put in relatively little of their own money to buy it, have taken money out in dividends, and are now expected to make a massive profit on the sale price. Divisive tactics they may have been, but very lucrative too.

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Formula Equal team vying for 2026 entrance into F1

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There are four potential entrants into the sport for 2026, and one of them is aiming to have an equal number of gendered people

A team consisting of an equal gender split workforce has unveiled plans to join the Formula 1 for its 2026 season.

The group is among four potential entrants to the sport.

Former BAR boss Craig Pollock is behind it all.

He says the concept has been slowly gaining momentum in the background for years.

“This has been going on for close on four years, the building up of a brand new Formula 1 team, but taking into it our ambition to deliver and build opportunities and pathways for women to get to the very top level inside motorsports,” Pollock told CNN.

Pollock also addressed the idea of seeing a female Formula 1 driver in the seat, but says there’s a a long way to go before that happens.

“I think it’d be absolutely fantastic (to have a female driver),” Pollock explained.

“But the reality is to be able to get into the cockpit of a Formula 1 car, you’ve got to have a certain number of points on your superlicence.

“But to make this very clear, this is not just about women driving Formula 1 cars.

“This is about throughout the team; we want it even up to the board level if we can do that.

“We would like to have a gender equal Formula 1 team going forward,” he concluded.

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Fans swamp Argentine restaurant to see Lionel Messi

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The footballer needed a police escort to leave the venue

A steakhouse in Buenos Aires was mobbed by hundreds of fans who wanted to get a glimpse of their favourite football megastar.

People rushed to the exclusive Don Julio restaurant eager to get a glimpse of the man who led Argentina to its third World Cup title.

Messi eventually needed a police escort to leave.

Fans on the street corner chanted his name as police officers accompanied the 35-year-old to his vehicle while keeping fans at bay.

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