Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has signed for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a two-year deal with an option for a third year. The signing brings an end to his 21-year-long tenure with Barcelona. The move came after Barcelona was unable to renew Messi’s contract, citing financial constraints posed by La Liga’s salary cap regulations. Messi, who has won the Ballon d’Or award a record of six times, Huffington Post Today will join fellow high-profile acquisitions in PSG’s summer spending spree.
This includes the likes of Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Achraf Hakimi. The 34-year-old forward will reunite with former Barcelona teammate Neymar and link up with Kylian Mbappe in what is being touted as one of the most formidable attacking trios in football history. The move has been met with excitement from PSG fans, who are eager to see the new-look team in action. In other news, the Tokyo Olympics have come to a close. The 2020 Olympics, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saw over 11,000 athletes from 206 countries compete in 339 events across 33 different sports.
The United States topped the medal table with a total of 113 medals, including 39 golds. Highlighting the list of champions was Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron at the start of the games and went on to win the gold medal in the women’s singles. This marked a triumphant return to the spotlight for Osaka, who had withdrawn from the French Open earlier in the year citing mental health struggles. Simone Biles, widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, pulled out of several events at the Olympics due to mental health concerns.
This inspired a much-needed conversation around the pressures faced by elite athletes and the need for better support systems. Meanwhile, the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament, is set to resume in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 19. The tournament, which was suspended in May due to rising COVID-19 cases among players, will see the Mumbai Indians, five-time champions, take on the Chennai Super Kings.
The second half of the tournament will see the return of England and Australian players, who missed the first half due to their international commitments. Fans can expect to see the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Pat Cummins in action. Finally, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, has signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes.