8,700 source-backed sport facts - each attributed to a named person and a number, linked to the original source. Page 3 of 87.
“I was there for two years and Sir Alex never called or sent any text messages in that time.”
“Adebayor’s signing would take City’s summer spending to £80m following the captures of Tevez, Gareth Barry and Roque Santa Cruz”
“They have really shown to me that they want to become one of the biggest clubs in the world”
“There has been discussions between ourselves and Arsenal”
“City are also expected to launch an estimated £40m bid for Chelsea captain John Terry this week”
“This agreement we seal today is the most important in the history of football,” said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who was re‑elected on Sunday.”
“The strategic alliance between Real Madrid and Adidas has helped us during these three decades to experience one of the most wonderful periods in our history. It has also served to continue nurturing this universal feeling that is Madridis…”
“Real have shelled out around £200m this summer and plan to spend more”
“City, backed by Sheikh Mansour, reportedly offered Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o wages of £250,000 per week.”
“Benitez blames such extravagance for creating an inflated market in which he was forced to pay over the odds for £18m Portsmouth right-back Glen Johnson.”
“City snared long-time Benitez target Gareth Barry earlier in the summer”
“Alonso came from Real Sociedad and nobody had heard of him outside Spain, he did well and we renewed his contract because of that,” said Benitez. “Mascherano came from West Ham where he had not been doing well. We brought him here and gave…”
“At the last World Cup 3bn people were watching – so one in three of everybody in the world was watching football.”
“San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium is no more for the next couple of weeks”
“the introduction of hydration breaks. Ostensibly brought in by Fifa to combat the sweltering conditions – even in the indoor, air-conditioned stadiums across the US”
“The FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be the biggest ever, and AB InBev’s global megabrands Michelob ULTRA and Budweiser are serving as official beer sponsors.”
“City have been the most successful English club of the last 10 years but have now gone two seasons without winning the Premier League title for the first time since 2017.”
“City are at something of a fork in the road following the conclusion of Pep Guardiola’s glorious 10-year reign as manager at the end of last season.”
“Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man group, featuring stars such as Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, is valued at €1.454bn (£1.254bn) by the CIES Football Observatory”
“Scotland are ranked 31st of the 48 teams at the biggest ever men’s World Cup, with a valuation of just €158m (£136m). Iran are bottom on €12m.”
“Spain and Barcelona star Lamine Yamal is rated by far the most valuable player at the World Cup, with an estimated transfer price of €358m (£309m).”
“Norway and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is second, at €227m (£196m), followed by France pair Kylian Mbappe (€166m/£143m) and Michael Olise €141m (£121m).”
“With over 50 matches in 2026, including all of England’s matches, ITV is offering free-to-air rugby throughout the year.”
“The Government is investing £3m into the construction of five new cricket domes as plans to increase participation in the sport ramp up.”
“The state contribution will help communities in Birmingham, Derby, Newcastle, Bolton and Nottingham after an initial three domes were opened in the West Midlands, Bradford and Lancashire.”
“A further £1.5m was committed last year to build two all-weather domes in Luton and Farington.”
“Before the last election former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced an investment of £35m into grassroots cricket, £21m of which was committed to 16 domes, with an aim of getting nearly one million young people having a bat or bowl.”
“And it comes in time for the Women’s T20 cricket World Cup, being hosted across England and Wales this spring.”
“We’ve seen from the three all-weather cricket domes which are already open how they can be a gamer-changer as we strive to make cricket the most inclusive team sport.”
“The group estimates that 100,000 footballers lost eight per cent of their earnings as a result of Fifa’s transfer framework, which was declared illegal by the European Court of Justice in the landmark 2024 Diarra ruling.”
“…the players that played from 2001 until today are left in the cold, and they are harmed, and they suffer damages.”
“The world governing body also announced new transfer rules to address the Diarra ruling.”
“Fifpro had been suing Fifa over the addition of extra games to the global match calendar but agreed to drop its action this week after Fifa gave it a seat at the table in future talks.”
“Justice For Players says national player unions have not yet withdrawn their support for its class action, which it says also has the backing of thousands of current and former footballers.”
“The 22-year-old Scot completed a stylish 7-5, 6-4 victory over American James Blake to claim a first grass-court success at the Aegon Championship and become the first home-grown champion at Queen’s since Bunny Austin in 1938.”
“Not since Fred Perry in 1936 has a British man lifted the Wimbledon trophy, but amid the euphoria of his Queen’s triumph, Murray was left to reflect on the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders.”
“Murray’s win has further whetted the appetites of the expectant British crowd, who see the world No3 as the man to finally break the 73-year duck of a British triumph at Wimbledon when the tournament gets underway in seven days time.”
“Murray, the No1 seed, found Blake a tough nut to crack before making the decisive break at 5-5 in the opening set.”
“Murray’s win means he is now looking to join an elite band of six players to have claimed the grass-court double; winning both Queen’s and Wimbledon crowns. Two have done it twice, the full list is:”
“GRASS KINGS DOUBLE CHAMPIONSMurray’s win means he is now looking to join an elite band of six players to have claimed the grass-court double; winning both Queen’s and Wimbledon crowns. Two have done it twice, the full list is:1981 John …”
“Winning such a prestigious event without dropping a set represents ideal preparation for Wimbledon”
“This year’s World Cup final will take place at New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium, and will kick off at 8pm, during a prime advertising period for Sunday night television in the UK.”
“Earlier this year, Oura was named the Official Wearable of Team USA and the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, becoming the exclusive provider of continuous health and fitness tracking for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes across th…”
“It has also recently extended that Olympic commitment through a long-term partnership as the Official Wearable of Team Finland, running through to the French Alps 2030 Winter Games.”
“Oura was named the Official Wearable of U.S. Soccer in April, covering all 27 National Teams and joining as a Founding Partner of the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center ahead of the World Cup”
“Monzo has become the official banking partner of The Hundred and will have in-stadium branding whenever the Decision Review System is implemented.”
“Monzo has a growing presence in sport and is the main sponsor of Coventry City, who will return to the Premier League next season for the first time since 2001.”
“Monzo joins Compare The Market, KP Snacks, Toyota, Sage and Vitality as sponsors of the competition, held this year in July and August.”
“It comes ahead of a new era for The Hundred, with all eight franchises now under new ownership structures following a centrally-run sale to overseas investors last year.”
“That has seen some teams rebrand, new sponsors join at franchise level and the first ever player auction for both men and women.”
“The £30m-rated France striker is reportedly wanted by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is looking to compensate for the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. "He wants to stay in France for another year so he can prepare f…”
“Sahar quits Chelsea for SpainCHELSEA striker Ben Sahar has joined Spanish top-flight side Espanyol. The Israeli, 19, has signed a four-year contract at the Barcelona-based club.”
“Meanwhile Chelsea have officially appealed the punishments handed to the club, Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa by Uefa last week. Drogba and Bosingwa were banned for six and four matches respectively and the club were fined.”
“first World Cup in 28 years”
“Some fans had to wait 24 hours before another flight was available.”
“For Fifa, the move extends the reach of its content – a particular benefit to around 100 smaller nations whose domestic matches are live streamed on Fifa+.”
“Fifa+ has archive footage from previous World Cups but will not be showing any of this summer’s tournament, which begins in Mexico on Thursday.”
“the FIA, and their embattled president Max Mosley, caved in to pressure from rebel teams’ group FOTA yesterday. [...] Mosley himself announced he would stand down when his term expires in October.”
“Eight teams, including Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren and championship leaders Brawn GP, had threatened to form a breakaway competition if their demands were not met.”
“FOTA will today confirm its commitment to F1 until 2012.”
“The 10 existing teams will be joined next year by three new outfits: Campos Meta, Manor Grand Prix and Team US F1.”
“Mosley, 69, had previously insisted a voluntary £40m per team budget cap would be introduced from 2010, in a bid to attract new teams.”
“There will be no split, there will be one F1 championship,” said Mosley, who played down the notion he had lost the fight.”
“He Mosley has done a very good fix of the problem. When you have reached an agreement, everyone has to help in the same way.”
“And this is no cramped city centre pool, this one is 50-metres in length, the same as an Olympic swimming pool.”
“Now, after missing out to Wasps in the 2007 final, the Tigers are gunning for a third European crown”
“Greenwood won three Premiership titles in his four years at Welford Road but had rejoined Harlequins by the time the Tigers claimed back-to-back European titles under the captaincy of Martin Johnson and management of current Quins chief De…”
“the Tigers are gunning for a third European crown”
“Richard will be well aware that if his side perform the way they did against Irish in the Premiership final last weekend, then they will come unstuck against Leinster, who are technically good enough to play at 60 per cent against a team l…”
“Leinster have had to bear the tag of second best team in Ireland, behind Munster, for too long, and will be on the crest of a wave after beating their rivals in the semi-final.”
“London is a priority market for EuroLeague as it advances its plans to grow to 24 teams for the 2027-28 season – part of a comprehensive rearguard action against the NBA’s own ambitions to launch a European league with new franchises in un…”
“The franchise value could be €80m-€100m, but it’s more in terms of the operations for us.”
“For me, London is a big market, everyone wants to have London, we see an acute opportunity – it’s a no-brainer, right?”
“In the case of London, we have the interest of the London Lions, just to be clear. They want to become franchisees, they said it already.”
“We’re just looking for one in London. We need to test it and prove it. But for us, Manchester is way too risky, it’s a smaller city – a little bit more than half a million, with the whole suburbs it’s 2.5m, with two big [football] teams th…”
“Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday evening to claim their second World Cup title.”
“Ferran Torres scored a dramatic extra-time winne and shattered Lionel Messi's dreams of a triumphant farewell to football's greatest stage. Barcelona striker Torres lashed home a thumping finish in the 106th minute...”
“A star-studded crowd of 80,663 that included US President Donald Trump packed East Rutherford's MetLife Stadium...”
“Eventually though Vincic did reach for a yellow card, with Lisandro Martinez booked for a cynical challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal. The South Americans' skulduggery ended with midfielder Enzo Fernandez being sent off after a brutal challenge o…”
“...Torres to crash home the goal that would clinch Spain's second World Cup title after their maiden 2010 triumph.”
“The final's controversial extended half-time show featuring the likes of Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber stretched to 27 minutes...”
“first Open Era wild card to reach the semi-finals since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.”
“Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has announced a new £210m stadium construction project as he looks to grow his football empire.”
“The new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece will be based in Piraeus and look to include a “2,000-square-metre Media Centre with a 320-seat auditorium, alongside 1,000 square metres of dedicated media workspaces”.”
“The project, which will cost more than €250m, will be financed by Olympiacos and by me personally.”
“Billionaire Marinakis is set to spearhead a £130m redevelopment of the City Ground, home to Premier League club Nottingham Forest.”
“It could see the ground grow from 30,000 to a monumental 52,500, with the current City Ground currently the 24th biggest ground in English football.”
“The new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium will become, should the plans be followed through, the largest football stadium in Greece while there will be over 100 luxury hospitality suites within a stand that will be dominated by premium offering…”
“Its collaboration on the World Cup final half-time show is part of a joint campaign with Fifa to raise $100m for education and football opportunities for children across the planet.”
“Ancelotti, whose three-year contract begins on 1 July, has an outstanding continental pedigree that helped make him Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s No1 choice.”
“when I played I won two times in 1989 and 1990 and it was a fantastic achievement.”
“And it was the same as a coach in 2003 and 2007.”
“Chelsea have come desperately close in recent years, only losing the 2008 final on sudden-death penalties”
“Five semi-finals in six years is a beautiful score but now we need to win.”
“Five managers have departed under his ownership, having experienced the intense demands of tenure at Stamford Bridge.”
“the 26-times capped former Italy midfielder”
“is one of only six men to have lifted the trophy as a player and a manager.”
“The Champions League is the only trophy to elude Chelsea since Abramovich took over in 2003”
“June 1, 2009: Joins Chelsea on a three-year contract.”
“‘We’ll try to resist the assault from European clubs who have more money than us,’ he said. ‘But there is an uneven playing field.’”
