The Argentine has signed a new deal to remain at Camp Nou for three more years - recognition for a player who has led by example ever since he signed from Liverpool in 2010.

 
Barcelona lost one player to Juventus this summer. Dani Alves left for Turin after eight years at Camp Nou and at one point, it looked like Javier Mascherano may follow him. However, the Catalan club have moved to make sure the Argentine stays put - and that's great news for Luis Enrique.

The Barca boss admitted last week that he had been surprised by the departure of Alves. "I can only praise him," he said. "I wish him the best, he is one of the best professionals I have seen in my career. Juventus have strengthened their team really well with Alves."

The Italian champions also wanted to sign Mascherano and after moving to Juve, Alves admitted: "It would be an honour to share this adventure with Mascherano." But if losing one of their first-team members to Juve was bad enough, Barca have made sure they will not be losing two to a side that will be one of their major rivals in Europe next season.

"The club have told me they have no intention of letting me leave, that they are very happy with me," the 32-year-old said last month. And days earlier, Barca's sporting director Robert Fernandez had vowed: "Mascherano will stay with Barca. I'm clear about that and we'll look for a positive solution for everyone."
 

"I can no longer stay silent."
So says Michael Jordan, widely considered the best NBA player of all time but someone who has refrained from using his celebrity to take a public stand on social issues.

Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets, published a one-page letter on The Undefeated, a new ESPN platform dedicated to exploring the intersections of race, sports and culture. In that letter, posted Monday, Jordan said that he would be donating $1 million each to the International Association of Chiefs of Police's newly established Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
The Hall of Famer also sheds light on violence from a personal perspective. Jordan's father, James Jordan, was gunned down by two robbers in 1993.

"As a proud American, a father who lost his own dad in a senseless act of violence, and a black man, I have been deeply troubled by the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers," Jordan wrote. "I grieve with the families who have lost loved ones, as I know their pain all too well."I was raised by parents who taught me to love and respect people regardless of their race or background, so I am saddened and frustrated by the divisive rhetoric and racial tensions that seem to be getting worse as of late. I know this country is better than that, and I can no longer stay silent. We need to find solutions that ensure people of color receive fair and equal treatment AND that police officers -- who put their lives on the line every day to protect us all -- are respected and supported."

Jordan's letter comes two and a half weeks after an Army veteran shot and killed five police officers in Dallas, saying he was angry over police shootings of black men.
Jordan also wrote that while he has the "greatest respect" for the sacrifice and service of people in law enforcement, he recognizes that his experiences with law enforcement are different for him than for many other people of color.

"I have decided to speak out in the hope that we can come together as Americans, and through peaceful dialogue and education, achieve constructive change," he said.
As a star player with lucrative endorsement deals, Jordan wasn't known for taking a stand on issues, prompting NBA icon and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to say in an NPR interview in November that Jordan "took commerce over conscience."
But that appears to have changed in recent months.
Prior to his letter, Jordan spoke out on North Carolina's controversial bathroom bill in his efforts to keep the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte.

"As my organization has stated previously, the Charlotte Hornets and Hornets Sports & Entertainment are opposed to discrimination in any form, and we have always sought to provide an inclusive environment," Jordan said in a statement to the Charlotte Observer in April.
The 2017 All-Star Game ultimately was moved from Charlotte and will be played at a yet-to-be-determined location.
 

After four fine years at CSKA Moscow, the Nigerian looks set to replicate his fine form in the East Midlands.

Leicester City are preparing for the biggest season in their history. For the first time ever they are defending champions, having won the Premier League title in astonishing fashion last term.

Not only will they have to contend with greater expectations domestically, but they will also be competing with the continent’s finest in the Uefa Champions League.

Claudio Ranieri has insisted he won’t make radical changes to his squad so as not to destabilise the harmony of a team that gelled effectively last term, but already, significant additions have arrived.

So far, the Italian tactician has signed German stopper Ron-Robert Zieler from Hannover 96, Spaniards Luis Hernandez and Raul Uche from Sporting Gijon and Rayo Vallecano respectively, and Frenchman Nampalys Mendy from OGC Nice.The biggest coup is arguably the addition of Nigeria’s very own Ahmed Musa who joins from CSKA Moscow for a club record £16 million fee and could be primed to become the nation's next great Premier League export.

Musa arrives with considerable experience and a fine reputation and, as a versatile right-footed attacker who can play on either flank and as a striker, will be a versatile addition to the Foxes’ forward line.
The Super Eagle could be just the player the East Midlanders need to thrive this season, and EPL defences won’t enjoy combating his wonderful pace, technique, movement, passing and eye for goal.

The diminutive Nigerian scored 54 goals in 168 appearances (an average of 0.32 per game) for CSKA which, considering he often featured on the left flank, is a decent haul.
He reached double digits in three of his four full seasons in the Russian Premier League, winning three titles, a Russian Cup and two Russian Super Cups to his name.

Few players in the current Leicester squad can even begin to compete with Musa’s international achievements; he won the 2013 Cup of Nations title in South Africa with the Super Eagles and shone at the 2014 World Cup, scoring twice in Nigeria’s 3-2 defeat by Argentina.


The Liga champions turned in a €29m profit after tax for the last campaign, affirming that they are in line to reach a projected €1billion annual revenue in 2021

Barcelona returned record revenues of €679million during 2015-16, according to the club's financial results for the season.

The LaLiga champions released the figures on Monday, with the overall revenue mark "representing a substantial increase of the figure originally budgeted for this area".

Barca returned a net profit of €29m after tax and believe they are on course to hit the marks of a strategic plan that targets revenue of €1billion in 2021.