The former Manchester United goalkeeper has lifted the lid on his life since leaving Old Trafford
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has opened up about his year spent away from the game. The Spaniard has referred to those 12 months as the “best” of his life.
De Gea became a legend at Old Trafford. The now 35-year-old won the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson as he claimed the mantle as one of the greatest shot-stoppers in the game.
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After 12 seasons at United, he left in July 2023 and spent the entirety of the 2023/24 season as a free agent before signing with Serie A club Fiorentina, where he continues to play his football to this day. Thursday will see De Gea return to English shores with La Viola as they take on Crystal Palace in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-finals.
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The former Atletico Madrid star has endured a mixed season in Florence, with Paolo Vanoli’s side becoming embroiled in a relegation fight. De Gea and his team-mates have since pulled off a dramatic U-turn, however, and began climbing the Serie A standings.
Touching on his life spent outside of the sport after leaving United, De Gea told Gazetta: “It was an easy decision. After 12 years at United, I needed a break.
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“So I took a year off to dedicate to my family and friends: it was the best year of my life. But I continued to train with a coach, Craig, who was very supportive and did a great job with me.
“I was sure I could compete at a high level again. When Fiorentina called me, I was ready. The first time I walked into Rocco B. Commisso Viola Park, I was speechless: there aren’t many facilities like it in Europe.”
De Gea waxed lyrical over his time in Manchester. He labelled Sir Alex a “father figure” and insisted that losing the Premier League in agonising circumstances to city rivals Manchester City in 2012 was the driving force behind United’s title win the following season.
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“We lost the Premier League in our first year when City took the title from us with a last-minute win despite our victory over Sunderland. I made up for it by winning it in 2012/13 – every game at United was special,” he continued.
Elaborating on Fiorentina’s difficulties this season, he said: “There’s no explanation. We started badly and put a lot of pressure on ourselves. It was tough for me too, as I found myself fighting for survival for the first time.
“The young players suffered more; in these situations, you have to be mentally strong. I wasn’t at my best either, but I didn’t give up. Hard work is the only way to get out of it.
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“The hardest moment was at the end of 2025, when we were last, hadn’t won a game, and the statistics said no one in our situation had ever survived. I was worried then: I felt like I was in a nightmare. Now, however, we’ve improved in many areas and are still in the running in the Conference, but we have to keep working hard.”
The tie against Palace has been one to watch for the star, with returning to England always a tantalising prospect. He concluded: “We’re focused on Serie A, but we have to believe in it. Crystal Palace are strong, and it’ll be great for me to return to England. Winning a trophy would be amazing for the fans; we can do it.”
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Harry Maguire will remain at Man Utd for an eighth season but his time at the club has featured some painful lows as well as some memorable highs. He reflected on that in Ireland this week.
Harry Maguire can remember the day he hit rock bottom. It had been building up for a couple of years, but at Hampden Park in September 2023, it all became too much, if not for Maguire, then for his family at the very least.
He was a half-time substitute in the fixture between Scotland and England, and so low had his reputation sunk that his every touch was greeted with cheers from the Scottish fans. The same had happened when he came on for Manchester United at Arsenal a week earlier.
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This was where Maguire now was. The world’s most expensive defender, in the team of the tournament in the European Championship in 2021, but now considered such a figure of fun that his mere presence on the pitch gave encouragement to opposition supporters. It had gone from abuse to mockery.
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Maguire played pretty well in that game but still scored an own goal. Afterwards, he tried to work out why he had gone from a cult hero in 2018, loved for being one of the lads and serenaded for drinking the vodka and the Jäger, to the most derided and abused footballer in the country.
“Sometimes it did cross my mind at the time just thinking, ‘Why? I don’t know why it has done this. I don’t know where it’s come from’,” he said.
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“My form dipped a little bit, yeah, of course, everyone does that in their career. But I was in a situation where I was just a lad from Sheffield playing for such a huge club.
“I thought this is what happens – this is the fault of the club not performing well. But when you look back it probably did go a little bit too far. At the time, I can remember thinking I just don’t know how this has really happened. I don’t know how it’s changed so quickly.”
It was still before 9am when a punctual Maguire strode into the Fitzgerald Suite in Carton House, taking up a seat on a plush sofa with the grounds of an idyllic rural retreat visible from the bay windows behind him.
The 33-year-old held court for 25 minutes on the highs and lows of an Old Trafford career that is unlike any other. Maguire can sometimes be formal in interview situations, but this was a figure who looked relaxed and at ease. It was more in line with his reputation as the funniest player in the squad.
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It is the first time he has returned to Ireland with his club side since being booed at the Aviva Stadium when playing for United in a pre-season friendly in 2023.
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A year earlier, he had been jeered by United fans in Melbourne, while he was given the same treatment in Las Vegas in 2023. It was the middle of a slump that it felt like Maguire might never recover from. United stripped him of the captaincy and tried to sell him to West Ham that summer, and had a deal been reached over his wages, he would have gone.
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Then came the Scotland game in September. Maguire insists that being so laid back meant he usually shrugged off the struggles and the abuse, but for his family it wasn’t so easy. Mum Zoe took to social media after that game to label the treatment of her son as “disgraceful”.
Maguire asked his mum not to put the post out, but she told him she wasn’t listening to him on this occasion and went public. Then the tide began to turn, helped by an improvement in his own performances. Now the 33-year-old has just signed a new contract, taking him into an eighth season at Old Trafford, and he is the poster boy for the kind of character and resilience needed to make it at United.
“I think there’ll be a lot who want to maybe just close the book and just go elsewhere and restart their career,” Maguire said of that period.
“I think it’s probably broken them a little bit earlier. I think it got to a point where it got really that low, the mocking and the abuse – if you want to call it abuse – that there was only one way it could go.”
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Maguire believes there was a three or four-year period around his move from Leicester City to United when he was in the conversation to be the best centre-back in the world. That culminated with the Euros in 2021 and, like several of his international teammates, he struggled after a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy in the final, having also seen United lose the Europa League final to Villarreal in the same manner.
It was also a season that unravelled spectacularly at club level. Maguire was sent off in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final game, a 4-1 defeat at Watford, and the way his form collapsed left him feeling regret for letting the Norwegian down. The appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager only made matters worse.
“I was coming off the back of two big final defeats. The Euros on penalties, Europa League on penalties. I probably just didn’t handle that as well as I should have,” he said.
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“I think there were so many lads who struggled in that period after the Euros. When you’re Manchester United captain and when you’re a central defender, you can’t get away with that. You can’t get away with struggling.
“There were lots of different things in that season. Losing Ole was a big, big loss. I felt a lot of responsibility for that as performances leading up to Ole losing his job weren’t good enough.
“The back end of the season was a mess. It really was a mess. I was the captain, and I took a lot of the brunt for it. We were all over the place, the back six months of that season.
“It wasn’t to do with Ralf, it was more to do with how us as players and as a squad handled it. I just felt like we didn’t handle it as well as we should have with an interim manager coming in, compared to how we’ve handled it this time under Michael.”
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Maguire’s slump would eventually end with him losing the captaincy, unceremoniously dumped by Erik ten Hag in favour of Bruno Fernandes. He admits to “anger and disappointment” at that decision at the time, although his form since losing the armband has improved again.
But his Old Trafford career survived and as he looks ahead to what he hopes will be a title challenge, he rightly takes pride in the fact that he has lasted so long, pointing to David Beckham and Wayne Rooney for inspiration as players who also emerged from their own dark days at United.
“When you play at the top level, unless you are one of the superstars and a world, world-class player, you have ups and downs and you have things that you have to deal with,” Maguire said. “That’s why you see so many players have two or three years at the top, then they drop off and they wander off and go into a different country and you don’t hear too much about them again. To play at the top, you’ve got to deal with the ups and downs.
“I always looked to the experience with players like David Beckham and Wayne Rooney and how they overcame it. They were unbelievable, world-class players, so if it happens to them, it can happen to anyone.
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“I just kept my head down. I have great self-belief, more importantly, that I’m a top player, and I believe that. I think that’s what helps me when things are tough.”
Mark Calcavecchia, the winner of the 1989 Open Championship, was allegedly removed by Augusta National Golf Club security for using his phone this week at the Masters.
Golfweek spoke to Calcavecchia, who didn’t deny taking out his phone out on the grounds, which is automatic dismissal.
Mark Calcavecchia of the United States plays his shot from the ninth tee during the continuation of round one on day two of the Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands Golf Club in The Woodlands, Texas, on May 3, 2025.(Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
“I’ve got nothing negative to say about Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, so I think we should literally hang up right now,” he said.
While Calcavecchia, 65, isn’t a previous Masters winner, he did play in the event 18 times during his career from 1987-2008. He even finished in second place in 1988.
Winners of the three other majors like Calcavecchia had do get a five-year exempt invitation to play in the Masters, and then they become “honorary invitees” for life.
But the rules are the rules, especially at Augusta National. No one is above the law on the premises, and the Masters official website says so when it comes to cell phones.
Mark Calcavecchia plays his shot from the fourth tee during the first round of the Boeing Classic at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge in Snoqualmie, Wash., on Aug. 9, 2024.(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
“The use of any device for phone calls, emails, text messaging, or to record and/or transmit voice, video or data is strictly prohibited,” the website reads.
Augusta National does provide phone service on the grounds. Designated phone banks, where AT&T provides service as a “champion partner” with the Masters, are found on the course to make phone calls if needed.
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Any other technological form of communication is strictly forbidden, and Calcavecchia is paying the price.
Mark Calcavecchia of the United States plays his shot from the ninth tee during the continuation of round one on day two of the Insperity Invitational 2025 at The Woodlands Golf Club in The Woodlands, Texas, on May 3, 2025.(Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
It’s the unfortunate reality for some who don’t abide by the rules, but the Masters is all about logging out and living in the present, adding to the wonder and mystique that is the first golf major of the golf season.
Dec 8, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Calgary Flames at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
All eyes will be on Peter DeBoer as he takes his place behind the New York Islanders’ bench for a crucial tilt against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
The Islanders (42-31-5, 89 points) parted ways on Sunday with Patrick Roy, their head coach of two-plus years, after an ill-timed four-game losing streak near the tail end of the season.
The last time New York took the ice, 36 saves from goaltender Ilya Sorokin weren’t enough to keep out the high-flying Carolina Hurricanes, who prevailed 4-3 on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. The Islanders managed just 16 shots on goal in Roy’s last stand.
“We all love Patty and wish that we could have done better over the last 10 days,” Islanders center Mathew Barzal said after practice on Monday. “You look in the mirror and there’s chances that I missed. … As competitors, you feel disappointment, just thinking you could have done more.”
The bad string of results dropped the Islanders outside a playoff spot. They sit three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who occupy the second Eastern Conference wild-card position, and trail the Philadelphia Flyers by three points for the third slot in the Metropolitan Division. All of those teams have four games remaining.
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The Islanders will hope DeBoer’s postseason pedigree gets them over the hump. With a 97-82 record in 179 playoff games, DeBoer ranks fifth all-time in postseason wins — the most of any coach without a Stanley Cup. DeBoer reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 with the New Jersey Devils and in 2016 with the San Jose Sharks but lost in six games on both occasions.
“After 18 years in this league, I’d like to say that I think I have really strong beliefs on how a team needs to play, what’s important to winning and what’s important to winning in the playoffs,” said DeBoer, who had been out of a job since the Dallas Stars fired him after a loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025 Western Conference finals. “I have a lot of non-negotiables on those things.”
The new-look Islanders will hope to claim both points against a battered Maple Leafs team entering the second night of a back-to-back. Toronto (32-32-14, 78 points) dropped a third consecutive game on Wednesday, an uninspired 4-0 loss to the visiting Washington Capitals.
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Toronto, eliminated from playoff contention last week, already was dealing with the absence of captain Auston Matthews for the remainder of the season. Now the Maple Leafs will find themselves even thinner on Thursday.
Brandon Carlo, Dakota Joshua and goaltender Anthony Stolarz all left the Washington game with injuries. None of them will play on Thursday.
In Stolarz’s place, Berube confirmed that 24-year-old Artur Akhtyamov would get his first NHL start. Akhtyamov has appeared in one game, making five saves in relief for Toronto against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 13.
“He has a great personality. He has played well down there (in the AHL), and he is a competitor,” Berube said of Akhtyamov. “He really has fast reflexes and is competitive as hell. I like the kid a lot.”
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Berube also indicated that center Luke Haymes, 22, would make his NHL debut against New York.
The Islanders, in turn, hope defenseman Tony DeAngelo can suit up for his first game since March 24, when he sustained a lower-body injury.
Today Toulon Golf is releasing their newest Small Batch putter; the Small Batch Columbus. The SB Columbus is a celebration of what many in the golf world view as the greatest Masters victory in the history of the tournament: Jack Nicklaus in 1986.
As Jack’s last “I’m still here” moment, the 1986 Masters is still talked about every single year, and is remembered by an iconic photograph where he raises his putter to the sky in a now infamous outfit. But that putter? There was a much bigger story to it. That’s the story of the new Toulon Golf Small Batch Columbus.
In 1986 Jack Nicklaus took home the trophy using a MacGregor Response MI 615 ZT. A putter that you can buy for about $40 on eBay. ZT standing for Zero Twist, which yes, was an early contender for the current Zero Torque trend that we see widely adopted in the modern game.
The idea behind Zero Twist was that if you could build the putter large enough with the hosel in the right spot, the putter would be more stable through the putting stroke and provide a better chance of rolling in putts. Again, yes, the same story we’re given today with super low-torque toe-up style putters. The irony though, is Jack was playing terribly heading into the Masters.
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As part of this Small Batch project, the Toulon family enlisted the help of Clay Long. Clay is an iconic, Hall-of-Fame level club designer, junkie, nerd, and one of the greatest personalities behind the scenes in the game of golf. He’s actually the one who designed the putter that won in 1986.
Sean Toulon and Clay Long in Clay’s workshop
Toulon Golf
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In a video on the Toulon Golf website, he tells Preston Toulon that they had no idea the putter was going to go in play. Jack’s first introduction to the putter was an accident. As an owner of MacGregor at the time, Jack didn’t regularly attend sales meetings. But in 1985, he decided to join. As part of that sales meeting Jack was going to go into the shop to see their new high tech woods-sanding robot. Yes you read that right. On the way to check it out, Clay stopped him and showed him the new Response lineup, including the 615. Jack’s first impression: “Is this a joke?”
Fast forward through a phone call from Jack showing interest in the putter after testing at home, making him some finishes in black rather than silver, and the putter going in play for a couple lackluster tournaments before the Masters including some several missed cuts, Jack shows up to Augusta with the putter. MacGregor was already thrilled with what their sales numbers were with the putter having had success at the PGA Show earlier in the year, and Jack having played the putter on tour. They were actually expecting Jack to swap the putter back out for an old George Lowe model. Instead, he wins.
Clay Long’s signature adorns one side of the specially crafted headcover for the Toulon Small Batch Columbus
Toulon Golf
His victory in 1986 is still considered one of if not the best Masters moment in the history of the tournament. He wasn’t playing well. He wasn’t leading on Sunday, in fact he started 6 strokes back of the leader. Nothing about that day was supposed to end with him winning the Masters. Just like nothing about the MacGregor Response series was supposed to set sales records for a company with a dying putter lineup. But odds be damned, they did it. And the Small Batch Columbus celebrates that triumph.
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The Small Batch Columbus is a nod to the original design, with tweaks for the modern game. Although the original 615 ZT was more than 35% larger than a traditional blade shape, the SB Columbus is about 30% smaller than the putter Jack used to win. That being said, it still dwarfs a normal sized blade like the Toulon Golf Boston you see pictured here with it.
The size comparison of a Toulon Boston from their 2026 Collection Series to the new Small Batch Columbus
Jake Morrow / GOLF
In order to maintain a “normal” size and feel, they needed to figure out how to keep the putter at about 360 grams of weight. The original putter was made out of aluminum, but it was very fragile. As Sean Toulon states to Clay in their story video, “It wouldn’t have passed the BGLT or ‘Big Guy Lean Test’”. To combat that, and to stay true to the Toulon Golf Small Batch process, they constructed the face and hosel out of 904L Stainless Steel. 904L is a wonderful material that finishes beautifully, but it takes a long time to mill which makes it more expensive, so it’s reserved for Small Batch type projects.
The Toulon Golf Small Batch Columbus pays homage to Jack’s triumph at the 1986 Masters
Toulon Golf
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The back of the putter is then done in 6061 anodized aluminum to save weight. Toulon isn’t new to the world of multi-material construction, but they did have to be very careful about how the two pieces matched up to each other in a couple of ways. The first one being that they physically needed to match up well. There’s nothing worse than a beautiful project turning into a nightmare with a terrible seam or a visible difference in the lines of the pieces. Not here. The SB Columbus has beautiful lines between the materials that match perfectly with the same curves, lines, and flow as one another. The other big thing is matching the color. Since they are different metals, they react to finishing differently. It’s not super easy to match the exact color between two metals, especially when you’re talking about a black finish. It’s pretty easy to see when one black didn’t get quite as dark or tinted as another black. But again, they absolutely nailed the details here.
The Toulon Golf Small Batch Columbus cavity design mimicks the original design of Jack’s 1986 Masters winning MacGregor ZT MI 615
Toulon Golf
The sole of the putter features some Azaleas, a common nod to Augusta National. Some are paint-filled in their typical pink color and others are sort of shadowed in the background to give the design some nice depth without getting busy. The SB Columbus logo stands proud in the very center, with the ‘86 markings making their way into the lettering as the ‘b’ in Columbus.
The sole design of the Toulon Golf Small Batch Columbus features some large pink Azaleas to tie in Augusta National
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As you rotate the putter to the topline, you’ll see the a nod to the same alignment features on Jack’s original winning putter as well as a Toulon variant of the cavity markings from Jack’s old putter including the (86) marking where the old (ZT) marking used to be. The face is then finished off in their triple cut fly mill in a silver finish. It looks beautiful behind the ball. You can see the loft on the face, and the alignment cross in the back of the flange doesn’t distract at all.
Clay’s signature as well as the Small Batch icon come together on top of the TRIPLE fly cut face of the Small Batch Columbus
Toulon Golf
The one thing you’re probably asking is “Well how does it roll?” I have to say, it’s lovely. It’s a nice firm feeling putter off the face. It’s got a great click to it, and a very commanding sound and feel into the hands. For such a large putter, you’d be worried that the player would lose feel, but not in this case. It’s a wonderful feeling and actually rolls quite well too. I would say probably 70% of Small Batch putters never make it out of the case, but there’s a few collectors out there who believe in the idea of tools not jewels, and this could certainly make a very fun tool.
The Toulon Golf Small Batch Columbus is available now on their website at toulongolf.com. In the Small Batch package the player will also receive a signed certificate of authenticity with a matching shaft band.
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Toulon Golf x Clay Long – 2026 Small Batch Columbus
This Toulon Golf x Clay Long Small Batch collaboration celebrates the triumph at the Masters in 1986. Toulon has partnered with legendary club designer Clay Long, the designer of the winning putter in ’86, to celebrate the victory and bring a piece of history into your hands.
The Pedigo Submission Fighting athlete goes toe-to-toe with promotional newcomer Kenta Iwamoto in a welterweight submission grappling battle.
Ahead of their rematch, Dante Leon shared what he expects from the Japanese ground game specialist and his plans to take a 2-0 lead in their head-to-head rivalry.
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“I’m sure he feels like he can give a better performance, and he wants to redeem himself from the last match. And with respect to that, I have to show up and be better,” the 30-year-old martial artist told ONE Championship during a pre-fight interview.
Leon vs. Iwamoto will be one of many exciting fights at ONE Fight Night 42 inside the Lumpinee Stadium.
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Dante Leon’s keys to victory against Kenta Iwamoto at ONE Fight Night 42
Iwamoto is aggressive, well-rounded, and capable of staying one step ahead — but Dante Leon has the tools to shut all of it down.
The starting point is top control. Leon’s crushing top pressure has been the foundation of his best performances in ONE Championship, and against an opponent who operates with the fluency and physical intensity that Iwamoto brings, establishing dominant position early is everything.
The Canadian’s ability to pass guard with precision and settle into suffocating top control removes Iwamoto’s most dangerous scrambling opportunities before they can develop.
From there, the back becomes Leon’s primary destination. His ability to hunt the back from almost any position — off scrambles, off guard passes, off failed submissions — is what makes him so relentless to contain.
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Once he secures that position, Iwamoto faces a finishing threat that has proven too much for everyone Leon has caught there.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire card, live in U.S. primetime, for free this Friday, April 10.
Tyson Fury is set to make his highly anticipated return to the boxing ring this Saturday against Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a bout he insists will play out before a sold-out crowd.
However, the heavyweight champion remains uncertain whether his father, John Fury, will be among the spectators.
The fight marks Fury’s comeback after reversing a retirement decision for the fifth time, ending a 16-month hiatus from the sport.
The event, broadcast live on Netflix from north London, has been subject to weeks of speculation regarding ticket sales. Despite this, Fury confidently predicted a full house.
Tyson Fury does not know if his dad will attend his fight this weekend (Getty Images)
“Let’s just say it’s been a very busy few months with the boxing scene all around the world and especially in the UK. There have been a lot of big fights on, but ‘Gypsy King’ always sells out,” Fury told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
“On the night there will be over 60-odd thousand at Tottenham, which is full capacity. The tickets have not been as fast as say the two days I sold out Wembley at 94,000, but it has gone over the past month or so, so we’ll be at full capacity on the night.”
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Addressing his father’s stance, Fury explained: “He’s not happy. He wanted me to retire in 2020 after I beat Deontay Wilder. He is just not happy and doesn’t want me to box.”
He added, “I think when it’s your kids and when it’s your close relatives, you feel very concerned for the individual and he has got his opinions, he just doesn’t want me to do it, he never wanted me to do it for the past six years.”
Despite his father’s disapproval, Fury remains resolute.
Tyson Fury with opponent Arslanbek Makhmudov in February (PA Wire)
“At the end of the day, every man must bear his own cross and it’s my destiny to do,” Fury said.
When asked if his father might still appear at the last minute, Fury conceded, “he might do, but he didn’t come to the Usyk II fight, so I’m not holding my breath.
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“My dad will do what my dad will do and there is nothing I can do about it. He is his own person. If he turns up, great, and if he doesn’t, also great.”
Amid the rhetoric and rabble rousing of JD Vance’s promotional tour of Budapest in support of the “fantastic” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the significance of one of the venues may have been lost on many.
The US vice president addressed a pre-election rally on Tuesday at the the MTK Sportpark in Budapest. The venue, opened in 2025, is used by various sporting departments of the MTK Budapest club, whose football team are one of Hungary’s most successful, with 23 national titles. MTK’s president is Tamas Deutsch, a Member of European Parliament and member of Orban’s Fidesz party.
Vance targets EU while campaigning for Orban in Hungary
“I don’t think that is accidental staging,” Gyozo Molnar, a professor of sociology of sport and exercise at the University of Worcester, and originally from Hungary, told DW.
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“The stadium is Orban’s preferred arena, quite literally. More broadly, the vast network of football clubs, academies, and infrastructure projects across the country represents a material patronage network that ties local communities and local elites to Fidesz. That has electoral consequences, particularly in rural constituencies.”
Heavy state influence in Hungarian clubs
MTK are far from alone in having strong ties to the state. Though not necessarily directly controlled by Fidesz, every club in the top division is somehow influenced by the party, either by politicians appointed to executive roles, by arms of the state with stakes in the club or by provision of funds.
The most important revenue stream has been the TAO corporate income tax program. Introduced in 2011, this allows corporations to write off donations to clubs in selected sports as a tax deduction, sometimes up to 100%. This has seen billions funneled to government-backed clubs and contracts for construction reportedly handed to those close to Orban and his government. Hungary is consistently ranked as the most corrupt nation in the 27-member EU, with which it has a strained relationship, and is also ranked among the poorest in the bloc.
Hungary: Europe or an authoritarian path?
Orban defended TAO in a 2020 interview with Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport.
“Until the introduction of the TAO, the world of entrepreneurs and sports did not maintain any relationship with each other,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a normal attitude to regret spending money on sports fields or for children to play sports.”
Nevertheless, Fidesz have also developed interests in clubs in several surrounding countries, including Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Ukraine. Molnar says this combines Orban’s loves of football with maintaining political power – and is another vote winner.
Clubs abroad help increase diaspora vote
“Ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries have been able to vote in Hungarian elections since Fidesz introduced simplified naturalization and extended the franchise in 2010. The diaspora vote has historically overwhelmingly favored Fidesz,” he said.
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“Investing in football infrastructure in these communities, such as stadiums, academies and youth programs is a tangible, visible form of patronage that reinforces the message that Orban’s government cares about Hungarians beyond the country’s borders.”
While some clubs’ ownership structures, both in Hungary and abroad, are opaque, last season’s runners-up, Puskas Akademia, have been built, funded and controlled by Orban from their foundation in 2007.
The Pancho Arena has hosted Israel matches in recent yearsImage: Denes Erdos/AP Photo/picture alliance
Named after Ferenc Puskas, Hungary’s greatest-ever footballer and member of the Mighty Magyars side that lost to West Germany in the 1954 World Cup final, Puskas Akademia are Orban’s pet project. He built them a stadium too. The Pancho Arena, named after the nickname given to Puskas while he played for Real Madrid, is a 3,800-capacity arena, holding double the population of the town of Felcsut, where Orban has a property.
David Goldblatt, now a visiting professor at Pitzer College, Los Angeles, went to the stadium, on the outskirts of Budapest, in 2017. After handing a copy of a book he’d written on football a decade earlier to Orban through an intermediary, he became the first foreign journalist for more than a decade to interview the prime minister, who was first elected to the post in 1998.
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Orban a lover of football and its power
Goldblatt said that, although it has clearly been weaponized politically, Orban’s love of the game shone through.
“He really is obsessed with football — playing it, watching it, thinking about it. He really, really, really loves football,” Goldblatt told DW, adding that Orban played in Hungary’s fourth tier and formed the basis of his party’s central control from a Fidesz five-a-side game.
As well as his grip on the club game, Goldblatt said that Orban’s funding and promotion of the national team has enabled him to tell a useful story.
“It’s a great and powerful narrative for an ultranationalist with victimhood tendencies that the Hungary national football team offers. Once the absolute pinnacle of global football, then a terrible shadow of its former self. This has, in Orban and Fidesz’s hands, turned into a narrative about how great Hungary once was before the communists crushed the great football tradition.
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“‘Make Hungarian football great again’ is what he said to me. I think he actually had baseball caps with that on.”
Champions League final a crowning moment or bitter pill
As well as their involvement in Hungary’s national team and all of the country’s top clubs, Orban and Fidesz have built more than 25 stadiums around the country, the biggest of which — the Puskas Arena in Budapest — is to host the Champions League final, European club football’s biggest game, on May 30.
Germany played Hungary at the Puskas Arena in Budapest in 2024Image: Michael Memmler/Eibner-Pressefoto/picture alliance
Molnar said Orban sees this “an enormous validation of his entire sport-as-nation-building strategy” and would find not being in power for the final a bitter pill to swallow.
“If he were to lose on April 12, the Champions League final would arrive under a new government, and that would be a bitterly symbolic loss for him, someone else cutting the ribbon on his legacy project,” he said.
Orban has been a regular attendee at major football finals for decades and may well be at one of the stadiums he built on May 30 whatever happens in the coming days. He has made himself the key figure in Hungarian football, as well as society, and the stakes are high for the sport.
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“If Orban wins, that event becomes a coronation of his football legacy. If he loses, it becomes an awkward inheritance for a new government that will have to decide what to do with the infrastructure, the networks, and the political economy of sport that Orban has spent a decade and a half constructing,” Molnar added.
“Either way, Hungarian football after April 12 will tell us a great deal not just about sport, but about whether populist nationalist projects can be unwound through democratic means.”
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
This article was originally published on April 9, 2026. It was amended later the same day to reflect the fact that JD Vance spoke at the MTK Sportpark in Budapest and not the Groupama Arena as previously reported.
Boniface joined Bremen with high hopes, but things have not gone as planned. The Nigerian striker has failed to score in 11 Bundesliga matches and has only provided two assists. His situation became worse after he suffered a serious knee injury in December 2025, which required surgery and kept him out for a long time.
Even before the injury, there were concerns about his fitness. Sporting director Clemens Fritz revealed that the club had to monitor his weight and put him on a special training and diet plan.
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Now back from recovery with parent club Bayer Leverkusen, Boniface is trying to regain form quickly as Bremen battle to avoid relegation with only a few matches left this season.
Fritz remains careful but hopeful about the striker’s chances of helping the team. He stressed that Boniface must reach full fitness before he can make a real impact.
Despite his struggles, Bremen still believe in Boniface’s ability. However, there are doubts about whether he can regain his sharpness in time to help the team at such a crucial stage.
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Aílton, however, has taken a more direct stance. The former Bundesliga top scorer said he expected more from Boniface but believes several issues affected his performance.
He pointed to the striker’s injury problems and poor physical condition, adding that the team’s bad form at the time also made things difficult for him.
According to Aílton, the long absence after surgery has made it even harder for Boniface to find rhythm. He warned that it may be difficult for the striker to score goals before the season ends due to lack of time.
Meanwhile, head coach Daniel Thioune has shown more belief in the Nigerian forward. Although he admitted Boniface is not yet fully fit, he said the striker can still contribute in short periods during matches.
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Thioune explained that what matters most is the player’s attitude and finishing ability, not just his weight. He added that Boniface could be useful in key matches, especially against direct rivals.
Bremen will face 1. FC Köln, Hamburger SV, and VfB Stuttgart this April, knowing they need positive results to move away from the relegation zone.
Apr 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing Jason Zucker (17) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
With four regular-season games remaining, the Columbus Blue Jackets are desperately trying to stay in playoff contention as they prepare to visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
The Blue Jackets (39-27-12, 90 points) are two points out of the playoff picture in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. They trail the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the division and the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card spot.
Columbus snapped a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) with a 4-3 shootout win over the host Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, a game in which the Blue Jackets twice came from behind to tie the contest.
The Blue Jackets and Red Wings were tied in the wild-card race going into the game.
“We had to win that game,” Columbus coach Rick Bowness said. “That was a great hockey game between two teams that are obviously very evenly matched.”
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Defenseman Zach Werenski scored the shootout winner and had a goal and an assist in regulation as he played more than half the game’s 65 minutes (33:26).
“This is obviously a massive win,” said Werenski, who grew up in suburban Detroit, rooting for the Red Wings. “We were just focusing on Detroit, but now we’ll take the good stuff from this game and build off it for Buffalo.”
Adam Fantilli made Werenski’s shootout heroics possible by tying it 3-3 with 17 seconds left in regulation with goaltender Jet Greaves pulled for the extra attacker.
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“We got it to overtime, and then Jet was huge in overtime and the shootout,” Fantilli said.
The shootout was tied 2-2 after four rounds. Greaves then stopped James van Riemsdyk’s attempt before Werenski ended it.
With 80 points (22 goals, 58 assists), Werenski joins Phil Housley and Brian Leetch as the only U.S.-born defensemen to reach that mark in consecutive seasons.
The Sabres (48-23-8, 104 points), who have already clinched a playoff berth, moved into first place alone in the Atlantic Division with a 5-3 road win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens are each two points back of Buffalo, each with a game in hand on the Sabres.
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“It’s a tight race right there for first in the Atlantic,” Buffalo winger Alex Tuch said. “We want to do whatever we can to try to increase our, I guess, lead now. I guess we’re in first now, but obviously two really good teams chasing us. Just want to stack up some wins, get some points, continue to push and get ready for the playoffs.”
Buffalo will play two of its final three regular-season games at home.
“It feels like we’ve been in a tight race since December,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “A tight race to get in the picture, then a tight race to move up the standings, and now it’s a tight race to stay up the standings. Our division has been incredibly tough. You look at the strings of games that Montreal put together. You look at Tampa Bay had a real nice run. And we’re all sitting there together.”
Buffalo rallied for the win on Wednesday with third-period goals by Tuch (his 31st), Jason Zucker and Zach Benson’s second of the game, which came into an empty net. Zucker also had an assist in the game.
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