By Kostas Lianos, Digital Sports Reporter

IT was back in 2019 when Greece legend Vasilis Torosidis – the heir to Euro 2004 hero Giourkas Seitaridis – retired from international duty after 101 caps.

A giant void was left behind at right-back, many talented players tried to step up – and none of them could fill those big boots.

But, soon enough, I started to hear whispers about a Premier League ace with Greek heritage who’s a starter week-in and week-out…

That was none other than George Baldock, born in Buckingham on March 9, 1993, to English parents but qualified for Greece through his grandmother.

And what a season he was having. The right-back starred for Sheffield United as they surprised the Prem in the 2019-20 campaign – their first in 12 years – by finishing in the top half of the table.

Baldock was among their standout players as he registered a staggering 3,420 minutes played – the joint highest along with the likes of Declan Rice and Virgil van Dijk.

The defender was keen to make the big step to the international stage with his grandmother’s homeland – and it didn’t take long until he shook hands with the Greek football federation (EPO) chiefs.

However, a long and arduous paperwork slog stood in the way – with the then Sheffield United star claiming Covid-19 and Brexit slowed things down.

Greece finally got the right-back they were begging for for years as Baldock made his debut on June 2, 2022 in a Nations League clash at Northern Ireland as a late substitute.

It didn’t take long until the English-born ace owned the right flank at the back and impressive performances followed.

Perhaps none compare to the Euro 2024 qualifier against France in June 2023 when Baldock did the unthinkable and kept Kylian Mbappe quiet for 104 MINUTES, despite being injured and playing through “unimaginable” pain.

I still remember speaking to then-Greece manager Gus Poyet about his player’s stunning performance, and I will never forget the big smile the Chelsea legend had on his face.

Poyet reminded me of a proud father as he took me through the injury hell the full-back endured before squaring up against perhaps the world’s best player for his country.

A beaming Poyet told me: “Against the Republic of Ireland [three days beforehand] – and now that it is finished I can say it – after 20 minutes he had a very bad twist in his ankle, very bad. He was very close to come out. I asked him, ‘Can you hold until half-time?’

“At half-time his ankle was very, very swollen. He asked for a strapping and he asked me for five minutes. Give me five minutes and we’ll let you know. And he had an unbelievable second half running up and down and being outstanding.

“You don’t imagine the ankle after the game. You don’t imagine the ankle the day after, after the flight to France. Black and blue – swollen. And a day-and-a-half later you need to play against Mbappe.

“Ninety per cent of people will think, no chance. And I keep talking to him, individually. And he keeps saying to me, ‘Coach I’m gonna be there no worries’.

“And he didn’t play 20 minutes, he didn’t play 60 minutes, he played 104 minutes because the referee gave 14 minutes of injury time against Mbappe.”

It’s easy to understand how loyal Baldock was to every team he ever played for during his 15-year career, just by looking at his stats.

The Greek ace started his career at MK Dons in 2009 where he amassed a staggering 125 appearances throughout an eight-year stint that also saw him playing on loan for Northampton Town, Tamworth, IBV and Oxford United.

The defender joined Sheffield United in 2017 and registered a whopping 219 appearances in seven years that also saw him helping his team achieve two Premier League promotions.

Baldock’s work ethic and commitment was no different in Greece as he proudly stated two years ago: “To play for the national side is a great honour and a lot of pride involved for me and my family.

“Representing my country through my late grandmother, it’s a very proud moment for me and my family. I love the country and I will fight for every success”

Baldock never played for England at any level, but he always competed like a lion and he proved it on Sunday in his last ever match when he started for Panathinaikos, whom he joined in the summer, against eternal rivals Olympiacos in perhaps the most intense derby in Europe.

He served his team with honour as he helped them pick up a valuable point in a goalless draw against their in-form foes, who had just played their best game of the season with a 3-0 win over Braga in the Europa League a few days earlier.

He only managed 12 caps for Greece before his sudden and tragic death at the age of 31 on Wednesday in Athens.

But his fighting spirit and charisma at right-back with the white and blue, as well as his remarkable run in the Premier League and the Championship, show that he is leaving a legacy behind for many Greek and English fans to look up to.

MMA Fighting has DWCS results for all the action from season 8, week 10 of UFC’s Contender Series on Tuesday night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev.

In the main event, Nick Klein and Heraldo Souza will clash in a middleweight contest. Klein, who is 5-1 in his career, has picked up two straight wins. Souza, who is 9-1-1, has won has past three fights via finishes.

Undefeated flyweights Luis Gurule and Nick Piccininni will clash in the co-main event.

Check out the DWCS results for season 8, week 10 below.

Main card (ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

Nick Klein vs. Heraldo Souza

Luis Gurule vs. Nick Piccininni

Antonio Monteiro vs. Yadier DelValle

Julieta Martinez vs. Leslie Hernandez

Mohamed Ado vs. Jonathan Micallef

LOS ANGELES — After the Dodgers intentionally walked Francisco Lindor in the second inning Monday afternoon, the 24-year-old hitting behind the Mets‘ MVP candidate looked perplexed. Mark Vientos raised his sunglasses and tipped his head to the side, almost in disbelief that they wanted to pitch to him. 

“I took it personal,” Vientos said after launching the second grand slam of the Mets’ postseason in a 7-3 win that evened the National League Championship Series at one game apiece. 

If the Dodgers didn’t know much earlier this year about the Mets third baseman, who was 10 games into his 2024 season the last time these teams faced off in the regular season, they do now.

“I mean, I want to be up there during that at-bat,” Vientos continued. “I want them to walk Lindor in that situation, put me up there.” 

Vientos, now a fixture hitting near the top of the Mets’ lineup, wasn’t even the likeliest 24-year-old to earn his team’s job at the hot corner this year. The 2017 second-round pick’s season began at Syracuse, and he sported a .610 OPS over parts of two big-league seasons entering this year. 

But this version of Vientos, who made the Dodgers pay for the free pass, is not like previous iterations. 

“My man’s got a lot of confidence in himself,” Sean Manaea said. “I love that.”

Why wouldn’t he? 

On Monday, Vientos’ blast gifted the Mets starter an early 6-0 lead that provided plenty of cushion during his five innings of work. 

“Ever since he got here,” Manaea continued, “he’s been doing some crazy things.” 

When the season began, Brett Baty was the Mets’ starting third baseman. But the former top prospect’s struggles out of the gate opened a door, and Vientos, who was recalled on May 15, stepped through with a giant leap. By the time Baty was optioned on May 31, it was clear the full-time third-base job belonged to Vientos, who never looked back. 

While his name might not hold the same weight or prestige as perennial third base sensations like Manny Machado or Alex Bregman, Vientos finished the season with a higher wRC+ than both of them. In fact, among MLB third basemen with at least 400 plate appearances this season, the only ones with a higher OPS than Vientos were José Ramírez and Rafael Devers. 

“The power is real,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 

It is not a coincidence that his ascension coincided with his team’s. 

From Vientos’ call-up through the end of the year, New York was one of three teams to compile 70 wins. His steady rise both in production and the Mets’ lineup — he went from hitting in the bottom half of the order in June to behind Lindor in September — helped turn around a team that was 11 games under .500 in early June. 

In regular-season games Vientos started this year, the Mets were 61-44. In games he didn’t, they were 28-29. 

“He’s embracing every opportunity and enjoying the ride,” Lindor said. “There’s one thing that Mark doesn’t lack, that’s confidence.”

Lindor is the only Mets player worth more WAR than Vientos. They both had exactly 26 home runs from the time Vientos was promoted in mid-May through the end of the year.  

Now, they’ve both come up huge through the team’s magical October run. 

For Lindor, there was the game-winning ninth-inning homer he launched against the rival Braves to get them into the playoffs and the go-ahead grand slam in Philadelphia that would send the Mets through the NLDS to face the Dodgers. 

When the Mets seemed to forget who they were in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, getting blanked for the first time this postseason and looking uncompetitive in the process, Lindor got them back on business hours in Monday’s matinee with a leadoff home run that ended the Dodgers’ postseason record-tying streak of consecutive scoreless innings at 33. 

So, you can’t blame them for giving Lindor a free base with two on, two out and a bullpen game threatening to get out of hand quickly. 

Unless, of course, you’re Vientos.

“They would rather take a chance on me than him,” Vientos said. “But I use it as motivation. I’m like, ‘All right, you want me up, I’m going to show you.’”

In a postseason field filled with decorated stars, that self-belief is helping a less-heralded Met stand out. 

In the Mets’ first game of the playoffs, it was Vientos’ single off Aaron Ashby in the fifth inning that broke a tie and ended up being the deciding hit. 

In their first game of the NLDS, Vientos’ game-tying single in the eighth inning sparked a five-run frame in a comeback win.

In Game 2 of the NLDS, Vientos became the third-youngest player to record 10 total bases in a playoff game. 

On Monday, he became the youngest player to hit a grand slam in LCS history. Vientos would add a single in his next at-bat for his sixth multi-hit game in nine postseason appearances. 

He now leads all players this October in hits and RBIs. 

“He’s very confident,” Lindor repeated. “He’s a player who believes in himself. He doesn’t back down.”

Despite the self-assuredness and swagger, Vientos has still demonstrated preternatural poise to consistently deliver when presented opportunities. 

On his grand slam, Vientos said he wasn’t thinking about going deep. But when Landon Knack lofted a four-seamer right down the middle on the ninth pitch of the at-bat? 

“Yeah,” Vientos said, “I wasn’t going to miss it.” 

As he has done to opponents so often this month, and throughout a 2024 season that has solidified his place as the third baseman of the future in New York, Vientos delivered. 

While his 391-foot drive would have been a flyout at Citi Field and 23 other major-league ballparks, all that mattered was at Dodger Stadium, it kept going, and going and going … until it dropped over the wall in right-center field, lifting a Mets team that had found its form again and dismantling the Dodgers’ hopes early in a bullpen game. 

“You didn’t see a big swing,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was, let me put it in play, let me stay in the big part of the ballpark, and he was able to drive that one. You see the next at-bat against a lefty, just going the other way with ease and just shoot the ball the other way. That’s a sign of not only a good hitter but someone that is mature and is under control.”

The Mets have demonstrated all year they’re not going to fold. 

In Game 2, after their worst loss of the postseason, they punched back behind their MVP candidate and the 24-year-old behind him who’s playing like one. 

“That’s who he is,” Lindor said. “I’m glad he took it personal. He’s got to continue to climb.” 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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FORMER Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy claims team-mates enjoyed his boozy sex parties.

He told a tribunal: “We all had casual relations with women.”

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In documents he identified Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Raheem Sterling.

Mendy, 30, is suing for £11million in wages stopped when he was held for rape. He was later cleared.

In a statement read to an employment tribunal, Mendy said: “Several Manchester City first-team players, including the club captain, were all present at parties that I attended and hosted.

“We all drank alcohol. We all had casual relations with women. We all breached Covid-19 restrictions.

“This does not excuse my behaviour, but I feel that it is unfair for Manchester City to single me out in the way that they have.

“The difference between me and the other players is that I was the one that was falsely accused of rape and publicly humiliated.”

Mendy, now at French club Lorient, did not directly name players.

However, he made reference to a story about his first trial published in online sports mag The Athletic.

It mentioned that the jury was given the names of Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Raheem Sterling and told they had all been at parties on the nights of alleged incidents.

None was accused of wrongdoing.

But Mendy wrote in documents submitted to the tribunal: “I can confirm this is true.

“All those players attended the parties which led to the charges.”

The Premier League champions stopped paying Mendy’s £500,000-a-month salary after he was charged with rape and sex assault in August 2021 and remanded in custody.

We all drank alcohol. We all had casual relations with women. We all breached Covid-19 restrictions

Benjamin Mendy

A number of women accused him of raping them at his £4.6million mansion in Prestbury, Cheshire.

In evidence raised by Mendy’s KC, Nick De Marco, the tribunal heard that five City team-mates were at parties hosted by Mendy.

The defender, who says the club breached his contract, yesterday gave evidence via video-link to the Manchester tribunal.

 The French World Cup winner agreed a £6million-a-year deal until 2023 when he signed from Monaco for £52million in 2017.

The club continued paying Mendy, who gave his address as Madrid, following his first arrest in 2020.

After being charged, he was suspended by City and the Football Association. Mendy spent four months in custody before being bailed in January 2022.

On September 2021, City officials wrote to Mendy telling him they were stopping his wages.

The letter said: “The club has, after careful and anxious consideration, suspended the payment of salary.

“Nor will you receive any further payment until you are ready and able to perform your obligations under the contract of employment.

“You are not presently ready and able to perform duties because you have been remanded in custody and, separately, because the FA has suspended you from engaging in any football-related activity.

“In those circumstances, the club is no longer obliged to continue to pay you.”

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In addition to wages, Mendy’s contract guaranteed him a £1million bonus each time City qualified for the Champions League, a further £900,000 if he played in more than 60 per cent of City’s matches and £1.2million annually to his image rights company.

Mendy was cleared of seven rapes and two sexual assaults after two trials at Chester crown court in January and June 2023.

He has brought a claim for unauthorised deductions from wages, saying under the terms of his contract, the club had the right to stop his pay only for six weeks.

He also revealed he was lent money by teammates Bernardo Silva, Sterling and Mahrez as cash dried up after his arrest.

Yesterday City’s lawyer, Sean Jones, KC, questioned Mendy about his lifestyle which saw him host illegal lockdown parties.

Man City deny breaching employment law and say Mendy violated his contract by bringing the club into disrepute and indulging in behaviour which prevented him from playing or training.

In his statement, Mendy claimed City’s then chief football operations officer Omar Berrada had told his agent that the club would pay back his salary once “I had been found not guilty”, but that Mr Berrada “would not commit this to writing”.

He added that in November 2022, he messaged Mr Berrada asking for confirmation he would receive “all my missing salaries”, without reply.

In a statement, Mr Berrada said he did not respond as he did not want to “give any assurances, suggestions, or indications at all, to suggest” that Mendy would be paid.

Instead he directed conversations to City’s legal department.

In August 2023, a month after he was cleared, Mendy messaged City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak but was ignored.

In his statement, Mendy said: “It is my understanding that Manchester City are claiming the reason they did not have to pay me was because the thing that prevented me from playing, training and attending meetings was a result of my own actions.

“I firmly disagree. I was falsely arrested for crimes I did not commit.

“In other words, if I had not been falsely arrested, I would have been able to play for Manchester City and I would have been paid in full.

“That is the reality of the situation. At no point have Manchester City apologised to me or even acknowledged how their actions almost cost me everything.

“I believe that it is fair and just for me to be paid the wages that I would have earned but for being falsely arrested for crimes that I did not commit.”

During his time at City, the tribunal heard, he missed 123 of 240 games.

Among documents submitted was a letter to the FA in April 2022 which lays bare his financial situation while awaiting trial.

It said he had just £197.78 in his Coutts bank account, outstanding legal fees of £96,000 and owed £10,000 to a cleaning firm.

He could not pay his £80,000-a-month mortgage and had to rely on loans from friends.

Mendy was also being chased for £843,000 in tax, owed a concierge firm in France 400,000 euros and was struggling to meet child maintenance bills. The tribunal continues.

Players identified in documents

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Watch the best shots from England’s openers Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who scored 62 and 51 respectively in a win against Scotland at the Women’s T20 World Cup.

READ MORE: Bouchier leads England to thumping win over Scotland

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