Chelsea target Valentín Barco (21) has announced that his time at RC Strasbourg Alsace has come to an end in a post on Instagram.

Barco joined Strasbourg, initially on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion during the winter transfer window of 2025, before then making the move to the Meinau permanent the following summer in a deal worth a reported €10m.

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In his only full season with Le Racing, Barco has become a key part of the club’s midfield, featuring 43 times in all competitions, scoring three and assisting a further nine goals. His form at club level has seen him return to the Argentina national team ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Upon the conclusion of that tournament – should he play a part – Barco will not return to Strasbourg. In a post on social media, he announced his impending exit. “Today, I announce my exit from a club that I joined with a lot of hope. In one-and-a-half years, I have had many magnificent moments, notably the most beautiful: the birth of my daughter […] I will continue to follow the club from afar. We will come back as a family as soon as possible. Strasbourg will remain a special place for us,” he said.

Barco’s contract with Le Racing runs until 2029, but he is now set to join Chelsea, with whom an agreement is close, L’Équipe understands.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

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SAUGATUCK – Neave Rewa sets a record nearly every time she steps on the pitch.

The Saugatuck soccer senior broke the school record for career goals last year and it grows every time the ball hits the back of the net.

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“The biggest thing is she is so determined to achieve what she wants to achieve. When she loses a ball, her whole body changes and you know she is going to get it back,” Saugatuck coach Neal Phillips said. “This had to be tough on her to switch coaches and systems as a senior and she is still thriving.”

More: Saugatuck’s Neave Rewa claims state skiing championship in slalom

Rewa said part of that stems from learning from older players in the program that has become one of the best small-school programs in West Michigan.

“I have always had a lot of strong people to look up to. Seeing that has helped me step into that role that I have observed for so long. We have come from separate players to coming together, and with a new coach, too,” she said.

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Rewa, also a skiing state champion, has 15 goals this season in the new system as opposing teams surround her with three defenders at times. She scored 58 goals through her first three seasons and sits at 73 – a stunning 31 goals ahead of the next on Saugatuck’s all-time list.

That experience will help her at the next step when she joins Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

“When I was searching for schools, I wanted to stay in the Midwest but get a little distance from home. It stuck out because they have won a lot of team ethic awards,” Rewa said. “The school has a pretty good science program and I loved all the coaches and players and it felt like the right next step.”

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It is a step Rewa has been dreaming of for years.

“It is pretty incredible,” she said. “I have played for almost my entire life. To have that comet together for four more years is really exciting.”

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as  Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Saugatuck’s Neave Rewa keeps record-breaking soccer career going

Last season was disappointing, as most Vikings players struggled to meet their expectations. The result was a 9-8 record and a season that virtually ended around Thanksgiving.

One guy, meanwhile, stood out, or exploded onto the scene, one could argue. Jalen Redmond was the discovery of Minnesota’s 2025 campaign, but he’s still flying under the radar, it seems.

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report nominated the best-kept secret of every roster entering the summer and he actually landed on Redmond for the Vikings, although his breakout season is already in the rearview mirror.

“Jalen Redmond’s story alone deserves attention after being an undrafted free agent, needing the United Football League as a pathway to the NFL and growing into an underappreciated defensive lineman,” he wrote.

Redmond’s story has been fantastic. After missing time in college due to blood clots and later opting out of the COVID season for the reason, Redmond went undrafted in 2023. The Panthers signed him, but he failed to stick around for the regular season. Ultimately, Redmond joined the UFL.

Four games were enough to catch Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s eye, who eventually signed him to a contract in the 2024 offseason. A solid rotational season in 2024 was followed by a true breakout campaign in 2025.

Sobleski continued, “There’s a standard to his play. It’s shown up every single week, and it goes back a lot before everybody started to notice it,” Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters in November. ‘For us, just felt like he was a guy that we wanted to make sure was on the field as much as possible. He’s a really good player. I think he’s developed throughout his time here and really is starting to understand how he fits within the defense.’”

Appearing in all 17 games with 15 starts, Redmond logged 6 sacks and 62 tackles on Minnesota’s defensive line, slowly carving into the reps from former Pro Bowlers Allen and Hargrave. He ended up as the top defensive lineman on the roster.

While Allen and Hargrave were exed in March, Redmond was re-signed. The Vikings had the exclusive rights and handed him a fresh one-year minimum deal. He’ll be a restricted free agent next year, unless the Vikings sign him to an extension.

PFF analyst Zach Tantillo recently wrote about the two-year Viking, “Redmond emerged as one of the Vikings’ most reliable interior defenders in 2025. He earned a 73.5 PFF overall grade, ranking third among Minnesota defenders. He was especially dominant against the run, where his 30 run stops, 1.46-yard average depth of tackle, and 19.4% positively graded play rate all ranked second-best on the defense.”

In the upcoming season, Redmond will be joined by a couple of rookies, including first-rounder Caleb Banks.

Sobleski finally concluded, “The Vikings employ an attacking defensive front. Redmond fits in nicely, with six sacks and numerous pressures last season. Minnesota wanted a disruptive interior presence, hence the selection of Caleb Banks in this year’s first round. He will join Redmond and give the unit an explosive, upfield duo.”

Redmond and Banks are both penetrating linemen who could benefit from the other rookie, Domonique Orange, whose two-gapping presence can open up lanes for his more explosive counterparts. In base defense, those three project to be the starting trio, unless another depth player, primarily Levi Drake Rodriguez, can surprise this summer.

Vikings fans have already seen Redmond explode, but the national media is a little behind. Another good season should do the trick and give him the attention he deserves.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a German sports nerd, who likes numbers and stats. He chose the Vikings to be his … More about Janik Eckardt

Major League Baseball still hasn’t seen a no-hitter since Sept. 4, 2024. J.T. Ginn of the Athletics strongly flirted with snapping the drought on Monday evening in Anaheim against the Angels. In fact, he took the no-hitter to the ninth inning with a 1-0 lead. But instead of making history, he came out on the wrong side of a walk-off loss. 

The game was actually tied, 0-0, heading to the ninth, and a small rally gave the A’s the lead and set the table for Ginn. Adam Frazier singled to start the ninth inning for the Halos. Three pitches later, Zach Neto hit a walk-off home run to center field.

Though Ginn isn’t the most unlikely no-hitter candidate in the majors or anything, he was a pretty hefty longshot. The right-hander had previously only gone more than six innings in an outing once in his career, though it was an eight-inning start on May 7 of this season. He entered the game having given up 36 hits in 43 ⅓ innings. 

This one wasn’t a bunch of batted-ball luck, either. Ginn totally dominated the hapless Angels from the start of the game through the eighth inning. He struck out 10 against one walk. He didn’t give up hard contact until the eighth when Jo Adell lined out to center. Otherwise, it was a collection of easy outs in play and strikeouts. 

Things just went off the rails for two batters in the ninth, and, due to a lack of run support, Ginn became the hard-luck loser. 

Had Ginn pulled this off, it would’ve been the 14th no-hitter in the storied history of the Athletics franchise. The most recent one was on May 7, 2019 when Mike Fiers pulled off the feat against the Reds. 

Of further interest here is that this was close to being the first no-hitter in the majors since September 2024, when the Cubs had a combined no-no against the Pirates. The most recent no-hitter from an individual pitcher came on Aug. 2, 2024 when Blake Snell did so against the Reds. 

The Angels haven’t been no-hit since 1999, when Eric Milton of the Twins twirled a gem. 

The A’s loss pushed them to 23-24 on the season, though that’s good enough for first place in the AL West. The Angels move to 17-31. 

The teams behind Terence Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s blockbuster clash last year will go head-to-head again this weekend in Egypt.

Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre trained Crawford from debut until retirement, and the same will be said about Eddy Reynoso and Canelo when the Mexican decides to hang up his gloves. The two camps went head-to-head in the most significant bout of 2025, with the Americans coming out on top to crown Crawford undisputed super-middleweight champion and hand Alvarez just his third defeat in 68 fights.

This coming weekend at the Pyramids of Giza, ‘BoMac’ and Reynoso will be sitting in opposite corners once again, as heavyweights Richard Torrez Jr and Frank Sanchez battle it out in an IBF final eliminator for a shot at champion Oleksandr Usyk, who fights kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in the main event.

Unlike Sanchez, who has been with Reynoso for some years, other than a stint away in 2022, Torrez has only just linked up with McIntyre at the B&B Sports Academy in Omaha.

The well-respected trainer, who also has Lester Martinez in his stable and previously coached Keyshawn Davis, told Top Rank that he has been impressed so far and expects his new heavyweight charge to shine this weekend.

“Frank Sanchez is a great fighter. He has a great team behind him, a great coach. I know for a fact that over there with Eddye Reynoso those guys stay ready. I wouldn’t accept nothing less, and the [inactivity] doesn’t matter to him.

“It’s going to be a tough fight for the first couple of rounds, cause the guys are gonna feel each other out, taste each other’s power, but the will and determination is gonna come down. And I know one thing – Frank got a loss. He got stopped. So he knows how to lose. Richard’s undefeated, silver medallist. Kid ain’t lost in umpteen years. I’m just looking for him to go out there and do his thing and definitely get the win.”

After his amateur success for the US, Torrez has built a professional record of 14-0 at 26 years old, scoring 12 knockouts and boasting his biggest win over Guido Vianello. Cuba’s Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), lost to Agit Kabayel in 2024 to set his world title dreams back a little, but is right on the verge again now.

Given Usyk-Verhoeven is more spectacle than high-level boxing, their clash may prove the most intriguing heavyweight contest on the card, which also includes Jack vs Shakhram Giyasov for the WBA Regular welterweight belt and Hamzeh Sheeraz against Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super-middleweight title, previously held by Canelo and Crawford.

Carlo Ancelotti’s first Brazil World Cup squad has already sparked major debate after Neymar was included ahead of João Pedro following late fitness concerns surrounding the Santos star.

According to reports in Brazil, Ancelotti reportedly prepared two separate squad lists before making his final decision — one including Neymar, and another featuring João Pedro instead.

The uncertainty emerged after Neymar reportedly felt discomfort in his calf during Santos’ recent match, forcing Brazil’s medical staff to carry out further examinations before the final squad announcement.

Despite the concerns, Ancelotti ultimately decided Neymar would travel to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The decision immediately divided supporters across social media.

While many fans insisted Neymar’s experience, leadership, and legendary status made him impossible to leave out, others argued João Pedro had been Brazil’s best-performing attacker this season based on form, consistency, and overall numbers.

Neymar Still Carries Brazil’s Trust

Ancelotti strongly defended Neymar’s inclusion in the squad, insisting the forward remains one of Brazil’s most important players heading into the tournament.

“We spent the entire year analyzing Neymar,” Ancelotti said during the squad announcement.

“We realized that in this last period he had continuity and was in good physical condition.”

The Brazil manager also described Neymar as a player who “will be important for us at the World Cup.”

Neymar’s recall represents another opportunity for the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star to finally deliver World Cup glory for Brazil after several injury-disrupted international tournaments.

Now 34, Neymar remains one of the defining figures in Brazilian football history.

Brazil may no longer depend entirely on Neymar on the pitch, but emotionally, the Seleção still revolves around him.

João Pedro’s Omission Sparked Huge Debate

One of the biggest talking points from the squad announcement was the omission of João Pedro.

The Brazilian forward later released an emotional statement following the decision.

“I tried to give my best at all times. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to fulfill this dream of representing my country in a World Cup, but I remain calm and focused, as I always try to be,” João Pedro said.

“Joys and frustrations are part of football. From now on, I wish good luck to everyone who is there and I will be just another fan cheering for them to bring the sixth title home.”

Ancelotti also admitted sympathy for players who narrowly missed out on selection.

“I am sad for players who have been left out, like João Pedro. They will have chances in the future,” the Brazil manager said.

The reaction online was immediate.

Many supporters questioned whether Brazil had prioritized legacy and trust over current form, with João Pedro widely viewed by some fans as Brazil’s most productive attacker this season.

Statistically, many supporters believed João Pedro had earned his place more than several forwards selected ahead of him.

Neymar’s Fitness Scare Added Last-Minute Drama

Reports from Brazil claim Ancelotti had already planned to take Neymar to the World Cup before concerns emerged over the seriousness of the forward’s calf discomfort.

Brazil’s football department reportedly kept both squad versions ready until the final moment, with João Pedro effectively becoming Neymar’s direct alternative.

The situation reportedly created tension inside the Brazil camp before positive medical feedback ultimately convinced Ancelotti to keep Neymar in the final squad.

That detail has only intensified debate around the final selection.

Brazil’s Full 2026 FIFA World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Alisson Becker — Liverpool

Ederson — Fenerbahce

Weverton — Palmeiras

Defenders

Alex Sandro — Flamengo

Gleison Bremer — Juventus

Danilo — Flamengo

Douglas Santos — Zenit Saint Petersburg

Gabriel Magalhaes — Arsenal

Ibanez — Al Ahli

Leo Pereira — Flamengo

Marquinhos — Paris Saint-Germain

Wesley — Roma

Midfielders

Casemiro — Manchester United

Bruno Guimaraes — Newcastle United

Fabinho — Al Ittihad

Lucas Paqueta — Flamengo

Danilo Santos — Botafogo

Attackers

Endrick — Olympique Lyonnais (on loan from Real Madrid)

Gabriel Martinelli — Arsenal

Igor Thiago — Brentford

Luiz Henrique — Zenit Saint Petersburg

Matheus Cunha — Manchester United

Neymar — Santos

Raphinha — Barcelona

Vinicius Junior — Real Madrid

Rayan — AFC Bournemouth

Brazil Head Into Another World Cup Under Huge Pressure

Brazil’s squad reflects Ancelotti’s attempt to balance legacy, leadership, experience, and emerging talent as the Seleção chase their first World Cup title since 2002.

With Neymar returning, Vinicius Junior entering his prime, and Endrick viewed as one of football’s brightest young stars, expectations around Brazil will once again be enormous.

But if Brazil struggle in attack during the tournament, questions surrounding João Pedro’s omission may continue following Ancelotti throughout the competition.