Chelsea completed the signing of center back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli on Saturday. The Premier League club paid a fee reported to be 40 million euros ($40 million) for the 31-year-old Senegal international, who arrives at Stamford Bridge following the departures of defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. Koulibaly, who signed a four-year contract, joined his new teammates in Las Vegas for their preseason tour of the United States. Koulibaly played eight seasons with the Italian club, making 317 appearances and scoring 14 goals. He began his career with Metz in France and moved to Belgian club Genk for two seasons before joining Napoli. “Chelsea came first to get me in 2016 but we didn’t make it,” Koulibaly said. “Now when they came to me I accepted it because they really wanted me to come to the Premier League to play for them.” Koulibaly will play in front of Senegal teammate and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Koulibaly is Senegal’s captain and this year led the team to its first African Cup title.   Read: Sterling bids farewell to City, edges closer to Chelsea Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly described Koulibaly as “one of the world’s elite defenders... A great leader and an exemplary team player, Kalidou brings a wealth of experience and attributes that will benefit our squad and the club as a whole.”

Raheem Sterling edged closer to a move to Chelsea as he bid farewell to Manchester City on Wednesday. Sterling is on the cusp of completing a transfer of around 50 million pounds ($60 million) to City’s Premier League rival and he has reportedly flown out to Los Angeles to join up with Chelsea on its preseason tour and put pen to paper on a five-year deal. The England attacking midfielder posted an emotional message on social media, along with a video of highlights of his time at City. Read: Erling Haaland Transfer: Five Interesting Facts About Manchester City's New Signing “Seven seasons, eleven major trophies, a lifetime of memories,” it read. “To the coaching staff who have played a massive role in my development over the years, to my teammates who have become more than just those I share a pitch with, to the backroom staff, to the office staff, to the fans who have tirelessly supported the team, and to everyone involved with Manchester City, my respect for you couldn’t be greater. “What a ride it’s been.” Sterling joined City from Liverpool in 2015 for a fee of nearly 50 million pounds, making him then the most expensive English player of all time. The 27-year-old Sterling helped City to win four league titles and scored 131 goals in 339 games across all competitions. He was in-and-out of the team last season and did not start either leg of the Champions League semifinal loss to Real Madrid or the Premier League title-clincher against Aston Villa on the final day. Also read: Manchester City vs Real Madrid 2022: Champions League Semi-Final Match Preview “I am thankful for the ups and the downs,” Sterling added in his post. “As it’s the downs that have, at times, tested my strength and resolve, and enabled me to stand here in front of you as the best possible version of myself. “I arrived in Manchester a 20-year-old, today, I leave as a man.”

The Portuguese government has given its authorization for the sale of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich, who as a Portuguese passport holder needed its approval. The decision by Portugal was announced on Thursday, a day after the British government approved the sale of Chelsea by the sanctioned Russian oligarch to a consortium fronted by a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Portugal's rubber stamp was also needed for the deal worth 2.5 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) — the highest price ever for a sports team — to go through. “The two competent national authorities, the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of finance, gave the green light to the request received from Roman Abramovich for a humanitarian waiver, allowing the English club to be transacted,” the Portuguese government said in a statement. Also read: Premier League disqualifies Abramovich from running Chelsea The government in Lisbon said its backing of the sale hinged on “the guarantee given by the British authorities that the proceeds from the sale will be used for humanitarian purposes, not directly or indirectly benefiting the owner of the club, which is on the European Union sanctions list.” It added that its position received the backing of the European Commission. Abramovich gained Portuguese citizenship in 2021 thanks to a law that offered to naturalize the descendants of Sephardic Jews who were forced to leave the Iberian Peninsula centuries before. Abramovich has been sanctioned by British and European authorities over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine. British and Portuguese authorities had to ensure the oligarch would not profit from the enforced sale of the club. Also read: Chelsea feels effects of sanctions imposed on Abramovich Abramovich’s assets were frozen in March and Chelsea has been operating under a British government license which expires on Tuesday. The English Premier League approved the sale of the 2021 European champion on Tuesday. The buyers of the London-based club are led by Todd Boehly who, besides being part owner of the MLB’s Dodgers, also has minority stakes in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

The crowded field to buy Chelsea now features 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams and seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. A long-standing fan of Arsenal, Hamilton has seized the opportunity to invest in its London rival as three bidders try to buy the Premier League club from sanctioned Russian owner Roman Abramovich. Read: Man United hires Erik ten Hag as 5th manager in 9 years Williams and Hamilton are part of a consortium that features proposed investment from Josh Harris and David Blitzer, the owners of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers who would have to sell their stakes in Premier League club Crystal Palace to buy Chelsea. The reigning world and European champions could be sold for 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) — a record in world sports — given the interest in the west London club. Representatives for Hamilton said he planned to invest more than 10 million pounds ($13 million) in the bid being fronted by former Liverpool and British Airways chairman Martin Broughton and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe. Another bid has seen Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca partner with Larry Tanenbaum, who has ownership stakes in Toronto with the NBA’s Raptors, the NHL’s Maple Leafs and the city’s MLS team. Peter Guber, a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is also backing in the group. Another part-owner of the Dodgers, Todd Boehly, is leading another consortium hoping to be announced as the preferred bidder. REad: Juventus to Face Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia Final 2022 A New York-based merchant bank, the Raine Group, has been overseeing the sale process that was announced last month by Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The oligarch has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union over his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin with assets frozen, including Chelsea. Abramovich has been disqualified from running Chelsea by the Premier League and he cannot profit from the proceeds of the sale, which the British government must approve under terms of a license that allows the team to continue operating.

Back-to-back Champions League hat tricks just reinforce the enduring value of Karim Benzema's clinical finishing to Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti sees so much more being provided by the 34-year-old forward he compares to a fine wine. “He is more of a leader every day,” the Madrid coach said after Benzema's goals produced a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. “He feels more and more important in this team and I think that’s what makes the difference. He has so much more personality. He is an example for everyone.” Also read:Villarreal keeps on surprising, beats Bayern in CL quarters This latest goal burst could end Chelsea’s title defense, barring the type of second-leg collapse by Madrid that Paris Saint-Germain endured last month at the the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Benzema now has 37 goals in 36 games in all competitions this season, including the three that turned around the last-16 meeting with PSG. “They’re magic nights,” Benzema said. “Today we came out to win, to show we’re Real Madrid. Things worked out well for us as we played well, from the first minute to the last.” The France international is almost single-handedly keeping the Spanish giants on the path to a record-extending 14th European Cup — and a fifth for himself — and powering them to regaining the La Liga title. Of Madrid's last 11 goals, 10 have been scored by the mainstay of the team for the last 13 years. The first two at Stamford Bridge were thumping headers inside three first-half minutes in the driving rain, while the third was gifted to him in a manner that raised doubts about whether Chelsea can muster a comeback in Madrid on Tuesday. “I think it helped us that our build-up play from the back was good,” said Ancelotti, who won the 2010 Premier League with Chelsea. “We found space between the lines. And then with Benzema and Vinicius we were dangerous.” Chelsea had given itself hope of recovering when Kai Havertz reduced the deficit with a header five minutes before halftime from Jorginho’s cross. But only a minute of the second half had elapsed when Chelsea’s slack defending proved so costly. Edouard Mendy was about 30 yards out from goal when the ball came to him and the goalkeeper brought it down with his chest. Rather than clearing down the field, he sent a short pass tamely to the dawdling Antonio Rüdiger. It was a gift for Benzema to intercept before striking into the unprotected net with Mendy still stranded outside the penalty area. “I’m happiest to have scored the third," he said, "as I missed one in the first half and I was thinking about that chance because it’s very important to score goals. Then I got another and I’m very happy.” The precision of Benzema’s first-half headers -- after getting on the end of crosses from Vinicius Jr. in the 21st minute and Luka Modric in the 24th — was in contrast to the shortcomings of Chelsea’s No. 9. Substitute Romelu Lukaku had a great chance with a header of his own when there was still more than 20 minutes to go, but glanced it wide of the post, resulting in groans around Stamford Bridge. “Very important," Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said of the miss. An all-English semifinal is looking less likely. The winner of this quarterfinal will face Manchester City or Atletico Madrid, with City ahead 1-0 after Tuesday's first leg at the Etihad Stadium. Also read:UEFA Champions League 2022: Top favourites to reach the semi-finals Asked whether his quarterfinal was still alive, Tuchel sharply replied: “No.” It showed his frustration after his team's hold on third place in the Premier League was loosened by a surprising 4-1 loss to Brentford on Saturday. “We have to find our level back,” Tuchel said, “but we don't know where it is.” The most significant action might not even have been on the field for Chelsea on Wednesday. Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly flew in for the game as the tussle to buy the team from sanctioned Russian owner Roman Abramovich intensifies, with the contenders whittled down in recent weeks. It just adds to the uncertainty hanging over the west London team. "I will not accept it as an excuse," Tuchel said. There was a surprise in Wednesday’s other quarterfinal with Bayern Munich losing 1-0 at Villarreal.

The Premier League on Saturday disqualified Roman Abramovich from running Chelsea after the club owner was sanctioned by the British government over Russia's war on Ukraine. Also read: Chelsea feels effects of sanctions imposed on Abramovich The announcement that Abramovich had been disqualified from being a club director was made by the league's board. “The board’s decision does not impact on the club’s ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the Government which expires on 31 May 2022,” the league said. Also read: UK sanctions Russians, including Abramovich The Russian oligarch has owned Chelsea since 2003.

After a lot of excitement in the group stage and knockout rounds, the two teams that will compete in the Champions League final this year were finally confirmed in the first week of May. Manchester City advanced to the final after a 4-1 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain. On the other hand, Chelsea reached the Champions League final for the third time after defeating Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate in the semifinal. Fans all over the world are looking forward to a thrilling final between these two English giants. In this episode, we discuss who will win the Champions League 2021?  Manchester City vs Chelsea: Who is the favorite? When comparing the two teams' performances this season, it's clear that Manchester City are a step ahead of Chelsea in every area. Therefore, Man City are the overwhelming favorite to win the championship. Albeit, Chelsea have improved since Thomas Tuchel took over as manager in January. Apart from consolidating their position in the Premier League, Tuchel proved his worth as a coach by beating Manchester City in the semi-finals to secure the FA Cup final and taking Chelsea to the Champions League final. The strengths of the two teams are analyzed below in quest of the Champions League 2021 trophy.  Read: How European football is badly affected by the pandemic covid-19? Manchester City UEFA Champions League season 2021 Record:W: 11, D: 1, L: 0 |Top scorer: Riyad Mahrez and Ferran Torres (4)| Top Assists: Kevin De Bruyne (4) Key Players: Kevin De Bruyne, Rúben Dias, Fernandinho Manager:Pep Guardiola Why Man City can win the title?  Manchester City has been the clear favorite to win the Champions League 2021 this season, thanks to Pep Guardiola's brilliant tactics, squad depth, and the desire to win the club's first-ever Champions League trophy. The master of Tiki-Taka football, Pep Guardiola led FC Barcelona to win two Champions League titles between 2008 and 2012. After leaving Barcelona, Guardiola coached Bayern Munich for three seasons and his fifth season is underway at Manchester City but he hasn't won a Champions League in the last 10 years. So, many believe Pep can't win Europe's most prestigious club trophy without the best player in the world, Lionel Messi. Read: Football Transfers 2021: The hot favorites to replace Sergio Aguero at Man City This time Pep Guardiola, who played record eight Champions League semi-finals as a manager, has got a chance to dispel that slander. Manchester City have had to play without strikers since the beginning of the season. Ilkay Gündoğan, Bernardo Silva, and versatile midfielder Kevin De Bruyne all have played as false nine this season. Furthermore, Pep's disciples have mastered a great strategy of scoring goals by repeatedly pressing the opponent's half with a clockwise pass or zigzag pass. Manchester City have been in excellent form since December. Except for a few games, Citizens have won every match this year. To put it another way, they're on an incredible winning streak. As a result, the players' confidence will remain high ahead of the Champions League final. To beat such a team, the opponent must do something extraordinary. Otherwise, Man City will win the Champions League for the first time in their history. Read: Pro Kabaddi Tournament Could Rejuvenate Bangladesh’s National Sport Manchester City probable starting lineup: Ederson; Kyle Walker, Rúben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mundey; Fernandinho, İlkay Gündoğan, Kevin De Bruyne; Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Agüero.  Chelsea UEFA Champions League season 2021 Record:W: 8, D: 3, L: 1|Top scorer:Olivier Giroud (6) | Top Assists: Kai Havertz (3) Key Players: N'Golo Kanté, César Azpilicueta, Kai Havertz Manager:Thomas Tuchel Why Chelsea can win the title?  Roman Abramovich replaced Frank Lampard as Chelsea manager with Thomas Tuchel in the last week of January this year. Tuchel is expected to finish in the top four in the Premier League this season. But he surprised everyone by guiding Chelsea to the FA Cup and Champions League finals. Tuchel has previously shown his credibility as a manager. PSG reached the Champions League final for the first time last season under his guidance. However, Paris Saint-Germain were disappointed to lose the Champions League final match to Bayern Munich. Thomas Tuchel's appointment as Chelsea manager restored the team's confidence. He began his journey by focusing on not losing matches, and as a result, he has developed a strong Chelsea defense. As their focus has turned to win more games, players like Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, and N'Golo Kante have become more aggressive on the attack. After eliminating Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final and Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, Chelsea have gained even more confidence. Thomas Tuchel's team quickly figured out how to destroy a formidable opponent. It will not be impossible for Chelsea to be the best team in Europe for the second time if they can play according to their own strategy in the Champions League final. Read: Potential Young Players Who Could Rule World Football Next Decade Chelsea probable starting lineup: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Ben Chilwell, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz  UEFA Champion League 2021 final match fixture: 30 May 2021 (1 AM, BST)   -   Manchester City v Chelsea   -   Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul Verdict There are a few things to consider when predicting who will win the Champions League 2021? The teams' squad depth, the overall performance in the current season, whether every member of the team is fit for the finals, the players' performance on a given day, and sometimes luck plays a big factor to win the final. Those who can play the best football have a great chance of winning the final. Overall, a tough battle is anticipated between Manchester City and Chelsea. Read: Summer Window 2021: Five Potential Big Football Transfers

Manchester City have withdrawn from the European Super League (ESL) and Chelsea are also preparing to do so, according to reports in the British media. Efforts to leave come just two days after both were announced as two of six English clubs to sign up to the controversial new competition. The ESL has been widely criticised since being announced on Sunday, reports BBC. Around 1,000 fans gathered outside Chelsea's Stamford Bridge home ground before their game against Brighton on Tuesday to protest their involvement. Chelsea and City were part of English football's 'big six' clubs - alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham - to have agreed to join the new league. In total, 12 European clubs announced their intentions to form the breakaway league, which they hoped to establish as a new midweek competition. It was condemned by football authorities and government ministers in the UK and across Europe by Uefa and leagues associations. Chelsea were the first club to indicate they will not press ahead by preparing documentation to withdrawn. City withdrew soon after. Chelsea and City were not drivers of this plan, they were the last to sign and feared being left behind. It is not clear how easy it is or how binding the contracts are. The decision to try and have Chelsea leave was taken by owner Roman Abramovich and the club's board after witnessing negative global reaction to the Super League. There was a fear that it could do reputational damage to the club. Questions were raised internally as to whether fans would respond to the club if it continued with a proposal which has gone down so badly. The decision was made earlier on Tuesday before protests started outside Stamford Bridge. Earlier in the day, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with the Football Association, Premier League officials and fans' representatives, after which the government said it will take "whatever action necessary", including legislative options, to ensure the proposals were stopped. Johnson's stance is supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. A statement released after a meeting between the Premier League and the 14 clubs not involved said they "unanimously and vigorously" rejected plans for the competition. It added that it is considering "all actions available" to stop the competition and asked the six teams to end their involvement immediately. Meanwhile late breaking reports suggest Ed Woodward, executive vice chairman of Manchester United, has handed in his resignation in the backlash of the ESL's announcement, putting in doubt whether the club will now go ahead with the breakaway league. In a parallel development TALKSport is reporting that Andrea Agnelli has resigned from his post as president of Juventus, one of 3 Italian clubs involved in the fiasco.

Thomas Tuchel has long admired Pep Guardiola, from his early coaching days watching the great Barcelona team from afar to the night in 2014 when the pair — then rival Bundesliga managers — talked tactics for hours in a Munich restaurant using salt-and-pepper mills as props. With Tuchel now a world-class manager in his own right, Guardiola might no longer be on that same pedestal. The admiration hasn’t disappeared, though, ahead of their first meeting in English soccer. It’s a big game, too: Guardiola’s Manchester City vs. Tuchel’s Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. “The benchmark,” Tuchel said in reference to Guardiola and the City team he has rebuilt this season and that is still on course for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies. The two teams reached the Champions League semifinals this week — Chelsea after getting past Porto and City by outlasting Borussia Dortmund — but Tuchel said there remains a gap between them. After all, City, the Premier League leader, is 20 points ahead of fifth-place Chelsea and Tuchel still sees his team as a work in progress after joining in January as the replacement for Frank Lampard. That does not mean, he said, that Chelsea should have an inferiority complex going into the cup semifinal. The teams will also meet in the league before the end of the season, and maybe in the Champions League final, too. “It’s important that we accept this without making ourselves too small,” Tuchel said. “From next year on, from day one of next season, we will hunt them, we will try to close the gap between us. “We have to admit there is a gap but, for 90 minutes, we are very self-aware and very self-confident that we believe we can close the gap tomorrow for one game. And this is the target for tomorrow. I arrive happy to compete against the benchmark in England and Europe.” In that well-documented meeting of minds in Munich seven years ago — when Guardiola was with Bayern Munich and Tuchel was between jobs at Mainz and Dortmund — waiters reportedly were too afraid to interrupt the two animated coaches, who were using objects from neighboring tables to demonstrate their tactical ideas. Tuchel has established a reputation as something of a thinker, just like Guardiola, but he doesn’t see their meeting on Saturday turning into a chess match. More a physical battle. “We need to be on them every minute,” Tuchel said, “not allow easy chances and exploitation of spaces between our lines. We need to be very brave, play with courage, be adventurous and do what’s needed. “It’s a big challenge and it’s the right moment for us to face a challenge like this.” Indeed, Chelsea has lost only two of 18 games in all competitions under Tuchel, the latest — 1-0 at Porto, courtesy of a last-minute goal — not being enough to stop the London club advancing to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2014. Tuchel has rotated his squad heavily amid the fixture pile-up but appears to have landed on a preferred forward line in recent weeks — of Christian Pulisic, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount — that leaves high-profile and expensively purchased attackers like Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner looking on from the bench. “We have no promises to make, no gifts to give,” Tuchel said. “Everybody has to fight hard for their place. “Once you get any minutes, you fight hard to make the coach make a change. This is the life for a player at Chelsea. It’s big fun and you have to embrace the situation even if it’s a bit harder for some players.” Pulisic, the U.S. international, is finally getting a run of games near the end of another injury-affected season and has three goals in his last two league matches. “He made huge progress, he was fantastic in the last games,” Tuchel said. “He has a huge impact physically and in terms of quality, dribbling runs, arriving in the box in crucial moments. He stepped up and this is what I know from him.” Leicester plays Southampton in the second semifinal match on Sunday, when there will be 4,000 spectators inside Wembley, drawn from local residents as opposed to fans from each club. There will be no spectators for Chelsea-Man City.

Liverpool was eliminated from the FA Cup on Tuesday in a 2-0 loss to Chelsea as a run of poor results continued for Jürgen Klopp's team.