China’s troubled Wanda sells 17% stake in Atletico Madrid
Cahill ‘devastated’
MADRID, Feb 14, (Agencies): Troubled Chinese conglomerate Wanda has decided to sell its 17 percent stake in Spain’s Atletico Madrid to Israeli group Quantum Pacific but will remain a sponsor, the football club announced Wednesday.
“The decision to divest is part of the global strategy of Dalian Wanda Group,” the top-flight club where French star Antoine Griezmann plays said in a statement, without giving the amount of the sale.
Following rapid diversification, Wanda has ended up mired in debt and under the scrutiny of Chinese regulators, forcing its head Wang Jianlin -- once China’s richest man -- to sell off parts of his empire.
Quantum Pacific Group, a holding owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer that specialises in shipping, already owned 15 percent of the club, which it acquired in November for 50 million euros ($62 million).
Cahill
Ryan Mason’s retirement after he failed to recover from a serious head injury sufficiently enough to return to the pitch had “devastated” Gary Cahill, the Chelsea defender has said.
Mason announced his retirement from soccer on Tuesday after he suffered a fractured skull following a head clash with Cahill while contesting a corner during Hull City’s defeat to Chelsea in January 2017.
Human Rights Watch has said world soccer’s governing body must tackle rights abuses in Russia’s Chechnya region now that one of the teams in this year’s World Cup in Russia has chosen Chechnya as the location for its base camp. Rights groups and Western governments allege that the authorities in Chechnya repress their political opponents, discriminate against women and persecute sexual minorities, all allegations that Chechnya’s leaders deny.
Bundesliga attendances, already the highest in Europe, were up by eight percent in the first half of this season compared with the same period one year ago, the German league said on Tuesday. The 153 matches played in the first 17 matchdays pulled in an average of 43,429 fans, the second-highest average ever, compared to 40,271 last season, the Bundesliga said.
The record is 44,345 in 2011-12.
Swansea City defender Angel Rangel has been ruled out for six weeks after undergoing groin surgery, the Premier League club said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Spaniard has been limited to just six appearances across all competitions for the relegation-threatened club this season and sustained the injury during Swansea’s league defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last month.
Derby County missed the opportunity to go second in English football’s Championship (second tier) after they fell to a 2-0 defeat against mid-table Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.
Lucas Joao scored in either half for the hosts against a third-placed Derby side who dominated possession but struggled to find a cutting edge until the closing stages.
A former British youth football coach was found guilty on Tuesday of multiple counts of the sexual abuse of boys after a court heard he was a “child molester on an industrial scale”. Barry Bennell, 64, who coached at Crewe Alexandra and scouted for Manchester City, was found guilty on 36 counts involving 10 child victims between 1979 and 1990.