Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid are ready to move for Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven, while Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva is looking to move on and could head to MLS. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

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TRENDING RUMORS

– Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven is on the radar of Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid, according to TEAMtalk. It is reported that the 24-year-old is expected to leave Spurs in the summer, regardless of whether they avoid relegation, and the Red Devils are the latest club to join the race to sign him. TEAMtalk also reports that the Premier League side aren’t close to reaching an agreement over a new contract with Van de Ven, whose deal expires in 2029, and the Netherlands international is now weighing up his options.

– Chicago Fire, Benfica, and Juventus are looking at signing Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva in the summer, says the Daily Mail. Silva, 31, is out of contract at the end of the season and is reportedly keen to leave for a new challenge. The Portugal international has been a key player for Pep Guardiola over the past decade, and there has also been interest from the Saudi Pro League.

– Real Madrid are weighing up a move to bring back Como defender Jacobo Ramón, according to AS. It is reported that Los Blancos now see the 21-year-old as a potential long-term starter for the club after they let him leave in 2025, but luckily they included a clause which allows them to sign him back for €8 million. The report adds that the LaLiga side haven’t made contact with the respective representatives of defenders Antonio Rüdiger, 32, and David Alaba, 33, regarding potential contract extensions, which could see Ramon brought in as one of the reinforcements to replace them.

– Barcelona and on-loan Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford have reached an agreement in principle on personal terms, says Nicolo Schira. The 28-year-old has reportedly agreed a four-year contract until 2030, with the Blaugrana pushing to sign him on a permanent deal. Fresh talks are expected to take place, but sources told ESPN last week that United have no plans to accept anything less than the permanent option clause fee, which is worth between €30 million and €35 million.

– Chelsea have made an approach to sign Independiente del Valle and Ecuador international midfielder Patrik Mercado, according to TEAMtalk. The Blues are reportedly among several Premier League clubs keen on the 22-year-old, with Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham also interested in securing his signature. Any move to Stamford Bridge for Mercado would be expected to include a spell at Strasbourg on loan to allow him to develop, while also making the future switch to West London more feasible due to their ownership under BlueCo.

EXPERT TAKE

ESPN’s Sam Tighe on the future for Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven.

No one could blame Van de Ven for wanting to leave Spurs this summer. Despite impressing greatly since joining in 2023, the club have only moved backwards.

With the ball at his feet, he’s a rare breed of game-breaking central defender. He can carry the ball through the opposition lines and over long distances, picking up serious speed in the process — only three Premier League center backs have clocked a max speed faster than his 34.12 km/h this season, per Gradient Sports. He’s delivered remarkable goals and remarkable assists at the end of these long runs.

That speed also helps him immensely in defense, enabling him to stop strikers from working space in behind. The only weakness in his game is perhaps a lack of progressive passing: He’s inconsistent (at best) in feeding the ball forward and into dangerous areas.

It wouldn’t surprise if Liverpool were weighing him up as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, while Real Madrid’s center back situation is so unhealthy they need answers fast. But Man United? For the first time in a while, they seem quite set there; Lisandro Martinez is fit again, Matthijs de Ligt was having an excellent season until injury paused it, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven are high-potential players, and Harry Maguire seems to be working his way towards a fresh deal with the club.

So perhaps they don’t need to spend more on another defender.

OTHER RUMORS

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– Juventus and USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie are “one step away” from sealing an agreement for a new contract extension. (Nicolo Schira)

– Manchester United midfielder Casemiro is open to a switch to MLS. (Telegraph)

– Manchester United and defender Harry Maguire remain in talks regarding a new contract, with ‘positive signs’ that a deal could be reached. (BBC)

– Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson remains on the radar of Atletico Madrid. He has also attracted attention from Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. (Caught Offside)

– Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea remain interested in Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-Jae (Football Insider)

– Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior wants to keep hold of striker Liam Delap amid interest from Everton. (Football Insider)

– Boca Juniors are interested in Roma forward Paulo Dybala when his contract at the Stadio Olimpico expires. (Matteo Moretto)

– Marseille are unlikely to activate the permanent option clause to sign on-loan defender Benjamin Pavard from Internazionale in the summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

– Galatasaray are considering a move for Juventus midfielder Teun Koopmeiners. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

– Juventus are weighing up an approach to sign Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi. (Corriere dello Sport)

– Internazionale are monitoring the situation of Udinese defender Oumar Solet, and recently sent scouts to watch him. (Nicolo Schira)

– Athletic Club could make another attempt to sign Girona midfielder Ivan Martin in the summer. (Marca)

LOS ANGELES: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will meet in a long-awaited rematch of the highest-grossing clash in boxing history this September at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Netflix announced Monday.

The bout between two of boxing’s biggest names — who famously fought a blockbuster clash in 2015, and are now both in their late forties — comes days after Mayweather announced he is coming out of retirement.

It will be broadcast live September 19 on Netflix, as the global streaming platform increasingly moves into live sports with glitzy one-off events.

“Floyd and I gave the world what remains the biggest fight in boxing history. The fans have waited long enough — they deserve this rematch,” said Pacquiao, 47, in a joint statement.

Mayweather beat fellow welterweight Pacquiao in their money-spinning 2015 “Fight of the Century,” which generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys but largely failed to live up to the hype.

Mayweather is believed to have earned an estimated $300 million from the unanimous points victory over the Filipino icon, which remains the most lucrative fight in history and generated more than $600 million revenue.

Former multi-weight world champion Mayweather retired from boxing in 2017, unbeaten in 50 bouts, though he has continued to fight in exhibitions since, including an upcoming clash this spring with Mike Tyson.

Pacquaio, also a multiple world champion, retired for a four-year period from 2021 in which he unsuccessfully ran for the Philippine presidency. He came out of retirement last year.

One loss

Rumours of a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch have circulated for years, and speculation soared following Mayweather´s announcement last week that he would return to the professional arena this year.

“I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result,” said Mayweather, in the statement.

“I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him,” said Pacquiao.

The clash will be the first-ever professional boxing match to take place at Sphere, a venue primarily used for concerts and films which opened in 2023 and features an immersive 160,000-square-foot wraparound screen on its curved interior walls.

It will be shown globally on Netflix, which boasts some 325 million subscribers.

The streamer has recently increased its sports offerings, with a super middleweight clash between Terence Crawford and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Las Vegas last September viewed by 41 million people.

It also aired divisive fights pitting YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul against a 58-year-old Tyson in November 2024, and versus Anthony Joshua last December.

Both were criticised for proving to be lackluster contests, but drew enormous global attention.

Glory

Nicknamed “Money”, former multi-weight world champion Mayweather was once the world’s highest-paid athlete. His last professional bout took place in 2017 against UFC star Conor McGregor.

The 48-year-old American has long been a controversial figure, often criticised for an overly defensive style, and accused by some of dodging the most dangerous opponents simply to embellish his record.

Mayweather has also spent time in prison for one of a string of domestic violence incidents.

Pacquaio known at home as “The National Fist” and more broadly as “PacMan,” is an eight-division world champion.

He is beloved in the Philippines for his rags-to-riches story, having dropped out of high school at 14, selling donuts on the roadside and working as a grocery stacker.

Pacquaio, having already served as a Philippines senator from 2016, retired for a four-year period from 2021 in which he tried and failed to win the country´s top political office.

The diminutive southpaw came out of retirement last year. He was held to a draw by Mario Barrios, putting his professional record at 62-8-3.

“As always, I dedicate this fight to my fellow Filipinos around the world and to bringing glory to the Philippines,” said Pacquiao.

Five-second countdowns for throw-ins and goal kicks are set to feature at this summer’s FIFA World Cup as football’s lawmakers prepare to introduce a raft of measures to speed up play.

The success of the eight-second rule this season — which forces goalkeepers to release the ball or be punished by conceding a corner — has encouraged the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to tackle other methods used to disrupt the tempo of a match.

The IFAB is set to approve a series of law changes at its annual general meeting in Wales on Saturday, which will include giving referees licence to start a five-second countdown where they think players are taking too long at a throw-in or placed goal kick.

It is likely a referee would whistle, give a signal and then begin a five-second countdown on their hand where they feel there is a deliberate attempt to delay the restart. Taking longer than five seconds at a throw-in would result in the throw-in being reversed and to a corner being awarded where a goal kick is deliberately delayed.

Changes agreed on Saturday would officially become part of the laws of the game from July 1, but could be adopted by a competition like the World Cup which starts just before.

The IFAB is also considering a 10-second limit on substitutions. Teams who exceed this limit would be barred from bringing on that substitute and therefore be down a player for at least one minute.

The IFAB is also expected to set a game-wide limit of one minute to be applied to all competitions for players to stay off the pitch where their injury has caused play to be stopped.

Different competitions have tested different limits, from 30 seconds in the Premier League to an original three minutes in the MLS, but the IFAB is set to bring in a uniform approach.

The aim with all the measures set to be adopted is to maintain the tempo of the game but also to help reduce the time needed to be added on for stoppages, which is a problem from a player welfare perspective, for supporters and broadcasters.

Injuries to goalkeepers are set to remain exempted from the changes, but it is understood the IFAB could propose future trials whereby an outfield player has to come off where an injury to a goalkeeper forces play to be stopped.

There are concerns that in some cases teams are manipulating the rules around goalkeepers to disrupt play, discuss tactics and generally regroup.

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The World Cup is also set be the first competition to be able to take advantage of some VAR changes likely to be agreed on Saturday.

One will give competitions the option to use VAR to check corner awards, where these can be quickly rectified and do not delay the restart. Lawmakers are so adamant on avoiding delays that if a corner is taken quickly and a check is not complete, play must continue and cannot be called back.

The protocol will be extended to also allow VARs to check red cards resulting from a second yellow card, and advise referees to review where that second caution is clearly incorrect. It is also proposed VAR be able to intervene where a red or yellow card is awarded to the wrong team.

The Press Association understands a trial of the ‘daylight’ offside rule change, championed by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, will not now take place in the Canadian Premier League, as had been suggested at last month’s IFAB annual business meeting in London.

The IFAB will discuss the ongoing trials of ‘daylight’ — which are understood to be limited in nature — and whether to also trial a modification of ‘daylight’ offside judged on whether an attacker’s torso is ahead of the second-last defender.