Aug. 11, 2021 Pro League champion Persepolis signed Golgohar Sirjan 7 center-back Alireza Ebrahimi on a two-year contract, IRNA reported.

Zenit’s Azmoun on Lyon’s radar: L’Equipe

Sports Desk

French club Lyon is considering a move for Zenit St. Petersburg striker as the Iranian is among top priorities of Ligue 1 side manager Pe- ter Bosz, according to French daily L’Equipe. Valued at €20 million, Azmoun, 26, has entered the final year of his contract with Zenit, and the Russian champion is willing to cash in on its Iranian asset at this transfer window, rather than letting him leave as a free agent next summer. Azmoun has started the current Rus- sian season in dazzling fashion, bagging four goals in three out- ings. “My only focus right now is on Ze- nit and the matches I have to play in,” Azmoun responded to the speculations surrounding his future after scoring twice during a 3-2 victory over Krasno- dar at the weekend. “I’m waiting on the club to make a decision on my future. They will decide what happens. Until then, I’m going to keep working, but right now, I am wait- ing on them,” added the Iranian. Multiple sources have suggested fc-zenit.ru Zenit striker Sardar Azmoun celebrates scoring during a 3-2 victory over Krasnodar in recent weeks that Bundesliga out- at the in , , on August 7, 2021. MEHR NEWS AGENCY fit Bayer Leverkusen and Serie A side Roma are also among suitors for the over a €45m transfer of out-of-favor Having joined Zenit in February Sports Desk of the [Iranian] squad in major tournaments over the past 9-10 Iranian. striker Tammy Abraham, as the new 2019, Azmoun has scored 57 goals, years,” Ataei said of his team selection, while he added there will However, Italian journalist Gianluca manager Jose Mourinho is desperately coupled with 19 assists, in 87 appear- ew head coach Behrouz Ataei announced the 15- be a rotation within the team throughout the tournament so that all Di Marzio reported on Monday that the looking for a replacement for Edin ances for the Russian giant. man squad for the upcoming 2021 Asian Men’s Volley- players will find the chance to show their qualities. Giallorossi have reached an agreement Dzeko, who is reportedly on the verge He has also found the net on 37 occa- Nball Championship. Ataei, who led Iran to a memorable world under-21 title in with Premier League giant Chelsea of joining Inter. sions in 55 international caps. Following a frustrating Olympics campaign, the Asian pow- 2019, said he is planning to use a mix of young and experienced erhouse will be back in Japan to begin its defense against Hong players, if he remains in charge, adding, “Ghafour and Mousavi Kong on September 12 in Pool B, which also features Thailand will definitely get a callout in the future, and I’ll also try to con- and Pakistan. vince Maroof to get back to the national team.” Ataei, who replaces Russian Vladimir Alekno, has picked a The Asian championship could be considered as the begin- Barca fans ‘devastated’ at Messi exit, new-look team for the event, as only five players – Milad Ebadi- ning of a new chapter for Iran, which now sees Japan reemerge pour, Meisam Salehi, Ali-Asghar Mojarrad, Saber Kazemi, and as a tough opponent in the continent. – were in the squad at the recently-finished Tokyo Iran was beaten in five sets by Japan on the final day of the one files legal complaints Games, which saw Iran being knock out at the group stage. group phase in Tokyo, having suffered a straight-sets defeat They will be joined by Amir-Hossein Esfandiar, Esmaeil Mo- against the Asian side at the Nations League in May. safer, Ali Ramezani, Reza Abedini, Amir-Hossein Toukhteh, Iran was also overtaken by Japan in the latest FIVB Men’s Mehdi Jelveh, Bardia Sa’adat, Mohammadreza Hazratpour, World Ranking – released Monday – as the top Asian side. Abolfaz Qolipour, and Amin Esmaeilnejad at the competition. Japan stood in the 11th spot with 252 points – one place above World-class setter Saeed Maroof, who announced his retire- Iran, which collected 239 points. ment from the international duty after the Olympics, as well Also in the Asian Volleyball Championship, the host is pitted as middle blocker Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi and opposite in Pool A against India, , and , with Australia – run- spiker Amir Ghafour will be the key absentees for Iran in Japan. ner-up in 2019 – facing China, Sri Lanka, and in Pool C. “The Olympic players are surely tired, both mentally and phys- Pool D will see South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, ically, not to mention many of them have been regular members and squaring off for knockout spots.

Djokovic withdraws from Western & Southern Open

ALBERT GEA/REUTERS Lionel Messi holds a press conference to announce his departure from Barcelona at Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain, on August 8, 2021.

Lionel Messi appeared in no hurry to leave his home in of the league’s revenue. Barcelona on Monday as fans gathered outside spoke of It had been believed this would allow Barcelona to get their sadness at the departure of the club’s greatest player the Messi deal done, but after Real Madrid rejected the and Paris St.-Germain supporters clamoured for his ar- proposal and said they would take legal action against La rival. Liga, Barca also came out against it. One Barca member filed complaints with a French “I don’t think the club has done enough to make him court and with the European Commission to try to block stay, I think it was in the club’s hands to make him stay, any move by PSG to sign Messi, according to documents beyond the money,” said Barca and Argentina fan Gon- seen by Reuters on Monday. zalo Moreno. The 34-year-old Argentine on Sunday bid farewell to Messi said on Sunday that PSG was “a possibility” but the club he has spent his entire career at and confirmed that he had not yet signed any deal. that he was talking with the Paris club over a possible move. Legal complaint REUTERS There were no signs of any imminent exit from the player’s house in the hills of the wealthy Barcelona dis- In the Barcelona member’s legal complaints, shared World number one Novak Djokovic withdrew from this month’s Open slot trict of Castelldefels on Monday, however. by the fan’s lawyer, the member claims that French foot- Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, saying he needed more Messi was glimpsed in the afternoon in swimming ball authorities have failed to enforce their own Finan- time to recuperate from a season in which he won three Grand Meanwhile, Andy Murray has been added to the U.S. trunks. cial Fair Play (FFP) rules in order to help PSG become a Slam tournaments and competed at the Tokyo Olympics. Open main draw after Swiss former champion Stan Waw- “He’s clearly still here, looking very relaxed indeed,” force in European football. “I’m taking a bit longer to recover after quite a physically rinka withdrew. Sky Sports News reporter Gary Cotterill told British tele- Barcelona, like their main rivals Real Madrid, taxing journey from Australian Open up to Tokyo,” he wrote Murray, who won his first Grand Slam title at the tourna- vision viewers in a live update from outside the house. are fully owned by their subscription-paying members on Twitter, Reuters reported. ment in 2012, withdrew from the men’s singles at the Tokyo Barcelona fans were still coming to terms with events. known as “socios”. “Sadly, this means I won’t be ready to compete in Cincin- Olympics with a thigh strain, BBC Sport reported. “I feel devastated,” said Cristian Garcia, wearing The FFP rules notably forbid top European soccer nati this year so I’ll be turning my focus to the U.S. Open and Murray, 34, played in the Olympic doubles and lost in the a Barca shirt with Messi’s name and number 10 on the clubs to pay their playing squads an excessive share of spending more time with my family. quarter-finals alongside Joe Salisbury. back. their total revenues, according to the complaints, which “Can’t wait to see you in New York soon!” He made it to the Wimbledon third round in July, losing to “To see a player that I have always followed, who is also state that the transfer of Messi to PSG would breach Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, is a two-time Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in straight sets. an example for me, to see him leave now brings me a lot the code. champion at the Masters 1000 hardcourt event played at the It was the first Grand Slam Murray had played in 2021, of pain.” PSG and the French football league did not immedi- Lindner Family Tennis Center in Ohio. after missing the Australian Open because of a positive Messi said he had agreed a 50% pay cut in order to ately respond to emailed requests for comment. Djokovic had won all three of the Grand Slam tournaments coronavirus test and deciding not to compete in June’s stay at Barca and sign a new contract but was unable to Messi said he wants to carry on playing for as long as he entered this year and had sought to be the first man to win French Open. finalise the deal due to the Spanish league’s financial possible, adding he still harbours ambitions to win an- all four and an Olympic gold in a calendar year. The two-time Wimbledon champion, who had hip surger- control rules and the club’s debts, which total more than other Champions League trophy. But those plans were dashed when he lost to eventual ies in 2018 and 2019, lost in the second round to Canadian €1 billion ($1.2 billion). “We’re waiting for a legend, the legend that is Leo gold medallist Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Olym- Felix Auger-Aliassime at the 2020 U.S. Open. La Liga said last Wednesday it had secured a private Messi,” said PSG fan Mehmet Sen, who had been wait- pic semi-final and then to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the Wawrinka, who won the event in 2016, withdrew as the equity injection of €2.7 billion uros from firm CVC, with ing at the gates to Paris’ Le Bourget airport since 2:00 bronze medal match. 36-year-old continues to recover from foot surgery. the funds to be shared among the clubs in return for 10% a.m. for a glimpse of the star. The Western & Southern Open runs from Aug. 14 to Aug. 22. The U.S. Open runs from 30 Aug. 30 to September 12.