Nicolás Otamendi has signed a new contract with Benfica, renewing until 2025.
Otamendi will be staying at the club for two more seasons. With his contract expiring, there were many reports that he would be leaving and not staying in Portugal.
Benfica announced on Friday that Otamendi has signed a new deal for two more years.
❤️⚪ 𝑶𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏! We keep on dreaming together, @Notamendi30! 🦅 pic.twitter.com/UGQPwsIcyO
— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) June 9, 2023
Lautaro Martínez was the Inter representative who spoke ahead of their Champions League final match vs. Manchester City.
Martínez will want to become the only Argentine World Cup winner and Champions League winner of the season as they play Manchester City on Saturday. The final in Istanbul will be between the two Argentine strikers and while Julián Álvarez might not start for City, Lautaro will almost certainly start for Inter.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday before the final, here is what Lautaro Martínez had to say:
“I think these are the two major finals a footballer can play. The only thing that changes is the shirt because the feelings you get are the same and unique. Truly unique feelings because you know that you’ve made it to the very end thanks to all the work you have done, thanks to how hard you have worked throughout the years, thanks to team work.
“What really matters is this if you want to achieve your goals. This is the very last step and we must be ready to take it and play the game which clearly will be very important game for Inter, the people and the club.”
“We know that Manchester City are a very tough team to take on given that individual and collective qualities. We are ready to work hard and counter act what they will do to give us an advantage.
“We have been preparing well over the last few days, we have two training sessions ahead to prepare and fine tune the final details, then the match will be here. And we will implement what we have been working on.”
He also mentioned about if he had spoken with Julián Álvarez or not:
“I haven’t been in contact with Julián Álvarez, I got married recently and I invited him but he was unable to attend. That was the last contact I had with him.”
Players of the Argentina national team have started to arrive to Beijing.
The Argentina national team coaching staff arrived to Beijing earlier in the week, with the first two players now joining them. Exequiel Palacios of Bayer Leverkusen and Facundo Buonanotte of Brighton are the first two players to join the national team.
Independiente goalkeeper, the 17 year old Mateo Morro is also with them as he will be the sparring goalkeeper. Most of the players will have arrived on Saturday with a first training session also expected on that day.
Argentina have an Asian tour with a first match against Australia on June 15 in Beijing and a second on June 19 against Indonesia in Jakarta.
Facundo Buonanotte is joining the Argentina national team and spoke about being called up.
Buonanotte has been called up to the Argentina national team and spoke to the media at the airport prior to leaving. The 18 year old was set to join the Argentina U20 team at the U20 World Cup but Brighton did not allow him to join the team.
Now called up to the senior team by coach Lionel Scaloni for Argentina’s two matches against Australia and Indonesia, Buonanotte is excited to be with the squad. Speaking with TyC Sports, here is what he had to say:
“I’m very happy, it’s a nice experience. I will try to enjoy it and hopefully it will go well with everyone. It was a pity not to be at the (U20) World Cup, we wanted to be there. Now, we have this beautiful opportunity, so enjoy it to the fullest.
“I still haven’t spoken with Scaloni because I just arrived and now we have to travel. It’s beautiful to be able to play with the World champions. That’s why I am going to try to enjoy it to the fullest and learn from everyone because they are the best.”
Wayne Rooney spoke about Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami, claiming that he’s the best.
Rooney is presently managing DC United in the MLS and commented on Lionel Messi joining MLS. The two played against each other several times while Messi was with Barcelona and Rooney with Manchester United, most notably two Champions League finals which saw Messi win both times.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Rooney was asked about Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami. Here is what he had to say:
“I think it’s great, to bring Messi into the league. We’ve all seen, over the years, the impact of David Beckham coming in, Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) coming in.
“Different players from overseas. To get Messi in the league, arguably the greatest player of all time, and still – he’s a little bit older – but not long ago he won the World Cup almost single handed. It’s going to be great for the league, for Miami.
“It’d be nice if we were his first opponents for D.C. fans to see him up close and for us to challenge ourselves against him. One thing I will say – it’s not going to be easy for him. The league’s a difficult league and I don’t think he’s going to come over here and absolutely tear it up immediately.
“He’ll have to adapt because it’s a bit different, it won’t be an easy ride for him.
“He’s the best. Simple as that. In my view he’s the best player to ever play the game. That’s how he’s different.
“The fanbase around him will be huge, commercially, for the league I’m sure it’ll be huge as well. It’s massive for MLS. With Messi coming here – I know MLS has always brought players in – but I think it’ll do that again, and it shows MLS can compete.
“It shows it’s a league where people want to come and want to play and it’s a huge first step.”
🗣 Wayne Rooney: “It’s good to see Messi here, the best player of all time. He recently won the World Cup and almost single-handedly achieved it. He’s going to have a big impact on Miami and the MLS. It’s a great signing and I’m sure everyone is excited.”pic.twitter.com/sZ3gLdmFXB
— Mundo Albiceleste ⭐🌟⭐🇦🇷 (@MundoAlbicelest) June 9, 2023
