The 43-year-old has been out of action since Aston Villa released him in October.

Gerrard previously stated that he had declined an offer to move to the Gulf state, but he has now been enticed by the lucrative offer.

“Where legends are found. We’re thrilled to announce Steven Gerrard is our new head coach,” the club said in a post on Twitter.

Last season, Al-Ettifaq finished seventh out of sixteen clubs in the Saudi Pro League.

The Saudi Pro League, backed by the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, is luring superstars from the major European leagues with the promise of enormous salaries.

Marcelo Brozovic, a Croatian World Cup participant, has also moved to Saudi Arabia, his new club Al Nassr announced on Monday.

In June, the 30-year-old midfielder led Inter Milan in the Champions League final loss to Manchester City. He has made 87 appearances for Croatia.

January’s transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Al Nassr initiated the trend.

His former Real Madrid teammates Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, the French World Cup champion, have recently joined Al-Ittihad.

Former Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo and former Benfica player Jorge Jesus will travel to Saudi Arabia.

Since retiring from his illustrious playing career, Gerrard has had success as manager of Scottish giants Rangers, where he won the club’s only league championship in the previous 12 years in 2020/21.

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Argentina 2-0 Mexico

Lionel Messi scored a superb goal to inspire Argentina to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Mexico on Saturday.

At Doha’s Lusail Stadium, Messi scored with a low shot in the 64th minute. Then, rising star Enzo Fernandez curled in a goal in the 87th minute to seal the win.

After their shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in the first game, the Group C win puts Argentina back on track for a spot in the last 16.

Photo by EPA/Mohamed Messara

France 2-1 Denmark

Kylian Mbappe bagged a brace France became the first team into the last 16 of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Denmark on Saturday.

The holders are the first team into the knockout round in Qatar, with the PSG star being the hero after hitting the winner in the 86th minute.

Photo by EPA/Noushad Thekkayil

Poland 2-0 Saudi Arabia

Robert Lewandowski scored the first World Cup goal as Poland claimed their first win following their 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia.

In the Group C match, Piotr Zielinski scored the first goal, and Wojciech Szczesny saved a penalty from Salem Al-Dawsari right before halftime. In the 82nd minute, Lewandowski took advantage of a mistake by the defense to seal the win.

Photo by EPA/Ronald Wittek

Tunisia 0-1 Australia

Australia clinched a 1-0 victory over Tunisia on Saturday to revive their hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout phase.

The Socceroos would have been eliminated if they lost for the second time in a row, but Mitchell Duke scored the only goal with a header in the 23rd minute. This put them in second place in Group D, behind France.

Photo by EPA/Noushad Thekkayil

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Messi handed Argentina the lead with an early penalty converted in the 10th minute as the Copa America champions went into the half time break with a narrow 1-0 lead.

Saudi Arabia managed to draw the game level early in the second half through a 48th minute goal from Saleh Al-Shehri but Salem Al-Dawsari put the game beyond Argentina with a stunning goal in the 53rd minute to snatch the win.
The goals scored by Al-Shehri and Al-Dawsari was enough to steer Saudi past World Cup favourite Argentina to end the South American team’s 36 game unbeaten run.

The win sees Saudi Arabia move to the top of the Group C standings with three points from their first game, while Argentina dropped down to the bottom of the group with zero points.

Photo by EPA/Noushad Thekkayil

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Thus reports the Daily Telegraph, which revealed American Phil Mickelson and Spain’s Sergio Garcia have already signed up for the LIV Golf Invitational.

The event is scheduled to take place at Centurion Golf Club outside London from 9-11 June.

ALSO READ: Saffas should say no to Saudi blood money

Another two South Africans, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace, have also been mentioned as possible participants.

The money-spinning series will offer purses of $25 million per tournament – making every leg of the series more lucrative than the richest event on the PGA Tour, and roughly more than double the prize money on offer for each of golf’s four Majors.

The player finishing last in the no-cut tournament will receive $120,000.

ALSO READ: Mickelson seeks PGA release

Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

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Group A
France vs Japan

🇲🇽 Mexico win in style to set up an #OlympicFootball quarter-final against fellow free-scorers Korea Republic ✨#Olympics | #Football | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/8SwhW4X1ob

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

South Africa vs Mexico

🇲🇽 Mexico win in style to set up an #OlympicFootball quarter-final against fellow free-scorers Korea Republic ✨#Olympics | #Football | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/8SwhW4X1ob

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

Group B

Romania vs New Zealand

🇳🇿 New Zealand are into the men’s #OlympicFootball quarter-finals for the first time 👏#Tokyo2020 | #Olympics | #Football pic.twitter.com/PIFcXXuHnV

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

South Korea vs Honduras

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

🇰🇷 Taegeuk Warriors march through as Group B winners in spectacular, free-scoring style 🔥#OlympicFootball | #Tokyo2020 | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/5159qAQHUC

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

Group C

Australia vs Egypt

🇪🇬 Egypt qualify for the #OlympicFootball quarter-finals for the first time since London 2012 👏#Tokyo2020 | #Olympics | #Football pic.twitter.com/R73AwEUKXI

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

Spain vs Argentina

🇪🇸 A point takes Spain through to an #OlympicFootball quarter-final against Côte d’Ivoire 🏅

🇦🇷 Argentina miss out on a last-eight slot 😢#Olympics | #Tokyo2020 | #Football pic.twitter.com/3FbteQOjDK

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

Group D

Germany vs Ivory Coast

🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire reach their second #OlympicFootball quarter-final

A combative contest ends all square and leaves Germany eliminated 🇩🇪#Tokyo2020 | #Olympics | #Football pic.twitter.com/1yE79baSZD

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

Saudi Arabia vs Brazil

🇧🇷 Richarlison to the rescue 🦸‍♂️

🔥 The @Everton striker’s 4th and 5th #OlympicFootball goals take Brazil through as Group D winners 🔝#Olympics | #Tokyo2020 | #Football pic.twitter.com/8RTMSpd0KI

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

The final eight

👏 The final day of the Men’s #OlympicFootball Tournament group stage lived up to the hype#Olympics | #Football | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/1oGSXIt14X

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 28, 2021

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Egypt 0-0 Spain

Spain was held to a 0-0 draw by Egypt in their opening Group C encounter at the Sapporo Dome at the 20202 Tokyo Olympics.

Mexico 4-1 France

Five second-half goals ensured an entertaining start to the men’s Olympic football tournament as Mexico thrashed France 4-1 in Group A at the Tokyo Stadium.

New Zealand 1-0 Korea Republic

A solitary goal from Chris Wood handed New Zealand a 1-0 victory over South Korea at the start of the men’s Olympic soccer tournament at the Ibaraki Kashima Stadium.

Côte d’Ivoire 2-1 Saudi Arabia

Franck Kessie scored the winning goal to give Ivory Coast a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in the Olympic Games encounter at the Yokohama International Stadium.

Argentina 0-2 Australia

A first-half goal from Lachlan Wales and a second in the 80th minute from substitute Marco Tilio stunned a 10-man Argentina as Australia seized top spot in Group C at the Tokyo Olympics.

Honduras 0-1 Romania

An own goal from Elvin Oliva Casildo gifted Romania a narrow 1-0 victory over Honduras in their Group B encounter at the Ibaraki Kashima Stadium.

Japan 1-0 South Africa

Kubo Takefusa scored the only goal of the game as hosts Japan launched their Tokyo 2020 campaign with a 1-0 victory over South Africa at the Tokyo Stadium.

Brazil 4-2 Germany

Aided by a 30-minute hat-trick by Richarlison, defending Olympic champions Brazil beat Germany 4-2 in their opening Group D game at the International Stadium Yokohama.

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Akpeyi was brought to Naturena in January 2019 as the club looked for a replacement for the injured Itumeleng Khune, with the other keepers in the club failing to step up.

Akpeyi performed admirably and when the 2019-20 season started and Khune still had not fully recovered, the Nigeria international had the chance to stake a claim for the No 1 spot. That is just what he did as he went on to cement his spot ahead of Khune.

Akpeyi has been one of the standout performears for the Soweto Giants and has attracted interest from abroad, according to his agent Mohammed Lawal.

‘Yes, there is interest in the services of Daniel. I won’t give you the names of the clubs. There’s interest from Belgium, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,’ Lawal told IOL.

‘At the moment, it is not about what we are considering. Daniel is a Kaizer Chiefs player.

‘Chiefs recently renewed his contract just in January. So, as it is now, it is not in our hands to decide. These clubs have to talk to Chiefs first and we will take it from there. He extended his contract with two more seasons,’ he said.

Lawal added that while the 33-year-old still has ambitions of playing in Europe, he is dedicated to winning trophies with Chiefs.

‘Obviously when a player is still active, he will always aspire to move abroad. For now, he is not going to move for the sake of moving. At the present moment, he is firmly focused on Chiefs and how he is going to help the club win titles during the duration of his contract,’ concluded Lawal.

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A £300million buyout of the north-east club, backed by the country’s public investment fund, is reportedly close to being finalised.

The Premier League, which conducts an owners’ and directors’ test on prospective buyers, has been warned by human rights organisation Amnesty International it “risks becoming a patsy” if it does not give serious consideration to the abuses that have taken place in the country and allows Saudi Arabia to “sportswash” its reputation.

Dowden was questioned by Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee member John Nicolson during an evidence session on Wednesday about the suitability of the prospective new owners, specifically in relation to Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

“Given Saudi Arabia’s record of kidnaps, torture and other human rights violations, not least the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, how can he possibly be considered a fit and proper person?” Scottish National Party MP Nicolson asked.

Dowden replied: “As you know, the fit and proper person test is undertaken by the Premier League and I don’t want to prejudge the process. I would slightly take issue with the characterisation of him personally.”

Asked which part of Nicolson’s characterisation of the Crown Prince Dowden took issue with, Dowden said: “Well firstly it’s the sovereign wealth fund, not him personally buying it.

“We have good foreign relations with Saudi Arabia but we also have never been shy of raising all of those human rights abuses that you have talked about and we will continue to do so.”

Nicolson then asked: “If they pass him as a fit and proper person, despite the clear evidence that he is not, there is nothing that you are able to do to intervene, and the club will pass into his gruesome hands?”

Dowden said: “I think it’s a matter for them. I am content that they should carry out that test.”

The Crown Prince has previously said in a TV interview that he takes “full responsibility” for the murder of Khashoggi, but denies allegations that he ordered the killing.

Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports, one of the Premier League’s major broadcast partners, has also waded in on the debate by saying Saudi Arabia should be held to account for its involvement in a pirate network which illegally broadcasts matches.

The Premier League was among a number of organisations and governing bodies who called on Saudi state satellite operator Arabsat to stop providing a platform for a pirate network they said was “abusing” sport.

The network, known as beoutQ, first began streaming sporting events illegally in 2017 and despite repeated attempts by sports governing bodies and rights holders to stop it, the piracy has continued.

Yousef Al-Obaidly, the chief executive of beIN, has written to the chairmen of Premier League clubs saying “the potential acquirer of Newcastle United (has) caused huge damage to your clubs and the Premier League’s commercial revenues”

Al-Obaidly, who is on the board of Paris Saint-Germain, added: “The legacy of the illegal service will continue to impact you going forward.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters responded to Amnesty’s letter on Wednesday.

In it, he wrote: “You will appreciate that these matters are often subject to media speculation but at their heart are due processes, required by UK law and the Premier League’s own rules, which cannot be conducted in public and on which we cannot comment.

“However, I can assure you that these processes go beyond those required by UK company law and they are applied with equal rigour to every single prospective purchaser of a Premier League club.”

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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is headed up by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is leading the way with a £300-million ($375m) bid to take the club out of current owner Mike Ashley’s hands.

The Saudi group would own 80% of the club. The remaining 20% will be split between Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners (10%) and British businessmen the Reuben brothers (10%).

Though a deal appears close, plenty have objected to a regime accused of many human rights abuses being involved in the Premier League.

Amnesty has said that Saudi Arabia imprisons and tortures critics of the government and has executed people based on unfair trials. The CIA has also concluded that Bin Salman ordered the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.

For these reasons and more, Amnesty UK director Kate Allen has pleaded with Premier League chief executive Richard Masters to reconsider allowing Saudi government ownership of the Magpies.

‘I believe there are serious questions to address in determining whether the owners and directors of the company seeking to acquire NUFC are meeting standards that can protect the reputation and image of the game,’ Allen said in a letter to Masters.

‘If the Crown Prince, by virtue of his authority over Saudi Arabia’s economic relations and via control of his country’s sovereign wealth fund, becomes the beneficial owner of NUFC, how can this be positive for the reputation and image of the Premier League?

‘So long as these questions remain unaddressed, the Premier League is putting itself at risk of becoming a patsy of those who want to use the glamour and prestige of Premier League football to cover up actions that are deeply immoral, in breach of international law and at odds with the values of the Premier League and the global footballing community.’

Allen added in a separate statement that she fears the coronavirus pandemic will reduce scrutiny on the takeover bid.

‘The coronavirus crisis has already thrown a spotlight on football and its need to treat players and staff fairly, and now there’s a danger that the pandemic could obscure the need for a cool, measured and genuinely ethical decision over this deal,’ Allen said.

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A report by The Sun claimed that Bin Salman was readying a £3.8-billion takeover bid – a deal that would give the Glazer family a huge £2.2bn profit on the club they controversially acquired for £790-million in 2005.

A tweet from Turki Al-Shabanah, the minister for Saudi media, claimed a meeting had taken place between United representatives and the Gulf state’s royal investment fund, but only to discuss a potential sponsorship tie-up.

‘The news that Prince Mohammed bin Salman desires to acquire Manchester United is completely untrue news,’ Al-Shabanah’s tweet read.

‘The fact of the matter is that the club held a meeting with the public investment fund to discuss an advertisement sponsorship project.

‘The Fund listened to the proposals as [it would] any other’.

In October 2017, United agreed a strategic partnership in Saudi Arabia with the country’s General Sports Authority (GSA).

The Red Devils also have a commercial partnership with Saudi Telecom, and at the time of the GSA deal United’s group managing director Richard Arnold said: ‘The club has a long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia and has over five million passionate fans in the region.

‘Having the chance to help shape the football industry in the Kingdom is a great honour, and it is something where we believe we can make a big difference.’

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