Have you seen Ricky Rubio lately? This isn’t the jovial, dime-dropping Spaniard from way back when. This is a man who’s seen things, who’s learned things the hard way, who’s decided to take matters into his own hands. This is the gritty reboot of Ricky Rubio. Grim Rick on Wednesday dropped the emphatically un-Rubio line of 30 points and one assist—the second-highest scoring sum of his career—and poured in 10 points in the fourth quarter, then 11 more in OT, including the dagger three that put the Blazers to rest. After trying to raise a pack of young Wolves, Rubio has found himself a Jazz team that’s a slaughterhouse on D (third in defensive rating, with Rudy Gobert as its imposing centerpiece) but lacking in pure scoring options beyond Rodney Hood (though perhaps not for long, judging by early Donovan Mitchell returns). So Rubio has crawled out of his pass-first shell. He’s shooting, and shooting shots you might not recall him ever shooting before. Once tentative to pull up from midrange, he’s now ninth in the league in shooting percentage from that territory, nailing them at a 52.2 percent clip, setting up for calm jumpers just past the free throw line and banking in wild leaners. Through eight games he’s putting up a career-high 17.5 points. Is it a hot streak, or a metamorphosis? Soft Ricky averaged 37.8 percent from the floor in his career. Grim Rick averages a career-high 43.7 percent (up from last year’s 40.2 percent). Soft Ricky shot 31.8 percent from three and 83.3 percent from the line in his career. Grim Rick shoots career highs of 37.2 (up from last year’s 30.6) and 91.9 (up from last year’s 89.1). Grim Rick now knows he has to take charge of the situation sometimes: he’s running a career-high usage rate of 26.1 percent and a career-low assist rate of 33.1 percent. Maybe you fell in love with the fresh-faced mixtape darling for his handles and unselfishness, but you should ready yourself for something new—something darker, hairier, and lethal—lurking on the horizon.
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Eriksen had become a free agent following his short-term stay with Brentford, who were keen to keep hold of the playmaker.
A number of other teams had also been tipped to move for Eriksen, including his former club Tottenham, but United announced his arrival on Friday.
Eriksen said: Manchester United is a special club, and I cannot wait to get started.
It marks a remarkable step for Eriksen, who was brought back to life on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest when playing for Denmark against Finland at the European Championship in June 2021.
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Arsenal are interested in signing Memphis Depay from Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Barcelona are willing to sell the former Manchester United forward and are looking for €15 million as transfer fees for the Netherlands international, whom they signed only last summer on a free transfer following his departure from Lyon at the end of last season.
Tottenham, who finished fifth in the Premier League table last season and will play in the UEFA Europa League in 2022-23, have signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City in the summer transfer window and are on the hunt for another forward.
Depay made 20 starts and eight substitute appearances in La Liga for Barcelona last season, scoring 12 goals and providing two assists i…
Graham Roberts has thrown his support behind Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli on amid claims that he could leave the Premier League club in the summer transfer window.
The former Tottenham star believes that Alli is a top-class footballer who will get back to his best at the North London outfit.
According to , French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing the England international from Spurs this summer.
The Ligue 1 champions want to secure the services of the 24-year-old on a loan deal, with the midfielder himself claimed to be open to an exit from Spurs and rating his chances of making the switch this summer at 4/5.
Every player has small periods in there career were they can hit a hard time happens to the best.All you need t…
Federico Bernardeschi was hailed by Toronto FC as exactly what we need right now as the Canadian outfit completed the signing of the former Juventus winger.
The Italy international, who left the Bianconeri as a free agent when his contract expired last month, has secured a four-year deal with the MLS franchise.
Bernardeschi is the third Italian to join Toronto during this window, with Lorenzo Insigne and Domenico Criscito also arriving in Ontario.
The three-time Serie A title winner brings plenty of experience to the Reds ranks, having also racked up 182 appearances for Juventus across all competitions, scoring 12 goals while providing 20 assists.
The 28-year-old winger has also earned 39 senior international caps and was part of Italy s Euro 2020-winnin…
Ayoze Perez scored a superb hat-trick as Newcastle United all but sealed their Premier League safety with an impressive 3-1 home victory over Southampton.
Newcastle striker Perez netted in the 27th and 31st minutes and added a late clincher four minutes from time to move onto 10 top-flight goals for the season.
Substitute Mario Lemina s first league goal in 14 months, combined with injuries to Miguel Almiron and Fabian Schar, made for a tense second half for the hosts, but they prevailed to leave Southampton with work to do to secure their own survival.
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Ten-man Atletico Madrid missed out on the chance to replace Barcelona at the top of La Liga as a heavily deflected goal with four minutes to go saw them lose out 1-0 to lowly Malaga.
With Barcelona taking part in and winning the Club World Cup final earlier on Sunday, Diego Simeone s men knew that even a point from their trip to La Rosaleda would be enough to send them into the Christmas break as outright leaders.
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Monaco full-back Ruben Aguilar has earned his first call-up to the France squad for their upcoming triple-header.
It marks the end of the 27-year-old s long wait for an international selection…Or at least a first legitimate selection.
Aguilar, who was born in France to a French mother and Spanish father, claimed in 2017 that he had been put in the awkward position of fielding a seemingly nonsensical attempt by Bolivia to persuade him to represent La Verde.
He surmised it to have been a consequence of an error in the database of the Football Manager video game, which he said gave him French-Bolivian dual nationality.
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Tottenham have signed teenage Metz midfielder Pape Matar Sarr and allowed Moussa Sissoko to join Watford.
Senegal international Sarr will remain on loan with Ligue 1 side Metz for the rest of the season before linking up with Spurs.
The 18-year-old joined Metz from the Generation Foot Academy in Senegal last September and made 25 appearances for the club in the 2020-21 campaign.
Sissoko will remain in the Premier League with newly promoted Watford on a two-year deal.
The Hornets are reported to have paid around £3million for the 32-year-old midfielder.
Sissoko, capped 71 times by France, made 202 appearances for Tottenham following his £30m move from Newcastle United in 2016.
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Manchester City are in pole position to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals as they welcome Schalke for the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Manchester City
Starting with the hosts, while it may have been nervy at times, Pep Guardiola saw his side pick up a commanding 3-1 win over Watford on Saturday and the Sky Blues still hold a one-point buffer at the top of the Premier League. Now enjoying a nine-match winning run across all competitions, a run that also saw them lift the EFL Cup last month, a historic quadruple-winning season is still on the cards for the former Barcelona boss. Leaving it late to clinch a 3-2 win when the two sides met at the Veltins Arena, fans aroun…
Atletico Madrid boosted their hopes of a top-four finish in LaLiga, as Renan Lodi netted twice in a hard-fought 2-0 home win over Celta Vigo.
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Simeone s solid rearguard stood firm as Atletico closed out the win in the latter stages, piling the pressure on top-four rivals Barcelona, who can move level with the Spanish champions by beating Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
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