By Hugo Lagergren
January
Football
The January player transfer window has now closed. Some teams splashed the cash, while some were more restrained in their approach and waiting for the summer window to do most of their serious business. Perhaps the most significant news to come out of the January window was Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr FC following his departure from Manchester United, where he had a falling out with several management figures, including manager Erik Ten Haag.
Ronaldo has signed for two and a half years, extending his playing career until June 2025. The contract is reportedly worth a whopping 150 million USD per season. Ronaldo returned to the field as Al Nassr lost 4-5 to Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), reuniting him with his old rival. The Telegraph described the match as “the sordid final chapter of our era’s greatest football rivalry.”
Questions have been asked of Chelsea FC and their possible violation of Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) Financial Fair Play regulation. Since U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly acquired the team last May, Chelsea have spent nearly half a million GBP on transfers. FIFA caps club spending at 105m GBP per season, and Chelsea have spent over four times that amount in the last six months. However, transfer fees are spread across the length of their contract. Chelsea recently signed Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk for an eight-and-a-half-year contract and a hefty price of 88.5 million GBP, with other contracts ranging from five to six years.
Arsenal have continued their impressive run at the top of the Premier League table by beating Manchester United 3-2 after a scintillating performance by Bukayo Saka. Fans are increasingly confident that this season will end their 19-year wait for a Premier League title.
RC Lens closed the gap to current league leaders PSG by three points as PSG lost 1-0 to Rennes. OGC Nice are looking for a replacement for veteran Dante, who is likely to retire at the end of the season. Nice, who have had a poor start to the season, are looking to bolster their team in hopes of stronger performance.
Tennis
Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the 2023 Australian Open, equaling Rafael Nadal's all-time record of 22 Grand Slam titles. The title marks his 10th Australian Open win, the most of any tennis player. Speaking after the match, Djokovic stated that it had “been one of the most challenging tournaments I’ve ever played in my life”. At the age of 35, Djokovic has shown no sign of slowing down in recent years, as he remains one of the most difficult players to play for the new generation of tennis players.
Formula 1
Teams have started to announce the launch dates to showcase their cars for the 2023 season, with Red Bull being the first to launch their car on the third of February. The rest of the launches will follow in the next fortnight.
Steve Nielsen has been appointed as Sporting Director of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. This job switch from a high-ranking Formula 1 job requires him to oversee race-control operations, which have been at the heart of recent controversies, including during Max Verstappen’s first title-winning season.
Boxing
Youtuber/boxer/rapper KSI announced his ambition for Misfits Boxing, his promotional company, and their partnership with DAZN boxing to become a serious fighting arena. KSI defeated Faze Temperrr only a minute into the first round, after which he spoke passionately about his event's potential to compete with major fighting institutions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His fight reportedly accumulated an impressive 300,000 pay-per-view buys.
Rugby
With the Six Nations tournament approaching, England Rugby fans will have been relieved to hear that Captain Owen Farrell has been cleared to play. He was handed a four-match ban after a high tackle during a league match against Gloucester.