Ravivoo, Khalaily, and Abu Fani Dominate Israeli Sports Headlines This Weekend

Israeli football saw significant developments this weekend, highlighted by major transfers and club updates. Maccabi Tel Aviv held a press conference ahead of the new season, where club official Jack Englidis emphasized owner Mitch Goldhar's ambitions to make the club the best in Israel and competitive in Europe. Englidis also addressed the future of player Roy Revivo, stating the club respects his potential and will consider offers that allow him to pursue opportunities in Europe. Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv is negotiating to sign defender Nikola Maraš, recently released from Spanish second division club Alavés.

In a record-breaking transfer, Anan Khalaily officially joined Crystal Palace for approximately 29 million euros, marking the largest deal in Israeli football history. Maccabi Haifa is expected to earn around 3.6 million euros from the transfer due to sell-on and development fees. Khalaily is currently training with Crystal Palace and may feature in their Premier League season opener. Another Israeli player abroad, Mohammed Abu Fani, faces uncertainty at Red Star Belgrade, which may sell him less than two months after his signing following a suspension in a Champions League qualifier. The decision rests with new coach Albert Riera.

On the global stage, Jeff Bezos acquired a one-third stake in Liverpool FC through the 1892 Holdings group, with the deal valued at about 6 billion pounds. Bezos is not expected to be involved in daily operations, but the group holds an option to buy the club outright from John Henry at season's end. Barcelona submitted a third bid of 70 million euros for Manchester City's Spanish captain Rodri, hoping to finally secure the midfielder after previous offers of 60 and 45 million euros were rejected.

In basketball, Dennis Schröder was traded from Cleveland to Charlotte in exchange for Terry Rozier and $4 million, freeing salary cap space for Cleveland to re-sign James Harden. Real Madrid announced the signing of Olivier Sarr, formerly of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers. Additionally, Israeli swimmer Tomer Shuster placed fifth in the 50m backstroke final at the European Championships with a time of 24.44 seconds, with more finals scheduled later in the evening.