LONDON — Chelsea confirmed the signing of US international winger Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, making the 20-year-old the most expensive American soccer player in history.
Chelsea did not provide financial details but Dortmund said the London side had paid €64 million ($73.2 million) for the versatile attacker, who British media reported was also sought by Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Forbes reported that the fee for Pulisic is over three times higher than the €20 million that German side Wolfsburg paid Hertha Berlin for US international John Brooks in 2017.
“It’s a privilege to have signed for such a legendary club and I look forward to working hard towards being a contributor to their team of world class players,” Pulisic, who will spend the rest of the season on loan at Dortmund, said in a statement.
“Looking forward to working with Maurizio Sarri and his technical team.”
Chelsea manager Sarri told reporters after his side’s goalless draw with Southampton on Wednesday that the club had sought his opinion of Pulisic about a month ago but he had not known the deal was done.
“I didn’t know anything about Pulisic yesterday,” he said. “My opinion was positive and today I have known the deal is done. I am not in charge of the market. I have to think of my matches,” added the Italian.
Chelsea added that the youngster from Hershey, Pennsylvania, had signed a 5-1/2 year contract to become the third American recruit in their history after Matt Miazga and Roy Wegerle.
Pulisic has made 115 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund, scoring 15 goals plus 24 assists since making his senior debut in 2016 but a series of injuries has limited his playing time this season.
Pulisic’s Dortmund contract was due to expire in 2020 and Dortmund said they could not stand in the way of his big dream, a rare case of an American player making the grade at a top six side in England’s top flight.
“It’s always been Christian’s dream to play in the Premier League… because of this background and his contract running down in 2020, we decided to accept Chelsea’s incredibly lucrative offer,” said Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc.
“It feels like only yesterday that I arrived in Dortmund as a raw, excited, very nervous but exceptionally proud 16-year-old from a small American town called Hershey,” Pulisic added in a separate statement later on Twitter.
“I would not be here without the club and their belief in giving young players a chance. Many memorable moments stand out — to have experienced all of them before my 20^th birthday still feels at times like a dream.
“For the next six months, it’s all BVB. Please do not doubt my passion, determination and my 110 percent commitment to the team right until the last ball is kicked this season.”
Pulisic made his international debut for the United States in 2016, scoring nine goals in 23 appearances and was voted their player of the year in 2017. — Reuters

LOS ANGELES — Boston’s Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 35 points, and Terry Rozier got the start for an injured Kyrie Irving and scored 16 points on Wednesday to lead the Celtics to a 115-102 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Irving sustained a right eye injury in a loss to San Antonio on New Year’s Eve, and his status remains day-to-day. Minnesota also was short-handed without Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose, and Robert Covington dressing, all due to ankle injuries.
Hayward connected on 14 of 18 shots from the floor and went 4 of 7 from 3-point range, including a 27-footer from the top of the key with 4:37 left that put the Celtics up 106-92. He had gone scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting Monday in Boston’s loss at San Antonio.
Minnesota had cut a 22-point, third-quarter deficit to six entering the fourth.
In the teams’ first meeting, Hayward scored 30 points in a Celtics’ 118-109 win on Dec. 1 at Minneapolis.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with a season-high 31 points. Karl-Anthony Towns finished 28 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Minnesota came alive in the third quarter after the Celtics had grabbed a 60-42 halftime lead. The Timberwolves cut the deficit to 77-67 on a Towns’ 26-foot 3-pointer.
Boston’s Marcus Smart sprained his shoulder in a collision with Towns early in the third with the Celtics up 18. When he returned, the Celtics were up only 85-74.
Towns scored 20 third-quarter points, and the Timberwolves trailed just 87-81 heading into the fourth quarter.
Celtics forward Marcus Morris also injured his shoulder on a driving layup in the fourth. Morris left the game and did not return.
Boston shot 61.5% from the field in the first half and went 8 of 17 from 3-point range. Minnesota was a dreadful 41 percent from the field and only 3 of 10 from beyond the arc in the first 24 minutes.
EMBIID POURS IN 42 AS 76ERS SINK SUNS
Joel Embiid scored 42 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the visiting Philadelphia 76ers past the Phoenix Suns 132-127 on Wednesday.
Ben Simmons scored a season-high 29 points and JJ Redick contributed 27 for the Sixers, who won their second straight on consecutive nights after dispatching the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Embiid, who was questionable due to left knee soreness, registered his league-best 33^rd double-double and his league-leading 26^th game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Embiid also became the first player to post at least 30 points and 14 rebounds in any half since Carlos Boozer on March 26, 2007, doing so before halftime. In addition, Embiid reached the 40-point mark for the fifth time in his career.
The Sixers were short-handed without forwards Jimmy Butler and Wilson Chandler, each out due to an upper-respiratory infection.
Devin Booker led the struggling Suns with 37 points while DeAndre Ayton added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Josh Jackson had 16 points.
The Suns, who own the Western Conference’s worst record, lost their fourth consecutive game.
Simmons scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Sixers surged to a 44-32 lead. Booker single-handedly kept the Suns within striking distance by pouring in 17 points.
Embiid was utterly dominant in the second quarter with 18 points. The Sixers pulled ahead 72-49 by the break as the Suns shot just 3 of 23 in the second period.
The Sixers kept the pressure on and went ahead 92-63 on a sweeping right-handed hook shot by Simmons with 5:59 left in the third.
Phoenix made a late push but still trailed 104-87 after three.
The Suns crept within 113-104 with 5:44 remaining when Jackson hit a jump shot, capping a 9-0 run. Embiid answered on the next possession with a clutch three-point play for a 116-104 advantage, giving him 40 points on the night.
The Suns sliced the deficit to six late in the fourth, but Furkan Korkmaz hit a 3-pointer and Embiid added a layup to help seal the tight win.
HEAT BLAST CAVALIERS IN WAITERS’ LONG-AWAITED RETURN
Josh Richardson scored a game-high 24 points and Dion Waiters played his first game in more than a year as the Miami Heat won their fourth straight road game, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-92 on Wednesday night.
On a night of comebacks, Waiters, a shooting guard who had not played since Dec. 22, 2017, made perhaps the biggest splash. He made the first shot he attempted — a 3-pointer in the second quarter — and finished with seven points in 11 minutes.
Another comeback was made by Cavs starting forward Tristan Thompson, who had not played since Dec. 10 due to a foot injury. He started hot by scoring eight points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first quarter and finished with a team-high 14 points in 23 minutes.
Patrick McCaw, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who won two NBA titles while starting 30 games for the Golden State Warriors over the past two years, made his Cavaliers debut by scoring two points in 18 minutes off the bench. McCaw had declined a Warriors contract and signed with Cleveland on Dec. 28.
Finally, forward James Johnson returned to the Heat starting lineup after missing Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He scored 11 points against Cleveland.
Besides the comebacks, there were no mysteries in Wednesday’s game. Miami outrebounded Cleveland 47-22. The Heat also shot 51.2% from the floor, including 16-for-31 on 3-pointers (51.6%). — Reuters

SYDNEY — Rafa Nadal has pulled out of this week’s Brisbane International due to a minor thigh strain, but the Spaniard is hopeful that he can shake off the problem in time for the Australian Open later this month.
Nadal endured an injury-plagued 2018 season that saw him contest only nine tournaments due to hip, knee, abdomen, and ankle injuries and the world number two said the decision to skip the season-opener was precautionary.
“I still wanted to play… but if I play here, there is a important risk to (not) have the chance to play Melbourne,” Nadal, who was due to face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round on Thursday, said in a statement.
“It’s a small thing that can become a much bigger… when you compete the intensity on the muscle it can get worse… I feel better than I did four days ago… it’s a risk to damage my body for one month if I play here.”
The 32-year-old did not play after retiring against Juan Martin del Potro in their US Open semi-final last September and underwent ankle surgery two months later.
He lost a three-set exhibition match against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in Abu Dhabi last week and had indicated that he was fighting fit ahead of the Brisbane event.
However, an MRI scan revealed otherwise.
“I have to be ready to understand that this kind of stuff happens when you’re coming back from injuries. I have to accept and keep going,” Nadal, who had withdrawn from the tournament last year as well, added.
Lucky loser Taro Daniel will replace Nadal in the second round against Tsonga.
Despite an injury-curtailed 2018 season, Nadal managed to win five titles last year, including a record-extending 11^th French Open title that took his Grand Slam tally to 17.
The Australian Open begins in Melbourne on Jan. 14. — Reuters

DUBAI — FIFA should if possible increase the size of the soccer World Cup in Qatar in 2022 to 48 from 32 teams, the global governing body’s president Gianni Infantino said.
Last month, Infantino said a majority of national soccer federations were in favor of expanding the tournament and a decision was expected ahead of the qualifying draw in March.
Infantino, speaking at a sports conference on Wednesday, also said FIFA was seeing whether it would be possible for some of Qatar’s Gulf neighbors to host some of the matches.
He said last month that it would be “difficult” to stage an expanded tournament in Qatar alone. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar in June 2017 that has complicated the prospect of sharing the tournament.
The countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, which it denies.
FIFA voted in 2017 to increase the size of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams starting from 2026 but, since then, Infantino has been mulling the possibility of bringing the change forward to 2022.
“If you think it’s a good thing to have 48 teams in the World Cup, why not try four years before, that’s why we are analysing whether its possible to have 48 teams already in 2022,” Infantino said on Wednesday.
“The World Cup will take place in Qatar with 32 teams. Obviously, if we can increase it to 48 teams and make the world happy we should try it.”
Qatar said it would not take a final decision on the tournament expansion until it has seen details of a feasibility study from FIFA.
The study is expected to discuss aspects of scheduling, the number of required venues, training sites, and how many games per day would be played under an expanded format.
Qatar, a tiny but wealthy Arab nation, has moved ahead with ambitious plan to scale up infrastructure ahead of the 2022 tournament that includes $6-8 billion on eight stadiums and sporting facilities.
“If we can accommodate some of the neighbouring countries in the gulf region which are very close by to host a few games in the World Cup this could be very beneficial for the region and the entire world,” Infantino added.
“There are tensions in this particular region and it’s up to their respective leaders to deal with that but maybe it’s easier to talk about a joint football project than more complicated things. — Reuters