A French appeals court on Friday confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain defender, Achraf Hakimi, will face trial for the alleged rape of a woman.

In February 2023, a woman then aged 24 told police in the Val-de-Marne region, southeast of Paris, that Hakimi had raped her.

The PSG right-back and captain of the Moroccan national team, whose second match of the 2026 World Cup takes place on Friday against Scotland, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Shortly after the Versailles Court of Appeal delivered its ruling, Hakimi wrote on X that he had been “waiting for this trial since day one”.

“At last, I’ll be able to speak,” he said.
A date has not been announced for the start of the trial at the criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department.

“This confirmation was expected. Nothing here says that he is guilty of anything, he remains steadfast in his defence,” Hakimi’s lawyer Fanny Colin said.

Liverpool have had an £86million bid for Yan Diomande rejected after a frantic day in which they made Osasuna winger Victor Munoz the first signing of the Andoni Iraola era.

It had been anticipated that Liverpool would back their new head coach in the transfer market and they made clear their intentions late on Wednesday when they hijacked Newcastle’s quest to land Munoz and swiftly concluded a £34.5 million deal to bring the Spain international to Anfield.

Munoz was given permission by the Spanish Football Federation to undergo a medical after Liverpool sent their own staff to the United States to complete the tests.

Once the formalities of securing a work permit are concluded, the 22-year-old will commit to a contract that runs to June 2032.

Adding pace to their attack has been Liverpool’s priority all summer, which is why they were thrilled to sign Munoz, but they have now made an aggressive move to secure their prime objective Diomande, who is also wanted by PSG.

RB Leipzig have maintained that Diomande is not for sale but the reality is Liverpool and PSG are prepared to pay the kind of money that would ensure they do business.

Liverpool’s first offer of £78.1m, with a further £8m in add-ons, has been rebuffed.

This is unlikely to deter them. Liverpool and RB Leipzig historically have a strong relationship and Liverpool will now consider their next move – the intention is clear, however, and that is to give Iraola all the tools he needs at the earliest opportunity to get the club moving forward again.

The transfer of Munoz came out of leftfield, as Newcastle were convinced they were going to land the former Real Madrid youth player, who had also attracted interest from Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester United. They had made a bid of £29m, with a further £5m in add-ons.

They suspected something had gone wrong on Tuesday, however, when the entourage of Munoz – who had previously indicated he had wanted to go to the Northeast – stopped answering calls and Liverpool arrived late to get the matter concluded. Liverpool will pay the £34.5m fee in two chunks.

There are echoes of this transfer, given how swiftly it has been completed, with Liverpool’s move for Dominik Szoboszlai in 2023 when they again pounced late in the day for the Hungary midfielder after Newcastle had appeared to be making all the running.

Adding Munoz and potentially adding Diomande, who is also currently at the World Cup, is another clear example of how Liverpool are changing the profile of their squad in terms of its age, to build a team that can progress together.

Liverpool had already done one piece of business ahead of the summer window and that was concluding a deal in January to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes, the France Under-21 international chose Anfield ahead of Chelsea when his £59.5million fee was agreed.

It is anticipated there will be more additions and Liverpool have contingency plans in place if they cannot strike a deal for Diomande and they are looking at other options, one being Bradley Barcola, of Paris St Germain.

Reports on Saturday suggested Liverpool’s priority had become adding a midfielder and they were immediately linked to Ayyoub Bouaddi following his outstanding performance against Brazil for Morocco.

As much as Liverpool have been tracking his progress – along with a number of other Premier League clubs, including Arsenal – there remains a possibility the 18-year-old, who plays for Lille, will end up signing for Real Madrid.

The Reds have effectively hijacked Newcastle’s attempts to sign Spain winger, Victor Munoz’, after Sky Sports News reported the Magpies were in talks over a deal.

The 22-year-old is part of Spain’s squad at the World Cup. Reports say he will undergo a medical in the USA and join for a fee of £34.6m.

The situation is reminiscent of last summer, when Liverpool not only gazumped Newcastle in the race for Hugo Ekitike but also signed Alexander Isak, their star striker.

Munoz joined Barcelona’s La Masia academy aged 11 before eventually making the switch to Real Madrid’s youth team in 2023.

Current Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso gave the winger his LaLiga debut for the first team in May 2025, introducing him as a substitute for Vinicius Junior against Barca.

Munoz signed a five-year deal at Osasuna that summer and played 34 league games last season, scoring six goals and providing two assists.