Fenway Sports Group is taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to market this week to explore selling a minority stake, multiple sources told ESPN on Monday.

It is still to be determined what percentage of the team Fenway is looking to sell, but FSG still expects to be the controlling owners, sources told ESPN.

FSG did something similar with Liverpool in 2023, selling a minority stake of the EPL team to New York-based sports investment firm Dynasty Equity.

Fenway bought controlling interest of the Penguins in 2021 for $900 million. The Penguins were previously owned by Ron Burkle and franchise legend Mario Lemieux, who had bought the team and saved it from bankruptcy in 1999. That group helped keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, then the club went on to win three Stanley Cups from 2009 to 2017 with its current core player group of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Lemieux has remained involved with the team after the sale to Fenway.

FSG's portfolio includes several sports properties, such as Liverpool of the EPL, the Boston Red Sox of MLB, Fenway Park, NESN, RFK Racing of NASCAR and Boston Common Golf of TGL.

Any change of ownership structure in the NHL is official only after it gets approved by the league's board of governors. Fenway Sports Group selling off a minority stake of the Penguins would not be viewed as unusual, especially in this era of private equity involvement in sports ownership.

In October 2024, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik sold a majority stake of his team to a new group of investors.

Through 52 games, the Penguins are 20-24-8 and in eighth place in the Metropolitan Division -- putting them at risk of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a third consecutive season. On Monday, Crosby scored his 15th goal but couldn't prevent the Penguins from a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, the club's third straight defeat.

FSG publicly and privately has said it would like to help Crosby win more Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh. Crosby, 37, signed a two-year extension (carrying a $8.7 million cap hit) with the Penguins in September. The Penguins are poised to be active ahead of the March 7 NHL trade deadline to help the team transition to a younger roster while staying competitive.

NEW YORK -- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg has been suspended two games without pay for interference against Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher on Saturday night.

Lilleberg, 23, received a minor penalty for the incident, which occurred in the second period of the Red Wings' 2-0 victory.

On Sunday, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced the hearing had been set for Monday, and acted quickly in determining the punishment, which was announced Monday on the department's social media feed.

Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, Lilleberg will lose $9,062.50, which will go to the players' emergency assistance fund.

The Lightning play host to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday and the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Captain Connor McDavid returned from his three-game suspension for cross-checking Vancouver's Conor Garland, and scored a goal in leading his Edmonton Oilers to a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night.

McDavid tied the score 2-2 at 1:57 of the second period with his 21st tally of the season, before Corey Perry scored to give Edmonton the lead for good en route to its third straight win.

"It was a good game. [Seattle] pushed, especially late in the game. They had their opportunities and they didn't let up," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Tonight, we played just well enough to win."

Mattias Ekholm had a goal and an assist, and Mattias Janmark also scored for the Oilers in the victory. Edmonton has now won 11 of 14, sweeping back into first place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the idle Vegas Golden Knights. Ekholm's tally was an empty-netter with 58 seconds left, which secured the win.

"There was a lot of north. We were playing north, and playing with the puck," Perry said, referring to the amount of offensive zone time Edmonton had in the win. "We had some shifts where we were cycling the puck and moving the puck well and getting shots. And that's our game."

Calvin Pickard had 26 saves for the Oilers, allowing goals to Eeli Tolvanen and Vince Dunn for the Kraken, who led 2-1 after one period. Joey Daccord stopped 27 shots for Seattle in the loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has said there is "no way back" for Marcus Rashford at Old Trafford after his commitment to the team was questioned by manager Ruben Amorim.

The 27-year-old has not played for United since Dec. 12, with Amorim saying he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital unless the forward starts to "give the maximum every day in training and in life."

ESPN reported last week that Rashford's representatives held face-to-face talks with Barcelona about a potential move before the transfer deadline, and Ferdinand said the forward will have to leave Old Trafford following Amorim's statement.

"If I was the player the manager said that about, my heart, my pride, my ego -- it's embarrassment," Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.

"For someone to question your application, to question you giving 100 per cent for the team, saying you're lacking effort and taking shortcuts, that's a damning comment. There's no way back for Marcus after that.

"If he did come back that means other players can take their foot off the gas and have a way back into the team and take shortcuts."

Rashford has made more than 400 appearances for United since joining the club at aged seven and won the Europa League, two FA Cups and two EFL Cups.

His start under Amorim was positive, he scored in the managers first game in charge and a week later scored twice in United's 4-0 win to Everton.

However, he said last month that he was ready to seek a "new challenge" away from Old Trafford after being dropped for United's 2-1 win against Manchester City.

Ferdinand added that he felt Rashford would have made a public statement if Amorim's comments about his commitments were false.

"For me, if it isn't true, I'm coming out all guns blazing. I'm holding a press conference and saying 'I'm not having anyone say that about me'," Ferdinand said.

"I would love to sit across the table from Marcus and look into his eyes and see if he could say that. If you can't, you have to look at yourself."

Kyle Walker has said it was "not a comfortable conversation" when he told Pep Guardiola he wanted to leave Manchester City for more game time.

Walker, 34, has joined Serie A giants AC Milan on loan until the end of the season, while the club also have an option to make the move permanent in the summer.

The England defender has made 319 career appearances for City and won 17 trophies but, having started just nine Premier League games this term, he told his manager earlier in January he wanted a new challenge abroad.

Guardiola, while insisting it was "impossible" to replace Walker, ultimately decided to grant his wishes having convinced him against a move to Bayern Munich two years ago.

"When I spoke with Pep it was not a very comfortable conversation because of the respect that we both have for each other and what we've achieved at Manchester City," Walker revealed at his unveiling in Milan on Monday.

"Everything that he's won at Manchester City, I've also won.

"I would like to think that he knows what I bring to the dressing room and the atmosphere that I create.

"I'm here to play football. I'm here to work with my teammates. But at Manchester City, it was my family, from the cooks to the cleaner to the kitman to the physios. I have to try to find the same here."

Walker is determined to win things at AC Milan, who are seventh in Serie A and sixth in the Champions League standings.

"Obviously things at City weren't going too well and I wasn't playing as much football as I wanted," Walker explained.

"I could have stayed in Manchester. I still had a contract there. And I would have [respected] that contract if they wouldn't have let me leave. But I think it comes down to challenges in life.

"I don't want to just win things in one country. I want to come to another country and also win there as well. If I wasn't going to a big club I think I would have stayed in the Premier League, stayed at Manchester City and continued my career there.

"But when a club like this comes knocking on the door for you -- I think there's only certain clubs in the world that you can kind of not say no to."

Walker will wear the No. 32 in Milan in honour of David Beckham's spell there and plans to learn Italian. He could make his debut in the derby against Inter on Sunday.

"There's no need to present Kyle Walker, his time at Manchester City has already done this," Milan advisor and former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic added.

"He's a great addition, he's a leader on and off the pitch, he has a lot of character. Even though we have a lot of full-backs, we couldn't say no, it was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up on. For me, he can also play as a centre-back, he did so at City. He will give us a lot, we are confident that he will be important for the team."

Former Premier League referee David Coote apologised for the actions that led to his sacking last month by England referees' body PGMOL, saying that the pressure of the job and fear of abuse due to his sexuality triggered his behaviour.

Coote was fired after being suspended in November following a video circulating on social media showing the official allegedly abusing Liverpool and their ex-manager Jurgen Klopp.

The 42-year-old, who officiated more than 100 top-flight games, said a fear of coming out as gay led him to turn to drugs and added that he "was not sober" at the time of the video.

"I want to apologise to anybody who I've offended by my actions. You can tell by the video I wasn't sober," Coote told The Sun in an interview released on Monday. "I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref and to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult.

"My sexuality isn't the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I'm not telling an authentic story if I don't say that I'm gay, and that I've had real struggles dealing with hiding that.

"I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well, a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being."

Coote was suspended by PGMOL on Nov. 11 and the controversy escalated a few days later when The Sun released a video allegedly showing him snorting white powder while officiating at Euro 2024, prompting a new UEFA investigation.

He also officiated at last year's Olympics and said he had been in an "incredibly dark place" since the video was published while struggling with pressure due to his workload.

"In 2023 I lost my mum very suddenly. At the same time my uncle was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. After COVID and the introduction of VAR, six officials were suddenly needed for each game," Coote said. "I don't recognise myself in the cocaine video. I can't resonate with how I felt then, but that was me. I was struggling with the schedule and there was no opportunity to stop. And so I found myself in that position, escaping.

"I received nothing for it. I'm really disappointed that anything like this has come out because it tarnishes the integrity of the game."

The former referee said he was over his drug habit after having therapy, but still felt shame over his actions.

"I'm guilty of doing what I did, but I'm trying to be the best person that I can be now. I've taken steps to try and be the best I can be both from a physical and a mental wellbeing," Coote said. "To other people who are in my situation, I'd say seek help and talk to somebody because if you bottle it up like I have done, it has to come out in some way."

Coote also cited his own example to show how relentless abuse from the stands and on social media could impact the mental health of officials.

"Every official that takes to the pitch up and down the country from a local playing field to the Premier League is a human being, not just a referee," he said. "They have feelings. They may not show them, but it will impact them when they're receiving abuse. I've struggled and I've tried to get through it in my own way and made poor decisions in doing so."

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this story.

Al Hilal announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement with Neymar to terminate his contract and open the door for the Brazil international to return to Santos.

The Saudi Pro League club said on social media that the two sides had agreed to mutually part ways and wished Neymar luck in his future.

That future increasingly looks like it will be in his native Brazil, with ESPN sources saying on Sunday that Neymar would sign a six-month contract with the option of an additional year at Santos, the team with which he came through the youth ranks.

According to ESPN Brasil, Neymar is set to sign a contract with Santos in the coming days, and the club plans to unveil him to the fans on Thursday or Friday.

To facilitate his return, Neymar has agreed to give up a significant portion of his salary from his deal with Al Hilal, which runs through next summer. Sources said he will forfeit between $25 million and $30 million from the $65 million remaining on his contract.

Neymar, 32, endured a difficult spell with Al Hilal after joining the Saudi Arabian club from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023 for a fee of $97.6 million.

The former Barcelona star suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while on international duty shortly after signing for Al Hilal. He returned to the field last October, but a hamstring injury kept him from making more of a contribution, and manager Jorge Jesus said earlier in January that Neymar was free to pursue other opportunities.

He made just seven league and cup appearances with just one goal scored in an AFC Champions League group stage match against Nassaji Mazandaran on Oct. 3, 2023.

Despite his struggles in Saudi Arabia, Neymar remains one of the biggest names in the sport thanks to his exploits alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez while with Barcelona from 2013 to 2017. In that time, he was part of sides that won a UEFA Champions League crown, two LaLiga titles and three Copa del Reys.

He later moved to PSG in 2017 and won five Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups and two French League Cups.

Neymar began his professional career with Santos in 2009, leading them to a Copa Libertadores triumph in 2011, where he scored in the second leg of the final, a 2-1 win over Peñarol.

Santos won the Brazilian Serie B title in 2024 and were promoted to the country's top flight for the upcoming season.

At the international level, Neymar has appeared 128 times for Brazil, scoring a Selecao-record 79 goals. He was part of the Brazil side that won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, which Brazil hosted.

Information from Jeff Carlisle and Julien Laurens was used in this story.

With only a few days left to go in the January transfer window, it's fair to say a number of Europe's top clubs have left themselves a lot to do.

From the Premier League to the Bundesliga to Serie A and back again, there are title contenders and Champions League juggernauts who will be scrabbling around to find the final missing pieces their season may rely upon.

Here, we highlight a few of these clubs and discuss what it is they still need to do.

ARSENAL

Wherever you stand on Kai Havertz as a No. 9 striker -- and there are two definitive, credible sides to the debate -- it's fair to say these last few weeks of botched finishing suggest that Arsenal need to at least have another option to turn to if needed. Gabriel Jesus was that, but a severe knee injury has ruled him out for the season.

In addition to a striker -- with RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko most notably linked -- there's also a strong case that Arsenal lack appropriate depth in terms of creativity and goal scoring from the supporting cast. Injuries to winger Bukayo Saka and midfielder Martin Ødegaard have brought the team grinding to a halt at times, leading to the suggestion that the signing of another left-winger to help carry the burden could be useful.

The trouble with all of this is that second-placed Arsenal -- six points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand -- may feel that their Premier League title chase is over already and, given their domestic cup runs are finished, too, why pay a January premium to sign another player in the midst of a lost season? Whether or not we see some action before the deadline may reveal the club's true feelings on the matter.

ASTON VILLA

It was jarring to see Aston Villa, a team in the hunt for the Premier League top four and in the conversation for a top-eight Champions League finish this week, reduced to playing diminutive left-back Lucas Digne at centre-back for 60-plus minutes against West Ham. Indeed, with Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings injured, plus Diego Carlos having left for Fenerbahçe, Villa only have one fit centre-back in Ezri Konsa. They tried and failed to sign Sevilla's Loïc Badé this month and must now press ahead with other options, such as Villarreal's Juan Foyth or Chelsea's Axel Disasi.

There are other concerns bubbling, too: The talk around a potential departure for 21-year-old striker Jhon Durán will not go away and if they do sanction a deal, they'll need to find another striker. In addition to that, Villa need to quickly assess whether new right-back Andrés García (who signed from Levante in Spain's second division) can make the step up to the Premier League swiftly, or whether they need to find a better solution there.

Another midfielder might also be needed if Emiliano Buendía leaves for Bayer Leverkusen, with links to Chelsea's João Félix surfacing recently.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Dortmund entered the season with a defensive corps that looked ill-equipped to cope and that has proven to be the case. The club have just three senior full-backs (one of which, Ramy Bensebaini, is enduring his worst-ever season) and an injury-riddled set of centre-backs, so it's no surprise the 11th-placed side have conceded 33 goals in 19 games and earned just five points on the road.

While they sacked manager Nuri Sahin and are courting a new hire, they've signed no one to help address their issues with under a week to go in the transfer window. There were links surrounding a loan deal for Chelsea defender Renato Veiga, but he went to Juventus, and there's now talk of either taking out-of-favour Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell or Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko.

CHELSEA

Speaking of Chilwell, he's one of a number of Chelsea players who need to find another club as soon as possible. Axel Disasi, Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei are also clearly not part of the project under Enzo Maresca, while forward Christopher Nkunku and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could yet find new homes.

Not all of the above will leave this month, but they should at least be under consideration. Depending on who goes, it may create scope for Chelsea to enter the market for a player or two late on. It has been reported they'd like to sign another winger, given Mykhailo Mudryk is facing a doping suspension, while they'd need a striker if Nkunku left, too.

MAN CITY

By far the busiest of all of Europe's top clubs this month, Manchester City have already signed Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov for a combined 145m plus bonuses. But there's still more work to be done.

Kyle Walker's exit to AC Milan leaves a gap at right-back, and if the answer is that Matheus Nunes is moved there permanently to tag-team with young Rico Lewis, then that creates another hole in midfield that City are already well aware of.

City have been linked to Douglas Luiz (Juventus) and Éderson (Atalanta) this window. Those are two very different types of central midfielders, so it's still unclear exactly what shape this final bit of business takes and what effect it has on the squad. But the club have shown a willingness to try to rescue their season with new signings.

MAN UNITED

On Sunday night, Rúben Amorim told reporters that he'd rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach in the matchday squad than out-of-favor forward Marcus Rashford, citing training standards and his attitude once again. With the relationship between the two in such disrepair, it is imperative that United find a way to get Rashford out on a temporary basis at least this month.

Another forward, Alejandro Garnacho, has also been linked with move away as he doesn't really fit with Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system, with Napoli, Chelsea and Dortmund reportedly interested. There's also the simmering 40m chase for Lecce's 20-year-old full-back, Patrick Dorgu, to wrap up. He's hardly an immediate fix to the club's many woes, but is the sort of young talent United are newly committing to signing. And the fact he's left-footed would go a long way towards helping the balance of the team, too.

NAPOLI

It might seem odd to discuss Napoli in these terms, as they're top of Serie A and racking up wins with ease, but consider these two facts: Internazionale are right on their tails and look strong; while the Partenopei have 60m (plus 10m in possible add-ons) burning a hole in their pocket following the exit of their most talented player, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, to Paris Saint-Germain.

Antonio Conte's men have done well in Kvara's absence so far this season, often winning, and Brazilian winger David Neres has stepped up to the plate when asked to. But clearly Conte has his eyes set on a long-term replacement, as both United's Garnacho and Karim Adeyemi of Borussia Dortmund have been linked this month.

There's a chance Napoli can stave off Inter to win the Scudetto without spending, but there's an equal chance they don't, which will likely result in a classic Conte combustion and risk derailing what they've built this term.

TOTTENHAM

Languishing in 15th in the Premier League table, with five losses from their last six games, the conversation after each disappointing performance has been the same: "Will Ange Postecoglou survive this?"

Without wishing to unfairly exonerate the manager from his part in all this, one glance at Spurs' injured, beleaguered and exhausted squad should generate a different question: "What would a new manager even do with them?"

What the club need more than anything right now is reinforcements. They need fresh legs and fresh minds just about everywhere across the pitch, but most notably at left-back, centre-back and in central midfield. Their January arrivals so far have been 21-year-old goalkeeper Antonín Kinský (who has been thrown straight into action) and 18-year-old winger Yang Min-Hyeok. It's nowhere near enough.