Gerard Pique to take second Barcelona pay cut in desperate attempt to register players

Jeff Benjamin With new headlines dropping daily about the global expansion of K-pop, overseas investors now have a chance to cash in. Today, Sept. 1, a K-pop and Korean-entertainment ETF — under the ticker name KPOP — launched on the NYSE Arca Exchange through South Korean IP investment company Contents Technologies. With top pop-culture players on board, KPOP marks the first time investors in the U.S. and Europe can access the companies most directly involved in the expanding K-pop music scene. Of the 30 corporations in the exchange-traded fund, the major holding companies of KPOP include several of the scene’s most internationally influential names, all publicly listed on the local Korea Composite Stock Price Index. 

Guy Lodge Film Critic “Gigi & Nate” begins with two leaps. The first is out of terror, when Gigi, a capuchin monkey at a sad-sack roadside petting zoo, tries to steer clear of her “caretaker.” The second is the sweet leap of boy-joy that 17-year-old Nate Gibson takes off a rocky ledge and into a pond. In this amiable, if unnecessarily manipulative, movie about the human-animal bond — as well as the different forms resilience can take — that fateful second leap will lead the young man and the monkey to each other.Gigi is rescued by a woman who works for an organization that provides service animals to people with disabilities.

Venice Film Festival officially kicked off the fall Oscar race on Thursday afternoon with Todd Field’s “Tár,” a drama starring Cate Blanchett as a famous composer embroiled in a public scandal. The film was showered with an ecstatic six-minute standing ovation as the crowds at the Sala Grande Theatre kept chanting “Bravo!“ even surprising Blanchett at times.As Venice chief Alberto Barbera took her hand, Blanchett bowed — but the clapping went on. When the applause finally ended, a misty-eyed Blanchett turned to someone on her team and said: “Let’s get a drink.”Surely, Blanchett’s work in “Tár” will be one of the most toasted performances of Oscar season. The rave reviews for the film all but guarantee the actor, who has two Academy Awards acting wins, will land her eight Oscar acting nomination this winter.

Carson Burton Zev Raben and Chad Russo have been promoted to partners at Ramo Law PC. The duo now joins a team including founder and managing partner Elsa Ramo, managing partner Michelle Chang and partner Erika Canchola. “We are thrilled to include Zev Raben and Chad Russo as partners of the firm,” Ramo said. “Zev joined our firm transitioning from litigation and his experience and know how has been paramount in our growing finance practice.  Chad has been impactful in building our podcast division from the inception days and has a stellar reputation in supporting production legal for our clients.  They both exemplify the firm’s entrepreneurial ethos and are essential to our continued growth and success.”

Alexandra Rose is opening up about her social media interactions with her co-stars.

Todd Field’s Tár clearly struck a chord with the world premiere audience inside the Venice Film Festival’s Sala Grande tonight. The movie was given a standing ovation of more than six minutes, which was only halted when the film team filtered out.

EXCLUSIVE: After signing on to the highly-anticipated project earlier this year, Craig Gillespie has now lined up an all-star cast that features some faces that all too familiar to the director. Sources tell Deadline, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan and Pete Davidson are set to star in Black Bear Pictures Dumb Money, an adaptation of the Ben Mezrich’s The Antisocial Network with Gillespie directing. Rebecca Angelo & Lauren Schuker Blum are adapting with Ryder Picture Company’s Aaron Ryder, Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Gillespie producing.

A grand total of seven Saturday Night Live stars are exiting the comedy variety show this upcoming season.

Remember that couple who got caught apparently engaging in a little adult pleasure last week in the stands at an Oakland Athletics baseball game??

We LOVE Jennifer Lopez! And this J. Lo-ness brings us such hilarity and joy! This and much more on our latest podcast! CLICK HERE to listen to the newest episode of The Perez Hilton Podcast with Chris Booker in full at PerezPodcast.com

Barcelona signings who were just registered on time for their La Liga opener - but Jules Kounde has been left out in the cold.The cash-strapped Catalan giants have been facing a race against the clock this week ahead of their first league fixture of the 2022/23 season against Rayo Vallecano tomorrow (August 13).They sold a further 24.5% of their in-house production company, Barca Studios, to Orpheus Media earlier on Friday for €100million (£84.5m) which allowed them to finally register Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen.READ MORE: Win 2 tickets to watch England vs Germany in Nations League action at Wembley StadiumIt was crucial they tied down Kessie and Christensen, because they would have been able to leave the club otherwise as they joined as free agents earlier in the summer.However, that has meant Kounde could not be registered. Barca need to free up more of their wage bill before they'll be able to do so, but are confident of achieving that before the end of the month.

Barcelona's summer signings could leave the club before being able to make their official debuts with the futures of both Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie up in the air. La Liga giants Barcelona signed Christensen on a free transfer following his Chelsea departure and did the same with Kessie after his deal with AC Milan expired.

Barcelona's desperation to register seven stars before their La Liga campaign gets underway on Sunday (August 13) has seen them activate a fourth 'economic lever'.New signings Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde are yet to be cleared to play by league bosses - with Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto in the same position having agreed contract extensions.Barcelona, who are thought to be in debt of more than £1billion, need to find more funds despite previously raising around £479m by selling off chunks of Barca Studios and future TV rights.READ MORE: Gerard Pique to take second Barcelona pay cut in desperate attempt to register players Spanish outlet SPORT reported on Tuesday (August 9) had sold 24.5% of Barca Studios to the GDA Luma investment fund to pocket another £84m in their third lever.That came after they did the same with Socios.com and sold 25% of their television rights for the next 25 years to American investment firm Sixth Street - which brought in £479m - with the report adding that the club have been told by the league they still needed to find £50m having gone through a fourth step. The fourth lever was another attempt to lower their wage bill and offload players, with Frenkie de Jong keen to snub a Premier League move to either Manchester United or Chelsea amid a contract saga with his current side. Can Barcelona recover from the financial troubles? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below. La Liga rejected their bid to register new players due to their ongoing financial troubles, having agreed gone through a similar situation with Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia last season.Despite those woes, president Joan Laporta has insisted that the club are not

Lionel Messi and Barcelona for his sensational return, according to reports in Spain.Catalunya Radio claimed on Sunday (August 7) evening that Barca president Joan Laporta has opened discussions with Messi's representatives, including his agent and dad Jorge. The 35-year-old has less than 12 months left on the two-year PSG contract he signed last summer, though he can extend it if he wants. His Camp Nou exit was forced upon him due to the Catalan club's financial difficulties, with his emotional press conference a clear sign he didn't want to leave.READ MORE: Lionel Messi nets first ever bicycle kick as star finally hits form for PSGLaporta has recently made his intention to bring Messi back clear.

Manchester United's pursuit of Frenkie De Jong is reportedly at risk of being hijacked by Chelsea, and fans are begging new owner Todd Boehly to sign the Barcelona star.The Dutchman is in high demand, and it's not surprising due to the fact that he's enjoying an exceptional pre-season. De Jong has proved his versatility by playing at centre-back this summer, and now fans are going wild after he produced a stunning solo run from his own penalty box.Xavi has confirmed that "anything can happen between now and August 31" as his future remains up in the air.

Barcelona will reportedly persist in their attempts to sign Bernardo Silva this summer, even if Frenkie de Jong stays at Camp Nou.

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has snubbed Barcelona to sign a two-extension at Stamford Bridge.The 32-year-old defender had been linked with a move to Camp Nou for months but has decided to stay put, which comes as a welcome relief for the Blues, who have been taking a battering from Barcelona in the transfer market all summer.Not only did the La Liga giants successfully hijack their moves for both Jules Kounde and Raphinha, they also retained the services of Ousmane Dembele, who the Blues had been tracking for months, and nabbed Andreas Christensen when his Chelsea contract expired in June.READ MORE: Chelsea 'agree to raise Marc Cucurella bid beyond £52m' - but fans are pleased about itSpeaking about his decision to re-sign, Azpilicueta told the club's website: "I am really happy to extend my stay at Chelsea, my home. It is almost 10 years since I first arrived and joined the club.

As Chelsea join the race to sign Frenkie De Jong, Manchester United fans will be panicking at the prospect of one of their potential Premier League rivals for the coming season beating them to a big signing.

Barcelona have told Manchester City that they will be submitting an offer for Bernardo Silva, according to reports.

Barcelona starlet Riqui Puig is set to join MLS outfit LA Galaxy on a season-long loan deal, despite finding favour with club legend Lionel Messi.The midfield maestro, 22, made his debut for La Blaugrana back in 2018 but has since had to compete with teenage sensation Gavi for a starting berth, making just 15 La Liga appearances last season. With the Catalan giants having strengthened the middle of the park with the free signing of Franck Kessie, Puig has been deemed surplus to requirements by manager Xavi and is now set to head across the Atlantic for a 12-month stint at LA Galaxy - seemingly against the wishes of Barca icon Messi.READ MORE: Fans troll Chelsea over Jules Kounde's outrageous Barcelona release clauseSpanish periodical SPORT claimed in 2018 that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was "astonished" after one training session with Puig.

The Frenkie de Jong saga shows no signs of ending anytime soon for Manchester United.