Barcelona have named Ramon Planes as their new sporting director following the dismissal of Eric Abidal.
Abidal was let go on Tuesday, a day after informing head coach Quique Setien that he would not keep his job following the 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday.
Planes was appointed as Abidal s assistant in June 2018 after a year as technical secretary at Getafe and will now take on the senior role at Camp Nou.
The 52-year-old spent five years at Espanyol from June 2007, while he has also worked with Tottenham during the 2014-15 season.
Planes is set to have his work cut out for him with a report by Sport suggesting the majority of the Barca first-team squad were put up for sale prior to Ronald Koeman s appointm…
Spain suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Ukraine in Tuesday s Nations League clash as Luis Enrique s side endured an unhappy return to the scene of one of their greatest triumphs.
There were around 20,000 fans inside Kiev s Olympic Stadium, the venue where La Roja won Euro 2012 to cap an unprecedented four-year spell of dominance.
Spain had less to celebrate this time, though, as goalkeeper Georgi Bushchan made eight saves to keep Luis Enrique s side at bay before Viktor Tsygankov capitalised on some slack concentration at the back to score the winner 14 minutes from time.
Spain remain top of their group but there will be plenty to play for when the competition resumes next month.
1 Adama Traoré is the only player to have attempted 10+ dribbles (13/10) and 1…
Individual criticism of Maguire over the past year or so has also come against a backdrop of flak aimed at the United team in general, as they slumped to a sixth-placed finish last season with their worst points total (58) in the Premier League era.
Former United captain Roy Keane is among the most vocal television pundits when it comes to analysis of the Red Devils, and he also went on something of a rant about Matic towards the end of his time at Old Trafford.
Shortly after Matic confirmed he was to leave United, Keane took umbrage with the Serbian making such a decision before the end of the season and saying former club Chelsea also still had a place in his heart.
Matic provided a measured response, saying: I have respect for what he has done but he needs to …
Tottenham captain Harry Kane became the outright top goalscorer in north London derby history with his first-half strike against Arsenal on Sunday.
The England international thumped the ball in off the underside of the crossbar to round off a counter-attack in the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs opened up a 2-0 lead.
That was Kane s 11th goal against Spurs bitter rivals Arsenal in all competitions, seeing him overtake Emmanuel Adebayor and Bobby Smith (10 each) as the fixture s most prolific player.
Robert Pires and Alan Sunderland are next on the list, both netting eight times in the grudge match.
The powerful drive also brought up Kane s 250th career goal for club and country, with exactly 100 of those coming at home for Tottenham.
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Looking to finish off the job and punch their Conference League play-off final ticket, Twente will welcome Heerenveen to the De Grolsch Veste on Sunday afternoon.
Twente
Starting with the hosts, snatching what was a stunning last-gasp winner when they travelled to Heerenveen for their first-leg showdown in midweek, Twente are riding what has been a real wave of momentum of the past month. Now sat in pole position to punch their Conference League play-off final ticket, the mood in Ron Jans’ camp should be at a red-hot high. Signing off their Eredivisie campaign with a famous performance on May 28th as they stormed to a 3-1 romp at home against Dutch giants Ajax, the Reds have now won each of their last five straight meetings against t…
According to Sunday Times (via ), Manchester United have set aside a figure exceeding €100 million to bolster their midfield ranks in January, and their primary target is once again Barcelona s Frenkie de Jong.
De Jong was heavily pursued by the 20-time English champions during the summer, with manager Erik ten Hag very keen to reunite with the player whom he worked with at Ajax before De Jong went to Barcelona in 2019. It is believed that the two clubs had reached an agreement on a fee, only for the Netherlands international to refuse the move.
Barcelona and Manchester United have been drawn to face each other in the Europa League, with the first match set to take place at Camp Nou on February 16th, and the return fixture at Old Trafford the week after. De Jong will …
Manchester United are interested in signing Mauro Icardi from Galatasaray in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that United are having issues in attack and are keen on bringing Icardi to Old Trafford in the middle of the season.
Icardi is doing well at Galatasaray at the moment and has revived his career. The 30-year-old Argentine striker has made 16 starts and one substitute appearance in the Turkish Super Lig so far this season, scoring 12 goals and providing five assists in those games. Icardi has also scored two goals in six UEFA Champions League games this season.
Manchester United are seventh in the Premier League table at the moment with 31 points from 19 matches, six points behind fourth-placed, city rivals and defending champions…
Frank Lampard tried and failed to bring amazing striker Erling Haaland to Chelsea during his time as the Blues manager.
Haaland has taken the Premier League by storm since signing for Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in June.
The Norway international became the fastest player to score 20 Premier League goals with his double in City s 3-1 win over Leeds United on Wednesday, doing so in just 14 games, seven less than previous record-holder Kevin Phillips.
A home game against strugglers Everton, who lost 2-1 to Wolves thanks to a late Rayan Ait-Nouri goal on Boxing Day, should provide Haaland with an ideal opportunity to cap 2022 off on a high note.
Now manager of Everton, Lampard recalled trying to sign Haaland for Chelsea during his spell as their bo…
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has expressed his confidence that Chloe Kelly will stay with the club following speculation about her future.
The Daily Mail this week reported that Paris St Germain want to sign England winger Kelly, whose current City deal runs to 2025, this summer.
Taylor told a press conference on Friday: “I’m really confident (Kelly will remain a City player).
“But at the end of the day these things happen, when players are doing well you get these rumours that come out. How true they are, I’m not too sure, how much propaganda’s involved.
“But we try to just normalise things and make sure the players keep their feet on the floor.
“We’re doing well at the moment, we’re on a really good run of form, but we ha…
Liverpool are expected to push hard to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea at the end of the season as the talks between the player and the London Blues enter significant complications, according to the Daily Mail.
Mount is a product of the Chelsea academy, and having had loan spells with Vitesse and Derby County as a youngster, he was promoted to the senior squad at Stamford Bridge in 2019 and has gone on to make a total of 190 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 33 goals and providing 37 assists. A vital player in Chelsea s runs to the Champions League glory in 2021, followed by the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, his contract will enter its final 12 months at the end of June unless a new one is signed.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are looking to reco…