Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has confirmed a new manager should be appointed in the next two weeks .
Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini has been heavily linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium as a replacement for Roberto Mancini, who was sacked after the club lost in the FA Cup final and failed to defend their Premier League crown.
While Al Mubarak indicated that a new boss should be in place sooner rather than later, he stopped short of naming any potential candidates.
We re pretty much done, he told City s official website.
We re very close. I expect to make an appointment probably in the next two weeks.
Al Mubarak also explained his reasoning behind sacking Mancini, citing a need for change as the main motivation.
Mancini guided the club to the FA Cup i…
Bayern Munich had to settle for a scoreless draw with Bayer Leverkusen at the BayArena as Thomas Muller missed two gilt-edged chances to secure three points.
The Germany international started the match from the bench, but came on for Arjen Robben on the hour mark and got two huge chances to break the deadlock within 10 minutes of his entrance.
Muller first volleyed over the crossbar after being set up by Kingsley Coman, only to then fire wide a few minutes later after some good work from Douglas Costa.
Leverkusen had done well to keep the reigning champions quiet until Muller s arrival, with Roger Schmidt s tactical plan to press Bayern high up the pitch causing them all kinds of trouble.
The hosts did not create many chances themselves, though, with on…
Manchester United have completed the signing of defender Victor Lindelof from Benfica for an initial fee of €35million.
Lindelof, 22, has signed a four-year contract at Old Trafford, with the option of an additional year, and the move could eventually reach a value of €45m if performance-related add-ons are activated.
The centre-back underwent a medical with United on Wednesday and the Premier League club finalised the deal promptly, meaning Lindelof can prepare to make his debut on United s summer tour of the USA next month.
I am thrilled to be joining Manchester United. I have enjoyed my time at Benfica enormously and I have learned a lot there, the Sweden international said.
But I m looking forward to playing in the Premier League at Old Traffor…
Having been linked heavily to a host of Premier League clubs including Manchester United this week, superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic turning up in England for a Champions League quarter-final and sauntering around as a deep-lying midfielder felt like a very Zlatan Ibrahimovic thing to do.
However, this was not so much daring to Zlatan as needs-must for Laurent Blanc s Paris Saint-Germain, as they sought to prevail over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, with the tie delicately poised at 2-2.
Blanc found himself without influential midfield duo Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti through suspension and injury and responded with an unexpected set up in Manchester.
PSG deployed a back three for the first time this season and Ibrahimovic alternated between p…
Arkadiusz Milik remains in talks with Napoli over a new contract amid links to Milan, Atletico Madrid and Juventus, according to his agent David Pantak.
Napoli forward Milik is out of contract in 2021 and the Poland international has so far failed to agree fresh terms at the Serie A club.
Speculation has emerged that Milik could leave Napoli, with Italian rivals Milan reportedly keen admirers of the 26-year-old, while Juve and LaLiga s Atletico are also believed to be interested.
Pantak addressed rumours about Milik, telling Calciomercato: Regarding everything that s come out in the media in the past few days, I want to clarify that they re only rumours, some of them even disrespectful to Napoli as a club.
Comunicato Stampa della SSC Napoli in merito al r…
Former Paris Saint-German head coach Laurent Blanc said it will be difficult for Marco Verratti to leave the French giants amid interest from Barcelona.
Verratti reportedly wants to move to Camp Nou and Barca have made public their admiration for the Italy international, but PSG are unwilling to sell.
Blanc coached Verratti during his time in charge at PSG and the 51-year-old cannot see the former Pescara midfielder leaving.
I do not know what it is going to happen with Verratti, Blanc said
Marco Verratti is a very important player for PSG.
He has many qualities and PSG will do everything they could to keep him. It will be difficult for Verratti to move.
Verratti dropped agent Donato Di Campli to join Mino Raiola s roster of superstar…
In an FA Cup final that felt like a signpost for where two clubs at the transitional beginnings of new eras might be heading, the contributions of those who might not follow the journey through weighed heavily.
Chelsea were ravenous in their pressing and insatiable in the midfield battles early on, laying a platform for Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic to sparkle. An eventual 2-1 defeat seemed improbable right then.
Both wide forwards were involved when Pulisic nimbly opened the scoring – the subtle shift of the ball with his left foot to make a dinked right-footed finish possible underlining the USA star s technical prowess.
Olivier Giroud was naturally on the spot against his former club, playing an inevitably shrewd hand. A rush of goals for the experienced…
Switzerland booked their spot in the last 16 of the World Cup courtesy of a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica in Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday.
Brazil s win over Serbia in the night s other Group E game means that Vladimir Petkovic s side finish second in the pool and will take on Sweden in St Petersburg on Tuesday.
Switzerland – whose last-gasp win over Serbia in their second game set them up for progression to the knockout stages – were second best for large periods against their already eliminated opponents, but did take the lead just after the half-hour mark.
Blerim Dzemaili took advantage of generous marking to power home from close range before Kendall Waston pulled Costa Rica level shortly after the interval.
Substitute Josip Drmic thought he had secur…
You remember Guiseppe Rossi? The American-born Italian has had some career. But he has been without a club for over a year and it looks like he might be persuaded to make a return to football.
He could be going to Italy s Serie B and join one of the three clubs interested in him. According to Tuttosport, Empoli, Frosinone and Cremonese are all interested in giving him a shot at a comeback. The 32-year-old s last club was Genoa, with whom his contract was not extended.
But that was all the way back in summer of last year, when his contract expired after the end of the 2017-18 season! Now the Italian could join one of the three teams, which considering his age, would not be as shocking as if he was older.
Rossi played for numerous clubs in his career, including th…
Thierry Henry picked up a point in his first Champions League game in charge of Monaco with a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge – but was grateful to Lois Openda for missing a late sitter for the hosts in the Group A clash.
Moussa Sylla scuffed in with his right foot to put the Ligue 1 strugglers ahead in the 31st minute on Wednesday, only for Wesley s header to level matters as Brugge ended an eight-match losing streak in the competition.
Henry s managerial debut with Monaco on Saturday had been eventful to say the least, as he witnessed goalkeeper Seydou Sy make a shocking error and Samuel Grandsir receive a red card in a 2-1 loss at Strasbourg.
Radamel Falcao sustained an injury at the weekend, leaving the new man in charge without one of his more seasoned European…