Bayer Leverkusen have completed the signing of Girona captain Aleix Garcia on a five-year deal.
The Spain international is Leverkusen s second arrival during the close season, along with Jeanuel Belocian, who will join the club from Ligue 1 side Rennes on July 1.
Garcia played a key role in the middle of the park during a memorable 2023-24 campaign for Girona, with three goals and six assists in 37 appearances as they finished third in LaLiga and qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
The 26-year-old will link up with compatriot Xabi Alonso, who oversaw an unbeaten domestic season as Leverkusen and landed the first Bundesliga title in their history.
Die Werkself also captured the DFB-Pokal and were runners-up to Atalanta in the Europa Leag…
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag believes there is a new energy around the club as they prepare for the first full campaign under the Jim Ratcliffe regime.
Ten Hag oversaw a miserable eighth-placed Premier League finish in 2023-24 and was believed to be on the brink of being sacked, only for United to stun neighbours Manchester City in May s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
Having led the Red Devils to a second major trophy in as many years at the helm, Ten Hag was then handed a contract extension to run through the 2025-26 season.
That new deal for the Dutchman represents a real show of faith from INEOS chief Ratcliffe, who assumed full control of football operations when he bought a 25% stake in the club last December.
Speaking to the club s media ch…
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Molde and Elfsborg will face each other in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League at Molde Stadion in Molde this week. The match is scheduled to kick off at 5m UK time on Thursday.
Molde
Molde are one of the biggest clubs in Norway and have played in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League before. They have won the domestic league in Norway as many as four times and have been runners-up on 10 occasions. Molde have clinched the Norwegian Cup on five occasions as well.
Erling Moe’s side finished the 2021 Eliteserien campaign in second place with 60 points from 30 matches, just three points behind winners Bodø/Glimt. That has allowed th…
Jadon Sancho’s future at Manchester United appears uncertain after a public falling-out with manager Erik ten Hag.
It is the latest instalment in what has been a frustrating spell at Old Trafford for the England international.
Here, the PA news agency looks at where it has gone wrong.
What has happened?
Ten Hag did not include Sancho in his squad for Sunday’s game at Arsenal, saying the player had not reached the required “level” in training. This was quickly disputed by Sancho in a strong statement on social media. The 23-year-old claimed he had been made a “scapegoat” for a long time and that claims about his conduct in training were “completely untrue”. Coming after two difficult years at the club, it raised questions over his future.
Wha…
While Newcastle might have had to overcome substantial pressure on Sunday afternoon, the Magpies snatched a late 2-1 victory against Tottenham at St. James’ Park.
In what always promised to be an action-packed affair this weekend, Eddie Howe’s side took the lead in the 37th-minute as Harvey Barnes produced a wonderful side-footed finish.
However, although Newcastle might have entered the half-time break with a narrow advantage, it was all Tottenham following the interval and Spurs grabbed a deserved equaliser in the 56th-minute as Dan Burn turned into his own net.
While it might have been wave after wave of Spurs pressure following their equaliser, Nick Pope denied both James Maddison and Brennan Johnson.
Despite struggling to get out of their own ha…
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is sweating on his place in England s Euro 2016 because of injury
England defeated Australia 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Friday night as the Three Lions prepare for Euro 2016.
The most eye-catching things about the display was the fact that 18-year-old Marcus Rashford took just three minutes to open his goal scoring account for his country.
The youngster also put in a decent all around display on his international debut and the calls will now increase for him to be on the plane to France with the rest of the England squad.
Meteoric rise to prominence
Rashford has enjoyed a meteoric rise from Manchester United reserve team to England squad in literally a few months. The youngster was hyped up to the hilt afte…
Gareth Southgate will not be taking another management job within the next year, and he is unlikely to work with another national team.
Southgate resigned as England manager following the Three Lions 2-1 defeat to Spain in the final of Euro 2024, bringing to an end an 11-year association with the FA.
The 54-year-old was in charge of the senior team for eight years and, within that period, led them to the finals of both Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, as well as the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup.
In terms of tournament performance, he was the most successful England manager since Alf Ramsey, who led England to the 1966 World Cup – their only major honour.
Sometimes when you are in a big role you don t realise the weight until it s gone, Southgate told the E…
Pele says England have a wonderful opportunity to end their pain at major tournaments during Euro 2016.
The Brazil legend, who won the World Cup three times, has been in Paris for a promotional event ahead of the tournament with Diego Maradona.
Pele has watched England fail to progress beyond the quarter-finals at continental tournaments and World Cups since they made the last four of Euro 96 on home soil, but thinks that run could come to an end in France.
They have a very good side led by Wayne Rooney, Pele told The Times of India.
There are a few young talents who are raring to go. I know they did not perform to their true potential in the past few major tournaments, but there is no reason to repeat that.
This is a wonderful opportunity fo…
Gabriel Misehouy rescued a point for Girona on his debut as they salvaged a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in LaLiga, but coach Michel has warned the teenager must remain grounded.
The 19-year-old Dutch midfielder came off the bench for his debut in Girona s league opener at Betis, having joined from Ajax on a free transfer in July.
He found the equaliser from a counterattack he initiated and was a constant menace to Betis backline, almost scoring the winner with some brilliant play late on.
Michel was not surprised by Misehouy s impact but told DAZN he has much to learn, saying: Gabriel is a brutally talented player, but as of today he still lacks the collective mentality to be a great player.
He has a lot of room for improvement. He still doesn t speak Spanish…
UEFA s 54 member associations have backed plans to move the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar from its traditional June and July slot.
The announcement marks a new development in what has been a prolonged fall-out to the decision to award the tournament to Qatar, although UEFA are not ready for FIFA to make a decision on exactly when the competition will be played, with a switch to January 2022 or November and December in the same year both said to be under consideration.
FIFA are thought to prefer a tournament in November and December to avoid a clash with the Winter Olympics, and the executive committee is expected to agree in principle to reschedule the event at their meeting in Zurich at the start of next month.
Qatar s position as host of the event has long been a sub…