Dani Alves has issued an emotional message of gratitude to Barcelona after the club confirmed he will be leaving.
Juventus are set to sign the Brazil international, 33, ending a glittering Camp Nou career that saw him win six La Liga titles, four Copa del Rey crowns and three Champions Leagues as part of an astonishing 23 winners medals since signing from Sevilla in 2008.
Earlier on Thursday, Barca sporting director Robert Fernandez revealed Alves has decided to leave the Spanish champions.
Alves issued a statement on Instagram thanking those associated with Barca and insisting he would always be part of the club.
In one month it will be eight years since my arrival at Barcelona, he wrote. In July 2008, I came to this club for the first time and occupi…
Cristiano Ronaldo s departure has been keenly felt by Real Madrid, according to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, but the Santiago Bernabeu dressing room is not lamenting the loss of their former talisman.
Ronaldo left as Madrid s all-time record goalscorer when he joined Italian champions Juventus in July and Los Blancos form has faltered this season.
Julen Lopetegui was sacked as head coach after a 5-1 Clasico thrashing at the hands of Barcelona and, although matters have improved marginally of late under Santiago Solari, they lie 10 points shy of their bitter rivals at LaLiga s summit.
Courtois arrived from Chelsea a month on from Ronaldo s exit and the Belgium international insists the spectre of the five-time Ballon d Or winner does not linger over Madrid s seaso…
LaLiga has denied president Javier Tebas is a candidate for the vacant Premier League chief executive role in England.
Tebas has emerged as a potential replacem
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ent for Richard Scudamore, who departed the Premier League in December last year.
The 56-year-old was appointed LaLiga president in 2013, and Tebas looks set to remain in Spain.
Responding to speculation, LaLiga said in a statement: We are not aware of this supposed interest.
That said, if a competition as important as the Premier League is taking note of the work being done by LaLiga, including its president, clubs and employees, it is a source of pride for the entire organisation.
Javier has a contract with LaLiga and not only is he happy here, he also has responsibilitie…
In the Allianz Stadium press room after Kalidou Koulibaly powered home a 90th-minute winner for Napoli to blow the Serie A title race wide open, Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri had reached the end of his tether.
Asked why his reigning champions, chasing a seventh consecutive Scudetto, were not playing well at a crunch moment in the season, the 50-year-old s face was a picture of perplexed incredulity.
The quality of our play? he began. For four years, Juventus have been playing 57 matches a year, you know? I don t understand. How many do the others play? They re finished in December.
Good Lord! They go out of the cup, out of everything else. We play 57 matches a year.
Allegri, who will lead Juve in a crunch Derby d Italia at Inter on Saturday,…
Saturday sees a Manchester derby at Old Trafford, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hoping to extend his record to four wins in six meetings with Pep Guardiola.
West Ham head to Leeds United before that on Friday looking to end a nine-game winless run against Marcelo Bielsa s side.
Carlo Ancelotti faces old club Chelsea at Goodison Park, while champions Liverpool head to Fulham and Arsenal host a Burnley side who have a miserable record against the Gunners.
See if you can kick-start the weekend with maximum points in our Opta-powered quiz. Answers are at the bottom.
Skills that make you go
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1. West Ham s last win over Leeds United was back in November 2000 at Elland Road. Who scored the winner in that 1-0 vic…
Inter have completed the signing of Valentino Lazaro from Hertha Berlin.
The winger has signed a four-year contract with the Serie A side after completing medical checks in Milan.
Inter have paid a reported fee of €22million to sign the 23-year-old, who had also been linked with Arsenal.
An Austria international since 2014, Lazaro joined Hertha two years ago after five seasons with Red Bull Salzburg.
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Valentino Lazaro is an Inter player!
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He made 31 Bundesliga appearances in 2018-19, scoring three times and providing six assists.
Lazaro knows how to win, Inter said in a statement announcing the transfer. He plays mostly on the right flank but is versati…
Marouane Fellaini headed a stoppage-time winner to earn Manchester United a 2-1 home victory in Arsene Wenger s last visit to Old Trafford as Arsenal manager.
Wenger, presented with a gift by old rival Alex Ferguson before kick-off, rested the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette with an eye on Thursday s Europa League semi-final, naming his youngest league XI since 2011 s infamous 8-2 loss at United.
And the Frenchman s young side were on track to do him proud, Henrikh Mkhitaryan levelling on his Old Trafford return after Paul Pogba s early opener for United.
But although United s attack was depleted by an injury that forced Romelu Lukaku off early in the second half, Jose Mourinho s men came up with a late winner.
Ashley Young s inswinging cross …
Mauro Icardi scored his first Ligue 1 goal with Neymar also on target as Paris Saint-Germain earned a routine 4-0 victory over in-form Angers at Parc des Princes.
Having opened his PSG account with the winner against Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek, Icardi who squandered a great chance early on doubled his tally for the season with a simple finish 37 minutes into his first Ligue 1 start.
Icardi s effort put PSG 2-0 up, with Pablo Sarabia s neat strike having given Thomas Tuchel s side a 13th-minute lead.
Idrissa Gueye joined Icardi and Sarabia in getting off the mark in Ligue 1 midway through the second half, before Neymar capped a fine individual display with his fourth goal of the season late on.
1 Mauro Icardi has become the fir…
Wednesday s game against Belgium may be Zlatan Ibrahimovic s last for Sweden after he announced he will retire from internationals following Euro 2016.
Sweden head into their final Group E fixture in Nice likely needing a win to reach the last 16.
In a pre-match media conference on Tuesday, Ibrahimovic said: The last game at the Euros will be my last game for Sweden. I will not play at the Olympics.
Ibrahimovic came into the tournament aiming to become the first man to score at four European Championships, but has so far struggled to make an impact, drawing blanks against Republic of Ireland and Italy.
Coach Erik Hamren added: We would need a whole press conference for my opinion on Ibra. He has made a huge contribution for Sweden. He has been fantas…
Former Netherlands and South Korea coach Dick Advocaat announced he would retire once he leaves Fenerbahce at the end of the season.
Advocaat, 69, has been in charge of the Turkish club since August last year, having resigned at Sunderland in October 2015.
The Dutchman said on Friday he was retiring, with Fenerbahce sitting fourth in the Turkish Super Lig.
Finally, I will leave here at the end of the season, Advocaat said.
I don t mind announcing my decision early.
A former midfielder and defender, Advocaat was Netherlands coach on two occasions, from 1992-94 and 2002-04.
He was also at the helm of South Korea, Russia and Belgium internationally, while most of his success came at club level.
Advocaat led PSV to an Eredivisie tit…