David Silva has been named the new captain of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
The experienced former Spain international, who signed from Valencia in 2010 and has won 10 major trophies at the Etihad Stadium, takes over the armband from Vincent Kompany, who joined Anderlecht as player-manager at the end of last season.
In June, Silva announced 2019-20 will be his last with City.
Guardiola said the 33-year-old playmaker, who was elected by team-mates, will be supported by vice-captains Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.
A captain has to be what he is, the City manager said ahead his side beginning their quest for a third consecutive Premier League title at West Ham. It s an incredible, big respect from his mates. The decision t…
Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial will return for Manchester United s EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest, Erik ten Hag confirmed.
Sancho has not featured for United since October s 1-1 draw against Chelsea due to circumstances with fitness and mood .
Meanwhile, Martial s last appearance came in the victory over Manchester City at Old Trafford earlier this month when he was withdrawn at half-time.
The pair are back available for United ahead of Wednesday s clash at Old Trafford, where the hosts lead 3-0 from last week s first leg.
We have some issues, Ten Hag told club media on Tuesday.
I think tomorrow that Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho will return in the game squad, but Scott McTominay will still be absent.
I thi…
According to a recent report from Sky Italy, Tottenham Hotspur are still in talks with AC Milan over the possibility of signing forward Krzysztof Piatek. There is yet to be any kind of deal struck between the two parties, mainly because both want different things.
Tottenham want to go ahead with an 18-month loan deal, whereas the Italian side would rather sell him on a permanent basis. While they may be some distance apart in that regard, Spurs do seem to be the frontrunners in any kind of potential transfer before the window shuts in just a matter of days.
Jose Mourinho has been actively trying to bring in more stars all month long, and it seems like he may finally have the sort of investment he needs from the higher-ups to go out there and pursue different options…
From 11pm there was paperwork, negotiating and all that, for the loan deal and all that, so we are talking and other teams are calling them, wanting me, he explained.
But I told my agent that this is what I want. I want to come here. He said you re going to get a pay cut to go to United. I said I don t care. Make this deal happen. I want to go to United. I don t care how much the pay cut is, I know that, make it happen.
People that know me, even back in Nigeria, and even when I was playing at Watford, my team-mates knew that I loved Manchester United, I supported them. When I played against Man U, that emotion is there, because it is my dream.”
Those are the words of Manchester United forward Odion Ighalo who following the confirmation that he wou…
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is the latest big name to make the move to Saudi Arabia after signing a deal to become head coach of Al-Ettifaq.
The 43-year-old has returned to management after being sacked by Aston Villa in October less than a year into the job after winning just two of their opening 12 Premier League games.
“Where legends are found We’re thrilled to announce Steven Gerrard is our new head coach,” said the club in a post on Twitter.
Where legends are found
We’re thrilled to announce Steven Gerrard is our new head coach
— Ettifaq Club (@Ettifaq_EN)
Gerrard, who previously led Rangers to the Scottish Premier League title in 2020-21 to secure his first managerial trophy, had been long-term target for th…
Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes Ousmane Dembele already has an agreement to join another club when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Speaking on Tuesday, Laporta gave details of the negotiations that took place to renew the winger s contract.
The 24-year-old was then told to find another club in the January transfer window after those talks broke down – he had been linked with a number of Premier League teams, as well as Paris Saint-Germain – but a move never materialised.
Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany told Dembele last week he must leave immediately , which prompted the player to issue an angry riposte on social media.
Speaking at a news conference where Barca were outlining the details of the forensic revi…
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde paid tribute to Lionel Messi for his innate ability to make a decisive impact following a wonderful goal in Saturday s 4-1 win over Deportivo Alaves.
Other than having an early goal disallowed, Messi had been unusually subdued by his standards at Camp Nou.
Although Barca went into half-time 2-0 up, Alaves scored early in the second period and grew in confidence until Messi struck his 50th goal for club and country this year.
Seemingly surrounded by players, Messi managed to unleashed a fierce strike into the left side of the net from 25 yards and Barca cruised from there, with Luis Suarez – who set up the first three goals – adding a late fourth from the penalty spot.
Despite Suarez arguably being the star of the show,…
There is undoubtedly a perception the World Cup s third-place play-off is little more than an exhibition match – compared to the final, anyway.
But for Croatia and Morocco, Saturday s clash at the Khalifa International Stadium holds a great deal of significance regardless of what others might think.
Croatia were denied the chance to reach successive World Cup finals by Argentina, while Morocco put up an admirable fight against defending champions France in their 2-0 defeat.
But the fact Croatia – who clinched bronze at the 1998 World Cup – were in the 2018 final does not diminish the achievement of potentially finishing third here for coach Zlatko Dalic.
We are sad and disappointed, but we have to gather energy to come back and be ready for the nex…
Didier Deschamps said Karim Benzema is free to open up about the talks that led to his surprise France recall in the future, but the head coach said details of such discussions will not come from him.
Benzema was last week named in France s squad for the delayed European Championship following an absence of nearly six years.
He had been frozen out by Deschamps since 2015 having been embroiled in a blackmail scandal involving international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.
The 33-year-old has denied the claims and is due to stand trial on the charge of complicity in attempted blackmail in October.
His recall followed another hugely impressive season for Madrid in which he scored 30 goals in all competitions, with 23 of those in LaLiga, trailing o…
While the Premier League may have finally entered a well-deserved summer break, that doesn t mean that we re short of action from North of the border.
With all eyes falling on the Scottish Premiership s return from behind closed doors this weekend, one of Europe s most historic rivalries will start a new chapter, and the chance to make history is on the line this year.
Ahead of defending champions Celtic hosting Hamilton in Glasgow and Rangers making a tough season-opening trip to Pittodrie on Saturday lunchtime, we have taken a look at what are the big talking points ahead of Scottish football s return to action.
Celtic eyeing 10-in-a-row
While their bitter rivals might have been disappointed to see last year s campaign brought to an early halt, were awarded …