Chelsea have released Ross Barkley from his contract, with the England international becoming a free agent.
Barkley was not given a squad number for the new season, having made just six Premier League appearances last term.
The midfielder was signed from Everton in January 2018 but never managed to solidify his place as a regular starter under Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard or Thomas Tuchel.
He spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Aston Villa, where he appeared to be striking up a promising partnership with Jack Grealish, but his form tailed off and his move was not made permanent.
On Monday, three days before the close of the transfer window, Chelsea confirmed they had agreed to cut ties with the 28-year-old, whose deal was to expire at the…
David Neres has completed a permanent move from Benfica to Napoli, the Serie A club confirmed on Wednesday.
Neres, who scored 17 times across a two-year spell with the Portuguese side, has signed for a reported £23.8m fee with add-ons potentially increasing that to £25.5m.
The Brazilian registered 15 goal involvements (five goals and 10 assists) for Benfica last year as they finished second in the Primeira Liga and won the Portuguese Super Cup.
He created 31 chances in the league last season, while also completing 34 dribbles, a total only bettered by Joao Neves (41), Rafa (51) and Angel Di Maria (55).
Neres has been brought in to provide creativity and goals from the wide positions alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with Napoli netting 55 times in Ser…
Market: Stockport win
Odds: 4/5 @
Two sides who find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the League Two table, Stockport will make the trip to Rotherham on Tuesday night.
Starting with the hosts, while Rochdale might have clung to their League Two status last season, it appears that Jim Bentley s men are freefalling their way out of England s fourth-tier this time around. Putting in yet another downbeat display over the weekend as they suffered a routine 2-0 loss at home against Gillingham, the Lancashire-based outfit find themselves sat six points adrift of safety. Although the Blues might have clinched a crucial 2-1 victory away at Bradford last month, it appears that was nothing more than a minor boost for the leading relegation scrappers. Along wi…
Jurgen Klopp kept his message to his Liverpool players simple ahead of their Champions League opener at Napoli, urging the Reds to play better after previous struggles in Naples.
Wednesday will mark the third time Napoli and Liverpool have met in the Champions League group stage in the past five seasons, with the Italian side winning home games against the Reds in both 2018-19 (1-0) and 2019-20 (2-0).
Klopp also lost 2-1 at Napoli while Borussia Dortmund coach, and he knows his players must improve on these previous showings.
I m a late bloomer, he said. I always need a little bit longer to achieve my stuff, and that means sometimes I have to try two times, sometimes three times, sometimes four times – and Napoli [could be] four times, obviously.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists there was no chance of him becoming Manchester United boss, even after being wined and dined by Alex Ferguson in New York.
Guardiola s City make the short trip to Old Trafford with an eight-point advantage over their rivals at the top of the Premier League.
The former Barcelona boss locking horns once again with old adversary Jose Mourinho is a mouthwatering prospect, especially given the United manager s claims this week that City players go to ground and seek fouls too readily for his liking.
But pondering how close Guardiola came to taking up residence in the opposite dugout is also intriguing, given Ferguson s informal approach to the Catalan tactician during a one-year hiatus before taking charge of Bayern Munic…
According to the Telegraph, Chelsea are considering whether to move for Manchester United winger , and one of the possibilities would apparently be to offer the services of Raheem Sterling as part of a deal.
Sterling was left out of Chelsea s squad for both Premier League matches played so far, being expected to leave the club before the transfer window closes, and manager Enzo Maresca spoke about the need to offload a number of players when asked specifically about the 29-year-old winger.
Meanwhile, Sancho has had issues with United boss Erik ten Hag for quite a while, and like Sterling, he is yet to appear in a matchday squad in the league this season, though he did play seven minutes in the Community Shield against Manchester City, which his team lost on penalties.
The European Court of Justice has announced its ruling that FIFA and UEFA contravened European law when they prevented the formation of the so-called European Super League.
And while A22 Sports, the organization formed to aid the creation of the breakaway competition, has already launched a proposal of its format, and Real Madrid and Barcelona see the ruling as a victory over those who oppose the Super League, a number of top clubs across Europe have already come out to state their firm decision not to participate in the project, and reiterate their commitment to domestic and UEFA competitions.
Here s what UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had to say on the subject.
Football is not for sale
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on the European Super League…
Wayne Rooney s illustrious career will continue back in England when he leaves DC United and joins Derby County in a player-coach capacity in January.
Rooney has been a key man for DC in just over a year in MLS so far, but news of a return home with Derby in the Championship quickly developed before the move was announced on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old burst onto the scene as a teenager with boyhood club Everton before going on to become Manchester United s all-time leading scorer, managing 253 goals in 559 appearances in all competitions.
His 13-year stay at United which included winning the Premier League, Champions League and both domestic cups ended in 2017 when he returned to Goodison Park, giving him the opportunity to play again for the team where it all be…
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold says he has been living the dream this season and is keen to nail down a Champions League final starting spot.
The 19-year-old had played only 12 first-team matches prior to this campaign, but has established himself as a key man for Jurgen Klopp, particularly in Europe.
Alexander-Arnold, who collected Liverpool s Young Player of the Season award this week, has made 11 appearances and scored twice in the Champions League including qualifiers and now hopes to start against Real Madrid in the final in Kiev on May 26, which is more likely following Joe Gomez s ankle injury.
[This is] a dream come true, he told Liverpool s official website. There s something special about the Champions League and it s always been a dream to …
Sadio Mane s brace inspired Liverpool to a convincing 3-1 win at Bayern Munich and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Senegal forward s excellent 26th-minute opener gave Jurgen Klopp s side a priceless away goal but, in a similar vein to the goalless first leg at Anfield, the action was fitful and error-strewn for the most part.
Bayern were level at the break thanks to Joel Matip s own goal but Niko Kovac s side were never able to mount a sustained victory push.
A typically dominant Virgil van Dijk powered in to leave a forlorn Bayern with a mountain to climb and Mane administered the knockout blow six minutes from time.
GOAL! THIS GUY CAN T STOP SCORING! Beautiful Salah assist and a clinical Mane finish.
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