Real Madrid have sacked head coach Rafael Benitez after just seven months in charge and appointed Zinedine Zidane as his successor.
Benitez, 55, has paid the price for an uninspiring start to the season with Sunday s 2-2 draw at Valencia leaving Madrid third in La Liga, four points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid and two behind arch-rivals Barcelona, who also have a game in hand.
Results on the pitch only tell half the story, though, with persistent rumours that senior players at the Santiago Bernabeu were underwhelmed by Benitez s cautious approach.
And with fans also voicing their disapproval Benitez s name was loudly whistled when read out ahead of the game against Real Sociedad on December 30 the writing has appeared on the wall for some time.
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Wellington Phoenix have completed the signing of former Premier League striker Gary Hooper.
The 31-year-old joins on a one-year deal after being released by Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Phoenix will be hoping Hooper can fill the void left by last term s Golden Boot-winner Roy Krishna, who departed at the end of last season to join Indian Super League club ATK.
Hooper brings a wealth of experience from English football and the Scottish Premiership, where he arguably enjoyed his most impressive spell, scoring 82 goals over three seasons with Celtic.
Our new Number
— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC)
His CV on paper is arguably the most impressive of any Wellington Phoenix player to date and I have no d…
Neymar and Gabriel Jesus caught the eye as Brazil claimed a 2-0 friendly win over 10-man Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Friday.
Jesus, who endured a difficult World Cup, was making his first post-Russia 2018 appearance and he looked particularly sharp as he opened
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the scoring, before Alex Sandro rounded things off in stoppage time.
An entertaining first half, which was full of flamboyancy from both teams, culminated in Neymar setting the Manchester City star up for his 11th senior international goal in the 43rd minute.
The hosts failed to build on first-half promise after the break and Brazil were completely dominant, eventually adding to the score with an Alex Sandro header after goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais red card for handling outside the area.
Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea are “awake” after recent results that have altered the course of their season ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
The meeting with Liverpool at Wembley will be the club’s first final since co-owner Todd Boehly took charge and embarked on a radical overhaul that has so far not brought success.
It comes after wins away at Aston Villa in the FA Cup and Crystal Palace in the Premier League, which were followed by a fine draw against champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium a week ago.
Those three performances have significantly changed the perception of Pochettino’s rebuilding of the team, after the last home game – a 4-2 defeat to Wolves at Stamford Bridge early in February – saw Chelsea booed off the pitch …
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Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways, PSG will travel to the Stade Louis II when they meet Monaco on Friday night.
Monaco
Starting with the hosts, while Monaco might still have the feel of a squad seeking some recent stability, Adi Hutter’s men still sit in the driving seat to punch a lucrative Champions League return in 2024. Making a welcomed return to winning ways last week as they snatched an action-packed 3-2 win away at Lens, the former Eintracht Frankfurt will be desperate to spring a heavyweight upset here. However, shockingly crashing out of the Coupe de France last month as they were hit with penalties heartbreak away at third-tier outfit Rouen, Monaco have won just a pair of their previous six domestic app…
Leeds United manager Brian McDermott has confirmed he is keen to lure Saint-Etienne winger Max Gradel back to Elland Road in January.
The 26-year-old is held in high regard by Leeds fans after helping clinch promotion from League One in 2010, with his spell there yielding 25 goals from 76 league appearances, including 18 in the 2010-11 campaign.
Gradel has endured mixed fortunes since leaving to join Saint-Etienne in 2011 as he ruptured a cruciate knee ligament in March, but is now back to full fitness and scored the winner in last Friday s 1-0 Ligue 1 victory over Montpellier.
McDermott is looking to bolster his squad in next month s transfer window as Leeds target a Premier League return when the season ends in May which will mark exactly a decade since dropping out …
Real Madrid Wednesday announced net profit for the 2009-2010 season jumped 11.5 percent from the previous year on what it said were the highest revenues of any sports institution in the world.
The big-spending Spanish club reported annual profits of 24 million euros (30.6 million dollars), up from 21.5 million a year earlier.
It said gross revenues for the season were 442.3 million euros, up 8.6 percent from the previous year, an amount that is the highest of any sports institution in the world.
The club said its net debt had fallen 25.1 percent to 244.6 million euros.
Real was listed as the largest revenue-generating football club in the world, ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona and Manchester United of England, in the Football Money League released by th…
Experienced Dutch boss Louis van Gaal looks to have very little time left at Manchester United
Manchester United fans have enjoyed a roller coaster ride of emotions since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club as boss in 2013.
David Moyes’ short stint as United boss is best left in the past, but when the Red Devils appointed experienced Dutch boss Louis van Gaal it seemed like a good fit.
He was regarded as the sort of experienced boss that could resurrect United’s ailing fortunes and bring back the glory days to the Red Devils.
To an extent he has helped the Red Devils, but only back into the race for fourth spot, which they are even struggling to achieve this season.
United travels to League One strugglers Shrewsbury on Monday night in the fifth r…
Swansea City have warned potential suitors that Wilfried Bony will cost £19m,.
The Ivory Coast international, who is currently preparing for this summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil, bagged an impressive twenty-five goals in all competitions in his debut season with the Swans.
Arsenal, West Ham United and Newcastle United have all been linked with a move for the 25 year old, but they will have to lay out £7m more than the South Wales paid to Vitesse Arnhem a year ago if they are to secure his services.
Bony began his career in his home country with Issia Wazi before moving on to Sparta Prague in 2007 initially on loan, and then to Vitesse in 2011.
Internationally, the striker has eight goals in twenty-three appearances, and he is priced at at th…
Aston Villa are interested in signing Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window, according to . The Villans want to sign a new right-back this summer, and the Premier League club have identified the 29-year-old England international as a potential transfer target.
Trippier has been on the books of Atletico since the summer of 2019 when he moved from Tottenham Hotspur for a transfer fee reported by to be worth £20 million. The 29-year-old right-back made 23 starts and two substitute appearances in La Liga for Atletico this past season, providing four assists in the process, according to . The England international also provided one assist in six Champions League matches for the Madrid outfit, according to .
Atletico regularly finish in the top …