Sandro Rosell stepped down from his role as Barcelona president on Thursday amid the ongoing row surrounding the club s signing of Neymar.
Josep Maria Bartomeu will replace Rosell for the remainder of his term in charge which runs until 2016.
Reports in the Spanish media have claimed legal proceedings were to begin against Rosell regarding the deal to bring the Brazilian attacker to Camp Nou from Santos in the close-season.
The estimated €57million deal has come under scrutiny following allegations of a misappropriation of funds, while Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo reported on Monday to have seen documents showing the deal was worth nearer €95m.
Rosell quickly refuted those rumours and said he would be happy to testify in court but, after a special mee…
Ajax begin their hunt for a record fifth-consecutive Eredivisie title against Vitesse at the Amsterdam Arena on Sunday.
Frank de Boer s men equalled the current record of four in a row, held by HVV (1900-1903) and PSV (1986-1989 and 2005-2008), by lifting the trophy last season.
However, Vitesse have proved to be a real bogey team for Ajax in recent seasons and the defending champions have now gone four matches without a win in the top-flight fixture, losing three and drawing the most recent in April.
And the Amsterdam club will have to bounce back quickly from a disappointing Johan Cruyff Shield defeat to PEC Zwolle last weekend.
Zwolle produced a second upset over Ajax with a 1-0 win in the season curtain-raiser, having demolished the same opponents 5-1…
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Looking to mark their return to Premier League duties with a flurry on Tuesday night, Manchester United will welcome Nottingham Forest to Old Trafford.
Manchester United
Starting with the hosts, extending on their EFL Cup adventure earlier in the week thanks to a 2-0 victory against Championship high-flyers Burnley, Manchester United will be hoping for a similar display here. Last seen in Premier League action on November 13th when heading into the World Cup s winter break with a last-gasp 2-1 win away at Fulham, Erik ten Hag s men have their sights firmly set on securing a Champions League return this season. Despite enduring what was a tricky start to the 2022/23 campaign, the former Ajax boss has seen his side largely put those iss…
Werder Bremen attacker Serge Gnabry believes he would not be the player he is now without his time at Arsenal.
The 21-year-old joined the Arsenal youth academy in 2011 but returned to Germany ahead of the current season after failing to tie down a regular first-team berth.
Gnabry has since impressed with a number of stand-out performances and even earned himself a place in the Germany squad for Friday s World Cup qualifier against San Marino, netting a debut hat-trick in the 8-0 victory.
I would not have been the player I am, not without my time in England, Gnabry told RND.
There is Arsenal s playing style, for example, that I had to learn during my time there.
And it is a given that you learn a lot and improve when you are training with gr…
Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp has vowed to fight on despite Saturday s 1-0 loss to Hannover maintaining their woeful Bundesliga run.
Hiroshi Kiyotake s curled free-kick just after the hour was enough the secure an unlikely win for the visitors, their first at Signal Iduna Park since 2008.
Klopp s men have now lost five of their last six games in the Bundesliga, but the coach remains defiant.
Speaking after the game, Klopp said: We will continue to fight. There is no alternative.
We had four or five great chances, but nothing made of it. We need to reward ourselves [with goals], but we re not doing that.
Dortmund s profligacy in front of goal was summed up by attacker Marco Reus, who had seven shots on goal, but still could not find…
Inter host Udinese in Serie A on Saturday with midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic enjoying renewed optimism over their top-three hopes.
Roberto Mancini suffered his first defeat since returning as Inter head coach last weekend in a 4-2 setback to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
There were plenty of positives for the Milanese side in that fixture, though, as goals from Andrea Ranocchia and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo twice restored parity after they fell behind.
Inter s inconsistent form this season has left them in 11th place after 13 matches, but just six points separate them from third-place Napoli and a UEFA Champions League spot.
And Kuzmanovic feels the confidence is returning to the squad.
There is a feeling that we can fight for third place, he told Gazz…
Luka Milivojevic twice held his nerve from the penalty spot as Granit Xhaka went from hero to zero in Arsenal s 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace.
The Palace captain was denied from 12 yards by Jordan Pickford in last weekend s defeat at Everton but stepped up to put Roy Hodgson s struggling side ahead in first-half stoppage time.
Wayne Hennessey could only touch Xhaka s venomous free-kick into the top corner six minutes after the restart and the Palace goalkeeper just failed to prevent Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from turning home his ninth of the season at the back post.
The ball was turned Aubameyang s way when Alexandre Lacazette clearly handled a right-wing corner, meaning there was a sense of justice being done when Xhaka playing in an unfamiliar left-back role crud…
Scottish champions Celtic will face a challenge in attempt to keep the Australian international Tom Rogic around.
The 25-year-old has entered the final year of his deal at the Celtic Park and is highly likely to leave the Bhoys at the end of the current campaign.
The newly-crowned Scottish champions recorded a comfortable 5-0 win over Rangers last weekend and BBC reports that Premier League strogglers Southampton was in attendance, keeping a close eye on the Australian who managed to get his name on the scoresheet in the Old Firm derby.
The Saints are one point away from safety and head into a crucial couple of matches to preserve their top-tier status.
Southampton have a track record of signing the Southampton players – having already brought Victor W…
Christian Pulisic
Europe has long started taking note and the rest of the world followed, as the 18-year-old football sensation came bursting onto the brightest scene, crushing several records along the way.
Having joined Borussia Dortmund straight from the United States, the fantastic attacking midfielder wasted no time into grabbing his spot in the first-team and is currently enjoying a Bundesliga season as a fully proven talent at such a delicate age.
The total of 21 Bundesliga games and three goals are not enough to illustrate the full scope of Pulisic’s influence in Dortmund’s play, but the American talent stands as the leader of the new wave, that is for sure.
Ousmane Dembele
French midfielder is one of the players who had the entire footballing Eur…
Arsenal will head into a crunch spell in their season on the back of a chaotic 1-1 Premier League draw at Burnley after Granit Xhaka s blunder on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta s side, who had an 85th-minute penalty taken away after a VAR review, face a two-legged Europa League last-16 showdown with Olympiacos either side of next Sunday s north London derby.
And they will tackle that run of games knowing their top-four hopes are all but gone, with silverware and local bragging rights providing their primary motivation.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose own goal handed Burnley a 1-0 win over 10-man Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in December, capitalised on some slack defending to put the visitors ahead after just six minutes at Turf Moor.
Burnley drew level in fo…