Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Remi Garde as the club s new manager, replacing Tim Sherwood on a contract running until the end of the 2018-19 season.
The former Lyon coach is expected to take a watching brief as his new side take on Tottenham in the Premier League on Monday.
He will then turn his attentions to bringing Villa out of a woeful slump which sees them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League with just four points after failing to win any of Sherwood s last nine league games in charge.
Garde, who has been out of a job since leaving Ligue 1 outfit Lyon at the end of 2013-14 campaign, will take charge of his first match against Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday.
The 49-year-old won the Coupe de France and the Troph…
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham believes signing stars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar is far from a pipe dream for the MLS club.
The franchise has been linked with offers for Barcelona captain Messi and Juventus superstar Ronaldo as they approach the final years of their storied careers, while Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar stated last year he had given Beckham his word he would sign for him in the future.
Former Manchester United midfielder and England captain Beckham remains confident he can attract players of such calibre to Florida.
When we announced Miami, there was always going to be talk about what players we were going to bring in, whether it was Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Beckham told ESPN.
There was always go…
Paris Saint-Germain secured their first Ligue 1 win of the season as a second-half goal from Ezequiel Lavezzi helped them beat Nantes 2-1.
Lavezzi netted after 73 minutes from point-blank range to give Laurent Blanc s men all three points from a frenetic encounter on Sunday.
PSG took the lead 24 minutes into the game, Zlatan Ibrahimovic splitting the home defence with an excellent through-ball to allow Edinson Cavani to get his second goal in as many weeks.
Nantes responded excellently and the Brittany club got their reward seven minutes into the second half, as Alex diverted a Jordan Veretout free-kick into his own net to level things up.
The hosts threatened to take all three points at the Stade de la Beaujoire, with midfielder Alejandro Bedoya going close.
…
that West Ham United are readying a fresh assault on Saint Etienne defender Kevin Malcuit.
The Hammers attempted to recruit the 25-year-old in the January window, only to have a €10 million bid rejected by les Verts.
for the talented full-back, while West Ham are back in the race as well.
The Hammers have continued to monitor the right-back’s performances over the last couple of months and they seem convinced Malcuit would be a very good addition to the squad.
It remains to be seen though whether West Ham will be able to agree a transfer fee with Saint Etienne, who are proving to drive a hard bargain.
Kevin Malcuit is a kind of a late bloomer having made just one Ligue 1 appearance prior to joining les Verts in the summer of 2015.
…
According to , Kylian Mbappe has agreed to join Real Madrid when his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of the season. Apparently, the France captain has already signed the contract which will make him a Real Madrid player for five years, starting with July 1st this year.
As one of the best players in the world, Mbappe has long been tipped to join Los Blancos, despite being also linked with several Premier League clubs. A while back, he expressed his admiration for Liverpool, and there have been reports claiming his entourage had met with Manchester City, but it seems Real have finally managed to land their primary target.
Last week, the 25-year-old forward met with PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi to inform him he would be leaving the club at the end of …
Andoni Zubizarreta has agreed a new two-year deal to remain as sporting director at La Liga champions Barcelona.
The 52-year-old has been in the role since 2010, when he replaced Txiki Begiristain, and also enjoyed a spell playing for the club as a goalkeeper.
Zubizarreta is expected to put pen to paper in the coming days.
A statement on the club s webiste read: Andoni Zubizarreta will continue as sporting director until the end of the 2015-16 season after terms were agreed for the extension of his contract on Thursday November 7.
His present contract is due to expire at the end of June 2014, but he ll now be staying on an additional two years until June 30, 2016.
Zubizarreta is in his fourth season as sporting director at Camp Nou and has been partly resp…
Sebastian Giovinco scored twice as Toronto FC snapped a three-game winless run in MLS with a 3-1 victory at home to Bastian Schweinsteiger s Chicago Fire.
Former Juventus forward and 2015 MVP Giovinco scored in either half to help Toronto get back to winning ways at BMO Field on Friday.
Toronto welcomed Schweinsteiger and his team-mates to Canada having not won since March 18, following back-to-back draws against Sporting Kansas City and Atlanta United, while they lost at Columbus Crew last time out.
But with Giovinco at his brilliant best, Toronto ensured Schweinsteiger and the Fire returned home to Chicago emptyhanded.
Sit back and enjoy. Vintage Seba. |
— Toronto FC (@torontofc)
Schweinsteiger had scored two goals in three matches …
Roberto Mancini will not recall Mario Balotelli to the Italy squad just to make an anti-racism statement but is adamant the Brescia striker is still young enough to make an impact for the Azzurri.
Balotelli, 29, was subjected to racist abuse by Hellas Verona fans in a 2-1 defeat this month and threatened to walk off the pitch.
Verona were ordered by Serie A to play a match with a partial stadium closure, while the club banned head ultra Luca Castellini for 11 years after he defended the fans actions in a radio interview.
Balotelli returned to the Italy fold in 2018 after a four-year absence but has been back in the international wilderness since a 1-1 draw with Poland last September.
Mancini, the coach who gave him his big break at Inter in 2007, insists …
Liverpool continued their impressive run on all fronts with a crucial victory away to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, courtesy of a very late goal by Darwin Nunez.
Narrow contest
Liverpool dominated the game at the City Ground, with the ball at their feet for 79% of the time, a total of 22 shots compared to eight from the home side, though both teams hit the target just twice apiece.
But for a large part of the game, the Merseysiders looked exactly the way a team severely ravaged by injuries while playing every three or four days would be expected to look, bereft of creativity, struggling to find gaps in the opposition defence, and holding the ball for large spells without causing their opponents any actual problems.
It took just under 15 minutes of the game for…
Spain international Xavi has signed a pre-contract with Qatar Stars League club Al Arabi according to their coach Dan Petrescu.
Xavi, who is with Spain at the FIFA World Cup, has been linked with a move away from Barcelona for the majority of this year, as the pace of La Liga appeared to get away from the 34-year-old midfielder at times last season.
While MLS has previously been mentioned as a possible destination for Xavi, Petrescu, who became Al Arabi s coach on June 5, claimed the veteran midfielder is on his way to Qatar in an interview with Romanian television station Digi Sport.
The former Romania international claimed he has spoken to Xavi on the phone from Brazil and could offer the Barcelona captain a salary of €8million per year.
Xavi has signed a pre…