Valverde signs Real Madrid contract extension

Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga has been loaned to Crystal Palace for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.

The 23-year-old has made 15 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions this campaign, although just two of those have been Premier League starts.

He has not appeared for Mikel Arteta s side in the league since coming on as a substitute in the 3-1 win over Tottenham on October 1.

Belgium international Lokonga will now spend the next four months with Palace, who are managed by former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira.

North London south London

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC)

Palace confirmed the news on their official website on Tuesday, shortly after Arsenal completed the signing of Jorginho from Chelsea to provide adequate…

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman respects Gerard Pique s opinion and has backed the defender to do his talking on the pitch in Saturday s clash with Real Madrid.

La Vanguardia published an explosive interview with Pique on the eve of the first Clasico of the season in which the long-serving defender heavily criticised his club.

The 33-year-old hit out at president Josep Maria Bartomeu in particular over his handling of Lionel Messi s contract saga and admitted Barca have gone backwards since 2015.

Pique did reserve some praise for new boss Koeman, however, and the Dutchman insisted he has no problem with the timing of the interview.

He has been here for many years and I have been here for three months, Koeman said at a pre-match news conference on Frid…

Pep Guardiola says he is “very pleased and excited” that Manchester City are taking part in the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia over the coming days.

The treble winners go into the tournament after a slump in results, dropping points in five of their last six Premier League games to leave them fourth in the table.

Playing Club World Cup matches on Tuesday and Friday, they do not return to league action until December 27, by which time there could be a considerable gap between them and the top of the table.

An expert s view of our Club World Cup opening opponent, Urawa Red Diamonds!

Tap to read

— Manchester City (@ManCity)

Having seen his side held to a 2-2 draw at home by Crystal Palace on Saturday, Guardiola was asked if the tourn…

According to a recent report from L Equipe, Paris Saint-Germain have yet to decide whether or not they want to renew Lionel Messi s contract.

Back in August 2021, Lionel Messi signed a contract with French giants PSG. At the time, he signed a two-year deal with the option of extending for an extra year. The 35-year-old still seems to be enjoying his time with the club but in equal measure, they once again came up short in their attempt to win the Champions League this past season.

Now that Messi has a World Cup title under his belt, you d have to imagine going after one more European Cup is a big priority for him.

Many have spoken about the possibility of him returning to Barcelona. Alas, given their financial issues, it doesn t seem like that s the best move ri…

Manchester City and Real Madrid fought out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday.

They now head to the Etihad next week with all to play for.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what lies in store in the return clash.

Does home advantage now give City the edge?

City will certainly feel confident heading back to the Etihad with the tie level. They have won all their Champions League games there this season, including beating RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich 7-0 and 3-0 respectively in the knockout stages, and have lost just once in the Premier League. Manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday that City “feel comfortable with our people” and midfielder Jack Grealish went as far as to say the team feel “unst…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been confirmed as the interim replacement for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United until the end of the season.

Mourinho was sacked by United on Tuesday after a torrid first half of 2018-19, with Sunday s 3-1 defeat at bitter rivals Liverpool leaving them 19 points off the top of the Premier League.

Former United striker Solskjaer has been named as manager until the end of the season, when the club aim to appoint a full-time successor to Mourinho.

Solskjaer won two league titles with Molde before a brief, unsuccessful spell at Cardiff City in 2014.

A former Norway international, Solskjaer returned to Molde in 2015 and had been in charge ever since.

The 45-year-old remains a fan favourite at United, predominantly for his part…

Mauricio Pochettino refused to accept a lack of discipline is responsible for Chelsea’s unwelcome position as the Premier League team with the most yellow cards this season.

The team collected five bookings during the 2-1 defeat to Wolves at Molineux on Christmas Eve, amongst them Cole Palmer who will now miss Wednesday’s game against Crystal Palace after accruing five for the campaign.

Raheem Sterling also saw yellow for simulation when he sought a penalty in stoppage time, as Chelsea chased what would have been an undeserved equaliser against Gary O’Neil’s side.

The team has already seen suspensions for Reece James, Malo Gusto and Conor Gallagher after being sent off earlier in the season, whilst summer signing Nicolas Jackson is only two bookings short…

After years of near misses, 2023 was when everything came together on the pitch for Manchester City and they finally got their hands on the Champions League trophy.

Their triumph on a glorious June evening in Istanbul, sealed with a fine Rodri strike against Inter Milan, capped a memorable campaign in which they also retained the Premier League and won the FA Cup.

It was a treble achieved only once previously, by Manchester United, and City left their rivals in no doubt as to where the power now lies along the way as they swatted them aside at Wembley.

Ilkay Gundogan scored the fastest goal recorded in an FA Cup final, after just 13 seconds, as City prevailed in an all-Manchester showpiece that was more convincing than the 2-1 scoreline suggested.

The man…

Alexander Nubel of Schalke 04 has rejected offers from a number of clubs across Europe, according to Sport Bild.

Nubel has been with Schalke his entire career so far, but he only truly broke into the team last season when he made 22 first-team appearances. This term he has stood between the posts six times already, five in the Bundesliga and one in the DFB-Pokal.

The German outlet report that Manchester United, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, AS Roma and Paris Saint-Germain have all expressed an interest in the 23-year-old goalkeeper, but he apparently isn t keen on a move abroad and has rejected their respective offers. His current contract expires at the end of the season, and though Schalke have put a new one on the table for him to consider, he appears more like…

Cristiano Ronaldo s incredible career with always evoke memories of coaching greats who have a similarly lofty status in football.

He was moulded and nurtured by the great Alex Ferguson at Manchester United before earning Galactico status with a 2009 move to Real Madrid.

Jose Mourinho joined him at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2010, meaning the two towering names of Portuguese football were working in tandem, if not perfect harmony.

Finally, Ronaldo inspired Madrid to three consecutive Champions League triumphs under Zinedine Zidane, another man who once had strong claims when it came to being known as the best player on the planet.

In terms of the coaches most associated with Ronaldo, Carlo Ancelotti is perhaps not the first to come to mind.

However,…