Real Madrid held an open top bus parade through the Spanish capital to celebrate their record 12th European Cup. They then continued the celebrations at the Bernabeu.
Hazard has ankle operation….
Eden Hazard is having an operation on his broken ankle today. The Chelsea forward suffered the injury during training, whilst on international duty with Belgium. It is understood he is now back in Chelsea’s care. The extent of Hazard’s injury has not been revealed but it has been reported he will miss the start of next season.
UEFA’s Champions League squad of the season….
Behold the squad as released by UEFA.
Cheick Tiote is dead….
Former Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote has died aged 30 after collapsing during training in China, a spokesman for the player has announced. In his seven years at United the Ivory Coast player made over 150 appearances, including three last season. He joined Chinese second-tier side Beijing Enterprises in February. “It is with deep sadness I confirm that Cheick Tiote sadly passed away earlier today after collapsing in training,” said spokesman Emanuele Palladino. “We cannot say any more at the moment and we request that his family’s privacy be respected at this difficult time. We ask for all your prayers.”
More Eagles debut as Nigeria beat Togo 3:0….
Super Eagles head coach, Gernot Rohr, handed official debuts to eight players during their 3-0 win over Togo in a friendly game at the Stade Municipal de Saint Leu La Foret in Paris, France on Thursday. Prior to the start of the second half, Musa and Shehu Abdullahi were replaced by 18-year-old Wolfsburg striker Victor Osimhen and Tyronne Ebuehi. Henry Onyekuru, Uche Agbo and Sikiru Olatunbosun, Alhassan Ibrahim, Stephen Odey and Mikel Agu also made their official debuts for Nigeria, after coming on in the second half. The game was settled by an Ahmed Musa brace and a goal from Kelechi Iheanacho in the first half.
Manchester United adjudged the most valuable club in Europe….
Manchester United is the most valuable football club in Europe, being worth about 3bn euros (£2.6bn), according to business services group KPMG. The Europa League winners top KPMG’s analysis of top sides’ “enterprise value”, putting it ahead of Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. The study analysed broadcasting rights, profitability, popularity, sporting potential and stadium ownership. In the study of 32 teams, English clubs dominate, filling six top 10 places. Continue to see the top ten clubs…
De Rossi signs news Roma deal….
Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi, 33, has signed a new two-year deal at Roma. The 33-year-old, a product of the club’s youth academy, has made a total of 561 appearances for the first team, scoring 59 goals. He has also won over 100 caps for Italy, winning the World Cup in 2006.
IAAF rejects 28 Russian athletes to compete as neutrals….
Twenty-eight Russian athletes have had their requests to compete as neutrals rejected by world athletics’ governing body, which has approved three others. The IAAF doping review board accepted the appeals of 400m runner Kseniya Aksyonova, javelin thrower Vera Rebrik and 400m hurdler Vera Rudakova. A further 27 cases are under review as Russia’s athletics federation remains banned from international competition.
Ada Hegerberg is the 2017 BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year….
Olympique Lyonnais and Norway striker Ada Hegerberg has been crowned BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2017. Thousands of fans from across the world cast their votes as the 21-year-old beat second-placed Brazil forward Marta and third-placed Canada captain Christine Sinclair. The other nominees on the five-player shortlist for the BBC World Service award were Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl and Germany’s Melanie Behringer. “Wow, it’s a surprise,” said Hegerberg. “It’s a huge honour to win, with such big-name footballers nominated,” added the striker, whose club will seek to retain their Champions League title – to complete back-to-back trebles – when they face Paris St-Germain in Thursday’s all-French final in Cardiff.
Iheanacho to reject Germany and France for English league….
Nigeria and Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho will reject offers to leave the Premier League, despite interest from the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, Naijasportscrib understands. Iheanacho, 20, is expected to leave City this summer in search of more playing time after falling down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola, but the player prefers to stay in England. “He has been in England for the last three years and is two years away from getting his UK citizenship,” the source said. “There is no point in moving outside England right now.”
Manchester City chairman wants Yaya Toure to stay….
Manchester City’s chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak has said that he wants Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure to stay at the club. He said the midfielder had been an instrumental player and that team manager Pep Guardiola had confidence in Toure: Yaya is one of the players that over the last six years has been instrumental to the success of this club. This year has been another year in which he has shown us on the pitch the type of player he is, the type of personality he is, and how he continues to be a player who can give to the team and to our organization. Pep [Guardiola], as you have seen obviously this year, has a lot of trust and confidence in him. So Yaya I hope will be with us and continue his journey with us.”
Riyad Mahrez wants out….
Algerian forward Riyad Mahrez has announced he wants to leave Leicester City. The 26-year-old, who joined from French club Le Havre for a reported £400,000 ($500,000) in 2014, said he had agreed “to stay for another season” following “a good discussion with the chairman” after the Foxes won the Premier League last year. But he added he was “fiercely ambitious” and had “informed the club I feel now is the time to move on.”
Wenger signs two-year deal as Arsenal manager….
Arsene Wenger has agreed a new two-year deal at Arsenal. The agreement was reached after Wenger met with majority shareholder Stan Kroenke on Monday. The news that Wenger will stay ends a whole year of uncertainty that by the manager’s own admission has damaged the team this season. After the Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League, their worst finish for 21 years, Wenger conceded that they had played in an “absolutely horrendous” psychological environment.
Sam Allardyce resigns as Crystal Palace manager….
Sam Allardyce has resigned as Crystal Palace manager five months after he joined the Premier League club. Allardyce replaced Alan Pardew in December on a two-and-half-year deal with the Eagles one point above the relegation zone. But the 62-year-old, who had an ill-fated one-game spell as England boss,led the club to eight wins in 21 games to guide them to a 14th-place finish. “I have no ambitions to take another job,” Allardyce said in a statement. “I want to be able to savour life while I am still relatively young, and when I am still relatively healthy enough to do all the things I want to do, like travel, spend more time with my family and grandchildren without the huge pressure that comes with being a football manager. “This is the right time for me. I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League.”
Psychic Dutch cow predicts Ajax’s Europa League triumph….
Sijtje the cow is let loose to make its prediction for the Europa League final
A cow famous in Holland for predicting the outcome of football matches has had its say on the Europa League final. And it’s bad moos for Manchester United fans after the freakishly accurate cow named Sijtje thinks Jose Mourinho’s side will endure defeat in Stockholm. The two European giants to head-to-head on Wednesday as they look lift silverware and book their spot in next season’s Champions League.
Arsenal goes for Henry Onyekuru….
Arsenal have begun discussions to sign KAS Eupen striker Henry Onyekuru. The 19-year-old is the top scorer in the Belgium domestic league, notching his 20th goal on May 20, and has been in demand with reports last week that Everton, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion were keen. Sources close to the player said they were confident the forward would play in the Premier League next season.
West Ham and Everton keen on Iheanacho….
Both West Ham United and Everton are considering a move for Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho. Iheanacho has found first-team opportunities limited following the arrival of Gabriel Jesus in January and could fall further down the pecking order with coach Pep Guardiola keen to add Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez to his squad. Sergio Aguero is also expected to stay at City despite speculation over his future.
Kane leads race for the golden boot….
Harry Kane scored four goals in Thursday’s 6-1 win at Leicester to move to the top the golden boot standings, ahead of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez. The England striker, who was the Premier League’s top scorer last season with 25, has scored two goals more than Lukaku and three more than Sanchez. If Kane scores twice against Hull on Sunday, he will have scored the most goals in a Premier League season, since Alan Shearer scored 34 in the 1994/95 season.
The EPL top four battle….
We have the champions Chelsea. We have the three relegated teams in Sunderland, Hull and Middlesbrough. We have the second-placed team in Spurs and Manchester United will still be sixth come the end of the season. The rest are much of a muchness, so what are we looking forward to this weekend? It’s the race to finish in the final Champions League spots. Manchester City look the most likely to finish third barring a freak set of results so it’s down to Arsenal and Liverpool, who play Everton and Middlesbrough respectively, for that fourth place spot. There could also be a remote chance of a Champions League play-off game if results go a certain way. Be sure to watch the exciting times tomorrow.
Sharapova opts for Wimbledon qualifying….
Russian Maria Sharapova has opted to enter Wimbledon qualifying rather than request a wildcard entry into the main draw as she continues her comeback following a ban for using banned heart medication.
