Papiss Cisse has said he “will never forget” Newcastle’s fans after leaving the club to join Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng. The striker said on Twitter: “I will be back as a supporter alongside them one day. Every goal I scored in that famous number nine shirt was for them.” Cisse, 31, leaves for an undisclosed fee following a four-and-a-half year spell at St James’ Park. A Senegal international, he scored 44 goals in 131 games for Newcastle. Cisse, who joined the Magpies from German club Freiburg, scored three times during the 2015-16 season, which ended with Newcastle being relegated to the Championship despite a late upturn in form under Rafael Benitez. He added: “I hope that the team are quickly back in the Premier League. “We had some great times together and hopefully under Rafa those times will return.”

World number one Serena Williams beat German fourth seed Angelique Kerber to win a seventh Wimbledon and 22nd Grand Slam title. The American, 34, coped with a gusty wind on Centre Court to win 7-5 6-3 and equal Steffi Graf’s Open era record of major titles. Kerber had beaten Williams in the Australian Open final in January but could not produce another shock. Williams ends a losing run at Slams stretching back to Wimbledon last year. Fourteen years since she first won Wimbledon, Williams claimed the title for a seventh time after dropping just one set all tournament.

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Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg will take charge of Sunday’s Euro 2016 final between France and Portugal. Clattenburg will officiate at the Stade de France six weeks after refereeing Real Madrid’s Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid in Milan. The 41-year-old Englishman also took charge of the FA Cup final at Wembley on 21 May when Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1. Hosts France beat Germany 2-0 on Thursday to reach the final. Clattenburg will be joined by assistant referees Simon Beck and Jake Collin and additional assistants Anthony Taylor and Andre Marriner.

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has announced his retirement from international football with the Czech Republic. The 34-year-old is his country’s most capped player with 121 appearances, having made his debut in 2002. He was part of the Czech side that reached the semi-final at Euro 2004, losing to eventual champions Greece. “When I was a kid, my ultimate dream was to play for the national team at least once,” he told Arsenal’s website. “Having done it so many times makes me really proud.”

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has signed a new six-year deal, with the club’s owners saying it would have been “irresponsible” not to offer him a long-term contract. Klopp joined Liverpool in October, initially agreeing a £15m deal to 2018 that has now been extended until 2022. “His leadership will be critical to everything we hope to achieve,” said Liverpool’s owners. Klopp took Liverpool to the League Cup and the Europa League finals last term. The 49-year-old German had previously guided Borussia Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles and the 2013 Champions League final. “The ideas and plans he has for the football infrastructure excite us,” added Liverpool’s principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon.

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Former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa has quit as Lazio coach just two days after taking charge of the Italian club. The 60-year-old was named by Lazio on Wednesday as a replacement for Stefano Pioli, who was sacked in April. The Rome-based Serie A club announced on Friday that Argentine Bielsa had resigned but gave no other details. Lazio have not won the Italian title since 2000 and finished eighth last season.

Bournemouth have had a club record £15m offer for Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe accepted. Ibe, 20, has been given permission to speak to the Cherries after a 2015-16 season that saw him make 12 Premier League starts for the Reds. The transfer would top the reported £10m Bournemouth paid Wolves for Benik Afobe in January. England Under-21 winger Ibe has made 58 appearances for Liverpool since signing from Wycombe Wanderers in 2011. Ibe had been earmarked as the natural replacement at Anfield for Raheem Sterling after he made a £49m move to Manchester City last summer. The youngster’s form dipped, however, and he was not a regular under Jurgen Klopp after he succeeded Brendan Rodgers as manager. Ibe did show a glimpse of his promise with a spectacular goal at West Bromwich Albion in Liverpool’s final Premier League game of last season.

Gambian winger Modou Barrow has signed a new three-year contract at Swansea City. The 23-year-old agreed an additional one-year extension which sees him commit to the club until June 2019. Barrow made 25 appearances last season as he became the first Gambian to score in the Premier League after finding the net during the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth in March.

Former Netherlands midfielder Clarence Seedorf has been named head coach at Chinese second-tier club Shenzhen FC. His only previous spell as a coach was at AC Milan, whom he left in June 2014 after five months in charge. However Seedorf, 40, was linked with roles at Newcastle and QPR last year. He became the first player to win the Champions League with three clubs – Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan – and made more than 400 appearances for Milan, helping them win two Serie A titles.

Former Barcelona and Manchester United goalkeeper Victor Valdes will discuss personal terms and undergo a medical with Premier League new boys Middlesbrough on Thursday. The 34-year-old left Old Trafford after falling out with former manager Louis van Gaal, who said last summer Valdes had refused to play in an Under-21 game.

West Brom have signed Matt Phillips from Championship side QPR on a four-year deal reported to be worth £5.5m. Midfielder Phillips, 25, spent three seasons with QPR, playing 94 times and scoring 14 goals. The Scotland international helped the R’s to promotion in 2013-14 and made 25 Premier League appearances in 2014-15. He is Albion’s first summer signing after the club released forward Victor Anichebe, midfielder Stephane Sessegnon and goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard. Phillips has made four appearances for Scotland, having previously represented England at youth level.

Swansea City have completed the signing of central defender Mike van der Hoorn from Ajax on a three-year contract. The 23-year-old started his career at FC Utrecht before moving to Eredivisie rivals Ajax in July 2013. He was called up to the Netherlands senior squad in 2013, having played for his country at Under-21 level. Van der Hoorn is Swansea’s second signing of the summer after fellow Dutchman Leroy Fer joined from QPR in a permanent deal.

Russia have named a 68-strong athletics team for the Rio Olympics despite being banned from international competition. Athletics’ governing body – the IAAF – first imposed the ban in November following allegations of widespread state-sponsored doping in the country. The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and its athletes last week appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). A final decision is due by 21 July.

Lazio have appointed former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa as manager. The 60-year-old Argentine, whose most recent managerial position was in France with Marseille, will start work on 9 July. Lazio finished eighth in Serie A last season, but had been without a permanent manager since Stefano Pioli was sacked in April. Bielsa led Argentina to an Olympic gold medal in 2004, before guiding Chile to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He took Athletic Bilbao to the 2012 Europa League and Copa del Rey finals, but had been without a club since leaving Marseille in August 2015.

Manchester United have signed Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan from German club Borussia Dortmund. The 27-year-old joins United for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal, with the option of a further year. The Armenia captain was the 2015-16 Bundesliga player of the season and scored 23 goals in all competitions. “Henrikh is a real team player with great skill, vision and also has a good eye for goal,” manager Jose Mourinho told United’s official website. “I am delighted he has chosen to sign for United. “I believe he will make an impact on the team very quickly as his style of play is suited to the Premier League. “We are all looking forward to working with him.” Mkhitaryan said he is “very proud” to sign for Manchester United, adding: “This move is a dream come true for me. “I am excited to play for a club with such an illustrious history and hope to be part of it for a long time. “I thank the trust the club and Jose Mourinho have put in me. “Finally, I believe playing for such a great club honours my father’s memory, and the inspiration and drive he gave to me when I was young.” Mkhitaryan made 140 appearances and scored 41 goals for Dortmund after joining them for £23.5m in 2013. He is the son of one of Armenia’s most famous footballers, Hamlet Mkhitaryan, and won the first of his 59 caps for his country a week before his 18th birthday.

Nigerian striker Anthony Ujah is set to join Chinese first division club Liaoning FC from Werder Bremen. The German Bundesliga side said on its website that the clubs have agreed a fee for the 25-year-old, who is expected to have a medical imminently. Ujah joined Bremen from Cologne in May 2015 and scored 14 goals in 35 games. The forward, who has six Nigeria caps, courted controversy at Cologne when he pulled the horns of the club’s goat mascot after scoring a goal.

South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. It comes after his initial five-year conviction for manslaughter was changed to murder last December on appeal. He was taken immediately to jail. Both the prosecution and defence can appeal, but his lawyers say they will not. Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door in February 2013. He admitted shooting her, but said he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and acted out of fear. In an hour-long session, Judge Thokozile Masipa said mitigating circumstances, such as rehabilitation and remorse, outweighed aggravating factors for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence.

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Gerardo Martino has resigned as head coach of Argentina. The 53-year-old departs just days after Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the Copa America final. In a statement Martino indicated he quit because of a “lack of decisions” at the head of the Argentine FA (AFA) and “serious problems” in selecting a squad for the Olympics. The Argentine managed his country from August 2014, after previously coaching Barcelona. Last month’s Copa America defeat was the second time Argentina finished runner-up to Chile in the competition during Martino’s reign. Star player Lionel Messi – who missed a penalty in the final shootout – retired following the match, saying it “hurt not to be a champion”. A host of other leading Argentina players are reportedly close to quitting the national team, although there has been no confirmation of further retirements. Martino has also struggled to choose an 18-man squad for the Olympic football tournament in Rio, which starts on 3 August – two days before the Games formally commence.

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Five-time champion Venus Williams reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time since 2009 with victory over Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova. Eighth seed Williams – at 36 the oldest Grand Slam semi-finalist for 22 years – beat unseeded Shvedova 7-6 (7-5) 6-3. An all-Williams final remains possible after top seed Serena beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-4. In Thursday’s semis, Serena will play Russia’s Elena Vesnina and Venus will take on Germany’s Angelique Kerber. “We don’t really talk too much about it but we are playing doubles later, so we are just happy to be in the semi-finals,” Serena said. Asked about a potential final meeting, she added: “It will be great. Venus is such a tough opponent I want her to win so bad – not in the final if I am there, but if I’m not, I do.” Kerber, the fourth seed, beat Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep 7-5 7-6 (7-2) in the opening match on Centre Court. Unseeded Russian Vesnina thrashed Slovakian 19th seed Cibulkova 6-2 6-2 in the remaining quarter-final on court one.