In December 2018, Manchester United fans were adamant that Jose Mourinho s sacking meant he was finished at the top in club football.

A drab style of play, a similarly joyless demeanour in news conferences and seemingly incessant desire to belittle his own players marred his time in Manchester.

Disagreements with Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial were hardly private, while his relationship with Marcus Rashford appeared uneasy at times as well.

Tottenham paid no mind to the issues – whether that was down to Daniel Levy being convinced Mourinho wasn t finished yet or if he just wanted an entertaining figurehead for his Amazon documentary, who knows. Suffice to say, it ended prematurely on April 19 when Spurs announced his dismissal.

That was two …

Stefano Pioli and Jose Mourinho confirmed their status as Serie A s best coaches by leading Milan and Roma to silverware last season, according to former Rossoneri and Giallorossi boss Fabio Capello.

Capello also claimed Inter s prospective move for Romelu Lukaku represents a blow for the rest of the Italian top flight, given his dominant displays during his successful first spell with the Nerazzurri. 

While Pioli became the first Milan boss to win the Scudetto since Massimiliano Allegri in 2010-11 last month, Mourinho ended Roma s 14-year trophy drought by winning the Europa Conference League in his first season with the club.

Capello, who led Milan to four Serie A titles in five seasons between 1991 and 1996 before masterminding Roma s most recent Scudetto …

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge feels Leroy Sane s situation at Bayern Munich is similar to the difficulties Arjen Robben went through in his early years at the club.

Sane, signed from Manchester City in July 2020, has struggled to string together a consistent run during his time with the Bundesliga champions.

The flying winger was one of the Premier League s most exciting attackers during his time with City yet found himself a peripheral figure under Hansi Flick last term. On Sunday, he was taken off at half-time after drawing jeers from Bayern s support in Julian Nagelsmann s first competitive home game in charge.

Sane had 28 touches, two attempts – neither of which were on target – and created one chance in the first half against Cologne, with his replacement Jama…

Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani has agreed a deal to sell his controlling stake in the club to co-owners 49ers Enterprises.

As a result the American investment group, owner of NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers and a minority shareholder in Leeds since 2018, will take full ownership.

“Leeds United can confirm an agreement has been reached between Aser Ventures and 49ers Enterprises for the purchase of the club,” said a statement.

Leeds United can confirm an agreement has been reached between Aser Ventures and 49ers Enterprises for the purchase of the club

— Leeds United (@LUFC)

“Both parties continue to work through the details, and further updates will be provided soon.

“All of our focus remains on a quick return to the Pre…

Graham Coughlan is refusing to focus too much attention on the Sky Bet League Two play-off chase, despite seeing his Newport side close in on their fellow contenders with a 2-0 victory at AFC Wimbledon.

Goals from Bryn Morris and Kyle Jameson allowed the Exiles, beaten play-off finalists in 2019 and 2021, to move within two points of the seventh-placed Dons, who they have a game in hand on.

Results elsewhere mean the race is now even more congested – with Newport 11th in the table – but Coughlan has a more immediate target in mind.

He said: “It takes us within two points of 57 points, which we set a target for, which was last year’s total, what we got in the division last year.

“When we get to 57, we can maybe realign, reset and set a different …

Nabil Fekir, Anthony Lopes and Corentin Tolisso have all agreed extensions at Lyon that will keep them under contract until 2020.

The trio all came through the club s youth system and played key roles as Lyon finished second in Ligue 1 last term. 

Midfielder Tolisso and forward Fekir have both agreed one-year extensions  the latter having been linked with Premier League side Arsenal and French champions Paris Saint-Germain  while goalkeeper Lopes has signed a four-year deal. 

Fekir whose form last term earned him a call-up to the France squad in March told reporters: I want to thank the president and my agent who have made every effort so that I renew.

Everyone is happy. I ll be able to develop more calmly, it was an easy decision. This is the clu…

Spain heading into Euro 2024 as outsiders instead of the pre-tournament favourites has aided La Roja, says Marc Cucurella ahead of Tuesday s semi-final against France.

Luis de la Fuente s side are looking to reach their fifth European Championship final, with only Germany playing in more (six), after remaining perfect through five games so far.

Spain needed a last-gasp Mikel Merino header for their 2-1 extra-time victory over hosts Germany in Friday s quarter-final, but Cucurella insists confidence continues to grow within the La Roja camp.

Within football, there has long been respect for Spain, how we play and the players we have, but maybe coming in [to Euro 2024] as outsiders helped us, the Chelsea full-back said on Sunday.

We started with the confi…

Wayne Rooney should not lose any sleep over his selection for Euro 2016, according to England manager Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson ridiculed the debate surrounding the England captain s importance to the national team with the emergence of fellow strikers Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane, who have both outshone Rooney in the scoring stakes this season.

Rooney is also coming off a two-month knee injury, but Hodgson insisted as long as he is fit, the Manchester United captain remains a key part of his plans.

More than that would have to happen before I said I am going to ditch Wayne Rooney now after two years of captaining the team, 20-odd games where he has been an important part of our group , Hodgson explained.

I don t see any reason why his position in the team or …

Jurgen Klopp hopes his departure from Liverpool marks the start of something special, rather than an end, after imploring the Reds to keep believing in an emotional farewell.

Liverpool manager Klopp announced back in January he would leave at the end of this campaign, signing off with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Anfield on day where the Reds celebrated their much-loved boss.

Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah were both on target in the first half after Nelson Semedo s 28th-minute red card, though the result mattered for little in truth with the focus on Klopp s exit.

The Anfield crowd filled up earlier than normal before kick-off to serenade their German manager, who leaves with a Premier League crown and Champions League glory to his name, and those tributes co…

Malick Fofana and Alexandre Lacazette each scored twice as Lyon outclassed Rangers 4-1 in the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday.

Former Arsenal striker Lacazette scored twice before the break after Tom Lawrence had earlier cancelled out Fofana s opener in Glasgow, with the latter also netting again in the second half.

Vaclav Cerny was punished for woefully blazing over the bar when Fofana bent home on the rebound from the hugely impressive Rayan Cherki s shot after 10 minutes.

Lawrence quickly prodded home the equaliser when Cyriel Dessers was denied, but an awful error from Connor Barron led to Fofana laying on a simple finish for Lacazette.

The Frenchman then made it 3-1 with a whipped 25-yard stunner before the break and Fofana poked home Cherki s low…