The Football Association has reportedly approached Pep Guardiola over the prospect of him becoming the next England manager.
Guardiola’s contract with Manchester City expires next summer and The Times claims the FA made informal contact with him at the start of the season – although it has yet to receive a response.
Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane urged the FA to go for the City boss, saying in his role as a pundit for ITV after Sunday’s 3-1 win over Finland: “Go for the best. Pep’s contract is up in the summer.”
Guardiola himself has said “anything can happen” with his future.
“Leaving City? It’s not true, I haven’t decided yet,” he told Italian TV show Che tempo Che Fa, as reported by Sky Italia.
“And it is not even true that I will be the next England coach. If I had decided I would say it… I don’t know either, anything can happen.”
Guardiola has won six Premier League titles – including the last four in succession – and the Champions League since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.
He is by far the standout candidate, should he become available, but former Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel remains the bookmakers’ favourite.
England Under-21s manager Lee Carsley remains in interim charge for the final round of Nations League group matches next month, having overseen three wins and a defeat so far after stepping into the role following Gareth Southgate’s resignation after Euro 2024.
The Football Association has consistently refused to discuss the managerial recruitment policy, while Manchester City do not comment on speculation.
Former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy was lent money by teammates when the club stopped paying him after he was charged with rape and sexual assault, an employment tribunal has heard.
Current and former players Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez supported the French international, who now claims to be owed £11.5 million in unpaid wages by the Premier League champions.
The 30-year-old’s £500,000 per month wage was withheld by the club after he was charged in 2021, the tribunal was told.
The World Cup winner was subsequently cleared.
Mr Mendy, who now plays for French Ligue 2 club Lorient, brought employment tribunal proceedings against Manchester City, claiming for “unauthorised deductions” from wages.
His contract showed he would also receive a £900,000 bonus for appearing in 60% of matches, a £1 million bonus if City qualified for the Champions League, and an annual £1.2m payment to his image rights company.
Court documents shared with the Manchester employment tribunal said Mr Mendy “very quickly ran out of money” and had to sell his Cheshire mansion to cover legal fees, bills and child support payments after his wages were withheld.
“I struggled to pay my child support, I felt awful,” the footballer said in a witness statement.
Mr Mendy said his agent, Meissa N’diaye, paid towards his legal fees, while teammates including England international Sterling offered “financial support”.
“Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez all lent me money to help me try and pay my legal fees and support my family,” he said in his witness statement.
The left-back described his 2021 charging as the day “my life was turned upside down forever.”
The tribunal heard he enjoyed partying, and was held in custody between August 2021 and January 2022, and again between December 2022 and January 2023 after he breached his bail conditions by hosting and attending multiple parties.
A January 2021 party at his multi-million pound home lasted until 4am, despite him having a match the following day, the tribunal was told.
Mr Mendy, appearing via videolink, told the tribunal he and his agent Mr N’diaye had been assured by Man City’s then chief football operating officer Omar Berrada that he would receive his unpaid wages once he had been cleared of the charges.
The footballer sent Mr Berrada a WhatsApp message in November 2022, asking if he could confirm in writing that the wages would be paid, the tribunal heard.
But Mr Berrada did not reply to the message and denied ever having made such an assurance.
After his acquittal, Mr Mendy sent an email to Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Emirati chief executive of Manchester City, but again received no response.
The club continued paying Mr Mendy following his first arrest in November 2020 but has argued it did not have to carry on doing so later because his bail conditions and Football Association suspension meant he was not able to perform his duties as a player.
Mr Mendy’s witness statement continued: “I would have thought that Manchester City, of all clubs, would appreciate the lack of control and anger that a person or entity has with being charged with false allegations given the Premier League allegations that they are facing.
“At no point have Manchester City apologised to me or even acknowledged how their actions almost cost me everything.
“I believe that it is fair and just for me to be paid the wages that I would have earned but for being falsely arrested for crimes that I did not commit.”
Mr Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in January 2023, but the same jury could not reach a verdict on another count of rape and one count of attempted rape.
It saw a retrial and Mendy was found not guilty of one charge of rape and one charge of attempted rape.
In April, a High Court tax debt case against Mr Mendy was dismissed after he paid a £700,000 bill.
The employment tribunal is expected to last for two days.
Jürgen Klopp, the 57-year-old German will assume the role of Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull starting January 1, 2025. In this position, he will oversee the company’s international network of soccer clubs. Klopp, one of the most sought-after figures in world football, concluded his memorable nine-year tenure as Liverpool’s manager after the 2023-24 season. Under his leadership, Liverpool secured all major football honors, including the Champions League (2018-19), Premier League (2019-20), FA Cup (2021-22), two EFL Cups, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. They also finished as runners-up twice in the Champions League and once in the Europa League.
Jurgen Klopp
In his strategic role, Jürgen Klopp will not be involved in the clubs’ day-to-day operations but will focus on supporting the sports directors in advancing the Red Bull philosophy. He will also leverage his extensive network to aid in scouting top talent and contribute to the training and development of coaches.
Jürgen Klopp, Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull revealed:
“After almost 25 years on the sideline, I could not be more excited to get involved in a project like this. The role may have changed but my passion for football and the people who make the game what it is has not. By joining Red Bull at a global level, I want to develop, improve and support the incredible football talent that we have at our disposal. We can do this in many ways by using the elite knowledge and experience that Red Bull possesses to learn from other sports and other industries. Together we can discover what is possible. I see my role primarily as a mentor for the coaches and management of the Red Bull clubs. Still, ultimately, I am one part of an organisation that is unique, innovative and forward-looking. As I said, this could not excite me more.”
Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments at Red Bull stated:
“We are very proud of this outstanding and certainly the strongest signing in Red Bull’s soccer history. Jürgen Klopp is one of the greatest and most influential figures in world soccer, with extraordinary skills and charisma. In his role as Head of Soccer, he will be a game-changer for our involvement in international soccer and its continued development. We are hoping for valuable and decisive impulses in key areas to make the clubs even better, both collectively and individually.”
Jürgen Klopp will be formally announced as the Global Head of Soccer at a press conference in mid-January 2025, following his assumption of the role on January 1. The specific date and time of the event will be provided in advance. We kindly ask that you refrain from making further inquiries or interview requests until that time.
England captain Harry Kane celebrated his 100th cap with a clinical brace as Lee Carsley’s interim reign continued with a comfortable Nations League win against Finland.
All eyes were on the man in the golden boots at Wembley, where the 31-year-old was presented with a golden cap before kick-off having become just the 10th man to reach a century of appearances for the national team.
Kane followed Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton in scoring in their 100th match for England, with the skipper rifling home both goals in a controlled 2-0 win over Finland.
Carsley’s first match managing at Wembley was as dominant as Saturday’s win by the same scoreline away to the Republic of Ireland, with fans entertaining themselves by sending paper planes sailing throughout a plain sailing night of Nations League football.
England enjoyed 74 per cent of first half possession but only managed two shots on target, albeit Kane saw a close-range header ruled out for a tight offside call.
Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky proved a tough last line of defence but Kane finally beat him when lashing off the underside of the bar in the 57th minute.
England’s all-time top scorer went onto add a 68th goal to his collection, firing home a pass from debutant Noni Madueke before being replaced to a standing ovation.
Tuesday evening was a special night for Kane and a chance to pay tribute to Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The popular former England manager died last month at the age of 76 and was remembered along with the late Kevin Campbell, Tommy Banks and Craig Shakespeare at Wembley.
England wore black armbands as they did at the weekend, but they were unable to replicate the sharp start seen across the Irish Sea.
Finland deserve credit for seeing off early threats, including stopping Bukayo Saka turning in a Kane header across goal before the skipper saw an effort blocked.
Hradecky stopped a snapshot from the 31-year-old and the visiting goalkeeper did well to stop a deflected Saka shot looping past him as England pressure mounted, with celebrations in the 23rd minute cut short.
Saka’s cross was nodded home by from six yards by centurion Kane, only for Carsley to punch the deck as he saw the flag raised for offside – a decision eventually ratified by the VAR.
Angel Gomes looked sharp in and out of possession on his first England start but fellow midfielder Declan Rice was breathing a sigh of relief after his error allowed Topi Keskinen, who missed an earlier chance, to lash over.
England patiently probed in search of an opener, with Saka proving a thorn in the side before Trent Alexander-Arnold sent a shot skipping just across the face of goal and then wasted a well-placed free-kick.
Kane stepped up to a set-piece early in the second half but Hradecky beat away his powerful 20-yard free-kick with a strong right hand.
Finland’s goalkeeper spread himself well to stop Anthony Gordon and then dealt with an overhead kick from Kane, who finally beat the Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper in the 57th minute.
Kane collected a pass from the impressive Alexander-Arnold, showed great awareness to cut away from Robert Ivanov and lasered home off the underside of the bar.
Carsley soon made changes, with Ezri Konsa withdrawn due to injury shortly before Madueke came on for his England debut.
The changes helped add new life to the team and England’s second arrived through a familiar source in the 76th minute.
Alexander-Arnold’s exceptional ball down the line to Madueke was followed by a clever pass into the path of Kane to send a first-time strike past Finland’s goalkeeper.
The skipper was soon replaced with his work done as fans headed towards the exit and play petered out.
Martin Odegaard is a doubt for Sunday’s North London derby after limping out of Norway’s 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Austria in Oslo.
The Arsenal captain was left clutching his left ankle after an innocuous tangle with Christoph Baumgartner on the hour mark and was helped off the pitch in tears by team-mate Erling Haaland.
Odegaard’s apparent injury is a further setback for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who is already without the suspended Declan Rice for the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“He got a small ankle sprain. We will see, maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow,” team doctor Ola Sand told TV2.
Haaland lashed home his 32nd goal in 35 games for his country in the 80th minute to clinch victory after Felix Myhre’s ninth-minute opener was cancelled out by a Marcel Sabitzer effort shortly before half-time.
Republic of Ireland international Caoimhin Kelleher has admitted he may have to leave Liverpool to achieve his dream of becoming a first-choice goalkeeper.
The 25-year-old, who started for Ireland in Saturday’s 2-0 Nations League defeat by England, is currently number two at Anfield behind Alisson Becker, but with Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili due to arrive on Merseyside next summer, his future appears to be up in the air.
Asked about his situation at Ireland’s pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Greece, Kelleher said: “I made it clear in the last few years I want to go be a number one and play week in, week out.
“The club made the decision to get another goalkeeper. From the outside looking in, looks like they have made a decision to go in another direction.
“My ambition has always been clear the last few seasons that I want to be a number one.
“Sometimes from the outside looking in, it looks like it is 100 per cent my decision but at times it is not always in my hands.”
Kelleher, a two-time Carabao Cup winner with the Reds, deputised ably for Alisson last season after the Brazilian suffered a hamstring injury, and made 26 appearances in total.
He was linked with a move away in January and then again during the summer, when Nottingham Forest reportedly had a series of bids rejected.
Asked how close he came to leaving the Reds during the summer, Kelleher said: “My mission was to go out and play, and be a number one.
“It has been reported that Liverpool had rejected a few bids as well. It is not always in my hands to make the decision. My ambition is to prove I am good enough to play week in, week out.”
For the first time since 2003, neither Argentina’s Lionel Messi nor Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo feature as nominees for the Ballon d’Or, while Olympic champions Spain and Champions League winners Real Madrid headline the list of players vying for football’s most prestigious individual award.
Lionel Messi will not win another Ballon d’Or this year after being left out of the nominees revealed by organisers on Wednesday, as stars of Spain’s Euro 2024-winning team and Real Madrid’s Champions League victors feature heavily.
Messi claimed the eighth Ballon d’Or of his glittering career last year. Now aged 37, he is not among the 30 contenders this time despite winning another title with Argentina at the Copa America in July.
The former Barcelona superstar, now playing club football in MLS for Inter Miami, was also missing from the nominees in 2022 when Karim Benzema took the honours.
However, he returned to win last year after leading Argentina to glory at the World Cup in Qatar.
His rivals include Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti and Spain’s Luis de la Fuente.
Leicester have won their appeal against a decision that an independent commission had jurisdiction to consider an alleged breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
The Premier League said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the move to uphold the Foxes’ appeal.
An independent appeal board found that Leicester’s accounting period – after it was claimed the club had exceeded the maximum permitted £105million loss over a three-season period – ended on June 30th 2023, after the club were relegated from the top flight.
The Premier League said that the appeal board’s decision “effectively means that, despite the club being a member of the (Premier) League from seasons 2019-20 to 2022-23, the League cannot take action against the club for exceeding the relevant PSR threshold in respect of the associated accounting periods”.
Leicester welcomed the decision, adding the verdict supported their “consistently stated position that any action against the club should be pursued in accordance with the applicable rules”.
The club could have faced a points deduction had they been found to have breached the financial rules.
Arsenal have turned down a bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad for Leandro Trossard, the PA news agency understands.
The offer for the 29-year-old was an initial £4million to take him on loan with an obligation to make the move permanent next summer for £25m.
However, it is understood that Arsenal did not entertain the bid and see Trossard as a key member of Mikel Arteta’s side as they seek to build on consecutive runners-up finishes in the Premier League and end their 20-year wait for the title.
The club added Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling to their squad in the final hours of the transfer window on Friday but the club do not deem him to be a replacement for Trossard.
The Belgium international came off the bench to score his side’s opening goal in their 2-0 win away at Aston Villa but gave a low-key celebration seemingly in response to having been left out of the starting XI.
He played from the start as Arsenal were held 1-1 at the Emirates by his former club Brighton – whom he left in January 2023 to move to north London – on Saturday.
The transfer window for clubs in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League closes on Monday.
Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has insisted Erik ten Hag has his and the club’s full backing and remains the right man to take the club forward.
United triggered a one-year contract extension for Ten Hag in the summer, but only after considering alternatives in the wake of an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League and unexpected FA Cup success, beating Manchester City in the final.
Ten Haag
But there were fresh questions over the amount of progress United have made under Ten Hag following Sunday’s poor 3-0 home defeat to rivals Liverpool, already United’s second league defeat of the fledgling campaign after they lost 2-1 at Brighton last weekend.
Speaking alongside new sporting director Dan Ashworth shortly before kick off against Liverpool, Berrada said it would take more than a couple of bad results to shake the club’s belief in their manager.
“Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely,” he said. “We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.”
Ten Hag’s contract was extended before either Berrada or Ashworth had taken up their positions this summer but both said they were happy with the decision.
Ashworth said: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks.
“I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can and whether that’s operationally, whether that’s with recruitment, whether that’s with medical, whether that’s with psychology, whether that’s training ground flow, it’s just to take as much of that off him to allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.”
Ashworth’s first few weeks in the job were dominated by the transfer window, in which United signed Matthijs De Ligt, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, and Noussair Mazraoui.
But just as notable were the departures of players including Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho.
After a falling out with Ten Hag early last season Sancho returned to former club Borussia Dortmund on loan in January.
The pair appeared to have made up as Sancho took part in United’s pre-season and played in the Community Shield, but on deadline day he joined Chelsea on loan with an obligation to buy.
Asked what had changed, Ashworth said it had been down to the player’s wish to move on.
“We felt we had enough depth in that particular position to be able to cover it, we’ve got four really good wide players – Jadon was a fifth – and it just enabled us to make that decision that if it was good for him and good for us it was something we were willing to consider,” Ashworth said.
“He wanted to explore the opportunity at Chelsea, like Scott wanted to explore the opportunity at Napoli, like Aaron (Wan-Bissaka) wanted to explore the opportunity at West Ham. We’re not in a position where we’re kicking players out of the club.”
McTominay’s move to Napoli saw the Scot end a two-decade long association with United after coming through the club’s academy from an early age.
Ten Hag expressed his regret at losing the midfielder but it is a reality of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) that selling homegrown players is hugely beneficial on the accounting side.
Ashworth said that was an “unintended consequence” of the rules but added that McTominay had wanted to go.
“Scott’s been fairly open that maybe he needed a change,” Ashworth said. “He’s been in Manchester United for 21 years, I think. He’s been a brilliant, brilliant servant.
“But sometimes in life you fancy a change and do something different. So we have to respect what those human beings, what they want for their career and their life as well.”
