Latest news with #TheAthleticFC
Business Upturn
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Carlo Ancelotti to leave Real Madrid in June; Reports The Atheltic
As per some reports from 'TheAthleticFC', Carlo Ancelotti is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of this season. By Ravi Kumar Jha Published on April 28, 2025, 08:24 IST Last updated April 28, 2025, 08:24 IST As per some reports, Carlo Ancelotti is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of this season. Following Real Madrid's 3-2 loss in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, there are speculations going around on who would replace Ancelotti next season. Ancelotti who has been a successful manager for the club so far is reportedly eyeing a Brazillian head coach job and the Brazil football federation is also desperately waiting for his signal. However this is just a report and nothing has been confirmed yet. According to reports from The Athletic FC, Carlo Ancelotti is expected to leave Real Madrid at the end of the current season. Speculation has intensified following Real Madrid's 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final, with discussions already beginning over who might succeed the Italian manager next season. Ancelotti, who has enjoyed considerable success during his time at the Bernabéu, is reportedly eyeing the Brazilian national team head coach position. Sources suggest that the Brazilian Football Federation is eagerly awaiting a positive signal from Ancelotti to make the move official. However, it is important to note that these are still early reports and no official confirmation has been made from either Ancelotti or Real Madrid regarding his future. Ravi kumar jha is an undergraduate student in Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia and Mass Communication. A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication and he also has a genuine interest in sports. Ravi is currently working as a journalist at
Express Tribune
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk set to sign extension at Liverpool
Liverpool are edging closer to an agreement with both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk over a new contract, with sources indicating positive developments in talks despite continued interest from Saudi Arabia. Discussions remain ongoing between Salah's representatives and Liverpool, but the Premier League club are increasingly confident that a deal will be reached to extend the Egyptian forward's stay at Anfield. His current contract is set to expire at the end of the season. Salah has been the focal point of Liverpool's attack since joining in 2017, and this season has been no different. The 32-year-old has scored 32 goals across all competitions, including 27 in the Premier League, as Liverpool chase another league title. Despite a rocky start to negotiations, which included Salah stating last year that he had not been contacted about a new deal and suggesting he was 'probably more out than in,' Liverpool have made clear progress. Veteran sports journalist David Ornstein revealed a plan for a two-year extension for both players by Liverpool. 🚨 Mohamed Salah + Virgil van Dijk closing in on signing new 2yr contracts with Liverpool. Both players into final months of existing deals but breakthrough found in negotiations & fresh terms set to extend key pair at #LFC until summer 2027 @TheAthleticFC — David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) April 9, 2025 Manager Arne Slot, who has fielded regular questions about the futures of his senior players, said in January that Salah was "wise enough to make the right decision." Club captain Virgil van Dijk, whose deal also expires this summer, confirmed earlier this week that his own contract talks are progressing. 'These are internal discussions and we'll see,' Van Dijk said. 'I love the club, I love the fans and they were there for us again [at Fulham].' Meanwhile, right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold's situation is more uncertain. Talks are reportedly underway between the England international and Real Madrid over a potential free transfer ahead of the 2025 season. Negotiations are ongoing, but sources suggest a deal is being seriously pursued by the Spanish side. Salah's potential renewal would mark a significant boost for Liverpool, who have relied heavily on his output during a season that could yet end with multiple trophies. He previously helped the club win the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020, ending a 30-year title drought. As contract talks continue for key players, Liverpool remain hopeful of securing long-term futures for both Salah and Van Dijk, even as Alexander-Arnold's future remains in doubt.
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Declan Rice's free-kick masterclass, Tom Brady's Birmingham promotion and a Southend party boat
The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic's daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello! Arsenal riding roughshod over the Champions League holders? Believe what you're seeing. 😱 — Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 8, 2025 Coming up: 🎯 Pinpoint Rice downs Madrid ⬆️ Tom Brady tastes promotion 💰 City eye Wirtz, Gibbs-White 🍻 Southend United party boat There was something slightly sad about Mikel Arteta, pre-Christmas, defending his reign as Arsenal manager by pointing out that his honours list included two Community Shields. Despite an FA Cup win, his record lacks another stellar trophy — something the Community Shield, the slow-paced prelude to each English season, is not — and after nearly six years, that's a problem. But having tried and failed ad infinitum with the Premier League title, the Champions League is opening up in front of him. Advertisement Smacking Real Madrid out the park last night, 3-0 at the Emirates, was Arteta's finest night. It's definitely Declan Rice's. His world-class free kicks — two of them, in full view of set-piece beast Roberto Carlos — means it's almost job done before Arsenal even step foot in the Bernabeu for the second leg of this quarter-final. We're all a bit speechless. Two things to reference here. One is that Rice is an excellent striker of a dead ball. He talked in this interview last year about Arteta assigning him that duty. The other is that our tactics writers predicted Arsenal would hurt Madrid with set pieces — and they might not have been thinking direct free kicks specifically but Rice's refined technique still did the damage. Twice, Carlo Ancelotti's wall failed him. First, in the 58th minute, when Rice curled a beauty around the outside of it, ignoring instructions from the technical area to cross… … and again on 70 minutes, as Arsenal cleverly used a wall within Madrid's wall to create room for Rice to pick out the top corner. Some of Madrid's players, including Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, were pictures of resigned admiration. In the words of Bellingham: 'We were lucky to get away with three.' After a trying year, Arteta suddenly has his eye on European club football's biggest prize. Ancelotti, in contrast, will get slaughtered and he'll realise that Madrid are highly unlikely to turn it around. Rumours of Ancelotti's summer departure from Madrid have been swirling for a while. Yesterday's defeat will encourage the stars to align. Brazil's national team want him. Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso remains in Madrid's sights. La Liga is threatening to slip away from Madrid, too, and whatever Mbappe has achieved since signing from Paris Saint-Germain, he hasn't made them better. Sorry to say, a reckoning was coming. Before we move on, a mention of Inter (who I've been banging the drum about constantly). They rarely lose. When they do, they usually take teams to the last kick. They're brilliantly regimented and supremely reliable. They won 2-1 at Bayern Munich last night — the first goal, below, from Lautaro Martinez was dreamy — and if we're getting serious about Arsenal, shouldn't we do likewise with Inter? The last Italian side to win the Champions League was them, 15 years ago. They've got it in them to break the spell. They speak of Unai Emery as a Europa League specialist. The cap fits: he won it three times with Sevilla and once at Villarreal, flourishing like no other manager in the competition's history. But 'Europa League specialist' is faint praise because the tournament is the second rung on UEFA's ladder. Champions League trophies are what coaches — including Ancelotti, whose hopes of a sixth are fading — desire and Emery scores poorly on that front. Advertisement Arsenal didn't qualify during his short time at the Emirates and at PSG, where he takes Aston Villa tonight, they still twitch at the thought of the 2017 abomination in which Barcelona overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit with a 6-1 extravaganza. Rarely does an elite team melt so spinelessly. Tonight, then, could be his redemption: Villa causing the upset of the knockouts by surging into the semi-finals at the expense of his old club and the best-looking team in the last eight (our latest podcast is bowing down at Luis Enrique's feet). It doesn't half help that Champions League rules allow Emery to play ace card and on-loan PSG midfielder Marco Asensio and, internally, he must be itching to break his reputational ceiling. Some would say it's time. 📺 Champions League quarter-finals first leg — Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund; Paris Saint-Germain vs Aston Villa, both 3pm ET/8pm UK time and Paramount+/TNT Sports. Bom dia 🇧🇷💫 — Memphis Depay (@Memphis) April 6, 2025 A penny for Tom Brady's thoughts as his first dabble with football-club ownership brought relegation from the Championship last May. Granted, Brady is not the money behind Birmingham City but he's a minor shareholder and a man who's not used to losing. Had Mr Super Bowl checked out in haste, you'd have understood why but despite initial impressions, the model of Birmingham he chose to partner with was built to last. Their American owners have cash and, last night, the club chalked up a promotion from League One that has been in the post from the season's opening weekend. All in all, the third tier has been a doddle. They go up with a squad that should cope in the Championship, one step below the Premier League. They'll spend again over the summer, too. Wrexham, another American-owned odyssey, are odds-on to follow them. Judging by Wrexham's 2023-24 turnover — £26.7million ($34.1m), which just shouldn't be possible in League One — they'd have muscle to flex too. Don't bet on this big step forward being either club's last. It's an easy mistake to make. You're an American tourist in London, all set for a trip on the River Thames… when by accident, you step onto a party boat hired by a bunch of Southend United fans. Those supporters were en route to a fifth-tier National League fixture (a big one — Southend have a shot at getting promoted back to the Football League) when Evan Johnston, a 21-year-old student from Arizona, mistook their boat for a cruise by a London landmarks tour company. Advertisement Not only did he shrug his shoulders and embrace the chaos ('they were making chants I didn't understand,' is a truly great line), but he also carried on all the way to the match at Sutton United, which Southend drew 1-1. He says he's now a fan for life — and the club will give him a tour of their Roots Hall stadium this weekend. Unless he tips up at the wrong ground.
New York Times
03-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Mourinho being Mourinho, derby decisions and a wild lunge in Uruguay
The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic's daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello. Jose Mourinho never stops. But a tweak of the nose beats a poke in the eye. On the way: Not without reason did crowds line the streets in one sector of Istanbul on the day Fenerbahce welcomed Jose Mourinho into the hen house of Turkish football. Mourinho is box office. Mourinho is hype. Mourinho is for the daredevils, the people who tombstone off bridges. This is, don't forget, his first season with Fenerbahce. I say that because his brushes with controversy are so plentiful that it would be natural to think he had been managing there for years. Before we get to another wild chapter last night, let's go back over his track record. Advertisement He has been banned for disparaging remarks about match officials and accused of making racist comments by Galatasaray (an allegation over which he has taken legal action). He has called one of his own players, Allan Saint-Maximin, unfit and lazy and has kept the media on strings. Football in Turkey was combustive without him, but there's a common denominator here. So to yesterday and a Turkish Cup quarter-final between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray (with the backdrop of all their existing bad blood). You might as well know that Galatasaray won 2-1 but that's the footnote. But here are the details you really need. Hold tight: If I was the Turkish FA, I'd dread these clashes and forever be asking: 'What's Jose done now?' It wouldn't be unfair to say Mourinho likes living on the edge, or on the edge of a storm. He's only just back from a ban imposed for 1) saying that Galatasaray's bench were 'jumping like monkeys' in a league game between the clubs in February, and 2) praising the Slovenian referee used for that fixture by claiming: 'If a Turkish ref had refereed this match, it would have been a disaster.' The heat isn't about to die down either because Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are going toe-to-toe for the Super Lig title, and Jose loves a showdown — perhaps more than ever. Galatasaray, the rivals across the street, were infamous for unveiling banners at their ground reading, 'Welcome to Hell.' It's where the match between Jose and Turkey was made. No 98th-minute shenanigans this time as Liverpool got it done in their Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield. A 1-0 victory keeps them 12 points clear in the Premier League — too far ahead to fail, you'd assume, with eight games left. We'll pick up on two incidents of note from last night's clash. First, should the tackle above from James Tarkowski — the key protagonist in the previous meeting between the clubs at Goodison Park — have been punished with more than a yellow card? He gets the ball, sure, but the follow-through is vicious and could have broken Alexis Mac Allister's leg. Advertisement The answer, in retrospect, is yes, he should have walked. PGMOL, the body which oversees refereeing and VAR in England, has admitted as much this morning. As for the winning goal from Diogo Jota, was it right to let it stand? There were cries for offside against Luis Diaz (No 7) in the build-up. 'Referees have to apply LAW, though they might not like it' Dermot Gallagher explains why Diogo Jota's Merseyside derby goal was allowed to stand 💬 — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 3, 2025 Some would argue Diaz's initial position forced Tarkowski to make an interception. The letter of the law says Diaz wasn't active until possession fell to him, by which time he was onside: Everton manager David Moyes bemoaned it as 'a clear offside'. In Arne Slot's view, 'according to the rules it was a goal, so no one can complain' — but in fairness, Slot did concede the law is obtuse. I'm with him there. The fight for Champions League places continues apace. Manchester City waltzed past Leicester City (that's eight defeats on the spin for Leicester— I mean, seriously) and Newcastle United fended off Brentford to hop into fifth. Over to Chelsea against Tottenham Hotspur tonight… So often we see clubs struggle with the dilemma of how to deal appropriately with any player who is charged with a criminal offence or convicted of a crime. This is the scenario at Mansfield Town, a team in England's third tier, League One, where winger Lucas Akins is playing matches despite the possibility that he's about to go to jail. Last month, the 36-year-old pleaded guilty to causing the death of a cyclist he hit while driving in 2022. He'll be sentenced on April 24 and prison is an option. Advertisement Mansfield haven't dropped him. The club haven't said anything about his offence. The issue is dividing supporters — some think it's fine for Akins to appear while he waits to learn his punishment, others feel Mansfield haven't handled this well. There are never any winners in cases like this, a point Greg O'Keeffe's excellent backgrounder makes succinctly. But that doesn't change the pressure on clubs to do the right thing — whatever that is. The South American leagues are a goldmine for GIFs and in the spirit of Tarkowski's foul at Anfield, here's a belter from Uruguay. You're looking at Nacional versus Juventud and Nacional defender Diego Polenta going in two-footed on Facundo Perez with just a minute and 38 seconds on the clock. You know that cliche about leaving one on the opposition early doors? Polenta might have taken it to extremes.
New York Times
25-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Mailbag: How is multi-club ownership reshaping football?
Whether it's Manchester City, Chelsea or Bournemouth — more and more Premier League clubs are sitting as part of multi-club ownership portfolios. But why? How do they work? Are they a shortcut to success, on and off the pitch? This week, Matt Slater will be joined by special guests on The Athletic FC podcast as we explore the concept of multi-club ownership. And we want you, the fans, to get involved too. What do you really think of multi-club models? What do you want to know about how they work — or when they don't? Please leave your comments and questions below, and Matt will answer as many as he can later in the week.
