Gareth Bale s new Los Angeles FC team-mate Jose Cifuentes has explained why he decided to hand over his squad number to Major League Soccer s latest star import.
Bale signed for LAFC in June after leaving Real Madrid on the expiration of his contract.
The Welsh winger, who turns 33 this week, has signed a one-year deal with the MLS team, though that deal can be extended through to 2024.
With a World Cup campaign with Wales on the horizon in Qatar, Bale has the chance to stay at the top of his game in California, and he will be able to do so while wearing his preferred shirt number – 11.
Bale has worn the number 11 for his country for over a decade, while he also wore it in his last season at Tottenham in 2013-14, and his first seven campaigns with Madri…
Chloe Kelly sealed another trophy for England as Brazil were beaten 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the inaugural Women s Finalissima at Wembley on Thursday.
Ella Toone finished off a slick first-half move to give the Lionesses a deserve lead in the showdown between the European champions and the Copa America Femenina winners.
Brazil were the better side after the break and Andressa Alves capitalised on a stoppage-time mistake from goalkeeper Mary Earps to force spot-kicks.
England were not to be denied, though, as Georgia Stanway, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly – who scored the winner in the Euro 2022 final against Germany at the same venue converted from 12 yards out.
Earps denied Tamires before captain Rafaelle Souza rattled the …
On Monday evening, Liverpool booked their seventh consecutive Premier League win by beating Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, courtesy of a Curtis Jones brace (33 , 36 ) and a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick blast (71 ).
The game
To be fair to Leicester, the home side looked pretty much on even ground with the 19-time English champions during the opening 30 minutes, threatening Alisson Becker s goal quite seriously a few times. Most notably club legend Jamie Vardy was put through by Harvey Barnes in the 12th minute, but his shot from a tight angle couldn t really trouble a goalkeeper like Brazil s No. 1 in the Liverpool goal.
However, such moments were islands in a sea of Liverpool controlling the ball in the opposition half, even if the visitors did struggle …
Barcelona eased to a 2-0 win against Almeria in Gerard Pique s final game at Camp Nou before retirement.
Goals from Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong made up for an early missed penalty from Robert Lewandowski, but it was always going to be Pique s occasion.
The 35-year-old centre-back played 82 minutes before being substituted, leaving the field to a standing ovation from every one of the 92,605 in attendance on Saturday as he tearfully hugged each of his team-mates.
Barca s win was their 11th in their last 12 league games and sent them back to the top of LaLiga before Real Madrid s trip to Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Substitution
Christensen
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
A VAR check saw Barca rewarded a sixth-minute penalty…
Huddersfield have announced Leigh Bromby has left his role as sporting director.
The 43-year-old led the football strategy at the Sky Bet Championship club for the past four years, having initially joined as an academy coach in 2014 before progressing to academy manager in 2018.
Head of goalkeeping Paul Clements has also departed John Smith’s Stadium as part of a “refresh” for the Terriers.
Huddersfield were in relegation danger for much of last season but went on to survive comfortably following the February appointment of manager Neil Warnock.
Terriers chief executive Jake Edwards told his club’s website: “On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Leigh for his achievements during his long association with Huddersfield Town.
“This…
With the penultimate round of European Championship qualifiers getting back underway this week, Group I’s leading contenders will be looking to officially book their spot to Germany.
In what appears to be a two-horse race to clinch top spot in Group I, there are also a host of European Championship betting markets that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Ahead of what looks set to be a defining fortnight of action from Group I, we have taken an in-depth look at what could unfold and some of the most intriguing EURO 24 betting tips that are available this month.
Who is leading the chase in Group I?
While Switzerland might have watched their World Cup adventure come to an abrupt end out in Qatar over the winter as they slumped to an infamous 6-1 drumming at the h…
Karim Benzema became Real Madrid s outright second-highest goalscorer as he overtook Raul by netting in the Super Cup.
Benzema tied level in second place on the club s list of scorers back in May, when he equalled Los Blancos great Raul on 323 goals with a header in a 6-0 rout of Levante.
He is now alone in second, on 324, after netting Madrid s second against Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday in Helsinki.
With David Alaba having put Madrid ahead in the first half, Benzema made it 2-0 in the 65th minute as he struck up with Vinicius Junior for a familiar combination.
Vinicius assisted Benzema 10 times last season, and the Brazil winger s cross from the left side of the area presented Madrid s new club captain with the chance to side-f…
Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao was ruled out on Saturday of Tuesday s Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway after injuring his right thigh in Friday s opening qualifier a 4-4 draw with Cyprus.
The 22-year-old Benfica defender underwent scans on Saturday and it was decided that he would not be able to recover in time for Tuesday s match with the Norwegians.
Portugal are going through a rough patch after a much criticised World Cup finals campaign which saw them go out 1-0 to eventual winners Spain in the second round, their coach Carlos Queiroz has been suspended for six months and star player Cristiano Ronaldo is injured.
…
With the Europa League qualifiers drawing to a close on Thursday, we look set for what should be a nail-biting night of action from across the continent.
As the likes of Dutch giants Ajax steal centre stage and look to lay down another European marker, there are plenty of intriguing betting markets that are available.
For those of you looking to stick on a midweek Europa League flutter, we have take a look at some of the most appealing betting tips.
19:45 Ajax vs Jagiellonia
Making an immediate return to winning ways last week as they stormed their way to what was a routine first-leg advantage, Ajax will simply be looking to wrap up their Europa League group stage ticket with another statement. Claiming a thumping 4-1 romp away in Poland, the Dutch g…
A bronze statue of former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger lifting the Premier League trophy has been unveiled outside the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger won three top-flight titles and the FA Cup on seven occasions while in charge of the Gunners between October 1996 and May 2018.
The Frenchman managed 1,235 matches during his time in north London and helped the club go unbeaten in the league during their 2004 title success.
Pioneer. Visionary. Invincible.
We have today unveiled a statue of Arsène Wenger outside Emirates Stadium to celebrate his incredible impact at the club
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
Arsenal also spent 20 successive seasons in the Champions League under Wenger, including reaching the 2006 final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Barcel…