Former Liverpool and Leeds forward Harry Kewell has been released by Qatar’s Al Gharafa after spending a little more than a month with the club, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) website reported yesterday.
The 34-year-old, who still harbours ambitions of a return to the international arena with the Socceroos, scored one goal in four games for the club but was released when the Qatari season came to an end.
Following a successful spell with Galatasaray, Kewell’s last long-term deal was with Melbourne Victory but he left the A-League club in 2012 to return to Britain for family reasons.
Jesus hints he could quit Benfica
Benfica coach Jorge Jesus hinted he may leave the club following the heartbreak of their 2-1 injury-time defeat by Chelsea in the Europa League final.
The 58-year-old, who has been in charge for four years, said the Lisbon team were the better side for most of the match and that defeat was hard to bear.
“In these last few weeks the club and I have been talking about the future,” he told a news conference.
“This defeat will lead me to take some time to think more about these issues.”
Jesus added that he was hurting as much for the fans, who had followed the team with “emotion, passion and patriotism”, as for himself.
I owed it to United, says Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand felt he “owed it to Manchester United” to call time on his England career.
Ferdinand, 34, announced his international retirement on Wednesday – ending any lingering hopes of playing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“I think I owed it to Manchester United to do that but it wasn’t easy, I’m not going to lie,” he told MUTV.
“To put that to one side is a big decision and a hard decision but when your body says you need to put something aside to keep yourself in good condition for your club, which is your day to day job, the decision has to be made.”
Mancini is great manager – Balotelli
Mario Balotelli is not surprised that Roberto Mancini was sacked by Manchester City because of internal problems between his former manager and the club.
Balotelli, who was signed by Mancini for City before being sold to Milan in January, insisted his fellow Italian is a “great manager”.
Balotelli told CNN: “I am not really surprised but when I was with him he was a great manager and we had one of the best teams I have played with, the best players.
“I don’t know why they didn’t win. But obviously there were some problems inside. I am here (Milan) so I don’t know.”
Ancelotti set for PSG future talks
Paris St Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti , a target for Real Madrid, is set for talks with the club president today as speculation continues to swirl about his future with the French champions.
“I have not talked with the club yet. We have a meeting scheduled on Friday (today), then we’ll see,” Ancelotti told L’Equipe. “I want to continue if it’s possible.
“But I want to understand what happened during the season. Some things happened after our (league) defeat against Stade Rennes, then after the defeat at Nice,” he added.
According to media reports, Paris St Germain’s Qatari owner Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had threatened to fire Ancelotti when the team were fourth in the table after a loss at Nice in December.
No quick holiday for team – Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio has warned his Sunderland players not to bank on a quick get-away for their summer holidays.
The Black Cats will be playing their football in the Premier League next season as a result of Wigan’s 4-1 defeat at Arsenal, and Di Canio’s men will head for Tottenham on Sunday knowing only their pride and the chance to climb a little further from the foot of the table will be at stake.
“In the past, they told me, they used to fly as a 20 (on the final day of the season), and then 17 would fly everywhere,” Di Canio said.
“Everybody has to come back on the plane. We will stay another two days together to say thank you and then they can have a holiday.”
Di Matteo linked with Napoli
Former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo could become a contender for the Napoli job should Walter Mazzarri end his stint with the Serie A high-flyers.
Mazzarri, whose contract expires next month, has refused to discuss his plans for next season.
The London Evening Standard reported that Di Matteo, who was sacked by Chelsea earlier this season only months after leading the club to Champions League success, could be on the list of candidates for the Napoli post.
Ironically, his replacement at Chelsea, Rafael Benitez, has also been linked with Napoli.