Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has renewed his commitment to the Catalan club by signing a new five-year contract.
The defensive midfielder and Spain international made his Barcelona debut in 2008 under then-coach Pep Guardiola, a former team-mate of his father Carles.
Busquets has won six La Liga titles, five King’s Cups and three Champions Leagues in eight seasons with Barca, and has committed to stay at the club until 2021, with an option to extend his contract to 2023.
Barcelona also announced the new contract contains a buy-out clause of €200 million.
Carvalhal pens Wednesday contract
Manager Carlos Carvalhal signed a new three-year contract with Sheffield Wednesday before their Championship play-off final against Hull at Wembley today.
Carvalhal, who took over in 2015, led the side to a sixth-place finish, and he will hope to guide the Owls to the top flight for the first time in 16 years.
With a new Premier League television deal kicking in next season, promotion to the top flight could be worth up to £170 million for the winners of the Championship play-off final.
Aston Villa hold talks with Di Matteo
Aston Villa have moved a step closer to appointing Roberto Di Matteo as manager following further talks with the Italian.
Reports said Di Matteo spoke again with Villa chairman Steve Hollis, who now hopes to name the former West Brom and Chelsea boss as Remi Garde’s successor in the coming days.
The 45-year-old has always been the number one choice for prospective new owner Tony Xia.
David Moyes and Nigel Pearson were also interviewed for the job but it is thought Di Matteo’s achievements at Chelsea – winning the Champions League in 2012 – were most appealing to Xia as he looks to build Villa’s profile in the Far East.
Delph ruled out of Euro 2016 squad
Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph has been ruled out of England’s 23-man squad for next month’s European Championship in France because of a groin strain.
Coach Roy Hodgson said that Delph, will now only be on his standby list for the tournament.
Hodgson said: “I’ve made it clear to him that this means he probably won’t be with us in the final 23 – unless, of course, we have injuries.
“I’ve actually put him on the standby list, which he understands and accepts. I don’t think it’s going to be a really long-term injury for him so, if I needed him and I wanted him to come with us, it would be easy for me to ask him to do so.”
Kaka called up for Brazil’s Copa squad
Brazil have called on Kaka as a late addition for next month’s Centenary Copa America in the US.
The Orlando City midfielder will replace Bayern Munich’s Douglas Costa, who was cut from the squad because of an injury to his left thigh.
Former Milan and Real Madrid player Kaka has been a regular in coach Dunga’s squads without getting much game time.
The 34-year old has not played a full match for the national side since 2012.
He is the second player to be added to the squad because of injury, with Benfica’s Jonas replacing striker Ricardo Oli-veira, who also dropped out.
FA Cup opts for QFs sudden-death
FA Cup quarter-final replays will be scrapped from next season to ease the fixture congestion in English soccer.
The FA board approved a sudden-death format instead for the last-eight stage of the competition to be played over one weekend.
“This change adds to the excitement of the competition and will benefit the wider game in general,” chief executive Martin Glenn said.
Premier League managers have frequently lamented FA Cup replays, which often clashed with Champions League fixtures.
Deschamps to sue Cantona
France coach Didier Deschamps will file a legal complaint against Eric Cantona after his former national team-mate suggested the squad selection for Euro 2016 was racially motivated, Deschamps’s lawyer said.
The two men, who played 34 times together for France, have a history of animosity since the mid-1990s when Deschamps replaced Cantona as France’s captain, going on to lead the team to World Cup and European Championship successes in 1998 and 2000.
In an interview on Thursday, Cantona questioned the motives of omitting striker Karim Benzema and forward Hatem Ben Arfa, both of North African origin, from the final squad of 23.