Jimenez: AEK Athens announced Spanish coach Manuel Jimenez was leaving by mutual agreement just six months after guiding them to the Greek Cup. The 47-year-old joined AEK last season on a two-year contract and enjoyed success in April when AEK beat Atromitos Athens 3-0 in the Cup final. However, results this season have been poor especially in the Europa League.

Doni: Ex-Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni lost his appeal against a three-and-a-half-year ban over a betting scandal this week. Doni had asked the National Arbitration Tribunal for Sport to suspend the ban pending another appeal. However, his request was rejected.

Veron: Juan Sebastian Veron, 36, has decided to hang up his boots. The Argentina midfielder said he will play his last match for Estudiantes against Racing on October 31. Veron had an outstanding career following stints with Sampdoria, Parma, Lazio, Inter, Man. United and Chelsea.

Obi: Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has made a u-turn and said he will not pay a fine of $5,000 imposed for reporting late to the Nigeria training camp this week. Mikel, who earlier said he had put the incident behind him and was focused on tomorrow’s Nations Cup qualifier against Guinea, said he did nothing wrong and so will not pay the fine.

Pandev: Napoli were handed an injury boost when it was revealed striker Goran Pandev will be sidelined for a fortnight rather than the two months initially thought. Pandev strained a hamstring in last Saturday’s 3-0 win at Inter.

Bilyaletdinov: Everton mid-fielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is determined to fight for a first-team place having been relegated to a bit-part player so far this season. The Russia international was linked with a return to his homeland in the summer but stressed he wants to stick it out on Merseyside. “I want to stay here and prove something else,” he said.