Mikel compeltes Middlesbrough move

Vicente Del Bosque has backed Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Angel Maria Villar to assume the vacant position left by suspended UEFA president Michel Platini. 

Platini, along with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, was suspended by the governing body s ethics committee for eight years for an  abusive execution of their positions.

Del Bosque, who has coached the Spanish national team since 2008, spoke of his admiration for Villar and backed him for the UEFA position. 

Villar as UEFA president? I hope so. For me, he should be where he feels happy, he told Radio Marca.

We appreciate each other mutually, and we have always got along well and we ve never had any problems.

These eight years have been a pleasure to work with the nat…

Pep Guardiola wants to see Kyle Walker and everyone at Manchester City behaving like adults but insisted he should not have to police their off-duty business like a strict father.

The City manager passed no public judgement on Walker s behaviour in a bar that led to negative headlines this week, other than to say it had been dealt with internally.

The England international was shown on CCTV footage, published by The Sun, with friends at a venue where he apparently pulled down his trousers.

It was alleged by the newspaper that Walker indecently exposed himself, with the incident said to have happened last Sunday. Cheshire Police is looking into the matter.

Guardiola said Walker can count on his support after a week in the spotlight and stressed he was avai…

Real Madrid head coach Rafael Benitez has hit back at ex-Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard after he was criticised by the Englishman.

The 35-year-old LA Galaxy midfielder launched some stinging attacks on his former boss in his new autobiography, which is currently being serialised in The Daily Mail.

Gerrard has revealed he does not have a close bond with the former Anfield manager, condemned Benitez for his infamous facts rant about Manchester United and branded him stupid for some of his decisions in the transfer market, including the 2009 sale of Xabi Alonso.

The Santiago Bernabeu boss, though, rejected the comments from Gerrard and feels his former player is simply using him in an attempt to generate additional sales for his book.

I have read the quot…

Market: Lyon win

Odds: 2/5 @

With the 2022/23 Ligue 1 campaign opening up on Friday night, Lyon will welcome top-flight returners AC Ajaccio to the Groupama Stadium.

Starting with the hosts, signing off their pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw against Italian heavyweights Inter Milan last weekend, Lyon will be looking to open the 2022/23 campaign with a flurry here. Although Les Gones might have failed to clinch another European finish last season, Head Coach Peter Bosz did see his side sign off their downbeat campaign with an eye-catching run. Along with ending last season s run with a 2-1 victory away at Clermont, the Whites mustered 12 points from their final five Ligue 1 matchups. With that run of form highlighted by a 3-0 romp away at Marseille, Lyon s…

When Jack Grealish charged into the penalty area in the 87th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu late last season and saw his shot cleared off the line by Ferland Mendy, there seemed no way Manchester City would not be in the Champions League final.

They were 1-0 up in the semi-final second leg, 5-3 ahead on aggregate. Real Madrid had three minutes plus stoppage time to turn things around – even for a side who produced some memorable comebacks en route to the semi-finals, turning this tie around looked impossible.

Yet the tale unfolded in a matter of minutes, with City s Champions League aspirations dissolving for another season.

Over the course of the two legs, City were comfortably the better team and yet failed to advance to the final in Paris, where Madrid we…

Best Odds: 13/10

Bookmaker:

Turning their attention back to qualifying for this year s World Cup finals, Brazil will make the trip to the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado on Thursday night when they meet Ecuador.

Ecuador

Starting with the hosts, while Ecuador might have endured a torrid run of form back in 2018 during their World Cup qualifying adventure, La Tricolor have continued to impress this time around. Last seen on competitive duties putting in a stellar display as they landed a 2-0 win against Chile on foreign soil, Gustavo Alfaro s men find themselves sat in pole position to clinch a spot at this year s finals out in the Middle East. Opening up Thursday s contest at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado sat third in the table, the Yellows have continued to gain …

Australia made it nine World Cup qualifying wins in a row on the road to Qatar 2022 with a straightforward 3-0 triumph over China at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. 

The Socceroos finished top of their group in the previous round and made a winning start to the third qualifying stage thanks to goals from Awer Mabil, Martin Boyle and substitute Mitchell Duke. 

China had won their previous four qualifiers and managed to restrict their opponents to minimal opportunities in the opening quarter of the contest on neutral territory. 

But Mabil acrobatically volleyed home to give Australia the breakthrough – the goal allowed to stand despite a high boot from the winger – and Boyle fired in a second from the edge of the box less than two min…

Gary Neville has labelled investment from the United States a clear and present danger to English football following Todd Boehly s call for the Premier League to learn from American sports.

Chelsea chairman Boehly made several controversial suggestions when discussing the future of the English game on Tuesday, making the case for the introduction of an annual all-star game and relegation play-offs. 

Boehly said any future all-star match could pit players from the Premier League s northern clubs against those from the south, with the additional revenue used to fund the wider football pyramid.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp poured cold water on that idea after the Reds Champions League win over Ajax, declaring: I m not sure people want to see that .

Former…

Antonio Conte preached patience after his Tottenham tenure started with a crazy game against Vitesse in the Europa Conference League. 

Spurs emerged as 3-2 winners at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday, but they made things difficult for themselves after racing into a three-goal lead through Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and an own goal from Jacob Rasmussen inside the opening half hour. 

Son s opener meant the South Korea international has scored Tottenham s first goal under each of their three most recent permanent bosses. 

Rasmussen made amends for his error before Matus Bero reduced the deficit further seven minutes later, with Cristian Romero s dismissal putting the hosts under pressure with half an hour left to play.

Vitesse were unable to …

Boss Stephen Robinson vowed to “keep building” at St Mirren after agreeing a new deal until the summer of 2026.

Assistant manager Diarmuid O’Carroll has also agreed a new contract that keeps him in Paisley for the same period.

Robinson, who took over in February, 2022, led the Buddies to their most successful top-flight campaign since 1985 as well as finishing in the top six for the first time in the cinch Premiership’s current format.

Last season saw the Paisley side finish with 46 points, the highest points tally in the current format as well as winning nine home matches in a season in the top flight for the first time since 1987.

Robinson told the club’s official website: “I’m delighted and very grateful to the board and the fans for thei…