Claudio Ranieri has reaffirmed his intention to carry on coaching after his spell at Ligue 1 club Nantes came to an end.
Ranieri took over at Nantes in June 2017, guiding them to a ninth-placed finish this term, but announced on Thursday that he would be leaving the club by mutual consent.
The former Leicester City boss had previously talked up as a possible candidate to take over as Italy coach, although Roberto Mancini has now taken that role.
And Ranieri, whose parting gift to Nantes was a 1-0 victory over Strasbourg on the final day of the Ligue 1 season, is eager to continue his 32-year managerial career if the right opportunity comes along.
Waldemar Kita : Nous remercions Claudio Ranieri et son staff pour tout le travail effectué cette saison et le…
Liverpool have confirmed goalkeeper Andy Lonergan will join the first-team squad for their pre-season tour of the United States.
The 35-year-old, without a club since leaving Middlesbrough at the end of last season, will work with the European champions goalkeeping department alongside Simon Mignolet and Daniel Atherton.
Alisson is yet to return for pre-season duties since winning the Copa America with Brazil, while young keepers Caoimhin Kelleher and Vitezslav Jaros are injured.
Lonergan, who began his career with Preston North End, has played for several clubs in England including Leeds United, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham and Wolves.
He joined Middlesbrough in 2018 but did not make an appearance for the Championship club and spent the second half of last …
Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg got off to a winning start on their Champions League debut in Group B as Brazil striker Grafite scored a hat-trick to seal a 3-1 win here on Tuesday.
The German champions brushed off defeats in their last three league games to begin their campaign in style.
The hosts will face bigger challenges ahead in their quest to get out of Group B, where they are also up against 2008 champions Manchester United and Turkish champions Besiktas, but they had few problems here at the Volkswagen Arena.
The Wolves got the early break through they needed when playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic put the Brazilian in the perfect position and Grafite drilled his shot through the legs of Moscow goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev on 36 minutes.
The Brazil hot…
Mexico will face the United States in their 2010 World Cup North American qualifying final round opener at Columbus, Ohio, on February 11, the US Soccer Federation announced Tuesday.
Cold weather can be expected for the matchup, the third time in as many North American final-round qualifying tournaments that the Americans have faced Mexico at the home of the 2008 Major League Soccer champion Columbus Crew.
We are very excited about returning to Columbus, US coach Bob Bradley said. We are looking forward to an incredible atmosphere as we continue the difficult task of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The Mexicans and Americans figure to be the favorites in the 2009 six-nation round-robin fight for three berths in South Africa with Costa Rica…
Manuel Pellegrini insists he harbours no ill feeling towards Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and will shake his rival s hand when they meet this weekend.
The Premier League champions travel to Manchester City on Sunday for the first clash between title rivals in the 2015-16 campaign, with Pellegrini s side keen to take an early advantage.
Relationships between Pellegrini and Mourinho have been tense at times, with the Chilean refusing to shake the latter s hand following Chelsea s 2-1 win in October 2013.
However, he says that will not happen this weekend. He said: I have my differences with him but I always shake hands with him.
City hope to have last season s top scorer Sergio Aguero available for the clash, the Argentine having been limited to a substitute…
Greater Manchester s Police and Crime Commissioner believes Oldham Athletic should not sign convicted rapist Ched Evans.
Reports in the British media suggested that the League One club are set to sign Evans, whose future has been the topic of fierce debate since his release from prison in October last year.
Evans was convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman and was sentenced to five years in jail back in 2012, before being released halfway through his term.
The former Wales international striker subsequently published a video online pleading his innocence and vowing to continue to fight to clear his name.
The likes of former club Sheffield United have distanced themselves from signing the 26-year-old, amid a storm of public disapproval.
Oldham …
England captain Harry Kane is keen to stop Cristiano Ronaldo running away with the World Cup Golden Boot race.
Kane will lead England out as captain for their first action of the tournament against Tunisia on Monday in Volgograd, having already seen a supreme display of finishing at Russia 2018.
Five-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo dragged Portugal to a breathless 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday, completing his hat-trick with an immaculately dispatched free-kick to crown an instant classic in Sochi.
Kane has put himself in a similar bracket in terms of weight of goals – he outscored Ronaldo for club and country over the course of 2017 – and is thirsty for a similarly definitive performance on the biggest stage.
Yeah, he s put me under a little bit of p…
Arsenal manager Unai Emery admitted he had spoken with Shkodran Mustafi about the possibility of the Germany international leaving the club this summer.
With clubs outside of England allowed to bring in fresh players for the rest of August, there is still a possibility for the centre-back to leave the Emirates. Despite Arsenal s struggles in that area, Mustafi s performances weren t impressive enough to convince Emery to count on him on a regular basis, and with Koscielny injured for one half of the 2018/19 season and Rob Holding the other, he had plenty of chances to do so. Towards the end of the campaign, he was even given a chance at right-back with Hector Bellerin also suffering long-term injury and the boss very clear about not counting on Stephan Lichtsteiner anymore.
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Erik ten Hag expects Raphael Varane to return to fitness in time to feature in Manchester United s FA Cup final clash with cross-city rivals Manchester City.
Varane was substituted at half-time after sustaining an ankle injury during the first leg of United s Europa League quarter-final tie against Sevilla, which the Red Devils lost 5-2 on aggregate.
Varane s central defensive partner Lisandro Martinez suffered a season-ending metatarsal fracture in the same game, forcing Ten Hag to use a makeshift backline in recent matches.
With club captain Harry Maguire suspended, Luke Shaw partnered Victor Lindelof in the centre of defence as United reached a record-equalling 21st FA Cup final with Sunday s penalty shoot-out win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
United …
Lionel Messi has proven with his recent form that he is committed to Barcelona despite significant uncertainty surrounding his future and links to Tuesday s Champions League opponents Paris Saint-Germain, according to Jordi Alba.
Messi rocked world football in pre-season when declaring his desire to leave Barcelona after spending his entire professional career at Camp Nou.
The Argentina international had grown disillusioned with the state of the club under previous president Josep Maria Bartomeu, whom Messi subsequently accused of reneging on an agreement to let him leave on a free transfer.
Messi ultimately decided to stay put, uncomfortable with the idea of dragging Barca through the courts, leaving the possibility for him to depart at the end of his contract i…