Category: Sports

Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes has signed a new long-term contract to keep him at the club until 2029.

The Brazilian was already under contract until 2027, but this new deal reflects his importance to manager Mikel Arteta’s project at Emirates Stadium.

Gabriel, 27, has been a key player for Arsenal since joining the club in a £27m move from Lille in 2020, making 210 appearances in all competitions.

“I arrived here as a young player and after almost five years I’m so happy and I’ve learned a lot,” Gabriel said.

“I’m so proud of myself, it’s an amazing journey, and I’m so happy to continue it. I hope I win some trophies with this club, because I love this club and my family loves the club, too.

“Arsenal is an amazing club and I’m so proud to sign a new contract. I love the supporters, my team-mates, I love this stadium. I’m so proud and thank you for all the support. We continue together for the future.”

Since 2022 he has formed a strong partnership with William Saliba in the centre of defence, and proven to be a major threat from set pieces.

Gabriel missed the final two months of the 2024-25 season with a hamstring injury and his absence was keenly felt – Arsenal dropped out of the Premier League title race and were defeated in the Uefa Champions League semi-finals by eventual winners Paris St-Germain.

Meanwhile, the Gunners are hoping to complete a deal for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, and are working to sign a new striker.

One player determined to make the most of the Wembley experience is prolific defender Gus Scott-Morriss.

The right-back scored the crucial spot-kick that beat Forest Green on penalties after Southend had equalised four minutes from the end of extra time to force the shootout.

Reflecting on his match-winning moment, Scott-Morriss – who has scored an incredible 17 times this season – said the realisation of reaching Wembley soon hit him.

“I’ve never played there before and when the penalties went in, that’s the first thing I thought of,” he said.

Having been at the club for three years and playing full-time for the first time, Scott-Morriss has directly experienced Southend’s off-field hardships.

“It’s been a real rollercoaster ride since I’ve been here,” he told BBC Look East.

“Nothing’s really been plain sailing – even this season, so there’s that real connection with the fans.

“We could have been knocked out quite easily twice [in the play-offs] – even the Gateshead game was like a play-off game, we knew it was do or die and we got the job done.

“I couldn’t have dreamed of playing at Wembley three or four years ago. I’m excited for the challenge and, hopefully, it’ll be one to savour for the future.”

Former Rangers defender Russell Martin remains one of the names in the frame to be Ibrox boss and will meet with the Scottish Premiership club this week to make a fresh pitch to become head coach despite interest from Leicester City. (Scottish Sun), external

Leicester City have now reached a full agreement with former Southampton boss and ex-Rangers defender Russell Martin to become the relegated club’s new manager. (Football Insider), external

Outgoing Real Madrid assistant Davide Ancelotti is in a strong position to become the next Rangers manager and is desperate for the job, while Steven Gerrard is still in contention for an Ibrox return, but Russell Martin now looks set to become the new Leicester City boss and sacked Feyenoord head coach Brian Priske is behind the other two as things stand. (TeamTalk), external

Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson is open to a new adventure, having been present as former club Sunderland beat Sheffield United to secure promotion to the Premier League and also being linked to Rangers should Steven Gerrard return as manager, while the Dutch club want rid of the 34-year-old’s salary. (De Telegraaf), external

Northern Ireland head coach Michael O’Neill says he would not want to lose Steven Davis from his backroom team if Northern Ireland’s record appearance holder returns to Rangers amid speculation the midfield great could be part of a dream ticket with Steven Gerrard to go back to Ibrox. (Belfast Telegraph), external

Former Wigan Athletic head coach Shaun Maloney is a leading contender to be Dundee manager, former captain Charlie Adam is likely to be considered, fellow Dark Blues midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia has expressed an interest, while Ayr United’s Scott Brown and Bromley’s Andy Woodman are contenders. (Scottish Sun), external

Retiring striker Dwight Gayle has admitted that the Hibernian players were “almost begging” with the club’s hierarchy not to part company with head coach David Gray earlier in the season when the rookie manager was under pressure. (The Scotsman), external

But it was about so much more than just money. Playing conditions were primitive. Surfaces were dirt pitches that doubled as car parks on matchdays and changing rooms were sheds crammed with up to 30 people and fitted with inadequate showers that would always quickly run out of hot water.

“We didn’t ask for the same financial earnings, because you also have to be aware of what men’s and women’s football generate, but we did deserve to play on a decent pitch and to have a decent locker room,” she said.

To add insult to injury they also had to pay their own travel expenses to get not only to and from the ground for training, but also on matchdays. When they asked if they could be reimbursed for their travel costs, they were told the money was not available. All the men’s teams, however, either had a bus organised for them or would be picked up by the club.

And up until 2017, women were still wearing men’s kit for both playing and training.

“When I arrived, we did our laundry at home. They gave us two or three sets, I don’t remember exactly how many, and we washed them at home,” Unzue said.

“They would give us the smallest sizes but even that was too big for us.”

Getting to away games was another ordeal, Unzue explained: “We travelled almost always by bus, except for the longer trips, like Barcelona-Seville, where we flew.

“But from Barcelona to the Basque Country, by bus; to Madrid, by bus; to Valencia, by bus… it was a long bus ride, you arrived super tired, you had to play the game at 12 noon, return late, and on top of that, people were still working.

“There were a lot of people who arrived late at night and had to go to work the next day.”

The club’s much vaunted academy, La Masia, was also out-of-bounds for the women until very recently – women have only been admitted into the La Masia residency since 2021.

Things have improved considerably but there is still a massive divide. Bonmati is not just the greatest woman player on the planet, she is also, deservedly, the highest paid. Her earnings last year were €1m (£840,000). Her team-mate Putellas was the second-highest earner on €700,000 (£590,000). Barca’s star striker for the men’s side, Robert Lewandowski, is paid €30m (£25.3m).

Bayern Munich have no plan to raise their offer to Leroy Sane, Napoli slient on move for Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne and Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior on radar of Inter Milan and Juventus.

Bayern Munich do not intend to improve their contract offer to Germany winger Leroy Sane, despite the new agents of the 29-year-old – who is out of contract in the summer – submitting a fresh proposal to the Bundesliga champions. (Florian Plettenberg, Sky Sports Germany), external

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna is remaining silent about a move to sign Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 33, on a free transfer when he leaves Manchester City at the end of his contract this summer. (Calciomercato – in Italian) , external

Canada striker Jonathan David will be a free agent when his deal with Lille ends in the summer and the 25-year-old is another target for Napoli. (La Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Bayer Leverkusen chief Fernando Carro believes there is a 50-50 chance of 22-year-old Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz, who has been linked with Bayern Munich, staying with the club. (Sky Sports Germany), external

Arsenal centre-back Jakub Kiwior is on the radar of both Juventus and Inter Milan as the 25-year-old Poland defender weighs up his long-term future. (Football Insider), external

Real Madrid are looking to agree a deal with Liverpool worth about £1m for 26-year-old England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold to join them before the Club World Cup. (Football Insider), external

Former Everton and Burnley manager Sean Dyche is among the candidates to take over at Leicester City, with the Foxes expected to part ways with current boss Ruud van Nistelrooy. (Talksport), external

Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz says he misses playing for Aston Villa as he struggles for first-team football at Juventus, who signed the 27-year-old from the Midlands club last summer. (Twitch, via Birmingham Mail), external

Brighton are among a number of clubs interested in 21-year-old defender Diego Coppola, who plays for Serie A side Hellas Verona. (Fabrizio Romano), external

AC Milan are keen on Feyenoord centre-back David Hancko but face competition from Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus for the 27-year-old Slovakia international. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external

“It gave us everything. From start to finish last week to this week, everything about this semi-final has been pure entertainment,” said Alan Shearer.

For the second time in six days Inter Milan and Barcelona served up a European classic as the champions of Italy won 4-3 on the night – 7-6 on aggregate – to reach the Champions League final.

In a thriller that will be remembered for years to come, Barca had trailed 2-0 and 3-2 in the first leg in Catalonia before salvaging a 3-3 draw.

On Tuesday in Milan, they were then 2-0 behind at half-time – 5-3 on aggregate – before scoring three times without reply.

Raphinha’s 87th-minute strike was the first time Barca had taken the lead on aggregate but Francesco Acerbi’s first European goal at the age of 37 took an utterly absorbing tie into extra time, with substitute Davide Frattesi scoring the winner to send more than 70,000 Inter fans inside the San Siro into raptures.

It was the joint highest-scoring Champions League semi-final ever, with the 13 goals equalling the 2018 semi-final when Liverpool also defeated Roma 7-6 on aggregate.

“We didn’t expect this, did we?” added former England captain Shearer, who was inside the San Siro for Amazon Prime.

“We expected a good game, but this? Thank you Inter Milan, thank you Barcelona for providing us with incredible entertainment and two great football matches.

“What we have witnessed has been something very special. It’s been a pleasure to be here.”

Inter will face either Paris St-Germain or Arsenal – who meet in the other semi-final in France on Wednesday (20:00 BST) – after one of the great modern classics.

PSG lead 1-0 from the first leg.

“A bad night and a bad game.”

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo could not hide from a lacklustre performance as his side lost ground in the race for a Champions League berth.

A 2-0 defeat at home against Brentford, who hold their own European ambitions, left Forest sitting sixth and up against it in their bid to secure a first appearance in Europe’s premier competition since 1980.

It is the first time Forest have lost successive home fixtures in the Premier League this season.

Victory would have propelled Forest, who lost against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, up to third with four games left to play.

However, they must now rely on sides above them to drop points while also finding a way to address their own form, having lost three of their past four league outings.

Despite those struggles, Forest are only two points adrift of the Magpies and have a favourable run-in, with home games against Chelsea and relegated Leicester plus trips to Crystal Palace and West Ham.

There are still just five points separating Aston Villa in seventh with third-placed Newcastle.

With the Premier League’s top five guaranteed a spot in the Champions League next term, the race for Europe remains closely contested as the season enters its final weeks.

As many as 11 European places are up for grabs and there will definitely be a minimum of eight Premier League teams – up from the usual seven – playing in Europe next season, but things could change in the coming weeks.

It means Crystal Palace, down in 12th, remain in contention for a place in Europe through the league as well as if they win the FA Cup.

BBC Sport takes a look at how many teams could qualify for each of the European competitions – the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

Following his appointment in November, Amorim said he had wanted to take the job at the end of the season but accepted an immediate appointment after being told it was “now or never”.

The Portuguese acknowledges there have been moments when he has wondered whether he should have been braver in discussions with United chief executive Omar Berrada over that initial request to move from Sporting at the end of this campaign.

“If you ask me four months ago, with all the problems, maybe I have the feeling I should be stronger in saying I will start at the beginning of the season,” said Amorim, whose team play Bournemouth on Sunday.

“But today, I am feeling it is something that is going to help us in the future.

“We are suffering a lot here. There is a lot of frustration but I feel, in this moment, maybe because we are near the end, this is the most important time, maybe, in the next few years.

“We are going to use all the information to prepare better the next few years, so [I have] no regrets.”

Adam Pope

BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Off the back of a mind-numbingly boring goalless draw at West Brom, the climate ahead of the trip to Hillsborough felt like that around the Birmingham City defeat early on in the previous season.

Did Leeds have enough players to challenge for promotion? Georginio Rutter was on his way to Brighton, following Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville to the Premier League. Was Willy Gnonto next to go before the window shut?

A clean sheet and a first victory of the campaign in what Farke described “the perfect away performance” allayed the fears of some fans who were considering whether to let Brenden Aaronson back into their lives after he had returned following jumping ship to Germany for a season.

His goal and the quality of Dan James’ finish provided some evidence that Patrick Bamford’s prophecy may prove true when he told his podcast partner Joe Wilkinson that week: “Every time that I’ve been in a team when we haven’t gone up, we’ve done it the next year. Hopefully that’s a good omen!”

Farke admitted after the game that more additions were needed and wingers Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon duly arrived before deadline day.

A candle of hope had been lit.