🚨 Man Utd stun City in FA Cup final! Plus Kompany to Bayern announcement close, latest on Arsenal star's future, Kroos Real Madrid farewell, & more
Today's round-up, featuring Man Utd, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and much more!
Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing - thanks as always for reading and hope you enjoy!
Today’s top stories:
Plus more from Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid
AC Milan
Rafael Leao gifted an easy finish after one of the worst goalkeeping mistakes you’ll see for a long, long time! FT AC Milan 3-3 Salernitana [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Stefano Pioli after saying goodbye to AC Milan fans: “I’m studying English and I’m keen on trying a new experience abroad. Premier League could be really nice and attractive opportunity, for sure.”
Olivier Giroud also said goodbye to Milan: “When I was young I dreamed about this Milan, now I had a spell that I am proud of. I will never forget these three years at Milan.”
Arsenal
Emile Smith Rowe’s Arsenal future will be discussed in scheduled meetings soon - more info from Charles Watts’ report.
Kieran Tierney has said his goodbyes to Real Sociedad as he’s returning to Arsenal after this season’s loan spell. Arsenal and Tierney will now discuss other solutions for the left-back.
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Barcelona
Xavi: “I respect the president’s decision to sack me, it’s him the one who decides. I will always be Barcelona fan and supporting the club. I’d love to return to Barça one day. Barcelona is the club of my life, I always said that. I’m not closing doors to Barca and to the possibility to return at the club one day.”
Marcos Alonso will still leave Barcelona as a free agent - his plans won’t change even with Hansi Flick as new manager. There are no negotiations ongoing between Atletico Madrid and Marcos Alonso, as reported yesterday.
Joshua Kimmich to Barcelona under Hansi Flick? Fabrizio Romano discusses the story in his latest exclusive column.
Eric Garcia to return to Barcelona - the defender’s plan has been revealed.
Bayer Leverkusen
What a goal by Granit Xhaka and what a way to win a cup final! FT Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Kaiserslautern [Pictures from Premier Sports]
Bayer Leverkusen win the DFB Pokal and it’s Double for Xabi Alonso’s team! Two titles, only one defeat this season for Bayer Leverkusen — in the Europa League final. It’s Leverkusen’s fourth title EVER, two this season under Xabi. Fantastic season, super achievement.
Bayern Munich
Vincent Kompany will sign in as Bayern Munich’s new manager, here we go! Agreement between clubs with Burnley on €12m fee, contract terms already sealed. Kompany will become new Bayern head coach on three year deal — it’s done, all the documents are ready, and an announcement is expected next week.
Pep Guardiola on Kompany set to sign for Bayern: “It doesn’t matter if he was relegated with Burnley. I have a high opinion about his work, as a person, his personality, knowledge of the game, how he handles the media… I’d be happy to see Kompany at Bayern. Vincent Kompany will become a future Man City manager, mark my words. Yeah, it will happen for sure. You will call me when this is going to happen…”
Chelsea
Roberto de Zerbi to Chelsea could now be done on the cheap thanks to a new clause for the former Brighton manager - more info in Fabrizio Romano’s column.
Aaron Anselmino to Chelsea or Manchester United? Latest reports on the battle for the Argentine wonderkid…
Juventus
Michele Di Gregorio to Juventus, here we go! A verbal agreement is in place for the Italian goalkeeper voted as best one of the Serie A season. Juve will invest €20m package, in details €18m fixed fee plus €2m add-ons. Thiago Motta has already approved the deal.
Alex Sandro is leaving Juventus as free agent, time to say goodbye today on final home game. Sandro has already been approached by club from Brazil, open to several chances on free move.
Liverpool
Teun Koopmeiners to Liverpool? Arne Slot will discuss transfer targets with the LFC board soon, says Fabrizio Romano in today’s exclusive column.
Leny Yoro to Liverpool rumours are hotting up, though they’ll face plenty of competition for his signature…
Thiago Alcantara to Barcelona return could happen as he prepares to leave Liverpool on a free this summer.
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Manchester City
Jeremy Doku pulled one back for Manchester City, but should Andre Onana have done better? FT Man City 1-2 Man Utd [Pictures from ITV Sport]
Pep Guardiola: “Lisandro Martinez is top five centre-backs in the world. He made the difference on this game by playing passes through our defence.”
Guardiola: “I think my gameplan was not good. The second half was much much better. We were more intense, in part because we were 2-0 down and had nothing to lose. It was a tight game. We had clear chances in the second half which wasn’t easy because they had man-marking and defended the pockets but we had the chances and unfortunately we scored a goal a little bit late.”
Manchester United
What a superb move this was as Kobbie Mainoo put Manchester United 2-0 up in the FA Cup final! FT Man City 1-2 Man Utd [Pictures from ITV Sport]
Garnacho and Mainoo are the first teenagers to score in an FA Cup final since Cristiano Ronaldo also did it for Man United back in 2004.
Erik ten Hag on his future: “INEOS told me that they want to change everything and that they want to rebuild WITH me. This is what they told me directly.”
Roberto de Zerbi to Man United could now be done on the cheap thanks to a new clause for the former Brighton manager - more info in Fabrizio Romano’s column.
Ten Hag: “We need to sign an extra striker in the summer. And if we can sign another central midfielder and a replacement for Varane, things will look good again. If the team remains fit we can try and aim for top four again.”
Ten Hag: “Two trophies in two seasons and three finals… not bad. If they don’t want me anymore, I’ll go somewhere else and win trophies. That’s what I do.”
Ten Hag: “When I took over, it was a mess at United. The team’s winning trophies and playing to an identity… but you need the players to be available. In last decade there were not so many finals, not so many trophies for this club, not so many young talents through.”
Marcus Rashford: “People want to know what Man United means to me.”
Bruno Fernandes: “I want to stay at Manchester United. They know my intentions: I want to keep lifting trophies here, or at least keep competing for them until the last minute.”
Monaco
Wissam Ben Yedder is leaving AS Monaco as a free agent, the decision has been made. He’s now available on the market, looking for new club.
Napoli
Antonio Conte Napoli manager latest - it’s now really concrete, according to Fabrizio Romano in his latest column.
What signings could Conte bring to Napoli this summer? Some big names are reportedly in his sights…
Plymouth Argyle
Official: Wayne Rooney is the new manager of Plymouth Argyle. Agreement completed yesterday on three year contract.
PSG
Ousmane Dembele headed PSG into the lead as they eventually won the Coupe de France final! FT PSG 2-1 Lyon [Pictures from beIN Sports]
Real Madrid
Toni Kroos after his last appearance at the Bernabeu: “My kids’ reaction has literally destroyed me…I can only say: Real Madrid.”
Leny Yoro to Real Madrid transfer may now be more likely than PSG, according to reports…
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama are advancing in talks with Philippe Coutinho’s camp to bring him back to the club. Vasco are increasingly confident as Coutinho is keen on the move.
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