🚨 Dani Alves sent to prison, Kroos' international return, Sir Jim's fighting talk, Alonso won't confirm Bayern call, all the Euro scores and more
Today's round-up, featuring Man United, Liverpool, Barcelona and much more!
Good morning everyone and welcome to another Daily Briefing - thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy!
Today’s top stories:
Plus news from Brighton, Liverpool, Real Madrid and more
Barcelona
Xavi: "My decision on my future doesn't alter. I'm convinced this club needs a change. We still have a couple of months left until June, but I think that my decision was necessary. It's the best thing for me, but especially for the club."
Jules Koundé on Frenkie de Jong’s reaction to rumours as he's also linked with a possible summer move: "I agree with Frenkie, media sometimes are telling lies. Frenkie had to express it and I think he is right. Many times things come out that are not correct."
Barça director Deco on Frenkie de Jong being furious after fake news: "I understand him. Frenkie's human, after all. There were many fake stories around, he wanted to clarify that. I see Frenkie de Jong happy at Barça. He's a top player at a top level."
Historic 243-game ban handed out in Spain [Relevo]
Bayer Leverkusen
Xabi Alonso on his future: “Bayern, Liverpool? I have nothing new to say. Right now I'm Bayer Leverkusen coach and that's certain. Regarding the future, I have nothing new to say. Call received from Bayern? That’s only hypothetical, again — I have nothing new to say.”
Bayern Munich
Bayern’s new manager will also be involved in the decision over Mathys Tel’s future. Tel wants to stay at Bayern, he loves the club but needs more guarantees on game time. His departure would have been likely if Tuchel had remained in charge.
Benfica
Special moment for João Néves after Toulouse vs Benfica game. The 19-year-old midfielder sadly lost his mother this week and he was emotional at the end of the game. Benfica fans showed their love with chants and his team-mates shared a long embrace with him.
Brighton and Hove Albion
Ibrahim Osman already signed his contract at Brighton two weeks ago. “I chose Brighton because of the style of play. When you perform at Brighton, you get to play.”
Dani Alves
Dani Alves has been sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for sexual assault. The sentence also includes 5 years of supervised release and no communication with the victim for 9 years and 6 months. He will also pay legal costs. “We will appeal,” Alves’ lawyer said.
Europa Conference League Play-Offs - Second Leg
Bodø/Glimt vs Ajax: 1-2. A game that went all the way in extra time, thanks to Patrick Berg’s late equaliser for the hosts. The Dutch giants go through 4-3 on aggregate after Kenneth Taylor’s 114th minute looping finish [pictures from TNT Sports].
Ludogorets vs Servette: 0-1. Another tight game, and the only goal across the two legs, scored by Timothé Cognat, sees Servette progress.
Legia Warsaw vs Molde: 0-3. Molde cruised through to the knockouts (6-2 on aggregate) with a convincing away win, Fredrik Gulbrandsen with a double and Eirik Hestad with the other.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Union Saint-Gilloise: 1-2. Another win for Union SG, this time thanks to goals from Cameron Puertas and Dennis Eckert. Eintracht’s reply from Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe wasn’t enough for the Germans who went crashing out (3-4 on aggregate).
Dinamo Zagreb vs Real Betis: 1-1. Cedric Bakambu scored for the visitors to level it up on aggregate, but Takuro Kaneko’s 59th minute goal was enough to send Zagreb through.
Ferencváros vs Olympiacos: 0-1. The same result as the first leg, with Ayoub El Kaabi grabbing the goal right on half-time from the spot.
Slovan Bratislava vs SK Sturm Graz: 0-1. Sturm Graz were always going to be in the hat for the next round after a 4-0 first leg win, Mika Biereth’s 52nd minute goal in this one merely underlining the gulf in class.
Gent and Maccabi Haifa played out a 1-1 draw on Wednesday evening, with the visitors going through 2-1 on aggregate.
The winner of the Europa Conference League will therefore come from the teams in the image below:
Europa League Play-Offs - Second Leg
SC Freiburg vs Lens: 3-2. Freiburg needed a 99th-minute winner from Michael Gregoritsch to win the tie. David Costa and Elye Wahi had given Lens a two-goal advantage, before a Roland Sallai double - including a 92nd minute equaliser - sent the game into extra-time and allowed his side to book their place in the next round.
Toulouse vs Benfica: 0-0. Not a game to write home about, the visitors going through thanks to their 2-1 first-leg win.
Sparta Prague vs Galatasaray: 4-1. Despite winning 3-2 in the first leg, Turkish giants Galatasaray were well beaten. Goals from Angelo Preciado, Indrit Tuci, Lukas Haraslin and Jan Kuchta made Gala’s solitary reply from Abdulkerim Bardakci incidental. Sparta go through 6-4 on aggregate.
Marseille vs Shakhtar Donetsk: 3-1. A stroll for the French giants in the end. Though the highly-rated Georgiy Sudakov opened the scoring for Shakhtar, goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ismaila Sarr and Geoffrey Kondogbia sent Marseille into the knockout stage 5-3 on aggregate.
Rennes vs Milan: 3-2. Although Milan were downed on the night by the odd goal in five, they’re through to the knockout stages thanks to a 3-0 first-leg win. Benjamin Bourigeaud’s hat-trick for Rennes included two penalties.
Qarabag FK vs Braga: 2-3. Despite winning on the night thanks to a penalty from Simon Banza in the 115th minute, Neriman Axundzade’s 122nd minute goal knocked Braga out 6-5 on aggregate [pictures from Stan Sport].
Sporting vs Young Boys: 1-1. Viktor Gyokeres continued his incredible scoring run to put the Portuguese giants ahead, with Silvere Ganvoula M’boussy grabbing an 84th minute consolation from the spot. Sporting’s 4-2 aggregate win sees them sail through.
Roma vs Feyenoord: 1-1 (2-2 on agg, Roma win 4-2 on pens). The only tie of the round to go all the way to the dreaded penalty shoot-out. The game had ended as the first leg had, with Santiago Gimenez’s early goal for the visitors cancelled out by a stunning strike from Lorenzo Pellegrini. The lottery of penalties was settled thanks to a thumping spot-kick delivery from Nicola Zalewski.
The winner of the Europa League will therefore come from the teams in the image below:
Germany
Toni Kroos returns to the German National Team. “I’m convinced this squad can do special things at the Euros,” he said. Real Madrid are optimistic about this and see it as a positive signal that Kroos will also extend his club contract beyond this season.
Hoffenheim
Official, confirmed. U17 striker Max Moerstedt signs a new deal at Hoffenheim until June 2027.
Inter Milan
Hakan Çalhanoglu: “It’s true, I have received offers from Saudi Arabia. But I love Inter, I told the Inter board that I want to stay here. Inter will always be something different for me.”
Arnautovic goal won €50,000 bet [Football Italia]
Liverpool
Klopp on the Carabao Cup Final vs Chelsea: "Will we be big favourites? Definitely not. Since we played Chelsea they have improved a lot and it will be tricky, I'm sure."
Liverpool reached huge milestone against Luton Town [This is Anfield].
Manchester United
Sir Jim Ratcliffe: "Liverpool and Man City are the enemy. Nothing would please me more than to knock them both off their pedestals. There are things we can learn from them, of course. I respect them a lot... but they are still the enemy for us.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe: "Winning matches and trophies, that is what Manchester United is about. It's the biggest, the greatest and the most well-known football club in the world. This is not a financial investment. It's because I want to see Manchester United being successful again."
Manchester United expect Luke Shaw to return just before the end of the season, and he also hopes to be ready for the Euros. He's going to be monitored on a weekly basis by the staff after his leg injury.
Manchester United are living in the past says former super agent [Jon Smith]
Real Madrid
Real Madrid are not changing their plans for Endrick after Mbappé negotiations advancing to the final stages. Real want Endrick in Europe starting from July and the discussion about an extended loan to Palmeiras until December is considered out of question.
Thibaut Courtois is progressing well with his recovery from injury. Positive feelings after he started participating in training with his team-mates. Real Madrid will not force his return but it could happen around April if all goes to plan.
Real Madrid to honour Sergio Ramos upon return with Sevilla [Diario AS]
Spain
The Spanish Federation have activated a formal clause to extend Luis de la Fuente’s contract until 2026, meaning he stays until the World Cup in the USA.
The Debrief Podcast
Angus Scott and Ben Jacobs are joined by French Football Insider, Jonathan Johnson, to go in-depth on Mbappe’s decision to leave PSG and his future at Real Madrid. They also discuss the impact of the departure on PSG and Ligue 1. Could this actually be a blessing in disguise for both? Fabrizio Romano joins in his normal spot with some worrying news for Thomas Tuchel at Bayern and some critical updates on Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White at Arsenal.