The game at La Rosaleda marks the start of a new La Liga campaign and hosts Malaga have been handed a very difficult draw for their opening fixture. Los Boquerones welcome Europa League holders Sevilla, with los Rojiblancos in great spirits after the promising performance in the UEFA Super Cup match against Barcelona.

Just like many other European clubs nowadays, Malaga have been the subject of a takeover by a wealthy businessman, but they were unfortunate to see Abdullah Al Thani quickly lose interest in his new toy, leaving the club in financial difficult. Considering the circumstances, los Boquerones have fought bravely to keep the results respectable and they did just that by achieving a top table finish in Spanish La Liga last term. The club did not exactly have money to s…

The United States will have World Cup representation in the form of two referees but no British officials will be present at Russia 2018.

FIFA confirmed its list of 36 referees and 63 assistants for the tournament on Thursday, with the officials spanning 46 different countries.

However, none come from the Premier League, despite English football s top-flight drawing upon a group of full-time professional referees.

The USA s bid for qualification ended in humiliation but Mark Geiger and Jair Marrufo will be men in the middle in Russia.

Nicola Rizzoli, the referee from the 2014 final, is now retired but Gianluca Rocchi will be present in his place as Italy s representative.

Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz, a referee to have earned the distinction of winn…

Spain midfielder Pedri declared his desire to win everything every year after signing a new contract at Barcelona, which he believes to be the best club in the world .

The 18-year-old has secured new terms until the end of the 2025-26 season with a release clause of €1billion after establishing himself in the first team last term, having been initially signed from Las Palmas to play for Barcelona B.

Pedri featured in a club-high 52 games across all competitions in 2020-21 and played the seventh-most minutes (3,529). The teenager also completed the fifth-most opposition-half passes of any Barcelona player in LaLiga (1,100).

The young midfielder has also impressed for Spain, with nobody completing more passes ending in the final third at both the Tokyo Olympic Ga…

Ange Postecoglou does not believe the Tottenham fans want their side to lose and insists his side will not roll out the red carpet for Manchester City.

The Premier League title race will go down to the final day after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, but it is yet to be decided who will go into the last match on top of the table.

City sit one point behind the Gunners, and if they win their game in hand over Spurs on Tuesday, they will reclaim top spot.

However, an Aston Villa win over Liverpool on Monday would end Spurs’ chances of Champions League qualification, meaning they would have nothing to play for against the title holders.

Arsenal need a favour from their North London rivals if they want to win their first Premier League t…

Former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has announced his retirement from football

The 34-year-old terminated his contract with Inter this month after failing to make an appearance in 2015-16 following back surgery.

The centre-back had been tipped to move to MLS but he has now released a statement via United to confirm that injury problems have forced him to end his playing career.

The time has come for me to hang up my boots, he said. The injuries I have had in the last few years have taken their toll.

I would like to thank all the players I have played with, all the managers and staff I have worked with, and say a big thank you to the fans for their support over the years.

Vidic enjoyed a hugely successful spell at Old Trafford after m…

Marco Verratti has told Paris Saint-Germain he is willing to stay at the club and resist a move to Barcelona, but only if they sign champions in the transfer market.

Barca are heavily pursuing the Italy international, who had been keen to leave the French capital after a disappointing season where his side failed to win Ligue 1 for the first time in five years and suffered a humiliating Champions League last-16 collapse at Camp Nou.

But Verratti held a meeting to discuss the transfer saga with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Antero Henrique on Thursday, where he was reportedly promised a lucrative new contract and a spending spree of €220million.

And now he is prepared to give PSG a chance to bring in top names and prove there is still …

Manchester City are hopeful Italian international Jorginho will become their first summer signing, but board member Alberto Galassi says there’s still work to be done, before a deal is completed.

The 26-year-old is expected to join City from Napoli in the coming days for a fee reported to be around the €50m mark.

Pep Guardiola has identified the midfielder as a replacement for Yaya Toure, but Galassi told Sky Sports Italia negotiations are still on-going between the Premier League champions and Serie A runner-up.

“The club is interested, the player is also interested and Napoli is not opposed to the move,” he said.

“Having said that, there are still some things to sort out and it’s not done yet. It’s not an easy negotiation.”

Jor…

According to Kicker, Bayern Munich are interested in signing Son Heung-min. The 26 year old has been with Tottenham Hotspur since 2015 when he made the jump over from Bayer Leverkusen, meaning that we know he s more than capable of getting the job done in Bundesliga.

He recently had a career highlight type of moment, too, helping South Korea to Asian Games glory to ensure that he wouldn t have to complete two years of mandatory military service. Because of this, it seems as if a series of top European clubs have realised that he could be a big player for many years to come, and Bayern are at the top of that list.

Son has been viewed as a long term replacement for Franck Ribery, and while those are certainly big shoes to fill, he s proven in the past on multiple occasi…

Raheem Sterling praised England for finding something deep within as his penalty snatched a late 1-0 Nations League win over Iceland.

Gareth Southgate s side laboured for long periods against the nation who famously humiliated the Three Lions at Euro 2016.

Kyle Walker s 70th-minute red card further complicated matters but Sverrir Ingason joined the Manchester City full-back in receiving his marching orders when he handled Sterling s shot in the final minute.

With Harry Kane having been replaced by debutant Mason Greenwood, the responsibility fell to Sterling, who stroked his spot-kick down the centre of the goal.

As soon as I got the ball I said straight down the middle , he told Sky Sports. It s the 90th minute, I knew the keeper wouldn t stand straigh…

As reported by Italian journalist , Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis spoke on Radio KissKiss Naples recently and revealed a few details of his club s plans for the remainder of the summer transfer window.

Following the departure of Pepe Reina to AC Milan, De Laurentiis stressed the importance of having three goalkeepers on the same level, ready to compete against each other for the spot between the sticks. They have the 21-year-old Alex Meret already, but they are currently considering whether to pursue a deal for Standard Liege s Guillermo Ochoa.

The 33-year-old has made his name among shot-stoppers by performing at top level for Mexico in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and he confirmed his class with similar displays this year in Russia. He would certainly provid…