Spain’s coaching staff, with the exception of boss Jorge Vilda, have resigned en masse following the conduct of Luis Rubiales at last weekend’s women’s World Cup final.

Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has been provisionally suspended by FIFA in the wake of kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips while she collected her medal after Spain’s 1-0 win over England in Sydney last Sunday.

Hermoso stressed on Friday she did not consent to the kiss and assistant managers Montse Tome, Javier Lerga and Eugenio Gonzalo Martin are among those to have decided to stand down from their positions.

Se acabo#El FÚTBOL es FÚTBOL y ojalá pudiéramos estar hablando de lo conseguido …

— Montse Tome (@montse_tome)

Physiothera…

Andres Iniesta insists Barcelona are not ready to be toppled from their perch as the kings of European football.

The Catalan giants suffered a humbling 4-0 defeat against Bayern Munich in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, leading some to question if they had been usurped as the continent s premier football team.
But Iniesta who has won Europe s most prestigious piece of silverware three times with the club, in 2006, 2009 and 2011 is confident the Spanish outfit are still top of the pile.
We have won the Super Cup and everything else we ve competed in, he said. To say this is the end of the cycle is unfair, after we have won for so many years and have fought for every available title.
I think the end of a cycle occurs when a few years go by wit…

Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester City can still mount a successful bid for the Premier League title despite having little remaining margin for error.

City return to Premier League action away to Liverpool on Wednesday, after overcoming the same opponents on penalties at Wembley on Sunday to lift the League Cup.

That triumph came on the back of an authoritative 3-1 Champions League round-of-16 victory at Dynamo Kiev, a result that puts City in prime position to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time.

But they head to Anfield, a ground where they have failed to win on their past 12 Premier League attempts, on the back of consecutive league defeats to top-two teams Leicester City and Tottenham.

Pellegrini s men are nine points be…

Eden Hazard has talked up Ruben Loftus-Cheek s ability and declared him ready for regular first-team opportunities at Chelsea.

The England midfielder enjoyed a successful loan stint at Crystal Palace last season, making 24 appearances in the Premier League and winning a spot in Gareth Southgate s World Cup squad.

Maurizio Sarri is now weighing up whether to grant the 22-year-old an extended chance to impress at Stamford Bridge.

Hazard, who went head-to-head with Loftus-Cheek in the third-place play-off in Russia, is clear on where his team-mate should spend the upcoming campaign.

Ruben is a fantastic player, the Belgium star told the London Evening Standard. He is still young, of course, but I think if we can have him in the team this season it s a pl…

RB Leipzig star Timo Werner would fit well at a club like Liverpool, according to former coach Ralf Rangnick.

Werner, 24, has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League leaders after scoring 27 goals in 36 games for RB Leipzig this season.

Rangnick, the former Leipzig coach and now the head of sport and development at Red Bull, wants Werner to stay, but feels Liverpool would suit the forward.

The league is less important, but the club, from a purely hypothetical point of view, I would better see him in good hands with a club that is not necessarily defined by ball possession football, he told BILD.

Since Timo has made progress under Julian Nagelsmann, his most important weapons, however, are the quick switching movement and his powerful finis…

Real Madrid s team bus had one window smashed en route to Anfield for Wednesday s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool.

Reports began circulating in the Spanish media shortly after Madrid left the team hotel that their bus had been struck by an object.

While confirmation was not relayed by Madrid, footage of the bus showed the damage once it had arrived at Anfield, with one window on the vehicle missing.

Although it is unclear who is responsible, Liverpool were charged by UEFA in 2018 after Manchester City s bus was pelted with bottles and cans on its approach into Anfield ahead of a Champions League knockout clash.

The Reds were fined €20,000 for the actions of their supporters on that occasion.

Liverpool are 3-1 down fr…

Fiorentina are open to selling Dusan Vlahovic in January but the Viola s director Joe Barone denied they have reached an agreement with Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta s Gunners are among a plethora of Europe s elite who are chasing the in-form striker in the mid-season transfer window, with Premier League champions Manchester City also linked.

Vlahovic has scored 17 times in 21 Serie A appearances, netting once every 109.5 minutes on average and comfortably outperforming his expected goals tally of 12.2, and his stock continues to rise.

The 21-year-old ended 2021 on a high as well, matching Cristiano Ronaldo s 21st-century record for most goals in the Italian top flight in a calendar year (33), set in 2020.

In fact, only Gunnar Nordahl in 1950 (36) has ever sc…

Pep Guardiola hailed Raheem Sterling s ability to cope with high expectations after the winger scored in the Premier League four days after hitting a Champions League hat-trick.

Sterling s treble in a 5-1 victory over Atalanta added weight to his billing as the top flight s most in-form forward and he lived up to the hype in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

After a goalless first half in which City survived a number of scares at the back, Sterling broke the deadlock early in the second half to settle the champions nerves.

Sterling s strike paved the way for David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan to increase City s lead, and Guardiola was quick to point out the difficulty many players have in delivering when under pressure in the manner that Sterling did.

We played…

Vicente del Bosque wants to remain Spain coach until 2016, despite overseeing the former world champions terrible FIFA World Cup campaign.

Del Bosque confirmed to Spanish media on Thursday that he will stay in charge of Spain s national team until after the 2016 European Championships, which will be held in France, putting an end to speculation about the 63-year-old s future.

Spain entered Brazil 2014 as reigning champions and having won their previous three major tournaments (two European championships and the 2010 World Cup) but Del Bosque s ageing squad were thumped 5-1 by Netherlands in their first match and never recovered.

A 2-0 loss to Chile followed and although Spain finished Group B with a 3-0 win over Australia, they were eliminated, sparking calls for…

LaLiga leaders Barcelona twice had to battle from behind as Fermin Lopez’s first goal for the club earned a hard-fought draw at Real Mallorca.

Xavi’s side have been the early pace-setters as they look to defend their league title but the visitors had to settle for a 2-2 draw at the Iberostar Stadium.

Vedat Muriqi and Abdon Prats goals had twice had the hosts in front but Raphinha cancelled out the opener before substitute Lopez struck to earn Barca a share of the spoils.

ATTABOY!!!!

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)

Two early goals set Sevilla on their way to an emphatic 5-1 home win over Almeria.

Youssef En-Nesyri headed home with seven minutes on the clock after Loic Bade had hit the woodwork and just a minute later the lead was doub…