Premier League
Liverpool boss Klopp signs new contract until 2026
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at Anfield until 2026, giving the club a huge boost ahead of a defining period in which they could win an unprecedented quadruple.
Liverpool confirmed in a statement on Thursday that assistant managers Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz had also signed contract extensions with the Premier League club.
Klopp, who joined Liverpool from Borussia Dortmund in October 2015, had said in March he would remain in charge of the club beyond the end of his previous contract in 2024 only if he had the energy levels.
After signing his new deal, he said there was a freshness about the club still that “energises” him.
“There are so many words I could use to describe how I am feeling about this news… delighted, humbled, blessed, privileged and excited would be a start,” Klopp said in a statement.
“For as long as I have been here, our owners have been unbelievably committed and energetic about this club and it is clear that right now this applies to our future as much as I’ve ever known.
“There is just so much to love about this place. I knew that before I came here, I got to know it even better after I arrived and now I know it more than ever before.”
Klopp, 54, has won five trophies in seven years since swapping the Ruhr valley for Merseyside, guiding Liverpool to the Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup victories in 2019 before lifting the Premier League the following year.
Liverpool remain on course to clinch a historic quadruple this season, having won the League Cup in February and reached the FA Cup final, while they trail Premier League leaders Manchester City by a single point with five games left.
They are in the box seat in their Champions League semi-final against Villarreal after a 2-0 first-leg victory kept them on track for a third final in five seasons.
“Like any healthy relationship, it always has to be a two-way street, you have to be right for each other,” said Klopp, after his new deal extended his longest spell at a club.
“The feeling we were absolutely right for each other is what brought me here in the first place and it’s why I’ve extended previously,” Klopp said.
“We are a club that is constantly moving in the right direction. We have a clear idea of what we want, we have a clear idea of how we try to achieve it. That’s always a great position to start from.”
Klopp took Liverpool to the brink of their first Premier League title in the 2018-19 campaign, when they finished a point behind champions Manchester City, and eventually ended their 30-year wait for a top flight crown the following season.
He also led them to their sixth European Cup triumph in 2019, following the disappointment of losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League final the previous year and defeat by Sevilla in the Europa League final in 2016.
The charismatic German’s high-intensity style combined with astute business in the transfer market has played a key role in transforming Liverpool’s fortunes in England and Europe.
The likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino made Liverpool’s front line the envy of their rivals, while Virgil van Dijk provided steel at the back and the arrival of Thiago Alcantara added silk to their midfield, making Liverpool an irresistible force in England.
With the best years of academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold yet to come and recent additions Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz impressing since moving to Merseyside, Klopp can oversee more success with Liverpool’s younger generation as he looks set to see out a decade at Anfield.
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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