Brentford have secured the services of Ben Mee on a two-year deal after the defender left Burnley at the end of his contract.
The centre-back played over 300 times for the Clarets, joining in 2011 on an initial one-year loan before signing a permanent deal at the end of that season.
He won promotion to the Premier League at Turf Moor twice, in 2014 and 2016.
Burnley endured a torrid 2021-22 season though, with long-term manager Sean Dyche losing his job in April with his team four points from safety.
Mee, who had suffered a season-ending calf injury, joined the temporary coaching staff until the end of the season, but they were unable to save themselves from relegation afnd a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United on the last day sent them down to the Champio…
Steve Clarke says he had to kick a couple of backsides and give some cuddles after Scotland were thrashed by Germany in their Euro 2024 opener, but he is certain his team s self-belief remains intact.
Scotland suffered the heaviest defeat in an opening game at any European Championship on Friday, being routed 5-1 by a rampant Germany team in Munich.
Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug and Emre Can all scored for the hosts, while Ryan Porteous was sent off for a horror challenge on Ilkay Gundogan.
It was the first time Scotland had conceded five or more goals in a game since a 5-1 friendly defeat to the United States in 2012, and the first time in a competitive match since a 6-0 loss to the Netherlands in Euro 2004 qualifying 21 years ago.
Christophe Galtier insisted Kylian Mbappe is happy at Paris Saint-Germain, though admitted Lionel Messi s future with the French giants is undecided.
Mbappe is the leading marksman in Ligue 1 this season with 12 goals – one ahead of team-mate Neymar – while Messi tops the assists chart with 10, having also found the net seven times.
The France international was heavily linked with a free transfer to Real Madrid last season, but eventually signed a new three-year deal with the reigning Ligue 1 champions in May.
Many believed financial gain played a significant factor in Mbappe s decision, while reports have also suggested the 23-year-old has recently been reconsidering whether he wants to remain at the club.
But Galtier told Marca: I don t think it was…
Dean Huijsen has completed a £12.6million move to Bournemouth from Juventus, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
Huijsen, who made just one senior appearance for Juventus, has signed a six-year deal with Andoni Iraola s side.
The 19-year-old spent the second half of the 2023-24 season on loan with Roma, making 14 league appearances and scoring twice.
Huijsen helped the Giallorossi to a sixth place finish in Serie A, keeping four clean sheets across all of his outings.
The Dutch defender s addition fits in with Iraola s possession philosophy, completing 393 of his 451 attempted passes last season, a pass accuracy of 87.14%.
He becomes the Cherries’ fourth senior signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Alex Paulsen, Daniel Jebbison and t…
Julio Cesar believes his former club Inter have all the possibilities to retain their Serie A title after a productive weekend for the Nerazzurri in the Scudetto race.
Simone Inzaghi s side beat Hellas Verona on Saturday before seeing title rivals Napoli lose at home to Fiorentina and league leaders Milan draw 0-0 at Torino.
Inter now sit second, ahead of Napoli on goal difference and two points behind Milan, but with a game in hand on both and a superior goal difference.
Speaking with Stats Perform courtesy of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Cesar compared the current Inter team to the one he played in, which won a treble in the 2009-10 season.
Since Inter won the title [last season], Juventus streak has been interrupted, he said. When I was at Inter, Juven…
Erling Haaland scored his fourth Premier League hat-trick of the season as Manchester City beat relegation-threatened Wolves 3-0 to apply the pressure on leaders Arsenal.
Lethal striker Haaland opened the scoring with a header from close range in a one-sided first half at the Etihad Stadium.
He was on target again from the penalty spot early after the restart and completed his hat-trick four minutes later following a terrible mistake from Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa, taking his goal tally for the season to a staggering 31.
City boss Pep Guardiola had demanded more hunger from his side in their quest for more trophies and they responded, moving two points behind the Gunners ahead of their huge clash with Manchester United later on Sunday.
4 Erling Haaland ha…
England finished first in Group C at Euro 2024 but again disappointed during their goalless draw with Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday.
The Three Lions endured another flat display in front of goal, with Bukayo Saka s ruled out first-half effort the only real moment of quality from Gareth Southgate s side.
An injection of pace from substitute Cole Palmer threatened to spark England into life, but a winning goal eluded them as they finished with just five points from their three group games.
Despite the draw, England topped Group C following Serbia s goalless draw with Denmark, meaning they avoided a last-16 tie against hosts Germany. Matjaz Kek s side, meanwhile, secured their place in the knockout stages for the first time ever at a major tournament.
With…
Wout Weghorst fired the Netherlands into the Euro 2024 finals as the Republic of Ireland’s dismal campaign ended with a whimper.
Burnley’s on-loan Hoffenheim frontman, whose winner in Dublin in September left Ireland with a mountain to climb, repeated the dose in Amsterdam to secure a 1-0 victory which was far more comprehensive than the scoreline suggested.
As a result, the Dutch secured second place in Group B behind France, who put 14 without reply past Gibraltar.
Stephen Kenny’s men, who have now won only six of the 29 competitive games they have played under his charge, barely laid a glove on a far superior side under the closed roof at the Johan Cruyff Arena on a night when they had hoped to bloody the nose of one of Europe’s traditional big guns.
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Simply looking to find a welcomed return to winning ways on Sunday evening, Barcelona will welcome Mallorca to the Nou Camp.
Barcelona
Starting with the hosts, while Barcelona might have eventually cruised their way to a first La Liga crown since 2019 this season, Xavi’s side are seeking a recent boost. Slumping to a 3-1 loss away at Valladolid earlier in the week, the Spanish icons have now suffered back-to-back top-flight losses for the first time this season. However, still with a real party atmosphere around the Nou Camp, Barca have continued to gain a string of plaudits on either side of the World Cup’s winter break. Despite enduring another European nightmare this season, they will be smelling a golden chance here. Claiming …
Roma and Milan have banned Corriere dello Sport from their training grounds and told players not to speak to the newspaper for the rest of the year.
On Thursday, the Italian sports daily published the headline Black Friday – accompanied by pictures of Roma s Chris Smalling and Inter s Romelu Lukaku – ahead of the Serie A clash between the two sides.
The headline was widely criticised as being racial insensitive, with Smalling and Lukaku both expressing disappointment.
However, Corriere dello Sport s editor described the headline as innocent and insisted the words reflected the pride of difference, the wonderful wealth of difference , adding: If you don t get it, it is because you can t or you don t want to.
— Chris Smalling (@ChrisS…