Andre Villas-Boas expects to leave Marseille at the end of the season after the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss admitted to an abysmal failure.
The 43-year-old, who was appointed by OM in May 2019, will see his two-year contract expire at the end of this campaign.
Marseille sit 13 points behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain heading into the latest round of fixtures, occupying sixth place having lost their last three games in the competition.
Their Champions League performance was also far short of expectations, with Marseille finishing at the foot of their group with just three points.
Asked whether it looked as though he would leave in June, Villas-Boas said on Friday: Yes, I think so. I don t have other information.
But I m not asking…
Is Erling Haaland s future becoming clearer?
Haaland s exploits for Borussia Dortmund have attracted interest from far and wide.
But Manchester City appear to be the frontrunners for his signature…
TOP STORY – CITY LINING UP BIG HAALAND BID
Manchester City are confident of landing Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland in a £100million (€114m) deal, according to the front page of Friday s Mirror.
Haaland is one of the most sought-after players in Europe, having been linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Barcelona, Manchester United and Juventus.
But City believe winning this season s Premier League will help them sign Haaland at the end of the campaign.
Friday s back page: Pep s in ha ha land
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Ghana coach James Appiah is pleased his side reached the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals despite aiming to win the tournament.
Burkina Faso surprisingly eliminated Ghana on Wednesday, winning their semi-final in Nelspruit 3-2 on penalties after the encounter had finished locked at 1-1.
Ghana will be aiming to secure third spot when they take on Mali on Saturday and Appiah said his inexperienced squad had done well in South Africa.
It s a long time – 31 years – since we last won the cup, Appiah said.
I took over the position around 10 months ago and coming into this competition I came in with 11 players who have never played in this competition before. I m trying to build a new team for the nation.
For me, they did very well in getting …
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After enduring the heartbreak of conceding a last-minute goal in the final of the previous season, Fiorentina is set to make their comeback in the Europa Conference League. This Thursday, they are scheduled to compete in the initial match of their playoff series against Rapid Vienna, at the Allianz Stadium.
Despite their disappointment of falling short against West Ham United in June, La Viola is determined to seize another opportunity for European success. Yet, their path to securing a spot in the group stage is obstructed by the challenge posed by Rapid Vienna.
Rapid Vienna
Although the season has just kicked off for Fiorentina, Rapid Vienna is already four matches deep into the latest Austrian Bundesliga season. Their imp…
Sampdoria coach Vincenzo Montella stated he sees shades of himself in Juventus forward Paulo Dybala.
During his playing career, Montella consistently found the back of the net in Serie A at Sampdoria and Roma, who he helped to the Scudetto in 2000-01 with 13 goals.
Dybala already has nine in his maiden season at Juve following a big-money transfer from Palermo, proving a capable replacement for the departed Carlos Tevez.
The Sampdoria boss confessed to trying to sign the 22-year-old Argentina international when he was coaching at Catania in the 2011-12 season and is reminded of himself when watching the striker.
Dybala is a great player – he reminds me a bit of myself when I was a youngster, said Montella.
When I was the coach of Catania we …
Blackburn Rovers are on the lookout for what will be their seventh manager in less than seven-and-a-half years after parting company with Gary Bowyer on Tuesday.
After two spells as caretaker boss following the dismissals of Henning Berg and Michael Appleton – both of whom lasted less than ten weeks in charge – Bowyer was handed the position on a permanent basis two-and-a-half years ago.
A slow start to this season has seen the former Rotherham United full-back relieved of his duties, meaning he is remarkably the eighth manager to be sacked by a second-tier side since the opening weekend of the campaign – meaning a third of the division have pulled the trigger with just sixteen games played.
Much changed
Kit Symons, Chris Powell and Ch…
Football Federation Australia (FFA) confirmed the appointment of James Johnson as its new chief executive officer on Friday.
Johnson, most recently the senior vice-president of external affairs with the City Football Group (CFG), is replacing David Gallop as chief and will begin in the role in January.
He has previously held positions with FIFA – as head of professional football and senior manager member associations – and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as director of international relations and development.
Having run a domestic and international executive search, and in a strong field of candidates, we have no doubt James is the right person for the role. We are thrilled that he is coming back to Australia at this important time for the game, FFA c…
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba insists that he is more focused on team accolades like the Champions League or World Cup than individual prizes such as the Ballon d Or.
Barcelona great Lionel Messi and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo have enjoyed a stranglehold over football s greatest individual honour for the past decade.
Pogba has been among those touted to take over the mantle when Messi and Ronaldo s reign over football s best player on the planet winds down.
But the France international recognises such an achievement can only come about by winning the greatest team trophies.
I want to win a World Cup and Champions League and to be the best, Pogba told Canal+.
The Ballon d Or is more a dream than an objective.
You c…
Arsenal s new boss Mikel Arteta has claimed being ruthless and consistent is what has made Pep Guardiola such a successful manager.
Arteta was announced as Arsenal s new permanent head coach on Friday, with Freddie Ljungberg having been in interim charge since Unai Emery was sacked in November.
He joins the Gunners after assisting Guardiola at City since 2016, winning two Premier League titles, two EFL Cups and the FA Cup during his time in Manchester.
Arteta, who came close to taking over at Arsenal in 2018 before Emery succeeded Arsene Wenger, plans to champion some of Guardiola s best qualities as he looks to revitalise fortunes at Emirates Stadium.
What I ve learned mostly is you have to be ruthless, consistent and fit every day the culture of the c…
Paul Pogba could still join Real Madrid but he is not worth the reported €200million asking price, according to the Manchester United midfielder s brother.
Mathias Pogba, who plays in the fourth tier of Spanish football, thinks his younger sibling might yet leave Old Trafford despite United s apparent insistence on a huge sum.
The Premier League club reportedly want close to the world-record €222m fee that saw Neymar move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
United would not be able to sign a replacement as the transfer window has closed to English clubs, but Mathias advised Madrid to listen to the desires of head coach Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane is one of the greats and I think that if the club give him what he wants he won t have a problem, …