Mesut Ozil acknowledged his dream move to Fenerbahce did not go in the direction he wanted as he heads for Istanbul Basaksehir.

The 33-year-old had been at odds with interim head coach Ismail Kartal, and Jorge Jesus seemingly made it clear Ozil was not part of his plans following his appointment as boss last month.

Former Germany midfielder Ozil joined Fener on a three-and-a-half-year deal in January 2021 following his release from Arsenal.

Ozil s move did not go to plan, though, and the playmaker has been in the wilderness once again since being banished from first-team duties in March.

Media speculation linked him with Basaksehir and the club hinted at an agreement with a tweet in which Ozil was tagged on Wednesday.

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Jurgen Klopp has no doubt Liverpool will reach a compromise with captain Jordan Henderson over his future.

Reports emerged last month suggesting talks between the two parties had reached an impasse.

Henderson has spent the past decade with Liverpool, winning the Premier League and Champions League among other trophies during that period, and has two years to run on his existing contract.

Despite doubts being raised over Henderson s future, Klopp remains optimistic that the situation will soon resolve itself.

Asked how important it is to sort out the England international s future, Klopp said: Important, but it will happen.

We will sort it, we will sort it. However it will be, we will sort it, no doubt about that.

Henderson was given an …

Atletico Madrid returned to the summit of LaLiga as Luis Suarez s dramatic 90th-minute goal sealed a 2-1 win over 10-man Deportivo Alaves on Sunday. 

Diego Simeone s side dropped to second following Real Madrid s 2-0 win over Celta Vigo on Saturday, but a fourth consecutive top-flight victory restored a two-point advantage over their city rivals with still two games in hand. 

Marcos Llorente put the visitors ahead after 41 minutes with his latest long-range effort – his five from outside the penalty area since the beginning of 2020 more than any other LaLiga player. 

Alaves brushed off Victor Laguardia s 63rd-minute red card to pull level six minutes from time through Felipe s outrageous own goal, but Suarez popped up at the death to snatch a memorable…

Liverpool made it back-to-back Champions League wins after a commanding 2-0 victory over Rangers, with Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring the pick of the goals.

Jurgen Klopp s side have been somewhat off the pace this season but soon took the lead at Anfield after an excellent Alexander-Arnold free-kick past Allan McGregor.

Mohamed Salah doubled the lead with a penalty after the interval, with the insipid Rangers thankful to McGregor for preventing Liverpool from inflicting further damage.

Victory kept the Reds three points behind Group A leaders Napoli, who thrashed Ajax in Tuesday s other game, while Rangers remain bottom after yet another disappointing showing in Europe the Scottish side conceding nine goals in three group stage matches thus far.

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Andres Iniesta says the booing of Barcelona players Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique by their own fans is not pleasant .

The pair were jeered by Barca supporters at Camp Nou when being substituted onto the pitch in last month s win over Villarreal, with their refusal to take pay cuts thought to be the reason for the negative reception.

Barca head coach Xavi spoke out against the booing after the game, and Iniesta has joined his former midfield partner in being displeased with the fans behaviour.

It is something that no one likes and does not like, regardless of whether they are colleagues or friends, Iniesta, who ended his 20-year association with Barcelona when joining Japanese side Vissel Kobe in 2018, told AS.

That your fans whistle you is not pleasa…

Paris Saint-Germain will not win the Champions League because they are terrible at defending, according to former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi scored twice while Neymar was also on target in the thumping 7-2 victory over Maccabi Haifa at Parc des Princes.

Despite progressing to the knockout stages with a match to spare, the Champions League trophy has remained elusive to PSG, who are yet to register a clean sheet in this season s competition after Abdoulaye Seck s brace for the visitors.

Schmeichel, who lifted the trophy with United in 1999, heaped praise on the attacking trio of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar after another devastating goalscoring display, but believes that defensive frailties will wreck any title ambit…

Manchester United are monitoring the situation around Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt, according to Sky in Germany, as they aim to add a relatively young centre-back to their ranks.

Despite his team recording their lowest league finish in the Premier League era in 2023/24, manager Erik ten Hag has kept his job and will be given another chance to take United back towards the top. Having worked with De Ligt at Ajax, he obviously knows the 24-year-old Netherlands international well.

During the season that has just ended, De Ligt suffered with ligament problems but still managed to make 30 appearances for Bayern in all competitions, scoring two goals.

If United decide to step up their interest, it will be interesting to see if De Ligt s intentions have chang…

Ian Fray made a scoring return from his long injury lay-off, helping Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Columbus Crew in the MLS on Wednesday.

Miami, who are without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez due to their Copa America participation, ensured they stayed top of the Eastern Conference with their second win on the bounce.

Making his first appearance since July 2023, defender Fray marked his comeback with an early goal, flicking Julian Gressel s corner into the back of the net after just 10 minutes.

The Herons cemented their control just 11 minutes later when Leonardo Campana latched onto the rebound of his own saved shot to put them 2-0 up.

However, Cucho Hernandez halved the deficit just before half-time, poking a low effort past Drake Callendar into the b…

Inter Milan restored their 14-point lead at the top of Serie A as a goal in each half from Federico Dimarco and substitute Alexis Sanchez helped them to a 2-0 win against struggling Empoli at San Siro.

Sanchez had been on the pitch for only four minutes when he converted a cross from Denzel Dumfries in the 81st minute, sealing the victory after Dimarco had lashed home an instinctive first-time volley early in the first half to give the home side the lead.

Inter were not at their incisive best and the league’s top scorers looked like they might be made to pay for their imprecise and wayward finishing before the game was made safe late on.

Job done at San Siro!

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— Inter (@Inter_en)

For Empoli, Sanchez’s strike at the end…

FIFA has announced Morocco will host the next edition of the Club World Cup in February, at which Real Madrid will attempt to lift the trophy for a record-extending fifth time.

Madrid secured their 14th European Cup/Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Liverpool at the Stade de France in May, earning entry to a competition they won in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The other teams to have sealed qualification include Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo, CONCACAF Champions League holders Seattle Sounders, Auckland City and Al Ahly.

FIFA confirmed Morocco as hosts on Friday, and Moroccan side Wydad – who won the CAF Champions League under Walid Regragui last season before he left to manage the national team – will take part on home soil.

Morocco, which…