Foden aims to repay Man City faith in fresh start

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden is aiming to “repay” the faith shown in him by the club as he aims for a “fresh start” under new manager Enzo Maresca.

The 26-year-old scored 19 goals as City won the Premier League in 2023-24 and was named the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year and the league’s player of the season.

However, he has not managed to hit those heights in the past two seasons - scoring 10 times last term, but failing to net in his past 31 appearances for club and country.

Despite his struggles, Foden was offered a new contract by City and signed a four-year deal last month to keep him at Etihad Stadium until 2030.

“It has made me feel relaxed and I can just concentrate on being the best version of me and give back to the football club for them trusting in me,” Foden said.

“It is nice to see the support from the club and obviously it means a lot.

“It’s about time I try and repay them and give back to the club.”

Foden was given his first-team debut as a 17-year-old by former manager Pep Guardiola and has gone on to make 369 appearances for City, winning six Premier League titles, one Champions League and two FA Cups.

Guardiola left at the end of last season and Italian Maresca was named as his replacement, returning to the club where he previously worked in the academy and as first-team assistant.

Asked how he was feeling this summer, academy product Foden said: “Very good - a fresh start, a new manager and up to now, really enjoying it.

“It is very strange but I know Enzo from before, so that also helps. I know him quite well and what [he] is about.

“That has definitely helped, to have that relationship with him.”

Foden started for England in their 2024 European Championship final defeat by Spain but missed out on a place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the 2026 World Cup.

The Three Lions reached the semi-finals of the tournament before losing 2-1 to Argentina, and Foden said it was hard watching them walk out for the national anthem before games.

Foden said Maresca had checked in with him after he was left out of Tuchel’s squad.

Foden said: “He [Maresca] reached out just after to see if it was OK, which was very nice of him, to show us this character and the person he is.

“He cares about everyone and wants to have a good relationship with the team.”

Foden struggled last season with a combination of off-field issues and an ankle injury, but says he is now “fully fit”.

Asked about Foden’s role in the team, Maresca said: “Phil is very important, like the rest. Knowing Phil from years ago, I know how good he is.

“It is my duty to help him be the Phil we all want.

“First of all, to be happy and enjoy football is most important. If he feels good, he can help us win titles.”

Maresca will take charge of City for the first time in Saturday’s friendly against Inter Milan in Hong Kong.

Despite losing the experience and knowhow of Guardiola, captain Bernardo Silva and England defender John Stones, Foden feels City can achieve “amazing things” next season.

Speaking at the club’s new Puma away kit launch in Hong Kong, Foden said: “I think we can win everything, but it’s obviously hard. We have still got an unbelievable team.”

'I will miss him' - Barcelona boss Flick has to 'accept' Rashford loss

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick admits Marcus Rashford’s exit will leave a void at the Camp Nou.

The La Liga champions did not trigger the £26m clause to turn his loan spell into a permanent move from Manchester United.

The England forward scored 14 goals in 49 games last season to help Barcelona lift the La Liga title, but he has now returned to Old Trafford.

“You don’t know what happens with players who are on loan - our situation is not easy for that,” Flick said after Barcelona drew 2-2 with Birmingham City, but lost the friendly 3-2 on penalties, on Friday night.

“I appreciate working with him [Rashford]. He is a fantastic player and a fantastic person. The team miss him, I will miss him, but it is life.

“This is what we have to accept.”

Rashford is contracted to Manchester United until 2028 and he posted a goodbye message to Barcelona on his Instagram account this week.

“I’m very grateful to everyone at the club for making my time here such a positive and memorable experience,” he wrote. “I have enjoyed every moment and I will take many special memories with me.

“I wish the club and all of its supporters the very best of luck and every success in the season ahead. Visca el Barca.”

Intensity, smiles & Lewandowski - inside Liverpool training under Iraola

Liverpool finish their pre-season tour of the USA against Leeds on Sunday

As Liverpool’s first open training session under Andoni Iraola began, Robert Lewandowski was taking penalties in the background.

The session took place at the performance centre of Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire, where the 37-year-old Pole now plays.

Under gloomy skies, Lewandowski blazed a spot-kick over the bar as Fire’s training session came to an end and Iraola’s got under way.

Here is what we learned from Liverpool’s session.

Earlier this week, a video was posted on social media of Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones - who has been linked with a move to Inter Milan - having a heated argument at the end of Liverpool’s win over Wrexham on Wednesday.

Asked about the situation on Thursday, Szoboszlai played it down, insisting all the players “were in the same boat” in terms of wanting the best for the club and each other.

Regardless, Szoboszlai, Jones and Kostas Tsimikas, who was also in the clip, walked out together in good spirits, doing keepy-uppies and joking with each other right in front of the cameras.

All smiles, to say the least.

The argument was understood to be related to the fact that Szoboszlai had given Tsimikas the captain’s armband instead of Jones but, by Friday, it seemed to have settled.

A little bit of passion is never a bad thing in an elite sporting environment but, with the way footage can be captured from anyone inside a stadium, sometimes it is better to keep things behind closed doors.

It was far from ideal - and it served as a reminder for Iraola that he must appoint a vice-captain soon, with the vacancy open after Andy Robertson’s departure.

Record signing Alexander Isak also returned to Liverpool training this week.

He, Florian Wirtz and Ryan Gravenberch all missed the trip to New York, where Liverpool beat Wrexham 1-0 in their second pre-season fixture, but are expected to feature on Sunday against Leeds.

Jeremy Jacquet missed training but was in the gym as the club carefully manage his recovery from the shoulder injury he sustained in February.

The centre-back is a doubt for the weekend, despite Iraola suggesting earlier in the week that he would feature.

Joe Gomez, who has been ruled out for the start of the Premier League season, was also in the gym.

Once the warm-ups were done, the intensity in Iraola’s drills was clear to see. He likes to get heavily involved and was particularly animated, using phrases like “play in possession” and “quicker, quicker” repeatedly.

There were celebrations between players whenever they scored in the mini-drills and the atmosphere was generally positive, with Iraola unafraid to step in and point out something, or discuss a player’s position.

The squad then separated, with one group moving on to a smaller pitch for a nine-a-side match while another group worked on set-pieces with Iraola’s assistants, Tommy Elphick and Shaun Cooper.

Wirtz was on corner duty, while Elphick even put on a bib to get involved.

Watching on was Mike Gordon, the Fenway Sports Group president, who is now overseeing Liverpool operations again. He is expected to be at the game on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Liverpool had a team dinner on Thursday evening, with Iraola sharing a beer with the likes of Phil Thompson and Robbie Fowler after.

Thompson told BBC Sport they spoke about a number of things, from the season ahead to their families.

Iraola was not even born when former defender Thompson won the third of his three European Cups for Liverpool. But this was a sign of the new head coach recognising the legends of the club and the weight they still carry.

Iraola still has three weeks before his first Premier League game as Liverpool manager - but the seeds of his tenure are getting planted here in the Windy City.

AC Milan and Italy great Baresi dies aged 66

Franco Baresi has died at the age of 66, with AC Milan saying their former captain’s “example and integrity will be forever etched into the club’s DNA”.

Baresi spent his entire 20-year playing career with the club from 1977 until he retired in 1997, winning six Serie A titles and three European Cups/Champions Leagues.

Regarded as one of the greatest defenders to play the game, Baresi captained Milan for 15 seasons, making 719 appearances and scoring 33 goals.

He was capped 81 times by Italy and was part of the squad which won the 1982 World Cup. He played and was captain in the 1994 final, which Italy lost to Brazil.

Baresi was made honorary president of Milan in 2020, and his number six shirt was retired when he finished his playing career.

Baresi formed part of one of European football’s most celebrated defences alongside Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti.

He also lifted four Supercoppa Italianas, two European Super Cups and the Intercontinental Cup twice.

In the 1994 World Cup, he returned from a knee injury to play in the final and largely nullified the threat of Brazil’s Romario and Bebeto in a 0-0 draw.

It was the first World Cup final to be decided by a shootout and Baresi missed the first penalty, with Brazil eventually winning it 3-2.

Baresi had surgery in August 2025 to remove a lung nodule, and his last public appearance was at the San Siro Stadium for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in February.

In a statement on X, AC Milan wrote: “Milan is in tears following the passing of Franco Baresi. His example and integrity will be forever etched into the club’s DNA, just as his iconic number 6 shirt is.”

In a further post on the club’s website, they added: “Announcing the loss of someone who embodied the heart and soul of AC Milan is incredibly difficult. But everyone at the club and all the Milanisti must live up to Franco Baresi’s memory. In memory of Franco, we stand united, knowing he’ll guide and push us throughout our Rossoneri journey. Forever. Because Baresi is forever.”

Maldini, 58, who also spent his entire career at Milan, paid tribute to his former team-mate, writing on Instagram: “Today, I feel the same way I did whenever - for whatever reason - you couldn’t take the field alongside us: how will we manage without our captain? You taught me to fight until my very last breath, and showed me the meaning of devotion to the jersey and the true value of leadership. You protected me when I was a child, guided me as a young man, and inspired me as an adult. You were the greatest footballer I ever had the honour of playing with.”

Former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon shared memories of his debut for Parma competing against Baresi as a 17-year-old in 1995. He wrote: “For a boy my age, finding myself on the field against champions like him was something incredible. From that day on, I had an even clearer understanding of what it meant to represent football with class, leadership and respect.”

Inter Milan said: “Farewell to Franco Baresi, protagonist of the great clashes in the Milan derby and one of the figures who most defined the history of the rivalry. Captain, team man and flagbearer of AC Milan, he lived every match-up with Inter between competition and respect, within a challenge that wrote unforgettable pages of Italian soccer.”

Inter Milan manager Cristian Chivu said Baresi’s death “is a sad day for the whole world, he represented being one of the greats in the history of football”.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said Baresi “was not only one of the greatest champions in (Italian) sports history, but also an example of loyalty, seriousness, and dedication”.

The head of the Italian football federation (FICG), Giovanni Malago, praised Baresi for the “romantic choice” of staying loyal to AC Milan throughout his career, “which rightfully made him enter the hearts of the fans and millions of Italians.”

Franco Baresi is a legend in Italy, one of the last so-called ‘flags’ - a one-club player, a player who has only worn one shirt for his entire career.

After 15 years as AC Milan captain, his shirt had already been retired so no-one will ever wear the number six again - it shows how important he was for Milan, a symbol of the city.

At AC Milan they called him ‘Piscinin’ - it means a fragile, thin youngster in Milan dialect. That was his nickname when he started back in the 1970s and it was given to him by a famous Italian journalist called Gianni Brera.

He had a trial at Inter when he was 12 and his brother Beppe was already at the club, but they rejected him. He ended up at AC Milan that way. But even Inter are mourning, his value has been recognised by all opponents as he is a legend not only for AC Milan.

He played alongside some of the biggest champions, Marco van Basten, Paolo Maldini, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and he was always at the same level. Baresi was one of the immortal AC Milan players.

He won three European Cups, but there were also some sad times - the World Cup in 1994 and the penalty miss. He couldn’t play for much of the tournament given the injury he suffered at the beginning, but he made a speedy recovery to play a great game in the final against Brazil.

To then miss a penalty in the shootout was a very sad moment for the whole of Italy. But we have never been angry, because Franco Baresi was one of the pillars of the team and the fact he recovered to play in the final was simply inhuman.

And in 1989, he finished second in the Ballon d’Or to his team-mate Van Basten - back then, it was inconceivable a defender could win the Ballon d’Or, but Baresi got that close and deserved to win it for the player he was, the quality he had and all he represented - his leadership, importance, quality and his belonging to a club.

Bowie makes loan switch to Serie A side Sassuolo

Scotland international Kieron Bowie has completed a loan move from Hellas Verona to Serie A side Sassuolo.

The striker moved to Verona in January from Hibernian after starring for the Easter Road club, going on to score four times in the Italian top flight.

However, following his club’s relegation, the 23-year-old has made the season-long switch.

Sassuolo also has the option to buy, which could also turn into an obligation if terms are met.

“Verona - Hellas Verona FC announces that striker Kieron Bowie has joined Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio on loan with an obligation to buy upon the fulfilment of certain conditions,” said a club statement.

“The Gialloblù Club bids farewell to Kieron and thanks him, wishing him all the best for the next chapter of his career.”

Bowie made his Scotland debut in June 2025 against Liechtenstein.