Real Madrid captain Luka Modric has revealed he will leave the Spanish giants after the end of their Fifa Club World Cup campaign this summer.

The 39-year-old Croatia midfielder, the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner, will play his last match at Real’s Bernabeu home when they welcome Real Sociedad on Saturday in their final La Liga game of the season.

“The moment has arrived. The moment I never wanted to come, but that’s football, and in life everything has a beginning and an end,” Modric said on Instagram.

He has won 28 trophies, including six Champions Leagues and four domestic titles, since joining Real from Spurs in 2012.

“I arrived in 2012 with the hope of wearing the jersey of the best team in the world and the ambition to do great things, but I couldn’t have imagined what came next,” he said.

“Playing for Real Madrid changed my life as a footballer and as a person.

“I’m proud to have been part of one of the most successful eras of the best club in history.”

Real will open their Club World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal on 18 June and will also face Mexico’s Pachuca and RB Salzburg of Austria in the group stage.

Modric bagged two goals and six assists in 34 appearances in the Spanish top flight this season as Real were pipped to the title by Barcelona.

He also featured in every game as Carlo Ancelotti’s side reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Arsenal.

Modric signed a one-year contract extension last year, which expires at the end of this campaign.

Saturday’s game will also be Ancelotti’s last in charge of Real, with Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso reportedly set to succeed the Italian.

‘Modric’s legacy will live on forever’

Although he has been largely limited to substitute appearances this season, Modric will leave Real as its most decorated player after 590 appearances, 43 goals and 95 assists.

“Modric will forever remain in the hearts of all Madridistas as a unique and exemplary footballer who has always embodied the values of Real Madrid,” added club president Florentino Perez in a statement.

“His football has captured the imagination of Madridismo and fans all over the world. His legacy will live on forever.”

Modric captained Real to two trophies in his final season to take his haul to 28 titles, overtaking Nacho Fernandez as the club’s most successful player.

His tally includes the six Champions Leagues, six Fifa Club World Cups, five European Super Cups, four La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey triumphs and five Spanish Super Cups during his 13 seasons at Real.

After leading Real to a 2018 Champions League success over Liverpool and then Croatia to the World Cup final in the same year, Modric became the first player since 2007, other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, to win the Ballon d’Or.

He is also the oldest player to represent Los Blancos in La Liga and their oldest goalscorer, having scored in a 2-1 win over Valencia at the age of 39 years and 116 days, overtaking Ferenc Puskas’ mark.

Modric is also currently the third longest-serving member of a Spanish top-flight side, behind Oscar de Marcos of Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke.

Last month, the Croatia legend became an “investor and co-owner” with a minority stake in Championship side Swansea City.

‘It feels like the end of an era’

Although Modric has been playing less than he has done for most of his Real Madrid career, he is the kind of player that can affect things because he becomes a magnet for the team.

He may have felt he was being useful at some points, but football is heading in a different direction now – you need to cover a lot of ground for instance. Look at Pedri who is the number one retriever of possession at Barcelona and runs more than anybody else. Modric can’t do that anymore.

He has been the one who has been pushing to stay put but Real had doubts. They listened to the player, the fans, read the room and felt it wasn’t time yet. But everybody was prepared for his departure.

Modric, however, has been an exemplary professional.

Perhaps his most difficult time was when Carlo Ancelotti told him and Toni Kroos that he was going to change things and the club had decided to go for a more physical and dynamic midfield with Aurelien Tchouameni, Fede Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga.

Kroos managed to turn things around and became a very important part of the team, but Modric had a phase on the bench.

During the last couple of years, his situation has left him a bit uneasy. He didn’t know where he stood. He felt he could play 90 minutes more often. It was a nightmare for him but this season, he has understood his role better and has been their leader.

But ultimately, this will have been a decision taken by the club. Xabi Alonso would have agreed to it but it’s a club decision, first of all. The way Alonso’s teams play requires a lot of effort which he cannot ask of Modric.

It also feels like the end of an era.

There is a new culture that has to be set for this team. Ancelotti has struggled with the fractions and egos in the team and by getting Modric out, you can build for new leaders – and that might be Real’s thinking.

Source: BBC

Crystal Palace stunned Manchester City on Saturday to win the FA Cup for the first time as Eberechi Eze sealed a 1-0 victory that piled on the misery for Pep Guardiola’s troubled side.

Eze’s early strike rocked City before Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty late in the first half of a dramatic final at Wembley.

While Eze’s clinical finish was the culmination of his remarkable rise from rejection by Arsenal, Fulham and Millwall as a youngster, it was Henderson who emerged as Palace’s hero with a series of superb saves.

City will protest that Henderson should have been sent off for a first-half handball outside his penalty area.

But Henderson made the most of that controversial moment to ensure Palace clinched the first major trophy in their 120-year history and a place in next season’s Europa League.

Beaten by Manchester United in their previous FA Cup final appearances in 1990 and 2016, Palace’s shock win was no more than they deserved as City once again imploded in a dismal season that will be their first without major silverware since 2016-17.

After winning the Premier League in the previous four seasons, City have endured a turbulent campaign that ranks among the worst in Guardiola’s storied managerial career.

Currently sixth in the Premier League, City host Bournemouth on Tuesday and travel to Fulham on May 25 as they try to salvage their wretched year by at least qualifying for the Champions League.

Guardiola had questioned his players’ hunger as they failed to keep pace with Liverpool in the title race and crashed out of the Champions League.

While desire might not have been an issue against Palace, City’s lack of direction in their second successive FA Cup final defeat was an alarming sign for the future as Guardiola was out-witted by Eagles boss Oliver Glasner.

Not for the first time, Guardiola sprang a surprise with his selection for a final as he picked an ultra-attacking line-up with no holding midfielder.

Source: France 24

Los Blancos cut the gap on the Catalan giants to four points ahead of Barcelona’s visit to neighbours Espanyol on Thursday, where they can wrap up the title with a victory.

Trailing for much of the game after Martin Valjent’s 11th-minute opener, two second-half goals for Madrid ensured their arch-rivals did not claim their 28th La Liga title just yet.

Madrid needed to win to deny Barca and Kylian Mbappe’s equaliser and Jacobo Ramon’s 95th-minute strike allowed them to do just that.

Los Blancos’ defeat by Barcelona on Sunday in the Clasico left the Catalans on the brink of the title but Carlo Ancelotti’s side showed fighting spirit in the final stages against Mallorca.

“The team played very well, it fought a lot, played with a lot of intensity and it was a totally deserved victory,” said Ancelotti.

“We are happy because we want to finish the season well and this game didn’t start well but afterwards we did very well in all senses.”

Madrid coach Ancelotti is departing to take charge of the Brazilian national team at the end of a disappointing season in the Spanish capital, and has two games left in his post.

The Italian’s Madrid side, riddled with injury problems, were without Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes among other star names as Mallorca visited the Santiago Bernabeu.

“Having 12 players injured is very strange, we were able to overcome the absences with a good attitude, individually and as a group,” added Ancelotti.

The islanders, ninth, are hoping for European football for the first time since 2004 and put up a strong performance.

Madrid’s 18-year-old striker Endrick, whom Ancelotti may call up for Brazil in the future, came close early on but Leo Roman tipped his effort away.

Mallorca took an early lead when Valjent received the ball on the right of the box in an ocean of space.

The defender took his shot early and beat Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, making his 200th La Liga appearance.

Roman made a fine save to thwart England international Jude Bellingham as Madrid pushed for an equaliser.

The stopper, who also excelled for Mallorca in a recent narrow defeat at Barcelona, denied Mbappe and then Fede Valverde before the break.

Eventually Mbappe found a breakthrough for Madrid after 68 minutes, with some superb footwork to escape three Mallorca players trying to shut him down, and he drilled past Roman.

It was Mbappe’s 40th goal of a productive season on a personal level, although his team are set to end it without a major trophy and having been beaten four times by Barcelona across all competitions.

Source: France 24

Inter Milan beat Barcelona 4-3 after extra time in another rollercoaster encounter Tuesday to reach a second Champions League final in three years.

In the end it took extra time, two astonishing Barcelona fightbacks and 13 goals — some of them mesmerising — to separate the two sides and see Inter prevail 7-6 on aggregate.

Substitute Davide Frattesi was the extra-time hero for Inter, firing home in the 99th minute to leave the Barcelona players slumped to the ground and all his Nerazzurri teammates — including those on the bench — racing to celebrate with him.

Moments earlier, Frattesi had been encouraging the already loud San Siro crowd to make more noise and the atmosphere grew even more feverish after his strike.

Inter, which lost the final to Manchester City in 2023, will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London last week in their first match.

There was little sign of the drama to come at halftime, with Inter comfortably leading 2-0 after Lautaro Martínez scored and earned a penalty, which was converted by Hakan Çalhanoğlu.

But Barcelona had been in that position before, having gone 2-0 down early in the first leg last week before securing a thrilling 3-3 draw.

And Eric García scored nine minutes after the break before Dani Olmo headed in the equaliser six minutes later.

Raphina appeared to have secured the win for Barcelona when he put the Spanish side ahead two minutes before full time, tucking away the rebound after Yann Sommer had saved his initial shot.

However, 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi astonishingly leveled in stoppage time — with his first goal in European competition — to add another 30 minutes onto the tantalising encounter.

Frattesi had proved crucial off the substitutes’ bench before, both for Italy and Inter, and so he was again, controlling Mehdi Taremi’s pass and dummying round Pau Cubarsí before curling past Wojciech Szczęsny.

Barcelona almost leveled again but Sommer made a fingertip save to push Lamine Yamal’s shot past his post.

Source:  AP

Bayern Munich confirmed their return to domestic dominance by securing their 34th league title on Sunday after rivals Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 at Freiburg, but rescaling the summit of German football was harder than it looked. 

The Bavarians, who had won 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles in a record league run between 2013 and 2023, had seen Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen race to a domestic league and cup double last season without a single defeat in either competition. New Bayern coach Vincent Kompany had his work cut out with Bayern urgently looking for direction after a turbulent period under his predecessor Thomas Tuchel, who left the club at the end of last season.

Unlike some former Bayern coaches, including Tuchel, Kompany lacked experience coaching a big club with the former Belgium international having previously coached Anderlecht and Burnley.

Bayern bosses were prepared to take the risk and it paid off with Kompany quickly establishing control in the changing room.

Bayern were desperate for a good start in the current season in order to put an early marker down in the title race and they bagged four straight wins to kick off the campaign, before carving out a 1-1 draw against the reigning champions.

With Leverkusen no longer invincible this season and lacking last year’s consistency, Bayern gradually pulled away and by the 11th matchday had a six-point advantage, having shaken off Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund as possible title rivals.

The Bavarians were lethal in attack with Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane in top form but struggled with their backline throughout the season.

A string of injuries in recent weeks that sidelined several key defenders compounded the problem and Saturday’s 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig took their goals conceded tally to 32, an average of one goal per league match this season.

But Kompany’s team have been lethal up front, bagging 93 goals in 32 matches.

With 24 goals, Kane was once more Bayern’s guarantee in attack with the England captain looking set to become the first player in Bundesliga history to be crowned top scorer in both his first two seasons in the league.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation, England’s all-time top scorer and second on the all-time Premier League scorers’ list, Kane had won a hatful of individual awards.

He had, however, no single team trophy to show for his efforts after 400-odd goals for clubs and country and with talk of a ‘Kane title curse’ developing over the years.

Kane had spent the majority of his professional career at Tottenham Hotspur, playing for the London club from 2009-2023 with some loan spells in between, prior to joining Bayern in a league record transfer worth 100 million euros ($114 million).

In England he had failed to win a trophy with Spurs, being Champions League runners-up in 2019, while also reaching consecutive finals at Euro 2020 and 2024 with the national team.

So his move to Bayern, Germany’s record champions and six-time European champions, was all about finally adding trophies to his goal-scoring records and fulfilling his title-winning ambitions.

While fans were unhappy with the club’s decision not to offer talisman Thomas Mueller a new contract, the 35-year-old, who will leave at the end of the season after 25 years at Bayern, did manage to reach the 500-league-match milestone before his departure.

He was only the fourth player in Bundesliga history to achieve that feat while playing for just one club and he has now extended his record-breaking haul of league titles to 13.

The Bavarians failed to get past the quarter-finals in the Champions League after their 4-3 aggregate loss to Italy’s Inter Milan last month and they also lost to Leverkusen in the German Cup round of 16, leaving the league title as their only possible trophy for the season.

But they would not be denied in the league as they kept second-placed Leverkusen at bay in the final sprint to the finish line.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters) 

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday, with Ousmane Dembele scoring early at the Emirates. PSG controlled the game to protect their lead and head into the May 7 return leg in Paris as favourites to reach their first-ever Champions League final.

Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday.

Dembele struck in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium and Luis Enrique’s side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bay.

PSG will head into the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7 as favourites to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan as they look to win the tournament for the first time.

But the French champions should take nothing for granted given their history of epic European collapses.

Arsenal’s first defeat in 18 home European matches was a painful blow to their own bid to win a first Champions League crown.

Mikel Arteta had labelled Arsenal’s run to the semi-finals a “beautiful story”.

The last chapter might make for frustrating reading, but they aren’t dead and buried just yet.

The Gunners had beaten holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to reach their first Champions League semi-final since losing to Manchester United in 2009.

They could not replicate the swaggering display that blew Madrid away 3-0 in the first leg, despite a frenzied atmosphere as kick-off approached.

When Arsenal’s players gathered for a pre-match huddle in the tunnel, Declan Rice implored his team-mates to give everything as he roared “if we don’t have the ball we die”.

A video message from Arteta played on the Emirates screens struck a similarly rousing chord as the Spaniard urged fans to raise the roof.

But PSG had already eliminated Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, after coming back from two goals down to beat Manchester City in the league phase.

Arsenal were the one English side they had failed to conquer, losing 2-0 in north London in October.

However, PSG were without the influential Dembele for disciplinary reasons on that occasion and Luis Enrique insisted his side were “more complete” seven months on.

Source: France 24