Inter Miami have relinquished their option to hold talks with departing Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne – leaving Chicago Fire in pole position to sign him should he decide to move to Major League Soccer.
Miami had the 33-year-old on their ‘discovery list’, meaning they were the only MLS team able to negotiate with him in the United States.
They had until mid-July to decide whether to hold talks but sources have told BBC Sport they will not pursue his signing meaning De Bruyne will not link up with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets.
Chicago now have the first option to speak to De Bruyne, who announced in April he would be leaving City when his current deal expires at the end of the season.
Sources say De Bruyne’s representatives are to meet with Chicago, who are currently 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Manchester City have joined Manchester United in signing up for the inaugural Women’s World Sevens tournament in May.
The seven-a-side competition runs between 21-23 May – three days before the Women’s Champions League final – in Estoril, Portugal with a prize money pool of $5m (£3.76m).
The two Women’s Super League clubs will battle it out with Bayern Munich, Roma, Paris St-Germain, Ajax, Benfica and FC Rosengard in the eight-team tournament.
Therese Sjogran, Manchester City Women’s director of football, said the club are proud to be part of this “milestone moment”.
The competition will begin with a two-day group phase before moving on to a knockout stage and a final.
Manchester City could play up to five 30-minute fixtures – depending on how far they progress.
Interim head coach Nick Cushing will oversee a side made up from the first-team squad.
City missed out on a Champions League spot for next season after drawing 2-2 with cross-city rivals Manchester United on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola says he will take a break from management after he leaves Manchester City, though he does not know when he will retire.
Guardiola signed a two-year contract extension in November, extending his stay at the club until June 2027.
By that time the 54-year-old will have been at City for 11 years – he spent four years as Barcelona manager before taking charge of Bayern Munich for three.
“After my contract with City, I’m going to stop. I’m sure,” Guardiola told ESPN, external.
“I don’t know if I’m going to retire, but I’m going to take a break.”
Speaking to Sky Sports on Friday, Guardiola clarified that he won’t necessarily leave City at the end of his current contract.
“I didn’t say I’m leaving now or at the end of season or the end of contract,” he said.
“I said when I finish my time here, be it one, two, three, four, five years, I will take a break.
“I won’t retire but I will take a break. What I am saying is when I am finished here I will take a break,”
Guardiola has overseen the most successful period in City’s history, with his side winning six of the past nine Premier League titles as well as the club’s first Champions League as part of a Treble in 2022-23.
This season City have failed to reach their previous heights and are currently fourth in the table with four games left to play.
“How I want to be remembered, I don’t know,” Guardiola said. “I want people to remember me however they want.
“All coaches want to win so we can have a memorable job, but I believe that the fans of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City had fun watching my teams play.
“I don’t think we should ever live thinking about whether we’re going to be remembered.
“When we die, our families cry for two or three days and then that’s it – you’re forgotten. In the careers of coaches, there are good and bad ones, the important thing is that the good ones are remembered for longer.”
City could still finish the season with silverware as they face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on 17 May.
Bruno Fernandes scores twice as Man Utd seal game in first half in Bilbao, where Athletic Club were reduced to 10 men.
Three first-half goals helped Manchester United put themselves on the cusp of the Europa League final, with the Premier League side earning a 3-0 semifinal first-leg win away at Athletic Bilbao.
In a raucous San Memes atmosphere on Thursday, with supporters dreaming of a first-ever European trophy, veteran midfielder Casemiro arrived at the back post to give the visitors the lead 30 minutes in.
United, who are having a miserable season domestically, were given another boost five minutes later as Bilbao defender Daniel Vivian was sent off for fouling Rasmus Hojlund in the penalty area and Bruno Fernandes converted the resulting spot kick.
The United fans high in the top tier were in dreamland moments later as captain Fernandes raced through to put the seal on a victory, and perhaps even the tie, before the interval.
Manchester United’s Casemiro scores their first goal [Vincent West/Reuters]
Bilbao, who have the added incentive that the final will be hosted at their own stadium on May 21, could not muster a response in the second half with depleted numbers, leaving United to coast to the most unlikely first-leg success.
“Of course it’s a great start, to get a victory here and score three goals and with a clean sheet,” United defender Harry Maguire told TNT Sports.
“All the pressure will be on us, everyone will be expecting us to go through. We need to prepare properly, and if we do that, we’ll give ourselves a great chance.
“One foot in the final, but it’s not done.”
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes scores their second goal from the penalty spot [Vincent West/Reuters]
The Europa League has been somewhat of a safe haven for United this term, where they can forget the fact that they are on course for their worst-ever Premier League points haul this term.
United travelled to Bilbao as the only unbeaten team in any European competition, but were up against their toughest challenge yet, with Bilbao sitting fourth in LaLiga, possessing the meanest defence in the division.
The Bilbao players fed off the crowd’s energy early on, creating the better of the initial chances. Inaki Williams should have scored from a close-range header, while Victor Lindelof came to United’s rescue with a timely block on the line.
Casemiro, however, arrived right on cue to swing the momentum in United’s favour. Norwegian referee Espen Eskas, after consulting the pitch-side monitor, adjudged that Vivian had denied Hojlund a clear goal-scoring opportunity and thus branded a red card and pointed to the spot.
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores his team’s third goal [Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]
The composure shown by Bruno Fernandes as he calmly stroked home the penalty, despite the ear-splitting whistles from the cantankerous crowd, was astounding. The whistles had barely died down when the United skipper raced onto Manuel Ugarte’s flick to add a game-clinching third.
To highlight the contrast between United’s domestic and continental campaigns, they have now scored more goals in their seven Europa League games in 2025 than they have in their 15 Premier League games this calendar year.
They have also won more games in the Europa League since Ruben Amorim took over as coach, than they have in the Premier League.
Casemiro could have even added a fourth, but saw his second-half header come out off the post.
The job, however, was done. United’s success means 133 teams have won the first leg of a UEFA Cup or Europa League knockout stage tie by three or more goals away from home, and all 133 have won the tie.
“Fans are close to the pitch and really in sync with the players,” explains Gaizka Atxa, founder of a supporters’ group named after Fred Pentland, a legendary former English coach of the club.
“The environment is usually overwhelming for rivals that come to San Mames. It’s intimidating, especially in La Liga. In Spain, I don’t think there’s a similar type of environment.”
The San Mames experience, though, begins long before kick-off. On the bar-lined ‘Poza’, supporters dripping in red and white go through their pre-match routines, meeting for drinks and pintxos, buying their sandwiches for half-time, something of an Athletic tradition.
“When Athletic is performing really well, the pre-match atmosphere is second to none,” says Atxa. “People are always socialising, friends getting together and trying to have a good time and enjoy themselves, that experience of hanging out before the match, that’s really what a lot of fans really like.
“Once you get into the Athletic culture, people really enjoy the socialising before the match and that really gets you into a good spirit.”
Built on the site of the old stadium, the new San Mames, opened in 2013, is both ideally located within walking distance of the city and a stone’s throw from the River Nervion.
It’s a site packed with history and one where legends are celebrated.
A statue of former goalkeeper and captain Jose Angel Iribar stands in front of the ground – it was Iribar and Real Sociedad captain Inaxio Kortabarria who carried a banned Basque flag on to the pitch before a derby in December 1976, following the death of Spanish general Francisco Franco.
Meanwhile, the bust of Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, better known as Pichichi, Athletic’s prolific forward in the early 20th century who La Liga’s top goalscorer award is named after, sits at the entrance of the players’ tunnel.
“With Pichichi, we are talking about a legend, one of the most iconic players for Athletic and someone who transcends Athletic to be an important piece of Spanish football culture,” says Gutierrez.
“Iribar goes even beyond that. He is a legend, but he is currently the embodiment of the values of Athletic. He is the most important representative of the club.
“He is the person any fan is so happy to see around. He is always there to show Athletic is with the people, he is someone like no other in Athletic’s history.”
David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany are just three names who are etched into City history forever.
But, if we are talking trophies and influence on the team-mates around them, then Carson is right up there alongside these City legends.
Just ask Pep Guardiola. The Catalan has managed the best City have had to offer in modern times, but he encourages young players to learn from the veteran goalkeeper.
“I was fortunate in Manchester to know this guy,” said Guardiola. “Sometimes as a manager you get the opportunity to know people like him – he’s like a captain, built incredible love for the team. I’m pretty sure when we need him, he’ll respond!
“The best advice I could give to the young players is to stay around Scott Carson as much as possible in the locker room and on the pitch.
“It would be better than being with me. If they spend a lot of time, listen to him and pay attention, that is the best advice and learning they can get about their future careers.
“Every second he is training and every minute you get on the pitch and in the changing room [with Carson], you value.
“It’s like the young actors have to be with the old actors on the set. They are wiser and have the values of the profession.”
Video from the Youth Front for Palestine shows student activists interrupting a meeting of University of Manchester leaders to demand the school sever ties with Israel’s Tel Aviv University. The school’s leadership defended its decision to maintain ties, saying that doing so is not in support of genocide or Israel.
“We like our strikers. We’re improving our strikers. We’ll see what happens next season. Rasmus is scoring, so we’ll see.”
Bournemouth’s quest for European footballnext season was made harder and they stand seven points behind seventh-placed Aston Villa with trips to Arsenal and Manchester City to come.
Amorim is officially WORST Man Utd manager of post-Sir Alex Ferguson era as under-fire boss admits- I’m underperforming
The Cherries had Evanilson sent off after a VARreview in the 70th minute — and plan to appeal.
Manager Andoni Iraola raged: “Common sense — everyone who has played football understands.
“He slips. He doesn’t catch him with the leg that goes high. The referee, who is live, does not think it is a red card.”
