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Mario Gomez announces retirement
Former Germany striker Mario Gomez retired from football after scoring in his last game for VfB Stuttgart.
Gomez, who turns 35 in July, joked that he was in negotiations with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona before saying he had fulfilled his final wish. That was to help Stuttgart secure an immediate return to the Bundesliga after one season in the second division.
Stuttgart gained promotion back to the German top flight after finishing as runners-up to already-promoted Arminia Bielefeld, despite a 3-1 loss at home to SV Darmstadt on the final day of the league campaign.
Gomez won the Bundesliga title during his first spell at Stuttgart in 2007 before winning another 2 league titles at Bayern Munchen after moving to the German giants in 2009.
The striker was also a key figure in Bayern's Treble-winning season in 2013 which included a Champions League triumph - a competition which Gomez scored 26 goals in 44 appearances.
Gomez missed Germany's World Cup win in 2014 due to an injury-blighted season. He scored 31 goals in 78 appearances for the national team.
Gomez spent 2 seasons at Fiorentina in Serie A before spells at Besiktas and VfL Wolfsburg respectively.
In 2017, he made a return to Stuttgart and after suffering relegation last season, he made it clear that he wished to help them return to the Bundesliga before he would decide to end his playing career.
"I'm very grateful for the time I had at Stuttgart. It was always my biggest dream to give something back and to end my career, that I couldn't have imagined, here."
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Kurzawa signs new PSG deal
Paris Saint-Germain defender Layvin Kurzawa has signed a new 4-year contract with the French champions.
In January, there was speculation of a move to Arsenal after the left-back changed his agent.
Kurzawa is now represented by Kia Joorabchian's Sports Invest UK, who brokered deals for David Luiz and Cedric Soares to move to the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea forward Willian, who also shares the same agent, is also a reported target for Arsenal this summer.
Kurzawa has made 123 appearances for PSG, scoring 13 goals which included a Champions League hat-trick against Anderlecht in 2017.
He has won 14 trophies in 5 seasons so far in Paris.
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Leipzig set to sign Hwang
Hwang Hee-chan is on the verge of joining RasenBallsport Leipzig from Red Bull Salzburg, according to Sky Germany.
The Bundesliga side are understood to have won the race for the Korean international's signature with a deal worth €10 million set to be completed in the near future.
Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund recently confirmed Leipzig's interest in the 24-year-old, who has just one year left on his deal with the Austrian champions.
The Korean striker has made 38 appearances for Salzburg this season, racking up 16 goals and 21 assists.
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Schurrle retires from football
German World Cup winner Andre Schurrle has announced his decision to retire from football at the age of 29.
"The decision has matured in me for a long time", Schurrle says in an interview with Der Spiegel in which he announces his decision.
The winger reveals he has often been lonely, especially as "the lows have been lower and there have been fewer and fewer highlights", but he he couldn't really show how he really felt.
"You always have to play a certain role to survive in the business, otherwise you will lose your job and not get another one", Schurrle explains.
Schurrle recently had his contract with Borussia Dortmund terminated by mutual consent a year before it was due to expire.
The 29-year-old made 57 appearances for the German national team, scoring 22 goals, and was part of the team that won the World Cup in 2014.
He played for FSV Mainz, Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea, VfL Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund, Fulham and Spartak Moscow throughout his career.
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Monaco sack Moreno
AS Monaco have sacked former Spain coach Robert Moreno after just 6 months in charge of the club, report L'Equipe.
The 42-year-old was reportedly informed of the news on Saturday morning and it comes 4 months after he last managed the team, prior to the football season in France being curtailed in March following the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.
The club apparently have been considering the decision for weeks and they are looking to move in a new direction, the report adds, following the arrival of sporting director Paul Mitchell.
Monaco ended the Ligue 1 campaign in ninth with Moreno winning 5 of his 12 games at the helm, drawing 3 and losing the other 4.
It is claimed that the club's owner Dimitri Rybolovlev and the sporting directive duo of Oleg Petrov and Paul Mitchell made the decision unanimously to dispense with the 42-year-old.
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Monaco appoint Kovac
AS Monaco have appointed former Bayern Munchen and Croatia coach Niko Kovac as their new manager.
The 48-year-old has signed a 3-year deal with the Ligue 1 club, who sacked Robert Moreno at the weekend after finishing ninth - 28 points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Monaco's fortunes have waned since they won Ligue 1 and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2017, and they were nearly relegated in 2019.
Kovac becomes Monaco's 4th new manager in 21 months. Thierry Henry lasted just 3 months after replacing Leonardo Jardim in October 2018, before being replaced by the returning Jardim. He was then sacked in December 2019 and Moreno was appointed.
Kovac - who spent 2 years as a player at Bayern - lasted just 16 months as manager in Munchen, despite winning the Bundesliga, German Cup and German SuperCup in the 2018-2019 season.
He was sacked after losing 5-1 at his former club Eintracht Frankfurt in November 2019, which left Bayern 10 points off the top of the Bundesliga. His replacement, Hans-Dieter Flick, went on to win the double.
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Mircea Lucescu a semnat cu Dinamo Kiev
Mircea Lucescu se întoarce după 4 ani în campionatul în care a scris istorie cu rivala Şahtior Donețk. A zburat cu un charter şi a acceptat oferta lui Dinamo Kiev, primind un salariu de €3 milioane.
Mircea Lucescu reintră în circuit. La aproape 75 de ani, pe care îi va împlini miercuri, a cedat insistenţelor lui Igor Surkis, trecând şi peste remuşcările de a merge la o rivală a lui Şahior, şi o va pregăti pe Dinamo Kiev.
Preşedintele vicecampioanei Ucrainei îl mai ofertase şi în iarnă, după ce IL Luce s-a despărţit oficial de naţionala Turciei, însă acum a acţionat rapid. I-a trimis miercuri seară un avion privat la Bucureşti şi l-a chemat pentru negocieri, postul de antrenor fiind vacant după demiterea recentă a lui Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko.
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Howedes retires from football
Former German international Benedikt Howedes has announced his retirement from football at the age of 32.
Howedes, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, last played for Lokomotiv Moscow and left the club by mutual consent last month.
The former Schalke defender announces his decision in an interview with Der Spiegel, in which he says that during a recent vacation with his wife and child, football "suddenly felt so unimportant" for him.
During his career, Howedes played for Schalke, Juventus and Lokomotiv Moscow. He made a total of 44 appearances for Germany, scoring 2 goals.
Pavard suffers ankle injury in Bayern training
Bayern Munchen defender Benjamin Pavard was forced to pull out of training on Sunday after sustaining an ankle injury.
Speaking at a press conference afterwards, Bayern coach Hansi Flick couldn't put a timeframe on his return to action.
"Benjamin Pavard injured his ankle in training. We don't have a diagnosis yet. We don't know how long he'll be out. We'll have to wait and see", Flick said.
According to Bild, Pavard will almost certainly miss Bayern's Champions League clash with Chelsea on 8 August.
The German double-winners beat Chelsea 3-0 in London in the first leg of their last 16 tie prior to the suspension of the tournament.
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Lichtsteiner retires from football
Former Lazio and Juventus full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner has retired from football at the age of 36.
The former Switzerland captain announces his retirement from football after a stint at FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga.
The defender spent 10 years in Serie A, picking up the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa with Lazio, before moving to continue his success with Juventus in Turin.
Lichtsteiner won 7 Scudetti, 4 Coppa Italia and 3 Supercoppa during his time in Turin, before moving to Arsenal in August 2019.
The veteran, capped 108 times by Switzerland, played in 3 World Cups and 2 European Championships.
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Bellarabi extends Leverkusen deal
Karim Bellarabi has committed himself to Bayer Leverkusen by signing a new deal with the club.
The 30-year-old's contract, which was due to expire next year, has been extended until 2023.
"We are pleased that we were able to agree on the continuation of our cooperation in very harmonious talks", said Leverkusen managing director Rudi Voller in a statement.
"Karim has been with us since 2011 and has developed into an outstanding Bundesliga professional in his position here in Leverkusen. When he brings his high-speed football onto the pitch, he can really make a difference", he added.
Karim Bellarabi scored 6 goals and made 12 assists in 39 games in the 2019-2020 season.
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Baum sacked as Schalke coach
Manuel Baum has been relieved of his duties as Schalke coach with immediate effect, the Bundesliga club have announced.
Schalke board member Huub Stevens will take charge for the club's last 2 games of 2020 against Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga and SSV Ulm in the DFB Pokal.
Baum was appointed Schalke coach at the end of September, taking over from David Wagner, who lost his job just 2 league games into the season. Following a 0-2 defeat against Freiburg in mid-week, "The Royal Blues" have lost patience with Baum, who has failed to win a Bundesliga game in 10 attempts.
Schalke are winless in 28 league games and sit bottom of the table with just 4 points after 12 games.
Plea ruled out for the rest of 2020
Borussia Monchengladbach will be without Alassane Plea for the rest of the year, head coach Marco Rose confirmed on Friday.
"Alassane Plea suffered a thigh strain in Frankfurt and will miss the last 2 games of the year", Rose told reporters.
Jonas Hofmann, on the other hand, is nearing his return from injury after a long spell on the sidelines.
Saturday's Bundesliga game against Hoffenheim comes too soon for the midfielder, but the he could be involved against SV Elversberg in next week's DFB Pokal tie.
Jantschke and Stindl pen new Gladbach deals
Borussia Monchengladbach have extended the contracts of Tony Jantschke and captain Lars Stindl.
Both players have signed 2-year extensions to their deals which were due to expire at the end of the season.
"Tony Jantschke and Lars Stindl are very important players for Borussia. Their voices carry a lot of weight both on and off the pitch. We're delighted that they have both extended their contract", said Gladbach coach Marco Rose.
Jantschke's new contract includes an agreement that will see him take up a job at the club at the end of his playing career.
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