Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Paolo Maldini and Italy
Sunday

Paolo Maldini has revealed Pep Guardiola declined the Italy national-team job because he wanted to rest after a demanding decade in the Premier League. Maldini also contacted Carlo Ancelotti, who chose to remain committed to Brazil instead.

Maldini said the Italian federation then considered younger World Cup-winning coaches, including Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi and Fabio Grosso. Restrictions involving Serie A managers removed some candidates, helping shape the process that ultimately produced Italy’s coaching appointment.

Marcus Rashford and Manchester United
Sunday

Marcus Rashford has returned to Manchester United’s Carrington training base after nearly two years away from the first-team setup. The England forward is preparing to work under Michael Carrick after Barcelona declined to activate its option to sign him permanently.

Rashford will join United’s preseason group before upcoming friendlies against Leeds and AC Milan. Carrick has spoken positively about their existing relationship, creating a route for the 28-year-old to rebuild his Old Trafford career after successive loans.

Alex Scott, Antony, Bournemouth and Real Betis
Saturday

Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and Real Betis winger Antony were both sent off after a confrontation sparked a wider brawl during their 2-2 preseason friendly in Seville. The incident began after Nelson Deossa kicked the ball at Bafode Diakite.

Players from both teams became involved before the referee dismissed Scott and Antony for pushing each other. The match continued with ten players on each side, with Bournemouth twice leading before Pablo Fornals scored Betis’ late equaliser.

Mohamed Salah and Trabzonspor
Saturday

Trabzonspor president Ertuğrul Doğan says Mohamed Salah’s arrival generated nearly 550 million Turkish lira in season-subscription sales within three days. The club says that figure alone already covers more than half of the Egyptian forward’s annual cost.

Trabzonspor are targeting 25,000 season subscriptions to cover the entire yearly expense before counting shirt sales. Doğan also denied claims of government financial support for the transfer and said the club had begun legal action against those spreading the allegations.

Pitso Mosimane and the South African Football Association
Saturday

South Africa’s National Executive Committee has approved Pitso Mosimane as the next Bafana Bafana head coach following Hugo Broos’ departure. Football association president Danny Jordaan said only outstanding details remain before the appointment can be formally announced.

Mosimane is set to return to the national-team role after building an extensive club coaching career with Sundowns, Al Ahly, Al Ahli and Al Wahda. The federation expects to complete the remaining formalities and announce him during the coming week.

Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Badr bin Suleiman Al-Ruzaiza
Saturday

Saudi Arabia’s football federation election committee has ruled that only Badr bin Suleiman Al-Ruzaiza’s list satisfies all candidacy requirements. Seven lists originally entered the process, one withdrew, and five of the six remaining submissions were excluded after examination.

The decision leaves Al-Ruzaiza effectively alone at this stage of the leadership race following Yasser Al-Misehal’s resignation after the World Cup. The exclusions dramatically narrow an election expected to determine who handles several major Saudi football projects.

Enzo Maresca and Manchester City
Saturday

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca plans to personally select the club’s next captain rather than rely on the player-led voting process associated with Pep Guardiola’s era. Bernardo Silva’s departure has created a vacancy at the top of City’s leadership group.

Maresca also wants an English presence in the leadership core, with Phil Foden and Marc Guehi among the names discussed. The change gives the new manager direct control over the hierarchy as City establish a new identity after Guardiola.

Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi and the Messi family
Saturday

Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s father, longtime agent and business manager, has died aged 68 in Rosario after a long illness. Barcelona, Newell’s Old Boys and the Argentine Football Association publicly confirmed his death and issued tributes to the family.

Jorge guided Lionel’s career from childhood, relocating with him to Barcelona when the forward was 13 and later managing major business decisions. Inter Miami subsequently left Messi out of its Leagues Cup match against Monterrey following the family bereavement.

FIFA, Gianni Infantino and his critics
Saturday

FIFA says there is a concerted and ongoing effort to undermine the organisation and president Gianni Infantino as pressure grows over the abandoned private-investment plan and fresh allegations concerning his time as UEFA general secretary.

FIFA rejected what it called unsubstantiated assertions and warned that any presidential challenge must follow its statutes and democratic procedures. The statement represents a direct institutional counterattack as UEFA, Concacaf and individual associations continue challenging Infantino’s leadership.

Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and sporting federations
Saturday

Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports has issued an official circular restricting sporting federations from granting documents that could be interpreted as operating licences. The ministry says only its Sporting Services Companies Licensing Office can legally authorise relevant sports-service and investment businesses.

Federations must regularly verify that companies and entities dealing with them hold valid licences and stop dealing with unlicensed or expired operators. The ministry also ordered conflicting procedures to be cancelled or suspended and warned federations they remain responsible for violations.