Brahim Díaz to Switch International Allegiance from Spain to Morocco

It’s This Time for Africa for Brahim Díaz.

The 24-year-old half-Spanish soccer player and Real Madrid forward will represent Morocco over Spain at the international level due to a lack of communication from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), according to ESPN.

Brahim Diaz,Díaz was born in Malaga to a Spanish mother and a Moroccan father. He has represented his country of birth at various youth levels and even has one cap for the senior side, but Morocco have convinced him to switch international allegiance.

Save a late twist, he will be named in the Atlas Lions squad for the first time later this week for fixtures against Angola and Mauritania later this month.

Sources close to Díaz told ESPN there is disappointment and surprise at how the RFEF have dealt with the situation, given how they have acted differently in similar cases.

The sources highlight the push to persuade Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, who was also eligible to play for Morocco, to pick Spain as well as the fact that the RFEF sent high-ranking officials to meet Yamal as early as 2022.

Sources at the RFEF, though, insist they have treated Díaz the same as other players who had the opportunity to represent more than one country, adding they don’t understand his switch.

“Everyone is free to make their own decisions. For me, there are three steps to be called up: firstly, that you are eligible, secondly that you want to play for the national team and thirdly that the coach selects you,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told reporters on Monday.

“I have not spoken with [Díaz]. I either call players up or not and the [players] do what they have to do. I worked with him a lot [with the U21s] and I hold him in high esteem and have a lot of respect for him.

Morocco worked hard over a series of calls and in-person meetings, with sources adding that national team coach Walid Regragui played a key role in finally convincing Díaz to pick the north African country.

Díaz’s priority had been to play for Spain. The former Manchester City forward was even capped for the senior side in 2021 when an outbreak of COVID-19 forced La Roja to field their under-21 team against Lithuania. Díaz scored in the 4-0 friendly win.

As the match was a friendly, Diaz remains free to switch international allegiance due to FIFA‘s eligibility rules.

Since that game, his career has continued to progress. He impressed during three years on loan at AC Milan and has played an important role for Madrid since returning at the start of the season.

His form in recent weeks — including decisive goals against Atlético Madrid and RB Leipzig — led to reports that Spain coach de la Fuente was going to call him up for this month’s games against Colombia and Brazil.

Morocco were one of the surprise teams at the 2022 World Cup, knocking Spain out en route to the semifinal, where they eventually succumbed to France.

They didn’t have as much success at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, losing to South Africa in the round of 16.

Paris Saint-Germain Reportedly Reach Agreement to Sign Gabriel Moscardo from Corinthians

Gabriel Moscardo is headed to The City of Light 

Paris Saint-Germain has reached an agreement to sign the 18-year-old Brazilian soccer phenom, a midfielder for Corinthians, per ESPN sources.

PSG sporting director Luís Campos traveled to Brazil earlier this month to watch Moscardo, and the club have now agreed to a €20 million deal for the midfielder.

ESPN reported last summer that Chelsea had a bid of $22m rejected.

Other teams in Europe, such as ArsenalManchester United and Atlético Madrid, also made inquiries about the Corinthians player but did not make offers.

Sources have told ESPN that Moscardo recently visited Paris and will sign a five-year contract at the club.

Before Moscardo turned professional, Barcelona also showed interest in the player but talks did not go ahead.

Promoted to the first team this season, Moscardo has made 25 senior appearances for Corinthians, registering one goal and one assist.

Marcelino García Toral Returning as Manager of LaLiga Side Villarreal

Marcelino García Toral is returning to Villarreal

The Spanish team has handed the reins to the 58-year-old Spanish football manager and former player, Villarreal’s former coach, the LaLiga club has announced.

Marcelino García Toral Marcelino replaces José “Pacheta” Rojo Martín, who was fired on Friday after managing only five wins in 12 games in all competitions.

Pacheta had only taken over the role in September after the dismissal of Quique Setién.

Marcelino has signed a contract through June 2026. He first joined Villarreal in 2013, helping win promotion to LaLiga and leading the team to three straight top-six finishes.

They reached the Europa League semifinals in the 2015-16 campaign, losing to Liverpool, and finished fourth in LaLiga.

He parted company with Villarreal days before the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

Marcelino inherits a team that is 14th in LaLiga, with only three wins from 13 matches.

Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Atletico Madrid was Villarreal’s seventh league loss of the campaign.

Villarreal are back in action on November 26 when they host Osasuna.

Diego Alonso Named New Head Coach of Sevilla FC

Diego Alonso is taking the helm in Andalucia

Sevilla has appointed Diego Alonso as their new head coach.

Diego AlonsoThe former Inter Miami CF manager has replaced José Luis Mendilibar, who was dismissed on Monday after the team’s poor start to the season.

Alonso will take over the team for the remainder of the campaign.

The former Atletico Madrid player had been without a job since stepping down as coach of Uruguay in December after the country’s failure to progress past the group stages of the 2022 World Cup.

This will be Alonso’s first coaching experience in Europe.

He has coached Peñarol and Bella Vista in his native Uruguay as well as Paraguayan sides Olimpia and Guarani.

His longest coaching spell was at Mexican side Pachuca, whom he led to the Mexican championship in 2016.

He also won the CONCACAF Champions League versus Pachuca and Monterrey.

Alonso joined Inter Miami ahead of the club’s inaugural season in 2019 but results were mixed and he left by mutual consent in January 2021.

Later that year, he took over Uruguay’s national team.

Alonso has inherited a Sevilla team that has won just two of its opening eight LaLiga games.

Saturday’s 2-2 league draw at Rayo Vallecano left the club in 14th position in the standings with eight points from a possible 24.

Sergio Ramos In Advanced Talks to Return to Sevilla

Sergio Ramos is thisclose to returning to the place where it all began…

The 37-year-old Spanish soccer player is in advanced talks over a return to Sevilla.

Sergio RamosRamos has been a free agent since his Paris Saint-Germain contract expired in July.

The former Real Madrid centre-back attracted interest from Saudi Arabia’s Al IttihadGalatasarayFC Porto and MLS, sources said, but has opted for Sevilla as he prefers to stay closer to home.

Sevilla — whose LaLiga game at Atletico Madrid was postponed on Sunday on the advice of local authorities, due to a forecast of heavy rain — are hoping to close the deal in the coming hours.

Club president Pepe Castro appeared to rule out a move for Ramos last month, saying he had “never been an option” and said the defender had been offered to the club “directly and indirectly.”

Sevilla — who won the Europa League in May — have had a poor start to this LaLiga season, losing all three matches so far and are bottom of the table.

Ramos was born in Camas, a town just outside the city of Seville, and played for Sevilla as a teenager before joining Real Madrid in September 2005.

He spent 16 years at Real Madrid, becoming club captain and winning five LaLiga titles and four Champions Leagues — providing one of the most iconic moments in the club’s history with his goal in the 2014 Champions League final — before joining PSG on a free transfer in July 2021.

After an injury-hit first season in Paris and a more impressive second campaign, Ramos left PSG this summer and has since been considering his options.

The former Spain captain retired from international football in February — two years after his last appearance — when he was told he was not part of coach Luis de la Fuente‘s plans.

Ramos was a key part of the Spain teams that won three back-to-back international tournaments between 2008 and 2012, including the 2010 World Cup.

Manchester United to Sign Sergio Reguilón on Season-Long Loan from Tottenham

Sergio Reguilón is the Man(chester) of the hour…

Manchester United is set to sign the 26-year-old Spanish soccer player on a season-long loan from Tottenham, according to ESPN.

Sergio Reguilón, Reguilón has been given permission to travel for a medical after the two clubs agreed terms following United’s decision to switch their attention from Chelsea‘s Marc Cucurella.

Manchester United is in the market for left-back cover having learned Luke Shaw is facing several weeks out with a thigh injury, joining back-up option Tyrell Malacia on the sidelines.

Cucurella was on United’s shortlist but Chelsea’s decision to play him in Wednesday’s EFL Cup win over AFC Wimbledon meant he could not join Erik ten Hag‘s side and then play for a third club this season if his loan spell at Old Trafford was cut short in January, when Shaw and Malacia are expected to be available.

Reguilon has been deemed surplus to requirements by new Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou after spending last year on loan at Atletico Madrid.

He joined Tottenham from Real Madrid in 2020 for £25 million, making 52 Premier League appearances.

Paris Saint-Germain Sign Lucas Hernandez from Bayern Munich

Lucas Hernandez is headed to the City of Lights

Paris Saint-Germain have signed the half-Spanish French footballer from Bayern Munich on a five-year deal, the Ligue 1 champions have announced.

Lucas HernandezThe transfer fee hasn’t been disclosed but French media reported that PSG had paid Bayern a fee of €40 million ($43.87m) plus add-ons for Hernandez.

“I’m really excited! I’ve been waiting to join PSG for a long time, and it’s finally happened. It’s a very special day for me and I’m very happy to be here,” Hernandez said in a statement.

Atletico Madrid, Hernandez’s boyhood club, will also receive a significant fee, according to Spanish media reports.

The France international made 107 appearances for the German league champions since his arrival in 2019 but played only seven league games last season after suffering a cruciate ligament rupture injury at the World Cup that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Hernandez, PSG’s fifth new signing, joins midfielders Manuel Ugarte and Lee Kang-in, central defender Milan Skriniar and forward Marco Asensio.

The club also fired manager Christophe Galtier on Wednesday and replaced him with former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique.

David de Gea Announces Plans to Leave Manchester United This Summer

David de Gea is ready for his next chapter…

The 32-year-old Spanish professional footballer has announced he’s leaving Manchester United this summer, saying that now’s the right time to undertake a new challenge in his career.

David de GeaThe goalkeeper failed to agree to terms on a new contract to extend his stay at Old Trafford and will leave the club 12 years after joining from Atletico Madrid in 2011. 

De Gea was close to signing a new deal, only for talks to collapse at the end of season. Sources have told ESPN that United are in negotiations with Inter Milan for the transfer of Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana.

“I just wanted to send this farewell message to all Manchester United supporters,” De Gea wrote on social media on Saturday.

“I would like to express my unwavering gratitude and appreciation for the love from the last 12 years. We’ve achieved a lot since my dear Sir Alex Ferguson brought me to this club.

“I took incredible pride everytime I pulled on this shirt, to lead the team, to represent this institution, the biggest club in the world was an honour only bestowed upon a few lucky footballers.

“It’s been an unforgettable and successful period since I came here. I didn’t think from leaving Madrid as a young boy we would achieve what we did together.

“Now, it’s the right time to undertake a new challenge, to push myself again in new surroundings.

“Manchester will always be in my heart, Manchester has shaped me and will never leave me. We’ve seen it all.”

De Gea made 545 appearances for United — seventh on the club’s all-time list — and was part of the team that won the 2012-13 Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson. He also won the FA Cup in 2016, the Carabao Cup in 2017 and 2023 as well as the Europa League in 2017.

In a club statement released on Saturday shortly after De Gea’s announcement, manager Erik ten Hag said: “It takes great quality and character to reach the level of even playing one game for Manchester United.

“To do it 545 times over 12 years is a special achievement, particularly in the goalkeeping position where every game puts you in the spotlight. To have won player of the year awards from both the fans and his teammates, each on four occasions, shows the level of his performance and he will always be remembered as one of the very best goalkeepers in the history of the club.

“I am personally grateful for the 25 clean sheets he helped provide last season and his overall contribution on the pitch during my first year at the club.

“All the players and staff send him our very best wishes for the next phase of his outstanding career.”

Inter Miami Expresses Interest in Jordi Alba

Jordi Alba‘s dance card is filling up…

Inter Miami have sounded out the 34-year-old Spanish professional footballer’s interest in joining the club but face competition to sign the Barcelona defender from Atletico MadridInter Milan and clubs in Saudi Arabia, sources have told ESPN.

Jordi Alba, BarcelonaAlba has reached an agreement to end his contract with Barca, which was due to expire in 2024, one year early and is looking for a new club this summer. 

Sources say Alba has not closed the door on any of the options and will make a decision after this week’s UEFA Nations League finals in the Netherlands, where he is part of the Spain squad that will meet Italy in the semifinal on Thursday.

After Lionel Messi announced he would join Inter Miami last week, and with sources confirming Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets has also held talks with the MLS side, Alba is the latest Europe-based player to be approached by the South Florida team.

Sources say there have not yet been any formal negotiations and there is no offer on the table, while Miami also has to consider how to manage its three designated player spots, but Alba would be willing to listen to the team’s proposal.

However, the left-back may prefer to stay in Europe with the European Championships coming up in Germany next summer and with his wife due to give birth to their third child next month.

LaLiga side Atletico and Serie A team Inter are among several interested European clubs, sources confirmed, while there are also offers on the table from Saudi Arabia.

Alba will evaluate his options with his family after the Nations League, with a decision expected to be made in the coming weeks.

Manchester United & David de Gea “Close to Agreeing” to New Contract

David de Gea is thisclose to a United layover…

Manchester United is closing in on an agreement with the 32-year-old Spanish professional footballer over a new contract, according to ESPN.

David De Gea The goalkeeper is approaching the end of his current deal and could leave Old Trafford for free at the end of the season.

United, however, believe they are close to an agreement, which would see De Gea extend his stay while taking a cut in his basic wage but with larger performance-related incentives.

Most of the terms have been finalized although talks are continuing about how the contract is structured.

United also have the option of triggering a one-year extension to his existing deal which is valid until May, but there’s confidence at the club that fresh terms will be in place before that’s necessary.

De Gea has been Erik ten Hag‘s undisputed No.1 since the Dutchman’s arrival last summer, making 47 appearances in all competitions.

He has made more than 500 appearances since arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2011. He has won United’s player of the year award four times and lifted the Premier League title, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League during his 12 years in England.