Gareth Bale s retirement announcement sparking a new wave of golf-related jokes and memes was par for the course – he might not have expected Pep Guardiola to chip in, though.

The Wales great confirmed on Monday his career in professional football has come to an end after representing his country at the 2022 World Cup.

Despite his brilliance as footballer over the years, it is certainly not the only sport Bale is closely associated with.

During his time in Madrid, Bale s penchant for taking to the golf course while injured began to tee Los Blancos fans off, and former player Predrag Mijatovic once suggested the Welshman s priorities were Wales, then golf, and after that, Real Madrid .

Wales fans subsequently turned it into a chant and slogan, with Bale …

Christian Eriksen believes Manchester United showed they have the legs to take on the best in the Premier League after outrunning Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The Monday night 2-1 win at Old Trafford will count for little if United stumble at Southampton on Saturday, but after defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford, the Red Devils found a big performance to sink their great rivals and lift spirits.

With Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo shuffled out of the starting XI, goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford delivered three points for United, Erik ten Hag s first league win as United manager.

United had only 29.6 per cent of possession and their passing accuracy was a fairly dismal 65.93 per cent.

That was the worst accuracy United have …

David Moyes feels current Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been given time he was not afforded at Old Trafford.

Moyes returns to his former club on Wednesday when his West Ham team face Solskjaer s Champions League-chasing side in the Premier League.

Seven years ago, Moyes was the chosen one , the man hired as Alex Ferguson s successor on a six-year contract, though he lasted only 10 months as United missed out on Champions League qualification for the first time in almost two decades.

After stints with Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho in charge, ex-United striker Solskjaer came back, initially on an interim basis, before being appointed permanently in March 2019.

United only finished sixth last season and have remained outside the top f…

Enzo Fernandez has finally signed for Chelsea, becoming the Premier League s record signing after the Blues met his £106.8million (€121m) release clause at Benfica.

Fernandez, who was named Young Player of the Tournament after helping Argentina win the 2022 World Cup, was strongly linked with Chelsea earlier in the transfer window before talks broke down.

However, the big-spending Blues went back in for him with the end of the window drawing closer, signing Fernandez to a long-term contract – rumoured to run until 2031 – with confirmation arriving an hour and a half after the transfer window closed.

Chelsea submitted the relevant paperwork in time and Benfica were first to announce details of the deal on their official website on Wednesday.

Enzo Fe…

Barcelona want to sign Diogo Dalot from Manchester United in the January transfer window, according to . The Spanish publication has claimed that La Liga giants Barcelona wanted to sign Dalot from Premier League powerhouse United in the summer transfer window, and that the Blaugrana still remain keen on the 23-year-old right-back.

Dalot has been on the books of United since 2018 when he joined from FC Porto. The Portugal international right-back spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan at Serie A giants AC Milan. Although the youngster is out of contract at the Red Devils at the end of the season, United do have the option to trigger an extension.

Barcelona are second in the La Liga table at the moment with 16 points from six matches, just two points behind leaders Real Madri…

Phil Jones is set to make his return to action for Manchester United after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed the defender will be in his squad for the EFL Cup tie with West Ham.

The 29-year-old has not played for the Red Devils since January 2020 due to a debilitating knee problem that has dogged him throughout his career.

Jones scored on his last appearance, against Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup, and opened up on his emotional recovery trail in an interview with the Times this past weekend.

After featuring for United s Under-23s, however, the centre-back is finally ready to make his return to first-team action, starting with Wednesday s clash at Old Trafford.

I m so happy for Phil, Solskjaer told MUTV. He has completed two 90 minutes for the Under-23s, pla…

Ivan Rakitic will win his 100th cap for Croatia in Tuesday s Nations League clash with Spain in Elche.

The Barcelona star is to become an international centurion 11 years and three days on from his debut in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia.

Speaking ahead of the match, Rakitic admitted it was fitting for him to reach the milestone against Spain, having played in LaLiga since 2011.

I remember how I could hardly wait my first appearance for Croatia, he said. Today, 11 years later, I can hardly wait my hundredth.

It s incredible, I m so happy and proud, and I could not have wished a better opponent. However, it will not be a real celebration for me without team success. We have to fight.

Rakitic is the eighth Croatia player to reach 100 appea…

Best odds: 6/4

Bookmaker:

PAOK will be playing host to Aberdeen at the Stadio Toumbas on Thursday in the Europa Conference League, seeking to continue with their perfect record in the competition.

As for the visitors, it s a do-or-die situation as they need to win this game to keep any hope of progressing from the group, having earned just one point from the first three rounds.

PAOK have the opportunity to secure their place in the knockout stages of the competition with two matches to spare if they secure a fourth victory in four games. They won a five-goal thriller in Scotland against Aberdeen two weeks ago.

Despite falling 2-0 behind within the first hour of the match, the Greek side managed to level the proceedings late in the game and then s…

Gael Clichy scored from the halfway line in Servette’s 5-0 win over Sion – after remembering some advice he had been given about goalkeeper Alexandros Safarikas from a fan on Instagram.

Servette were already 2-0 ahead when former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Clichy won possession just inside Sion’s half in the ninth minute on Saturday before sending a left-foot shot over a scrambling Safarikas, leaving both ball and keeper in the net.

The French full-back revealed after the game that he had recalled a message from one of the club’s supporters on social media telling him that Safarikas had a tendency to stray off his line.

Règle numéro 1 : Toujours écouter ses fans

La belle histoire derrière le magnifique but de Gaël Clichy hier

…

Andres Iniesta has called time on one of the most celebrated and decorated club careers in European football by announcing he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season.

A product of La Masia who came to define the Barca academy s vision of footballing excellence, Iniesta is on the verge of a ninth LaLiga title, with Ernesto Valverde s side set to seal glory this weekend.

That will come on the heels of Iniesta scoring in a 5-0 Copa del Rey final rout of Sevilla at an emotional Wanda Metropolitano last weekend – the 34th trophy the four-time Champions League winner has lifted for club and country.

Iniesta was the inspiration behind Spain s golden run of three consecutive major tournament triumphs at Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 – his exploits…