Lewandowski Confirms He Wants to Leave Bayern Munich this Summer

Robert Lewandowski netted his 35th Bundesliga goal of the season for Bayern Munich on Saturday RONNY HARTMANN AFP
Robert Lewandowski netted his 35th Bundesliga goal of the season for Bayern Munich on Saturday RONNY HARTMANN AFP
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Lewandowski Confirms He Wants to Leave Bayern Munich this Summer

Robert Lewandowski netted his 35th Bundesliga goal of the season for Bayern Munich on Saturday RONNY HARTMANN AFP
Robert Lewandowski netted his 35th Bundesliga goal of the season for Bayern Munich on Saturday RONNY HARTMANN AFP

Robert Lewandowski confirmed Saturday that he wants to leave Bayern Munich this summer amid reports Barcelona are ready to offer the 33-year-old star striker a three-year contract.

Lewandowki banged in his 35th league goal this campaign in a 2-2 draw at Wolfsburg on the last weekend of the Bundesliga season, then dropped a bombshell, said AFP.

"It could well be my last game for Bayern. I can't say 100 percent, but it could be. We have to find the best solution for the club and me," he told streaming service Viaplay.

Lewandowski confirmed to Sky that he has told Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic he will not extend his contract, which expires in 2023 and "that when an offer comes, we have to think about it".

"I have a year left, but we have to find the best solution for both sides," the Polish striker added.

The back-to-back winner of FIFA's best male player award has won every title available since joining Bayern in 2014, including eight Bundesliga trophies for a total of ten having won two with ex-club Dortmund. He also lifted the Champions League in 2020.

In Wolfsburg, Lewandowski scored a crisp header from a Thomas Mueller after defender Josip Stanisic gave Bayern an early lead.

Wolfsburg clawed their way back as Danish forward Jonas Wind scored, then veteran striker Max Kruse levelled for the hosts.

Elswhere, Erling Haaland signed off his final appearance for second-placed Borussia Dortmund in a 2-1 home win over Hertha Berlin.

The Norwegian star is set to complete a long-awaited move to Manchester City for next season.

Haaland equalized from the penalty spot in the second half to cancel out Ishak Belfodil's early goal for Hertha at Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund's 17-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko came off the bench and grabbed the winner, just seconds after replacing Axel Witsel.

Haaland applauded home fans after the final whistle while Dortmund also said goodbye to sports director Michael Zorc.

The defeat pushed Hertha into 16th, which means a two-legged relegation play-off against the team which finishes third in the second division, currently Hamburg.

"The boys are totally exhausted and worked up," said Hertha sports director Fredi Bobic.

"They must now have the belief to pull it together in these two games."

- Endo rescues Stuttgart -
There were dramatic scenes in Stuttgart where Japan midfielder Wataru Endo scored a stoppage-time winner to seal a 2-1 win over Cologne.

The win saw Stuttgart claw their way to 15th and guaranteed survival next season.

Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic made amends for having a first-half penalty saved by heading in the resulting corner 26 seconds later.

Cologne equalized when veteran French striker Anthony Modeste headed in his 20th goal of the season until Endo struck.

Stuttgart fans stormed the pitch at the final whistle to kick off the celebrations.

"It feels good, but I have a sore head from all the shouting and celebrating," said head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.

"It was a great moment. I'm so happy for the boys. You never forget a moment like today."

Cologne finish seventh to qualify for the Europa Conference League.

Union Berlin will play in the Europa League next season after finishing fifth after Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi netted twice to seal a 3-2 win.

Union raced into a 2-0 lead as Grischa Proemel gave the hosts an early lead before Awoniyi converted a penalty.

Bochum roared back as Simon Zoller headed in a goal, then Eduard Loewen levelled before Awoniyi grabbed a late winner.

Freiburg finished sixth and punched their Europa League ticket despite losing 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen, whose Argentinian defender Exequiel Palacios scored the winner seven minutes into stoppage time.

Arminia Bielefeld joined Greuther Fuerth in being relegated from Germany's top flight despite a 1-1 draw at RB Leipzig, who finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League.

Germany midfielder Jonas Hofmann scored twice as Borussia Moenchengladbach thrashed Hoffenheim 5-1.

Brazil defender Tutu and Colombia striker Rafael Borre hit the net as Eintracht Frankfurt tuned up for Wednesday's Europa League final against Rangers with a 2-2 draw at Mainz.



Chelsea Injuries up 44% After Club World Cup but Report Says Event Has Had ‘Minimal’ Impact

Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
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Chelsea Injuries up 44% After Club World Cup but Report Says Event Has Had ‘Minimal’ Impact

Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)
Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP)

Chelsea suffered a 44% spike in injuries after competing in the supersized Club World Cup this year, according to findings published on Tuesday.

But the newly expanded tournament has so far had a “minimal impact” on injuries overall, the latest edition of the Men’s European Football Injury Index found.

There was fierce opposition to FIFA's new flagship club event when it was confirmed in 2023 that it would increase from seven to 32 teams, with players' unions warning of physical and mental burnout of players due to an ever expanding match schedule. But FIFA pressed ahead and staged the tournament in the United States in June-July.

Chelsea went on to win the inaugural competition, receiving the trophy from US President Donald Trump at MetLife Stadium and taking home prize money of around $125 million. But, according to the Index, from June-October, Chelsea picked up more injuries — 23 — than any of the nine clubs from Europe's top leagues that participated in the Club World Cup.

They included star player Cole Palmer, and was a 44% increase on the same period last year.

While Chelsea, which played 64 games over the entire 2024-25 season, saw an increase in injuries, the Index, produced by global insurance firm Howden, found that overall there was a decrease.

“In principle you would expect this increased workload to lead to an increase in the number of injuries sustained, as a possible rise in overall injury severity,” the Index report said, but added: “The data would suggest a minimal impact on overall injury figures.”

Despite the figures, the authors of the report accept it was too early to assess the full impact of the Club World Cup, with the findings only going up to October.

“We would expect to see the impact to spike in that sort of November to February period,” said James Burrows, Head of Sport at Howden. “What we’ve seen previously is that’s where the impact is seen from summer tournaments."

Manchester City has sustained 22 since the tournament, which is the highest among the nine teams from Europe's top leagues — England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

Those teams have recorded 146 injuries from June-October, which is down on the previous year's figure of 174.

From August-October that number is 121, the lowest for that three-month period in the previous six years of the Index.


Sunderland Worst Hit by Losing Players to African Cup of Nations 

14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)
14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)
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Sunderland Worst Hit by Losing Players to African Cup of Nations 

14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)
14 December 2025, United Kingdom, London: Sunderland's Habib Diarra (L) and Leeds United's Gabriel Gudmundsson battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leeds United at the Gtech Community Stadium. (dpa)

Premier League Sunderland will have to do without six players over the next few weeks and are the club worst hit as the Africa Cup of Nations takes its toll on European clubs competing over the holiday season.

Sunderland, eighth in the standings, had four of their African internationals in action when they beat Newcastle United on Sunday, but like 14 other English top-flight clubs will now lose those players to international duty.

The timing of the African championship, kicking off in Morocco on Sunday and running through to January 18, has long been an irritant for coaches, with leagues in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain also affected.

Hosting the tournament in the middle of the season impacts around 58% of the players at the Cup of Nations, though the Confederation of African Football did try to mitigate the impact by moving the start to before Christmas, so it is completed before the next round of Champions League matches.

The impact on European clubs was also lessened by allowing them to release players seven days, rather than the mandatory 14 days, before the tournament, meaning they could play for their clubs last weekend.

Sunderland's Congolese Arthur Masuaku and Noah Sadiki, plus full back Reinildo (Mozambique), midfielder Habib Diarra (Mali), and attackers Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco) and Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) have now departed for Morocco.

Ironically, Mohamed Salah’s absence from Liverpool to play for Egypt should lower the temperature at the club after his recent outburst against manager Arne Slot, but Manchester United will lose three players in Noussair Mazraoui, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, who scored in Monday’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.

France is again the country with the most players heading to the Cup of Nations, and with 51 from Ligue 1 clubs. But their absence is much less impactful than previously as Ligue 1 broke after the weekend’s fixtures and does not resume until January 2, by which time the Cup of Nations will be into its knockout stage.

There are 21 players from Serie A clubs, 18 from the Bundesliga, and 15 from LaLiga teams among the 24 squads at the tournament in Morocco.


Rodgers Takes Charge of Saudi Team Al-Qadsiah After Departure from Celtic 

Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)
Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)
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Rodgers Takes Charge of Saudi Team Al-Qadsiah After Departure from Celtic 

Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)
Then-Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers greets supporters after a Europa League soccer match between Red Star and Celtic at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP)

Brendan Rodgers has returned to football as the coach of Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah, six weeks after resigning from Scottish champion Celtic.

Al-Qadsiah, whose squad includes Italian striker Mateo Retegui and former Real Madrid defender Fernandez Nacho, is in fifth place in the Saudi Pro League in its first season after promotion.

Rodgers departed Celtic on Oct. 27 and has opted to continue his managerial career outside Britain for the first time, having previously coached Liverpool, Leicester and Swansea.

In its statement announcing the hiring of Rodgers on Tuesday, Al-Qadsiah described him as a “world-renowned coach” and said his arrival “reflects the club’s ambitious vision and its rapidly growing sporting project.”

Aramco, the state-owned Saudi oil giant, bought Al-Qadsiah in 2023 in a move that has helped to transform the club’s status.

“This is a landmark moment for the club,” Al-Qadsiah chief executive James Bisgrove said. “The caliber of his experience and track record of winning reflects our ambition and long-term vision to establish Al-Qadsiah as one of Asia’s leading clubs.”

Rodgers is coming off winning back-to-back Scottish league titles with Celtic, where he won 11 major trophies across his two spells. He also won the FA Cup with Leicester.

Al-Qadsiah's last two coaches were former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler and former Spain midfielder Michel.