Croatia Defender Dejan Lovren Returns to Lyon 

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Croatia's Dejan Lovren celebrates after the match as they finish in third place. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Croatia's Dejan Lovren celebrates after the match as they finish in third place. (Reuters)
TT

Croatia Defender Dejan Lovren Returns to Lyon 

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Croatia's Dejan Lovren celebrates after the match as they finish in third place. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Croatia's Dejan Lovren celebrates after the match as they finish in third place. (Reuters)

French club Lyon has signed Dejan Lovren to a contract until June 2025 as the Croatia defender makes his return to the seven-time champions. 

Lovren, who joined Monday from Zenit St. Petersburg, played 102 matches over three years and won the 2012 French Cup with Lyon. He left the club in 2013 and went on to play with Southampton and Liverpool. 

The 33-year-old Lovren was part of the Croatia squad that made it to the semifinals at the World Cup in Qatar last month. He has 78 international appearances and also featured at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Croatia lost to France in the final. 

Lovren is expected to reinforce the heart of Lyon's defense, with the club already trailing 20 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain in the league standings after 17 games. 

“I left Lyon in 2013 with regrets because I felt I hadn’t shown everything," Lovren said in a club statement. “I want to prove to everyone what kind of player I really am.” 



Struggling Valencia Hires West Brom Manager Carlos Corberan as Its New Head Coach

15 December 2024, United Kingdom, Watford: West Bromwich Albion coach Carlos Corberan, reacts during the English Football League championship soccer match between Watford and West Bromwich Albion at Vicarage Road. (Mike Egerton/PA Wire/dpa)
15 December 2024, United Kingdom, Watford: West Bromwich Albion coach Carlos Corberan, reacts during the English Football League championship soccer match between Watford and West Bromwich Albion at Vicarage Road. (Mike Egerton/PA Wire/dpa)
TT

Struggling Valencia Hires West Brom Manager Carlos Corberan as Its New Head Coach

15 December 2024, United Kingdom, Watford: West Bromwich Albion coach Carlos Corberan, reacts during the English Football League championship soccer match between Watford and West Bromwich Albion at Vicarage Road. (Mike Egerton/PA Wire/dpa)
15 December 2024, United Kingdom, Watford: West Bromwich Albion coach Carlos Corberan, reacts during the English Football League championship soccer match between Watford and West Bromwich Albion at Vicarage Road. (Mike Egerton/PA Wire/dpa)

Relegation-threatened Valencia has hired West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan as its new head coach through June 2027.

Valencia fired Rubén Baraja on Monday after another setback in La Liga left the Spanish club stuck in the relegation zone and sparked renewed protests against Singaporean owner Peter Lim.

"Carlos Corberan has been appointed as coach of Valencia CF, signing a contract through to 2027," a statement on Valencia’s website said early Wednesday. "A buy-out option in his contract with West Bromwich Albion was taken up to allow him to leave."

No official figure was given but the compensation for the former Valencia youth player was reported to be in the region of $3 million.

The Spaniard, who also briefly coached Greek side Olympiakos, led West Brom to its current seventh place in England's second-tier Championship. He worked in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr before making his debut as a first-team manager with Doxa Katokopias of Cyprus.

West Brom earlier said in a statement that the 41-year-old Corberan "is set to return to his homeland with the club’s gratitude and best wishes following a two-year tenure at The Hawthorns."

Chris Brunt, Damia Abella and Boaz Myhill "will oversee first-team duties until further notice."

Valencia’s next Spanish league match will be against Real Madrid at home on Jan. 3 in a game postponed from October because of the deadly floods that hit Valencia.

Valencia is winless in its last four matches.

Corberan wrote on X that "the decision to leave (West Brom) has been the hardest of my life."

"There will ALWAYS be a place in my heart for this special club and I hope one day I can return to thank you all for your incredible support," he said.