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Di Maria Says He Will Not Return for Benfica Next Season

Angel di Maria. (Getty Images)
Angel di Maria. (Getty Images)
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Di Maria Says He Will Not Return for Benfica Next Season

Angel di Maria. (Getty Images)
Angel di Maria. (Getty Images)

Angel di Maria will not return for Benfica next season, the Argentine forward said after the club failed to win the Liga Portugal following a 1-1 draw at Braga on Saturday, finishing two points below champions Sporting.

The 37-year-old, who retired from international soccer last year after making 145 appearances for Argentina, has spent five years at Benfica in two spells, having re-joined the club in 2023 after playing for Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris St Germain and Juventus.

"It hurts a lot to end this way after such a long year. It was my last championship match with this shirt and I'm proud to have been able to wear it again," Di Maria wrote on Instagram.

"There's still a final on Sunday and we're going to go there with all our desire and joy to win it. Together as always. Thanks for your support, Benfica fans."

Benfica play Sporting in the final of the Portuguese Cup on May 25, before kicking off their Club World Cup campaign on June 16.

Di Maria, whose contract runs until June 30 according to media reports, did not say if he will play in the Club World Cup.

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Verstappen Gave Lambiase His Blessing for ‘Great’ McLaren Move

Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)
Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)
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Verstappen Gave Lambiase His Blessing for ‘Great’ McLaren Move

Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)
Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)

Max Verstappen encouraged ‌his Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to move to McLaren after the Briton received an offer that was hard to refuse.

Lambiase will switch teams when his contract expires at the end of 2027 and join McLaren as their chief racing officer in a move announced last week.

"He told me what kind of offer he received," four-times ‌world champion ‌Verstappen said at a recent ‌Viaplay ⁠event in Amsterdam ⁠in his first public comments on the announcement. "I said: 'You would be stupid not to do that'.

"We have already achieved everything together. And then he gets such a great offer, also with his family in mind ⁠and the security it would give ‌him.

"He asked me ‌for a sort of permission and I said ‌that he absolutely had to do it. ‌He really wanted to hear that from me."

Lambiase will be the latest in a string of senior employees to have left once-dominant Red ‌Bull, with former principal Christian Horner sacked last year.

Verstappen's own future at ⁠the ⁠team remains uncertain, with the Dutch driver contracted to 2028 but unhappy with rule changes in a new engine era.

Red Bull announced on Thursday changes to their technical leadership team, with Ben Waterhouse taking on an expanded role as chief performance and design engineer with immediate effect.

From July 1, Andrea Landi will join from sister team Racing Bulls, where he was deputy technical director, as head of performance.

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Muchova Overcomes Gauff Hoodoo to Reach Stuttgart Semis

Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates winning her quarter-finals match against Coco Gauff of the USA at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 17 April 2026. (EPA)
Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates winning her quarter-finals match against Coco Gauff of the USA at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 17 April 2026. (EPA)
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Muchova Overcomes Gauff Hoodoo to Reach Stuttgart Semis

Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates winning her quarter-finals match against Coco Gauff of the USA at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 17 April 2026. (EPA)
Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic celebrates winning her quarter-finals match against Coco Gauff of the USA at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 17 April 2026. (EPA)

Karolina Muchova broke through for a first win over Coco Gauff on Friday, eliminating the French Open champion in three sets in the quarter-finals in Stuttgart.

Muchova had never beaten world number three Gauff in six matches, including a loss in the fourth round of this year's Australian Open, but prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the Stuttgart semi-finals for the first time.

The 12th-ranked Muchova will face Elina Svitolina for a place in the final.

After ensuring Gauff exited the tournament in the quarter-finals for the third straight year, Muchova said she tried not to let the daunting record impact her preparation.

"It was a great fight. I'm just happy that I finally, finally beat her," Muchova said.

"This was actually our first match on a clay court. On clay we were 0-0 in the matches -- I tried to keep it positive."

Earlier on Friday, fourth seed Svitolina moved past Czech Linda Noskova 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 to book her semi-final spot.

The in-form Ukrainian has now reached five semi-finals this season.

Svitolina told reporters she had re-discovered her fighting spirit after a difficult 2025.

"I had a really difficult end of last year, struggling a bit mentally," Svitolina said. "I think my fighting spirit is back this year. I'm very pleased with that."

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Zverev Fights Past Cerundolo to Reach Munich Semis

Tennis - ATP 500 - Munich Open - MTTC Iphitos, Munich, Germany - April 14, 2026 Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his round of 32 match against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic. (Reuters)
Tennis - ATP 500 - Munich Open - MTTC Iphitos, Munich, Germany - April 14, 2026 Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his round of 32 match against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic. (Reuters)
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Zverev Fights Past Cerundolo to Reach Munich Semis

Tennis - ATP 500 - Munich Open - MTTC Iphitos, Munich, Germany - April 14, 2026 Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his round of 32 match against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic. (Reuters)
Tennis - ATP 500 - Munich Open - MTTC Iphitos, Munich, Germany - April 14, 2026 Germany's Alexander Zverev celebrates after winning his round of 32 match against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic. (Reuters)

Top seed Alexander Zverev battled back from a set down to beat Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo on Friday and book a spot in the semi-finals of the Munich ATP tournament.

The three-time Munich champion won 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 and will take on Italy's Flavio Cobolli on Saturday for a place in the final.

Zverev burst out of the blocks and served for a 5-1 lead in the opening set but appeared to suddenly lose his rhythm, winning just one more game as Cerundolo powered back to take the opening set.

As the second set began, and with the support of the home crowd, the 28-year-old found his form as swiftly as he had lost it, bouncing back to win the final two sets while dropping just two games.

"Even in the first set when I was up 4-1, he started playing unbelievable. He started returning unbelievable," Zverev said.

"My first-serve percentage was very high, and he started returning a foot in front of the baseline. So there was nothing I could do, to be honest."

The German came into Friday's match holding a 4-3 career advantage over the fifth-seeded Cerundolo but had never previously beaten the Argentine in three matches on clay.

"Definitely happy to get the win today against Francisco, for the first time on clay," Zverev said on court after the win.

Zverev, whose most recent title came in Munich a year ago, is chasing a record fourth triumph at the tournament, having also won in 2017 and 2018.

On the other side of the draw, American second seed Ben Shelton overcame Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca to keep hopes of a 2025 Munich final rematch with Zverev alive.

Shelton, the world number six, won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and will take on either Denis Shapovalov or Alex Molcan in the semi-finals.

The American has never won a clay court tournament, having lost in straight sets to Zverev in Munich a year ago.

Earlier, Cobolli was the first to book a spot in the final four after he defeated Czech Vit Kopriva 6-3, 6-2.

Playing on his favorite surface, the fourth seed won the opening set and cruised to a 5-1 lead in the second. He missed two match points on Kopriva's serve before finishing it off in the following game.