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Marcelo's Fluminense Contract Terminated after Clash with Coach

FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo
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Marcelo's Fluminense Contract Terminated after Clash with Coach

FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Copa Libertadores - Quarter finals - Second Leg - Atletico Mineiro v Fluminense - Arena MRV, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - September 25, 2024 Fluminense's Marcelo during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Cris Mattos/File Photo

Former Real Madrid great Marcelo had his contract at boyhood club Fluminense terminated two months early on Saturday, one day after the defender's touchline spat with coach Mano Menezes.
The Brazilian club said in a statement that the decision was by mutual agreement, The Associated Press reported.
“The institutional and emotional bonds between Fluminense and Marcelo remain untouched,” Fluminense said.
Marcelo did not comment.
Last year, Marcelo won the Rio de Janeiro state championship and the Copa Libertadores titles with Fluminense, his first professional club before he joined Real Madrid at the end of 2006 at age 18. He won five Champions Leagues and six La Ligas at Madrid.
Menezes was going to use the 36-year-old Marcelo as a substitute in the final minutes of Fluminense's clash against Gremio in a Brazilian league match. The defender appeared to dispute the coach's instructions, who decided to field striker John Kennedy instead.
Fluminense led 2-1 at the time, but Gremio scored from the spot shortly before the final whistle to equalize at the Maracana Stadium.
“I was going to bring Marcelo in at that time, but I heard one thing that I did not like and I changed my mind,” Menezes said at a press conference. “He wasn't going in to solve any problem for us, he was stepping in to let us keep what we had (on the scoreboard). It was just two, three minutes to the end.”

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PSG's Dembele Has Treatment for Leg Issue Before Champions League Final

PSG's Ousmane Dembele runs with the ball during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint Germain, in Lens, northern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP)
PSG's Ousmane Dembele runs with the ball during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint Germain, in Lens, northern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP)
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PSG's Dembele Has Treatment for Leg Issue Before Champions League Final

PSG's Ousmane Dembele runs with the ball during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint Germain, in Lens, northern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP)
PSG's Ousmane Dembele runs with the ball during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint Germain, in Lens, northern France, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP)

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele needs treatment for a right calf issue, the French club said Monday, ahead of the Champions League final against Arsenal later this month.

The Ballon d'Or winner was substituted after half an hour during Sunday's 2-1 Ligue 1 defeat against Paris FC "as a precaution after experiencing some discomfort in his right calf," PSG said in a statement.

"Dembele will be having treatment over the next few days," the club added.

The 29-year-old did not appear to be struggling when he left the field and boarded the team bus after the match without limping.

"I think it is just due to fatigue," coach Luis Enrique told the press on Sunday.

"It has been a tricky end to the season but now we have two weeks to prepare for the biggest match in our history."

The former Barcelona player has suffered numerous physical setbacks this season, particularly thigh and calf issues.

Meanwhile, Achraf Hakimi resumed individual training on Saturday after a thigh problem, as did Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes, and Lucas Chevalier.

All three were unavailable for Sunday's match against Paris FC.

PSG clinched a fifth straight French title, and a record-extending 14th overall, with a 2-0 win over nearest challengers Lens last Wednesday.

Luis Enrique's side face Arsenal in Budapest on May 30, when they will attempt to retain the European crown they won for the first time in the club's history last season.

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Iran Squad Arrives in Türkiye for Training amid World Cup Uncertainty 

Iran's players and staff pose ahead of a training session in Antalya in March © Adem ALTAN / AFP/File
Iran's players and staff pose ahead of a training session in Antalya in March © Adem ALTAN / AFP/File
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Iran Squad Arrives in Türkiye for Training amid World Cup Uncertainty 

Iran's players and staff pose ahead of a training session in Antalya in March © Adem ALTAN / AFP/File
Iran's players and staff pose ahead of a training session in Antalya in March © Adem ALTAN / AFP/File

Iran’s national soccer squad landed in Türkiye for a training camp on Monday ahead of their planned trip to the US for the World Cup, with uncertainty still hanging over the team's participation after the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February. FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom told Reuters on Saturday that he held a constructive and positive meeting with Iran's FA (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj, expressing confidence about the country's participation in the World Cup.

The players and officials filed out of Antalya Airport in black team outfits, many pulling black suitcases, before heading to waiting buses to travel to their hotel at the training base in the nearby resort of Belek, where several national teams have held camps in recent years.

Iran are scheduled to play all three group matches in the United States but the team's participation in the June 11 to July 19 tournament has been in question since the attacks by the US and Israel.

Iranian officials and FIFA have said US visa applications for the team would be handled in Türkiye. Uncertainty over the visas was fuelled after FFIRI's Taj was refused entry to Canada for the FIFA Congress in Vancouver this month because of his links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The US and Canada, who are co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico, classify the IRGC as a "terrorist entity" and have made clear they will not admit people with links to the elite military force.

Iran had asked for their World Cup matches to be switched to Mexico but FIFA President Gianni Infantino insists that all games must be played at the grounds originally scheduled.

Iran's squad is scheduled to move to their US base at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona in early June.

Iran are scheduled to get their World Cup campaign under way against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They are also due to play Belgium and Egypt in Group G.

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Fernandes ‘Proud’ to Match Premier League Assists Record

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes celebrates their victory at the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP)
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes celebrates their victory at the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP)
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Fernandes ‘Proud’ to Match Premier League Assists Record

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes celebrates their victory at the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP)
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes celebrates their victory at the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP)

Bruno Fernandes said he was proud to match the Premier League assists record jointly held by "main names" Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne and is now targeting top spot on the charts.

The 31-year-old helped Michael Carrick's men wrap up third place by setting up Bryan Mbeumo for United's third goal in their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

The Portuguese midfielder is just the third player to provide 20 assists in a Premier League season, joining Arsenal great Henry (2002/03) and Manchester City star De Bruyne (2019/20) in an elite bracket.

"Obviously I'm very proud," Fernandes said on the Old Trafford touchline.

"We're speaking about Thierry and Kevin, two of the main names of the Premier League, and for me I'm very grateful and I'm very happy to do it. It's a very proud moment."

Fernandes, named as United's player of the year for a record-breaking fifth time, now has the chance to reach 21 assists in Sunday's season finale at Brighton.

"Let's see," he said. "It doesn't change the way I play my game, so I will still have to create things for my team, and hopefully it can happen.

"But if it doesn't happen, I'm already very happy because I've never done 20 assists in the Premier League. I've never done 19 either, so even if I had finished with 19, I would be very happy."

The United captain was mobbed when Mbeumo converted his cross in the 76th minute, with goalkeeper Senne Lammens joining every United outfield player in celebrating a record he claims he only started thinking about when he collected his 19th assist.

"I'm very grateful to see their reaction more than mine because I wanted Bryan to celebrate his goal," Fernandes added.

"I didn't want to make it about myself because at the end of the day scoring the goal is the biggest thing in football and all credit to Bryan because if he doesn't put it in the back of the net, my record will not be there."