Xavi takes over the Netherlands until 2030, Barcelona offer 55 million for Rodri: the summer when benches change faster than line-ups

Xavi has taken over the Netherlands until 2030 - and that is a bigger risk than it looks

The Dutch federation wasted no time. Hours after Ronald Koeman announced he would not continue beyond his contract, Xavi Hernández took his seat, with a deal running all the way to the 2030 World Cup. Koeman left after the painful exit in the round of 16 at the World Cup in the US, where the Netherlands fell to Paraguay on penalties. Xavi has only three seasons as Barcelona coach behind him - winning La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup in them - but as a player he knows what the summit looks like: world champion in 2010, four Champions League trophies, eight La Liga titles. The question nobody in Amsterdam is asking out loud is whether a three-year coaching career is enough to rebuild a generation. Four years is a long mandate for a man who is still learning.

Barcelona offer 55 million pounds for Rodri, and City know they have little room

The Catalans have already been turned down twice - first with 38.5 million pounds, then with 51.4 - and have now reached around 55 million pounds. Manchester City still want 60 million, but that is the demand of a club negotiating from a weak position: Rodri has only one year left on his contract and has said plainly he will not extend it. Real Madrid tried first, but Barcelona leapfrogged them and have already agreed personal terms with the Spaniard. The thirty-year-old arrives from the best possible showcase - eight World Cup appearances and the tournament's Golden Ball in Spain's 2026 triumph. Since 2019 in Manchester he has won four Premier League titles and the Champions League in the 2022/23 season. When a player with that CV enters the final year of a contract, the club no longer sets the price - the calendar does.

Monaco are terminating Pogba's contract - the body gave out before the career did

The comeback story ended after a little over a year. According to the French paper Nice-Matin, Monaco are preparing to terminate the contract of Paul Pogba, who signed in June 2025 for two seasons after his doping ban was reduced on appeal. The management informed him a few weeks ago and allowed him to look for a new club; they will pay out the remainder of his salary until the contract expires next summer. The numbers are brutal: six appearances last season, only 45 minutes in pre-season - the second half of a 5:2 win over Saint-Priest on 18 July. Then a problem with the right knee, four missed check-ups, a return to training last Friday, and on Tuesday a new injury, this time to the left thigh. Thirteen days passed between the return and the end.

Shkendija play the return leg against Hibernian - and the heat is part of the tactics

The Tetovo side defend a 2:1 deficit from Edinburgh tomorrow night in the third qualifying round for the Conference League. The Scots landed in Skopje and immediately ran into something they have not trained for: the Skopje heat. Coach Artim Polozhani is not hiding what he wants - „We want to win and go through, into the play-off” - and admits the week has been hard, with the trip to Scotland, then the return and a match against Vardar in which he deliberately rested some players. Right-back Aleksander Trumçi says the win over Vardar lifted their confidence and that they deserved a better result in Scotland too. Goalkeeper Gaye remains out for the return leg as well. One goal deficit, home ground and a temperature that troubles the visitors - Shkendija rarely have a more favourable set-up than this one.

Red Star want a coach by Friday, and the membership wants accountability in December

Elimination in Champions League qualifying by Israel's Hapoel Be'er Sheva did not pass as an ordinary sporting failure. On paper the red-and-whites were big favourites over the two legs; on the pitch the picture was entirely different, and the consequences are already visible: Dejan Stanković is officially no longer the coach, and the Spaniard Albert Riera is expected to take his place, with a presentation at the Rajko Mitić stadium and most likely a two-season contract. Besides the bench, the top is changing too - in December there will be extraordinary elections for the leadership positions. When a club changes both its coach and its board in the same week, that is not a reaction to one bad tie, but an admission that the bill had been adding up for longer.