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Henrik Larsson has criticised Barcelona for their handling of Ronald Koeman’s dismissal in 2021.
Larsson returned to Catalonia as part of Koeman’s coaching staff ahead of the 2020/21 season but the reunion was not pleasant.
Barcelona finished third in La Liga and were knocked out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage.
Koeman was heavily criticised for his performance and his handling of the debacle which eventually saw Lionel Messi leave the club.
The Dutch coach was retained for the opening weeks of the 2021/22 campaign before being sacked in October with Larsson also moving on.
The episode has been Larsson’s last coaching job and he admitted the sensation has put him off a return to the bench.
“I’m so tired of the game. I felt that when I was at Barcelona as a coach, but I wanted to check one more time what I already knew”, he told an interview with The Guardian.
“The demands are so high. It was terrible the way Koeman got sacked. I’m tired of the game because now more than ever it’s about the money.”
Koeman will lead the Netherlands at Euro 2024, in his second stint in charge of La Oranje, after being draw in Group E alongside hosts France for the tournament.
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Three Premier League dark horses to watch in 2025-26
The 2025-26 Premier League season kicks off on Friday, Aug. 15, with defending champion Liverpool hosting Bournemouth at Anfield. There are three lead candidates for the league title this season: Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. However, just behind them lie several teams capable of making a strong trophy run... and potentially even winning the league outright. Here are the Premier League's top three dark horse teams for the 2025-26 season: Chelsea Last season: 4th Key departures: attacking midfielder Joao Felix (to Al-Nassr), winger Noni Madueke (to Arsenal), forward Armando Broja (to Burnley) Key additions: forward Joao Pedro (from Brighton), winger Estevao (from Palmeiras), forward Liam Delap (from Ipswich Town) Chelsea's overloaded, overpaid squad (anyone remember £116M Mykhailo Mudryk?) made it the laughing stock of the Premier League for several seasons. That said, after a strong finish to the 2024-25 season, no one's laughing anymore. Chelsea is the defending Club World Cup champion after beating PSG 3-0 in New Jersey this summer. It hasn't just made it back to the upper echelon of European soccer; it's blown past everyone and taken the top spot. The Premier League season is long, though. While Chelsea's revamped squad will no doubt challenge for silverware, it still falls behind Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City on questions of consistency and grit. But it does have one crucial thing going for it: a new goalscorer who has already proven his bona fides. Arsenal fans will have to wait and see if new striker Viktor Gyokeres is the real deal; Chelsea fans, after watching Pedro terrorize the Club World Cup in his debut this summer, don't have to wait at all. Aston Villa Last season: 6th Key departures: forward Marcus Rashford (to Barcelona), center back Axel Disasi (loan expiry; back to Chelsea), attacking midfielder Marco Asensio (loan expiry; back to PSG) Key additions: forward Zepiqueno Redmond (from Feyenoord), forward Evann Guessand (from Nice) It's been a quiet summer for the lovable Premier League dark horse. The club has bid farewell to a few of its loanees and welcomed young, largely unknown prospects in their wake. None of Aston Villa's summer signings make much of a statement... that is, until you realize what coach Unai Emery is doing with them. Emery, in partnership with his longtime director of football Monchi, doesn't want a Chelsea-sized stable of high-value players. He'd much rather work with moldable young talents that he can train as needed and sell on for a profit in the future. This approach is something of a gamble in a competition as moneyed as the Premier League, but it's worked out well for Emery thus far. His Aston Villa has bounced back from finishing 14th in 2021-22 to finishing in 7th, 4th and 6th in the three seasons of his tenure. Tottenham Hotspur Last season: 17th Key departures: forward Son Heung-Min (to LAFC), defensive midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (to Marseille), forward Timo Werner (loan expiry; back to RB Leipzig) Key additions: winger Mohammed Kudus (from West Ham), center back Kevin Danso (from Lens), forward Mathys Tel (from Bayern Munich) It's hard to know just what's going on with Tottenham Hotspur. On one hand, things have turned around drastically from last season's nigh-unbelievable 17th-placed finish: new coach Thomas Frank has established a healthy working environment, the club has cleared out some of its older and less productive players, and key signings Kudus and Tel are already proven on the European stage. But crisis is never far away at Spurs, and that adage has proven itself to be true once again in 2025-26. Attacking midfielder James Maddison suffered an ACL tear in preseason and is expected to miss the entire year; statement signing Morgan Gibbs-White fell through after Nottingham Forest renegotiated to keep him on its roster. Both are huge losses for the North London club. As the Premier League season ticks closer, the question on everyone's mind is this: which Spurs will we get in 2025-26? The Spurs that consistently failed to compete against their Premier League peers despite their riches and quality? Or the Spurs that stormed to the Europa League trophy despite all that frustration? With Frank's steady hand on the tiller, signs point to the latter — and that firmly throws Spurs into the mix as a dark horse title contender in 2025-26.
Celtics' ownership move should concern Lakers governor Jeanie Buss
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Makes Direct Statement About Mason Rudolph's Spot On QB Depth Chart
Green Bay Packers: Josh Jacobs Gets Honest About Malik Willis’ Future
In 2024, Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis was suddenly given the keys to the offense under center after Jordan Love suffered an injury in Week 1’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil. Despite limited time with the Packers in the offseason, Willis managed to be a steady presence on the field, with Green Bay tailoring the offense for him. With Love reportedly undergoing a procedure on his left thumb, Willis filled in as the Packers’ QB1 during Thursday’s joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts. Willis appeared to make a good account of himself on the field, with Packers running back Josh Jacobs taking notice of the quarterback’s performance. “We know what Malik is and what we have in Malik,” Jacobs said, per Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers’ website. Jacobs also shared his confidence in Willis’ NFL outlook. “He made a few throws today that was kinda like, ‘Wow.’ Just him being more comfortable and him being the leader, I think he’s naturally a guy that he puts in the work, so I think he’s going to succeed.” Will Jordan Love be ready for the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 NFL season opener? The Packers are less than a month away from kicking off their 2025 campaign, with a date with the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field scheduled for September 7. Green Bay, however, doesn’t seem all that worried about Love’s availability for that contest. “We’ll get him back in plenty of time,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said (h/t Rob Demovsky of ESPN). “I don’t foresee this affecting him long term at all.” As for the upcoming preseason clash with the Colts and the one after that versus the Seattle Seahawks, Love can be expected to sit out both contests, with Willis possibly getting some snaps.
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Thinks It Is Clear Preseason Hero Will Be Playing Elsewhere In 2025
The Pittsburgh Steelers played their first preseason game of 2025 on Saturday, and the organization was able to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 31-25. The offense looked surprisingly good in the game, although it was mostly backups playing in the contest outside of the offensive line. The passing game was efficient, and both Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson looked good in the game. Logan Woodside came in at the end, but he didn't attempt a pass. The offensive player of the night was certainly Thompson, who was the fourth quarterback on the depth chart before Will Howard got hurt. Thompson is certainly on the outside looking in when it comes to the final roster, but his impressive performance during the first week of the preseason likely caught the eyes of some other teams around the NFL. Ben Roethlisberger spoke about the game on the most recent episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger, and he shared that he thinks the quarterback could end up elsewhere. "I don't think the Steelers are going to keep four quarterbacks," Roethlisberger said. "Let's be honest. I think he is playing himself into like a really legit chance for a backup job somewhere on a team. Which is what you want." Thompson is going to need to continue to stack good performances in the preseason, and if he does, the Steelers may have the chance to trade him before cutting down to the final roster at the end of August. It is known that the top two quarterbacks on the roster are Aaron Rodgers and Rudolph, with Howard being right behind them. Thompson will likely end up elsewhere, it just depends on how that comes about. Other teams across the league probably know that the Steelers do not have the intention to keep Thompson around for the regular season, and that could make navigating a potential trade difficult. However, if there are multiple teams that are going to be interested in Thompson's services, one might be willing to trade a Day 3 draft pick in order to get him. The Steelers would not get much in any deal surrounding Thompson, but an additional sixth or seventh round pick for the 2026 NFL Draft would not hurt. No organization would trade for Thompson based off just one good preseason performance, especially with how the rest of the quarterback's career has gone when he was with the Miami Dolphins. He has struggled when he has been asked to start in games, but maybe he has turned over a new leaf that might make him valuable as the top backup for another organization. Another strong performance or two should definitely put him on the radar of quarterback-needy teams. Steelers' Skylar Thompson Could Have A Few Potential Destinations When looking around the league and trying to figure out what teams might be interested in bringing in Thompson, it is hard to ignore a team like the New Orleans Saints. The entire quarterback room in New Orleans has limited experience with Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener barely ever seeing the field. Rookie Tyler Shough is an interesting prospect, but there is no telling how he will play. The Saints may want to consider Thompson, at the very least to bring in someone who has legitimate playing experience. Another team to consider would be Thompson's former team, the Dolphins. Tua Tagovailoa has struggled with injuries, and neither Zach Wilson or Quinn Ewers looked great in the team's first preseason game. A reunion could be in play as Thompson has a handle on the offensive system and has a decent amount of game experience playing in Miami. Another option is the New York Jets, as Tyrod Taylor is going through an injury and the rest of the room has a lot of question marks.
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