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Jamie Vardy’s glittering Leicester City career will end this summer with the club announcing his departure after 13 years at the King Power Stadium.
Vardy, perhaps the greatest player in City history, is out of contract at the end of this campaign and after months of speculation, it has now been confirmed that his time at the club is over.

He will leave with a Premier League title, an FA Cup triumph and two Championship promotions to his name.

But his career at the club ends on a relegation, one that he described as a “total embarrassment”.

It is not expected that 38-year-old Vardy will retire and he will now look for his next club.
He has five more games, including two at the King Power Stadium, in which to represent the club and potentially add to his tally of 198 goals.

That puts him third in the club’s all-time scoring ranks. He also ranks third for appearances on 496.

Vardy’s departure will signal the end of an era at City, with the number nine the last remaining squad member from the 2016 title win still playing for the club.
In a statement, City chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha said: “Jamie is unique. He is a special player and an even more special person.

He holds a place in the hearts of everyone connected to Leicester City, and he certainly has my deepest respect and affection. I am endlessly grateful for everything he has given to this football club.

“Although Jamie’s time with us as a player is ending, he and his family will always be welcomed back to King Power Stadium with open arms after all he has achieved.
“On behalf of everyone at Leicester City, I wish Jamie and his family the very best for the future and I know our supporters will join us in giving him the send-off he deserves at the end of this season.”

The Portugal international scored a last-gasp winner against Aston Villa on Tuesday to lift Pep Guardiola’s men to third in the table, four points ahead of seventh-placed Villa.
With Liverpool on the brink of the Premier League title and Arsenal sitting comfortably in second place, five clubs are battling for the three remaining places in Europe’s top club competition next season.

Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea are the other sides in the mix for a top-five finish.
City, who were hunting a fifth straight league title at the start of the season, suffered a costly collapse in form from late October.
But they can still end their season on a high, with Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Forest at Wembley coming hot on the heels of their vital win against Unai Emery’s Villa.

This is our Premier League trophy now, to qualify for the Champions League,” Nunes said after scoring his first league goal for City in his second season at the club.
“I think it’s massively important for us, in terms of everything, the club, in terms of the players, the mentality.”

The 26-year-old admitted though that Champions League qualification for the 15th season running and FA Cup glory would not equal a good campaign.
“The club’s standards are much higher than this,” he said. “We know that there is not the standards we want this club to be at.
“But this is our reality now and we have to accept it. And we just have to go for it like it’s the Champions League, the Premier League trophy.”

BARCELONA INCHED CLOSER to the La Liga title with a 1-0 win over Mallorca which took them seven points clear of Real Madrid.
Spain international Dani Olmo slotted home to help Barca turn up the heat on second-placed champions Madrid, who visit Getafe on Wednesday.

Hansi Flick’s side, aiming for a potential quadruple, outplayed the visitors but could not extend their lead at the Olympic stadium as goalkeeper Leo Roman made save after save.
With Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against rivals Real Madrid in mind, Flick rested several of his usual starters.
The coach handed former teenage prodigy Ansu Fati his first start since October and deployed Hector Fort on the left of the defence, with Ferran Torres up front in place of injured top scorer Robert Lewandowski.

Barcelona created several chances in the first half and could hardly believe the score was goalless at the break.
Gavi’s deflected shot hit the post, while Torres fired over after Olmo played him in.

Fati also fired narrowly off target as the hosts turned the screw, and Roman saved from teenage star Lamine Yamal, before Fort’s shot was blocked as Mallorca rode their luck.
Now 22 and struggling for minutes at Barca, Fati drilled wide of the near post when he might have tested the increasingly-busy Roman, before Mateu Morey blasted home at the other end but was offside.
Barcelona left the pitch frustrated but swiftly took the lead at the start of the second half, with Olmo firing home after a long string of passes.
Fati came close to a second but Roman palmed his drive to safety. Flick sent on Raphinha and Fermin Lopez to try and finish the job.
Yamal should have added Barcelona’s second when the excellent Pedri sent him through, but Roman made yet another save.
The goalkeeper showed good reflexes to thwart Eric Garcia and then clawed out Lopez’s deflected shot when it looked like it was dipping over his head for his 10th save of the night.

It was Roman’s first appearance in the league in 2025 for Mallorca and although he and his side left without a point to show for it, another save to deny Lopez towards the end underlined his outstanding display.
Mallorca appealed for a penalty in stoppage time when Garcia held Abdon Prats in the box but their appeals were waved away.
Barcelona have five games remaining in La Liga, including a mouthwatering Clasico showdown against Real Madrid on 11 May.

Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 1-1 draw at Nantes in a rearranged Ligue 1 game, a result which maintains their unbeaten domestic record this season with the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal on the horizon.
It looked like Vitinha’s first-half strike might be enough for PSG, who have already secured a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title, to leave the Stade de la Beaujoire with the victory.

However, Nantes hit back to equalise with six minutes remaining through their Brazilian midfielder Douglas Augusto, earning the hosts a precious point in their battle for survival.
PSG might still have won the game at the death, but a header by substitute Goncalo Ramos from a Desire Doue cross came back off the crossbar.
Nevertheless, the draw means they have still not lost a game against domestic opposition since May last year, and leaves them just four Ligue 1 matches away from becoming the first team ever to complete a French top-flight campaign without losing.
The closest a team has ever come to doing that remains Nantes, who went undefeated through their first 32 matches before suffering their only loss on the way to becoming champions in 1994/95.

Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged no one at Nottingham Forest expected to be third in April but backed his team to embrace the challenge after they started a huge week with victory at Tottenham.

Forest had slipped to sixth in the Premier League after weekend wins for Champions League qualification rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa, yet responded with aplomb in the capital.

Early efforts by Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood put Forest in control and, while Spurs created a number of chances, Richarlison’s 87th-minute header proved too little too late as Forest claimed a potentially pivotal three points in the race for the top five.
After they required a final-day win at Burnley last season to stay up, Nuno’s men have gone from strength to strength and Wood’s 19th goal of the season means they return to London on Sunday for an FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City in buoyant mood.

Nuno watched Forest make the ideal start with Anderson’s strike deflected past Guglielmo Vicario in the Spurs goal in the fifth minute and it was 2-0 after 17 minutes.
Wood ghosted in between Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to head home Anthony Elanga’s cross.
Tottenham improved, but Mathys Tel and Richarlison squandered first-half chances before Dejan Kulusevski’s 59th-minute header was brilliantly cleared off the line by Harry Toffolo.

Ange Postecoglou admitted an 18th league loss of the campaign was “unacceptable” but took encouragement from Tottenham’s display.
“It’s another game we have lost where we shouldn’t lose and it’s been a big part of our season in that we are just making things really difficult for ourselves in key moments,” Postecoglou said.
“It’s a shame because our football was outstanding and we totally dominated the game. Even with the two goals we conceded, I still feel like we deserved to win the game.
“At the same time it’s another loss and another unacceptable loss.”

Leeds United and Burnley have secured their returns to the Premier League after prevailing from their Championship fixtures on Easter Monday.
The Lilywhites and Clarets went into their respective encounters with Stoke City and Sheffield United knowing that victories would likely lead to their eventual promotion to the top flight.

With Burnley facing Sheffield United later in the day, Leeds had the chance to move to the brink of a top-two finish in the Championship table against the Potters, putting the result beyond doubt early in the game.
Daniel Farke’s side were incredibly 4-0 ahead within 26 minutes, Joel Pirie scoring three times before netting his fourth and Leeds’ fifth by the 41st minute.
Wilfried Gnonto completed the scoring just before the hour mark, allowing Leeds to canter through the closing third of the contest at Elland Road and hand the baton over the Burnley.

Burnley edge Sheffield United into playoffs

Defeat for Burnley at Turf Moor would have ensured that Sheffield United enter the final two matches of the campaign trailing by just the two points.
Instead, the Blades went down by a 2-1 scoreline, Josh Brownhill netting either side of Tom Cannon’s equaliser to earn Scott Parker’s side a place in the Premier League a year after losing their spot under Vincent Kompany.
Sheffield United will instead compete in the playoffs, third spot already guaranteed courtesy of the 10-point lead that they hold over Sunderland.

As for Leeds and Burnley, they are only separated by goal difference, with Leeds knowing that they will lift the title if they defeat Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle in their final two games.

All four Serie A matches scheduled for Monday have been postponed following the death of Pope Francis.

The Pope’s death, at the age of 88, came a day after he appeared in St Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday to bless thousands of worshippers.

In response, the governing body which oversees the Italian top flight said four fixtures – Torino v Udinese, Cagliari v Fiorentina, Genoa v Lazio and Parma v Juventus – had been postponed and would be rearranged in due course.

A number of Serie A clubs posted tributes to the Pope following his passing.

“Roma join in mourning the passing of Pope Francis, a loss that deeply saddens our city and the entire world,” Roma said in a statement.

“His faith, humility, courage and dedication touched the hearts of millions, making him a moral compass of our time and beyond. His legacy of peace and solidarity will remain an enduring example.

“Our thoughts go out to all those who continue to be inspired by his unwavering values of communication and brotherhood.”

Chelsea are still on course to win a quadruple for the first time in the club’s history.
To achieve that feat, they must also do something else they have never done before, which is to get past Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League knockout stage.
Having already won silverware this season in the League Cup, Sonia Bompastor’s side have reached the FA Cup final and sit three points clear at the top of the Women’s Super League with four games to play.
But to win the European trophy that has so far eluded them, their immediate task is to beat three-time winners and current holders Barcelona over two legs in the semi-finals.
Sunday’s first leg takes place in Catalonia at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium (kick-off 17:00 BST), before the return leg is played at Stamford Bridge on 27 April (14:00 BST).
Chelsea have lost to Barcelona at this stage of the competition in the past two seasons, but what are their chances this time?

Barca enduring ‘weakest’ season

Three defeats in 38 games across all competitions is hardly cause for concern, but for Barcelona it is uncharacteristic.
Pere Romeu’s side are seven points clear at the top of Spain’s Liga F but have been beaten twice in the division this season, losing to strugglers Levante and suffering a first-ever Women’s Clasico defeat by Real Madrid.
They also lost their opening Champions League group game at Manchester City.
Barcelona have lost more games, scored fewer goals and conceded more at this stage of the season than in any of their previous three campaigns.
“It’s ridiculous to say they are not as dominant because they are seven points clear and in the semi-final of the Champions League,” Spanish football journalist Alex Ibaceta told BBC Sport.
“This is probably their weakest season. The style of play has changed, it’s not as fluid as it was in the last few seasons, but they are still dominant and still Barcelona.
“This game is a blank sheet. The highs and the lows of the season, mentally they are very able to erase those moments and just focus on Chelsea.”

Putellas back in full swing and overshadowing Bonmati

The good news for Chelsea is that, statistically, Aitana Bonmati is having her least effective season in recent years.
The bad news? Alexia Putellas is back to her best.
Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Putellas missed 10 months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in July 2022 but is playing a starring role again this season.

Putellas is Barcelona’s second-highest scorer this season behind Ewa Pajor, with 18 goals in 31 games in all competitions.
Having a recognised number nine in Pajor, who joined Barcelona in the summer from Wolfsburg, has alleviated the attacking pressure on Bonmati.

They are very open to making mistakes

We can expect plenty of action down Barcelona’s left side and Chelsea’s right, which is where both sides create the majority of their chances.
Ibaceta anticipates Chelsea will have plenty of space on that side – setting up the prospect of a fascinating tactical battle as the likes of Lucy Bronze and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd face off with Putellas and Salma Paralluelo.

Barcelona typically press much higher than Chelsea but have shown in their defeats this season that they are vulnerable to conceding on the counter attack, where Chelsea’s forwards, particularly Mayra Ramirez, thrive.

Chelsea will hope that having serial Champions League winner Bompastor on their side can finally help them overcome their nemeses.
The Frenchwoman lifted the trophy as a player and manager with Lyon and is the only coach to have defeated Barcelona over a tie in the competition in the past four years.

Newcastle United are flying high – nobody in the Premier League wants to face them right now. Six consecutive wins in all competitions has seen the Magpies weaponise the Carabao Cup feel-good factor.

No team has earned more top-flight wins since December. With Manchester United and Crystal Palace put to the sword in recent days, Newcastle can smell blood.

Just six games remain as Eddie Howe’s men – currently led by Jason Tindall as he recovers from pneumonia – aim to set up a summer spending spree. Securing Champions League football will allow PIF room to open the purse strings for the first time since the early stages of the takeover.

As memorable as the Carabao Cup triumph was, the trophy does little for the balance sheet. Newcastle will only bank around £100,000 for last month’s historic Wembley win.

While life-changing for the common man, that sum will not even cover a star like Anthony Gordon or Bruno Guimaraes for a week. The Champions League remains the holy grail for elite clubs, with Liverpool understood to have made £80million from the competition this season despite crashing out at the group stage

Even placing higher in the Premier League can substantially increase a club’s take for the 2024-25 campaign. On average, there is a £2.8million rise per position in the top flight, with a £53.6million difference between first and 20th.

According to Football365, this is how much clubs can expect to net based on current league positions. The gap shows how much more lucrative it is for Newcastle to finish third – and possibly second – over fifth.

Liverpool – £56.4million

Arsenal – £53.5million

Newcastle United – £50.7million

Nottingham Forest – £47.9million

Manchester City – £45.1million

Chelsea – £42.2million

Aston Villa – £39.4million

Bournemouth – £36.7million

Fulham – £33.8million

Brighton – £31million

Brentford – £28.2million

Crystal Palace – £25.4million

Everton – £22.5million

Manchester United – £19.7million

Tottenham Hotspur – £16.9million

Wolverhampton Wanderers – £14million

West Ham United – £11.3million

Ipswich Town – £8.5million

Leicester City – £5.7million

Southampton – £2.8million

Newcastle CEO Darren Eales stressed the importance of boosting all revenue sources when the club’s accounts were released last month. He said: “We are committed to sustainable success and we have started 2025 in a strong position.

“Our progress has been supported by diligent work on and off the pitch. Returning to the Champions League for the first time in more than 20 years was hugely memorable for everyone connected with the club, and it has clear upside financially as we continue to grow

“We grew our revenues by 28 per cent in the twelve months to 30 June 2024, with an increase in matchday revenue as well as significantly improved sponsorship deals and a sharper focus on everything we are doing across the club. We continue to make significant strides with our commercial deals and matchday offerings as we strengthen the foundations of the long-term project here at Newcastle United.”

Friday’s reports indicate that Juventus have an agreement in place with Porto to keep Francisco Conceicao on board for the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer, but there are still doubts over the Portugal international’s future in Turin beyond the newly-formatted tournament in the USA.

Juventus already have an agreement in place with Porto to ‘extend’ Conceicao’s loan deal so that he can still be with the squad for the end-of-season Club World Cup that kicks off in mid-June.
However, it remains to be seen whether Juventus will look to keep the 22-year-old on board for the 2025-26 campaign.

Conceicao joined Juventus on a straight loan deal from Porto, at a cost of €7m plus up to €3m in bonuses.
Reports over the last year confirm that there was an informal agreement in place to make the deal permanent for a further €30m, but as there was no official buy option included in the deal, there is no obligation for the Bianconeri to pay that fee.
The Portugal international has been slightly out of favour since the appointment of Igor Tudor in March.
The new Bianconeri head coach changed from Thiago Motta’s preferred 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-2-1 shape, which has reduced the need for out-and-out wingers like Conceicao

That means that he has had to settle for two substitute appearances during the Croatian’s first three games in charge.

Juventus will be less likely to spend €30m on signing Conceicao if he continues to be a back-up option, which could be the case if the Old Lady stick with Tudor as head coach for the 2025-26 season.

Former Rochdale midfielder Joe Thompson – who battled cancer on three occasions – has died at the age of 36.
He was first diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013 and recovered before the cancer returned in 2017. He went on to recover a second time.
Joe revealed in March last year that he had stage four lymphoma which had spread to his lungs.

The footballer retired from playing in 2019 after making 203 appearances for Rochdale and saying he had “pushed his body to the absolute limit”.
After returning for the second time from cancer in December 2017, Thompson went on to score the goal that saw Rochdale avoid League One relegation.

He started his career in the Manchester United academy as a forward, before leaving to play for Rochdale, Tranmere, Carlisle amongst others.

Tottenham are potentially 90 minutes away from securing a place in the semi-finals of the Europa League. Ange Postecoglou’s side play Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Thursday evening with the score locked at 1-1.
Tottenham did have chances to win last Thursday’s first-leg encounter, but Brennan Johnson passed up a good opportunity late on while both Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur struck the crossbar. The Bundesliga club are now favourites to progress to the final four of the competition given they are on home soil for the deciding leg, but Postecoglou and Spurs will be out to ensure that is not the case.

The winner of Thursday’s tie at Deutsche Bank Park will play either Lazio or Bodo/Glimt for a place in the final. Bodo/Glimt lead 2-0 from the first leg in Norway and now they have to try and hold on to their two-goal advantage when they visit Rome.

Tottenham head into Thursday’s game with Radu Dragusin and Son Heung-min the only players in the treatment room right now. In training footage released by the club on Tuesday, Wilson Odobert trained after his absence at Wolves and Kevin Danso was also back with his teammates after a month out with a hamstring issue.

The hope will be that Postecoglou has all his players available apart from long-term absentee Dragusin if Spurs are to secure a semi-final berth. As things stand right now, three Tottenham players could miss a potential semi-final clash through suspension.

Under Europa League regulations, any player who picks up three yellow cards, or any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.), are suspended for the next competition match. Tottenham are already well aware of this as Bentancur missed the round of 16 second leg tie against AZ Alkmaar after seeing yellow in the first game in the Netherlands.

Bergvall, Yves Bissouma and Dejan Kulusevski are currently on two bookings apiece and are one yellow card away from receiving a one-match ban. Dragusin is another Spurs star on two yellow cards in Europe but he cannot obtain a suspension as he is out for the remainder of the season through injury and no longer in Spurs’ European squad as a result.

Yellow cards are not wiped out until the conclusion of the quarter-final stage, meaning the three players in question have to try and avoid a caution in Frankfurt. Article 63.04 in UEFA’s Europa League rules stipulates: “Exceptionally, all yellow cards and pending yellow-card suspensions expire on completion of the play-offs. They are not carried forward to the league phase. In addition, all yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals. They are not carried forward to the semi-finals.”
Amid confusion that players would escape a one-match ban for the first leg of a prospective semi-final given yellow cards are wiped out after the quarter-finals, they would indeed still serve a one-match ban if they are cautioned for a third time in the competition. This is because they would have picked up three yellow cards prior to the completion of the quarter-final ties, meaning a one-match ban would be given as punishment.

If they do not receive yellow cards then the slate is effectively wiped clean for the semi-finals as their bookings would not be carried forward. As yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals, a player cannot be suspended for the final even if they are cautioned in both legs of a victorious semi-final tie. The only way they could be banned for the Europa League final is if they were to receive a red card in the semi-final second leg or if they were dismissed for violent conduct in the first leg.

Arsenal staved off Champions League holders Real Madrid’s superstars and rich history of unlikely comebacks to snatch a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals with a superb 5-1 aggregate triumph.

The Gunners’ 3-0 quarter-final first leg triumph last week gave them a vital cushion in the Spanish capital as they made the final four for the first time since 2009, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.

Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, sent Arsenal ahead and although Vinicius Junior levelled the 15-time winners were never close to making up the deficit.

Gabriel Martinelli rubbed salt in their wounds with a stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, who have never lifted the Champions League trophy.

Los Blancos, far more brittle than when they won a Champions League and La Liga double last season, were convinced they could turn the game around but created too little against Arsenal’s tight defence. The Premier League side held their nerve to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history.

Kylian Mbappe chested home in the opening stages but was clearly offside, with the forward gesturing to the crowd to turn up the volume to create the fabled aura which helps Madrid pull off near-impossible feats at the Santiago Bernabeu. David Alaba was booked for hacking down Saka as Madrid tried to add the grit they badly lacked in their first leg demolition in London, and the Arsenal winger also had a drive fielded well by Thibaut Courtois.

Arsenal were awarded a penalty seemingly out of the blue when the VAR booth instructed French referee Francois Letexier to review an incident from an earlier corner.

Raul Asencio pulled back Arsenal forward Mikel Merino in the area and Letexier pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of the home crowd. Saka stepped up to take it but his poorly-executed Panenka, skewing off to the left, was saved by Courtois.

Inter hold off Bayern to reach Champions League last fourInter Milan reached the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday after drawing 2-2 with Bayern Munich to win a pulsating last-eight tie 4-3 on aggregate.

Italian champions Inter will face Barcelona in the semis after goals in the space of three minutes from captain Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard cancelled out a Harry Kane strike for Bayern which levelled the tie in the 52nd minute. Eric Dier’s looping header in the 75th minute earned Bayern a draw on the night in soaking and blustery Milan but that wasn’t enough for Vincent Kompany’s side to continue their bid to be crowned Kings of Europe for a seventh time. Simone Inzaghi’s side came through in awful conditions at the San Siro where a combination of heavy rain and driving winds affected both teams’ ability to play their best football, but added uncertainty and tension to an already highly-charged occasion.