Newcastle United have announced they will unveil a statue of former manager Sir Bobby Robson before their final home game of the season.

A ceremony will take place on Sunday May 6 to reveal the nine-and-a-half foot tall bronze sculpture of Sir Bobby which will stand outside the Sports Direct Arena.

The statue was commissioned by the club last year and pays tribute to the former England manager who died in 2009 after a battle with lung cancer.

Derek Llambias, managing director at Newcastle United, said: We re delighted to be able to honour Sir Bobby Robson with this lasting tribute. He was a great man and ambassador for this football club and for the city.

He achieved great success during his time as manager of Newcastle United and this statue is a fit…

Lionel Messi posted a message to departing Barcelona team-mate Arturo Vidal as the midfielder prepared to join Inter.

Vidal is set to be confirmed as a Nerazzurri player on Monday after the buying club posted updates on his arrival in Italy this weekend.

The 33-year-old, who previously played in Serie A for Juventus, is set for a €1million move after two years at Barca.

Vidal and Luis Suarez are close friends of Blaugrana captain Messi and were reportedly each told they could leave the club by new head coach Ronald Koeman.

Former Bayern Munich man Vidal has secured his exit, while Suarez s situation remains unclear, after Messi failed in his attempts to force through a transfer of his own.

As well as Manchester City, Messi – who wanted to be r…

Manchester City failed to collect their first trophy of the 2019-20 season after losing the Premier League Asia Trophy final to Wolves on penalties.

Following a goalless draw in Shanghai on Saturday, Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio saved three penalties to seal a 3-2 shoot-out victory for Nuno Espirito Santo s side.

Pep Guardiola s men completed a domestic clean sweep of silverware last term but must wait until next month s Community Shield for a chance to add to their growing collection of medals.

City were gifted the chance to take a first-half lead when Adama Traore fouled Leroy Sane in the box and referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the penalty spot.

But Raheem Sterling, who started in a central attacking role after he scored twice against West Ham t…

Harry Kane made his Tottenham return as Dele Alli s first Premier League goal since March 2020 secured a 1-0 win over Nuno Espirito Santo s former club Wolves.

Kane, a target for Manchester City, did not feature in Spurs opening day defeat of the champions or their loss to Pacos de Ferreira in midweek, though the England captain came on as a 72nd-minute substitute at Molineux.

While speculation will no doubt continue to mount as the transfer window draws to a close, Kane received a warm welcome from the travelling Spurs fans as he helped Nuno maintain his winning league start.

With Kane missing a gilt-edged chance to settle the contest late on, Alli s ninth-minute penalty ultimately proved decisive – Adama Traore wasting Wolves best opportunity.

Havin…

If you were to look through any of the gossip columns over the past couple of years it would not take too long to see the words Manchester United and Jack Grealish in the same sentence.

Were we to take such speculation as gospel truth then England playmaker Grealish has been on the radar of Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pretty much ever since he took the top job at Old Trafford.

Grealish only penned a new five-year deal at boyhood club Aston Villa back in September but, even with the ink barely dry, his name continues to be linked with the Premier League s elite clubs.

A new year it may be but old rumours are likely to persist. With Villa visiting United for their first game of 2021, we take a look at what Grealish could offer to the 20-time champions of E…

Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City.

The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town on the final day will not be enough unless they complete a huge goal-difference swing of 15 to overhaul Plymouth Argyle.

Birmingham remain in the third relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.

At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who could close the gap to the top six when they face Ipswich.

…

Harry Maguire has kept his focus on England at the World Cup while Manchester United have been making headlines back home.

Despite early upsets and drama at Qatar 2022, United have dominated the news agenda, first with the release of Cristiano Ronaldo and then with the announcement of the Glazer family exploring the possibility of selling the club.

Even by United s standards, it has been a manic week.

But Maguire, who is set to earn his 50th England cap against the United States on Friday, has not allowed himself to worry about developments at Old Trafford.

To be honest, I think it s been really easy, Maguire said. I m here with England, I m playing at a World Cup, the greatest tournament in the world, so for me to keep the distractions away has been eas…

Javier Mascherano says Barcelona are the same team they were under Pep Guardiola following Tito Vilanova s promotion to the top job.

Guardiola resigned as head coach at the end of the last season after Barca surrendered the Liga crown to Real Madrid for the first time since 2008.

Some observers felt the team were coming to the end of a cycle, but Mascherano believes they have already shown they are still a force to be reckoned with under Guardiola s former assistant Vilanova.

There were people who expressed doubts at the start of the season that we were beginning a new cycle, but we have demonstrated that we are still the same, Mascherano told Barca TV.

This is a team which is full of life and we are determined to carry on doing what we have been doing…

Aston Villa are keen to build momentum when they welcome fellow strugglers Reading to Villa Park on Tuesday.

Villa held visiting Arsenal to a goalless draw on Saturday but they may well have snatched all three points late on as midfielder Brett Holman was denied by Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

The draw ended Villa s streak of two consecutive defeats, a run that saw Paul Lambert s men ship eight goals, and elevated the club out of the relegation zone on the back of their third clean sheet this season.

Villa defender Matthew Lowton, who has impressed since joining from League One outfit Sheffield United in the summer, called on his team-mates to build on Saturday s performance.

We ve had a tough three fixtures and two defeats coming into this one…

AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has rubbished reports linking him with a move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, insisting that he is very happy at the San Siro, .

Boateng formerly of Hertha BSC (2005-07), Portsmouth (2009-10) and Tottenham Hotspur (2007-09) has featured in six of the Rossoneri s seven league matches this season, but has yet to find the back of the net after netting a career-best nine goals, in all competitions, for Milan last term.

Milan, 2-1-4, are currently in 11th place in the Italian Serie A table after a slow start to the new campaign, but Boateng is still not ready to pack his bags.

I am not the source regarding this gossip, but I definitely have been made aware of these rumours, Boateng told German sports magazine S…