Jude Bellingham has been named the Bundesliga’s player of the season.

The England midfielder won the award just two days after his club Borussia Dortmund missed out on the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich on goal difference.

Bellingham has made more than 130 appearances since joining Dortmund from Birmingham for just over £20million three years ago.

“Every year or half year that I’ve played at the club, my responsibility in the team has increased,” Bellingham was quoted as saying on the official Bundesliga website.

“I have to continue to be everywhere on the pitch and try my best to contribute going forwards and backwards and try and control games, try to dominate the midfield.

“My teammates, the coaches and the staff have helped me to develop.

“I came to the club as a talented lad, but I have added elements to my game that have taken it to the next level and I think that’s down to them, mainly.”

Bellingham, who turns 20 next month, captained Dortmund this season to become the club’s youngest-ever skipper and scored 14 goals in all competitions.

He has been strongly linked to a move away from Germany this summer, with Real Madrid reportedly leading the race for his signature.

Jurgen Klopp insists he does not need a break from Premier League management following a disappointing campaign with Liverpool.

The Reds missed out on Champions League qualification after finishing outside the top four for the first time in a full season under the German.

Sunday’s thrilling 4-4 draw at relegated Southampton stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten top-flight run to 11 games but the late resurgence was not enough to make up for earlier poor results.

Klopp, the division’s longest-serving manager, maintains he is “full of energy” and ready to revive the club’s fortunes going into the summer.

Asked if he needs time off, the Reds boss replied: “No, no, no, not at all. Honestly, I’m completely fine.

“If you’d asked me 11 games ago, ‘do you want to have a break?’, I would have thought about it, to be honest.

“But I’m absolutely fine, full of energy.

“I have a break – I don’t have training and these kind of things. But a really busy period hopefully starts now in a different area of the game. I’m more than happy to do that.

“I will find time to reenergise and then we start again in July.”

Liverpool’s fifth-placed finish was their lowest since they finished eighth in 2015-16 – the season during which Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers at Anfield.

The Reds looked destined to sign off this term in style following early strikes from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino at St Mary’s.

But quick-fire second-half finishes from substitute Cody Gakpo and Jota were required to avoid a major shock after Kamaldeen Sulemana’s double and goals from James Ward-Prowse and Adam Armstrong turned a chaotic contest in Southampton’s favour.

Klopp believes his club has stuck together during some difficult moments and is determined that they regain a fear factor for rival sides.

“There is not a lot to learn (from the season) but a lot of clubs when the expectations are as high as ours when things don’t go well pretty quickly you start blaming each other,” he said. “That didn’t happen here.

“The better you behave in a crisis, the better you get out of it – and I really thought that was the case for us.

“We’re really, really not happy about it and for a club like us it’s massive not to qualify for the Champions League.

“If we improve, we are all of a sudden again a team nobody wants to play against and that’s what we have to become again.

“There were a lot of games in the season where I think teams were happy to face us. That’s actually the worst thing that can happen to you and I hated these moments. But that’s over and now let’s start again.”

Southampton are preparing for life in the Sky Bet Championship following an exhilarating end to a dismal season.

Saints manager Ruben Selles, who will leave the club and is likely be replaced by Swansea boss Russell Martin, conducted a performance review ahead of his departure.

“We discussed the points we can do better, the points we need to hold,” said the Spaniard.

“We needed to end in a professional way and that’s not a discussion because it’s not about us as a technical staff, it’s about Southampton and the information we can pass to the future people working here is key in not repeating the same mistakes.

“If they find themselves in the same situations that we did, at least they have this footage and experience of what we did.

“We did our review as a technical staff together. We got some conclusions for us and somebody will present it in the proper place to present it.

“It’s not for us to decide for the future but it is for us to say what we think can be different next season.”

Silvestre de Sousa has withdrawn his appeal against a 10-month ban picked up in Hong Kong recently.

The former UK champion jockey was handed the lengthy suspension having pleaded guilty, along with fellow rider Vagner Borges, to breaching rule 59 (3), which states “no jockey shall bet, or facilitate the making of a bet, or have any interest in a bet, on any race or any contingency relating to a race meeting”.

A press release from the Honk Kong Jockey Club at the time stated that Borges “had an interest in a bet” on his mount Young Brilliant in a race at Happy Valley on April 26, with De Sousa having “facilitated” that bet.

The statement added that “there was no evidence before the stewards that Borges and De Sousa had ridden their horses in the respective race with any intention other than to obtain the best possible placing for their mounts”.

However, the stewards also underlined “it is fundamental to the integrity of racing that jockeys are not permitted to bet or to have an interest in a bet”.

De Sousa’s solicitor Harry Stewart Moore confirmed the Brazilian would be appealing but on Monday the KHJC released a statement which read:

“The Stewards have approved an application from jockey S de Sousa to withdraw the appeal lodged by him against the severity of a 10 month disqualification from 12 May 2023 to 11 March 2024 (both dates inclusive), imposed by the Stipendiary Stewards on 12 May 2023 for a breach of Rule 59 (3). The Stewards further directed that the appeal deposit be refunded.”

Sean Dyche is nothing if not realistic and within minutes of achieving his sole aim of saving Everton from relegation he delivered his verdict on the state of the club – and it will have made for difficult listening for his bosses.

The 51-year-old has built a career on plain speaking and pragmatism but until another season in the top flight – the club’s 70th in succession – was secured he had to keep his own counsel, at least in public, on the state of affairs he inherited from predecessor Frank Lampard.

But in the immediate aftermath of the 1-0 win over Bournemouth which safeguarded the Toffees’ future, Dyche laid bare the extent of the problems he feels have riddled the club and outlined what needs to be done to change.

Whether owner Farhad Moshiri, whose £600 million-plus spend on players in just over seven years has almost hastened rather than failed to prevent back-to-back relegation scraps, will listen remains to be seen.

But Dyche knows throwing money at the problem is not the answer, especially as it has now effectively run out with the club making losses of over £430m over four years and facing sanctions next season for breaching profit and sustainability rules.

“The fans have been amazing, they want the club to be in the top end of the market but the club currently is not at the top end of the market,” he said.

“We need solid thinking going forwards. We are not ready to be up there yet, that is quite evident.

“It is going to be building and progress and I need the Evertonians to understand that. I’ll be very surprised if they (the club’s board) say ‘Here’s another war chest, sign who you like’.

“It’s not going to happen so we have to be wise, recruit wisely and recruit players who, if possible, understand this club.

“They have to be able to handle what it is to be part of Everton. I’m learning that all the time and we have to be able to get that heartbeat and also talent as well.

“I’ve tried to be realistic since I’ve been here but the problem with realism is not many people want it because it sounds boring.

“But at the end of the day it is time for that. There was a time when this club went from ‘Let’s just do everything’ but there is a time for realism, that’s what I’ve learned.”

Dyche is already starting to sound like his old self during his decade-long stay at Burnley before his sacking last season in a relegation scrap from which they failed to escape.

He worked miracles on a small budget at Turf Moor, making the club a Premier League regular against the odds, and believes he can turn things around at Goodison Park.

But he needs the people in charge – Moshiri, chairman Bill Kenwright and chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale – to accept his version of what the future should look like and abandon lofty but unrealistic ambitions fuelled by influential agents, the owner’s inexperience and a lack of joined-up thinking on a club ethos and recruitment strategy.

This is a club which are on their eighth permanent manager and third director of football since the billionaire took over in 2016.

Dyche, who admitted managing up was as much a part of his job as leading those below him, said on him being the driving force: “Someone has got to. That’s usually the manager.

“Now at least I can bring some of it to the fore and I can say ‘OK, I’ve given you the first step and it’s a big step’ but I need a bit of reality from fans that they don’t think next season we win the first 10 on the trot.

“That’s highly unlikely from a club which has been edging downwards.

“There’s that beautiful stadium down the road (at Bramley-Moore Dock) which someone has to pay for.

“There has to be a reality (about money) because we are trying to build a stadium, they are doing things in the community, and you have to get a team to win.”

On transfers, he added: “Fans want development but really they want first-team footballers who can play and win and that usually implies money.

“But we know about the financial stuff, that has to be realigned, so not yet, I don’t know but I will know at some point.

“Evertonians remember when they had an ‘earthy’ team, a team that gave everything – they are good things even in modern times. Let’s applaud it.

“And of course we want to play good, attacking, pleasing football that can win games. Not easy.”

Everton’s escape from relegation will not automatically free them from problems which caused that predicament and proposed new investment will have to inevitably bring changes at boardroom level, according to a leading academic.

While Premier League revenue has been secured for another season – extending their top-flight stay into a 70th season – a club which has cumulative losses of more than £430million in the last four years will have to make significant changes.

And while American investors MSP Sports Capital are poised to buy into the club, Kieran Maguire – from the University of Liverpool Management School’s Centre for Sports Business – believes that will not come without strings attached.

Fans who have been protesting against what they claim is mismanagement by the current board, including chairman Bill Kenwright and CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale in particular, will welcome that prospect but what impact it has on owner Farhad Moshiri’s approach remains to be seen.

“Someone suggested £150million for 25 per cent, which would value the club around £600m. Newcastle went for £300m,” Maguire, speaking about the new investment, told the PA news agency.

“If a new person was coming in, they’d be looking for board representation, more concessions from Moshiri and then where does it leave him: owning three-quarters of a football club and he’d walk away with a big loss.

“MSP are looking to bring two directors onto the board and for there to be changes on the existing board.”

However, a new, albeit partial, boardroom will not sweep away all Everton’s issues.

There are deep-rooted problems at the club which the £600m Moshiri has spent on transfers alone have failed to solve.

That means it will take some turning around and – after back-to-back seasons of narrowly avoiding relegation – it could be a painful and complicated process with a squad overhaul likely to have to take place on a budget, potentially funded by existing player sales.

“It is not Football Manager where you think ‘It’s not going too well, I’ll delete and reset’,” added Maguire.

“You have costs in terms of the infrastructure, legacy costs in terms of player recruitment.

“There won’t be a lot of money to buy players but you still have the issue of wages at 90 per cent of turnover and this overhang of the Premier League charges.

“We don’t know how long that will take to conclude – and the worst-case scenario is a points deduction.

“Football is a talent game and the talent follows the money. It could be you do a Brentford or a Brighton and you succeed at a point in the market but there is no evidence to suggest Everton are capable of doing that.

“How do you get around that? You pay them more money – and that extra money doesn’t exist.”

On the horizon is the new 53,000-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock but that, too, will be no panacea for finances.

“It will start to kick in for 2024, but it is not going to move the dial a huge amount,” said Maguire.

“And Everton have a fanbase who are traditional supporters from Liverpool so monetising the corporate element may be more difficult.”

Former Everton captain Alan Stubbs says he was left feeling both relief and anger after the club secured Premier League survival on Sunday and has called for “major changes from boardroom level down.”

The final day of the season saw the Toffees claim the victory they needed for safety as Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stunning 57th-minute strike sealed a 1-0 win over Bournemouth and Leicester and Leeds were relegated.

Stubbs told BBC Radio 5 Live: “There are two (feelings) – one is relief and the other is anger.

“It was a horrible 90 minutes as an Everton fan, watching that and the emotions you were going through. The players did really well – to play under that pressure, it’s not easy and the manager (Sean Dyche) deserves a lot of credit as well.

“But now…Everton need to make some major, major changes from boardroom level down. It’s got to happen.”

Regarding Everton owner Farhad Moshiri, Stubbs added: “I have to applaud him in terms of he’s invested in the club, but he’s been really poorly advised by people on the board and probably people he’s trusted in as well, and he has to take a step aside because he’s not a football person so he shouldn’t be getting involved in any football decisions.

“That’s got to be left to people and trust them to do the job, and if he doesn’t trust them they shouldn’t be there in the first place.

“(Chairman) Bill Kenwright, (chief executive) Denise Barrett-Baxendale, thanks very much but it’s time to go because you’ve failed this football club, on and off the pitch, and the owner has to make those decisions, because if he doesn’t, the animosity among the fanbase… they’ve had enough.

“This is where everyone’s waiting with bated breath, to see what the next steps are. I’d be surprised if there’s nothing coming from Everton today in terms of resignations. Everton is broken, and it can be fixed but there has to be major changes for that to happen.”

Leicester went down despite concluding their campaign with a 2-1 home win over West Ham.

Former Foxes skipper Steve Walsh told Sky Sports it had been a “sad day”, adding: “It really hurts, it does.

“The alarm bells were ringing after 10 games, we were in a bit of trouble, so you sensed something could happen, but you never believed it would because of the quality that was in the squad.

“These owners have won so much. Hopefully we can bounce straight back, but there’s a lot of hard work behind the scenes that has to be done and the club know that.”

Leicester defender Jonny Evans does not know what the future holds following their relegation to the Championship.

The Foxes became just the second former Premier League champions to be relegated when their 2-1 win against West Ham was deemed meaningless by Everton’s victory against Bournemouth.

A large number of players, including Evans and Youri Tielemans, are out of contract while the likes of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes look set to be sold to help balance the books.

Evans revealed the squad had said their goodbyes in the dressing room ahead of a likely summer exodus.

Evans, 35, said: “It is a tough thing to take.

“There was silence for a long time in the dressing room afterwards. We know there are a lot of players out of contract.

“There are going to be a lot of changes in the football club.

“It was an opportunity for everybody to say goodbye really. A lot of us don’t know where we are going to end up.

“I said to the boys it has been an amazing five years but the club now have decisions to make.

“I don’t think they probably know what they are going to do.”

Defeat for West Ham concluded a disappointing Premier League campaign in which they finished in 14th, just six points above Leicester.

But their attention is firmly on next week’s Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in what could be Declan Rice’s last game for the club.

The England midfielder looks set to be sold this summer and if the game in Prague is to be his farewell, boss David Moyes wants him to go out on a high.

“I thought he played great. It was another swashbuckling performance from him at times,” Moyes said of his performance at the King Power Stadium.

“I am really pleased how well he has played for us over the season, he has been exceptional and a credit to himself.

“And now he has the big moment to see if he can lift a trophy for West Ham and he needs to try and get ready to see if he can help us do that.”

Leeds were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday after a three-year stay in the top flight.

The Yorkshire club had needed to beat Tottenham on the final day and hope other results involving Everton and Leicester went their way, but they were beaten 4-1 at Elland Road.

The result meant Sam Allardyce’s side finished 19th in the table, five points behind 17th-placed Everton. Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the reasons why it went wrong.

Bielsa legacy casts shadow

Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani, former director of football Victor Orta and chief executive Angus Kinnear received huge acclaim when the club ended their 16-year Premier League exile in 2020. They played a masterstroke by appointing Marcelo Bielsa as head coach in 2018 but their legacy was always going to be defined by how they filled the vacuum after sacking the Argentinian in February 2022. The board felt they had to act after a poor run of results but, since then, they have got most of their key decisions wrong and the wheels have now fallen off.

What exactly did the board get wrong?

Bielsa’s successor Jesse Marsch was hailed as a natural replacement but performances and results did not improve. Leeds survived relegation last season on the final day and when Marsch was sacked in February this year, he left the club in a worse position in the table. The board’s failed, ill-conceived bids to hire Rayo Vallecano’s Andoni Iraola and Feyenoord’s Arne Slot led to accusations of panic and, after a fans’ backlash, they also reneged on appointing former Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder. So in came Javi Gracia for his ill-fated stint. The club admitted they had erred by parachuting Allardyce into Elland Road with four league games remaining.

Can relegation be blamed solely on the managers?

No. After Leeds defied the odds to finish ninth under Bielsa in their first season back in the top flight, they have failed to sufficiently strengthen their squad. A lack of cover for an injury-prone Patrick Bamford and midfielder Tyler Adams is a prime example. It has also been an imbalanced squad with wide players in abundance but no depth in other key areas. Some signings since promotion, such as Raphinha, Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Willy Gnonto, have been a success, but too many others have failed to make an impact, while the arrival of club-record signing Georginio Rutter has left fans scratching their heads.

Has the ownership issue muddied the waters?

The last-ditch appointment of Allardyce was symptomatic of Leeds’ mis-management and of a club in limbo since the investment arm of San Francisco 49ers increased its stake to 44 per cent at the end of 2021. 49ers Enterprises has an option to own 100 percent by January next year and the ownership issue has not helped decision-making. Orta’s resignation in protest over Gracia’s sacking has left Leeds without a director of football and, if Allardyce departs as expected, they will be without a long-term head coach. How relegation will affect the takeover remains to be seen, while Radrizzani has been linked with a move to buy Sampdoria. The club’s future direction is not clear.

Wales will play South Korea at home in a September friendly.

It will be the first time the two nations have met at senior men’s level and will take place at Cardiff City Stadium on September 7, four days before Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia.

South Korea, who are captained by Tottenham forward Son Heung-min, reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Former Germany and United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann was appointed South Korea head coach in February.

“Many teams are tied up in Europe with qualifiers and it’s not always easy to get strong opposition during the few occasions we get the chance to play friendlies,” said Noel Mooney, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales.

“So to have the likes of Son Heung-min – Ben Davies’ teammate at Spurs – and many other high quality players coming to Cardiff is great for us.

“They had a really good World Cup getting to the knockout stage and it’s important we keep testing ourselves against different styles of football.

“South Korea offers us a really interesting chance to do that, and I’m sure we’ll have another great crowd to cheer on Cymru before the ‘Red Wall’ head for Riga a few days later.”

Wales plan to play an October friendly against Gibraltar at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground.

A March 2019 friendly against Trinidad and Tobago is the only time Wales men’s senior team have played at the Racecourse – the world’s oldest international football stadium that still hosts matches – over the last 15 years.

Wales manager Rob Page announces his squad on Tuesday for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey having taken four points from their opening two games in March.

Tony Bellew won the vacant WBC world cruiserweight title against Ilunga Makabu at Goodison Park on this day in 2016.

Fighting at the home of his beloved Toffees, the Everton fan put on a show, claiming the belt with a third-round knockout.

Makabu had entered the fight as the bookmakers’ favourite and started well, sending Bellew to the canvas in the opening round with a left-hand shot.

However, the Liverpudlian quickly recovered with a barrage of combinations in the third round to floor Makabu.

The win meant Bellew won a world title at the third time of asking after previous bouts at light-heavyweight against Nathan Cleverly and Adonis Stevenson ended in defeat.

Bellew, who played ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan in Sylvester Stallone’s film Creed, admitted he had “achieved a dream”.

“I am Everton, and that’s why I got up. Nothing was going to stop me tonight,” he said.

“I’ve achieved a dream tonight, all those people who said I couldn’t do it, well I’ve done it. I’m world champion, that’s what I am!

“The last time I saw something like that I was in a Hollywood movie, now it’s real. I’ve lived the dream tonight. I am the best cruiserweight in the world, I have proven it tonight.”

Emiliano Grillo won his second PGA tour title after he edged out Adam Schenk in a double playoff hole while English golfer Harry Hall finished tied third in Texas on Sunday.

The Argentinian was two strokes clear and looked primed to take out the Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Golf Course in Fort Worth.

But the 30-year-old hit a double-bogey on the last hole, providing an opening for Schenk to come back into contention, seeking to win his first PGA Tour title.

Grillo hit his drive into a small stream on the final hole which took the ball back 150 yards before stopping against a rock.

He decided to take a penalty stroke and landed a two-putt from 20 yards to tie with Schenk.

Schenk made par on the final hole while English PGA Tour rookie Harry Hall needed a par on the final hole to compete in the playoff.

Hall hit a bogey on the last hole after landing his drive into the water and finished tied in third with world number one American Scott Scheffler on 7-under.

Grillo struck a five-foot birdie putt to claim the title on the second playoff hole to get his first tour win in more than seven years, finishing the tournament on eight-under with 68 on his final day.

Grillo’s last win was in Napa in 2015 and has had four top 10 finishes this season.

American Adam Schenk finished second place for the second time this season and is still pushing for his first tour win.

Hall, 25, was leading after the first and second day but failed to hang on to the lead with two birdies and five bogeys on Sunday.

Englishmen Aaron Rei and Justin Rose finished tied 12th on three-under.

Gary Lineker has congratulated Everton after his former club survived in the Premier League at the expense of his boyhood team Leicester.

The two clubs had been in jeopardy heading into the final round of fixtures on Sunday but ultimately Everton’s 1-0 victory over Bournemouth ensured they avoided the drop.

At one stage it looked as though it could be the Foxes who stayed up as they took an early lead against West Ham but their eventual 2-1 win was rendered academic by Everton’s result.

The Toffees ended the season in 17th place, two points ahead of Leicester, while Leeds were also relegated after a 4-1 loss to Tottenham.

Former England striker Lineker, who began his career at Leicester before spending a season at Everton in the mid-1980s, tweeted: “Absolutely gutted, but glad it’s Everton. Have a lot of love for that great football club. Congratulations.”

Leicester’s relegation comes seven years after they were crowned Premier League champions and just two years after they won the FA Cup.

Lineker added: “A word on Leicester. If eight years ago, you’d have given me the option of winning the Premier League and the FA Cup and then get relegated, I’d have snapped your hand off. Also I’d have told you not to be so utterly ridiculous.”

It has been a dismal season for Leicester and TV pundit Roy Keane was not sure how quickly they could recover.

The former Manchester United midfielder said on Sky Sports: “They didn’t seem to get any momentum into the season from a bad start. It’s no surprise to see them where they are.

“Clubs can bounce back but it isn’t easy. I think it is a rebuilding job at Leicester.”

Leeds’ three-year stint in the Premier League ended in a whimper as they were thrashed by Spurs at Elland Road.

The club had brought in Sam Allardyce in a last-ditch attempt to escape relegation with four games remaining but the former England boss was unable to engineer a recovery.

The team collected just one point from Allardyce’s games and finished in 19th position, five points behind Everton.

Keane was scathing of their performances.

He said: “They’ve looked weak over the last month or two, even with Sam coming in.

“They were fighting for their lives today and conceded four goals at home. That’s nowhere near good enough.

“Sam obviously came in too late. Defensively they look so weak. Some of the goals – it’s almost pub team defending.

“Not strong enough mentally, that desire – nowhere near good enough.”

Chelsea, meanwhile, aimed a parting shot at Leeds on social media.

Rivalry between those two clubs dates back to some hard-fought clashes in the 1960s and 70s.

In August, Leeds trolled Chelsea on Twitter during their 3-0 victory over the London club.

In that game, Chelsea tweeted the Blues were “starting to assert ourselves” just moments before Leeds opened the scoring and quickly followed with a second goal.

“Life comes at you fast!” Leeds tweeted in reply.

Now, nine months later, Chelsea have got their own back.

“It certainly does,” they tweeted.