Jamaica international and Inter Miami CF defender, Damion Lowe, has been fined an undisclosed fee for failing to leave the field in a timely manner.

The charge, which was announced among the number of sanctions issued by Major League Soccer (MLS) this week, relates to the centre half’s conduct during an encounter against New England Revolution on April 30.

Lowe, who signed with the David Beckham-owned franchise earlier this season, was given his marching orders in the 61^st minute after receiving a second yellow card for what looked like fairly innocuous contact on Revolution forward Adam Buksa.  Clearly surprised by the decision, the defender stayed on the pitch for an extra minute to plead his case with the referee and a few other players.  New England won the encounter 2-0.

Barcelona's financial volatility has necessitated a cut of overall wage spend, and Philippe Coutinho has long been viewed as dispensable.

Since his big-money signing from Liverpool, the incompatibility the Brazil international has represented has only been reinforced with loan spells at Bayern Munich and Aston Villa.

However, in need of funds, the Blaugrana have reportedly set the Birmingham club a timeframe for confirming his permanent signing.

TOP STORY – BARCELONA GIVE ASTON VILLA COUTINHO ULTIMATUM

Barcelona have given Aston Villa until the end of the month to confirm whether they will sign Coutinho on a permanent deal, Sport is reporting.

The cash-strapped Catalan giants loaned Coutinho to Villa in January with a €40million (£33.7m) purchase option, but Villa have now been given until the end of May to finalise the deal.

Barcelona have reportedly insisted that the finances be resolved by the end of June, as it would help balance their accounts for the season. 

The 29-year-old has played erratically despite four goals and three assists in 14 appearances, not directly contributing to a league goal since early March against Leeds.

ROUND-UP

- Romelu Lukaku has no intention of joining Milan or Newcastle United despite frustration over a lack of opportunities, according to the Evening Standard.

- Chelsea want to sign 20-year-old Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig, Goal reports.

- Football Insider reports Inter Milan are looking to sell Stefan de Vrij, with Tottenham and Aston Villa among the clubs interested.

- Lazio are willing to lower their asking price for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to around €80million, per Calciomercato.

Mohamed Salah would rather face Real Madrid than Manchester City in the final of the Champions League in Paris as they target the quadruple after seeing off a spirited Villarreal performance in the last four.

Liverpool survived a huge scare in Spain to reach their 10th European Cup/Champions League final, with Fabinho, Luis Diaz, and Sadio Mane scoring second-half goals after Villarreal wiped out the Reds' first-leg lead in an unbelievable first half.

Liverpool have become the first team to reach the finals of the European Cup/Champions League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup in a single season, and trail City by just one point in an absorbing Premier League title race.

The Reds' incredible form has led to talk of Jurgen Klopp's team lifting four major trophies at the end of the campaign, with Salah hoping to complete the quadruple against Madrid having been substituted after suffering an injury in Liverpool's 2018 final loss to Los Blancos.

"Yeah, [it's a target] for sure," he told BT Sport. "Maybe not in the beginning of the season if I'm honest, because I always focus on the Champions League and the Premier League, but now we are close for everything, so why not? 

"I think after we beat City in the semi-final of the [FA] cup [Liverpool believed it was possible], but in the Champions League, from the beginning we were playing unbelievable games, we had a really tough group and we beat everybody, so I said from that time we could win the Champions League this year.

"I want to play Madrid, I have to be honest. City is a really tough team, we played against them a few times this season, but I think if you ask me personally, I would prefer Madrid.

"Because we lost in the final against them, I want to play against them, and hopefully win against them as well."

Salah assisted Fabinho's vital 62nd-minute goal in Spain, taking his tally to an incredible 45 goal contributions in all competitions this season (30 goals, 15 assists), and the Egypt international revealed he had set himself a target of 40 goals before the campaign began.

"I just give the team everything, we have to focus for the team because we fight for everything, we won one trophy already, we are in the final, we continue to fight for the Premier League and we are in a final against Chelsea [in the FA Cup]," he added.

"I just focus, and try to train hard. I know what I want at the end of the season, so hopefully I can get what I want. 

"Before the season starts, I know what I want from the season, individually and collectively. The collective is the most important, [but] I'm nearly there, I have a big expectation for myself. 

"Honestly, I never said this before but before the season started, I was like 'okay, I'll go for 40 goals this season, and 10 or 15 assists'. I need to focus on the goals now!"

Reds defender Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, hailed winger Diaz for his impact after the January arrival changed the game as a half-time substitute, but refused to join Salah in stating a preferred final opponent.

"The way he goes one versus one, it doesn't really matter who he is facing, he just goes at you without any fear," Van Dijk said of Diaz. "And if he loses it, he wins it back and goes again. That is very difficult to defend.

"Any team that we face in the final of this competition will be a nightmare to play against. We know City but they know us too. We know how intense those games are. Real Madrid is Real Madrid. Such a big club and an in-form striker [Karim Benzema]."

Liverpool's Champions League final opponents will be revealed when Pep Guardiola's City travel to the Spanish capital on Wednesday, attempting to defend a 4-3 first-leg lead to set up an all-English final.

Peterborough striker Jonson Clarke-Harris could be in line for a debut call-up to the Jamaica Reggae Boyz squad as interim coach Paul Hall looks to bolster the squad ahead of the upcoming CONCACAF Nations League.

Having failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, the national team is set to return to action with a fixture against the Spanish region Catalonia on May 25.  The friendly will be followed by matches against Suriname in the Nations League and another friendly against Uruguay in June.

The 27-year-old Clarke-Harris has been one of the most dependable scorers outside the Premier League in recent years and is a player the Jamaica Football Federation has kept close tabs on.  Since joining Peterborough in 2020, the player has scored a healthy 44 goals in 87 appearances for the club.

In 31 appearances in the English Championship, this season, the forward has scored 11 times, coupled with 3 assists.  The club will, however, be relegated from the division this season after finishing second from the bottom of the league table.

Liverpool overcame a spirited Villarreal performance to book their spot in the Champions League final with a 3-2 away win, netting three second-half goals after seeing their first-leg lead wiped out in Spain.

Boulaye Dia handed Unai Emery's men an early lead in front of a boisterous home crowd, before Francis Coquelin stunned the below-par visitors by wiping out their aggregate lead on the stroke of half-time.

But Liverpool grew into the game after their dismal start, and after Geronimo Rulli failed to make a routine stop from Fabinho's effort, half-time substitute Diaz headed home to send Jurgen Klopp's men to the final.

Sadio Mane raced clear to round Rulli and roll home a late third to make the result safe before Etienne Capoue was sent off late on, keeping the Reds on course to cap an incredible season by winning four major trophies.

After failing to record a single shot on target at Anfield, the Yellow Submarine needed just three minutes to open the scoring, Dia tapping home after Capoue turned Pervis Estupinan's delivery across goal.

Gerard Moreno saw a close-range header blocked as the visitors produced a dreadful first-half performance, and the Reds' advantage, which looked to be decisive prior to kick-off, was wiped out when Coquelin sparked wild scenes by heading Capoue's cross into the top-left corner.

Trent Alexander-Arnold struck the top of the crossbar with a deflected effort as Liverpool improved after the break, before Fabinho drilled a low shot through the legs of Rulli to restore the visitors' aggregate lead after 62 minutes.

Diaz went close to bending home a superb second moments later, but was on hand to nod home Alexander-Arnold's cross after 67 minutes and put the Reds back in full command of the tie.

The tie was settled once and for all when Mane took advantage of another Rulli error after 74 minutes, rounding the keeper well outside his area before rolling home to secure Liverpool's progress, with Capoue then dismissed for a second yellow card after fouling Curtis Jones.

Rafael Nadal requested that his opening match at the Madrid Open does not clash with his beloved Real Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Manchester City, according to tournament director Feliciano Lopez.

Nadal, who has won the Madrid Open on five occasions, will face Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 32 on Wednesday, the same day Los Blancos bid to overturn a 4-3 first-leg deficit against Pep Guardiola's team at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 21-time grand slam winner is known to be an avid supporter of Madrid and was invited to take an "honorary kick-off" before Carlo Ancelotti's team wrapped up their 35th league title with a 4-0 win over Espanyol at the weekend.

Lopez confirmed Nadal's request to Spanish radio network Cadena SER on Tuesday.

"Nadal asked us that when Madrid played the Champions League semi-finals that we not play him," Lopez said.

"He likes to play during the day, so that the ball bounces higher. There are [Spanish] tennis players who are not from Madrid. David Ferrer is not from Madrid. Tommy Robredo and Marc Lopez are from Barcelona, Sergi Bruguera is very much from Barcelona… it's very hard to be an anti-Madridista!"

Real Madrid have been eliminated from each of their previous five Champions League semi-finals when losing the first leg – however, Los Blancos have progressed from two of their last three knockout ties when losing the opening match (the 2015-16 quarter-final against Wolfsburg and this season's last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain).

Madrid have won the European Cup/Champions League on a record 13 occasions, also finishing as runners-up three times, and Nadal will hope to have a good view if Los Blancos seal a 17th final appearance on Wednesday.

Dani Alves insists "things are going to change" at Barcelona under Xavi, highlighting the way the Blaugrana had reinvented themselves in the past.

Barcelona sit a distant second in LaLiga, but despite watching rivals Real Madrid win their 35th title, can all but secure Champions League qualification by beating fifth-placed Real Betis on Saturday.

Alves announced his return to Camp Nou last November after originally departing in 2016, but had to wait until January to be eligible to play. Since then, the 38-year-old has made 10 league appearances, chipping in with one goal and two assists as Xavi looks to revive Barca's fortunes after the ill-fated tenure of predecessor Ronald Koeman.

As Barca close in on Champions League qualification, the Brazilian, who won 23 major trophies in his initial eight-year spell with the Blaugrana, insists the club will rise again, just as it did after Ronaldinho's 2003 arrival or Pep Guardiola's appointment as head coach in 2008.

"We must be united, be positive, things are going to change, as they changed when Ronaldinho arrived. Before he arrived, it seemed that things were not going [well]," Alves told the club's media channels on Tuesday.

"Afterwards, it seemed that it would not be repeated, we [Guardiola's team] arrived and what happened was historic.

"Now it seems that we are living through this moment of transition, but it will be again. We must be positive and have that faith, that desire and that illusion of things changing and it will [happen] again. 

"This club has a lot of resilience, it has had to reinvent itself several times. You have to hold on to that power that this club has to return it to where it deserves to be. It is a club made to win, to be ahead. We have to keep winning, for people to want to be like Barca."

Barcelona have won five of their last seven league games after beating Real Mallorca 2-1 on Sunday, as the Catalan giants ended a run of three consecutive defeats at Camp Nou – the joint-worst sequence in their history.

A talented crop of young talent has proven crucial to reviving Barca's fortunes over the second half of the season, with the likes of Gavi, Nico Gonzalez, Ronald Araujo, and Sergino Dest all featuring heavily for the Blaugrana this term.

Alves, who featured alongside Xavi and an array of other La Masia graduates in Guardiola's all-conquering team, says the former midfielder is the best coach those young players could ask for.

"They have one of the best people who can teach them," Alves added. "They have the best possible teacher, they have to pay attention to what he teaches them. 

They have the qualities to be top, but it is up to them to write their own story. We will help them to be at the top and make their story."

Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks has revealed he is cancer-free and says he is determined to resume his career "in the not-so-distant future."

The Wales international announced last October that he had been diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Brooks revealed on Tuesday that he has been given the all-clear after undergoing treatment, and the 24-year-old is eager to make his comeback as soon as possible for a Cherries side that are pushing for promotion to the Premier League.

He posted on Twitter: "It has been a few months since my last update and in that time I have thankfully completed my cancer treatment.

"I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the incredible medical staff for their amazing work and support throughout the process.

"Last week I met with my specialist having reviewed my final test results. I am delighted to say the treatment was successful and can say that I have been given the all-clear and am now cancer free.

"These words feel incredible to say and I am so thankful for all of your messages and good wishes, these really helped me through the tough times.

"I am so excited to start the journey back to full fitness and continuing my football career.

"The lads at Bournemouth have had an excellent season so far and I am looking forward to being back at The Vitality to cheer the team on as we head into the most important fixtures of the season.

"I am determined to work my hardest over the months ahead and I can't wait to be back out there playing in front of you on the pitch in the not so distant future."

Thomas Muller has extended his deal with Bayern Munich until the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the Bundesliga champions have announced.

The Germany international, who has spent his entire 14-season senior career with Bayern, was due to be out of contract at the end of the next campaign.

However, after playing a vital part in the Bavarian giants' 10th successive league triumph this season, Muller and Bayern have agreed to fresh terms.

"I'm delighted to have extended my contact with FC Bayern Munich until 2024," Muller told the club's official website on Tuesday.

"The journey we've been on since I joined the FCB academy in 2000 has been a fantastic success story up to now.

"It gives me immense pleasure to hold up the red colours year after year, on and off the pitch – even if the wind blows in your face from time to time. Let's keep going together."

Muller has won 11 Bundesliga titles with Bayern in total, with his latest triumph seeing him overtake David Alaba (10) as the competition's outright most successful player.

He has made 624 first-team appearances in total and has also lifted two Champions Leagues, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and six DFB-Pokal crowns.

Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said: "Thomas Muller is an icon who wears the club badge on his heart. 

"FC Bayern has always been characterised by continuity, and therefore we're pleased that we've managed to extend the contract of this important player. 

"He's someone who assumes leadership and is also an important character in the dressing room with his personality."

Muller has been as important as ever for Bayern this term, having registered 17 Bundesliga assists – four more than next-best Christopher Nkunku – and scored seven times.

Indeed, those 24 direct goal involvements is a tally bettered only by Erling Haaland (28), Nkunku (31) and team-mate Robert Lewandowski (36).

The 32-year-old still has some way to go to beat the Bundesliga record for assists in a single campaign that he set in 2019-20 when setting up 21 goals.

After tying down 2014 World Cup winner Muller for the next two years, Bayern are reportedly hopeful of agreeing fresh terms with compatriot Manuel Neuer in the coming weeks.

Cristiano Ronaldo will still be at Manchester United next season "as far as I know", says outgoing interim manager Ralf Rangnick.

Big changes are anticipated at Old Trafford in the offseason as new boss Erik ten Hag replaces Rangnick, who is taking on a dual role as United consultant and Austria coach.

Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani all made their final home appearances as United players in Monday's 3-0 defeat of Brentford.

And there has also been widespread speculation around Ronaldo and how he will fare under Ten Hag – or whether he could even move on a year after his return to the club.

But Ronaldo has scored 18 goals in just 29 Premier League games this season, and Rangnick does not foresee United's number seven leaving.

Speaking to Stadium Astro after the Brentford game, Rangnick said of Ronaldo's response to the crowd at full-time: "I don't think why it should be a wave of goodbye.

"He has another year of contract, and as far as I know, he will be here next season again."

Meanwhile, Ronaldo posted on his Instagram page: "Once again, great support from the stands.

"Let's take this opportunity of our last game of the season at Old Trafford to thank our amazing supporters, who endured a difficult season by our side and never abandoned us.

"Thanks, guys. Your support means the world to us and our goal is to become better everyday, so that we can achieve what we all want: glory for Man. United!"

Along with veterans Matic, Mata and Cavani, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard are set to depart United, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been linked with a return to Crystal Palace.

Carlo Ancelotti has revealed he is likely to call time on his coaching career at club level once he leaves Real Madrid, but is open to staying in charge of Los Blancos for another 10 years.

The 62-year-old last week became the first ever coach to win each of Europe's top five leagues when guiding Madrid to LaLiga glory.

Ancelotti's legendary managerial career has spanned 26 years and across 11 jobs, including two stints with Spanish giants Madrid.

But the Italian is now thinking about the future and hopes to spend more time travelling and with his family.

"After Real, yes, I'll probably stop," he told Amazon Prime. "But if the club keeps me here for 10 years, I'll train for 10 years.

"I'd like to be with my grandchildren, go on vacation with my wife – there are so many things to do that I have left out that I would like to do. 

"There are many places I have never been. I have never been to Australia. I have never been to Rio de Janeiro. 

"I'd like to visit my sister more often. The day I quit, I'll have all these things to do."

Ancelotti has won 22 trophies, including Serie A with Milan in 2004, the Premier League with Chelsea in 2010, Ligue 1 with PSG in 2013, the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2017 and LaLiga with Madrid this year.

With his latest league triumph, Ancelotti became the oldest manager to win the Spanish top flight at 62, two years older than Fabio Capello was when lifting the trophy with Madrid in 2006-07.

Having also won a record-equalling three European Cups at club level, Ancelotti has suggested he may be tempted into managing an international side in time for the 2026 World Cup.

"Yes, there could be a national team but now it is premature [to discuss that]," he said. "Certainly not for this World Cup. But for the one in 2026, why not?"

Asked if he has any interest in taking charge of Canada, who will jointly host the tournament along with the United States and Mexico, Ancelotti said: "Why not? They have done very well".

Aleksandar Mitrovic was "practically begged" to stay at Fulham by vice-chairman Tony Khan prior to his record-breaking Championship season.

The Serbia striker scored twice as Fulham battered Luton Town 7-0 on Monday to clinch the title, taking him to 43 league goals for the campaign.

That tally represents a new benchmark for the division, beating Guy Whittingham's 42 registered in the 1992-1993 season.

However, Khan revealed those incredible exploits almost did not happen with Mitrovic having asked to depart after a campaign that saw him score only three times in 27 Premier League appearances and resulted in the Cottagers being relegated.

"He told me he was leaving," Khan said in quotes reported by the Athletic. "He said, 'I cannot come back, I just can't do it.' He didn't play last year. The team were relegated and I don't think it's any secret that he wasn't happy with how the season went. He believed he could have contributed more. He didn't want to come back. I practically begged him to keep an open mind.

"I'm really happy for him. I really like Mitro, as a player and as a person. I'm really proud, too, because when he called me last summer he was very frustrated. 

"He didn't want to come back. It's amazing how, 10 months on, so much has changed and everything has fallen into such a perfect place. It's like a storybook."

For his part, Mitrovic conceded the prospect of breaking the record had been on his mind even if he was not openly speaking about the target.

"I know I've always tried to say I've not thought about the record," he said.

"But when you're that close and everybody starts talking about it, so of course I wanted to break it - and now it's happened. 

"It was special in a big win. So, I think we finished the season like we dreamed, like we wanted with a big win at home in front of our crowd and I broke the record - everything was perfect."

Fulham have now been either promoted or relegated in each of the past five seasons. Khan had a rather amusing way of displaying his hope the club can buck that trend.

"We've done the first part to get promoted," Khan said. "Now we want to do the other part. 

"We definitely need to put together a great season and do everything we can to stay up. We've been focused on building a more sustainable team and I think we can do it. 

"I don't want us to be seen that way [as a yo-yo club]. From now on, I just want us to be a yo club."

Fulham sealed the Championship title with a thumping 7-0 win over Luton Town, as Aleksandar Mitrovic set a new goalscoring record for a 46-game season.

Having wrapped up an immediate promotion back to the Premier League by beating Preston North End last week, Marco Silva's Whites confirmed their status as second-tier Champions with a win that sent several records tumbling at Craven Cottage.

Mitrovic, who was recently crowned Championship player of the season after an incredible individual campaign, beat Guy Whittingham's long-standing record of 42 goals in a 46-game English league season, set in Portsmouth's 1992-93 campaign, also in the second-tier.

The Serbia international scored Fulham's fourth and seventh goals to take his tally to 43 in 43 appearances this season, with the Cottagers having one league game still to play.

Although Mitrovic's tally is some way behind the all-time second-tier record (Middlesbrough's George Camsell hit 59 goals in 1927-28), he has now outscored this season's second-highest goalscorer – Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke – by 14 strikes, as Fulham reached 106 league goals for the campaign.

In doing so, Silva's side became the first to score 100 goals in a single second-tier season since Manchester City reached 108 in 2001-02, a tally they could yet better when they visit Sheffield United on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Fulham also became the first team since Tottenham's 1960-61 double winners to score 50 goals both home and away in a single league campaign across the top four tiers of English football. 

Remarkably, Luton, who could yet join Fulham in the Premier League via the play-offs as they sit sixth with one game remaining, are also the third team to lose 7-0 to Fulham this season, after Blackburn Rovers in November and Reading in January.

That means three of the five biggest margins of victory recorded in English league football this season have been set by Silva's men, who will hope to break their reputation as a 'yo-yo' club on their return to the top flight next term.

Sinisa Mihajlovic has been discharged from hospital "in good condition" after undergoing further leukaemia treatment, Bologna have announced.

The Serbian coach, who enjoyed an illustrious playing career in Serie A with the likes of Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter, was first diagnosed with the disease in 2019 and underwent a bone marrow transplant in October 2019, returning to the Bologna dugout just six weeks later.

Mihajlovic revealed in late March that routine tests had discovered "some alarm bells", leading him to step back from hands-on coaching duties for an unspecified amount of time and to declare "this disease is very courageous in returning to face an opponent like me."

An encouraging social media update from his club announced the news of Mihajlovic's exit from hospital on Monday.

"Sinisa Mihajlovic was today discharged from the Sant'Orsola Hospital, in good condition. Forza Mister, we are with you," read the tweet from Bologna's official account.

Mihajlovic's team have been in excellent form in Serie A of late, earning results against each of Milan, Juventus, Inter, and Roma during a six-match unbeaten run, with the 53-year-old receiving a surprise visit from his squad after they beat the title-chasing Nerazzurri 2-1 in dramatic fashion last week.

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed they have reached an agreement to sign Germany international centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck from fellow Bundesliga side Freiburg.

The 22-year-old has featured 53 times for Freiburg in all competitions, including 35 outings this campaign, and will remain with the club until the end of the 2021-22 season.

Schlotterbeck, who had a spell on loan with Union Berlin last season, has signed a long-term deal with Dortmund that runs through until July 2027.

He is the second new defensive addition for BVB ahead of the transfer window officially opening, with Niklas Sule also set to join from rivals Bayern Munich.

Dortmund confirmed the imminent arrival of Schlotterbeck, who has featured twice for Germany at senior level, on their official website on Monday.

"After consultation with all parties involved, I have today decided to announce my move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022," Schlotterbeck said. 

"In doing so, I want to provide clarity for SC Freiburg, Borussia Dortmund and myself personally.

"It is important for me to be able to fully concentrate on the remaining three games in the season run-in with SC Freiburg, which we hope will be successful. 

"After that, I'm looking forward to the new responsibilities with Borussia Dortmund."

Freiburg occupy the final Champions League qualification spot in the Bundesliga with two games to go and also face RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal final on May 21.