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• Sevilla appoint Mendilibar after sacking Sampaoli

  Sevilla have confirmed the appointment of Jose Luis Mendilibar as coach on a short-term contract after sacking Jorge Sampaoli.

  A dismal run of form has seen Sevilla lose four of their last seven LaLiga games and they sit just two points above the relegation zone.

  Sampaoli's second spell at the club came to an end on Tuesday following a 2-0 defeat at Getafe, which proved the final straw.

  The Argentine replaced Julen Lopetegui in October but managed just six wins out of 19 LaLiga matches in charge, although he did lead Sevilla into the Europa League quarter-finals.

  Sevilla moved quickly to confirm a replacement, with former Real Valladolid, Alaves and Eibar boss Mendilibar drafted in on a contract until June 30.

  His first match in charge will be after the international break, with Sevilla visiting fellow strugglers Cadiz. They then host Celta Vigo on April 7 before travelling to Old Trafford for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Manchester United six days later.

  Mendilibar has overseen 448 LaLiga games as a coach, winning 128 and losing 195.

• Neville keen for new stadium as deadline for Man Utd takeover bids approaches

  Gary Neville is keen for Manchester United to have a new home, telling prospective bidders to modernise the club.

  The Glazer family's tenure in charge at Old Trafford could be nearing a conclusion, having announced in November that they were exploring options for a sale.

  Last week saw visits to the club from Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani's delegation and Jim Ratcliffe, both of whom are the running for a potential takeover – though there could be as many as eight bidders.

  Former United captain Neville is keen for whoever takes charge to invest significantly in the club's infrastructure, including the construction of a new stadium.

  "I think we've got to make sure that whoever the new owners are in the next few months, that they harness what the club's history is about, and also take Manchester United forward into a modern era," he told ITV News.

  "You look back at the past in terms of what we are and what we should be, but also I think we need to be a modern football club, with a new stadium, a new infrastructure.

  "The training ground needs to be brought up to speed and the sporting project needs to be world class.

  "And there needs to be that feeling among the fans again, that everyone's aligned on the same page - they haven't had that for the last eight-to-10-years."

  While United are perceived to have fallen behind to their rivals off the field, significant gains have been made under the stewardship of Erik ten Hag.

  The Dutch boss guided United to League Cup glory in February, the club's first trophy since 2017, with further honours up for grabs with the campaign in the FA Cup and Europa League continuing.

  Those improvements have impressed Neville, who added: "I think the thing about Manchester United for me is that the football can never be boring.

  "You always have to go to a game feeling that you're going to see something exciting.

  "The lads that wear those shirts out on the pitch, they have to look like they're engaged and they've got a spirit and they want to be here.

  "You think about how bad it was at the end of last season to what it is now - a huge turnaround."

• Ibrahimovic needed three knee operations to save his career as 41-year-old Milan star reports for Sweden duty

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic revealed it took three knee operations to rescue his career at the end of last season, as the Milan striker returned to centre stage on Tuesday with Sweden.

  The 41-year-old spoke at a national team press conference ahead of Friday's Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium, having been called up by coach Janne Andersson.

  Two years have passed since Andersson recalled Ibrahimovic after a long spell in the international wilderness, and he has endured cruel fortune in that subsequent time, with a knee injury ruling him out of the delayed Euro 2020 finals.

  That blow in 2021 was followed by Ibrahimovic requiring anterior cruciate knee ligament surgery at the end of last season, which was necessary to extend his playing days.

  Milan announced in late May that Ibrahimovic, who played through the pain barrier to help them win the Serie A title, had undergone an operation on the problematic left knee.

  Ibrahimovic said on Tuesday: "The truth is I had three surgeries, not one."

  He explained the process of getting the knee back in working order was then a struggle, and he had to stubbornly persist while initially seeing no improvement.

  "The problem was that the feedback was not positive," he said. "They tried to move forward, but it was then two steps backwards.

  "I never saw any light that gave me energy, that gave me answers that what I was doing was good. But then something happened and I came out of a dark room and everything became bright and positive. It was hard, but I had a lot of patience."

  He is set to be a substitute against Belgium and Azerbaijan during this international camp, and to score for his country again, for the first time since netting against Denmark in November 2015, would cap his comeback.

  "That would mean everything," Ibrahimovic said. "I want to be compared to everyone else. But it's always fun to score goals in the national team of course and here at home in front of the Swedish people. If the opportunity comes, I will score, 100 per cent."

  As the old man of the team, Ibrahimovic knows he is particularly conspicuous in the company of far younger colleagues.

  He scored a penalty in Milan's weekend defeat to Udinese, becoming the oldest scorer in Serie A history, and is determined to wring every last drop from his career.

  "I was sitting yesterday when we had dinner," he said, quoted in Aftonbladet. "I told [my team-mates]: 'You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. That you think I'm stupid in the head. That I am here, 41 years old and playing in the national team.'

  "But then I said: 'Wait until you're near the end. Then you will understand everything I am doing now, that it will be like a panic. You don't want to stop, you want to continue.'"