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• Guardiola 'pretty sure' Grealish will return to peak form

  Pep Guardiola is "pretty sure" Jack Grealish will return to his form of old in a Manchester City shirt after an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign.

  Grealish was one of the poster boys of City's remarkable treble-winning campaign last year, but he struggled for starts this time around.

  The 28-year-old was an unused substitute in the FA Cup final loss to Manchester United and did not feature at all in City's final four games.

  Jeremy Doku, who joined last August, was instead preferred from the bench at Wembley and scored for City in their 2-1 defeat.

  However, Guardiola believes City's club-record signing will return to his best next season.

  "He will be back," Guardiola said. "He’s struggled this season and Jeremy has made an incredible step forward as everyone has seen. 

  "But Jack will be back at the level of last season, I'm pretty sure."

  City became the first club in English football to win four top-flight titles in a row, but they fell short in the Champions League and FA Cup, as well as the EFL Cup.

  Star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has just one year to run on his contract, while others - goalkeeper Ederson among them - have been linked with a move away.

  The reigning Premier League champions will also no doubt be looking to bring in new players as they prepare to defend their title once again.

  "I know some players have to take a decision on whether they stay with us and some players might come," Guardiola said after the defeat to fierce rivals United.

  "My sporting director says everything is fine for next year but right now, I don't know what might happen."

• Xavi departs disappointed his work at Barcelona was not appreciated enough

  Sacked Barcelona manager Xavi said he leaves the club disappointed after feeling his work was not appreciated enough as they finished the season with a 2-1 win at Sevilla on Sunday.

  Xavi, 44, who joined Bara on a three-year deal when Dutchman Ronald Koeman left in 2021, led the Catalan giants to their 27th league title last season.

  He compiled 90 wins, 23 draws and 29 defeats in 142 games in charge but was fired on Friday.

  "I have the feeling that everything I have done in these two and a half years has caused an earthquake. I have been targeted many times in many situations," Xavi said.

  "I think that the work has not been sufficiently appreciated. This year we haven't been up to the task because of details. We had four key games in which we couldn't finish the good work we had done," he added.

  LaLiga runners-up Barcelona, who finished 10 poins behind Real Madrid, have endured a frustrating season, losing to Real in the Spanish Super Cup final, knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals and eliminated from the Champions League by Paris St Germain also in the last eight.

  Xavi decided to step down in January but agreed to return in April after talks with president Joan Laporta, who later changed his mind and sacked him after a season without silverware.

  "It is not for me to say the reasons or the motives. I think it is up to the president to say them. I had no choice but to accept it. It doesn't matter if I agree with the arguments.

  "I'm not leaving with a sense of relief because we wanted to continue. These are decisions made by the club. We understood and respected that, but we thought it wasn't over," he added.

  Xavi pointed out that while he did not agree with his departure, he accepted that the club was bigger, adding that the next coach's job would not be easy.

  "He should know that he has a tough situation because Barca is a challenging club but on top of that it is in an adverse economic situation. It will not be an easy task," he said.

• 'Sometimes, it's not meant to be' - Farke magnanimous after Leeds miss out on promotion

  Daniel Farke conceded "it wasn't meant to be" for Leeds United, following their Championship play-off final defeat by Southampton.

  Farke's side missed out on an immediate return to the Premier League, as Adam Armstrong's first-half strike was enough to settle the contest at Wembley.

  Leeds controlled large periods of the final and went agonisingly close to equalising later on when Daniel James rattled the crossbar, but they must now prepare for another season back in the Championship.

  Nevertheless Farke, who missed out on becoming the third manager to win three promotions to the Premier League, was gracious in defeat.

  "It's football. Congratulations to Southampton, they were able to be effective today," he told Sky Sports. "We had more possession, more shots and dominated the game in many spells, but they defended very well.

  "It's always important to be good in both boxes. We started the game totally on the front foot and had many good situations but, in the final third, we weren't always precise with the final pass.

  "We tried everything in the second half. Daniel [James] hit the crossbar. Sometimes, it's not meant to be. It's hard today because we are all suffering and are so disappointed. It's a difficult day for us.

  "Sometimes, after such setbacks, you learn a lot and develop your personality. The lads have played a fantastic season, 90 points, we were great in the semi-finals [beating Norwich City 4-0 on aggregate]. 

  "I was proud of the performance in many ways. In the final third, we could have been more effective but, apart from this, there is nothing to dwell on. We'll suffer for a few days, but use the break to recover and go again.

  The German also paid tribute to Leeds' fans, who were in fine voice throughout the day, despite seeing their side fall in an EFL play-off final for a record-breaking fourth time.

  "It's obviously a big disappointment for us because we were so close," he added.

  "The support for this club is second to none - not just in the Championship, but even in this country. They carried us through difficult times, and were always there for us today. For them, we have to go again."