Barcelona have released winger Isaac Cuenca after a string of knee injuries limited his development.

Cuenca made his first-team debut under Pep Guardiola in October 2011 and made 30 appearances in a promising first senior campaign at Camp Nou.

However, his woes began at the end of that season as he suffered the first of two serious knee injuries that have wrecked his first-team chances.

In the past two seasons, Cuenca has been limited to just five appearances, all on loan at Ajax.

Despite having a year to run on his deal, Cuenca has now agreed to depart Barca, with a move to La Liga new-boys Deportivo La Coruna reportedly in the pipeline.

A Barca statement confirmed: FC Barcelona has informed Isaac Cuenca that he is not in the plans for the first-…

Former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner will serve a 50-day prison sentence for assaulting a taxi driver, the State Prosecutor of Copenhagen confirmed.

The 30-year-old, who is now contracted to Rosenborg, was involved in an altercation in the Danish capital in September and, despite claiming he acted in self-defence, was handed a jail term.

He was expected to appeal but the State Prosecutor of Copenhagen confirmed via social media the case has been closed and the sentence originally passed will be served.

The verdict is therefore final, a brief statement from the State Prosecutor said.

Bendtner, who will also pay a 1,500 kroner (£179) fine, previously made a public apology to the club, his fans and team-mates over the incident.

To the club, I…

Reports of discrimination in English football have risen for the sixth year in a row, according to annual figures.

A report published by Kick It Out, an inclusion and equality organisation operating in the game, shows the number of incidents of discriminatory abuse have increased by 11 per cent since last year.

Racism constituted 53 per cent of the 520 cases in 2017-18, a rise of 22 per cent from 2016-17.

Disability discrimination reports showed the greatest increase, with a jump of 107 per cent compared to last year.

The statistics are compiled from all levels of football in England, including Premier League, Football League, Women s Super League and non-league games. The majority of cases were reported via social media.

Kick It Out chair Lord…

England boss Gareth Southgate says Monday’s European Championship qualifier against North Macedonia will be a “step up” from the win over Malta.

Southgate’s men conclude their season with the fixture at Old Trafford, three days after beating Malta 4-0 away to make it three victories from three matches in Group C.

Southgate told a press conference on Sunday regarding North Macedonia: “They should have won the other night against Ukraine, really.

Focus North Macedonia.

— England (@England)

“We know the quality of some of the individual players, they have some players playing at big European clubs. As a team they function well. They knocked Italy out of the last World Cup, and they pushed Portugal close in those games.

“So t…

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag could not provide any positive updates on the injury suffered by Raphael Varane in Saturday s 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Varane had impressed at Stamford Bridge but was forced off in the second half after overextending himself while trying to cut out a pass to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The France international clearly looked distressed as he left the pitch, pulling his jersey up above his eyes as if trying to hide tears.

Any serious injury suffered by Varane at this point would put the defender s World Cup participation in doubt at the very least, and probably rule him out entirely.

Ten Hag acknowledged Varane s initial reaction may have provided an indication of the severity, but it was too early to be sure.

As…

Gus Poyet said Uruguay star Luis Suarez would require extra attention at the FIFA World Cup.

Suarez s Uruguay have been drawn in Group D in Brazil, up against Costa Rica, England and Italy, and Poyet a former Uruguayan international of 26 caps said his countryman would be dangerous.

Even though the English side would be all too aware of Suarez s powers after his stunning season for Liverpool that spawned 31 Premier League goals in 33 games, the Sunderland boss said Uruguay s rivals must focus their attention on the talented forward.

You need to pay extra attention, because he s special, Poyet said.

You need to look after him in a different way because if you leave him one-v-one they don t know if the ball is going to go past them, you look one way, then the ball …

Ian Holloway is furious at claims Blackpool could stay up this season because they will face an under-strength Manchester United side.

Blackpool are 18th and could be safe with a win at Old Trafford on the final day of the season on Sunday although only West Brom have taken a point there so far this season.

It has been suggested Sir Alex Ferguson s side could be punished for fielding a weakened team against Blackpool, considering they have their Champions League final clash with Barcelona six days later.

And Holloway is angry at the suggestion that Ferguson is not bothered about the match against Blackpool and also feels his side have been undermined.

They will be relieved if we lose and get relegated, said Holloway.

Then I am not badgering t…

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand slammed his nation s FA for the restrictive treatment of players on national duty.

Ferdinand represented England on 81 occasions from 1997-2011, retiring in May 2013.

The Manchester United legend, now at QPR, was in Brazil for the World Cup as a commentator, and recalled a time when the Netherlands squad were out at a bar.

Ferdinand was stunned by the Dutch players freedom to roam, and slammed England s FA for their controlling tendencies on national team players in his to-be-released autobiography.

One evening we were in a bar at the hotel with Fabio Cannavaro, waiting for Christian Vieri to come along. All of a sudden almost the entire Dutch team turn up and start chilling in this bar, Ferdinand wrote in his book, t…

The Qatar 2022 bid organisation claimed they have nothing to hide in regards to the vote for the FIFA World Cup.

Rumours, allegations and questions continue to arise regarding the voting for the next two World Cups in 2010, with claims Qatar could be stripped of the 2022 tournament for improper conduct in the bidding process.

But the organisers of Qatar s bid have slammed the allegations as baseless in a statement released on Saturday.

These allegations are baseless and riddled with innuendo designed to tarnish the reputation of Qatar s 2022 Bid Committee, the statement read.

The statement claimed Qatar had won on the back of a willingness to work harder .

Knowing that we weren t a key player in the football world, we knew we had to work harder than anyone …

Romelu Lukaku hopes to kick-start a period of returning dominance at Manchester United, after the Red Devils agreed an estimated £75million fee with Everton for the striker.

The Belgium striker was also a target for former club and Premier League champions Chelsea who reportedly matched United s bid but Lukaku says he had no doubts about moving to a club he says are the biggest in the world .

Scoring 25 goals in the Premier League last season has seemingly done enough to convince Jose Mourinho of his talents, despite the Portuguese selling Lukaku to Everton for £28m in 2014.

Lukaku has undergone a medical in Los Angeles, with personal terms now the only bridge to cross, although the player appears delighted with the prospective switch. 

is delighted t…