Thomas Partey made his Villarreal debut as a late substitute as his new side launched their LaLiga season with 2-0 home win against Real Oviedo.

Real Madrid have slammed plans to play December's LaLiga game between Villarreal and Barcelona in the United States.

The Spanish football federation has given its approval to a request from LaLiga clubs Barcelona and Villarreal to play a league match in Miami this season.

The RFEF's board will discuss on Monday taking the first step in the process of holding December's LaLiga game between Villarreal and Barcelona to Miami, a federation spokesperson has confirmed to ESPN.

Villarreal have signed former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey.

Viktor Gyökeres' first Arsenal start couldn't prevent his new club from suffering a 3-2 defeat to Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Former Arsenal midfielder has denied rape charges Partey has agreed contract and taken medical The former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is poised to join Villarreal on a controversial free transfer this week. Partey is due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday after being charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault last month, a few days after he left Arsenal having failed to agree a new deal. He has denied all the charges. Continue reading...

Versatile Canadian international Tajon Buchanan has made his move to Villarreal permanent on a five-year contract after joining the LaLiga club in February on loan from Inter Milan.

All 20 teams are jetting around between league seasons, including for friendlies, training camps and the Club World Cup After a training camp in Spain the Gunners head to Asia, kicking off their tour with a friendly against Milan in Singapore. They play again at the National Stadium four days later, against Newcastle, then face Spurs in Hong Kong. Two friendlies follow at the Emirates Stadium, against Villarreal and Athletic Club. Continue reading...

David Moyes interested in Villarreal’s French striker Kostoulas moves from Olympiakos for £29.8m Everton have turned their attentions to the Villarreal striker Thierno Barry as David Moyes attempts to improve his forward options for next season. Barry scored 11 goals in La Liga last season and 19 overall as Villarreal qualified for the Champions League. The France under-21 international is understood to have a release clause of €40m in his contract with the Spanish club but Everton would hope to sign the 22-year-old for less. Barry is currently on international duty at the European Under-21s Championship. Moyes’ need to upgrade Everton’s attack is pressing with the club having missed out on Liam Delap, declined to take up an option to sign Armando Broja on a permanent deal from Chelsea and with Dominic Calvert-Lewin expected to leave on a free transfer this summer. Calvert-Lewin’s departure would leave only Beto and the unproven Youssef Chermiti as central striking options. Meanwhile, Brighton has signed Charalampos Kostoulas from Olympiakos for a reported £29.8m (€35m) fee. The 18-year-old, who scored seven goals in 22 games as Olympiakos won a record-extending 48th domestic title last season, has signed a five-year contract with Brighton that starts on 1 July. Continue reading...

Sacking big name was a gamble but appointing a boyhood fan has proven a masterstroke for a side eyeing Europe “Claudio has changed my life,” Borja Iglesias said and all around him, as they jumped and sang and smiled and hugged, his teammates felt the same; he has changed all of their lives. At the end of Celta Vigo’s victory over Villarreal on Wednesday, players and staff crouched low before fans and for the first time a hush fell over the Estadio de Balaídos. All together now, the chant started slowly, quietly, whispered, but the pace quickened and the volume grew bit by bit until they burst to their feet, belted out their name and bounced off each other, footballers fell into the net laughing and one thought emerged above any other: how much fun they were having. This is the way football’s supposed to be: enjoying, belonging. This is the way it has been since Claudio Giráldez came along: good even when it has been bad and getting better all the time. The last time Celta played Villarreal they were beaten 4-3 with a 100th-minute winner, a game of seven goals that could have been 17 after which Iglesias said: “If we’re going to lose, let it be like this.” Eight months on Celta beat them back, a 3-0 victory lifting them into a European place where they have not finished for a decade and embodying all they want to be. Iglesias was a ball boy back then and it was “cool”, he said, but not quite like this, grateful for the days he has been given. Continue reading...

Unai Emery has taken Aston Villa into the Champions League round of 16, where their match against Club Brugge will see the former Villarreal manager hit a new milestone

Stakes in the former footballer’s professional debut are not particularly high but the YouTube vlog will be spectacular Before the start of the Uruguay Open, the organisers of the second-string ATP Challenger tournament had an announcement. After flooding their social media pages with references to just one participant during the week, finally, a date was confirmed for the unmissable match and tickets were on sale: “Get ready for an epic night that will remain in the memory of the Uruguay Open,” they wrote. It is incredibly rare for any first round match on the humble challenger or future tours to generate enough attention to warrant the tournament organisers planning its exact date and time in advance. In doubles, which is usually banished to the outer courts in front of nobody at all, it is almost unheard of. But this is no normal occasion. On Wednesday at 10am local time, after weeks of publicity, interviews and hype, Diego Forlán, the former footballer for Manchester United, Villarreal, Atlético Madrid and Inter, will make his professional tennis debut alongside Federico Coria of Argentina in Montevideo. Continue reading...