Carvajal signs Real Madrid contract extension

Spain international right-back has signed a deal that keeps him at Los Blancos until 2025

MADRID:

Spain right-back Dani Carvajal has signed a contract extension keeping him at Real Madrid until 2025, the La Liga side announced on Thursday.

The 29-year-old came through the club's academy before joining Bayer Leverkusen for the 2012-2013 season.

He returned to the Santiago Bernabeu where he was won the Champions League four times and La Liga twice.

"The defender signed the contract at Real Madrid City, accompanied by president Florentino Perez," Madrid said in a statement.

Fellow defenders Sergio Ramos, the former club captain, and France's World Cup winner Raphael Varane have left the Spanish capital this term but Austria's David Alaba has arrived as a free agent.

West Ham sign PSG goalkeeper Areola on loan

West Ham have signed goalkeeper Alphonse Areola on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, the English Premier League club announced Thursday.

The 28-year-old France international's deal will see him stay with the Hammers on an initial season-long move but with the option to make his switch permanent after the end of the campaign.

Areola spent last season with fellow London club Fulham and will now compete with Lukasz Fabianski to be West Ham's first-choice goalkeeper.

As well as their domestic commitments, West Ham will be playing in the Europa League next season.

"Alphonse is an experienced and talented goalkeeper who has played at the highest level and performed very well in the Premier League last season," said West Ham manager David Moyes.

"As we prepare for a very busy schedule, he will provide fantastic competition for the goalkeepers already at the club."

Suker sacked as Croatia federation chief

Croatia's Football Federation (HNS) on Thursday sacked former star player Davor Suker as its head.

Suker, Croatia's record goalscorer, headed the HNS since 2012.

He has been replaced by HNS executive director Marijan Kustic who was the only candidate for the post.

"I'm glad that I was part of Croatia's football biggest successes both as a player and HNS president", Suker said.

The 53-year-old former Real Madrid striker played for Croatia when they finished third at the 1998 World Cup in France.

The reasons for his departure were not clear, but media speculated that Suker was insufficiently dealing with problems that Croatia football is facing, notably poor infrastructure.

Earlier this week a local television station broadcast a recording of an alleged phone conversation between fugitive football strongman Zdravko Mamic, sentenced to jail over a multi-million-euro graft, and a former HNS official.

"You should start changing relations within the federation, Suker can no longer be president, end of story," Mamic, hiding in neighbouring Bosnia, can be heard as saying to Zorislav Srebric.

The latter confirmed to Nova TV that he had phone conversations with the former Dinamo Zagreb boss to "analyse matches" without elaborating when they took place.