LONDON: Ronald Koeman became the third Premier League managerial casualty of the season on Monday when he was sacked by Everton.
The 54-year-old Dutchman — who guided Everton to seventh in his first season in charge last term — paid the price for a desperate start to the campaign despite having spent £140million ($185mn) in the close season.
Sunday’s 5-2 humbling at home to Arsenal which saw them drop into the bottom three sealed his fate and despite taking training on Monday he received a visit from club chairman Bill Kenwright.
“Everton Football Club can confirm that Ronald Koeman has left the Club,” read the Everton statement.
“Chairman Bill Kenwright, the Board of Directors and Major Shareholder Farhad Moshiri would all like to express their gratitude to Ronald for the service he has given to the Club over the past 16 months and for guiding the Club to seventh place in last season’s Premier League.”
Koeman, who arrived at Goodison Park after a successful spell in charge of Southampton, splashed the money on the likes of Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson in the summer.
However, despite also persuading former golden boy Wayne Rooney to return from Manchester United he crucially failed to replace record goalscorer Romelu Lukaku with Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud declining the chance to join them.
Koeman joins compatriot Frank de Boer — sacked by Crystal Palace after just four Premier League games — and Craig Shakespeare dismissed by Leicester last week as top-level managers to have departed this season.
Everton sack manager Ronald Koeman
Everton sack manager Ronald Koeman
Kuwait welcomes its new PFL MENA champion
- Mohammad Alaqraa, 25, hailed on return home after welterweight title win over Badreddine Diani in Alkhobar
DUBAI: On Dec.15 Mohammad Alaqraa touched down at Kuwait International Airport carrying something he had been chasing for years: the PFL MENA welterweight championship belt.
His arrival came just 10 days after a unanimous decision victory over Morocco’s Badreddine Diani at Dhahran Expo in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia. It marked a significant milestone for the Kuwaiti fighter and the combat sports landscape in the Middle East.
Greeted at the airport by his father, brother, excited fans and media representatives, Alaqraa spoke about his plans.
“It’s been a long journey, thanks to everyone that came to the airport and past events. Just like I promised I’ll get the MENA championship, my goal is to raise Kuwait’s name in this sport (and) now I promise next time I’ll come back with a world title,” he said.
Alaqraa’s arrival became an impromptu celebration. Fans had phone cameras ready for selfies and videos as he emerged holding his belt.
The championship fight against Diani was a full five-round affair that showcased Alaqraa’s growth. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in his favor. Alaqraa had established control through pressure wrestling, fence work, and a steady jab.
The win was sweet after losing by referee’s stoppage to Omar El-Dafrawy in the 2024 PFL MENA Finals.
Alaqraa defeated Omar Hussein and Ayman Galal en route to the 2025 finals, with his semifinal victory over Galal ending in just 21 seconds with an oblique kick, the fastest finish in PFL MENA history.
At 25 years old, Alaqraa now holds a 10-1 record in MMA. His background encompasses multiple martial arts disciplines developed since childhood. He holds a judo black belt and finished first in an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation tournament before turning professional in 2021.
Since leaving Kuwait at 17 to pursue MMA, Alaqraa has trained at American Kickboxing Academy under head coach Javier Mendez, the gym that has produced champions including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
Alaqraa graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in industrial systems engineering while developing his fighting career.
