VATICAN CITY - Players and officials from Roma and Lazio met with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Wednesday in a peace initiative ahead of the Italian Cup final between the two bitter rivals.

The occasion happened during the general audience and is four days before the match at Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

DORTMUND, Germany - Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze will miss Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, leaving the team without one of its best players.

Dortmund confirmed Wednesday that Goetze will not be fit in time to face his future club at Wembley Stadium in London. It would have been the 20-year-old Goetze's last game for Dortmund before his 37-million euro switch to Bayern next season.

"The final was my main aim and I fought hard for it in the last weeks," Goetze said on Dortmund's website.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Hoping their baseball success will translate to titles in another sport, the Yankees are combining with English power Manchester City to own a Major League Soccer expansion team in New York that will start play in 2015.

The team, the 20th in a league that has doubled in size in two decades, will be called New York City Football Club. It has less than two years to find a temporary home while also focusing on where it wants to build a permanent stadium.

LONDON - Manchester United earned a record 60.8 million pounds ($92.7 million) in Premier League television revenue this season en route to a 20th English title.

Deposed champion Manchester City, which finished 11 points behind United in second, received 58.1 million pounds ($88.6 million), according to figures released by the league on Tuesday.

Even finishing last was lucrative, with Queens Park Rangers returning to the second tier after earning 39.8 million pounds ($60.6 million) from TV companies.

MANCHESTER, England - Arsenal qualified for the Champions League for the 16th straight season after edging Tottenham to fourth place in the Premier League, as Alex Ferguson bowed out as Manchester United manager with a 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion.

Laurent Koscielny's 52nd-minute volley sealed an unconvincing 1-0 for Arsenal at Newcastle, rendering Spurs' 1-0 victory over Sunderland — courtesy of a late screamer from Gareth Bale — meaningless.

WEST BROMWICH, England - Alex Ferguson. Former Manchester United manager.

At the end of his 1,500th game in charge of Man United on Sunday, the 71-year-old Scot bowed in front of thousands of applauding fans — and then bowed out of football for good.

The most successful managerial career in British football history is over, leaving a void that might not be filled for generations.

PARIS - David Beckham hugged his teammates with tears in his eyes, then walked off the pitch to a standing ovation — for the last time in front of a home crowd at a football game.

PARIS - Never a stranger to the big stage, David Beckham was finally overwhelmed and reduced to tears as he went out in a burst of fireworks and cheers Saturday in his final home game for Paris Saint-Germain before retirement.

Fans chanted his name before the game, and they chanted some more when he was finished. There was an outpouring of hugs, cheers, song and congratulations — from teammates, opponents and even former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

CARRINGTON, England - Alex Ferguson is looking forward to a retired life of luxury holidays, watching horse racing, enjoying good wines and perhaps studying languages.

Before that, though, there's one final challenge to overcome — beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday in his 1,500th and last game as Manchester United manager.

"One thousand five hundred matches — it's quite incredible," Ferguson said Friday, shaking his head in wonder at his own longevity.

PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi wants David Beckham to carry on working with the club after his retirement and is hopeful of reaching an agreement with the former England captain within the next two weeks.

The 38-year-old midfielder announced Thursday that he will retire from football after PSG's last game of the season. The big-spending club remains hopeful he will have a part to play in PSG's future, possibly in an ambassadorial role.