Manchester City have tied Pep Guardiola down to a new two-year contract. Could Lionel Messi be next?
Messi has long been linked with a reunion with Guardiola, with whom he won 14 of his 34 trophies at Barcelona during a four-year spell that saw the Argentinian ascend to a level that established him among the greatest players of all time.
Reports of a potential move to City intensified in August after the six-time Ballon d Or winner informed Barca of his desire to leave the club.
Messi had been banking on being allowed to depart on a free transfer as previously promised by then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who subsequently informed him he would not be allowed out of the final year of his contract unless a fee was negotiated.
Guardiola reportedly met w…
We should sign Thiago for January! – Klopp says Liverpool midfielder ´closer and closer´ to comeback
Jurgen Klopp says midfielder Thiago Alcantara is getting closer and closer to returning for Liverpool.
Thiago has missed two months of action since sustaining a knee injury in the Merseyside derby against Everton on October 17.
Having also had a spell out after testing positive for coronavirus, the 29-year-old has only played twice for Liverpool since arriving from Bayern Munich in a deal that could reach £25million.
Ahead of Saturday s away Premier League game with Crystal Palace, Klopp was asked if Thiago, who is back in individual training, was eager to return soon.
He is, he is, said Klopp. We already made jokes here; I said, I think we should sign Thiago for January!
He gets closer and closer and he is in a good way.
Brendan Rodgers said his wholesale Celtic changes might have backfired after resorting to the bench to overturn a deficit in their 5-2 win over Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup.
Rodgers made eight changes to the side that thumped Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the hosts found themselves behind early on.
Ross MacIver handed Falkirk the lead in the 11th minute, with Paulo Bernardo s leveller cancelled out by Finn Yeats in first-half injury time.
The Celtic head coach made a quadruple substitution on the hour mark, with the introductions of Nicolas Kuhn and Arne Engels proving decisive in deciding the contest.
Kuhn provided the assists for Adam Idah s quickfire double, before the German got himself on the scoresheet with a …
Kobbie Mainoo lauded the togetherness demonstrated by Manchester United as they stunned rivals Manchester City 2-1 to claim the FA Cup.
Mainoo and fellow teenager Alejandro Garnacho were on target at Wembley to deny Pep Guardiola s side the double after they secured their record-breaking fourth successive Premier League title last weekend.
Although Erik ten Hag s job was reportedly on the line regardless of the result United defended brilliantly to largely keep City at bay, despite Jeremy Doku s late strike for the Citizens.
The Red Devils subsequently held out to end a disappointing season on a high, securing a place in the Europa League next term with their first FA Cup triumph since 2016.
And Mainoo, who was named in Gareth Southgate s provisional Engl…
Toni Kroos insists he wants to spend the rest of his career with Real Madrid, with his current contract due to run until the end of next season.
Kroos moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2014 from Bayern Munich and has made 344 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions, scoring 25 goals and assisting 77.
The German midfielder has won two LaLiga titles, three Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups since arriving in Spain, and has confirmed that he wishes to see the final days of his career out in Madrid.
I want to finish my career here, Kroos said in an interview with RTVE. My family and I are fine in Madrid, there is still a year and a half left [of this contract].
The 32-year-old also spoke about this season s titl…
Youri Tielemans has been tipped to sign a new contract at Leicester City by Andy King after writing his name in the club s folklore with his stunning FA Cup final winner.
The Belgium international scored the only goal of Saturday s showdown with Chelsea in front of 21,000 supporters with a right-foot drive into the top-left corner from 25 yards.
Leicester survived a nervy finale to win their first ever FA Cup at the fifth attempt, making it one of the most famous days in the Foxes history.
Match-winner Tielemans the third Belgian to score in the showpiece after Eden Hazard in 2018 and Kevin de Bruyne a year later was rightly acclaimed after the match.
The 24-year-old has impressed throughout the season for Leicester, who will now switch focus to trying to…
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F91 Dudelange and St Patrick s Athletic will lock horns with each other in the first leg of UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifying First Round this week. The match between the Luxembourg National Division club and the League of Ireland Premier Division outfit will be held at Stade Jos Nosbaum in Dudelange, Luxembourg and is scheduled to kick off at 6:30pm UK time on Wednesday.
F91 Dudelange
F91 Dudelange are a big in Luxembourg. They play in the Luxembourg National Division and finished third last season. Founded in 1991, F91 Dudelange picked up 67 points from 30 league matches last season. They ended up three points behind second-placed Progrès Niederkorn and 10 points behind event…
Former Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia has announced his retirement at the age of 35.
Valencia spent 10 years at Old Trafford before returning to his home country with LDU Quito, where he played for one season prior to joining Mexican side Queretaro in November.
The ex-Ecuador international also represented El Nacional, Villarreal, Recreativo and Wigan Athletic during an 18-year career that will be best remembered for his time with United.
He amassed 277 starts for the Red Devils in all competitions and a further 61 outings as substitute, scoring 25 goals.
Valencia, who won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two EFL Cups, three Community Shields and the Europa League, took to Twitter on Wednesday to thank United fans.
To Manchester U…
Liam Delap scored twice as Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town claimed a confidence-boosting 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday.
Villa looked set to forge another comeback win when Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins propelled them into the lead.
But Delap, who had opened the scoring in the eighth minute at Portman Road, had other ideas.
At the end of a rapid counter-attack, Delap brilliantly bamboozled Diego Carlos before firing a left-footed effort into the bottom-right corner in the 72nd minute.
It might have been a hat-trick for Delap if not for Emiliano Martinez, who had made a fantastic save in a one-v-one with Ipswich s forward in the first half.
Pau Torres preserved a point for Villa with a brilliant last-ditch block from Wes Burns, while b…
Cristiano Ronaldo said Manchester United fans deserve better after Sunday s humiliating 5-0 rout at the hands of Premier League rivals Liverpool.
It was a day to forget for Ronaldo and United, who were embarrassed by Liverpool at Old Trafford, where the Red Devils trailed by four goals at half-time for the first time in a Premier League fixture before substitute Paul Pogba was sent off.
Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick as United lost by a margin of five or more goals at home without scoring themselves for the first time since a 5-0 defeat to Manchester City in 1955.
United have only lost by a larger margin against Liverpool in October 1895 when the Reds beat them 7-1 at Anfield, while it was the largest margin of defeat in this fixture when playing on home soil.<…