by David
on January 22, 2019
Maurizio Sarri held a meeting with his Chelsea players at Cobham on Monday after accusing them of being “extremely difficult to motivate” following their 2-0 defeat to Arsenal according to media reports.
Speaking in his native Italian in his postmatch news conference via a translator, Sarri said his team will never be known for its “fighting qualities” and accused his players of being “not particularly aggressive from the mental point of view.”
Sarri also signalled his intention to hold talks with his players, both individually and as a group, about where things went wrong. Read more... (281 words, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)
by David
on January 22, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo was fined almost €19 million by the Spanish tax authorities for tax fraud but will avoid serving a 23-month prison sentence.
The former Real Madrid star agreed to settle the case by paying an €18.8m fine and accepting a suspended jail sentence. Under Spanish law, a first offender can serve anything less than a two-year sentence under probation, and Ronaldo will not have to go to prison.
His court appearance lasted about 15 minutes, as he only needed to sign off on the previously settled agreement. Ronaldo had to enter the courtroom through the front door after his request for special security measures to avoid the spotlight was denied on Monday. Read more... (301 words, estimated 1:12 mins reading time)
by David
on January 21, 2019
Zlatan Ibrahimovic said the LA Galaxy “will win” a title in his second year with the club.
Speaking to ESPN FC during the annual MLS media days in Los Angeles, the Swedish striker said he had opportunities to go elsewhere following a campaign when he scored 22 goals and added 10 assists, but felt he had unfinished business with the Galaxy, especially given that LA missed the playoffs for the second year running. Read more... (649 words, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)
by David
on January 20, 2019
Marcus Rashford has the potential to be be as good as Manchester United legends Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 21-year=old Rashford made his 150th Manchester United appearance in the 2-1 win over Brighton on Sunday, reaching the mark at a younger age than both Rooney and Ronaldo.
Rooney left Old Trafford in 2017 as the club’s top goalscorer, while Ronaldo has been crowned the world’s best player five times and Solskjaer believes Rashford, who has scored in four-consecutive Premier League games, can reach the same level. Read more... (343 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)
by David
on January 20, 2019
Jurgen Klopp said he told his Liverpool side not to lose their nerve in an encounter with Crystal Palace that he believes many people expected his side to lose.
Liverpool went into half-time 1-0 down but scored twice shortly after the break and twice more after Palace made it 2-2 in the 65th minute — with Mohamed Salah bagging a brace — to seal a thrilling 4-3 victory over Roy Hodgson’s team, who beat reigning champions Manchester City last month.
They had to hold on as James Milner was sent off late on to set up an incredibly tense finish, but re-established a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League and Klopp was delighted. Read more... (337 words, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)
by David
on January 20, 2019
A furious Maurizio Sarri laid into his Chelsea side after their 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday.
In probably their poorest performance of the season, Chelsea were well beaten by an Arsenal side as goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny gave the Gunners just their second victory in 14 meetings with their rivals.
Sarri’s side are now just three points clear of both Arsenal and in fourth place, and the Italian let his players know their performance was well below the level he deems acceptable. Read more... (399 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)
by David
on January 18, 2019
Mesut Ozil is causing problems within the AC Milan hierarchy with Paolo Maldini and Ivan Gazidis said to be at loggerheads over a deal for the Arsenal midfielder.
The frustrating German has fallen out of favour under Unai Emery and is getting ever closer to leaving the Emirates Stadium. He has not started any of Arsenal’s last four games, although for two of them he has been recovering from a knee injury.
With Ozil’s future seemingly away from north London, Milan are considering a move for him but the power brokers at the San Siro are reportedly struggling to agree on a deal. Read more... (409 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)
by David
on January 17, 2019
Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has revealed the reason why Zinedine Zidane decided to leave the club.
Many were surprised when Zidane announced his departure back in May, five days after winning his third consecutive Champions League title.
Star man Cristiano Ronaldo would also go on to leave the club weeks later and the they have struggled in the time since.
And Calderon claims Zidane’s exit was due to the club’s decision to sell the Portuguese forward and keep Gareth Bale.
‘Zidane made it very clear when he decided to leave the club, Calderon was quoted as saying by Bleacher Report. Read more... (148 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)
by David
on January 15, 2019
Yesterday we reported that Sevilla pulled out the Alvaro Morata sweepstakes, but it appears that their Spanish rival Atletico Madrid are ready to swoop in and sign the Spanish striker.
The Spaniard is out of favour at Stamford Bridge and has been linked with a move away from the Premier League in this window
After Sevilla pulled out of a deal on Monday, Diego Simeone has now moved to land Morata and bolster his attacking options going into the rest of the season but Chelsea are waiting for a better fee before letting him go. Read more... (361 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)
by David
on January 14, 2019
Sevilla cannot afford to offer Alvaro Morata a way out of his Chelsea hell, according to director of football Joaquin Caparros.
Morata is out of favour at Stamford Bridge, and his representatives held talks with the La Liga club last week.
However Caparros, speaking at the unveiling of another striker, Munir El Haddadi, said they pulled out of a deal due to the costs involved.
‘Sevilla is a desirable team for any footballer and Morata wanted to come here, but when we started talking about costs, we realised that it was impossible,’ Caparros explained at a press conference. Read more... (203 words, estimated 49 secs reading time)
