La Liga
La Liga preview: Real Madrid’s injury crisis, Barcelona’s season might be over, and more
The La Liga season continues this weekend, with the 24th round of fixtures featuring some exciting match-ups. The action gets underway on Friday evening, with Real Betis aiming to stay in touch with the top six as they host Getafe. Atletico Madrid will be eager to maintain their place at the top of the standings when they face Levante on Saturday. Joao Felix should be available for selection for Atletico, but Thomas Lemar, Hector Herrera and Moussa Dembele remain on the sidelines. Real Madrid have numerous injury concerns for their visit to Real Valladolid, with Marcelo, Eder Militao, Sergio Ramos and Alvaro Odriozola all ruled out. Federico Valverde, Rodrygo Goes and Dani Carvajal will also miss the game. Elche versus Eibar and Valencia vs Celta Vigo completes the Saturday line-up. Barcel...
Agent comments confirm that Tottenham boss is spot on about underperfomer
Sports agent Jonathan Barnett has rarely been shy about sharing his opinion about his long-time client Gareth Bale. He was at it again during the Financial Times’ Business of Football event, but on this occasion may well have put his foot in it. Bale has failed miserably to make an impact at Spurs since returning to the club on loan from Real Madrid last September. His efforts have infuriated Jose Mourinho, with the Spurs manager making no secret of how unhappy he is with Bale. The latest state-of-play undoubtedly mirrors the Welsman’s fall from grace at Madrid under Zinedine Zidane. Both bosses have come under fire for their handling of Bale, but Barnett’s latest comments have confirmed where the issue lies. When asked why Bale was not playing regularly at Spurs, Barnett said it was becau...
Real Madrid’s plan for signing Haaland, renewing Ramos’ contract
Real Madrid have a clear strategy to strengthen their squad for next season, starting with signing Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland as their first-choice striker and renewing club captain Sergio Ramos’ contract for two additional years. Erling Haaland In addition to interest from the Premier League, Real Madrid are also looking towards Haaland to solve their goalscoring problems. Luka Jovic’s relative failure to perform at the Santiago Bernabeu meant that the young striker is now on loan at Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, where he started well, scoring thrice in five games. And Jovic could be the answer in Madrid’s pursuit of Haaland – instead of paying 100m Euros or more, Madrid are considering offering Jovic + cash to Dortmund to sign the player. We have previously discussed Dortm...
Forget Madrid – That ship has sailed for Tottenham star – opinion
“You’ve got Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo coming to the end of their careers. (Robert) Lewandowski is four years older than Harry – he’s got the chance to be the best player in the world.” That little nugget from Tony Cascarino on talkSPORT sparked plenty of debate across the Sportslens team. Kane has been hugely prolific during his time at Spurs, but his goals have failed to translate into any silverware for the club. Cascarino, who played for numerous clubs during his career, believes that Kane should consider moving to La Liga this summer. “He’s 28 in July and Beckham went to Real Madrid at 28 – I think he’s going to look at his team,” he said. “What has he won? The answer is nothing. He’s won lots of accolades for his individual achievements, but he was a loser in the League Cup f...
Atlético Madrid – La Liga’s surprise runaway leaders
We’re just over halfway through 2020/21, but it is already proving to be quite the season all over Europe. In England, we have an intensely fluctuating title race with eight different table-toppers already. In Italy, Juventus are not leading for a change, as AC Milan are at the top of Serie A, with Inter Milan, Roma, Napoli, the defending champions and Lazio not too far behind. In France, we actually have a title race as Lille and Lyon are in front of third-placed Paris Saint-Germain, who finally might actually have to fight for a domestic trophy. In the Bundes- *sees Bayern Munich seven points clear at the top* oh well, never mind that actually. But down in Spain, there is an even greater gap between first and second place. Atlético – the other club from Madrid – have a 10-point cushion w...
Arsenal clearout, last-ditch Liverpool – the best of January transfers across Europe
It’s been a rather quiet January transfer window. Previous years have seen the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk make big money moves, but nothing of that magnitude happened this time around. Nonetheless, while there wasn’t a headline-making move, there were still some exciting deals being made. Here’s a look at the best signings of the 2021 January transfer window. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal to Fenerbahce, free transfer) Ozil in his first training session at Fenerbahce Once one of the world’s best playmakers, Mesut Ozil’s time at the Emirates had gone sour, having been left out of Mikel Arteta’s 25-man squad back in October. Sitting on a contract estimated to be worth £350k-a-week, the World Cup winner couldn’t be left to sit in the reserves much longer. Along came Fenerbahce, who off...
Barcelona legend jokes about moving to Newcastle United to replace Bruce
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has joked about potentially managing Newcastle United and replacing head coach Steve Bruce. The Dutchman spent three years in the Premier League, managing Southampton and Everton before taking charge of the Netherlands national team. Koeman returned to manage Barcelona last summer after a successful playing career at Camp Nou that established him as a legend, and while he is currently enjoying his dream job, he does not rule out a return to the English top-flight in the nearest future. “Newcastle? Sorry, Steve Bruce! Sorry, Steve, I don’t know – I’m really happy now,” the Barca boss replied when Alan Shearer asked if he will ever be seen in the Premier League again. “I liked it very much in the Premier League, it’s a great place to be involved in. It’s perfect....
Manchester United’s Facundo Pellistri joins Alaves on loan
Manchester United have confirmed on their official website that Facundo Pellistri has joined La Liga side Alaves on loan for the rest of the season. The Uruguayan winger signed for United in the previous transfer window following his spell at Penarol during which he amassed two goals and four assists from 37 appearances across all competitions. This season, the 19-year-old made eight appearances for United’s reserve team scoring three goals while providing an assist. For the senior side, Pellistri was an unused substitute in their Champions League matches against Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir. Sportslens View United currently have several winger options in their squad including Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Daniel James and their new signing Amad Diallo. Pellistri probabl...
Barcelona presidential candidate hits out at Paris Saint-Germain over Lionel Messi
Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has hit out at Paris Saint-Germain amid their pursuit of superstar Lionel Messi. Messi has been strongly linked with a move away from Barcelona in the coming months, with his contract set to expire in the summer. His transfer request last summer is still fresh in the memory, and Barcelona’s financial situation makes a player of his fame more difficult to keep hold of. Messi could be on his way out of Barcelona soon PSG, along with Manchester City, have been the club most heavily linked with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner. Sporting director Leonardo Araujo recently confirmed that his side were keeping an eye on Messi’s situation, while unconfirmed reports that the player was learning French added fuel to the fire. Barcelona presidential candida...
Joan Laporta: PSG have been disrespectful in Leo Messi pursuit
Paris Saint-Germain have been “disrespectful” in their pursuit of Lionel Messi, according to Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta, who has threatened to report the Ligue 1 champions to FIFA. PSG have been strongly linked with Messi ever since his decision to hand in a transfer request at Camp Nou at the end of the 2019-20 campaign. The 33-year-old ultimately decided to see out the final year of his current contract with Barca after opposition from club officials and La Liga, but his long-term future remains up in the air. Parc des Princes has been mooted as the most likely next destination for Messi, and PSG sporting director Leonardo publicly sounded out the six-time Ballon d’Or winner earlier this month. “Great players like Messi will always be on PSG’s list,” said the Brazilian...
Report: Barcelona star Lionel Messi learning French alongside his family
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is understood to be taking French lessons alongside his family, as per Canal + journalist Geoffroy Garétier, speaking to El Mundo Deportivo. The Argentine’s future has been a regular topic of speculation since the summer and he currently has less than six months remaining on his Blaugrana deal. So far, the club have been unable to negotiate a renewal with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner and it is reported that he and his family are learning French. The 33-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City last summer and it has been claimed that they could sign him on a free transfer later this year. However, Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in Messi and Garétier has hinted that the Argentine, who is learning French, could be on his way ...
Report: Barcelona interested in signing Sergio Aguero in the summer
According to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are interested in signing Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero this summer. The Argentine international would be available for free as his contract with the Premier League outfit expires at the end of the season. Barca are currently struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic and Aguero would be a short-term replacement for Luis Suarez until they can make a move for a younger striker like Lautaro Martinez or Erling Braut Haaland. The Blaugrana are also hoping that the 32-year-old’s friendship with talisman Lionel Messi will persuade the latter to stay at the club. Sportslens View Injuries have often affected Aguero which is probably a key reason why he doesn’t have 200 Premier League goals yet. He has made just nine appe...
