Trophies
Wilfred Ndidi reveals how he became a midfielder
Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has credited former Genk manager Peter Maes for switching his playing position from centre-back to midfield. Last season, the Nigeria international was drafted into the heart of the Foxes’ defence on several occasions and he delivered some impressive performances. His initial knowledge as a centre-back has also helped him shine in the Premier League as one of the best defensive midfielders in the division. The 24-year-old, who moved to King Power Stadium in January 2017, disclosed that his role was changed at Genk after he played for Nigeria’s youth teams and his former side Nath Boys as a defender. “I started my career as a central defender during my days in Nath Boys. Even in the U-17, U-20, national team…I was a defender,” Ndidi told the Guardian ...
Antonio Conte unconvinced by Tottenham project
Antonio Conte has major doubts about becoming Tottenham’s next head coach and is inclined to turn them down, according to Sky Italy. Spurs have been in talks with the former Chelsea boss, who left Inter Milan after winning Serie A last month. But after considering the role for several days, Conte remains unconvinced Spurs are a team ready to win trophies immediately. The Italian has won five league titles in the last decade and is looking for another ‘winning project’. He is trying to understand if it is possible to bridge the gap with the top four or five Premier League teams in a short period of time – with Spurs having finished 24 points behind champions Manchester City. It is understood Spurs would not pressure him to win trophies. If the parties fail to strike a deal, Conte could also...
Gary Lineker expects Manchester clubs or PSG to win Harry Kane race
Gary Lineker believes that both Manchester clubs and Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites to land Harry Kane in the summer, although he expects Daniel Levy to fight hard to keep Tottenham’s star man. Kane recorded 22 goals and 14 assists in the Premier League last season to secure both the golden boot and the playmaker award, despite Spurs finishing in seventh place in the table. As reported by Goal on May 17, the Spurs forward, who will captain England at the upcoming European Championship in the summer, wants to leave the north Londoners and Lineker can understand his desire for trophies. “I think that it would be worrying [to see him dominate the league if he joins Manchester City],” Lineker told Goal. “I would love to see him at Barcelona but they are going for [Sergio] Aguero and ar...
Bernd Leno: I don’t want to leave Arsenal
Bernd Leno has insisted that he does not want to leave Arsenal while outlining his ambition to help the club reach the Champions League again. Leno completed a £23 million ($33m) move to Emirates Stadium from Bayer Leverkusen in 2018, venturing outside of Germany for the first time in his professional career in the process. The 29-year-old has since nailed down the number one spot in Arsenal’s team; however, it has been suggested that he is one of several first-team stars likely to depart in the summer transfer window. Mikel Arteta is being tipped to reshape his squad after a turbulent 2020-21 campaign, but Leno has dismissed the ongoing speculation surrounding his future while revealing he intends to see out the final two years of his contract. “I don’t want to flee here, I feel good and ...
Neymar: I am happy and proud to remain at PSG
Neymar has signed a contract extension with Paris St-Germain, keeping Brazil forward at the French giants until 30 June 2025. The 29-year-old said “happiness” was the main factor in signing a new deal. Neymar, who joined PSG in a world-record £200m deal in 2017, had been linked with a move away, including a return to Barcelona. “I have grown as a person here, as a human being and as a player, too,” he told the PSG website. Neymar was in the final year of his contract, having signed a five-year deal on his initial arrival. He has scored 85 goals and registered 51 assists in 112 games for PSG. However, he has had a difficult relationship with the club’s fans at times and was booed after expressing a desire to move back to Barcelona in 2019. Neymar said he had undergone a “very positive evolu...
Eden Hazard apologises to Real Madrid fans for laughing after Champions League exit
Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard has apologised for laughing with Chelsea players after his side were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals. The former Chelsea man, 30, was seen joking and smiling with his former team-mates at the final whistle. Hazard said on Instagram it was “not my intention to offend Real Madrid fans”. Hazard was substituted before full-time after failing to have an impact on the game, which the Spanish giants lost 2-0 as Chelsea progressed 3-1 on aggregate. Hazard, who left Stamford Bridge in 2019, has received much criticism from Real Madrid fans and the Spanish media, with some calling for him to be transferred. Hazard helped Chelsea, who will face Manchester City in an all-English Champions League final, to two Premier League and two Europa League trophies...
Jose Mourinho: Why I accepted to coach Roma
Jose Mourinho has said he desires to ‘create a winning project’ at Roma and chose the Gialloross for ‘the incredible passion of the fans’. The 58-year-old returns to Serie A ahead of 2021-22 with 25 major trophies in his luggage so far. The former FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur coach has accepted a three-year contract and will succeed Paulo Fonseca after the season. “Thank you to the Friedkin family for choosing me to lead this great club and to be part of their vision,” Mourinho told the club’s official website. “After meetings with the ownership and Tiago Pinto, I immediately understood the full extent of their ambitions for AS Roma. It is the same ambition and drive that has always motivated me and together we want to build a winning proje...
Rafael Nadal beats Stefanos Tsitsipas to win 12th Barcelona title
Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 on Sunday and claim a 12th Barcelona Open title in the ATP’s longest match of 2021. The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Tsitsipas back-to-back triumphs following his maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last week. Nadal avenged his Australian Open quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas and will return to second in the ATP rankings on Monday by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon 3-hour 38-minute win. “It means a lot for me to play the final here and win,” said Nadal. “I improved my level during the week and this trophy means a lot.” Nadal redeemed himself after a surprise quarter-final exit in Monte Carlo, but the three sets dropped en route to...
Mo Salah dreams of future La Liga action
Mohamed Salah has hinted his future could lie in Spanish football amid continued speculation the forward could leave Liverpool. The Premier League’s joint-top scorer this season is under contract at Anfield until 2023 but has been linked with a move elsewhere, with Barcelona and Real Madrid often touted as potential destinations for Salah if he were to depart Merseyside. Last year, the forward described the Spanish sides as two “great” clubs, but Jurgen Klopp later played down any transfer talk surrounding the Egypt international. Liverpool play Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in April as the two sides meet for the first time since 2018’s final in Kiev which finished 3-1 to the Spanish side and ahead of the games, Salah refused to rule out a future move to La Liga...
Chelsea owner takes legal action over ‘Putin’s People’ book
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has launched legal action for defamation over the book Putin’s People. The Blues owner’s case relates to “a number of false and defamatory claims made about our client in the book published by HarperCollins.” The book was written by author Caterine Belton and contains a number of claims about Abramovich and others close to Russia president Vladimir Putin. Abramovich’s statement, published on Chelsea’s club website, says: “Today my legal representatives have issued legal proceedings in England in relation to a book that was published in the UK. The book contains a number of false and defamatory statements about me, including about my purchase, and the activities, of Chelsea Football Club. “Today’s action was not taken lightly. It has never been my ambition to ...
Manchester United boss rules out late title push despite derby win
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is refusing to dream of a late title push, believing Manchester City are “too far ahead” despite yesterday’s superb derby win. Bruno Fernandes’ penalty and Luke Shaw’s strike saw United triumph 2-0 at the Etihad, ending City’s run of 21 straight wins in all competitions. The result denied City the chance to go 15 points clear at the top and moved United ahead of Leicester into second but they remain 11 points adrift of Pep Guardiola’s side with just ten game to play. “We just take one game at a time,” Solskjaer said. “City are too far ahead for us to think we can catch them. Last year we caught 15 points up on Leicester, but City are a different proposition. “Even today they put us under so much pressure you could see we were playing against a ve...
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Christian Pulisic dismisses Chelsea exit rumours
Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic has dismissed rumours he could quit Stamford Bridge this summer. The United States international has found himself in and out of the side under Thomas Tuchel and admitted he was “very frustrated” not to start against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg earlier this month, giving rise to speculation he could seek a move this summer. However, Pulisic says he isn’t going anywhere and is “up for the challenge” of proving himself in west London. When asked whether he saw his long-term future at Chelsea, Pulisic told ESPN: “Yeah, I’m obviously happy here. It has been an incredible two years. “People have always doubted and said: ‘Oh, he’s not playing, does he want to go here, does he want to go there?’ I’m always up for a challenge, I love c...