Pep Guardiola says he has no doubts that Xavi is ready to take over the reins at Barcelona, should the Catalan giants offer the former midfielder the job.
Managing Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League, Xavi has been heavily linked with a return to the Camp Nou following the departure of Ronald Koeman earlier this week.
Widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, the World Cup and two-time European Championship winner made 767 appearances for Barca between 1998 and 2015; then a club record that has since been surpassed by Lionel Messi.
Guardiola played for three years alongside Xavi, who was the heartbeat of the side that delivered three LaLiga titles and two Champions Leagues during the former s trophy-laden tenure between 2008 and 2012.
Francesco Totti leapt to the defence of under-fire Roma head coach Jose Mourinho by saying the Giallorossi do not have any world-class players, while calling for time for the Portuguese to overhaul the Serie A side.
Mourinho – who arrived in the Italian capital at the start of the season – has cut a frustrated figure amid Roma s run of just three wins in nine Serie A matches.
After a 3-0 loss to Inter on Saturday condemned Roma to back-to-back losses, Mourinho snapped at a journalist and refused to answer his question in a media conference, having cancelled his pre-match news conference.
Mourinho has also been critical of recruitment, the former Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter boss determined to bolster his Roma squad in January.<…
Having secured their return to the Premier League next season, Ipswich Town are obviously working on reinforcing their squad, and according to multiple sources, they re in advanced negotiations to sign Ben Johnson as a free agent when his contract with West Ham expires at the end of the month.
A few weeks ago, West Ham reportedly offered the 24-year-old defender a new deal with improved terms, but he obviously hasn t signed it. The likes of Crystal Palace, Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, Rangers and Leeds United have been credited with interest in his services too, but it seems Johnson has picked Ipswich as his next destination.
Playing for the Hammers, Johnson alternated with Vladimir Coufal through the 2023/24 season on the right defensive flank, and he…
Manchester City make the trip to Arsenal on Wednesday with the opportunity to move top of the Premier League table at the expense of their opponents for the first time in over three months.
Not since November 6, when Arsenal beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with another statement victory, has a side other than the Gunners led the way at the summit.
But after only two wins in their past five matches for Arsenal, and three wins in four for City, a gap that stood at eight points less than a month ago has been cut to just three ahead of their showdown at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal still have a game in hand, while the sides also still have to face off again at the Etihad Stadium in April, but the signs are pretty ominous as City chase down a fifth league title in six se…
The United States will kick off next year s Copa America on June 3 after the host nation were confirmed as one of the top seeds for the tournament.
USA have been placed in Group A and will begin their campaign at Levi s Stadium a venue which is less than two year s old in Santa Clara, California, although they do not yet know who they will face on the event s opening night.
Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are the other top seeds for an expanded 16-team tournament that will be made up of 10 nations from South America and a further six from the CONCACAF region.
The seedings announcement means current holders Chile who lifted the trophy in 2015 on home soil have been overlooked to head one of the groups.
The Copa America is normally staged every fo…
Leeds have announced the EFL has approved the club’s takeover by American investment group 49ers Enterprises.
Chairman and majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani agreed to sell his controlling stake last month and the deal, which valued the club at around £170million, has now been confirmed.
49ers Enterprises, which owns NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers, has steadily increased its stake in Leeds since becoming a minority shareholder in 2018, while the deal includes full ownership of Elland Road.
can announce that the EFL has approved the sale of the Club to 49ers Enterprises, paving the way for the immediate transition of ownership
— Leeds United (@LUFC)
Paraag Marathe, previously vice-chairman, will take over as chairman, chief execu…
Argentina can recover from their woeful World Cup start and reach the knockout rounds, says Barcelona boss Xavi.
Lionel Scaloni s side were handed a shock defeat in Group C by Saudi Arabia in their opener, with Lionel Messi s first-half penalty cancelled out by goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari.
With Mexico and Poland drawing their first match elsewhere, it has handed La Albiceleste an arduous, though not improbable, pathway beyond the opening stages of Qatar 2022.
But speaking for Adidas in Qatar, Xavi, who was a member of the Spain squad that lost their opener at South Africa 2010 before rallying to win the tournament, believes they have what it takes to turn matters around.
I know [how it feels], because it happened to us in 2010 in Sout…
Prosecutors in Spain have dropped corruption and fraud charges against Neymar.
The Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil star was one of several people accused of the charges in a trial relating to his move from Santos to Barcelona in 2013.
Other defendants in the case included Neymar s parents, the two clubs involved in the deal, former Barcelona presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, along with ex-Santos president Odilio Rodrigues.
The prosecution had been seeking jail time of two years for Neymar, in addition to a fine of €10million, but withdrew all charges on Friday.
Investment firm DIS, which owned 40 per cent of the Brazilian s rights when he was still at Santos, alleged it had missed out on money from the deal as the value had been understa…
France full-back Mathieu Debuchy has been ruled out of Euro 2016 after sustaining a thigh injury in Bordeaux s 1-1 Ligue 1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, Ulrich Rame has confirmed
The 30-year-old completed the full 90 minutes of the encounter at the Stade Matmut-Atlantique, but complained about pain in his thigh after the match.
Debuchy underwent a series of tests and Bordeaux posted on Twitter: Bad news for Mathieu Debuchy, who has suffered a thigh injury and will be out of action for several weeks,
And Bordeaux head coach Rame later confirmed the defender will not feature at Euro 2016 for the host nation.
Unfortunately, Mathieu will not play at Euro 2016, Rame stated at a news conference.
The right-back joined Bordeaux on loan f…
Best Odds: 19/20
Bookmaker:
Two European giants who will be looking to get their Group B campaign off to a flying start on Friday night, France will welcome the Netherlands to Paris.
France
Starting with the hosts, eventually suffering real World Cup heartbreak out in Qatar over the winter, France will be desperate to prove that they aren t showing any signs of a hangover. Missing out on the chance to be crowned back-to-back world champions in the Middle East as they fell to a stunning penalties defeat at the hands of Argentina, Didier Deschamps side still gained plenty of plaudits. Rightfully still regarded to be among world football s very elite, Les Bleus should also be excited to make a return to Paris on Friday night. Opening their Euro qualifying adventur…