Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri claims he knows nothing about the club reportedly being ready to buy Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world-record fee.
The Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper is said to be close to joining the Premier League side after they agreed to pay Athletic his €80million release clause.
That would make Kepa the world s most expensive shot-stopper, eclipsing Alisson after the Brazil international s move from Roma to Liverpool last month.
Kepa s arrival would likely free up Thibaut Courtois to join Real Madrid, the Belgian having entered the last year of his Chelsea contract, while making no secret of his desire to return to the Spanish capital, where he played on loan for Atletico Madrid from the Blues between 2011 and 2014.
But speaking at a new…
Kylian Mbappe can go on to be the equal of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo after his hat-trick saw Paris Saint-Germain destroy Barcelona 4-1 in the Champions League.
That was the gracious take of Mbappe s France team-mate Antoine Griezmann, who was on the receiving end of his countryman s heroics at Camp Nou in Tuesday s last-16 first leg.
Messi gave Barca the lead from the penalty spot to score in Europe s top competition for a 17th consecutive season, matching a record set by Real Madrid great Raul.
From then on, however, it was the Mbappe show as Barcelona suffered another humiliating outing on the biggest stage.
A superb equaliser created by Marco Verratti meant it was all square at the interval and Mbappe fired Mauricio Pochettino s men ahead afte…
Barcelona are preparing a new contract for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, according to .
It wasn t an easy situation for the 27-year-old goalkeeper upon his arrival at the club. Having spent four years with Borussia Monchengladbach, Ter Stegen came to the Camp Nou in 2014 as someone who was supposed to put some pressure and give competition to the number one choice Claudio Bravo, but the German went on to do much more than that as he completely pushed Bravo out of the picture.
He has made a total of 200 appearances since then, and despite his current deal, signed in 2017 and set to run until 2022, the Catalan club have decided to reward his 526 saves with fresh, improved terms.
Ter Stegen was recently involved in a public spat with Bayern Munich CEO Uli Hoeness, having …
Roberto Donadoni has signed a new contract to extend his stay as Bologna s head coach until the end of the 2018-19 Serie A season.
Donadoni has been in charge of the club since being appointed in October 2015 following the sacking of Delio Rossi and he led Bologna to 15th place last season.
The 53-year-old s assistant coaches have also agreed new terms to commit their future to the club.
Donadoni is a former coach of the Italian national team, leading the Azzurri to the quarter-finals of Euro 2008, with Napoli, Cagliari and Parma among his previous clubs.
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Simon Kjaer says LaLiga leaders Sevilla do not fear Lionel Messi or Barcelona ahead of Saturday s top-of-the-table clash.
Sevilla travel to Camp Nou this weekend with a one-point lead ahead of reigning champions Barcelona after eight matches.
Only Barca have scored more goals than Sevilla this season, with Kjaer s side enjoying a remarkable start to 2018-19 thanks to five wins – including a stunning 3-0 victory over Real Madrid last month.
Barca captain Messi has hit the ground running this term with six LaLiga goals and 11 in all competitions but Kjaer and Sevilla do not fear the five-time Ballon d Or winner or his team-mates as they prepare to take the game to the holders.
Are there any more words in the world to use to describe Messi? He is simply a…
Premier League football looks set to return with a bang after the international break, as Liverpool host Manchester United in the latest instalment of arguably England s fiercest rivalry in Saturday s early kick-off.
United have been electric so far this season, getting off to a flying start which has seen them average three goals per game and collect 19 points from seven matches it is no surprise they are joint-top with Manchester City.
After the disappointment which came with last season s sixth-placed finish in the league, Jose Mourinho appears to have United on course for a first title challenge since Alex Ferguson hung up his hairdryer in 2013.
By contrast, Liverpool have been erratic. Jurgen Klopp s men often look vibrant going forward, but they have the sa…
Chelsea midfielder Jorginho hailed new signing Kalidou Koulibaly as a real leader as he expressed his delight at being reunited with his former Napoli team-mate at Stamford Bridge.
The Premier League club signed Koulibaly from the Partenopei last week for a reported fee of £33.8million (€40m), with the Senegal captain penning a four-year contract.
Koulibaly made 236 Serie A appearances during a distinguished eight-year spell with Napoli, helping them to three second-placed finishes and one Coppa Italia triumph.
Jorginho starred alongside Koulibaly during the defender s first four seasons in Italy, and the pair are now set to link-up in England.
The Italy international has revealed he discussed such a reunion with Koulibaly on several occasions aft…
Another milestone has fallen in Cristiano Ronaldo s inexorable march to greatness, the Portugal superstar having scored his 400th Real Madrid goal.
Ronaldo notched the landmark strike by netting his side s second against Sevilla on Sunday, as Zinedine Zidane s men sought to boost their hopes of a Champions League and LaLiga double.
A hat-trick during a stellar performance in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid early this month saw the 32-year-old edge closer to the achievement.
Madrid claim Ronaldo had already registered 400 Blancos goals, the club having attributed a 2010 free-kick against Real Sociedad, deflected into the net off Pepe s back, to the Portuguese.
400 Cristiano Ronaldo has scored his 400th goal for…
With over 20 major trophies to his name and nearing the end of an illustrious playing career, 39-year-old Giorgio Chiellini could be forgiven for enjoying the latter part of his career in the heat of Los Angeles.
But the fire for another trophy to add to his cabinet still burns true ahead of Los Angeles FC s MLS Cup showdown with Columbus Crew on Saturday.
It does perhaps not have the pressure of a European Championship final against England at Wembley, or the annual tussles Chiellini s Juventus had with Milan and Inter in Italy in Serie A, but the veteran defender did not come to LA for everything Hollywood brings with it.
Opta s predictive model suggests the final is too close to call, with LAFC and the Crew both given a 34.5 per cent likelihood of coming out o…
Market: Union Berlin draw no bet
Odds: 17/20 @
Looking to claim back-to-back Bundesliga victories on Wednesday night, Union Berlin will make the trip to Werder Bremen.
Starting with the hosts, marking their return to Bundesliga action with a nightmare display over the weekend, Werder Bremen have shown some rather glaring issues on either side of the World Cup break. Eventually getting hit with an infamous 7-1 drumming away at Koln, the River Islanders almost find themselves sat in top-flight limbo. Likewise, along with heading into the festive interval with a 2-1 loss at home against RB Leipzig, Ole Werner s side have lost each of their last three straight Bundesliga showdowns. With that run highlighted by a woeful 6-1 drumming at the hands of defending champion…