Diego Simeone staying put at Athletico Madrid

 Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Champions league, La Liga, Manchester City, Real Madrid  No Responses »
Jun 042016
 

 

 

Athletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has rejected approaches from French club Paris Saint Germain. According to Sky Italia the Argentine is keen on remaining at the Vicente Calderon even after his second European defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Real Madrid.

Diego Simeone has earned the respect and admiration of many for turning the Spanish side into serious European contenders even though they dont spend big in the transfer market. He seems to know what to do to get the players ticking for him. Athletico has come up to challenge the dominance of both city rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona at the helm of the La Liga. Paris Saint Germain in particular are keen on bringing the Argentine coach to Paris in the coming months.

PSG’s owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi  revealed his disappointment at the current state of the club in European competitions although they came close this time but were knocked out in the semi-finals and that raises suggestions that current coach Laurent Blanc would be replaced this summer.

Diego Simeone has called on Athletico’s board to support their rise with more funds to spend in the transfer market. It is unlikely that PSG would let him go without a tough battle but we would see to that in the coming days.

Is Pogba heading to Manchester United

 Barcelona, Champions league, Juventus, Manchester United, Premier league  No Responses »
Jun 032016
 

Manchester United have stepped up their pursuit of former player Paul Pogba, offering a British transfer record fee of £60m to Juventus. This is according to the Sun newspaper at least, with the tabloid claiming United’s new manager Jose Mourinho has sanctioned the bid in the hope fellow suitors Barcelona may be caught cold so early in the transfer window.

The Spanish champions are also known admirers of the French international midfielder who left Old Trafford under something of a cloud in 2012, having become frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities. It remains to be seen whether Italian champions Juventus hold out for a rival bid from Barcelona or another interested party, but should they accept United’s advances, then the Premier League club’s position will be in a position of real strength.

Having won four successive Serie A titles with 23-year-old Pogba in their ranks, the general consensus is that Juventus are reticent, yet realistic, about their man seeking a fresh challenge this summer.

Although he may have felt unloved under Sir Alex Ferguson in his brief stay at Old Trafford as a teenager, rumours suggest the midfield maestro is not hung up about past indiscretions, especially with a new era launching at Old Trafford under Mourinho.

Manchester United supporters will desperately be hoping bygones are just that, as the youngster who forced his way out of the club four years ago has gone on to become a midfield maestro.

Pogba is set for an instrumental role at his home Euros with France, where Les Bleus are contenders to lift the trophy.

Cristiano Ronaldo is such a giver

 Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Champions league, Cristiano Ronaldo, FIFA, Lionel Messi, Manchester United, Premier league  No Responses »
Jun 022016
 

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Real Madrid superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo has surprised his fans by how he chose to ‘spend’ his Champions League bonus of nearly £500,000.

According to reports from Spain, the Portuguese footballer NEVER touched the money. Instead, he asked agent Jorge Mendes to give the huge haul to ‘the needy’.

Spanish journalist, Pipi Estrada revealed that, before last week’s final, the Real Madrid superstar “had spoken with (agent) Jorge Mendes and asked him to take charge of distributing the money to the needy”.

Three-time world player of the year Ronaldo sparked doubts over his fitness with a muted display in the showpiece against Atletico Madrid in Milan, although he fired the penalty shootout winner.

But any short-term criticism he receives might be overshadowed by the long-term good his donation of 600,000 Euros (£463,000) will do.

The Sun UK reports that “Last year Ronaldo, 31, was third on the Forbes rich list of sporting competitors, reportedly earning £34million from pay and bonuses PLUS £17m from endorsements.

“That total of £51m pipped the £47.5m reputedly accrued by Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

“But even their combined earnings were eclipsed by two boxing legends, Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao picking up £103m and American Floyd Mayweather £193m.”

Ronaldo has however insisted that none of that matters to him. He won three Premier League titles and the Champions League with United, before taking the Spanish crown and twice more Europe’s top domestic competition with Real.

Messi is my best player says Brazilian legend

 Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Champions league, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid  No Responses »
May 262016
 

Brazilian legend Pele has named Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi as his best player of all time. This is ahead of the Argentine fellow country man Diego Maradona who is sometime painted as the best all time best. Pele made this declaration while also admitting that Brazil’s World Cup defeat to Germany two years ago brought his to tears. Pele was in Milan to promote a movie about his life and he spoke to Italian La Gazzetta della Sport about his favorite players at every point with the Barcelona Lionel Messi topping the list.

The legend is quoted as saying that; “It’s very difficult because there have always been players who have been compared with me [as the best player ever].First there was [Alfredo] Di Stefano, then [Johan] Cruyff, [Franz] Beckenbauer, Bobby Charlton, Maradona and now there is Messi. Leo is the one I like the most — he’s the most complete. Messi is my favourite player, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are also good. They have different styles in a football which has changed.” Pele also mentioned that calling Italian legend Francesco Totti the Italian Pele was correct.

The 75 years old said watching his country beaten by Germany in the World Cup was humiliating, also stating that his son would have seen him cry that day. It is OK to lose but to concede seven goals in the World Cup at that stage is nothing less than humiliating. He said football is a hard game and predicting who would win is a difficult thing. Ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final Pele said he would prefer Madrid wins it ahead of Atletico because of their style of play also adding that the game of football is diminishing because winning is now more important than the beauty of the game.

 

 

 

Barcelona Players in Halloween Prank

 Barcelona, Premier league  No Responses »
Nov 012015
 

barca players in halloween costumes A number of FC Barcelona players were in a prank on Saturday after their 2-0 win over Getafe. Quite a number of them dressed up in costumes hoping to maybe run into their own coach in a press conference or the media but instead they opened the wrong down as described by one of the players when they were being ushered out of the room. They ran into a press conference where Getafe’s Victor Rodriguez was talking to the media. On realising this, they were ushered out of the room and one of them apologised saying they were in the wrong room. A lot of Getafe’s fans have reacted to the incident calling it a wrongful way of celebrating victory over there opponents. Following the incident FC Barcelona’s first team players released the statement below on Sunday;

“In light of the reaction provoked by our actions, which were carried out with the purpose of celebrating a good win and the team’s good form, while also coinciding with Halloween, FC Barcelona’s first team squad would like to manifest that:

“1. – In no case was it our intention to offend or annoy any of our colleagues from Getafe.

“2. – The invasion in the mixed zone coincided with Victor Rodriguez’s press conference and was an unfortunate coincidence, for which we personally apologised and expressed our respect. The images captured at that moment demonstrate that a player clearly said: “Where are we going? We have made a mistake [entering the press conference].”

“3. – The squad is aware of the responsibility that comes with being an FC Barcelona player and wants to apologise to anyone who feels offended, especially members of Getafe’s team and their fans. Our behaviour is also un-waiverable with the members and supporters of FC Barcelona, who should be proud of this team off the pitch, as well as on it.”

Lionel Messi Topples Cristiano Ronaldo in Brazil

 Barcelona, La Liga, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid  1 Response »
Oct 292015
 

messi vs ronaldoIn a recent poll carried out in Brazil where 25 top coaches where asked ho they would prefer to sign if given the chance between the two players, Lionel Messi got an amazing 20 out of 25 votes. the four time Ballon D’Or winner who is most likely to lift a fifth one in his career if he wins the next one was the favorite to also win the best player award if only Brazilian coaches had to vote. The remaining five coaches picked Ronaldo over Lionel Messi, according to them they prefer him because he was more goal oriented than his rival.

Lionel Messi has been on the sidelines since for the past three weeks due to an injury he sustained and is poised to return on time for his team’s clash against Real Madrid in November. Himself and his father are also facing tax charges by the Spanish football federation for tax evasion, although it seems that he is off the hook but his father is not. while all these has been happening with the Argentine ace, his rival Cristiano Ronaldo was recently awarded the European golden boot award for his goal scoring exploits in the last season. He also went on to become Real Madrid’s all time highest goal scorer toppling Raul’s 323 goals for the club and doing so with even fewer matches.

Lionel Messi Considering Barcelona Exit

 Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez  No Responses »
Oct 232015
 

 

Lionel-Messi-of-FC-BarcelonaFour times Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi seems to be considering leaving his long time club FC Barcelona. Messi has been with Barcelona for 14 years now and currently has a current that runs till 2019. his intended move away from the Spanish La Liga is not unconnected to the fact that he and his father Jorge are facing charges of tax evasion from the Cataluyna government. Fellow Barcelona team mate Neymar Jr is also being investigated for the same reason and some people are beginning to suggest that this might be a witch hunting.

While the rumors might not be true, it is not far fetched. Imagine the amount of money that would be made by any Premier League club capable of landing this Argentine superstar from TV rights, shirts sales and all. The Premier League currently makes the highest revenue compared to other leagues around the world when it comes to TV rights and that is why clubs like Stoke City can afford to buy youth players from Europe’s elite team like Barcelona. A move to the Premier League by the Argentine international is sure to make him and the club richer by the numbers.

we have seen in recent times how much the team needs a player like Lionel Messi given their performances since he went on injury last month. The likes of Neymar and Suarez have not been able to make the Argentine’s absence less felt. The thoughts of losing their talisman would surely not go down well with the president of the club and the fans, so as is their usual, Barcelona is expected to offer Lionel Messi a contract extension soon.

UEFA Champions League Round-Up

 Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Champions league, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Premier league, Real Madrid, West Ham  No Responses »
Oct 222015
 

The European Champions League was back in action with a lot of expectations from fans around the world. With lots of Europe’s elite teams going head to head it was sure to be an eye catching encounter in the match day 3 of the competition.

Barcelona were away against BATE club and it required the magic of croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic to break the deadlock for the team. He was in terrific form scoring two goals as they ran out winners in the game that ended 2-0. Bayern Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno was to blame as the team drew 4-4. Arsenal hosted Bayern Munich at the Emirates stadium and although they did go into the match as the underdogs they came on top with goals from Oliver Giroud and Mesut Ozil. Elsewhere in group F Olympiakos got a goal over Dinamo Zagreb which meant Arsene Wenger’s team remain bottom of the table.

After a 2-0 win over West Ham this weekend, Chelsea couldn’t muster much against Dynamo Kiev in Sweden and they shared the spoils in a goalless draw. Hulk continued his scintillating form for Zenit as they trashed Olympique Lyon 3-1, this means the Russian team has now won all three of their Champions League matches. PSG stars were below par against a weak Madrid team with the later having the better chances of the game though they couldn’t covert it to goals. Anthony Martial scored his first Champions League goal sparing the blushes for team captain Wayne Rooney who had missed a couple of chances to put the team ahead. The young french striker made up for his errors that gave CSKA Moscow the lead after conceding a penalty with a hand ball. Athletico Madrid were the highest winners beating Astana 4-0 while Manchester City got a 2-1 victory over Sevilla. This match day made a change to the fact that the big teams smash their way past through the group stages, now they have to work to earn it.

Its Real Madrid’s BBC against Barcelona’s MSN as FIFA releases 23 man shortlist.

 Arsenal, Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo, FIFA, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Manchester City, Premier league, Real Madrid  1 Response »
Oct 202015
 

bbc vs msnReal Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo who make up the clubs attacking trio known as “the BBC” together with Barcelona’s fearsome MSN which consist of Lionel Messi, Lius Suarez and Neymar Santos Jr would battle other players in world football for the FIFA Ballon D’Or. The 23 man shortlist which was announced by FIFA is dominated by Barcelona players and that of course is because of the team’s success last term. Exceptional players like Alexis Sanchez who has been a sensation since his move to arsenal also made the 23 man shortlist. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard also made the cut along side Manchester City stars; Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure.

Current holder Cristiano Ronaldo recently became Real Madrid’s all time highest goal scorer eclipsing club legend Raul Gonzalez. Lionel Messi led Barcelona to a treble last season and Alexis Sanchez was instrumental in winning a trophy each for his club Arsenal and Chile in the Copa America. the full 23 man shortlist is listed below;

Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL Wolfsburg/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Andres Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/FC Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich), James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Côte d’Ivoire/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus/FC Bayern Munich).

 

5 star Neymar leads Barcelona to comfortable victory

 Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar Jr  No Responses »
Oct 172015
 

IMG_20151017_195758Neymar Jr was the star man as Barcelona came from behind to record a comfortable win against Rayo Vallecano. The Brazilian striker scored two from the spot and two later on in the second as Barcelona overturned the deficit to remain on equal points with Real Madrid. Rayo Vallecano had initially taken the lead through Javi Guerra who made the most of a slack defending from Barcelona just 15 minutes into the game. The goal silenced Camp Nou but that was not to be the case at the end of the game.

Neymar proved too hot for Rayo Vallecano’s defenders as he forced them into fouling him. He converted both spot kicks to take his tally for the season to six goals. He continued to cause problems in the opposition area and added two more goals to take his goal tally to eight goals from seven appearances. Neymar rounded the game up by assisting Lius Suarez who had been a constant threat as Barcelona got their fifth goal of the game which ended 5-2.

Neymar’s performance gave Camp Nou a rejuvenated feeling considering the fact that they had been struggling since they lost their talisman Lionel Messi to injury. The Argentine star was on hand to watch the game from the stands and would be happy to see that his team is coping in his absence. Lionel Messi is due to return from injury very soon but the club can only hope that his financial issues doesn’t cause more distractions for the player.

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