Accusations that Lionel Messi is in decline are laughable, according to the Argentine s former Barcelona team-mate Gianluca Zambrotta.
Messi endured a difficult match against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, firing five shots off target as Barca exited the competition at the quarter-final stage, losing 3-0 on aggregate.
But Zambrotta insists Messi s form is not slipping, comparing the Barcelona star to his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored five goals in Real Madrid s 6-3 quarter-final win against Bayern Munich.
It makes me laugh when somebody says Messi is declining, Zambrotta told Omnisport.
6 Lionel Messi recorded 5 shots off target against Juventus; only against BATE Borisov (Sept 2011) has he had more in the CL (6). Wayward…
Diego Maradona said he was wasting away as he discussed his past off-field issues after being introduced as Dorados head coach.
Argentine great and 1986 World Cup winner Maradona fronted the media for the first time on Monday, having replaced Francisco Gomez last week.
Former Napoli and Barcelona star Maradona – who also coached Argentina at the 2010 World Cup – has previously struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
Talking about his problems with substance abuse, the 57-year-old said: I want to give Dorados what I lost when I was sick.
Haciendo click.
— #HazlaDeDiez (@Dorados)
Today I want to see the sun and I want to go to sleep at night. Before, I didn t go to sleep and I didn t even know what a pillow was. That s why I ac…
Karim Benzema proudly declared we are the best again after Real Madrid secured another Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Liverpool.
France international Benzema largely watched on as Liverpool bombarded Madrid s goal in the first half at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp s Reds attempted five shots on target in the opening 45 minutes, as many as Liverpool had mustered in their previous two Champions League finals combined (two in 2018 and three in 2019).
During that first-half rearguard display in Paris, Benzema saw a goal ruled out shortly before the interval after being adjudged to stray offside inside the area.
But Vinicius Junior delivered the decisive strike just before the hour, while Thibaut Courtois thwarted Liverpool�…
Thomas Tuchel wants his Bayern Munich team to “take it up a notch” when they face Bundesliga strugglers Union Berlin on Saturday.
Bayern are unbeaten in all 12 of their league matches this season and sit two points off leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
They face a Union side who recently hired new manager Nenad Bjelica and find themselves in the relegation zone, having lost nine of their last 10 games.
Tuchel called for a reaction from his players after Bayern’s midweek 0-0 draw with Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Tuchel on Union and Nenad Bjelica: They ve changed their formation and are now using a 4-1-4-1. We ve also been looking at games from the clubs where he s previously been head coach. We need to concentrate on ourselves and do a better job. …
According to , Napoli are close to completing a deal to sign Leo Ostigard from Brighton and Hove Albion as they seek to strengthen their ranks ahead of the upcoming season, which will see them play in the Champions League again, quite apart from their ambition to compete at the top-end of the Serie A table.
The 22-year-old centre-back, who has five international caps with Norway under his belt, has never actually made a competitive appearance for the Seagulls, despite originally arriving to the Amex in the summer of 2018. Instead, he wore the shirt of St. Pauli, Coventry, Stoke City, and most recently Genoa, for which he played 13 Serie A matches in the second half of 2021/22.
His performances in Italy have obviously attracted attention, and Napoli are believed to be wi…
Martin Odegaard had offers to join Liverpool or Ajax for this season, according to Leonid Slutsky.
Norway international Odegaard joined Real Sociedad on loan from Real Madrid back in July and has impressed for a side sitting fourth in LaLiga.
The highly rated midfielder signed for Madrid in 2015 but has played just 32 minutes for them in LaLiga, spending the majority of his time away from the club on loan deals.
Last year he played for Slutsky at Eredivisie side Vitesse and his former boss has revealed Premier League giants Liverpool were among those who missed out when Odegaard decided his next move.
His time at Vitesse has been important to him, Slutsky told EFE.
He was one of the best players in the Eredivisie and had many offers. Not onl…
Eddie Howe will support a remorseful Joelinton after a drink-driving charge, but the Newcastle United boss has not yet decided whether to drop the midfielder this weekend.
Joelinton starred in Newcastle s 2-0 EFL Cup quarter-final win against Leicester City on Tuesday, scoring one goal and creating the other for Dan Burn.
However, the Brazilian was arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning for being over the prescribed limit for alcohol at the wheel of a vehicle.
Joelinton will appear in court on January 26, between the two legs of Newcastle s cup tie against Southampton – the Magpies first major semi-final since 2005.
The incident has marred what had been a great week for Newcastle, with a huge Premier League clash with Fulham to come on Sunday.<…
Chelsea withdrew their offer to sign Jules Kounde, allowing Barcelona to pounce, according to Sevilla s director of football Monchi.
Barca confirmed on Thursday that they had struck a deal to sign France international Kounde from their LaLiga rivals.
The centre-back, who has been a standout performer since joining Sevilla in 2019, will reportedly cost up to €55million.
Yet only last week, the 23-year-old looked set to join Premier League club Chelsea, who agreed a fee with Sevilla.
Monchi, though, has claimed the Blues opted out of the arrangement after having doubts .
On Thursday [July 21] Kounde was sold to Chelsea, Monchi told Sevilla s club media. They began to have doubts and pulled out. Then Barcelona appeared. The first time [spor…
Barcelona have done things that don t fit with a team at the top level, Vidal said in an interview with Daniel Habif via Youtube.
In the end, you realise this when you face an organised team, a team that has a winning mentality, with players that are physically prepared and that has a very strong game plan.
That takes its toll when you re weak in the head and in energy that happened to us. Barcelona first have to change the way they think because football has evolved a lot.
DNA is being left behind and other teams are improving in other aspects. Nowadays, football is more physical, more about strength and speed, and technical ability can sometimes come second. Barcelona have to change lots of things.
A club, which I think is the best in the wor…
While Levy took part in a Q A session at The Cambridge Union Society earlier this year, this will be an opportunity for Tottenham supporters to quiz the club’s long-serving chairman following a tumultuous 12-month period.
Spurs have enjoyed an excellent start to life under new boss Postecoglou this season, but Levy was forced to part company with Conte in March while several fan protests occurred during the latter stages of the 2022-23 campaign with repeated chants at matches for the chairman to leave.
A demonstration over increased match day ticket prices occurred before last month’s win at home to Manchester United and Tottenham remain without a director of football following Fabio Paratici’s resignation in April after he was given a worldwide ban for allegations…