Pep Guardiola claims Manchester City do not have any more money to spend on players.
City invested heavily ahead of the 2017-18 season, buying players including Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy, Ederson and Bernardo Silva, and Guardiola subsequently led the club to the Premier League title by a record-breaking 19 points.
But after the transfer window closed on Thursday, Riyad Mahrez was the sole major arrival at the Etihad Stadium, joining for a reported £60million a new club record that surpassed the £57m spent on Aymeric Laporte in January.
City were heavily linked with a move for Jorginho but the midfielder opted to follow former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri to Chelsea instead of joining the champions.
And although the club were reportedly keen to add cov…
Marcelo Brozovic and Romelu Lukaku struck as Inter continued their 100 per cent start to the Serie A season and extended a strong recent record in derbies against city rivals AC Milan with a 2-0 victory.
A deflected strike from Brozovic four minutes into the second half and a late clincher from Lukaku settled a contest that Antonio Conte s men always looked the more likely to win.
Milan, the designated home team at the shared San Siro, only produced one shot on target and were comfortably kept at arm s length by Inter after the opening goal.
The Rossoneri have now lost two of their first four games under coach Marco Giampaolo and failed to beat Inter in seven consecutive league derbies.
DERBY WINNERS
THIS IS OUR NIGHT!
— Inter (@Inte…
Rafael Benitez is set to hold talks with his agent on Thursday as the Liverpool manager edges closer to leaving Anfield.
Reports in England claim Benitez is on the way out of the Premier League club after the breakdown of talks over his future with chairman Martin Broughton and managing director Christian Purslow.
The Spaniard is said to have been offered a three million pounds (4.4 million dollars) pay-off but still has four years to run on a contract which guarantees him a 16 million pounds (23.5 million dollars) severance deal.
He will meet agent Manuel Garcia Quilon to discuss his next step in the negotiations which look certain to end with his departure.
Benitez has fallen out with the Anfield heirarchy over the lack of funds available to him to reb…
Brazil forward Robinho has revealed that he has not ruled out a return to Manchester City after the World Cup.
Robinho, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Santos, has been heavily linked with a permanent move away from Eastlands this summer.
However, quoted in the Daily Star Sunday, Robinho said: I honestly don t know what will happen at City. We will just see what happens over the summer but I haven t ruled out a return.
First things first. The only thing on my mind now is helping the Brazilian team to win the World Cup.
But I thought Manchester City were a good choice for me. I understood the reactions when I joined them. People thought I was going for the money but if it was then I would have gone to Dubai or an Arabic country.
…
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes Atletico Madrid have what it takes to challenge for the Liga title right until the end of the season.
Diego Simeone s men sit second in the table, level on 38 points with Barca, who have played a game less, but two clear of Real Madrid.
Atleti beat Barcelona and Madrid to the title in 2013-14 and Luis Enrique feels they are genuine contenders this term, too.
I m sure that Atletico are candidates for the title, the Barcelona coach said at a news conference.
They ve already shown how good they are and I m sure they ll challenge for the league
Luis Enrique is adamant Barcelona are hungry for more success, though, and has set his sights on yet another treble win after last season s successes.
We know …
FA Cup fixture against Exeter comes at the worst possible moment for Jurgen Klopp’s side, as the Reds are struggling with more than ten injuries to their first-team players. Liverpool are sure to make plenty of substitutions in order to avoid any unnecessary risk, but will look to grab a win and avoid the replay.
Exeter
Fourth-tier team are set to welcome the Premier League giants in Friday’s FA Cup third-round tie, eager to snap their poor run of four straight defeats against the respectable opposition. Exeter manager Paul Tisdale is optimistic his players will find plenty of motivation going into the fixture against Liverpool and do their best to grab a surprise win that would be a huge morale boost for the struggling side. The Grecians currently occupy the 16th place in…
Real Madrid and Croatia star Luka Modric revealed Cristiano Ronaldo congratulated him and said he deserved his UEFA Player of the Year award.
Modric, 32, was awarded the honour ahead of his former Madrid team-mate, who skipped the ceremony, and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah late last month.
But the classy midfielder said he had received congratulations from Ronaldo, adding that the Juventus star told him he deserved the prize.
I am happy to be in another big award final [Best FIFA Men s Player], we ll see what will happen, Modric told RTP3 after Croatia played out a 1-1 friendly draw with Portugal on Thursday.
I have a good relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo and we ll have a good relationship in the future too. Individual awards are important but I m…
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi hopes a conversation with Real Madrid can put an end to persistent speculation linking Neymar with a switch to Los Blancos.
The Brazil captain – who moved to PSG from Barcelona for a world-record €222million in 2017 – continues to be linked with the LaLiga giants despite insisting he is happy in France.
In July, Madrid rejected claims in the Spanish media they had made a €310million offer for the 26-year-old superstar, calling the reports absolutely untrue .
The constant talk of Neymar returning to Spain has become a frustration for Al-Khelaifi, and is something he has discussed with Madrid president Florentino Perez in an attempt to put the rumours to rest.
We don t like it at all and we ha…
Best Odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
Two sides who are seeking a crucial Premier League boost on Monday night, West Ham will welcome Brentford to the London Stadium.
West Ham
Starting with the hosts, while West Ham might get their Europa League knockout stage adventure underway next month, it is no secret that David Moyes has a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders in east London. Last seen putting in another worrying performance as they slumped to a deserved 2-0 defeat away at Nottingham Forest, the Hammers have lost all of their previous three Premier League showdowns by an aggregate score of 11-0. With their nightmare blip underlined by an infamous 6-0 drumming at the hands of Arsenal on February 11th, Moyes’ men have failed to muster a single victory from any o…
Market: Under 3.5 goals
Odds: 2/5 @
Two sides who will be seeking a boost this weekend, Crystal Palace will welcome Leeds to Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, left heartbroken at Selhurst Park last weekend on their return from September s international break, Crystal Palace will be seeking an immediate response here. Eventually watching London rivals Chelsea snatch a last-gasp 2-1 win, Patrick Vieira s men have struggled to find much stability since opening the 2022/23 campaign. Heading into the fortnight interval with a 0-0 stalemate away at Newcastle, the former Arsenal icon has seen his side fail to win any of their previous four Premier League outings. Likewise, mustering just a single victory from their first seven attempts, Palace…