Gareth Bale is one of the great players in Europe according to Florentino Perez, but the Real Madrid president did not offer any assurances on the Wales international s future.
Bale fell out of favour with Zinedine Zidane at Madrid and spent last season on loan in the Premier League with former club Tottenham.
Zidane s second departure as head coach paved the way for a return to the Santiago Bernabeu for Carlo Ancelotti, who was in charge during Bale s maiden season in the Spanish capital in 2013-14 that culminated in Madrid s 10th Champions League crown.
In an interview with El Transistor on Onda Cero, Perez referenced Bale scoring a key goal during extra time of that final triumph over Atletico Madrid, along with his similarly decisive contributions in the 201…
Jose Mourinho claims Manchester United big boss Alex Ferguson would dismiss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s theory that cup trophies can be an ego thing for managers.
In almost two and a half years at the Old Trafford helm, Solskjaer has yet to deliver silverware for the club, and he says the team should be judged by their league progress.
United sit second in the Premier League table, which suggests there has been achievement on that front, and they remain in the hunt in the Europa League.
The latter is a tournament that Mourinho won with United, and he also landed an EFL Cup triumph to make it a double in the 2016-17 season.
United lost only five times in the Premier League in that campaign but a league-high 15 draws meant they could only finish sixth, yet in th…
Andriy Shevchenko insists Ukraine have nothing to lose against Sweden as his side aim to reach the European Championship quarter-finals for the first time.
Ukraine s only previous appearance in the knockout stages of a major competition came at the 2006 World Cup when eliminating Switzerland before losing to Italy in the last eight.
The Eastern European nation hardly boast the best of records at the Euros, either, having lost seven of their last eight games.
However, a 2-1 win over North Macedonia, bookended by defeats to the Netherlands and Austria, proved enough for Ukraine to progress as one of the best third-placed sides.
Sweden await at Hampden Park on Tuesday and head coach Shevchenko believes his players can be proud whatever the result in Glasgow.…
Sergio Aguero signed on the dotted line at Barcelona but refused to discuss the possibility of Pep Guardiola following him from Manchester City to Camp Nou.
Barcelona are in a state of upheaval amid doubts over Ronald Koeman s future, with club president Joan Laporta describing the Dutchman as a coach that we did not ask for on Monday.
Laporta has not excluded the possibility of Koeman staying in charge for the second year of his contract, but it appears the club are also looking at alternative options to come in and take charge.
Aguero is also thought of as a potential upgrade on the talent Barcelona have as striking options, besides Lionel Messi, having become Manchester City s record goalscorer during a highly successful decade in England.
The new recr…
Atlanta United interim head coach Rob Valentino expressed the importance of focusing on the present ahead of travelling to DC United at Audi Field on Thursday.
The Five Stripes have won just one of their last 12 league games, dating back to the beginning of April, but will be hoping to return to winning ways against their opponents, who they beat in May to end their last winless run in the MLS.
Atlanta are a point above bottom side New England Revolution, having played a game less, and know a win is a must to build momentum for the rest of the season.
However, Valentino was keen to focus on the future, and insists his side are continuing to push to get points on the board.
“In reality, what I talked about last week was that is the past,” said Vale…
Liverpool must stay grounded on the back of their historical 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United, according to forward Diogo Jota.
The Reds recorded their biggest ever margin of victory against fierce rivals United at Old Trafford thanks to a Mohamed Salah hat-trick and goals from Naby Keita and Jota.
It marked the first time United have lost by five or more goals without scoring since February 1955, when they suffered a 5-0 loss to Manchester City, while only once before – a 7-1 victory at Anfield in October 1895 – have Liverpool won by more goals in this fixture.
Jota, who played a key part in the victory with a tap-in and an assist for the second of Salah s goals, admitted not even he expected Liverpool to dismantle their opponents with such ease.
Pioli insists ´four teams can still win Scudetto´ as Milan boss confirms Maignan allegations of raci
Milan head coach Stefano Pioli insisted four teams can still win the Scudetto after his side moved back to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 victory over Cagliari, which was marred by abuse directed at Mike Maignan.
The Rossoneri dominated for large parts on Saturday, but a lack of clinical finishing left them frustrated until just before the hour.
Ismael Bennacer stepped up with an exquisite volley into the bottom-left corner to edge Milan past Walter Mazzarri s side, who spurned two great opportunities through Joao Pedro and Keita Balde in response.
Victory meant Milan restored their three-point lead over Napoli, who defeated Udinese 2-1 earlier on Saturday, and they are six ahead of defending champions Inter, who have played a game fewer, after they were held b…
Market: AC Milan win
Odds: 3/5 @
Hoping to widen their buffer at the top of the La Liga table on Friday evening, AC Milan will welcome Udinese to the San Siro.
Starting with the hosts, while AC Milan might still be holding a two-point buffer at the top of the Serie A table, they re coming off the back of a downbeat display. Missing out on what they thought was a golden chance away at Salernitana and having to settle for a 2-2 draw, the Italian giants will be seeking an immediate response on Friday evening. Despite that blip last weekend, the Rossoneri should still find the mood in their camp at a real high. With their sights firmly set on clinching their first domestic crown since 2011, it should be highlighted that AC Milan have lost just a single matchup acros…
Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse struck after half-time to help West Ham turn the tables on Tottenham with an impressive second-half display to earn a memorable 2-1 win at their rivals.
Cristian Romero put Spurs ahead in the 11th-minute and had Ange Postecoglou’s side on course for a first victory since October 27 at the break.
David Moyes’ men had other ideas and after Bowen scored for the seventh away Premier League game in a row, Ward-Prowse capitalised on an error at the back with 16 minutes left.
Thank you north London
— West Ham United (@WestHam)
It consigned injury-hit Tottenham to a fourth defeat in five matches, while ninth-placed West Ham are now only three points behind the hosts following this fifth win in six games.
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Watford head coach Valerien Ismael was pleased at the second-half reaction from his side, as they spared their FA Cup blushes with a 2-1 win over Chesterfield.
A goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time from Tom Dele-Bashiru broke the hearts of the National League leaders, who would have felt they deserved at least a replay.
Watford won their first FA Cup third-round tie at home since 2018, and progressed to the fourth round for the first time since reaching the final in 2019.
But Ismael was content with avoiding having to go to the SMH Group Stadium for a replay.
He said “The main thing in the cup is always to come through, because nobody will talk about the actual game.
“We made the game complicated for ourselves, and credit to Chesterfield…