Ousmane Dembele may yet sign a new contract with Barcelona after going from strength to strength under head coach Xavi, according to the club s vice-president Rafa Yuste.
France international Dembele was informed by Barca director Mateu Alemany to leave the club immediately in January after repeatedly turning down the offer of a new deal.
The 24-year-old was linked with a number of heavyweight clubs in the most recent transfer window, but a move away from Camp Nou did not materialise before the deadline.
Dembele has since been integrated back into the side by Xavi and is once again a key player for Barca now that his injury issues appear to be behind him.
It looked certain the former Borussia Dortmund forward would leave on a free transfer at the end of t…
Luis Suarez is braced for what he feels could be the greatest challenge of his career after joining Gremio.
Suarez was a free agent after leaving Nacional ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, at which he started two of Uruguay s three games as they suffered a surprise group-stage exit.
The former Liverpool, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid striker penned a two-year contract with Gremio – who won promotion back to the Brazilian top flight after a one-season spell in Serie B last term – on New Year s Eve.
Asked whether joining Gremio represented his biggest challenge, Suarez told the club s media channels: It could be, but I can also compare it with my time at Atletico Madrid.
I won the league with Atletico when Real Madrid and Barcelona dominated football in…
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Denmark will host Serbia at Parken Stadium on Sunday for their second UEFA Nations League match, following solid performances from both teams on matchday one.
With both sides eager to build on their initial success, the group is shaping up to be more competitive than anticipated. Denmark will look to make their home advantage count, while Serbia obviously hope to prevent that from happening.
Denmark
Denmark and Serbia enter their second Nations League fixture on Sunday, both coming off crucial performances in what has turned out to be a highly competitive League A Group 4. Denmark secured a 2-0 victory over Switzerland under interim coach Lars Knudsen, setting the tone for their campaign despite the ongoing search for Kasper Hj…
Ryan Mason said he and his coaching staff have “done a great job” during his second spell as Tottenham’s interim manager.
Tottenham closed their Premier League season with a resounding 4-1 win at relegated Leeds on Sunday, but have failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2008-09.
Mason said: “When I go on my summer holidays I would hope and expect that everyone inside of our training ground knows who I am, who my team is and what we stand for.
“We were good value for the three points, fully deserved it… we scored four goals away from home and we knew we had to stand up to a difficult test.”
Ryan Mason reviews our performance from today’s victory
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Luton manager Rob Edwards believes the experience of losing a Championship play-off semi-final can be turned into a positive as they prepare to make their return.
Several players in the squad went through the heartbreak of a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Huddersfield a year ago.
But Edwards, who took over from Nathan Jones in November, thinks that can help with motivation ahead of the trip to Sunderland on Saturday.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how the lads handle it. A number of them had the disappointment of last season and they don’t want that again,” he told a press conference.
“We can learn from that experience, we can talk about it.
“The one thing that I’m looking for is the performance, doing our basics and those things rea…
Russia will be free to compete at Euro 2020 regardless of whether a four-year ban on competing at sporting events is imposed on the country.
A World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) panel recommended last week the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) be declared non-compliant again over inconsistencies in anti-doping data discovered during an investigation.
WADA s independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) recommended strong sanctions be imposed on Russia, including a four-year ban from competing in and hosting major sporting events.
However, even if a ban is upheld – and backed up by the Court of Arbitration for Sport if Russia opt to go down that route – the nation s place at the tournament will not be affected as the International Standard for Code Compliance…
Lionel Messi deserves to lift the World Cup and will lead Argentina to glory in Sunday s final, according to Brazil s 2002 champion Rivaldo.
Messi produced another remarkable performance as Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 in Tuesday s semi-final, opening the scoring from the penalty spot before laying on a goal for Julian Alvarez after a fine solo run.
On the day he equalled Lothar Matthaus all-time record of 25 World Cup appearances, Messi became the first player to score and assist in four games at the competition.
Messi s 11th World Cup goal also made him the Albiceleste s record goalscorer at the tournament, and with Brazil having fallen at the quarter-final stage, Rivaldo hopes Messi captures the trophy.
We no longer have Brazil or Neymar in this cup fin…
In calling time on his professional career in an emotional Instagram post, Rogic reflected on his achievements and also opened up on the fertility struggles he and his wife have faced over the last seven years and said he would be “forever grateful” for the support and help they received from Celtic.
“After careful consideration I have made the decision to retire from professional football,” said Rogic, who returned to Australia after being released by West Brom this summer.
“I have always been rather private with things in my personal life but I feel given the significance, I think it is important for people to understand why and how I have made my decision.
“Throughout the past seven years my wife and I have been on an immensely challenging journey …
It s fair to say Serie A sides have enjoyed themselves on the continental stage this season, with six Italian clubs reaching major European quarter-finals for the first time this century.
Three of those teams have been making waves in the Champions League, for which Luciano Spalletti s Napoli have been touted as genuine contenders after outscoring every other team in the competition.
Meanwhile, rivals Milan and Inter went about their last-16 assignments in quietly impressive fashion, seeing off Tottenham and Porto respectively, both winning 1-0 on aggregate.
With three of Italy s finest reaching the last eight, a first all-Italian Champions League meeting since 2005 was always highly probable, and so it proved with Milan and Napoli paired together.
With t…
Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin is looking to find solutions to the small-margin failures when they travel to Chicago Fire in MLS.
The Union have not won any of their last seven matches in the league and are hoping to snap a four-game losing streak.
Their recent poor run has seen them drop to 12th in the Eastern Conference, and they are four points off a playoff place, but Curtin admits they have not been doing the little things right in recent weeks.
The small margins are real and when things aren t going well you get exposed, he said. It s a very fine line.
The way things are going right now, it s never enough. We haven t been able to defend well as a team. Strange goals have gone in, and we ve let ourselves down.
It hurts. We have t…