Umtiti commits to Barcelona to 2023

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale wants to join Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho has spoken to the Wales international winger and has explained his plans for him, with the North London outfit keen on securing the services of the 31-year-old on a loan deal this summer.

Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, has told that although there is a long way to go in negotiations, he is confident that a deal will be struck, and that Bale will join Tottenham on loan. The Wales international joined Madrid from Spurs back in the summer of 2013, and has won La Liga twice and the Champions League on four occasions.

Bale has had injury problems during his time at Madrid, and the Welshman also struggled…

Barcelona are boiling in a sporting crisis following their Champions League humiliation, says their former defender Javier Mascherano.

Bayern Munich thrashed Barca 8-2 at the Estadio da Luz on Friday, handing the Catalan giants their biggest defeat in Europe and heaviest loss in any competition since 1946.

It capped a disappointing end to the 2019-20 season for the Blaugrana, who took a two-point lead at the top of LaLiga into the hiatus amid the coronavirus pandemic but ended up being dethroned by Real Madrid and finishing five points adrift of the new champions.

Head coach Quique Setien, who replaced Ernesto Valverde when the team were top of the league in February, has been sacked, while sporting director Eric Abidal has been relieved of his duties.

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The relentless brilliance of Robert Lewandowski could see Bayern Munich enjoy a very successful season, according to former striker Luca Toni.

A double in the 4-0 Bundesliga win over Cologne on Saturday took Lewandowski to nine goals in just five league appearances in 2019-20.

The 31-year-old, who signed a new contract through to 2023 in August, had reached 200 in all competitions for Bayern when he struck in the 3-0 Champions League win over Red Star Belgrade last week.

Lewandowski s future had been unclear prior to the announcement of his new deal, but Toni now hopes to see the Poland star bring trophies to the Allianz Arena this season.

He is one of the best. I like him so much because he lives in the box and scores a lot of goals, Toni told Omnisport…

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone could not hide the enthusiasm brought on by Saturday s 1-0 win over Barcelona, though he dismissed the idea that he can see similarities with his 2013-14 title-winning team.

Los Colchoneros produced a solid display at the Wanda Metropolitano to defeat Ronald Koeman s misfiring Barca and go up to second in LaLiga, only behind Real Sociedad – who have played a game more – by virtue of scoring two goals fewer.

That victory extended Atletico s unbeaten run to 24 games in LaLiga and opened up a nine-point gap between themselves and Barca.

With defending champions Real Madrid also failing to inspire much confidence, having rarely impressed this season and been held by Villarreal earlier on Saturday, Atletico look like many people…

Antonio Conte praised the attacking display of his Inter side in their 5-2 win over Benevento but conceded they must find the right balance after conceding two more goals.

Inter followed up their dramatic 4-3 victory over Fiorentina on the opening weekend of the Serie A season with another high-scoring win in Wednesday s clash at Stadio Ciro Vigorito.

Romelu Lukaku got the ball rolling inside 28 seconds and doubled his tally after Roberto Gagliardini had put the visitors 2-0 up.

Achraf Hakimi enjoyed an impressive debut and was also on the scoresheet, as was Barcelona-linked striker Lautaro Martinez, with Gianluca Caprari netting twice for Benevento.

Inter s return of nine goals from their opening two top-flight matches is the most they have managed si…

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has insisted there will be no losers when the Ballon d Or winner is announced in Paris on Monday.

The Premier League star ranks among the leading contenders to take home the most coveted individual honour in European club football.

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi looks most likely to claim the award, but the five-time winner faces stiff competition from Van Dijk.

The bedrock on which Liverpool built their Champions League triumph, the 28-year-old also captained his country to the Nations League final and was named UEFA Men s Player of the Year in August.

I am going to be there for a reason and there are no losers on the evening, Van Dijk said.

I am very proud to be in that bracket, to be in there for the way …

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has backed Jadon Sancho to come good after a slow start with the club.

The 21-year-old has made five appearances for Untied since signing from Borussia Dortmund for around £73million after a high-profile transfer pursuit that lasted over a year.

England international Sancho arrived to huge fanfare, though he is yet to register a goal or assist going into Sunday s Premier League trip to West Ham.

A frustrating start for Sancho continued when he was sacrificed in the first half of Tuesday s Champions League loss to Young Boys, the winger taken off as part of a reshuffle when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off.

Solskjaer, though, insists nothing has changed in his evaluation of Sancho, who he feels can be a top forwar…

Bayern Munich s preparations for their Club World Cup campaign may not have been ideal but head coach Hansi Flick will not use a seven-hour travel delay as an excuse against Al Ahly. 

Bayern boarded a plane for Doha immediately after Friday s 1-0 victory over Hertha Berlin but did not depart until the following morning after their clearance for take-off was denied. 

The European champions eventually left for the Middle East on Saturday morning and were unable to train when arriving at their destination. 

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hit out at the local authorities in Berlin for mucking about  ahead of Monday s semi-final against Al Ahly. 

However, Flick s squad were able to train on the eve of the game and the Bayern boss is ready for�…

As football fans in the United Kingdom awoke bleary eyed to take in the Premier League story of the season, one word stood out in the statement announcing Jose Mourinho s appointment as Tottenham s head coach – a ghost of hubris past.

I am excited to be joining a club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters, Mourinho said.

Heritage. Football heritage.

This was the subject of Mourinho s self-pitying soliloquy in the aftermath of Manchester United s limp Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Sevilla in March 2018.

A much-trumpeted union that returned two trophies in its first season was going south and Mourinho tried to circle the wagons.

During a 12-minute address where heritage was mentioned 10 times, his general point…

Joao Felix is heading back to Atletico Madrid with Chelsea choosing not to retain the Portugal winger following his loan deal, according to the Spanish club’s president Enrique Cerezo.

Felix, 23, joined Chelsea on loan in January for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign and went on to score four goals in 20 appearances for the Blues.

On Monday, after a difficult campaign in which they finished a lowly 12th in the Premier League, Chelsea announced the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach.

And, as reported by Marca, Cerezo said of Felix: “The truth is that I can’t tell you the plan with Joao.

“It’s the news we had yesterday, that the new coach doesn’t have him for Chelsea. We don’t have anything planned yet, Joao is an A…