Barcelona president Joan Laporta says his decision to dismiss Xavi came after doubts the Blaugrana head coach had lost faith in his squad.
The LaLiga giants were expected to part ways with former midfielder Xavi at the end of the season, only for the Spaniard to change his mind and opt to fulfill his contract with the club.
Yet in another unexpected turn of events, Xavi was given his marching orders – and chief Laporta claims the Barcelona boss had expressed concerns over the capabilities of his current players.
If Xavi can change his mind, so can we, Laporta said in an interview with Barca One, the Blaugrana s in-house television channel.
Everything was a bit forced when we decided to keep him on. Xavi is a club legend and his enthusiasm led us to th…
According to , Chelsea have submitted an official offer for Borussia Dortmund s Christian Pulisic.
The 20-year-old forward is seen as someone who could potentially replace Eden Hazard as the club slowly prepare a contingency plan should the Belgian decide to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
However, Dortmund apparently want £70million for the services of the young forward, and Chelsea s offer is believed to be less than that. Apart from the gap in the valuation of the player, the German club also want Pulisic to remain at least until the end of the season, and if that s not enough to complicate matters for Chelsea, the USA international would in any case reportedly prefer a move to Liverpool, where he would be reunited with former Dortmund boss Jurgen K…
Bournemouth became the latest Premier League side to be dumped out in the FA Cup third round, suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of League One side Wigan Athletic, although Chelsea survived penalty drama against Norwich City.
The Cherries had drawn 2-2 at home against Wigan in the initial tie but despite Eddie Howe naming a strong side, they collapsed to a 3-0 loss at the DW Stadium on Wednesday.
Sam Morsy opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes, with Dan Burn and Callum Elder on target after the break the latter with his first goal for the club to wrap up a comprehensive victory for the 2012-13 champions.
Bournemouth have been knocked out by lower-tier opposition at the first hurdle two seasons in a row, Howe s men having gone down 3-0 at Millwall in t…
Chelsea moved back to within a point of Premier League leaders Manchester City courtesy of a comfortable 2-0 win against Southampton at St Mary s Stadium on Sunday.
Eden Hazard and Diego Costa scored the goals to give the visitors a fourth top-flight victory in a row and put Wednesday s EFL Cup exit at the hands of rivals West Ham behind them.
Antonio Conte named the same starting line-up that dispatched Manchester United 4-0 last week and they again enjoyed a strong start as Hazard shot between the legs of Fraser Forster in just the sixth minute.
Claude Puel s Saints, who had not lost any of their previous five league matches, enjoyed plenty of possession without mustering a serious threat to Chelsea s disciplined defence.
Costa struck a brilliant sec…
According to , Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba wants to leave the club for Spanish and European giants Real Madrid. Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola has said that the France international’s time at United has come to an end, and it has been claimed that the 27-year-old wishes to move to Madrid.
It has been reported that the former Juventus star has always fancied a move to 13-time European champions Madrid and believes that the time could be now. Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane is a huge admirer of the midfielder and would love to have him in his team at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Pogba has been on the books of United since the summer of 2016 when he retuned to Old Trafford after four successful seasons at Juventus. The midfielder has not been very consistent during …
Arsenal have announced a new kit sponsorship deal with Adidas, which will take effect from next season.
The agreement, which is reportedly worth £300million over five years, becomes active from July 1, 2019.
It is claimed the new deal will bring in double that which they have earned from Puma since 2014, although it is still less than the reported £75m per year Manchester United earn from Adidas.
Arsenal s last kit deal with the German sportswear giants was back in the 1993-94 season, two years before Arsene Wenger, the longest-serving manager in the club s history, took charge.
Arsenal and adidas have agreed a new kit partnership, effective from July 1, 2019
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal)
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Jurgen Klopp has urged Everton not to be overly aggressive in their approach against his Liverpool team, hoping the Merseyside derby is still a football game .
Liverpool are at a crucial stage of a campaign that has promised much, with the Champions League quarter-final second leg to come against Manchester City after this weekend s short trip across Stanley Park.
And having seen Mohamed Salah fall victim to a knock in the stunning 3-0 home win over City, making the Egyptian a doubt, Klopp does not want to see any further injuries on Saturday.
While he says he understands the passion of a local rivalry, he believes Everton have not always played the game fairly in his time at Anfield.
I have nothing to say on Everton s season – that s not my job, …
Gabriel Magalhaes says he feels very happy at Arsenal, amid the rumours that recently appeared about Barcelona being interested in acquiring his services this summer.
The 24-year-old defender arrived to North London from LOSC Lille in 2020 for a fee believed to have stood at around €26 million. Since then, he s made a total of 62 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners, scoring six goals, and he has established himself as a regular starter alongside Ben White in the heart of the back line.
Gabriel s contract with Arsenal will have three years left to run at the end of this season, and with that in mind, he would surely cost quite a lot of money, probably too much for the financially challenged Barcelona. Quite apart from that, the Gunners probably won t be lis…
Kane not at Spurs training? English media would have helicopters out if Pogba tried that – Ferdinand
Paul Pogba would have been scrutinised much more by the English media and fans if he had refused to attend training, according to former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand, after Harry Kane allegedly skipped Tottenham s Monday session.
Kane was expected back at Spurs to begin his pre-season preparations following a post-Euro 2020 break, but widespread media reports claim he did not show up.
Spurs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It has been suggested by some publications that Kane believes he has a gentleman s agreement with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy that would allow him to leave the club this month.
Kane, a product of Spurs academy, hinted before Euro 2020 that he felt he needed to leave in order to win trophies, a…
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Arsenal and Benfica will lock horns with each other again in the Europa League this week. The second leg of the Round of 32 tie will take place at Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Piraeus on Thursday and is slated to kick off at 5:55pm UK time.
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Arsenal will be looking to looking to get the job done on Thursday evening when they take on Benfica in the ‘home leg’ of their Europa League Round of 32 tie. The first leg of the tie ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning that the Gunners have the advantage of a crucial away goal.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, the match will not be played at the Emirates Stadium in North London but will be held at Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Piraeus. Arsenal…