Fabinho expected Raphinha to join Liverpool as agent confirms Reds´ interest

Fabinho praised the impact made by Raphinha since arriving in the Premier League and says he expected the Leeds United winger to join Liverpool earlier this year.

Raphinha has starred for Leeds since arriving from Rennes for a reported £17million (€20m) in October 2020 and was rewarded with his first cap for Brazil last week.

The 24-year-old further enhanced his reputation with two goals, while also winning a penalty, in a 3-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Venezuela.

He also featured as a second-half substitute in Brazil s stalemate with Colombia and is in contention to play a part in Thursday s clash with Uruguay.

Fabinho, who played a full the full 90 minutes in those two previous matches, has been particularly impressed by what he has seen fr…

Rumour Has It: Man Utd make move for De Ligt, PSG set to offer Alaba mammoth deal

Matthijs de Ligt was linked with Manchester United before his move to Juventus in 2019.

United have reportedly renewed their interest in the 21-year-old Dutch defender.

Could he end up in Manchester?

 

TOP STORY – UNITED WANT DE LIGT

Manchester United are set to target Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, according to TodoFichajes.

United were heavily linked with De Ligt before the Netherlands international swapped Ajax for Serie A champions Juve in 2019.

El United va a por De Ligt

— Todofichajes.com (@TDfichajes)

With United reportedly not advancing in their pursuit of Real Madrid pair Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, the Red Devils are eyeing De Ligt.

United have also been linked with RB Leipzig …

Rode committed to Frankfurt; Alderweireld plays down Liverpool talk

Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Sebastian Rode has insisted he is fully committed to the club amid speculation linking him with a summer move to Bayern Munich, .

Rode, who joined Frankfurt from Kickers Offenbach in the summer of 2010, will not be extending his contract at the Waldstadion beyond 2014, but remains fully committed to fulfilling the deal.

After more speculation about my future emerged yesterday and since this took something away from the Schalke win and the great performance of the whole team, I would like to make one thing clear, said Rode.

I have a contract with Eintracht until 2014 and I am very happy in Frankfurt.

During talks with the club bosses, I made it clear quite soon that I will fulfill my contract, but would not lik…

Michael Beale apologises to travelling Rangers fans after PSV drubbing

Michael Beale offered an apology to travelling Rangers fans after a 5-1 play-off defeat by PSV Eindhoven ended their Champions League hopes 7-3 on aggregate.

After drawing 2-2 in the first leg at Ibrox last week, the Light Blues were put to the sword in the Philips Stadion, starting in the 35th minute when Ismael Saibari headed in the opener.

The Moroccan attacker added a second in the 53rd minute and while Gers skipper James Tavernier pulled a goal back in the 64th minute, PSV captain Luuk de Jong soon restored the two-goal lead before a Joey Veerman strike and an own goal by Gers defender Connor Goldson sealed a miserable night for the Light Blues, who drop down to the Europa League.

Michael Beale spoke to the media after tonight’s match against PSV.

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Clarke: We want to keep Mulumbu

West Brom manager Steve Clarke is desperate to keep hold of combative midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu.

The 26-year-old has excelled for the Hawthorns outfit since arriving from French giants PSG, initially on loan, in January 2009.

He remained a first-team regular following Clarke s appointment prior to the 2012-13 campaign, and went on to score two goals in 28
Premier League appearances.

Fiorentina have been linked with a move for Mulumbu of late, with the Italians reportedly set to offer four million pounds for
the Congolese midfielder.

But Clarke says he has told the club s board that Mulumbu is a player he needs to keep if West
Brom are to improve further.

Youssouf has been excellent for us since I have
been here and is one of the players we …

Van Gaal backs Sneijder to join Chelsea

Louis Van Gaal has approved of Wesley Sneijder’s proposed move to Chelsea, saying it would be easier to monitor the midfielder’s progress if he was playing in the Premier League.

The 29 year old only signed for Galatasaray in January, though the Mirror understands that the Turkish champions would be willing to listen to offers in the region of £12.75million for the player.

Recently re-appointed Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had the Dutch international with him at Inter Milan during the 2009/10 season, where together they won a historic treble.

Having just received a league winner’s medal at the Turk Telekom Arena, Sneijder has joined a handful of players to have won league titles in four different countries, having also been triumphant with Real Madrid and A…

Real Madrid ´machine´ Ronaldo will win Ballon d´Or – Almeida

There is no doubt that Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo will retain the Ballon d Or ahead of Lionel Messi, according to former team-mate Hugo Almeida.

It was another memorable season for four-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo, who helped Madrid to LaLiga and Champions League glory.

Ronaldo scored 42 goals in all competitions – 25 coming in LaLiga as Madrid were crowned champions of Spain for the first time since 2012 after dethroning Barcelona.

He netted 12 in Europe – including a match-winning brace in the 4-1 Champions League final victory against Juventus – to seal the competition s top scorer award for a record fifth successive season and the sixth time in his career as Madrid became the first side to retain the trophy under its current guise.

Fuchs: Leicester are like Asterix

Christian Fuchs has compared the feats of Leicester City to French comic heroes Asterix and Obelix.

In the comics, ancient Gauls Asterix and Obelix would fight against the Roman Empire to defend their village from occupation, and Fuchs says Leicester are doing similar things this season.

Fuchs side are top of the Premier League table with five games to play, seven points clear of Tottenham, and the Austria international says their success comes from ignoring what is happening outside of their own little cottage .

We never said at all that this is our goal to win the championship, he told the Guardian.

People can talk whatever they want, we never get affected by it. So many people were talking at the beginning of the season, saying: It s only a matter of…

Liverpool, Champions League, Manchester derby – The matches De Bruyne will miss due to injury

Manchester City are adjusting to a significant blow against their Premier League title defence after confirmation Kevin De Bruyne will be sidelined for around three months with lateral knee ligament damage.

The Belgium midfielder, who was City s stand-out performer on the way to Premier League and EFL Cup glory last season, suffered the injury during a training session this week.

Pep Guardiola has an amply stocked squad from which to find solutions to this conundrum, although there is arguably no like-for-like replacement for De Bruyne s all-round midfield mastery.

Here we look at what fixtures City will have to tackle without their talisman and which rivals at home and abroad might be set to benefit from his absence.

Generous early season run

Ci…

Ancelotti expects English clubs to contend in Champions League

Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti expects the Champions League to be even tougher this season due to the return of some big English clubs.

Manchester United and Chelsea are back in Europe s top club competition, and they could be joined by Liverpool.

While the last English club to win the Champions League was Chelsea in 2012, Ancelotti believes the return of the heavyweights is sure to make it tougher.

The Champions League this year will be more competitive because there are some really important English teams in the competition, the Italian said on Monday.

United, City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool – I think, and I hope, for Jurgen [Klopp, Liverpool manager] to win qualification.

The Champions League will surely be more competitive and mo…