Karim Benzema has publicly asked French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet to “forget” and “leave me alone” after his recent comments to Ouest-France. Le Graet, 76, suggested in his interview that the Real Madrid attacker’s international career is over due to a loss of form. “I have nothing against Karim,” said Le Graet. “He has always behaved well when with the team. However, I think that it is over with Les Bleus for him — particularly since he has been declining in form for some time.” Benzema, 30, did not take long to respond to Le Graet’s words and…
Author: David Folami
Luka Modric has admitted Croatia and England must overcome the “strange” atmosphere of facing each other in a stadium without supporters in Friday’s UEFA Nations League clash in Rijeka. The hosts will serve the second game of a two-match UEFA punishment after a swastika symbol was bleached onto the pitch prior to the Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy in Split in Jun 2015. With the game being played behind closed doors at the HNK Stadion, only match officials, VIPs from the Croatian and English associations, team staff, media, and police officers will be allowed into the 8,000-capacity arena. The game…
Eden Hazard has ruled out the possibility of leaving Chelsea for Real Madrid in January. Speaking after Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Southampton on Sunday, Hazard confirmed that joining the European champions remains his “dream” and that he wants to “make it happen,” but added that he remains open to talking to the Blues about a new contract. Hazard’s comments prompted reports in Spain that Madrid could look to test Chelsea’s resolve to keep Hazard in January. But in a news conference on Belgium duty, Hazard confirmed he has no intention of leaving Chelsea in the middle of the season. Asked…
After eight games of the Premier League season, Arsenal find themselves only two points off the top. It’s a remarkable record for a side still in transition under new boss Unai Emery, but it’s somewhat difficult to explain precisely how they’ve strung together six consecutive league victories, considering their fractured performances thus far. Emery is an interesting coach: neither a defensive or an attacking manager, not particularly renowned for one specific footballing concept. Summaries of Emery’s approach tend to focus upon his attention-to-detail rather than his overall footballing philosophy, and it feels odd that Arsenal, the grand philosophers of the…
Toni Kroos is “not worried” about Real Madrid’s recent bad run of results that has seen them lose three of their last four games and fail to score in over 500 minutes. That form has led to question marks about coach Julen Lopetegui, who took over from Zinedine Zidane in the summer, but Kroos said he is convinced the European champions will get out of the crisis. “It’s a challenge to turn things around,” Kroos said at a news conference in Berlin. “We have shown at Real that we can do it. There have always been phases like that. I…
Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke is unlikely to return until next year after undergoing knee surgery, manager Roy Hodgson said on Thursday. The 27-year-old has been sidelined since the beginning of September, having withdrawn from the Belgium squad during the last international break. The Premier League club confirmed on Wednesday that he had undergone minor surgery and a washout of the knee and Hodgson said he is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines. “There’s no doubt we won’t be seeing much of him this year,” Hodgson told Sky Sports. “I think it will take until into 2019 before…
Real Madrid on Thursday said they are taking legal action against Correio da Manha after the newspaper in Portugal published a story alleging that the Spanish Primera Division club obligated Cristiano Ronaldo to pay off Kathryn Mayorga after an alleged assault inside a suite at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 2009. The Portuguese daily, citing unnamed sources, alleges that Real Madrid, who Ronaldo was in the process of joining from Manchester United in June 2009, pressured their star forward to reach the out-of-court financial settlement agreed with Mayorga the following January. On Wednesday, Ronaldo’s Las Vegas-based…
If the rumours doing the rounds in Manchester’s football circles are to be believed, Jose Mourinho is considering a move to take Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to Manchester United in January. While the United manager has yet to confirm or deny his interest, there are many reasons for him to do all he can to get the Swedish forward back to Old Trafford, even if only for a couple of months. From a purely footballing perspective, the tail end of Ibrahimovic’s United career in 2017-18 — when he scored just once in seven appearances after returning ahead of schedule following a…
Monaco have sacked manager Leonardo Jardim, the club have announced, and Thierry Henry remains the frontrunner to replace him. Jardim led the Principality side to the Ligue 1 title and Champions League semifinals in 2016-17 before seeing before seeing Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy leave that summer.. Yet he was still able to finish the campaign as runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain. However, following a dismal start to the 2018-19 season, Jardim has been sacked with Monaco in the relegation zone after five defeats in their first nine games. “I am grateful and proud to have been able to…
Eden Hazard has ruled out the possibility of leaving Chelsea for Real Madrid in January. Speaking after Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Southampton on Sunday, Hazard confirmed that joining the European champions remains his “dream” and that he wants to “make it happen,” but added that he remains open to talking to the Blues about a new contract. Hazard’s comments prompted reports in Spain that Madrid could look to test Chelsea’s resolve to keep Hazard in January. But in a news conference on Belgium duty, Hazard confirmed he has no intention of leaving Chelsea in the middle of the season. Asked…
Paul Pogba has said he has struggled to focus following France’s World Cup win — but has insisted he can still lead the club despite being dropped from vice-captaincy duties. Pogba has reportedly fallen out with manager Jose Mourinho on various occasions this season, and that has coincided with a slow start to the season for United, who are eighth in the table, seven points off leaders Manchester City. And the former Juventus midfielder, who has scored twice and provided two assists in eight top-flight outings, said he has found it harder to motivate himself, having won the biggest prize…
The question would have seemed unthinkable this summer, whilst Romelu Lukaku was running riot at the World Cup for Belgium, but it has arisen all the same — namely, should he be dropped by Jose Mourinho? In the last few weeks, he has cut a frustrated figure, with crucial goals surprisingly eluding a player of his reputation. After a remarkable start to his career at Old Trafford, during which he even drew comparisons in some quarters with Ruud van Nistelrooy, his momentum has slowed a little. The Van Nistelrooy parallels were most accurate so far as they related to the…
The last time the German national team welcomed supporters to an open training session, they had just won the World Cup in Brazil. Four years later, Joachim Low and his men are anxious to avoid relegation in the Nations League after a 0-0 draw in their opening match at home to France. But that rather embarrassing sporting demise didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm in the German capital on Tuesday. Five thousand people turned up at Hertha BSC’s Amateurstadion to loudly cheer the Nationalmannschaft’s every shot and pass. Afterwards, players signed shirts and posed for selfies. The World Cup post-mortem…
Spain coach Luis Enrique says the absence of Gareth Bale in Thursday's international friendly against Wales will not change how his team approaches the contest. Bale, who has scored five goals and set up three more in his first seven appearances for Real Madrid this season, has been ruled out of the encounter in Cardiff due to muscle fatigue. "The Wales that we have analysed is one with Bale," Luis Enrique said in Wednesday's news conference at the Principality Stadium. "Bale improves two great qualities that Wales have which is speed and verticality. We shall see what type of national…
Alvaro Morata has said Eden Hazard will not force an exit from Chelsea but would be happy to move to Real Madrid if both clubs come to an agreement. Hazard said this week it remained his “dream” to play for Madrid and he wanted to “make it happen,” but made it clear he did not want to damage his relationship with Chelsea. Speculation that Madrid president Florentino Perez will move for Hazard followed, with 85 percent of fans polled by AS wanting a deal done in the January window. Marca’s front page on Wednesday morning claimed a transfer next summer…
Real Madrid are monitoring Raheem Sterling’s situation at Manchester City as the England forward’s contract runs down, sources have said. The 23-year-old is in the final two years of his contract with no sign of a new deal being agreed as yet. Sterling has also claimed he would be open to a move abroad at some point in his career. “Definitely, it would be nice to play abroad. It would be a great experience. Spain’s attractive. Anywhere the weather is nice really,” Sterling said in December 2017. However, reports has been told there is a willingness from both the club…
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Las Vegas-based attorney said his soccer star client “vehemently denies all of the allegations” made in a lawsuit filed last month, and he described the encounter in a Las Vegas hotel room in June 2009 as “consensual in nature.” In a lawsuit filed in Clark County (Nev.) District Court last month, Kathryn Mayorga detailed the alleged assault inside a suite at the Palms Hotel and Casino. Ronaldo issued a statement last week to “firmly deny the accusations being issued against me.” “Mr. Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in 2009 in Las Vegas…
Thiago Alcantara has brushed aside speculation Zinedine Zidane is being lined up to replace under-pressure Niko Kovac. Zidane, who left Real Madrid at the end of last season after guiding them to their third straight Champions League title, is reportedly a potential replacement for Kovac at Bayern if they dismiss him following a run of four league games without a win. Asked about the possibility of seeing Zidane at Bayern, Alcantara, in his sixth season at the Allianz Arena, told Cadena Ser radio: “It’s just rumours. Rumours are rumours. Fortunately, there are many veteran players at Bayern and we know…
Fred has told his Manchester United teammates the only way to ease the pressure at Old Trafford is to improve results. Jose Mourinho’s side have won just five of their first 11 games of the season and sit eighth in the Premier League table, seven points behind Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. The disappointing start to the campaign has led to question marks over Mourinho’s position and Fred, a £47 million summer signing from Shakhtar Donetsk, insists the only way to fix the situation is to win games. “Manchester United is a huge team, so, if results are not coming,…
Paul Pogba will pay for NBA-style World Cup winning diamond-encrusted rings for France’s World Cup-winning squad, sources have said. French FA president Noel Le Graet said on Tuesday that it will pick up the bill of around €10,000 for the transportation of the rings from Los Angeles to Paris. The price of each piece has not been confirmed yet but they will be made of 11 carat diamonds with blue sapphires and red rubies. The idea was pitched to the squad by Antoine Griezmann and Pogba, who are both NBA fans and want to emulate the tradition in U.S. sports…