olayiwolagold

With a last-16 Champions League tie against the Blancos just a week away, avoiding injuries in a Coupe de France win pleased the Paris side's manager Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery was happy to avoid injuries ahead of facing Real Madrid in the Champions League as his side cruised through to the Coupe de France quarter-finals with a 4-1 win at Sochaux. With Neymar rested after celebrating his 26th birthday at the weekend, Angel Di Maria took a starring role with his first PSG hat-trick helping secure a comfortable win for PSG, who are seeking a fourth straight Coupe de France title. Edinson Cavani was also on target in a win that never felt in doubt despite Florian Martin cancelling out Di Maria's first-minute opener at the Stade Bonal on Tuesday. After Di Maria wrapped up his first treble since 2010, Emery was able to rest Marco Verratti and Cavani for the closing stages, although Dani Alves had to go in goal for ...

Monaco star Thomas Lemar has rejected a new contract with the French club, handing Liverpool and Arsenal a huge boost. Both Premier League sides were keen to sign the 22-year-old last summer, with Lemar thought to be keen on a switch, but Monaco chose to keep hold of their midfielder. They have been dealt a blow in their attempts to retain him beyond this season, as, according to French outlet L'Equipe, he has refused to extend his stay at the club. Lemar is hopeful that turning down an extension to his deal means he will be allowed to leave in the summer window — he is keen to move to the Premier League. The France international's current contract does not expire until summer 2020, but knowing he will not add any years to that is likely to impact Monaco's decision making. Liverpool eyed Lemar as a possible purchase to replace Philippe Coutinho, who joined Barcelona in a £145million deal in January. Arsenal have bee...

The Algeria international has not returned to training after his failed move to Manchester City, but he is now only damaging his own profile Given the way Manchester City are playing this season, any footballer would – whether they want to admit it or not – be keen to represent Pep Guardiola’s side. As such, few could criticise Riyad Mahrez for skipping training on transfer deadline day when news of the Premier League leaders’ interest filtered through. One week on, though, and with no agreement having been reached between the champions-elect and Leicester City for the Algeria international, he has yet to resurface. The Foxes insist they have no idea when he will return to the fold but, with each day that passes without him showing up, Mahrez’s profile in world football continues to diminish. For much of the season, Mahrez has been praised for knuckling down and returning to the form that helped Leicester pull off their miraculous title...

Barcelona attacker Philippe Coutinho lauded Lionel Messi, saying his superstar team-mate was still improving. Barcelona star Lionel Messi gets better every day, according to team-mate Philippe Coutinho. Messi is enjoying another stellar campaign with the LaLiga giants, scoring 27 goals in 34 games in all competitions. Coutinho, a €160million arrival at the Camp Nou from Liverpool in January, said it was amazing to see Messi, 30, still improving. "It seems incredible, but every day Messi gets better, and as a team-mate I can only take advantage of my moments with him," the Brazil international told 8TV. "I've learned a lot from everyone and I've tried to take advantage of everything they taught me." Coutinho is still settling in at runaway league leaders Barca, making four appearances for the club so far. The 25-year-old praised Ernesto Valverde, saying the Barcelona coach was continually seeking to ...

Lionel Messi turned down the chance to become by far and away the best paid player on the planet last summer when the Chinese Super League failed in an attempt to coax him away from Barcelona. According to Mundo Deportivo, officials from the big-spending division extended an offer in the region of €100million-a-year (£88m) to the Argentine, a wage that would have seen him take home £1.7m every week. But despite the incredible financial package put forward, Messi chose to stay with the Spanish club and put pen-to-paper on a deal that extended his stay at the Nou Camp until 2021 last November. That new deal saw him become one of the best paid players on the planet regardless with a basic wage of £500,000-a-week before loyalty bonuses and image rights. However, the CSL have not given up their dream of convincing the five-time Ballon d'Or winner to see out the twilight days of his career in the Far East. The same report suggests s...

Barcelona face Valencia on Thursday at Mestalla with a place in the Copa del Rey final at stake. The coach will leave the rests and rotations to one side. Lionel Messi will return to the starting XI and Barcelona will be another side than the team they were at Espanyol on Sunday. Meanwhile Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto will be back in at left and right back respectively, after Digne and Semedo played against Espanyol.

The French coach has been disappointed by the player and has decided that if he is to remain at the Bernabeu next season, then Isco is to be sold. Late night Spanish football television show 'El Chiringuito' have reported that if Zidane remains at the Bernabeu next season, one of the French coach priorities will be to sell Isco Alarcon. Journalist Josep Pedrerol maintains that Zidane feels disappointed with the Benalmadena born player after depositing his fail in the creative midfielder following the departure of Colombian international James Rodríguez to Bundesliga side Bayern Munich. Favouritism "Isco was deemed as to more of a pivotal player than Colombian but has had a discreet and underwhelming season so far" claimed Pedrerol, after Zidane asked Florentino Pérez to offload James as he preferred to have Isco in his first-team squad. He continued: "Zidane is ahuge admirer of Isco's style of play and wh...

Mauricio Pochettino feels there is too much 'hypocrisy' in football after being forced to defend Dele Alli's dive against Liverpool. The 21-year-old Tottenham starlet was cautioned for simulation at Anfield - his third yellow card for that offence since his Premier League debut in 2015. Pochettino, who still maintains he never touched Michael Owen when the England striker won a penalty against Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, feels football has to stop over-analysing itself. 'The problem - and not only here in England - is the hypocrisy,' said Pochettino. 'Because at times, we understand football [only] in the way we want. Sometimes we are positive or negative according to whether it benefits us or not. 'Our responsibility as managers or people who are in football is to try to respect the essence of the game. I heard Valdano say on television in Spain, "I loved the football of the 1990s". I ag...

Barcelona are working on reinforcing the left side ahead of next season. The left-back market is not a large one and in recent hours a special offer has arrived: Layvin Kurzawa. He is not happy under Unai Emery. The French defender, 25, has seen Yuri Berchiche take his spot. The plyer has also sacked his agent. Moussa Sissoko has become the player's new agent with one clear job - finding somewhere else to play next season. It's not the first time Kurzawa has been linked, the same happened while he was at Monaco when he was being tracked by Barca staff. Now the parnorama has changed. He wants a new club, while Barcelona are considering replacing Lucas Digne. The deal would not be too expensive, and Kurzawa could arrive for around 25 million euros.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has rarely appeared without the symbol attached to his garment in recent months, but what does it mean? Towards the end of 2017, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola began to wear a yellow ribbon on his chest. He wore it to press conferences and also on the side of the pitch in both the Premier League and Champions League. It soon became a talking point as supporters and the media wondered what it meant and why he wore a yellow ribbon. Some of his rivals even passed comment. Managers wear all sorts of symbols on their chests, but what exactly is Guardiola's all about? Goal takes a look. Why does Guardiola wear a yellow ribbon? Guardiola wears a yellow ribbon as a gesture of support for imprisoned activists and politicians who campaigned for Catalan independence. Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, leaders of Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC) and Omnium respectively, were jailed...

Gerard Pique's trip to Espanyol on Sunday was not a wholly positive one despite heading in the late equaliser, as an injury picked up late on in the game is set to force Ernesto Valverde into a big compromise for Thursday's game at Valencia. With just Yerry Mina and Samuel Umtiti the coach's fit centre-backs, he faces a dilemma of either starting a rookie in such a big match or drafting in a more experienced player who isn't a natural fit for the role. Given that Umtiti is banned for the upcoming LaLiga clash against Getafe, Mina was all set for an easing into the Barcelona team once the Copa del Rey had been dealt with, but Gerard Moreno's late tackle on Pique has upset the Azulgrana apple cart. Pique has attempted to train alone since picking up the knee ligament injury and the signs have not been good, leading to the medical department urging restraint in order to guarantee his fitness for the Champions League tie versus ...

Gary Lineker still follows Barcelona to this day and has discussed his former side, along with Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema, stating that the Argentine is the best of all time. During a three year spell in Spain, Lineker scored 42 goals in 103 LaLiga appearances with the Blaugrana and was the highest scoring British player in league history, before being surpassed by Gareth Bale. "I love Barcelona," Lineker told Lobo Carrasco in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. "I see all of their games; I am a fan of Barcelona and my four children are too. "Barcelona have been the best since Ronaldinho, Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta and, above all, Messi. "Messi is from another world." The former England striker spoke further about Messi and his admiration for the Argentine. "He does four or five things in a game that I have never done in my career," said Lineker. "He does amazing things, he's the ...

Florentino Perez likes nothing more than finally landing his target after a long-drawn out tug-of-war with a rival club, but he also loves a player who makes great efforts to force his way out of a club and into the arms of Real Madrid. That's why Thibaut Courtois' interview with Belgian magazine Sport and the declaration: 'My heart is in Madrid' will have moved the 26-year-old back to the top of the club president's wanted list. David de Gea has long been Perez's favourite but the deal is difficult to do because wounds have still not entirely healed since the two clubs accused each other over the bungled transfer of the Spaniard to Madrid on deadline day 2015. And even if they were the best of friends, De Gea is too valuable to Manchester United for them to contemplate letting him go for anything less than £100million. De Gea's current deal runs out in 2019, albeit it with an option to automatically renew ...

Manchester United star Ander Herrera is set to be put on trial over an alleged match fixing scandal. The 28-year-old Spaniard has been warned he faces being ordered into the witness stand with 33 other footballers including Atletico Madrid midfielder Gabi over a 'suspect' May 2011 match between his former club Real Zaragoza and Levante. Zaragoza's then-manager Javier Aguirre also faces trial along with others including the club's former sporting director Antonio Prieto and its ex-owner Agapito Iglesias. The trial,  seen as a certainty in Spain, is expected to be at least six months away. Respected regional newspaper Las Provincias claimed the 42 people involved could face prison sentences ranging from six months to four years if convicted. Prison sentences of less than two years for first-time offenders normally end up being suspended. The bombshell news comes after a U-turn by Valencia-based investigating judge Isabel...

Paris Saint-Germain attacker Kylian Mbappe raved about current teammate and former Real Madrid midfielder Angel Di Maria following their cup game against Sochaux, and also spoke about his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo. Di Maria scored a hat-trick for PSG as they won 4-1 at Sochaux in the Coupe de France and the 19-year-old recognises how vital the Argentine is. "We all know very well how important Di Maria is for us," said Mbappe. "He allows us to carry on winning games. "He deserves to start against Real Madrid [in the Champions League on 14 February], but I'm not the coach." Mbappe also discussed Cristiano Ronaldo and he believes that the Portuguese forward is still one of the best in the world. "Ronaldo is not in decline," he said. "If he is in decline, then there are many more players who are facing the same plight. "Cristiano is a great player and hopefully he remains calm aga...

The Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) has sent a complaint to the committee of the Spanish FA (RFEF) and the Anti Violence Commission for the events that occurred surrounding Gerard Pique in the Catalan derby. Continual chants were directed towards Pique, as well as banners, and they intensified after he scored Barcelona's equaliser in the 82nd minute, where he tried to silence the fans with a hand gesture in his celebration. In the letter, chants of 'Barca whores' and 'Pique a**hole, Shakira has a tail, your son is Wakaso's [a former midfielder of Espanyol] and you're queer' were heard at different parts of the game, but particularly after the two goals. It does indicate that the Barcelona centre-back ran towards the Espanyol fans 'making a gesture towards the supporters by placing his forefinger on his lips in a sign of silence'. However, in some images it looks like Pique is making a particularly dero...

Valencia head into their second leg tie against Barcelona on Thursday and coach Marcelino wants to see an intense match, but one where his team remain calm and composed. Luis Suarez scored the only goal in the first leg and was a constant menace for the Valencia defence, and Marcelino is aware that they must keep their cool against the Uruguayan. "We all know each other and we must know how the rival plays," said Marcelino. "We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by our opponents, moving away from football. We must not fall into provocations." Lionel Messi was rested for most of the Catalan derby against Espanyol on Sunday and Marcelino recognises that Barcelona are a different team without the Argentine. "Valencia and other teams face a Barcelona with Messi or a Barcelona without Messi," he said. "They have fewer resources without Messi, it's obvious. "They have a lot of enthusi...

The Spaniard's own Premier League winning run is longer than the one Manchester City put together as a club, and in all competitions it is even longer Manchester City may be finally getting towards the stage where they can cope without David Silva, but the huge influence he still holds over his team is best summed up by a frankly unbelievable statistic. Silva has won every one of his past 25 games in all competitions. It may not sound too significant at first glance but, according to The Times journalist Bill Edgar, who brought the numbers to light in January, it is "the longest [winning] run of any player since the league began in 1888". Opta are able to confirm that his run of 19 consecutive Premier League victories is a record in the competition. After all, Silva's league streak is two more than the 17 wins City put together collectively between August and the end of December. Edgar's research sh...

West Ham have completed the signing of former Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra. West Ham United are pleased to confirm the signing of the vastly-experienced Patrice Evra on a short-term contract. Capped 81 times by France, the charismatic Evra has won seven league titles and the UEFA Champions League during an illustrious career with AS Monaco, Manchester United and Juventus. Evra, who joins the Hammers on a contract until the end of June 2018 and will wear the No27 shirt, worked with Hammers manager David Moyes during his time at Old Trafford, and is looking forward to linking up with his old boss and returning to the Premier League. “I’m really happy to be a Hammer, to be back in the Premier League and I love this game!” said the dynamic left-back, using the catchphrase he has made famous on his hugely popular Instagram channel. “It’s amazing to be back and I am thankful to West Ham for giving me the opportunity to do my jo...

Spanish law states that the 29-year-old will not have to spend any time in jail and he has agreed to pay the money he owes with interest Alexis Sanchez has accepted a 16-month prison sentence for committing tax fraud during his time at Barcelona, although he will not spend time in jail. The Manchester United forward was accused of defrauding the treasury of €1 million between 2012 and 2013, relating to income from his image rights. Sanchez has, however, reached an agreement with the prosecutor to pay the money he owes with interest. Despite the verdict, the Chilean will not spend time in prison as he is a first offender and the sentence is less than two years. The ex-Arsenal star is the latest football figure to be punished by Spanish prosecutors for dodging taxes. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho and Ricardo Carvalho have all been pursued by the authorities recently. Barcelona star Messi was handed a 21-mon...

Although he is yet to make an official debut for Barcelona, Yerry Mina has already left a positive impression inside the Catalans' dressing room. The defender's humility and humble attitude has smoothed his way into the Blaugrana entity and he has already been described as a cheerful and pleasant individual. His teammates have started becoming fond of his personality and Mina's South American colleagues have been trying to integrate him in the squad. The Colombian centre back is eager to absorb any kind of advice from superstars such as Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, while Paulinho and fellow January signing Philippe Coutinho provide him with advice to assist his efforts to settle into European football. Denis Suarez shares his knowledge on how to operate in the 'Barcelona way' with the newcomer, who works hard and has already left a positive impression on the team's coaching staff. Those who know him well em...

Tottenham's clash with Liverpool was a game for Dele Alli to forget as he was booked again for diving, but now something worse has caught up with him. A sex tape allegedly belonging to Dele Alli has been leaked to the public. The video shows the Tottenham forward standing naked while a naked lady perform sex act on him. It is unclear who is behind the leak and if it is really Dele Alli in the video. Some reports claim it is Liverpool fans who leaked the video from the player's iCloud. The player is yet to response as at time of writing this. The video can be found on streamable  and has dominated discussions on twitter.

Danny Drinkwater has revealed he plans to ask for Lionel Messi's shirt when Chelsea face Barcelona next month. Antonio Conte's side take on La Liga leaders in the Champions League's first knockout stage at Stamford Bridge on February 20. The two clubs will then play the second leg at the Nou Camp on March 14 as both clubs target European glory. When asked if he's relishing the two legs against Barcelona, Drinkwater, speaking at the launch of the adidas Cold Blooded boot pack, told Mirror Sport: "Yeah, I am, yeah. I don’t think I’ve actually played at the Nou Camp before. "I played against Barcelona in pre-season a year ago but the Nou Camp will be a new experience for me, so yeah I’m looking forward to it." On what it's like to face Messi, Drinkwater added: "I was buzzing the first time I played him so I don't know what I'll be like the second time. I'll have to get his shirt." The 27-year-old also revealed tha...

The Premier League leaders were held to a 1-1 draw at Burnley on Saturday, but the coach felt it was one of their better displays Pep Guardiola believes the generally glowing public perception of Manchester City's performance does not always match his own assessment of the Premier League leaders. City were held 1-1 at Burnley on Saturday - Johann Gudmundsson's late goal cancelling out Danilo's scorching opener - to allow Manchester United to cut their lead atop the table to 13 points. Guardiola described City's performance at Turf Moor as "almost perfect", although his side failed to convert a number of fine chances, most notably Raheem Sterling contriving to miss an open goal from point-blank range. Sean Dyche's men battled back into the match in the closing stages, forcing Ederson to make a magnificent save to tip an Aaron Lennon drive on to the post, leaving Guardiola impressed with the Clarets. Guardiola told reporters: "So...

Kevin De Bruyne admits his Manchester City workload has left him feeling 'like s***' as the Belgium midfielder seeks a mid-season break from their trophy charge. De Bruyne has started City's last seven consecutive games and has not been rested since mid-December as Pep Guardiola drives his team forward with David Silva in and out of the side due to his personal situation and Yaya Toure's minutes limited. City are still fighting for silverware on four fronts and with injuries slashing their squad, their star playmaker is feeling the strain. Guardiola is giving his players a four-day break with a six-day gap between Saturday's draw at Burnley and the visit of Leicester City at the weekend. And De Bruyne is using that period to be anywhere but Manchester in a bid to recharge his batteries. 'I'm going away, it doesn't matter where,' De Bruyne said. 'It will do us a lot of good, I was feeling it from the first minute (at Burnley)....

The Blues boss has come in for some heavy criticism after a dismal run of results but the club's major issues have nothing to do with the Italian Chelsea's painful January is over, after the club became the victim of its own success by playing nine games in 28 days over a month which ended with a humiliating 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth. Antonio Conte lost his only fit striker before the match, as Chelsea yet again had to wait until deadline day to secure their transfer targets, with Olivier Giroud arriving at the 11th hour to replace the Borussia Dortmund-bound Michy Batshuayi. However, the embarrassing defeat to Bournemouth highlighted deeper, more troubling issues and prompted several searching questions: Is everyone at Stamford Bridge still behind Conte? Will he stay beyond the summer? And what does the future hold for Chelsea? The Blues were once again outgunned in the transfer market by Manchester City, who spent as much one player in Aymeric Lapo...