As he waits for an extension at Juve, the Argentine says it would be nice to play for the Blaugrana.

Photo by Getty Images

Paulo Dybala admitted it would be “very nice” to play for Barcelona as the star attacker said he was still waiting for a contract renewal at Juventus.

Dybala, 26, was enjoying a fine season before it was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, having been linked with a move from Turin last year.

The Argentina international is reportedly set to extend his stay at Juve, where he is contracted until 2022.

But Dybala said it would be nice to reunite with international team-mate Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

“The truth is that Barcelona is huge team worldwide and with Messi there even bigger,” he told CNN.

“It would be very nice, but Juventus is also an incredible club, very big, full of history, where there are currently great players.

“There’s enough quality here to make two teams and the chance to play with [Gianluigi] Buffon and Cristiano Ronaldo, who make the club even bigger.”

While a move to Barcelona could be of interest, Dybala has been reported to be close to an extension at Juventus.

But Dybala, who has scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 34 games this season, said he was still waiting.

“For now there is nothing, really. I have a year and a half left on my contract, which is not much, and I understand that with all this that has happened [coronavirus] it isn’t easy for the club, but other players have also renewed, so we are here waiting,” he said.

“Obviously I am a player of this club and I am happy to be here. People love me very much and I love the people very much. I have great appreciation for the club and the people who are here, I have a good relationship with my president and surely at some point they will come to chat – or maybe not, I don’t know.

“At some point maybe there may be some possible renewal, but it depends on Juventus.”

Serie A leaders Juventus are set to resume their league campaign on June 22 with a trip to Bologna – as they hold a one-point lead over second-placed Lazio.

Source – Goal.com

At one stage it looked like the France midfielder had played his last game for the 20-time English champions but times have changed since Covid-19.

Photo by Getty Images

When Mino Raiola took aim at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Instagram in February it felt like that was going to set the tone for press conferences and transfer talk until the end of the season.

After what had been another impressive victory against Chelsea, which further boosted Manchester United’s top four hopes, the Norwegian was left fending off questions about Paul Pogba’s agent .

“I don’t need to comment through the media on Mino and what he says. I can probably speak to him myself,” Solskjaer said after the 2-0 win.

“You can’t control it anyway, everyone’s got a voice and you can have your own opinion. There are things being said about us where you want to comment but you’d rather not and it’s more clever that you don’t comment on many different things.

“It’s not my rapport and Paul and Mino do have their conversations but it’s fine.”

Pogba’s agent has since claimed he has a good relationship with Solskjaer but had the season not been halted due to Covid-19 it’s likely Raiola would have continued with his statements as that is his favoured way of working as he tries to engineer a move for the midfielder.

Many believed the World Cup winner had played his last game for the club with foot and ankle injuries sidelining him for the majority of the campaign. But, the suspension of all football due to the coronavirus pandemic means not only will the 27-year-old have a key part to play in the resumption of this Premier League season but he is likely to stay put for another year.

It is no secret the Frenchman is keen for a challenge elsewhere and, in some aspects, who can blame him? United have struggled to mount a serious title challenge since he returned in 2016 and are still facing the prospect of a second consecutive season without Champions League football.

However, the economic situation following the shutdown means it is highly unlikely he will get the move he so desperately sought this summer. And the silence from his vocal leader Raiola on the subject over the past few months has been telling.

United would have allowed Pogba to leave last summer had a club met their valuation of around £180 million (€204m/$230m). There is an acceptance that they will have to drastically lower that figure should clubs come enquiring when the market does open this summer.

In reality in a post Covid world who would be able to afford the midfielder’s huge wages and the transfer fee which would still be around £100m (€114m/$128m).

Although the club would have permitted Pogba’s exit there has been a reluctance to let the midfielder go. He’s shown glimpses of his world class talent but has yet to produce consistently game after game.

Because of that, Pogba’s time at Old Trafford has been heavily criticised with claims from former players and pundits that he hasn’t lived up to his potential and there have been damning verdicts of his performances both on and off the pitch.

But circumstances mean United could now have the midfielder at their disposal for the peak years of his career and the World Cup winner has got the opportunity to prove himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Pogba’s former teammate Ander Herrera believes the Frenchman has the ability but needs the consistency to be considered world class.

“I don’t know what other players say but he is a midfielder that has everything. If you see other midfielders in the world, they may have some qualities — control of the ball, long shots, passes, tackles, box-to-box — but Paul can do all of this, plus head the ball, score goals, make recoveries, one against one… everything,” Herrera told The Athletic .

“But of course, if you want to become the best midfielder in the world, it is about consistency. You have to do it day in, day out. He is a good guy. He wants to do it. He does train well. He has to do it every day.”

And the changes to Solskjaer’s team could allow him to do that.

The arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January and the subsequent revival of United should give Pogba the freedom he has been lacking at times and also release some of the burden of pressure that’s been placed on him to be United’s star man . For too long there has been expectancy and pressure on the midfielder to save the team but Fernandes has come in and changed that.

Mentally the midfielder will need to accept the reality of at least another season at Old Trafford and his behaviour and levels in training since the team have returned in the past few weeks cannot be questioned. He has impressed his teammates and Solskjaer is hopeful he will be fit for the game against Spurs on June 19.

Pogba will no doubt get the move he wants at some point in the future but for now, the pandemic has given him a second chance to choose the ending to his time at Old Trafford. It’s over to him to write the narrative.

Source – Goal.com

Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho says it is an “absolute joke” he has been fined by the German football league after being pictured having a home haircut without wearing a mask.

Jadon Sancho (left) and Manuel Akanji were among a group of Dortmund players pictured in their apartments with a hairdresser

England forward Sancho’s team-mate Manuel Akanji has also been fined after they were deemed to have broken rules.

The league said the players had “obviously violated general hygiene and infection protection standards”.

Sancho, 20, criticised the decision in a Twitter post which he later deleted.

Dortmund had defended the players, saying they had not breached the Bundesliga’s health and safety rules.

Hair salons reopened in Germany in May but there are strict rules in place, including the wearing of masks by both customers and hairdressers.

German newspaper Bild posted the news on its Twitter account on Friday with the offending picture.

On Thursday, Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc said the group of six players had assured the club that they had followed safety guidelines and the masks were only taken off for the photograph.

But the league (DFL) decided to take action against Sancho and Akanji after they were pictured without personal protective equipment.

“There is no question that professional footballers also have to have their hair cut,” added the DFL.

“However, this currently has to be done in accordance with the medical-organisational concept.”

Source – BBC News

The 35-year-old joined Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather as the only athletes to accumulate $1 billion.

Photo by Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer in history to become a billionaire during his career.

According to  Forbes , the Juventus star made $105 million (£83m) before tax in the last year, taking his total worth over the $1 billion (£789m) mark.

The 35-year-old attacker has been named the fourth-highest earning celebrity in 2020 by the magazine, behind tennis legend Roger Federer, rapper Kanye West and Kylie Jenner.

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi, who Forbes said earned $104m (£82m) in the last year, came in fifth while Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar took seventh place with $95.5m (£75m).

After golf icon Tiger Woods and former boxer Floyd Mayweather, Ronaldo is just the third athlete ever to accumulate such wealth and the first to do so in a team sport.

The Portugal international is said to have made $650m (£513m) in wages over his 17 years as a professional athlete, with the rest made from endorsements. He has been tied to a lucrative lifetime deal with Nike since 2016 and is attached to several other big-name brands.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is also building a business empire, with his fashion and lifestyle brand, hotel chain and the CR7 museum in his hometown of Funchal in Madeira.

His 2020 earnings have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, as his salary has dropped after the Juventus squad agreed to take a 30 percent pay cut.

Although Messi’s salary this year was drastically reduced by 70% because the crisis, Forbes predicts the Argentine sensation will join his eternal rival in the billionaire’s club next year.

Having been on hiatus since March, Serie A will return later this month, with Juve facing an away trip to Bologna on their first game back on June 22. They will then host Lecce four days later.

The Turin giants are a point ahead of Lazio in Serie A with 12 games left to play.

Maurizio Sarri’s team are chasing down a ninth consecutive title, while Ronaldo is trailing Lazio star Ciro Immobile in the goal charts .

The Portugal hero has netted 21 times in 22 games, while Italy international Immobile is on 27.

Source – Goal.com

The Blues stunned the football world with their intent to trigger the buyout clause of one of the game’s hottest forwards and now plan left-back raid.

Photo by Goal

Chelsea are actively working towards securing the signing of Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell after meeting Timo Werner’s £54 million (€60m/$68m) release clause at RB Leipzig.

Neither Liverpool nor Manchester United were willing to pay that sum for the 24-year-old forward, allowing the Blues to close in on their second signing ahead of next season.

Manager Frank Lampard and defender Antonio Rudiger both spoke to Werner directly before he agreed on a move to Stamford Bridge and his agent Karlheinz Forster instructed Leipzig’s chiefs that his client was ready to move to west London at the end of the season.

After February’s £37m (€40m/$46m) deal for Ajax‘s Hakim Ziyech, the Blues’ spending is now up to a combined £91m ($114m) but Goal has learned that Chilwell is being pursued with the same energy as their latest two signings.

Unlike the deals for Werner and Ziyech, Chilwell’s deal is complicated due to the absence of a release clause. Therefore, the club need to negotiate a fee with Leicester in order to bring him to Stamford Bridge next season.

Manchester United’s deal for Harry Maguire has set a precedent in this regard and Chilwell will likely cost over £80m ($100m). Leicester, however, haven’t put a price tag on their key asset who they intend to keep.

The Premier League end-of-season standings could yet impact negotiating positions as Leicester are well-placed, along with Chelsea, to qualify for the Champions League.

Beyond Chilwell, Chelsea may re-ignite interest in their former academy star and Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake. Chelsea sold Ake to the Cherries for £20m ($25m) in 2017 but inserted a £40m ($50m) buyback clause which expires this summer.

The Blues may wait and see what happens with Chilwell – the club’s primary target – before moving for anyone else but Bournemouth being relegated may allow them to sign Ake on a slightly reduced fee despite the clause.

After reinforcements to the left-back position, Chelsea aren’t expected to conduct any other major signings. Manchester United are strong favourites to secure the signing of Borussia Dortmund‘s Jadon Sancho, who would welcome a summer move to Old Trafford. The 20-year-old will snub any offers to renew his contract at the German club.

Chelsea could continue to add players in swap deals or on loan depending on how their summer develops at a later stage. They also hold interest in lower priority targets like Brentford‘s Said Benrahma and Villarreal‘s Samuel Chukwueze. They also have alternative left-back options in Porto‘s Alex Telles and Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico.

The west London club have long promised to back Lampard in the transfer market after he guided the club through a transfer ban using youth and former loanee players. The club saw their transfer ban lifted in January but made no signings in the winter window.

Lampard acknowledged that this would make it harder to qualify for the top four but he was broadly in support of the Chelsea hierarchy who secured Ziyech’s transfer for the summer only a matter of days later.

Indeed, much of Chelsea’s spending has been funded by high-profile sales, with the proceeds from Real Madrid‘s £88m ($110m) deal for Eden Hazard being reinvested. The Blues also await payments from Atletico Madrid for former striker Alvaro Morata who was loaned with a view to buy for £58m ($73m).

Chelsea will also look to offload players this summer; Emerson Palmieri or Marcos Alonso will be sold to make way for a new left-back.

Both players have interest from Inter and Antonio Conte, while Emerson has further suitors in Serie A duo Juventus and Napoli.

Talks over new deals for Pedro and Willian appear to have come to a halt in recent weeks. Pedro has free transfer interest from at least four clubs including Real Betis, Roma, Inter Miami and Vissel Kobe.

Willian’s situation is more troubling as London clubs Tottenham and Arsenal look to sign him on a pre-contract agreement. Werner’s arrival, alongside Ziyech, only adds to the uncertainty around the Brazil international.

Chelsea have to agree new contracts with the duo before June 23 in order to keep them until the end of the season, which will go beyond the date their contracts expire on  June 30.

Chelsea are also looking for buyers for Michy Batshuayi, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater. However, they may run into issues with player sales this summer as the coronavirus crisis impacts club budgets in the upcoming transfer window.

Source – Goal.com

The Portuguese attacker was overwhelmed after hearing his childhood dream was coming true.

Photo by Getty Images

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has revealed he started crying when he was told about the chance to move to Old Trafford.

The Portugal international officially joined the Red Devils from Sporting in January after repeatedly being linked with a transfer over the past year.

Having grown up watching Cristiano Ronaldo make his name in the Premier League with United, Fernandes admits he was overwhelmed upon hearing his dream of doing the same was coming true.

“You know, I will say the truth that I was scared,” Fernandes said in an Instagram Live interview with Mario Djurovski. “It was a dream [come true] but it was a big dream.

“For me, playing in England and for Manchester [United] was the highest part of my career. To play in the Premier League, for one of the best teams in the world.

“When I received the call saying: ‘Bruno, you have the chance of moving to Manchester’ I called my wife, my brother, my sister, my mother and just started crying.

“But I was crying through happiness. I fought all my life for this, for this top club. The chance was here and I needed to take it with both hands, to follow my dream.

“My family knew since the beginning that I wanted to be a footballer, they knew my big dream was to be in the Premier League and to play for Manchester.”

Fernandes was enjoying a dream start to life at Old Trafford prior to the coronavirus pandemic as he scored three goals and contributed four assists across his first nine appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

With the Premier League poised to resume on June 17, Fernandes will likely be joined on the pitch for the first time by Paul Pogba, who has missed much of the season through injury. That prospect has Fernandes excited, with the Portuguese attacker full of praise for Pogba’s ability.

“Yes of course, I think Paul is one of the best players in Manchester and in the world,” Fernandes said.

“He was injured for a lot of time. The opportunity to play side to side with him is fantastic because you want to play with the best players you can.”

Source – Goal.com

An unnamed individual from Tottenham returned a positive test, the club confirmed after the top flight released its latest data.

Photo by Getty composite

The Premier League has revealed that its latest round of testing has thrown up a single positive case of coronavirus.

As part of preparations to return to action, England‘s top flight is carrying out extensive screening of players and staff from across the league.

The scheme began on May 17 and have now been repeated on a further three occasions, with just one positive announced on Wednesday from almost 1,200 tested.

“The Premier League can today confirm that on Monday 1 June and Tuesday 2 June, 1197 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, one has tested positive,” the league confirmed in a statement published on its official website.

“The individual who tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.

The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency. No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public after each round of testing.”

While the Premier League declines to release information on those affected by the virus, in this case Tottenham chose to partially waive confidentiality and confirm that the individual in question belonged to the London club.

“We have been informed by the Premier League that we have received one positive test for COVID-19 following the latest round of testing at our Training Centre,” Tottenham explained in a statement.

“Due to medical confidentiality, the individual’s name will not be disclosed.

“They are currently asymptomatic and will now self-isolate for seven days, in line with Premier League protocol, before undergoing further testing.

“We shall continue to strictly adhere to the Premier League’s Return to Training protocol, which ensures our Training Centre remains a safe and virus-free working environment.”

In total 13 individuals have returned positive results, with six of those coming in the first round of testing across May 17-18.

The second round revealed a further two positives, while May 25-26 saw four confirmed as carrying Covid-19.

From May 28-29 the Premier League received more heartening news with zero new cases found from over 1,000 tests, bolstering its bid to restart official matches on June 17.

Nine rounds of fixtures are yet to be completed, with Liverpool sitting 25 points clear at the top of the table and hoping to clinch the title in their next match back should they win and other results go their way.

Source – Goal.com

Russia’s appeal against a four-year international competition ban will be held at the start of November, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has announced.

Russia is appealing against sanctions that will prevent athletes from competing under their flag at the Tokyo Olympics

In a list of hearings published on its website, CAS said that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) would contest the punishment handed down by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from November 2-5 this year.

WADA declared RUSADA non-compliant with its code last December after alleging that laboratory data had been manipulated as Russian teams were blocked from competing in global sporting events.

The sanctions ruled out Russian athletes competing under their country’s flag at events such as the Olympics and Paralympics, with the next Games now to be held in Tokyo in 2021, and the following year’s football World Cup.

The hearing will be held at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland

Under the sanctions, Russia is also barred from hosting international sporting events, and only Russian athletes who can prove they are not implicated in the non-compliance will be permitted to compete.

WADA investigators found that Moscow laboratory data acquired in January 2019 which covered a period from January 2012 to August 2015 had been manipulated, in that some information which was present in data WADA obtained from a whistleblower in 2017 was missing from the 2019 files.

The data had been handed over to investigators as one of the conditions of Russia’s reinstatement to compliance in September 2018.

The case will now be heard by CAS and the court’s decision will be binding.

Source – Sky Sports

The Juventus ace netted in a record-equalling 11 consecutive Serie A appearances just before the suspension of play but still has a lot of work to do.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Cristiano Ronaldo’s dedication to the game is the stuff of legend.

Yet Juventus‘ medical team were astounded when the 35-year-old returned to Continassa last month in better physical condition than when lockdown began in March.

While some players struggled to stay in shape during the coronavirus-enforced suspension of play, with Eden Hazard admitting that he found it difficult to avoid stuffing his face with buns, Ronaldo threw himself into training.

According to Tuttosport, Ronaldo worked out for three-to-four hours a day during the two-month long lockdown, meaning he is now fitter than he was while netting in a record-equalling 11 consecutive Serie A appearances across January and February.

The incredible thing is, though, that a repeat of that run might actually be required if the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is to win this season’s Capocannoniere award for the Italian top-flight’s top goalscorer.

That is because despite Ronaldo having struck 21 times in Serie A this season, he still trails Ciro Immobile by six goals at the top of the standings.

Lazio striker Immobile is presently netting at a staggering rate. Indeed, only Antonio Valentin Angelillo (29) has ever scored more than Immobile (27) after 26 Serie A matchdays.

History now looks well within the Neapolitan’s reach – he needs just nine more goals to equal Gonzalo Higuain’s record for a single Serie A season (36, in 2015-16) – given he approached his quarantine training programme with the same level of diligence as Ronaldo, often doing two sessions a day.

Immobile’s sensational form in front of goal is, of course, one of the main reasons why Lazio are, against all odds, just a point behind Serie A leaders Juve ahead of this month’s resumption of play.

However, it is not just his strike-rate that has gone to another level – it is his all-round game, as underlined by the fact that he has already racked up seven assists this season, meaning has been directly involved in more goals in 2019-20 (34) than any other player across Europe’s Big Five leagues.

Those are remarkable numbers for a player who flopped at both Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla in his mid-20s, and once went two years without scoring for Italy.

Immobile has always maintained that he did not get the support he needed to settle at Signal Iduna Park, while he blamed Unai Emery for the unsuccessful nature of his short loan spell at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

However, the Italian also conceded that he struggled with the pressure of replacing Robert Lewandowski at Dortmund, and Immobile has admitted himself that he needs to feel “important” to perform at his best for any team.

Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi has done a masterful job in that regard, supporting Immobile throughout their time together but also showing his star striker some ‘tough love’ when required.

“Fights can help,” Immobile admitted after a touchline dust-up with his coach earlier in the season. “Those are things that reinforce the relationship.”

The net result is that, at 30 years of age, Immobile is playing like never before, and he is well aware that both he and Lazio have a unique opportunity to do something truly special.

Immobile’s wife, Jessica Melena, even recently joked that if her husband were to finish as top scorer in a first Biancocelesti Scudetto success since 2000, the only possible way to celebrate would be for them to have another child!

Of course, Immobile has already finished as Serie A’s top scorer on two previous occasions, in 2013-14 and 2017-18, but he did not expect to find himself in contention for the accolade this term.

Indeed, when Ronaldo arrived in Italy two years ago, Immobile quipped: “I’m lucky to have already won the Capocannoniere twice!”

Real Madrid icon Ronaldo did not score quite as freely as many expected during his debut Serie A campaign, though. He only netted 21 goals, fewer than Krzysztof Piatek, Duvan Zapata and leading marksman Fabio Quagliarella.

There were mitigating circumstances in that regard, as Ronaldo’s game time was carefully managed by Juve with Europe in mind. For both the player and his club, the Champions League was – and remains – the primary objective.

Ronaldo also did enough to be named Serie A’s ‘Most Valuable Player’ for 2018-19, but there is no denying that he only found his very best form at the turn of the year, which resulted in his goals-per-game ratio jumping from 0.68 last season to 0.95 this term.

He now has 42 goals in just 52 league appearances for Juventus – neither AC Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko nor the Inter icon Ronaldo reached that figure in so few games. It is as if the Portugal international is on a mission to make up for lost time. Whether he is doing so at a quick enough rate to catch Immobile remains to be seen.

There is also some doubt over whether Ronaldo will feature as much in Serie A as Immobile, given Juve still have the Coppa Italia and the Champions League to worry about, while Lazio are already out of both the domestic cup and the Europa League.

What we do know for sure, though, is that football is returning. And so too are Ronaldo and Immobile, fitter and stronger than ever before.

So, brace yourself for an epic conclusion to the race for the Scudetto – and the Capocannoniere.

Source – Goal.com