Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has retired from football aged 38, the player has announced.

Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has retired from football aged 38, the player has announced.

The former France international made 379 appearances for United, having arrived from Monaco in 2006, and won five Premier League titles whilst at Old Trafford, as well as the 2007-08 Champions League title and three League Cup trophies.

Evra left United in 2014, going on to play for Juventus, Marseille, and West Ham, winning three Italian league titles and two Italian cups.

The defender was suspended for seven months in 2017, causing his release from Marseille, after he kicked a fan in the crowd before a Europa League clash with Vitoria Guimaraes.

The Frenchman made his last professional appearance in 2018 for West Ham in the Premier League.

Evra made 81 international appearances, including starts at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and in Brazil in 2014.

He was also a losing finalist in four Champions League editions with Monaco, United and Juventus as well as at Euro 2016 with France.

Evra also clashed with Paris Saint-Germain following United’s victory over French champions in the Champions League round-of-16 clash in February, which led the Ligue 1 side to “consider legal action.”

Source – ESPN

Chinese Super League regulations on overseas-born players means the Wales international’s proposed transfer is all but off.

Photo by Getty Images

Gareth Bale’s chances of moving to Jiangsu Suning are all but over after the Chinese Super League side signed Croatian striker Ivan Santini from Anderlechtto reach their quota of foreign players.

The Real Madrid forward has been tipped to leave the club as Los Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane did not see the Welshman in his plans for next season.

Jiangsu Suning had reportedly offered Bale a £1m-a-week deal to make the move to the Far East and an agreement was claimed to be imminent.

However, reports over the weekend suggested the deal had been called off at Real’s request, with the Spanish giants reluctant to let Bale go on a free transfer.

Any hopes of the deal with Jiangsu Suning being revived have seemingly been quashed by their deal for Santini.

The club also signed Brazilian defender Miranda from Inter last week, meaning they now have five foreign players on their books.

Chinese Super League regulations only allow clubs to have four overseas-born players included in their official squads at any one time.

Former Liverpool defender Gabriel Paletta, who is Italian, is expected to leave the club to bring that tally down to four, but there would still be no room for Bale.

The club’s other two foreign players, Brazilian Alex Teixeira and Italian Eder Martins, are considered first-team regulars so are unlikely to be moved on in order to accommodate the former Tottenham man.

Bale, who has three years left on his contract, now has to consider pushing for another move elsewhere or remaining at Real, where a first-team place is far from guaranteed.

Zidane has made it clear that Bale no longer figures in his plans but the club have found it hard to move the player on.

The Spanish side are looking to recoup some funds after an extensive summer outlay so would be reluctant to let Bale go for nothing, but finding a club willing to pay a transfer fee and match Bale’s lucrative wages has proved impossible so far.

Madrid have welcomed Bale back into their pre-season squad and with a serious injury suffered by Marco Asensio depriving them of an attacking option, may now have little choice but to find a place for him in the squad for the 2019-20 campaign.

Source – Goal.com

Coming off a blistering season in Ligue 1, the Ivory Coast international star has everything at his disposal to be a big hit at the Emirates.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Over the years, Lille have sent a string of players to the Premier League but none have commanded a fee close to the €80 million (£72m/$89m) that Arsenal are set to lavish upon the club to secure the services of attacker Nicolas Pepe.

The Gunners have, of course, done business with LOSC previously, notably signing Gervinho from the 2010-11 side that won Ligue 1. If the Ivorian proved to be a flop in the Premier League, netting a disappointing nine league goals over the course of 46 appearances, his team-mate in France’s far north, Eden Hazard, proved altogether more successful at Chelsea.

Despite the weight of expectation generated by the transfer dogfight over his signature, the massive fee involved and the fact that he is being touted as the ‘new Henry’, Pepe is equipped with all the tools to follow in Hazard’s footsteps by becoming a star in England.

Even without knowing where the player’s future lay when speaking in February, Lille boss Christophe Galtier seemed to hint that Arsenal would be the best option for the Ivory Coast star.

“We’ve not talked about it, but I see him going to a club that plays all in red and likes to have their wide players cut inside on their stronger foot,” Galtier said, showing his clairvoyance is every bit as strong as his management.

Playing off the right wing, the left-footed Pepe amassed 22 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1 last season. Put into context, only 11 players managed double figures in both categories in all of Europe’s big five leagues over the course of 2018-19.

Meanwhile, only three players, Lionel Messi (49), Kylian Mbappe (40) and Fabio Quagliarella (34) were directly involved in more league goals all season.

Looking back to Hazard’s best year in France – the 2011-12 campaign, one year after the title win – he managed 20 goals and 15 assists. The Belgian was just 21 at the time but Pepe only turned 24 on May 29. Just like Hazard, he has considerable room for improvement and a move to England should help him realise his potential.

* Season 2018-19 (league only)

Indeed, Oscar Damiani, an agent who specialises in French football, has not been shy about talking up his client.

“He can reach the highest level,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport when it seemed likely Pepe was bound for Napoli. “He’s a great striker, technical and fast.

“He is great on the counterattack and is able to accelerate for long distances. He plays wide but goes straight at goal, scoring lots of goals and getting a lot of assists. But he plays a little alone, and tactically is a bit rough.”

Former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho can be counted among Pepe’s fans, while Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel implied an interest in the winger when he said earlier this season that he could “play for them tomorrow”, such is his quality.

Another man who has had a long and illustrious career at the highest level, club-mate Jose Fonte, a veteran of over 150 Premier League matches with Southampton and West Ham, and a European Championship winner with Portugal, has said that Pepe can mingle with the very best.

“He could play for a Real Madrid, a Barcelona – any team,” the centre-back toldRMC in October.

“But he has to continue to want to learn, to have his feet on the ground, continue to work and progress every day. That’s the only way he can reach and maintain a high standard of play. But it’s clear he’s got the talent.”

This was evident throughout last season as he led Lille to an unexpected runners-up finish in Ligue 1, charging up the table after a relegation scrap a year earlier.

There was no let-up in his quality and, encouragingly for Arsenal given they have just seen Alexandre Lacazette limp out of a pre-season match with Lyon, there has been no suggestion that he has any physical weaknesses.

Another asset that will help him adapt when he finally moves to England is his strong mentality.

Whereas Gervinho showed weakness in that regard, there is no suggestion that Pepe will wilt under pressure. Having gone through difficult periods in his career before, he appreciates both the need to work and that he is not yet the finished product.

“In terms of efficiency, I’m in the middle of a very big step, at a very good level. But I think I can do even better,” he explained last September to L’Equipe .

Certainly, there were still some doubts swirling over his capability back then.

He had a mixed first season in Lille, struggling initially under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa, who used him fruitlessly as a centre-forward, then excelling under Galtier. The coach had a major influence in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blossoming in front of goal at Saint-Etienne and worked similar magic on Pepe.

Another asset that will help him adapt when he finally moves to England is his strong mentality.

Whereas Gervinho showed weakness in that regard, there is no suggestion that Pepe will wilt under pressure. Having gone through difficult periods in his career before, he appreciates both the need to work and that he is not yet the finished product.

“In terms of efficiency, I’m in the middle of a very big step, at a very good level. But I think I can do even better,” he explained last September to L’Equipe .

Certainly, there were still some doubts swirling over his capability back then.

He had a mixed first season in Lille, struggling initially under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa, who used him fruitlessly as a centre-forward, then excelling under Galtier. The coach had a major influence in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blossoming in front of goal at Saint-Etienne and worked similar magic on Pepe.

Source – Goal.com

Diego Costa scored four goals before being sent off as Real Madrid were embarrassed 7-3 by rivals Atletico Madrid in the final match of their United States tour in New Jersey on Friday.

Diego Costa had four goals in Atletico Madrid’s thrashing of Real Madrid. Jeff Zelevansky/International Champions Cup/Getty Images

Real fielded a strong side once again, with new signings Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic starting up front and Gareth Bale again on the bench, but were 5-0 down at the end of a shambolic first half.

“We began the game very poorly,” Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said after the match. “It was a high-level match, we began poorly.

“They scored seven goals on us, that cannot happen. The players know this, they’re disappointed. But they can’t dwell on it either. It is a preseason match and we need to turn the page quickly.

“We played a friendly and they did not.”

Atletico fielded a host of new arrivals, including club record signing Joao Felix, who immediately caught Real cold on the counter before playing Costa in for his opening goal in the first minute.

The €120 million ($133 million) signing Felix got among the goals himself seven minutes later before Angel Correa, an early substitute for the injured Alvaro Morata, shocked Real with a third in the 19th minute.

Saul Niguez capitalised on more slack defending from Real to thread through to Costa who fired in the fourth with just 28 minutes on the clock.

Costa capped a disastrous half for Real in stoppage time, winning a penalty before converting from the spot.

The punishment did not stop after the break, as Felix again fed Costa six minutes into the second half before Nacho pulled one back for Real near the hour-mark.

The Costa onslaught ended abruptly, with he and Real’s Dani Carvajal both red-carded for fighting, adding further drama to an incredible friendly.

“We prepared well for the match, we understand that we do damage to a rival and we had a great game,” Atletico boss Diego Simeone said. “We found good spots to get out quickly and with precision. It’s important the precision in football and every time we had a chance to score we could.

“We saw a great atmosphere, with the crowd in the stadium, and the truth is that it was a great night.”

Vitolo added a fine seventh for Atletico, before Karim Benzema and Javi Hernandez scored late for Real to avoid what would have been the side’s biggest defeat to their city rivals in a competitive match.

Humbled Real head home with no wins from their three games in the U.S.

Source – ESPN

The two 19-year-old attackers will trade the Argentine top-flight for Major League Soccer as the expansion franchise locks up its first players.

Photo by Getty Images

David Beckham’s Inter Miami has made the first signings in club history, acquiring teenagers Matias Pellegrini and Julian Carranza, the MLS expansion side has announced.

Miami is scheduled to begin play in the 2020 MLS season, and sporting director Paul McDonough had previously told the Miami Herald the team was closing in on its first players.

Now those players have been confirmed as a winger in Pellegrini and a forward in Carranza, who are both 19 years old.

Miami announced Pellegrini, who joins from Estudiantes de La Plata in Argentina’s top-flight, as a young designated player.

Pellegrini will remain on loan at Estudiantes through January 2020.

Carranza also comes from the Argentine Super Liga, signing from Banfield, and he will also remain on loan at his old club until January 2020.

“It’s important for us that we found young, exciting attacking players that are on the upside of their career and have the potential to be really good players in this league,” McDonough said in a statement. “We will continue to build and add quality players that are the right fit for our club.

“We started with youth, but we know it’s also important to have veteran players who come from both overseas and within the league to balance out the roster over time.”

Pellegrini arrives having broken into the Estudiantes first team during the 2018-19 season, making 15 appearances in the league with 10 starts. He scored three goals for the club in the Super Liga.

Carranza has played the last two seasons in the Banfield senior side, scoring eight goals across 29 league appearances over that span.

Both players have represented Argentina at the youth international levels.

“Both Julian and Matias showed us they really wanted to take the next step of their careers with Inter Miami CF,” McDonough added.

“We liked that Pellegrini can play inside and out wide, has very good aerobic capacity and can cover a lot of ground, while Julian is a very grounded player with an impressive work rate.

“He’s the player that strives to score goals and is very good in the box.”

Source – Goal.com

Several of Europe’s top sides have been linked with the Ivory Coast star, but it is the Premier League side that have pulled out in front.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Arsenal are looking increasingly likely to see off strong competition to land Nicolas Pepe, with the Gunners now in advanced talks over the structure of a staggered payment plan for the €80 million (£72m/$89m) Lille winger.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain had all been credited with an interest in the Ivory Coast international, who bagged an impressive 23 goals and 12 assists across all competitions in the 2018-19 season.

Indeed, Napoli head coach Carlo Ancelotti recently admitted to being in talks with the winger’s representatives , stating: “Obviously, we are interested in Pepe, his agents are here [in Italy] and there’s no point hiding that. Negotiations are in progress and we’ll see what happens.”

Goal can confirm that Arsenal have also been involved in negotiations and that the Gunners are now leading the race to sign the player after talks in the last 48 hours progressed at a rapid pace, with Pepe seemingly preferring a move to the Premier League over Serie A.

Lille president Gerard Lopez admitted on Friday that four “big clubs” had met their €80m valuation of the 24-year-old, leaving the former Angers man with a big decision to make as he plans the next step in his career.

Lopez said: “Last year we asked Pepe to stay with the promise that we would sell in this transfer window.

“We received offers that satisfy us economically from four big clubs. Now it is up to the player to decide where he wants to go.

“He must make that decision based on the offers that his agents have received from the four clubs.

“On Monday, Pepe will return from vacation and I believe that by the middle of the week he will have made a decision.”

Should Arsenal complete the signing of Pepe, it would mean the club would have to pull out of talks for Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, for whom the Gunners had a bid of £40m ($50m) rejected by the Eagl es.

The Gunners had also been linked with Barcelona winger Malcom and Bournemouth star Ryan Fraser, but a deal for Pepe would also mean moves for the pair would be off.

One player who could still arrive, however, is Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney, withArsenal still hopeful they can land the highly-rated Scotland international ahead of the 2019-20 Premier League season.

Should Pepe arrive, he’ll be the north Londoners’ four signing of the summer, with Gabriel Martinelli arriving from Ituano, Dani Ceballos joining on loan from Real Madrid and William Saliba being brought in in a deal that will see him loaned back to Saint-Etienne.

Source – Goal.com

A former Gunner has said he cannot understand where the money goes and that the Germany international must be moved on so Arsenal can rebuild.

Photo by Getty Images

Former Arsenal forward Jeremie Aliadiere has blasted the club’s transfer budget, labelling it ‘ridiculous’ and said they must part ways with Mesut Ozil so they can ‘begin anew’.

The Gunners have been linked with Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace, but their bid of around £40 million ($80m) has been rejected by the Eagles, who value the player at £80 million. It has been suggested Arsenal’s total transfer budget is £45m.

The Frenchman, once tipped as a future star under Arsene Wenger and who says he’s an Arsenal supporter first and foremost, understands how the South London club could view such a low bid for their talisman as disrespectful.

“I’m an Arsenal fan,” said Aliadiere, speaking exclusively to 888sports .

“It’s frustrating when you see a club like Leicester, who with all respect to them are a smaller club, spending £75m so far this summer yet Arsenal can’t seemingly afford to spend the money that Leicester can.

“It’s difficult to understand where the money goes.

“There has been talk that Arsenal want Wilfried Zaha who Crystal Palace supposedly value at £80m and we were reported to have offered them half that.

“If that’s true, it seems a bit ridiculous and could be seen as disrespectful to Crystal Palace.

“We understand there are high salaries going on Ozil and [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan but surely there is still some money around for transfers.”

On the subject of Ozil, the highest-earner at the club, Aliadiere said the player must be sold if there has been a breakdown between the Germany international and manager Unai Emery.

The former forward, who last represented Lorient in 2016 before stepping away from the game, believes losing Ozil would cost the team on the pitch, but that they can ill afford to have such an expensive piece if he is not going to play.

“I can understand that if Emery is not a fan of Ozil he needs to move on so that Arsenal can get somebody else, but that is very difficult to do with the five-year deal,” the former Middlesbrough man continued.

“It’s a tough one because I feel when Ozil plays he does bring something different to the team and [Alexandre] Lacazette and [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang clearly enjoy playing with him.

“Obviously Emery sees things we don’t see and maybe in training his work-rate is not there and work-rate is really important to Emery.

“I think they have a different philosophy on how to play the game.

“It’s a difficult situation and I can see both sides, if they get an opportunity to sell him, Arsenal right now need to sell in order to bring in other players and when you look at the supposed breakdown between player and manager last year, I would understand if they decided to do that.”

Source – Goal.com

Atletico Madrid have asked La Liga to block Antoine Griezmann’s registration at Barcelona following their dispute over his release clause, according to president Javier Tebas.

Atletico Madrid are disputing Antoine Griezmann’s move to Barcelona

Barcelona confirmed the signing of the French World Cup winner last week, saying in a statement they had met the 28-year-old’s £108m buyout.

However, Atletico insist that is not enough, claiming Griezmann had agreed to move to the Nou Camp before July 1, when his £180m release clause was brought down to £108m.

Griezmann made his Barca debut in the 2-1 friendly defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday but La Liga president Tebas has said Atletico have asked the Spanish league to block the player’s registration and explained that it would be possible to do.

“Atletico wrote to us and placed in doubt whether or not we should grant Griezmann’s licence at Barcelona,” he told radio station Onda Cero.

“There is a mechanism that has been put in place and it will be the organisations that must resolve the situation. We don’t have the element of judgement.”

Source – Sky Sports

Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 3-1 in an entertaining International Champions Cup match in Houston on Saturday.

Eden Hazard made his Real Madrid debut in a 3-1 International Champions Cup loss to Bayern Munich on Saturday. Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images

Both sides gave debuts to high-profile acquisitions in a game that featured appearances from 41 different players.

Real, who started with a full-strength side that included a debut for former Chelsea attacking midfielder Eden Hazard went 1-0 down after just a quarter of an hour.

David Alaba cut the ball back from the left and although Corentin Tolisso‘s first shot was saved off the line he hammered the rebound into the roof of the net to put the Germans 1-0 ahead.

Real, though, had the better of the first half with only Manuel Neuer‘s presence and Karim Benzema‘s profligacy preventing them from drawing equal in a relaxed but end-to-end match.

Bayern made five changes at the start of the second half and Real made 11, with Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo for Real and defenders Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard for Bayern among the big-name off-season arrivals making their debuts.

Real’s young and speedy forwards started the second period on top but instead it was two of Bayern’s substitutes who helped seal the result.

First Robert Lewandowski held off his marker to turn midway through the second half and fire a low shot home from 12 meters out and then Serge Gnabrytook advantage of sloppy defending to score from a similar position two minutes later.

Rodrygo got a consolation goal from a free kick with six minutes to go after the most controversial moment of the match.

The Brazilian teenager went down as he ran through on goal and the referee showed Bayern’s substitute goalkeeper Sven Ulreich a red card, even though replays showed there was no contact.

Source – ESPN