Frenkie de Jong revealed that a visit from Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu in Amsterdam convinced him to sign for the Spanish champions ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.

Frenkie de Jong joined Barcelona from Ajax, crediting Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu for sealing the transfer. Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

De Jong, 22, agreed to leave Ajax for Barca in January but the deal was only completed on Friday, when he signed a five-year contract before being presented in front of 20,000 supporters at Camp Nou.

Barca had feared they’d lost out on the Dutch midfielder at one point, prompting Bartomeu, among others, including sporting director Eric Abidal, to make the trip to visit him in the Netherlands to push the €75 million transfer over the line.

“It was a hard time actually because all the clubs are telling you things and you don’t even see anything [clearly] anymore,” De Jong said in a news conference when asked about how tough it was to decide which club to sign for.

“But there was one moment. The president and all the guys [on the board] came to Amsterdam and that really convinced me — so all the credit to those guys.

“I can’t share all the things [Bartomeu] said to me, but let’s say that he told me they have a lot of confidence in me, that they think I will be a key player for Barca in the future and that I can do great things now.”

Asked if Bartomeu had offered him more money to turn down PSG and City’s interest, De Jong insisted his final call was based purely on football reasons.

“When the president and the members of the board came to Amsterdam, we only talked about football,” he added. “In a meeting, I never talk about money. I leave that up to my agent. It was only football.

“Of course I was thinking about all the clubs who were interested in me, that’s the normal process. First your agent talks to them, then you do, you’re thinking about the options, what’s the best for me.

“But Barcelona came to me, they convinced me, they had a good plan. In the end, the decision was easy to go for Barcelona. It has always been my dream since I was a kid to play for Barca one day. When they [showed they] were really serious about me, the choice was easy.”

De Jong, who has not stopped smiling since he arrived in the city on Thursday, encouraged former Ajax teammate Matthijs de Ligt to join him at the club. Sources have told ESPN FC that Barca have an agreement with the Dutch club, but they are still waiting for the centre-back to make his final decision.

“I was expecting this question,” De Jong laughed. “Of course I would be happy to see [De Ligt] but it’s not up to me, he has to make the decision with his family and his agent. We will see where he goes.”

Speaking before De Jong, Bartomeu reaffirmed what he told ESPN FC in an exclusive interview in April, that he knows where De Ligt will be playing his football next season, but he can’t say anything at the moment. Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United have also been linked with the player.

Source – ESPN

The France international has been the subject of transfer rumours in recent weeks and his agent has added fuel to the fire regarding his departure.

Mino Raiola has revealed that he is “in the process” of ensuring Paul Pogba will leave Manchester United for pastures new this summer.

Pogba has been the subject of transfer rumours since the summer window opened, and is reportedly a target for former club Juventus as well as Real Madrid.

The 26-year-old was the Red Devils’ top-scorer across all competitions last season, netting 16 goals from midfield in a disappointing season for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.

The France international has his sights set on a move away from Old Trafford this summer however, and news comes just two days before the club’s pre-season trip to Australia.

Speaking to The Times, Raiola said: “Everyone within the club from the manager to the owner knows Paul’s wishes.

“Everyone knows the willingness of Paul to move on. We are in the process of that. Everyone knows what the feelings of Paul are.”

Despite the Red Devil’s pre-season trip to Australia fast approaching, Raiola would not be drawn on whether the midfielder would be joining his team-mates.

“I cannot tell you anything. I live day by day,” he added.

Pogba has proved to be a divisive figure since returning to the Premier League in August 2016, when he became a world-record signing from Juventus at £89 million ($111m).

He enjoyed the highest-scoring season of his career at Old Trafford in 2018/19, netting 10 more goals than in the previous season and seven more than in his debut season with the club.

At Juventus, Pogba reached double figures in terms of goals in his final two seasons in Turin with 10 across all competitions in both campaigns.

Since returning to the club with whom he spent his youth career however, the 26-year-old has not struggled to grab headlines no matter the quality of his performances.

Rumours of a move away were given new life earlier today as Pogba was absent from Manchester United training, after he was given time off by manager Solskjaer.

His contract with the club is set to expire in 2021, and the player himself admitted in June that it “could be a good time to have a new challenge.”

Source – Goal.com

Arjen Robben has announced his retirement from professional football after playing a key role in Bayern Munich’s golden decade.

Arjen Robben bids farewell to football at age 35. Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images

“I will definitely retire. And it’s good as it is,” Robben, 35, said in a statement released to German media on Thursday. “It’s the hardest decision I had to make in my career.”

Robben, whose contract at Bayern Munich expired on June 30, added: “My heart says yes, my body says no.”

Injury prone throughout major parts of his enormously successful career, Robben missed most of his Bundesliga farewell tour in 2019 as he once again battled several injuries.

“It is a decision in which heart and mind collide. The reality is that things don’t work the way they did when you were 16,” Robben said.

In his last match at the Allianz Arena, Robben was on target for Bayern as the German giants sealed a seventh consecutive Bundesliga title, before going on to win another domestic double the following week.

After stints with FC Groningen, PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea and Real Madrid, Robben joined Bayern Munich in 2009 and went on to become one of the club’s greats in the decade to follow.

Featuring in 201 Bundesliga games, he scored 99 goals and set up a further 62.

The 2010 World Cup finalist appeared in a total of 110 Champions League matches for Eindhoven, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern.

He crowned his time at the club by scoring the late winner in the 2013 all-German Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund, which Bayern won 2-1.

During his career, Robben won eight German Bundesliga titles, five German cups, two Premier League trophies, one FA Cup, one La Liga title, two Dutch cups and one Eredivisie title on top of the Champions League and Club World Cup in 2013.

He participated in three World Cups and three European championships.

Source – ESPN

The Spanish midfielder was allowed to leave Old Trafford for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer having asked for a bank-busting new contract.

Photo by Getty

Ander Herrera was allowed to leave Manchester United for Paris Saint-Germainafter the midfielder demanded a new deal worth £350,000 a week.

The midfielder put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 champions on Thursday after the expiry of his United deal at the end of June had left him free to sign with other clubs.

The Old Trafford outfit have come in for some criticism for having allowed the popular Spaniard’s contract to run down at a time when they have been more forthcoming with new agreements for the likes of Phil Jones, Ashley Young and Anthony Martial.

But Goal has learned that Herrera was asking for an eye-watering annual salary of around £18 million ($20m) in order to extend his five-year stay at the Theatre of Dreams.

The arrival of Alexis Sanchez on a swap deal from Arsenal in January 2018 has been a bone of contention for some time, with the Chilean’s British record £390,000 basic weekly salary being supplemented by appearance fees and other performance-related bonuses.

And the concern that such an extortionate agreement could result in the financial expectations of other players being inflated has been borne out with Herrera.

Despite only once making more than 27 starts in a season across all competitions in his five years with United, the 29-year-old was asking for a salary which would have dwarfed that of all but Sanchez.

But the club were not willing to further inflate the wage bill at a time when they have been actively seeking a buyer for the under-performing Sanchez in order to readdress the balance ahead of future negotiations.

United announced shortly before the 2-0 home loss to Cardiff City on the final day of the last Premier League season that Herrera would be departing the club this summer following the failure to agree on a mutually-suitable contract.

Despite not being a part of the matchday squad against the Bluebirds, the midfielder was given a hearty reception by the Old Trafford faithful after the game when United’s players performed a lap of appreciation around the ground.

But he will now ply his trade in the French capital after agreeing to terms which will tie him down to PSG up to the age of 34.

The former Real Zaragoza star made 189 appearances for United after arriving from Athletic Club in the summer of 2014 for around £29m, also making his two full international appearances for Spain to date while serving the Red Devils.

Source – Goal.com

Peru advanced to the final of the Copa America and a date with hosts Brazil after beating double defending champions Chile 3-0 on Wednesday.

Peru knocked off reigning champions Chile to secure a spot against Brazil in the Copa America final. Kaz Photography/Getty Images

Chile were outclassed by a quick and eager Peru side, who looked a different outfit from the one that scored just three goals in four games on their way to the semi-finals and lost 5-0 to Brazil earlier in the tournament. Peru took the lead 20 minutes into the match when a corner from the right was nodded on to Edison Flores, who volleyed home at the back post.

Peru made it 2-0 17 minutes later after a huge mistake from Chile goalkeeper Gabriel Arias, who charged out of his area to intercept a long pass but Andre Carillo got there ahead of him.

Carillo’s cross found Yoshimar Yotun, who controlled the ball on his chest before volleying home into the unguarded net.

Chile were much better in the second half but their attempts at goal were either off target or safely handled by Pedro Gallese in the Peruvian net.

Captain Paolo Guerrero capped the scoring in stoppage time before Gallese ended his perfect night by saving a dinked penalty from Eduardo Vargas.

“Peru played well, they deserve to be in the final,” said Chilean midfielder Gary Medel. “That hurts as we wanted to win another title. We had chances in the second half but we couldn’t convert them.”

Peru will play Brazil in the final at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium on Sunday.

Guerrero said they had put the 5-0 group stage rout behind them and would now start planning how to win their first Copa America since 1975.

“I think we all played well, we all made sacrifices,” he said. “We were very intense and we deserve to be in the final.

“Now we need to rest and think of Brazil. It’ll be a very hard final.

Source – ESPN

The winger had been a target for Manchester City but has joined up with Diego Simeone’s squad at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Atletico Madrid have announced the club record €126 million (£113m/$142m) signing of Benfica attacker Joao Felix.

Manchester City had been interested in exploring a deal for the player depending on the future of Leroy Sane, while the likes of Juventus, Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid had all also been linked.

But it’s Atleti that have secured his signature, with sources having revealed to Goal that talks began on June 1, with the Liga club’s CEO Gil Marin meeting Benfica chairman Luis Filipe Vieira during the Champions League final to kick off negotiations.

Marin then met Joao Felix in person and Atleti, with the help of Jorge Mendes, went on to convince the 19-year-old and his agent Pedro Cordeiro to travel to Madrid by way of an introduction to the club and their facilities.

Diego Simeone also played a key role in convincing Joao Felix to join Atleti having contacted the player directly, with the most expensive transfer in the club’s history having now been formally announced.

Such a fee sees the teenager become the third most expensive footballer of all time behind Paris Saint-Germain duo Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and just ahead of Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

Widely lauded as Portugal‘s next big star in the making, Joao Felix has been likened to Kaka and Antoine Griezmann – who is set to leave Atleti this summer – and it has also been claimed that compatriot and Premier League championBernardo Silva did not show the same promise at 19.

Indeed, having already been called up to the Portugal national team despite his tender years, it would appear that Simeone and Co. are not the only side willing to put their faith in a versatile youngster who can play anywhere across the front line.

Joao Felix is the star name in what looks set to be a dramatic summer rebuild at Atletico, with Simeone reshaping his squad in reaction to the departures of key players throughout the spine of his team.

Alyssa Naeher saved a penalty and Alex Morgan headed in the winning goal on her 30th birthday as the United States survived a stiff test from England to win 2-1 on Tuesday and advance to the Women’s World Cup final in Lyon, France.

U.S. players celebrate after Christen Press scores a goal against England in the Women’s World Cup. Elsa/Getty Images

The pregame news was dominated by changes from both managers. Megan Rapinoe was not in the U.S. lineup, and England coach Phil Neville was forced to start Carly Telford after goalkeeper Karen Bardsley was ruled out with a reported hamstring injury.

Rapinoe, who scored both goals for the U.S. in a quarterfinal win against France, had a hamstring strain and was replaced by Christen Press in the lineup. The selection by coach Jill Ellis paid dividends in the 10th minute, when Press smashed a header past Telford from a Kelley O’Hara cross to make it 1-0.

Following the match, Rapinoe said, “Yeah, just a little minor [hamstring] strain. Day-to-day, but I feel like I’ll be ready for the final. It’s hard three days on the bounce in this old body.”

The opener for the U.S. was the first goal England had conceded in 380 minutes, but the Lionesses got right back in the game when Ellen White redirected a Beth Mead cross that beat Naeher to even the score.

Morgan put the U.S. back in the lead just after the 30-minute mark with a perfect header from a Lindsey Horan ball into the penalty area. Naeher made a miraculous save from Keira Walsh’s long-range shot right after the goal to keep the score at 2-1.

“I can’t even express how proud I am,” Ellis said after the match. “It was just such a great effort from everybody. We had some challenges in terms of bodies and everything, and everybody just stepped up. And that’s what this team’s about. So just incredibly proud of them.”

The U.S. looked lively to start the second half but failed to find an insurance goal and was handed a bit of bad news in the 65th minute, when Rose Lavelle came off with an apparent hamstring injury and was replaced by Sam Mewis.

Minutes later, England looked to have evened the score at 2-2 as White beat Naeher after being played in to the penalty area, but the goal was ruled out due to a narrow offside call following a video review.

VAR came into play again in the 81st minute. That time, the referee consulted the pitchside monitor and awarded England a penalty for a Becky Sauerbrunn foul on White. Naeher came up big again and saved Steph Houghton’s spot kick to preserve the Americans’ lead.

“I just said to [Naeher], ‘That was your shining moment.’ But we’ve got one more game,” Ellis said. “What a freakin’ stop. It was unbelievable.”

England went down to 10 players when Millie Bright was shown her second yellow card for a hard foul on Morgan, and the U.S. held on to see out the result.

The U.S. becomes the first team to reach three straight Women’s World Cup finals. It will be their fifth overall. The Americans set a record for consecutive wins with an 11th straight victory, surpassing Norway’s mark from 1995 to 1999.

Following the match, Rapinoe said the injury was a minor hamstring strain, and she expects to be ready for the final. The U.S. will play the winner of the other semifinal — on Wednesday between Netherlands and Sweden — for the championship on July 7.

Source – ESPN

The Albiceleste once again fell short and their superstar player appears to have laid some of the blame on .

Photo by Getty Images

Lionel Messi has accused the referees of favouring Brazil as Argentina crashed out of the Copa America with a 2-0 defeat in the semi-final in Belo Horizonte.

The Barcelona star again failed to have a decisive impact in the match for his nation as the hosts took the most of their opportunities with goals to Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino in either half sealing a place in the final against either Chile or Peru.

But Messi was scathing of the performance from the Video Assistant Referee and match official Roddy Zambrano , using a post-match interview to criticise the decision to not award a penalty to Sergio Aguero just prior to Firmino’s 71st minute strike.

“They were not better than us. They found the net early and the second goal came from a penalty [to Aguero] they didn’t award,” Messi told reporters.

“They [the officials] had booked a lot of bullsh*t, but they didn’t even check the VAR, that’s incredible.

“That happened all over the game. At the first glance of contact, they ruled in their [Brazil’s] favour and this kind of bullsh*t distracted us from the game.

“There is no excuses for us, but we need to review this, analyse it and let’s hope CONMEBOL does something about it.

“I think we played a great game. We made a great effort and they were not superior to us.”

Argentina had 10 more shots at Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson than their opponents managed in attack (14-4) and struck the woodwork twice as they came agonisingly close to getting back into the contest.

Aguero looped a header onto the crossbar with Alisson well-beaten in the first-half shortly after Jesus earned the lead and Messi slammed a shot into the post in the second period after Lautaro Martinez’s drive was blocked.

The Selecao took both of their chances clinically, only having four shots for the match, as Jesus and Firmino both side-footed into the net from close range after being teed up by the other.

Brazil will now host the winner of Wednesday’s semi-final between Chile and Peru in a final to be hosted on Sunday at the Maracana.

They will be aiming to win their first Copa America since triumphing in Venezueladuring the 2007 edition.

Source – Goal

Arsenal have submitted an opening bid of about £40m for Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha.

Wilfried Zaha scored 10 goals for Palace in 2018-19

No players have been offered as part of the proposed deal, and the bid will be rejected by Palace.

The 26-year-old is keen to leave the club this summer and favours a move to Arsenal, but the Eagles value the Ivory Coast international at up to £80m.

The Gunners will have to hope a compromise can be reached on a lower fee and staggered payments.

Arsenal’s summer transfer budget has been restricted by their failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

After an unsuccessful move to Manchester United, Zaha made a permanent return to Palace in 2015 and has four years left on his contract, which he signed last summer.

Since he helped Palace earn promotion back to the Premier League in 2012-13, they have finished in the top half just once, coming 10th in 2014-15, when Zaha had returned on a season-long loan from United.

Zaha’s brother, Judicael, told Sky Sports News: “Given all that Wilfried has given to Crystal Palace to help them remain a Premier League club, I hope Palace will be able to see their way to agreeing a deal with Arsenal that allows Wilfried to realise his dream of playing European football for the club he’s supported since childhood.”

Source – ESPN

The next Blues boss is close to being announced after a breakthrough in talks over personal terms and backroom staff.

Photo by Getty

Frank Lampard has agreed on a contract at Stamford Bridge and an announcement by Chelsea is thought to be imminent after Derby Countyallowed him to skip the first day of pre-season to complete the deal.

Chelsea will buy out the last two years of Lampard’s Rams contract at the cost of £4m ($5.06m) to replace their former head coach Maurizio Sarri, who joined Juventus a fortnight ago in a deal worth upwards of £5m ($6.32).

The 41-year-old returns to the club where spent 13 years, scoring 211 goals in 649 games in what is the most successful era in the club’s history.

Lampard won three Premier League titles, the Champions League, four FA Cups, two League Cups and the Europa League in that time. He also came second to Ronaldinho in the Ballon d’Or of 2005.

It is understood that Lampard will bring staff from Derby with him as ex-Blues midfielder Jody Morris is expected to join as his assistant manager after working with him at the Rams.

Former Blues coach Chris Jones will also return, while Head of Performance Analysis Steve Rands is thought to be another of the six to eight backroom staff that have spoken to the west London side.

Chelsea’s Development Squad manager Joe Edwards will be promoted in line with Lampard’s arrival, with the highly-rated young coach boasting a close relationship with Morris from his time in the academy.

Some of Chelsea’s players will return for pre-season medical tests on Wednesday and others who have been involved in post-season international tournaments or matches are expected back at a later date after their two-week holidays.

Lampard will lead Chelsea into seven pre-season matches in Dublin, Japan, Germany and Austria before opening the season against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 11 August.

However, he won’t be able to request new signings due to a two-window transfer ban imposed by FIFA as the club denies wrongdoing over the signing of overseas under-18 players.

Chelsea have not asked to freeze their transfer ban by applying for provisional measures but have appealed the ban outright with a hearing not likely to be heard anytime soon through Court Arbitration of Sport (CAS).

Claude Makelele is expected to be returning to the club to help out with work in the loan department, while Petr Cech’s return as technical and performance advisor role has already been announced.

Source – Goal.com