Rumour Has It: Barcelona not considering Messi exit, Martinez Man City´s top target

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said he was unaffected by speculation linking him with a move away from Goodison Park before he signed a new contract with the club.

The England international agreed a new six-year deal with the Toffees just over a year after becoming the most expensive British goalkeeper of all-time when he moved to Merseyside from Sunderland for £30million.

Pickford s outstanding performances for the Three Lions at the World Cup in Russia led to reports that Chelsea wanted to take him to Stamford Bridge before the season began, but he told reporters that his commitment to the club never wavered.

You ve just got to keep performing and put that to the back of your mind, Pickford said of the rumours that he might have left the club.

Yo…

Gianluigi Buffon hopes to exorcise the demons of two painful Champions League final defeats with Juventus by finally winning the competition for the first time in his illustrious career.

The veteran goalkeeper played a key role in Juve s 2-0 semi-final first-leg win in Monaco, making five saves as Gonzalo Higuain struck twice at the other end, with a meeting against Real Madrid in the decider now seemingly inevitable.

The Bianconeri set a club record by recording their sixth successive clean sheet in the Champions League with that victory and Buffon is keen to make up for the disappointment of losing finals to AC Milan in 2003 and Barcelona two years ago.

There s definitely a desire to make up for losing the [2015] final in Berlin, but I also have to make amends…

Sports betting is risky by its very nature. You win some, you lose some, and the goal of most punters is to win more than they lose. But what if there was a way to avoid all that? A risk-free that always wins if done right? Well, good news! There is such a strategy – though it does come with disadvantages as well.

In this article, we’ll take a close look at how betting arbitrage works and how you can successfully pull it off.

What Is Betting Arbitrage?

Betting arbitrage is a strategy in sports betting that exploits the price differences at different sportsbooks. It involves placing two bets on the same market in such a way that you earn a profit regardless of the final outcome. To do so, you’ll need at least two different bookmakers. That’s why this technique …

Barcelona will face a very different Real Madrid when the two sides clash next month for the first time since Jose Mourinho took over as coach, Real star Cristiano Ronaldo has warned.

Barca is always a difficult and complicated rival but this year s Madrid is not the same as last year s, it is completely different, the Portuguese international said in an interview published on Friday in sports daily Marca.

We have changed in many ways: in terms of discipline, playing style, aggressiveness, we all play together for the same goal. Mourinho is a great coach with enormous experience, he knows what you have to do to win.

Real Madrid will travel to Barcelona on the weekend of November 27-28 in the most eagerly anticipated match of the season.

Mourinho in Ma…

A brilliant solo goal in injury time by Lionel Messi earned Argentina a 1-0 victory over their arch-rivals Brazil in an international friendly here on Wednesday.

The Barcelona superstar picked up the ball midway inside the Brazil half and weaved past four defenders before firing a low shot into the bottom-right corner with just a minute of added time to play.

It was Messi s first ever goal against Brazil and allowed Argentina to record their first win against their old enemies since June 2005.

His strike also allowed coach Sergio Batista to celebrate victory in his first game in charge since he was confirmed as the long-term successor to Diego Maradona.

For Brazil it was a first defeat in four matches for new coach Mano Menezes, who had led his country t…

Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel is determined to end the first half of the season on a high note when they travel to Cologne on Saturday.

Dortmund sit second in the Bundesliga table heading into this weekend s encounter after a number of impressive performances in their first season under Tuchel.

The former Mainz coach saw his team lose to Hamburg and Bayern Munich, but they have won 12 out of 16 matches so far and trail reigning champions Bayern Munich by five points.

There is definitely a good feeling about our season so far. We are putting in good performances on a regular basis. The team has been showing character. We are focused and are on the right track, Tuchel told Ruhr Nachrichten.

But there is still one game to go. I will review the fir…

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku plans to enjoy a short break before taking a decision on whether his future lies with Chelsea.

Lukaku has spent the last two seasons away from Stamford Bridge on loan, initially at West Brom and then with Everton.

The 21-year-old proved an unqualified success at both clubs, scoring 17 Premier League goals in his solitary campaign at The Hawthorns and 15 for Everton last term.

Yet it remains to be seen whether Lukaku has a realistic chance of breaking into Chelsea s first team, with manager Jose Mourinho having recently agreed a deal to sign Spain international Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid.

Lukaku acknowledges he has decisions to make ahead of the new domestic season, but remains relaxed.

I want to go on holiday f…

Saturday lunchtime, and the Gran Via and Plaza Mayor are teeming with Christmas shoppers in Madrid.

Cyclists, too, are out in force, gathering for a peaceful protest ride to make the case for leaving the car at home.

This is day one of a UN climate change convention being hosted by Spain s capital, and it is hard not to be conflicted by the collision of consumerism and conservationism.

We are living through times where we want to give, give, give to afford loved ones brief relief from cataclysmic reality, but at the same time we are warned the shop-around-the-clock culture is killing the planet.

At the nearby Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Real Madrid are wearing their mint-green third kit for a home league fixture against Espanyol.

 HALA MA…

Atletico Madrid are eager to bring in attacking reinforcements, despite spending a lot of money in the last 18 montjs on players in those positions. Only on Thomas Lemar, who joined in the summer of 2018, and Joao Felix, who came in 12 months later, Atletico Madrid have spend around 200 million euros. That is a lot of money, but it appears Cholo Simeone wants new players in attacking areas.

According to AS, Los Colchoneros want to sign Dinamo Zagreb winger Dani Olmo and they do not want to wait. They want to do it in the January transfer window. The Spanish giants are hopeful that the 21-year-old can be brought in for a fee within the region of 35 million euros, after Olmo impressed both for Dinamo and Spain Under-21 side last summer.

Olmo has been linked with a host of…

Ollie Watkins helped fire Aston Villa to a first European quarter-final since 1998 but gave his side and England an injury scare after limping off.

Watkins, named in Gareth Southgate’s latest squad earlier on Thursday, headed Villa in front in the first half of a 4-0 Europa Conference League second-leg win over 10-man Ajax which sends them through to the last eight.

But the striker limped off eight minutes later with a knee problem and had to watch his team-mates run riot in the second half with Leon Bailey, John Duran and Moussa Diaby goals killing off the tie after last week’s goalless draw in Amsterdam.

Villa and England will now wait anxiously to discover the extent of the problem, with the striker crucial to Villa’s Premier League top-four ambitions, w…