Bayern Munich begin their quest for a fifth title of 2013 when they meet Guangzhou Evergrande in Tuesday s FIFA Club World Cup semi-final.
Pep Guardiola s side have already lifted the Bundesliga, the UEFA Champions League, the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Super Cup this year, but could face a tough test against their Chinese counterparts.
Guangzhou have had one of their most successful years as well, they claimed their third Chinese Super League title in October and secured a first AFC Champions League crown a month later.
Marcello Lippi s side have only lost four times in 2013 and will be full of confidence following their 2-0 quarter-final victory over Al Ahly on Saturday.
Bayern are playing in the competition for the first time in its current format and arrive in Mo…
Sheffield United men’s manager Paul Heckingbottom says the club is “suffering” following the death of women’s player Maddy Cusack.
The 27-year-old, named vice-captain last month, had just started her sixth season with the Blades in the Women’s Championship and was the longest-serving player in their current squad when her death was announced on Thursday.
The Blades intend to pay tribute to Cusack, who also worked in the club’s marketing department, during Sunday’s Premier League clash with Newcastle.
Sheffield United Football Club is devastated to report the sad news of the passing of Maddy Cusack.
The Club and Maddy’s family would appreciate a period of privacy and will not comment further at this sad time.
— Sheffield United (@…
Leonardo Ulloa has secured a permanent move away from Leicester City having agreed a deal with Mexican club Pachuca.
Ulloa joined Leicester from Brighton and Hove Albion in 2014 he initially did well, scoring 11 times in his first Premier League campaign.
But he fell out of favour the following season as Leicester won the Premier League title, then manager Claudio Ranieri claiming Ulloa betrayed him as their relations soured.
He managed to secure a return to Brighton on loan last term, but his haul of one goal in 10 league games saw him win few plaudits.
But the 32-year-old has finally clinched a permanent transfer, linking up with Pachuca, who sit bottom of the Liga MX Apertura table after losing their first three games.
’s first strike for …
Arsene Wenger says Arsenal want players at the club who focus on values, not millions but insists Alexis Sanchez was committed throughout his time in north London.
Sanchez completed his move to Manchester United on Monday in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan join the Gunners.
Some reports claim the Chile star will earn as much as £350,000 a week at Old Trafford and Wenger last week suggested Arsenal had no chance of getting the player to sign a contract extension given the money on offer in the north west.
Wenger s comments came despite the club being placed sixth in the latest Deloitte table showing the richest clubs in the world in terms of revenue in 2016-17.
The 68-year-old maintains Arsenal are still restricted in their spending due to the cos…
Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim hailed goalscoring hero Radamel Falcao after his double moved the club closer to the last 16 of the Champions League.
The 30-year-old s first-half strikes helped the hosts brush aside CSKA Moscow 3-0 and extend their lead at the top of Group E to two points, but Jardim feels the Colombian striker can be even better.
They were his first goals in the competition since February 2010, having since endured long injury absences and unsuccessful moves to Manchester United and Chelsea.
After the match, Jardim urged Falcao to stay fit and keep finding the back of the net.
The important thing is that the club, me and the team believe in him, he told L Equipe.
He had a very good game for 60 minutes. That s Falcao, with lots…
Valencia are looking to get rid of Aderllan Santos, according to .
The La Liga side signed the centre-back back in 2015 on a five-year deal, and he hasn t been able to keep hold of a place in the team since. He has had two loan spells in that time, both in Brazil, with Sao Paulo and EC Vitoria. He is now back at the Mestalla, however, and his presence there has been described as a headache .
The 29-year-old s contract runs for further 18 months, and with no role for him to play, the €5million he d receive in wages in the next year and a half, including a €1.9million sign-on fee, is something Valencia are very reluctant to pay.
Therefore, they ve advised him to look for another club that would be willing to get him on board, and in those circumstances, they a…
Croatia captain Luka Modric believes England counterpart and former Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane can still improve despite already being among the world s best strikers.
Kane has firmly established himself as a top marksman since debuting for Spurs in Modric s final season at the club.
The 25-year-old claimed the Golden Boot at the World Cup and has netted more than 20 goals in each of the past four Premier League campaigns.
While some observers claim burnout is beginning to reduce his effectiveness, Modric is confident Kane still has new levels to unlock.
He s scoring a lot in recent years, playing great and practically putting Tottenham in the title race, which is a big thing considering other clubs are spending a lot of money, Modric said.
…
Substitute Antonio Candreva scored a 98th-minute winner to send Inter into the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia with an enthralling 3-2 home win over Bologna.
Inter, fresh from six successive victories prior to Tuesday s game, took the lead in magnificent fashion through Jeison Murillo, who produced a finish belying that of a centre half to convert Joao Mario s corner with a sensational overhead kick.
Joao Mario then combined with Rodrigo Palacio to make it 2-0, but Bologna were given hope three minutes before half-time courtesy of Blerim Dzemaili s deflected effort.
Stefano Pioli s men had numerous opportunities to put the game to bed in the second half and eventually paid the price for not taking them when Godfred Donsah headed Bologna level.
A de…
Manchester City s interest in signing Tottenham s Harry Kane is widely known but a deal appears no closer to materialising.
The 28-year-old forward was absent for the two sides Premier League game on Sunday, when Spurs took the points.
City have reportedly bid up to £125 million to sign the England international, who reportedly requested a move late last season.
Harry Kane throws down gauntlet to Daniel Levy.
Sources say striker is frustrated with Levy who has reneged on promises, turned fans against him over holiday row and is no longer accepting Man City s calls after their £125m bid. reports
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball)
TOP STORY KANE FRUSTRATED AS SPURS REJECT CITY BID
Kane has grown frustrated with Tottenham…
Olympique Lyon have opened talks with Liverpool about potentially signing Xherdan Shaqiri, according to multiple sources. Nothing has been agreed yet and the two clubs remain significantly apart in their respective valuations of the player, but the negotiations are still ongoing.
Shaqiri joined Liverpool from Stoke City in 2018, having previously played for the likes of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. He played an important role in their run to the 2019 Champions League triumph, as well as contributing much to their 2019-20 Premier League title, won after a 30-year drought. However, the Swiss international has never been able to establish himself as a regular starter under Jurgen Klopp, serving mostly as an understudy to Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane.
The 29-year-old winge…