Paris Saint-Germain head coach Unai Emery says Javier Pastore s comments about wanting to leave the club do not reflect his own conversations with the player.
Pastore told the media he is considering a move to Inter in a bid for more first-team football to boost his chances of being included in Argentina s squad for the World Cup.
Emery disciplined Pastore when he returned late from Ligue 1 s winter break, but the PSG coach is keen to keep the playmaker, who has scored four league goals this term.
I spoke to Pastore and the things he told the press is not what he told me, Emery told a news conference on Monday.
My opinion? I want him to stay because he s an important player. But he wants to play more for the World Cup.
Last year he was often …
Bernardo Silva was relieved to end his Premier League goal drought as Manchester City earned a late 2-0 win over Aston Villa to go top.
The Portugal international superbly scored a disputed first Premier League goal of the season 11 minutes from time.
Villa boss Dean Smith was sent off for his protests after he felt Silva s strike should have been ruled out for offside against Rodri, who won the ball back from Tyrone Mings in the build-up.
The Spain international was in a clear offside position when Mings received possession but the officials allowed the goal to stand because, under the current interpretation of the law, a new phase of play began after the Villa centre-back touched the ball.
Ilkay Gundogan s last-minute penalty sealed the points to e…
Harry Kane has time on his side to chase Wayne Rooney s England goalscoring record, says manager Gareth Southgate, who believes team success matters more to the Tottenham striker.
Kane is set to win his 50th cap for the Three Lions on Sunday when England visit Belgium in the Nations League.
The Spurs star already has 32 goals to his name for his country, putting him 21 behind Manchester United legend Rooney.
Still only 27, Kane has a lot of international football ahead of him, giving him a clear opportunity to overhaul Rooney and cement his place as England s greatest ever goalscorer.
In terms of what s possible, I think the goalscoring record is the real interesting one, Southgate told a media conference.
His strike rate for us is quite phenome…
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has demanded his team win at last in Serie A as they bid to avoid their worst five-game start to a season for 66 years.
Allegri takes Juve to Spezia on Wednesday, having snatched just two points from his first four league games in charge, a far cry from what he was looking for on his return to the top job.
Juventus have only once begun a Serie A season without winning any of their opening five fixtures, and that was in the 1955-56 season.
This is the fourth time they have strung together four without a victory at the start of a campaign, and Allegri called on his players to make sure the wait goes on no longer.
Our technical qualities will have to come out in the long run, Allegri said. We have to win, and then we will …
Lionel Messi revelled in his maiden goal for Paris Saint-Germain as the superstar helped take down Manchester City 2-0 in the Champions League.
Messi scored his first goal for PSG, who gained some revenge for their 2020-21 Champions League semi-final loss to Pep Guardiola s City on Tuesday.
After Idrissa Gueye broke the deadlock inside 10 minutes, Messi opened his PSG account with a sublime strike 16 minutes from the end in the French capital.
Messi savoured his first goal for PSG, the 673rd of the six-time Ballon d Or winner s illustrious club career as the Ligue 1 giants took their tally to four points from two matchdays.
It was a perfect night against a great opponent, Messi, who joined PSG on a free transfer at the conclusion of his Barcelona contrac…
Jose Luis Astiazaran has denied allegations Real Sociedad bought illegal doping products during his presidency between 2001 and 2005.
Astiazaran, now the head of the Spanish football league, came under fire after Inaki Badiola, who had a stint as Sociedad president in 2008, claimed the Basque club had purchased banned substances in the six years before he took over and possibly earlier.
Speaking in an interview with sports daily AS, Badiola said he believed two club doctors had been given money to purchase the doping products from Eufemaniano Fuentes, a doctor who is on trial in Madrid for his involvement in the widespread doping of professional cyclists.
During my period as president of Real Sociedad, I never had knowledge or suspicion of illegal practices in …
Unai Emery says Thursday s Europa Conference League clash with Olympiacos is Aston Villa s biggest challenge of the season.
Villa are 4-2 down after a shock defeat in the first leg of the semi-final tie at Villa Park last week.
While they are pushing for a top-four finish in the Premier League, Emery believes attempting to overturn the deficit in Greece will prove to be Villa s biggest test yet.
This is the challenge tomorrow, the biggest challenge we’re going to face this year, playing in this semi-final, Emery said.
Enjoying the way.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial)
I will find the best performances tomorrow and really be competitive.
Of course, it s going to be very difficult here away because the atmosphere supporting th…
Switzerland should be grateful to disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter, while world football s governing body will struggle to replace the Swiss, according to his ex-wife.
Blatter is serving an eight-year ban after FIFA s ethics committee found him guilty of making a disloyal payment to UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011, a verdict handed down last month.
The 79-year-old Blatter, who is appealing the decision, is alleged to have authorised a payment of two million Swiss francs (£1.3million) from FIFA to Platini.
However, Blatter s former wife Graziella Blatter-Bianca has leapt to the defence of the outgoing president, who is set to be replaced in February having led FIFA since 1998.
When Sepp Blatter was suspended for eight years for acts that still…
Crystal Palace are keen on agreeing a six-month loan deal for former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, .
The Eagles, who have not scored in any of their last five Premier League fixtures are on the lookout for a new striker with Conor Wickham the only one their current selection to have netted this season.
Bendtner has fallen out of favour at Wolfsburg – the side who he joined on a free transfer from Arsenal in the summer of 2014.
Since signing for the Bundesliga side, the twenty-eight-year-old Denmark international has racked up twenty-eight league appearances, scoring just three goals.
He notched up twenty-four Premier League goals for Arsenal while he also managed eight for Sunderland during a season-long loan spell in 2011/12.
Palace …
An emotional Leigh Griffiths paid tribute to Celtic and his team-mates after scoring his first goal since going on an extended leave of absence for mental health problems in December.
Celtic hosted Estonia s Nomme Kalju in the second round of Champions League qualifying on Wednesday and ran out 5-0 winners in the first leg.
Ryan Christie was the star, scoring twice and getting an assist, but Griffths grabbed the headlines with his first-half free-kick.
Griffiths missed the second half of last season after Celtic granted him leave and the striker ranks his goal among his career highlights after a difficult few months.
Words can t describe how good a feeling that was when the ball hit the back of the net, the Scotland forward told Celtic TV. I m absolutel…