Barcelona president Joan Laporta insists Ilkay Gundogan s exit was a sporting decision rather than a financial one, despite claims to the contrary from the midfielder.
Gundogan joined Barca as a free agent last year after helping Manchester City win a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, only to return to the Etihad Stadium last month.
In a farewell post on social media, Gundogan claimed Barca s financial concerns were at least partly responsible for his return to England.
Barca have struggled to meet LaLiga s strict salary cap rules in recent seasons and would reportedly have failed to register new signing Dani Olmo if not for Gundogan s exit.
Laporta, however, has refuted those claims, instead suggesting Olmo s move from RB Leipzig made G…
Leicester City defender Jonny Evans has signed a two-and-a-half year extension to his contract that will keep him at the Premier League club until the end of the 2022-23 season.
The 32-year-old former Manchester United centre-back joined Leicester from West Brom in June 2018 and has made 89 appearances in all competitions.
Evans has played 74 Premier League games for Leicester and been on the winning side 34 times with 15 draws and 25 losses.
Leicester boast a marginally better win percentage in the Premier League with Evans in the team (45.9 per cent) than without him (44.4 per cent).
Committing his future to the Club
— Leicester City (@LCFC)
The Foxes also have a higher average points per game total (1.6) when Evans has been in …
Jurgen Klinsmann has challenged the United States to finish 2014 on a high, starting with their friendly against Colombia on Friday.
The US have only lost three games this year with two of those defeats coming against Germany and Belgium at the World Cup and travel to London to face another team who impressed in Brazil.
Klinsmann has named a strong squad for the clash at Craven Cottage, with 16 of his World Cup players making the trip.
The German can call on the likes of experienced trio DaMarcus Beasley, Jermaine Jones and Jozy Altidore, and the head coach is keen for them to help the younger contingent settle into international football.
We want to finish 2014 on a high note and continue to try to meet the top teams eye to eye, Klinsmann said.
Kevin De Bruyne has stressed he remains committed to Belgium, ending speculation over his international future following their underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign.
Belgium were beaten 1-0 by France in the last 16 at the European Championships in Germany, having barely scraped through a group containing Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine.
That was De Bruyne s sixth tournament with the Red Devils, who came closest to glory when they made the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup, only to again lose to France.
Many believed the Manchester City star might retire from international football following yet another failure to deliver silverware, but he was included in Domenico Tedesco s squad for their opening Nations League fixtures versus Israel and France.
Speaking at a p…
The worst team in the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars, heads into New England to face the Patriots, who are chasing their division title. On the face of it, there’s only one winner, but given how unpredictable this season has been, you just never know.
Read on for our NFL picks and predictions for Jacksonville vs. New England on Sunday, January 2.
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Two of the top picks from the 2020 NFL draft will meet Sunday night at SoFi Stadium as Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins visit Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Dolphins’ offense looks healthy after some early-season worries. With the Chargers getting all their receivers back, could this be a back-and-forth, fast-paced track meet?
Here are my favorite NFL player props for Sunday Night Football’s battle between the Dolphins and Chargers.
Also, make sure to check out Jason Logan’s full SNF betting preview.
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The Indianapolis Colts head to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday to face the Atlanta Falcons. The Colts have won five of their last six games and are in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South. Meanwhile, the revolving door at quarterback continues for the 6-8 Falcons, who will go back to Taylor Heinicke this week after benching Desmond Ridder again.
NFL odds for this Week 16 matchup have flipped, with the Colts opening as 2-point road favorites before moving to be 1-point underdogs. Here are my best free NFL picks and predictions for Colts vs. Falcons on Sunday, December 24.
Colts vs Falcons odds
Colts vs Falcons predictions
A big reason why the spread has jumped sides for this game is the fact tha…
The 2024 NFL season starts with a pair of AFC contenders going head-to-head on Thursday Night Football, as the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium.
Our top NFL player props and NFL picks are focused on the Kansas City passing attack and superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes having a successful night through the air against the new-look Baltimore defense.
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This summer, I had the honour of leading my national team to glory at the European Championship. It feels like a long journey for the Azzurri, and on the road to victory we were often tested. But we learnt from that adversity, and from our mistakes, and those challenges make success taste even sweeter.
Today Italian football faces another challenge: the horrific racism experienced by black players, and players from different ethnic backgrounds in general, in this league. This season we have already seen so many incidents. I feel ashamed as an Italian that my teammates and fellow players have to live through this. I have no idea how they do it. Of course, as a footballer I’ve had my fair share of heckling from the stands. Sometimes it was t…
Chelsea are holding out for £40m for Romelu Lukaku, who has emerged as a target for Juventus and Al-Hilal, and have rejected a bid from Internazionale for the striker. Inter took Lukaku on loan last season and are exploring ways to sign the Belgium international on a permanent basis. However, Inter are struggling financially and their initial proposal has fallen well below Chelsea’s valuation.
Chelsea are open to selling Lukaku, who has been a major disappointment since joining from Inter for £97.5m two years ago. The former Manchester United forward has not settled at Stamford Bridge and is unlikely to be part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans next season, even though the squad is short of reliable goalscorers.
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