News & Articles

Brazil forward Neymar will extend his contract on Saturday with Paris St Germain by four years until 2026, French sports daily L’Equipe reported on Friday. Neymar, 29, joined PSG in 2017 from La Liga side Barcelona for a record transfer fee of 222 million euros ($270.02 million).

Nine of the original 12 European Super League clubs, including the Premier League's 'Big Six', declared their commitment to UEFA and its competitions at the continental and domestic level on Friday; Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus respond with a coordinated statement on Saturday Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus on Saturday defended the aborted Super League project after the nine other clubs were given a financial penalty by UEFA for their involvement. The three clubs said they had received "unacceptable" threats from UEFA and FIFA since the project collapsed just two days after it was announced last month when six Premier League clubs and three other teams pulled out. In a joint statement, Real, Barcelona and Juventus said the Super League had been launched "with the aim of providing solutions to the current unsustainable situation in the football industry". UEFA said it would take "appropriate action" against the three clubs who still support the Super League project. The clubs responded that "the founding clubs have suffered, and continue to suffer, unacceptable third-party pressures (and) threats." https://www.realmadrid.com/en/news/2021/05/08/official-announcement https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/2132297/statement-regarding-the-super-league

Lionel Messi's contract with Barcelona is worth up to 555 million euros ($673 million) over four seasons, thus making his deal as the biggest signed by any athlete in sports history, says a report. According to the report, Messi would receive a maximum of €555,237,619 (US$673,919,105) over four seasons, if a series of conditions were met. The contract was agreed in November 2017 and expires on June 30 this year, when Messi will leave Camp Nou if there is no agreement with the club over an extension. The also detailed how Messi rewarded the club over the years, having helped it win more than 30 titles.

Thomas Tuchel is the new Chelsea manager. Tuchel has signed a contract as new Chelsea manager until June 2022 plus option until June 2023. He will be the first German to manage Chelsea and arrives having guided PSG to four major honours and the Champions League final during his time in the French capital. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/01/26/tuchel-joins-chelsea

Chelsea sacked Frank Lampard as the club’s head coach on Monday with local media reporting that former Borussia Dortmund and PSG boss Thomas Tuchel will be the one replacing him next in London. Lampard was appointed as the club’s boss in July 2019 and led the club to a fourth-placed finish last season. The former Chelsea midfielder spent more than £200 million prior to the start of the 2020/21 season on players like Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, and Edouard Mendy. Lampard earned 1.67 points per match in the league, which is the lowest of any manager appointed since Abramovich bought Chelsea. The Blues have lost six Premier League matches so far this season, losing five of their last eight league games.

Cristiano Ronaldo has surpassed Josef Bican for the most goals scored for club and country in football history - with his tally now at 760. The Portuguese star had equalled Josef Bican’s record for goals scored for club and country during Juventus’ 3-1 win over Sassuolo on January 10. He then overtook the former Czech striker in the Italian Supercup Final against Napoli on Wednesday night. Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the second half making the most of a corner kick from the left and steering the ball inside the net from point-blank range.

The Aston Villa head coach beat Everton’s Carlo Ancelotti, Burnley’s Sean Dyche and Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win the accolade after masterminding a five-game unbeaten run. It’s the third time that the Villa boss has been nominated for the award this season after he was among the nominees in September and November, eventually missing out to Ancelotti to Nuno Espirito Santo respectively. Smith and his backroom team oversaw three victories and two draws as the club ended 2020 in fifth place.

Bruno Fernandes has been named as the recipient of the Premier League Player of the Month award for December 2020. The Portuguese playmaker scored three goals for Manchester United and registered a further four assists in December, helping his side charge towards the top of the table. Fernandes scored three goals in six Premier League appearances in December as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side went unbeaten, winning four games and drawing the other two. The Portugal midfielder has scored 15 goals in 26 games this season across all competitions, helping Manchester United move three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.

Paul Pogba admits that Manchester United cannot yet consider themselves to be on the same level as Liverpool until they win the Premier League, although the World Cup winner believes that the Red Devils can lift the title this season. United find themselves at the summit of the English top flight after 17 games played, with a derby date against Jurgen Klopp's second-placed Reds on Sunday the most high-profile match-up of the season so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo Takes On Four Defenders To Create a Goal-Scoring Chance for Hamza Rafia, Debutant Leads Juventus to 3-2 Win Against Genoa, Super Coppa Italia.