Albertini: Barca move was Ibra mistake

While battles at both ends of the table look set to go down to the wire, clubs from across the country will already be planning behind the scenes for what looks set to be a heavyweight summer transfer window.

Watching the likes of spend over £600million during the past two transfer windows, it appears that a number of England’s midfield stars are attracting plenty of interest.

With some already predicting what could be another record-breaking spend among the Premier League’s elite, there are plenty of England internationals who find growing scrutiny over their long-term futures.

On a list that includes a trio of Gareth Southgate’s key midfield stars, we have taken a look at a few Three Lions superstars who look set for a move this summer.

Declan Ri…

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said on Thursday he is confident that Arsenal captain and fellow Spanish international Cesc Fabregas will rejoin him at the Catalan giants in the future.

Fabregas has been linked to a return to La Liga with a move to either Real Madrid or to his boyhood club Barcelona, who he left to join the Gunners in September 2003.

But Pique, who spent several years with Fabregas in Barca s youth team, said he did not believe Fabregas would ever join Barcelona s arch-rivals and it is only a matter of time before he returns to the Catalan side.

I still think he?ll be wearing the Barca shirt one day, he is a fan and I know he?d love to come back. When? That?s another matter entirely, he told a news conference after a training session.

L…

Central Coast Mariners confirmed Tony Walmsley will take the coaching role permanently at the A-League club on Tuesday.

Walmsley, who took over from the sacked Phil Moss on an interim basis in March, has earned a contract until the end of the 2015-16 season and will also continue to serve as the Gosford side s technical director.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Mariners former National Youth League-winning coach admitted he had to consider whether or not he would be able to meet the needs of the club, who have gone from champions in 2012-13 to strugglers this term.

When [executive vice chairman] Peter Storrie asked if I would consider taking the head coach role at the Mariners I needed to weigh up the opportunity carefully, he said.

It is an h…

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge labelled Bayern Munich s third straight Bundesliga title a magnificent achievement as the players celebrated the 2014-15 championship on social media.

Bayern were confirmed as champions on Sunday after second-placed Wolfsburg lost 1-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach, leaving the Bavarians 15 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with four games remaining.

Rummenigge was impressed by how Pep Guardiola s side dominated the German league after a busy close-season involving the World Cup in Brazil.

Retaining the title is a magnificent achievement. All credit to the coach and the team, the former striker told Bayern s website.

They ve been fantastic throughout, in a season following a World Cup where we had a host of players in…

Former Liverpool and Tottenham director of football Damien Comolli has been told only three Premier League clubs will be able to spend money in the next transfer window.

The coronavirus pandemic has halted football across the globe, with no games in England s top tier since March 9.

The Premier League announced last week it still intends to complete the 2019-20 season, which it is hoped will be finished by the end of June.

Due to the financial impact of the global health crisis, a number of people within the game anticipate a significant decrease in fees when the market next opens, with Comolli among them.

He has received information that spending in the Premier League will be limited to just a trio of teams, though he was unable to confirm the accuracy…

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While the focus for many on the international stage is on the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020 tournament this summer, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced nations across the globe to start thinking about next year s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. There are still plenty of distractions and problems that could arise before the WC actually takes place, but for Italy and Northern Ireland, their eyes are locked on the World Cup and qualification as their respective campaigns begin this week.

Italy

From contenders to laughing stock and back to the role of dark horse, the Italians certainly know how to keep all of us on our toes. They ve got the kind of team that lives vicariously through the success of past icons and that s n…

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien faces a great challenge of his international career when he captains Ghana against Ivory Coast here on Friday.

The box-to-box workaholic with the biting tackle and thunderous drive must inspire an injury-ravaged Black Stars side against the under-pressure Africa Cup of Nations title favourites in a crunch Group B clash.

It will be the second fixture in this restive northern Angola enclave where an ambush last Friday claimed two lives as the Togolese delegation crossed the border from a Congo training camp.

Togo later withdrew, leaving Ghana, Ivory Coast and outsiders Burkina Faso fighting for two quarter-fianls places and the Burkinabe threw a spanner in the works by forcing a goalless stalemate with the Ivorians.

Ghana …

Besiktas have been expelled from this season s UEFA Europa League after the club’s appeal against a match-fixing ban was rejected on Friday.

The Turkish side who beat Norwegian outfit Tromso 2-0 (3-2 on aggregate) to reach the group stage of the competition on Thursday were initially banned by UEFA for match-fixing offences relating to the 2010-11 Super Lig campaign.

Slaven Bilic s men had been permitted to compete in the play-off round while their appeal which was heard on August 20 was assessed.

However, following the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it is the Scandinavian club who will progress to the group stage, the draw for which is set to take place at 12:45 CET in Monaco on Friday.

A statement on the CAS website read: The Court of A…

Bayern Munich s superstar forward line allowed two less glamorous team-mates a rare share of the spotlight on Saturday, as Spanish defenders Javi Martinez and Juan Bernat scored in a 3-0 win to end Cologne s long unbeaten run at home and move the champions seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

The hosts had not tasted defeat at RheinEnergie Stadion in the league since April 2016, but the omens were not good for them when Martinez put Carlo Ancelotti s visiting heavyweights ahead midway through the first half, Bayern having previously gone on to win every time the former Athletic Bilbao star had struck for them in the Bundesliga.

And that streak remained intact, thanks in no small part to his fellow Spain international Bernat, who afforded the visitors a comfor…

Patrice Evra was left out of the Juventus squad for Sunday s match at home to Bologna as he considers his future at the Serie A champions, according to chief executive Giuseppe Marotta.

French defender Evra has been an important figure for Juve since joining from Manchester United in 2014.

The 35-year-old, who has added two Scudetti to his career trophy haul during his time in Italy, has been linked with a return to Old Trafford, as well as a potential move to Spain with Valencia.

And Marotta confirmed the France international could be set to leave Juventus Stadium during the transfer window.

Evra was not called up to the squad because he s thinking about his future, he told Sky Sport Italia.

If he leaves, we will not sign a replacement.