(GSM) Internazionale star Samuel Eto o has dismissed rumours suggesting that he has a disruptive influence on the dressing room.
The 29-year-old has already been described as a difficult character to deal with, as Guardiola is thought to have sold the player to Serie A giants in 2009 because he felt he was a negative presence at the club.
But Eto o claims otherwise, claiming that Lionel Messi pleaded with Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola not to sell him.
However, Eto o told L Equipe Mag: When Guardiola wanted me out, Messi went to him and said, Let whoever you want go, but not Samuel . All my coaches will tell you that I am a great professional. I ve not always been a role model in terms of discipline, but I have always been rigorous and professional.
He ad…
Mousa Dembele is determined to maintain his goalscoring form for Tottenham as they look to take a step towards the Europa League knockout rounds against Anderlecht on Thursday.
The Belgium midfielder followed a goal against AFC Bournemouth with the opener in Spurs 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Monday.
That victory extended their unbeaten league run to 10 matches, but their Europa League league form leaves much to be desired, with a 2-1 loss to Anderlecht on matchday three leaving them third in Group J.
And Dembele is eager to transfer his domestic form to the continental stage to help Spurs bid to qualify for the last 32.
I m happy with my form, but I think I can improve much more, he told the club s official website. I hadn t played for a long time unti…
Crotone s uptick in form has some wondering if the Squali could actually pull off a great escape. (Albano Angilletta/ANSA via AP)
They came, they saw, they had belief. And so they conquered. This past weekend, Crotone took on Inter in a game that really represented a David vs. Goliath-esque clash.
Although the Nerazzurri have had their problems, they arguably, on paper are a far superior side. Star man Mauro Icardi has scored 20 goals. Crotone as a whole team have netted a measly 25. But even minnows, even the smallest ones have teeth.
And Stefano Pioli s side became the latest ones to be bitten by the Squali on Sunday.
Turning things around
They also join a rather unwanted club as one of four teams to lose to the debutants this term. Yes, that s corre…
Luka Modric has been heavily criticized this season. But the 2018 Ballon D’Or Winner appeared for Real Madrid when Los Merengues needed him the most.
The Croatia international chipped in with two assists and one goal during Real Madrid’s impressive 3-1 home win over Real Sociedad this Saturday. Karim Benzema and Federico Valverde scored the other two goals for Los Merengues, while Willian Jose netted for the visitors.
The result keeps Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga standings for one more week but tied with FC Barcelona. Los Blaugranas had won against Leganes earlier this matchday.
It wasn’t an easy game for Los Merengues, though. In fact, Real Sociedad – who would have jumped to second place with a win – quickly broke the deadlock. A terrible back pa…
Alessio Romagnoli scored a last-gasp winner for the second match in succession as AC Milan snatched a dramatic late 1-0 victory at 10-man Udinese on Sunday.
The captain incredibly rifled home in the seventh minute of added time to repeat his heroics of Wednesday s 2-1 defeat of Genoa and give the Rossoneri a third straight Serie A triumph.
Gennaro Gattuso s men had seemed certain to settle for a disappointing scoreless draw against the out-of-form hosts, but Bram Nuytinck s 95th-minute dismissal for a cynical foul on Samu Castillejo lit the spark for a frantic finale.
Romagnoli s composed finish ensured Milan will take momentum into next Sunday s date with leaders Juventus, though Gonzalo Higuain is a doubt after sustaining a back problem in the first half.
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Thiago Silva will be absent for Saturday s trip to Brentford due to his involvement in Brazil s World Cup qualifying win over Uruguay, Chelsea have announced.
The 37-year-old played the full 90 minutes as the Selecao beat their visitors 4-1 on Thursday, edging closer to securing their spot at Qatar 2022.
Although the match was technically a Thursday kick-off in Manaus, it did not finish until 03:30 BST – Silva would have just 38 hours, including a hefty journey, between the two matches if expected to play in both.
Chelsea stated on their official website: On Saturday, the Blues will be without the experienced Thiago Silva, whose match for Brazil did not finish until 3.30am Friday UK time.
Providing Toni Rudiger is available, the resources at centre-bac…
Trent Alexander-Arnold will come through his difficult start to this season and be a better player for it .
That is the opinion of former Liverpool striker John Aldridge, who discussed Alexander-Arnold s recent struggles in an exclusive interview with Stats Perform.
The right-back s performances have been scrutinised since the start of the campaign following a series of lax defensive displays.
Alexander-Arnold already faced a battle to make England s World Cup squad before contributing to Liverpool s underwhelming results.
Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate did not use Alexander-Arnold in the September internationals as he explained squad rival Kieran Trippier s all-round game is ahead .
Until this season, Alexander-Arnold s club form had at lea…
CD Projekt Red has announced that a new game in The Witcher series is in development Come from Sports betting site VPbet . Unlike previous games, development will move from REDengine to Unreal Engine 5 as part of a multi-year strategic partnership with Epic Games. CDPR says that it’ll closely collaborate with Epic Games’ developers to help tailor the engine for open-world experiences.
At this point, further details on The Witcher–such as a development time frame or release date–are currently unavailable. We also don’t yet know if the game will be called The Witcher 4 or something else.
One bit of trivia that can be gleaned from the teaser image, which GamesRadar’s Leon Hurley spott…
Rumours continue to circulate over Clarence Seedorf s future as Milan, fresh from a derby triumph over Inter, travel to Atalanta on Sunday.
Seedorf, who has been in charge since January, enjoyed the biggest win of his tenure last time out as Nigel de Jong grabbed the only goal to beat Inter.
Yet, despite that success bolstering Milan s chances of a UEFA Europa League spot, speculation has continued to mount that the Dutchman will be deposed at the season s end.
For now, though, Milan and Seedorf most focus their attentions on overcoming an Atalanta side who have picked up just one point in their last five Serie A games.
The visitors will certainly be confident, having won six of their seven league encounters to move within a point of sixth-placed Torino and, inde…
Vincent Enyeama believes Nigeria can make history and reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
The Lille goalkeeper is closing in on 100 international appearances and looks set to move closer to that landmark in Brazil as part of Stephen Keshi s travelling party.
They will go up against Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran in Group F, with Enyeama backing Nigeria to become the first African side to reach the last four.
Ghana came close four years ago in South Africa but were beaten on penalties by Uruguay in the quarter-finals, and Enyeama feels the Super Eagles can go one better while making up for their group stage exit in 2010.
I think we are going to make big progress, he told FIFA.com.
We are focused on the World Cup, to make Africa the proud…