February 3, 2020 – In an interview with Catalan publication Sport, sporting director Eric Abidal says the club had begun considering Valverde s future after the 0-0 draw with Real Madrid on December 18. He adds that he and his colleagues identified many players weren t satisfied nor working hard and there was also an internal communication problem .

February 4, 2020 – Messi hits back at Abidal, calling on him to name individuals rather than tar every player with the same brush. Writing on Instagram and highlighting a section of Abidal s quotes, Messi says: I honestly don t like to do these things, but I think everyone has to be responsible for their tasks and take care of their decisions. The players [are responsible for] what happens on the pitch and we are also the firs…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hit out at the farcical situation that could prevent Brazil international Fred from playing for Manchester United this weekend.

United blocked Fred from joining up with his national side for their triple-leader of September World Cup qualifiers due to Brazil being on the United Kingdom s travel red list amid the coronavirus pandemic.

That would mean players having to isolate in a hotel for a minimum of 10 days upon their return, ruling them out for at least three matches.

However, the ​Brazilian Football Confederation has asked FIFA to enforce a law that would block players not released from representing their countries for at least five days.

Should that be the case, Fred will not be available for selection to face Newcastle Un…

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe starred as Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways on the road in Ligue 1 with a tightly contested 3-2 victory at Bordeaux.

Lionel Messi was again absent through injury, though the other two stars of Mauricio Pochettino s deadly attacking trident combined to brilliant effect.

Neymar had not scored from open play in Ligue 1 since doing so against Lens in May, but ended that run with two sublime first-half strikes.

Mbappe – who had teed up Neymar s double – got in on the act midway through the second half to ensure late goals from Alberth Elis and M Baye Niang were not enough for Bordeaux.

It was far from plain sailing for PSG at first, as Bordeaux had the better of the opening exchanges, regularly catching the visitors…

Denzel Dumfries scored his second goal in as many Euro 2020 games as the Netherlands beat Austria 2-0 to qualify for the round of 16 as Group C winners.

The Oranje cruised through with a game to spare on Thursday after Memphis Depay opened the scoring at Johan Cruyff ArenA with an early penalty.

Dumfries opened his international account with a late winner in a 3-2 victory against Ukraine on Sunday and the impressive wing-back sealed all three points again in Amsterdam.

Frank de Boer s side were a cut above a poor Austria side and will face one of the third-placed finishers at the Puskas Arena in Budapest a week on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Netherlands players to score in their first 2 EURO games:

Ruud van Nistelrooy
Denzel D…

Jurgen Klopp might consider the Christmas and New Year programme an impossible task for his stricken Liverpool team, but the Premier League has challenged its clubs to get games on over the coming fortnight.

These games can throw up season-shaping drama, with the packed calendar meaning the stakes are high and stress levels higher, and any manager that chooses to rotate his squad does so at his own risk.

Nobody wants to offer up gifts, despite Santa delivering three goals for Blackburn Rovers in 2007 – Roque Santa Cruz scoring twice in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City on December 27, and adding another in a 2-1 win over Derby County three days later.

Manchester City lead the way in the English top flight this season, ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea.

Th…

Manchester United are going through a tough time. Try as they might, they don t seem able to get back to the top of the game in England, and it has been like that since Sir Alex Ferguson retired from the managerial role in 2013.

Stories have started leaking from the club about the current crop of players being unhappy with some of the coaching, and club icon Gary Neville is unpleasantly surprised by things like that happening at his former club.

I didn t find it funny at all. I thought it was disrespectful. I thought it was disgusting in fact.

Gary Neville assesses the current state at Manchester United and shares his views on the leaked reports of disharmony between the players and the coaching staff

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL)

…

Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa has joined Argentina s squad for the World Cup in Qatar, after Nicolas Gonzalez was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.

Capped 22 times by Argentina, Correa was not selected in Scaloni s initial 26-man squad for the tournament, which kicks off on Sunday, but was among a provisional 55-man list.

Scaloni said on Wednesday that late changes to the squad could be required ahead of their opening game against Saudi Arabia, with FIFA rules allowing changes before a team plays their first match at the tournament.

Fiorentina s Gonzalez suffered a muscle injury in Thursday s training session, Argentina announced, with Correa joining the squad ahead of Tuesday s first game for them in Group C.

Correa has not been a r…

Everton are interested in signing Martin Braithwaite from Espanyol in the summer transfer window, according to . The report in the Spanish news outlet has claimed that Everton are among three Premier League clubs who are keen on securing the services of the Denmark international, who can operate as a striker or as a winger.

AS has noted that Braithwaite is happy at Espanyol, but the financial reward he would get by moving to the Premier League is something that the former Barcelona player have to consider. The former Middlesbrough striker is 33 years of age now.

Braithwaite has been on the books of Espanyol since 2022 when he joined them as a free transfer after leaving Barcelona. The 33-year-old helped the Barcelona club get promoted from the Segunda Division to La Lig…

Liverpool will be offered the chance to sign Juventus winger Federico Chiesa in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Chiesa’s agent, Fali Ramadani, will offer Chiesa to a number of clubs, and that includes Liverpool.

Chiesa is looking to move on from Juventus this summer and wants a weekly salary of £130,000 at his new club. The Italy international winger has already turned down an offer from Juve to sign a new deal. The 26-year-old is out of contract at the Serie A club at the end of next season.

The 26-year-old has been on the books of Juventus on a permanent deal since 2022 following a two-year loan spell from Fiorentina. The winger scored nine goals and given two assists in 25 starts and eight substitute appearances in Serie A la…

Everton are planning to appeal against their two-point deduction for a second breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, but face yet another hearing and the prospect of further punishment.

The Toffees, who were docked six points earlier this season for breaking PSR rules in the assessment period up to the 2021-22 season, have been handed another penalty for the three-year cycle to 2022-23 after admitting a breach of £16.6million.

The punishment drops them one place to 16th in the Premier League table, two points above the relegation zone.

The independent commission was unable to decide on whether there was a further breach relating to costs of £6.5m. That case will be heard at an unspecified date, and the PA news agency understands any r…