Galatasaray chairman Unal Aysal says the club have made alternative plans in the event Wesley Sneijder chooses a move to Liverpool.
The Merseyside club have made the Dutchman aware of their interest in him, with the playmaker extremely keen on a move to the Premier League after a switch to Manchester United failed in 2010.
Sneijder has fallen out of favour at Inter Milan, with the Italian club desperately trying to shift his wages off their books, while Liverpool have cleared the hefty salaries of Joe Cole and Nuri Sahin so far in January.
We offered Sniejder less than 5.5 million euros and we have an agreement with Inter for 7.5 million for Sneijder, Aysal told reporters.
Now we are waiting for player s decision. I never said we agreed with Sneijder 9…
Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal is on the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to former Colombia international Giovanni Hernandez.
Vidal won four Serie A titles with Juventus before leaving for Bayern in 2015, where he won the domestic double in Pep Guardiola s final season in charge.
The 29-year-old has also enjoyed stunning success with Chile, claiming the Copa America titles in 2015 and 2016, and he earned a place on the shortlist for France Football s Ballon d Or prize that was announced last month.
And Hernandez, who played alongside Vidal for Colo-Colo before the latter joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2007, says the combative midfielder is undoubtedly one of the world s finest.
Vidal is on the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and…
Bayern Munich could be without Manuel Neuer for Sunday s home clash with Cologne after the goalkeeper missed training on Thursday.
Neuer pulled off four saves to help Bayern to a 3-1 win over DFB-Pokal holders Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old was on top form to deny Marco Reus – who later curled in a sublime consolation goal – and Erling Haaland in the first half at Signal Iduna Park.
His save from Reus was particularly excellent, the Germany goalkeeper sticking out a leg to deny the Dortmund captain, whose effort had an expected goals (xG) estimation of 0.596, which registered it as the second-best chance of the match overall.
sustained a capsule injury in his right ankle during the Supercup victory over Dortmund, …
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has heaped praise on Eric Abidal and Tito Vilanova after their respective battles with illness.
The 29-year-old played at Camp Nou between 2007 and 2010, and had some particularly kind words to say about his former team-mate Abidal, who recently made his return following a liver transplant.
I m happy for Tito and Abidal. They re great. Abidal is a fantastic person and what he s done is very inspiring. He s an example for all of us, Toure told Rac1.
Toure also spoke about Barcelona s upcoming Champions League semi-final first leg clash with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
The game against Bayern will be very difficult, but Barca are always favourites for me, he said.
There are always difficu…
Max Gradel reflected on Sunday s Africa Cup of Nations success as an overdue win for Ivory Coast, who lost on penalties in 2006 and 2012.
Max Gradel described Sunday s dramatic Africa Cup of Nations triumph as a reward the Ivory Coast s golden generation .
Ivory Coast claimed their first AFCON title since 1992 by beating Ghana 9-8 on penalties at Estadio de Bata after a drab final was goalless after extra-time.
Having lost on penalties in 2006 and 2012, midfielder Gradel felt it was high time Ivory Coast avoided more heartbreak and gave credit to Ghana for the manner in which they frustrated Herve Renard s side.
Gradel told SuperSport: The Black Stars of Ghana stunned us. They resisted us and could have even opened the scoring.
As the game…
Lazio star Ciro Immobile is the best striker in Europe at the moment, according to his agent.
The 29-year-old Italy international scored twice in the 5-1 thrashing of SPAL last Sunday to take his tally to 25 Serie A goals for the season.
Immobile has accounted for almost half of Lazio s 52 league goals in 2019-20 and leads the race for the European Golden Shoe ahead of Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski and RB Leipzig s Timo Werner.
He is six goals clear of Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the Serie A scoring charts and is the first player since former Inter, Roma and Milan attacker Antonio Valentin Angelillo back in 1959 to reach 25 goals in the first 21 league games of the season in Italy s top flight.
Such has been Immobile s ruthless form that his r…
The 25-year-old made 101 appearances for Sunderland after joining the Wearside club from Sint Truiden in 2010, but will now look to compete with Pepe Reina for the number one jersey at Anfield.
Liverpool have been busy in the market already in the off-season, signing Spanish duo Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas, as well as Kolo Toure, with manager Brendan Rodgers enthused by the shape his squad is taking.
I am delighted that we have been able to sign one of the top goalkeepers in the Premier League, said Rodgers.
Simon will join a club that will give him an opportunity to demonstrate and improve his huge talent.
Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio lamented the departure of his first-choice goalkeeper, but insists he is immediately on the hunt for a replacement.
He sai…
Gelson Martins has agreed a five-year deal at Atletico Madrid, arriving at the Wanda Metropolitano on a free transfer after opting to walk away from crisis club Sporting CP.
The Portugal international was one of nine players to rescind their contracts after Sporting s turbulent end to the 2017-18 season, which descended into chaos after the club s then president Bruno de Carvalho publicly criticised players on social media following a Europa League defeat to Atletico.
In response, a group of radical supporters interrupted training, smashed up the changing rooms and attacked players, which led to the likes of Gelson tearing up his deal, which had four years left to run.
Earlier this week, Sporting insisted the club would not give up hope of keeping hold of Ge…
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With all eyes falling on Abidjan this weekend, host nation Ivory Coast will meet Nigeria on Sunday night for the 2024 AFCON Final.
Nigeria
Starting with Nigeria, after watching a host of African heavyweights crash out at the group stage last month, the Super Eagles have really been fancying their chance of making history this year. Eventually edging their way past South Africa on Wednesday night after what was a remarkable showdown in Bouake, Jose Peseiro’s men have received plenty of praise over the past few weeks. Although the three-time AFCON champions might have opened their adventure with a 1-1 stalemate against Equatorial Guinea on January 14th, Nigeria have come roaring back. Including a quarter-final statement as they lande…
Marko Grujic has confirmed that he has spoken with Liverpool about a possible switch from Red Star Belgrade to the Premier League.
The midfielder has been a big factor in his current side s Super Liga title push and reports on Merseyside have suggested that Reds manager Jurgen Klopp is keen to land the Serbia Under-21 international in a £5million deal.
Grujic admitted that a move away from Red Star is a possibility but the 19-year-old, who scored in Belgrade s 7-2 demolition of Cukaricki on Sunday, wants to see out the remainder of the season.
I ll try to respect the club, the fans and the general public, but again I think that for myself I have to choose the best environment where I get the chance to play and where I work with good coaches in good conditio…