Ivan Rakitic is confused by his position at Barcelona, saying he wanted more game time and there was no better place than the LaLiga giants.
The Croatia international made just his second league start of the season and first since September in Sunday s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid.
Rakitic, who has been at Barca since 2014, said he wanted to remain at Camp Nou, if he is playing.
I do not understand the situation because I want to play. If I can play, there is no better place than Barca, he said, via Marca.
I want to enjoy every day and if it can be here, much better.
GAME OVER!
Atlético
Barça (, 86 )
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Rakitic has won four LaLiga titles and a Champions League since joining Barcelo…
Hoffenheim head coach Julian Nagelsmann said he expects a deal for Sandro Wagner to return to Bayern Munich to be completed in the next week or two .
Wagner has been linked with a move to boyhood club Bayern, who have previously been unwilling to meet the asking price for the Germany international forward.
However, the 30-year-old is set to join former Hoffenheim team-mates Niklas Sule and Sebastian Rudy at Bayern – the team he left in 2008 – as the Bundesliga champions look to provide support for star Robert Lewandowski.
We don t have to lie about it. I m expecting this will happen in the next week or two, Nagelsmann revealed following Hoffenheim s 1-1 Europa League draw against Ludogorets on Thursday.
Wagner enjoyed a stellar season last term, sc…
Hellas Verona head coach Ivan Juric insists fans did not racially abuse Brescia striker Mario Balotelli in Sunday s Serie A match.
Balotelli kicked the ball into the stands and threatened to walk off the pitch in the second half of his side s 2-1 defeat at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
The referee brought play to a halt before following protocol, with a statement read out in an attempt to resolve the issue.
After appeals from his team-mates and Verona players, Balotelli decided to stay on the pitch and see out the game.
The striker, who has had a fractious relationship with Verona fans, went on to score a stunning goal five minutes from time and there were chants of support for the player from large sections of the crowd after the initial incident.
…
According to a recent report from Sport, there is believed to be a feeling of real relief amongst Real Madrid players when it comes to Tottenham Hotspur appointing Jose Mourinho to be their new manager. Jose had previously been linked with a return to the Santiago Bernabeu for a second tenure, with reports suggesting that Zinedine Zidane was going to be getting the sack sooner rather than later.
A good portion of Real Madrid stars were against the idea of Mourinho becoming the boss once again which, as you can imagine, has led to their outpouring of joy on this matter.
Mourinho experienced some success with Real, but not to the point where fans and media were exactly devastated about him moving on to pastures new. It’s certainly a move that could become a reality …
AC Milan icon Paolo Maldini has welcomed the audacious signing of Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus and hopes the Rossoneri are now equipped to return to the Champions League.
Milan s squad has been comprehensively overhauled in the off-season, Italy international Bonucci joined by the likes of Franck Kessie, Lucas Biglia and Andre Silva in moving to San Siro.
One of the best defenders in the history of the game, Maldini is certainly qualified to assess the merits of Milan s marquee signing and the 49-year-old, who hung up his boots in 2009, is a fan of his Azzurri successor.
It s certainly difficult to find [good] centre-backs and Bonucci s one of the best, he told Sky Italia.
Bonucci s certainly an excellent buy.
It seems a bit early for th…
Lucas Ocampos punished Raul Jimenez s early penalty miss with a late winner as Sevilla beat Wolves 1-0 in Wednesday s Europa League quarter-final at the MSV-Arena.
Sevilla have won the competition in its various guises a record five times and will now face Manchester United on Sunday for a place in the final.
It may have been a different story in Duisburg had Jimenez converted from 12 yards but Yassine Bounou made a save and Ocampos glanced in the only goal two minutes from time.
Wolves, whose European adventure started 13 months and 17 games ago, had too little time to respond and Sevilla saw things through to advance to another continental semi-final.
FT | 0-1
Our journey comes to an end.
— Wolves (@Wolves)
Adama …
Lorenzo Colombo is glad that his hard work has paid off after marking his full debut for Milan with a goal in Thursday s 3-2 win over Bodo/Glimt.
The academy product put Milan 2-1 ahead in their Europa League third qualifying round victory with a close-range finish at the back post.
In doing so, at the age of 18 years and 200 days he became the youngest player to score for the Italian giants since M Baye Niang in 2012.
Lorenzo was brought into the side in place of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the match, and believes he made the most of his chance to shine.
It was a great opportunity for me to demonstrate all the work I did to get here, he told DAZN.
I wanted to play for the team because it took a collective …
Market: Both teams to score
Odds:
Two sides looking to book a Serie A return this season, Verona will welcome Pescara to the Stadio Marc Antonio Bentegodi on Wednesday night.
Starting with the hosts, after needing extra-time to come past a struggling Perugia last weekend, Alfredo Aglietti will be growing more concerned by his sides form heading into the semi-finals. Despite briefly believing that they could make a push for the automatic places entering 2019, Verona have shown some real signs of a struggle at the back end of the season. Wednesday s hosts managed to record just one victory in their final nine Serie B appearances, a run that stems all the way back to the start of March. A huge part of Verona s issues at the back end of the year has been their con…
Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Coman is unlikely to sign a new deal with Bayern, and defending La Liga champions Atletico are ready to take advantage of the 25-year-old France international midfielder’s situation.
Coman has been on the books of Bayern on a permanent contract since 2017 following a two-year loan deal from Italian giants Juventus. The France international winger is a serial winner who won the Ligue 1 title twice with PSG, the Serie A twice with Juventus, and the Bundesliga on six occasions and the Champions League once with Bayern.
The has made two substitute appearances in the Bundesliga and one substitute appearance in the Champions L…
Diego Maradona had a magic about him that was able to unite and excite a divided Argentina, according to Pumas rugby coach Mario Ledesma.
Speaking hours after it was announced that Maradona had died at the age of 60 in Buenos Aires, Ledesma spoke in Australia ahead of Argentina s Rugby Championship clash with New Zealand.
He highlighted the universal appeal of Maradona, saluted his attitude towards representing his nation, and told of how the footballer was a fervent supporter of Argentinians in sport the world over.
Maradona notably visited England to cheer on Argentina in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
He had an attraction, like the world stopped when he was there, Ledesma said.
It was like magic and he was an example of how you should play for …