Ballon d´Or 2018: Modric, Ronaldo and Griezmann in Opta numbers

According to a recent report from Sky Sports News, Tottenham Hotspur have been offered the chance to sign Porto forward Ze Luis. 

Spurs have a bit of a crisis to try and solve when it comes to injuries, and that’s especially true when it comes to the recent situation involving Harry Kane. The popular Englishman has been struck down with an injury that is set to rule him out for a few months, seriously harming Tottenham’s top four chances in the process. 

While they’ve been active in searching for a replacement in the January transfer window, there haven’t been any legitimate leads as of yet that have led to Spurs making a significant move towards bringing in another striker. 

While the signing of Gedson Fernandes seems to have been well received, it…

Vicente del Bosque prefers Neymar to Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain, even though he thinks the Brazil star s behaviour can cause problems.

Neymar has made an impressive return to first-team action with the Ligue 1 champions, having missed five of their opening seven games in 2019-20 in all competitions.

The forward s pre-season was blighted by an ankle injury that saw him miss the Copa America, and he was then kept out of the PSG side by head coach Thomas Tuchel during an uncertain transfer window.

The 27-year-old failed to secure a return to Barcelona before the transfer deadline, though, and has scored exceptional late winning goals in his performances against Strasbourg and Lyon since.

Despite raising concerns over whether he could ever be consid…

Juventus sensational acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid has landed them one of the greatest goalscorers in the game s history.

Fuelled by his renowned drive for success, the superstar winger-turned-striker has shattered records in Spanish and European football following his mega-money move from Manchester United in 2009.

And with a nine-season stint at Los Blancos now behind him, Portugal s most prolific product will set about stamping his legacy on Serie A.

Here are just some of the stunning figures that capture the impact Ronaldo has had in his career to date, and could yet have at his new home.

395 Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals than any other player in the European top five leagues (395). Wait.

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPao…

Jorge Sampaoli has been appointed as head coach of Marseille on a deal until June 2023.

The 60-year-old has enjoyed a nomadic coaching career, most notably leading Chile to Copa America glory in 2015 before departing to take charge at LaLiga side Sevilla in June 2016.

Less than a year later, Sampaoli left to take over his native Argentina but an uninspiring qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup preceded a last-16 defeat to eventual winners France in the tournament proper.

Spells at Santos and Atletico Mineiro followed, Sampaoli winning the Campeonato Mineiro with the latter, and he will now have another crack at European football in Ligue 1 with Marseille, who are eighth in the table.

I have been told all my life that Marseille is a special place f…

Stefano Pioli did not see any shortage of commitment from his Milan side in the 1-1 Serie A draw with Udinese, but conceded the quality was lacking.

Franck Kessie scored a 97th-minute penalty with the last kick of Wednesday s encounter at San Siro, as Milan s title hopes took another hit – Inter now have the chance to move six points clear should they beat Parma on Thursday.

Milan s equaliser came courtesy of a remarkable error from Jens Stryger Larsen, who inexplicably handled in the area as Udinese looked to see out what would have been just a second away win in their last eight league matches on the road.

The Rossoneri were without their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is set to miss up to three weeks with a thigh injury, and Milan head coach Pioli ackno…

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli says he will support Cristiano Ronaldo as the forward faces a rape allegation.

American Kathryn Mayorga has accused Ronaldo of sexually assaulting her in a hotel in Las Vegas in 2009, something the Portuguese has strenuously refuted.

German publication Der Spiegel first reported the claims, which also included the suggestion Ronaldo paid Ms Mayorga $375,000 in 2010 as part of a privacy agreement, preventing her from going public with the allegations.

Ms Mayorga filed a lawsuit in an attempt to quash that agreement while Las Vegas police have re-opened an investigation.

Ronaldo s lawyer Peter Christiansen confirmed the payment was made to Ms Mayorga, but said some documents presented as evidence had been stolen and complet…

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal s squad requires an overhaul in the transfer market and the under-fire manager believes he will be afforded the time and funds to reverse their alarming slide.

Arsenal are set to be without European football for the first time since 1995-96 as they languish 10th in the Premier League this season.

The Gunners were sensationally upstaged by Unai Emery s Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday as pressure mounts on Arteta, who replaced the former in 2019.

But Arteta expects to be backed by the Kroenkes in London, where Arsenal are preparing to host second-bottom West Brom on Sunday.

The squad needs changing, Arteta said. There were already a lot of changes in December, something that has not been done in years, but …

Liam Delap gave Manchester City a tantalising glimpse of their future before the EFL Cup holders were forced to scrap for a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth in round three.

Delap, the 17-year-old son of former Stoke City favourite Rory, has sparked plenty of excitable talk through his explosive performances for City s youth teams and he wasted little time when it came to making an impression on his senior debut.

Pace, power and a dead-eyed finish in the 18th minute had Pep Guardiola celebrating with delight, but the City boss soon had a furrowed brow as Sam Surridge brought the Championship side level.

Flimsy defending and a failure to create regular clear chances saw Guardiola send for the cavalry in Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, with the winner arriving in f…

Sergio Ramos became Spain s joint most-capped player on Sunday, moving level with former Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas.

Captain Ramos lined up for his national team for the 167th time, as they played a Euro 2020 qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

The appearance also moved him into the top 10 for the most-capped internationals ever in a list that includes only three other Europeans Italian Gianluigi Buffon, Latvian Vitalijs Astafjevs and Casillas.

Here we profile Spain s five most-capped players.

Sergio Ramos 167 caps

Ramos, 33, made his debut back as an 18-year-old against Chile in 2005, becoming the youngest player to debut for Spain in over half a century.

¡Equipo campeon!
Listos para un partido especial para …

Few coaches have received quite as much scrutiny as Joachim Low in the elongated run-up to Euro 2020.

Castigated after Germany s stunning group-stage exit at the 2018 World Cup, Low kept his job on the proviso of him starting a new phase for Die Mannschaft, with many of the old guard who helped inspire them to glory four years earlier in Brazil cast aside and their next generation of stars pushed to the fore.

Transitions, though, are rarely straightforward and Germany s bumps on the road to the European Championship were severe. They would have been relegated from League A of the Nations League if not for a restructuring following the inaugural edition and a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain in the same competition last November prompted an inquest that eventually led…