Chelsea attacker Pedro has acknowledged he discussed a return to Camp Nou with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, but has made it clear a transfer never really came close to happening.
The Catalans were desperate to add some more depth to their attack and had earmarked Pedro as a valuable addition following his previous success at the club.
A move never materialised, though, as Barcelona brought in Paco Alcacer from Valencia instead.
I talked with Bartomeu, Pedro told RAC-1.
But it was given more importance than the conversation merited.
It is difficult to return somewhere, but you always have memories of a spell with a club.
Pedro worked under former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho when he joined…
Dele Alli is excited about the changes happening at Tottenham in the near future but has refused to rule out a move away from the club amid reported interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Since leaving MK Dons three years ago Alli has become a key figure for club and country, although last season he struggled to deliver consistent performances, his nine Premier League goals half the tally he managed in 2016-17.
LaLiga giants Barca and Madrid, as well as Manchester United, have all been linked with the midfielder ahead of his World Cup campaign with England.
And Alli has admitted he does not know what his future would hold if one of the big European names did come calling.
I d never say never to anything, he told ES Magazine. You n…
David Moyes saw his injury worries mount up as West Ham were held to a 1-1 FA Cup draw by Bristol City.
Lucas Paqueta set up Jarrod Bowen’s goal after just four minutes, but limped off shortly after with a recurrence of a knee injury.
Defender Konstantinos Mavropanos was also forced off with a shoulder problem before half-time.
But most worryingly of all, top-scorer Bowen had to be helped from the pitch after the final whistle having gone down injured in stoppage time.
The injuries may have brought into question Moyes’ decision to play his strongest team against the Championship side.
But the Hammers boss insisted: “I had no intention of doing anything else than making sure we put out as strong a team as we possibly could.
“Injurie…
Diogo Dalot feels Manchester United produced a controlled performance to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 2-0 win at Wigan.
Dalot put the visitors in front after 22 minutes, with Bruno Fernandes later converting a second-half penalty.
United dominated against the Sky Bet League One side, making 33 attempts on goal, which Dalot accepted they should have made more from.
Job done! ||
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
“We created a lot of chances and what would have made the difference today was putting the ball in the net a bit more with the occasions which we had,” Dalot said on ITV1.
“They had one or two counter-attacks but overall we controlled the game and had some good moments.”
On his goal, the Portugu…
Monaco moved back to the top of Ligue 1 as they ended Marseille s unbeaten record with a 2-1 win at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday.
Monaco are still yet to taste defeat since earning promotion from Ligue 2 last season, but paid a heavy price for their win as star striker Radamel Falcao suffered an ankle injury in the second half.
Marseille went in front just a minute before the interval as Lucas Mendes headed in Mathieu Valbuena s corner.
However, their advantage did not last long, Falcao equalising early in the second period with his third goal of the season.
The Colombian did not finish the match, but his replacement Emmanuel Riviere scored the winner with his fifth of the campaign.
Riviere signed from Toulouse in January slotted home after latching on to…
Russian newspaper that Spartak Moscow plan to sell winger Aiden McGeady in the summer.
The Ireland international enters the final year of his contract next summer and he has already informed the club chiefs that he will not be signing a new deal.
McGeady has found it hard to adapt to life in Russia and is eager to return to the United Kingdom.
As a result, Spartak chiefs have no option but to sell the player at the end of the current campaign, and they are looking to get around €7.5 million for the highly rated midfielder.
McGeady recently expressed his desire to play in the English Premier League, but it remains to be seen whether any of the interested sides will be prepared to match Spartak’s asking price.
The 26-year-old arrived in Moscow…
Thousands gathered to pay tribute to the victims of this week s tragic plane crash in Colombia at Chapecoense s Arena Conda on Saturday.
Players, backroom staff and officials from the Brazilian club, as well as a number of journalists, were among the 71 people to lose their lives when the flight carrying them to the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional went down in Cerro Gordo, La Union.
Amid torrential rain in the town of Chapeco, coffins which arrived from Colombia earlier in the day and were covered in Chapecoense s green and white colours were walked through the stadium, along with respective photographs and shirts of those who died.
CONMEBOL chief Alejandro Dominguez, Brazil coach Tite, the country s president Michel Temer and Gianni Infantin…
Verdict: Spurs not to lose
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Sitting well behind the leading pack, Manchester United and Tottenham are clearly not where they want to be at the moment and this is especially true for the Red Devils. This will feel like the final opportunity for Jose Mourinho’s side to kick-start their title bid, or at least improve their Champions League hopes, so it is clear which team will be under more pressure.
Manchester United
In spite of the arrival of some world-class footballers in the summer and huge backing from the club board and the fans, the reality is that Jose Mourinho is doing even worse than his predecessors David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, which is an achievement in itself, albeit not a very impressive one. Granted, the Red Devils a…
Prediction: West Ham United to win 2-0
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West Ham United and Sheffield United will face each other at the London Stadium in the Premier League next week. The match is slated to kick off at 6pm UK time next Monday and promises to be an entertaining game of football.
West Ham United
West Ham United are having a wonderful season in the Premier League and are actually in the running for the Champions League places in the table. David Moyes’s side are sixth in the standings at the moment with 39 points from 23 matches, just a point behind fourth-placed and defending English champions Liverpool.
The Hammers played out a goalless draw with Fulham away from home at Craven Cottage in the league this past weekend. It followed a 3…
In the last round of the group G in the World Cup, England met Belgium to fight for the top spot. Both teams had already secured passage to the knockout stage by beating the other two teams in the group Tunisia and Panama, so the game bore no importance in that aspect. It was set only to decide the potential opponent in the round of 16 for these two nations. The winner would play Japan, while the runner-up would be set to face Colombia.
The Teams
Given the strain of the competition, potential booking-caused suspensions and injuries, both coaches opted to rotate their teams rather heavily for this game.
England s Gareth Southgate put Jordan Pickford between the posts, the trio of Phil Jones, John Stones and Gary Cahill in defence, Eric Dier to anchor the midfield helped…