🚨 Brahim's STUNNER, De Bruyne back to his best, Liverpool's classy gesture, Sir Jim's takeover is OFFICIAL, Savio 'here we go' & more
🚨 Brahim's STUNNER, De Bruyne back to his best, Liverpool's classy gesture, Sir Jim's takeover is OFFICIAL, Savio 'here we go' & more
Today's football headlines, featuring Bayern, Chelsea, Liverpool and much more!
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Today’s top stories:
Plus more from Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain
Barcelona
Fabrizio Romano details his personal favourite to replace Xavi in the Barcelona dugout.
Barcelona will listen to offers for player signed only two years ago [Mundo Deportivo]
Bayern Munich
Bayern director Freund on the Matthijs de Ligt situation: “We can understand his disappointment but we are happy to have Matthijs. Here at Bayern there’s competition, he knows that and he’s being professional as always.”
Tuchel on Matthijs de Ligt: “Yes, he is having a difficult moment as the fight for places is really strong. I decided not to start him (against Leverkusen) and not to take the risk. Matthijs is a fighter, it’s a competition for places. We need him.”
Tuchel: “No, I don't feel any growing pressure. It is necessary to remain self-confident, it is necessary to be self-critical. The louder the noise becomes and the stronger the so-called pressure becomes, the more important it is to stay calm.”
Champions League
Copenhagen vs Man City: Kevin de Bruyne gave Pep Guardiola’s side the lead with this superb finish (below). Bernardo Silva added a second in first-half injury time, with Phil Foden sealing a 3-1 win in the 92nd minute [pictures from TNT Sports].
De Bruyne’s two assists on the night meant that he now stands alone as the player with the most assists (30) in the Champions League, surpassing Karim Benzema and Andrés Iniesta.
RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid: In a tight affair, Brahim Díaz’s stunner just after the break was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win to take back to the Santiago Bernabéu [pictures from beIN Sports].
Chelsea
Pochettino: "Gallagher told me he wants to stay at Chelsea. Other than that, it's for him and the club to discuss. We like him. I'm so happy for him and so happy for the team because it's a victory we needed. Then about his contract, it's up to Conor and the club."
Enzo Fernandez: "I don't want to leave Chelsea. I am very good here with my teammates and coaching staff, from the first day I have arrived. The people at the club are treating me very well, I'm grateful for that. I will continue here until they want me to."
Bayern considered a late January move for Mykhailo Mudryk on loan from Chelsea, but it was not even a concrete negotiation. No chance as Chelsea didn’t want Mudryk to leave and so Bayern focus was on bringing Bryan Zaragoza to the club.
Si Phillips discussed various points in the Chelsea Insider column with Ben Jacobs including which Bournemouth star the Blues have their eye on.
Petr Cech: "I miss my work but I don't have regrets. After such a significant change, I was too worried that I'd always be comparing what has been done to what might happen in the future... I had a gut feeling that I was not in the right position so I left.”
Crystal Palace
The net seems to be closing in for Roy Hodgson as there are two confirmed names being considered by Crystal Palace for his job [Fabrizio Romano].
Inter Miami
Federico Redondo to Inter Miami, here we go! Deal sealed with Argentinos Juniors after verbal agreement last week as it’s all done for €8m package. There will be also 15% sell on clause. Redondo will play next to Leo Messi.
Liverpool
A sight all Liverpool fans will enjoy - Mo Salah is back training with the first-team [pictures from Liverpool Football Club].
Liverpool and Arsenal have been linked with Wolves’ Pedro Neto but they might not have things all their own way according to Fabrizio Romano.
Xabi Alonso could reject Liverpool to manage Premier League rivals [Guillem Balague]
Sven-Goran Eriksson recently said he always wished to be Liverpool manager one day… and Liverpool now confirm that Eriksson will be part of the Legends management team for the game against Ajax Legends at Anfield, on 23 March.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola: “Josko Gvardiol will be out for 2/3 weeks due to an ankle ligament injury. Bernardo got a big knock in his ankle, Jack Grealish looks like a muscular injury. Kovacić is ready to return.”
PSG identify £51 million Man City attacker as marquee transfer target [Fichajes]
Sávio to Manchester City, here we go! Man City have all contracts ready for Savinho to join the club in July. Deal is at the signing stage now, documents being reviewed and completed on all sides. First signing for the 24/25 season, done.
Manchester United
OFFICIAL: The Premier League confirm Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of 25% of Manchester United has been approved following the completion of the Owners and Directors Test.
Manchester United and INEOS want Newcastle United’s sporting director Dan Ashworth to be the face of their new project.
Man United have been linked with a brilliant 27-year-old right-back. Fabrizio Romano has more.
Paris Saint-Germain
Nuno Mendes returns to full training with the team as expected. Excellent news for PSG as Nuno will be ready to play in the upcoming weeks.
Zinedine Zidane was asked about Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid. “There is a lot of talk about that, a lot of stories and rumours but the reality is that we don't know what will happen yet. We will see what happens.”
Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano have decided to sack their manager Francisco Rodríguez with immediate effect.
Real Madrid
Tchouaméni: “Mbappé to Real Madrid? He didn’t tell me anything. And even if he did, I wouldn’t have told you. We talk about it in the dressing room because it’s an important subject and we hope that things will settle down in the coming weeks.”
Ex-Real Madrid boss hit with €1.5m fine [Relevo]
Ancelotti: “Lunin has been super, excellent. This (vs Leipzig) was Lunin's best game since I met him for sure.”
Ancelotti: "Brahim is clearly stronger after his spell at AC Milan. He always helps the team whenever he plays."
Brahim Díaz: “I feel good. I think my injury is not serious. I celebrated like that for Jude, he wanted to play this game… so this goal is for him. I’m so happy at Real Madrid… Let me say thanks to AC Milan. It was a crucial step for me. I was very happy there, I still follow AC Milan and I’ll always follow them — I speak more to Theo Hernández than to my family. I’m very happy at Real now, my focus is to do my best here.”
Roma
Romelu Lukaku’s future hinges on Roma being able to do one thing. What is it? Fabrizio Romano has the details.
Ex-Serie A keeper hints that Belotti didn’t get along with Roma coach [Calciomercato]
Shakhtar Donetsk
Georgiy Sudakov’s release clause will be €150m in the summer and Shakhtar Donetsk already turned down proposals for €35/40m during the January transfer window.
Sporting
Viktor Gyokeres now has most G/A contributions with 38 this season in all competitions at Sporting. The Swedish striker has scored 27 goals and provided 11 assists in his first season in Portugal, after joining in the summer for a record fee from Coventry. Release clause: €100m.
The Debrief Podcast
Angus and Ben are joined by CBS Reporter James Benge and FIFA Referee -- and rules analyst -- Christina Unkel to debate the future of Blue Cards and the state of rule implementation in football.
Udinese
Damián Pizarro has completed his medical at Udinese, joining the club from Colo Colo. The Chilean striker, born in 2005, will sign for the Italian side on July 1.
West Ham United
Fabrizio Romano has the latest on whether David Moyes will sign a new deal at West Ham.
Richard Keys loved what ‘thunderous’ Arsenal star did against West Ham