Roberto Mancini claims he and Jose Mourinho are not friends and suggests that is the way the Chelsea manager likes it.
The Italian stoked the flames ahead of Galatasaray s UEFA Champions League first-leg tie with Chelsea last month by suggesting that he built the Inter team that won the treble under Mourinho in 2009-10.
But the former Manchester City boss insisted that they were fair comments and that Mourinho took them to heart as Chelsea and Mancini s Galatasaray prepare to clash again in the return game at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday with the last-16 tie finely balanced at 1-1.
I said some perfectly normal things, he told La Repubblica newspaper.
But someone stirred it up into controversy and he really did get offended.
In Istanbul we saw each other and o…
According to Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany, Bayern Munich are in talks over a potential transfer of Levi Colwill from Chelsea this summer.
At the age of 21, Colwill is considered a highly talented defender. Though primarily a centre-back, he has played quite successfully on the left defensive flank too, and that versatility certainly adds to his overall quality. Last October, he made his debut as an England international in a friendly triumph over Australia.
A product of the Chelsea academy, Colwill has had loan spells with Huddersfield Town and Brighton and Hove Albion. He particularly caught the eye at the Amex, where he made 22 appearances for the Seagulls, and his fine performances attracted the interests of several top clubs last summer. Chelsea held firm at t…
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has signed a long-term contract extension to end speculation over his future.
The Spain international, 21, had been heavily linked with a return to former side Barcelona, while Pep Guardiola was reportedly interested in taking him to Manchester City.
The agreement for Bellerin comes as a major boost to Arsenal, who are also locked in renewal negotiations with star players Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, both of whom are out of contract in 2018.
I m really, really happy and this club is my home right now, Bellerin told Arsenal Player. I ve been here for more than five years now so I was really, really excited when the club told me that they wanted to extend my contract.
I wasn t thinking about anything else other than stay…
When Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was struggling for game time at AC Milan s Primavera team in 2007-08, the promising attacker took a decision not many players of his age would have dared to take.
Rather than stick around and wait for his chance at the illustrious Serie A side, Aubameyang decided to take action and request a temporary move away as he felt he was being treated unfairly at San Siro and had little chance of ever breaking into the first team.
Aubameyang was scoring some amazing goals, but we realised that he was not playing much with Milan s youth team because their coach favoured Italian players over him and kept Auba out of the team, the forward s mentor Yvan Le Mee told Le 10 Sport back in 2016.
At that time, we got in touch with Dijon over a …
Group D boasts 2015 Africa Cup of Nations favourites the Ivory Coast, but has plenty of other fantastic storylines to offer.
Cameroon and Mali will both fancy their chances to go deep in the tournament, while outsiders Guinea will be hoping to pick up a scalp or two along the way.
The favourites Ivory Coast, Cameroon
To many people, the lack of silverware for the Ivory Coast over the past decade remains one of football s great mysteries. Despite boasting some of the finest African players of the modern era, the Elephants have significantly underachieved in both the World Cup and the AFCON.
While the draw has not been their friend in the World Cup overall, their failures in this tournament are more stark. They were finalists in 2006 and 2012, and reached …
Wilfried Zaha received a late red card following an act of petulance as Southampton came from behind to draw 1-1 with fellow Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace.
Having ended his 17-game goalless drought to put Palace ahead in the first half, Zaha saw red for two bookings in quick succession in the 87th minute, when he reacted badly to a decision by Andre Marriner and sarcastically applauded the referee upon being booked.
James Ward-Prowse s third goal in as many league games had cancelled out Zaha s opener, with Mamadou Sakho missing two clear-cut chances either side of Southampton s 77th-minute equaliser.
Both sides now sit four points above the relegation zone, although Palace are set to lose their star man to suspension.
4 Wilfried Zaha has …
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ich will hope to bounce back from a frustrating weekend in the Bundesliga as Robert Lewandowski targets a Champions League milestone against Benfica.
The German giants are not the only top side looking for a response, with free-scoring Manchester City facing Lyon, who defeated Pep Guardiola s men earlier in this campaign.
City s group rivals Hoffenheim are on a peculiar streak as they continue to make strides in European football, while Cristiano Ronaldo has a record in his sights for Juventus.
We bring you details of all of the above and more in the Opta numbers ahead of Tuesday s Champions League action.
AEK Athens v Ajax
3 Ajax have won all three of the sides previous meetings by an aggregate score of 7-1.
4 AEK are o…
Agent Jorge Mendes Gestifute firm has vehemently denied accusations of blackmail made by Sporting CP president Bruno de Carvalho over a proposed move for Rui Patricio.
The goalkeeper has been linked with a switch to Napoli or Championship winners Wolves, and the Portugal international has asked to cancel his Sporting contract, according to a report by Record.
Patricio is said to want to leave Sporting following an attack on the club s training ground by supporters this month, after the team missed out on Champions League qualification.
The goalkeeper is reportedly also unhappy with De Carvalho s leadership, having seen coach Jorge Jesus had been fired in the build-up to the Taca de Portugal final, which Sporting surprisingly lost 2-1 to Desportivo das Aves.<…
Granit Xhaka has received the backing of team-mates past and present after his calamitous error against Burnley.
The Swiss midfielder was at fault for the Clarets leveller in Saturday s 1-1 draw at Turf Moor, directing an attempted pass into the midriff of Chris Wood, with the ball diverting into the net.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Xhaka has made eight errors leading to goals in the top flight, which is more than any other outfield Premier League player.
He looked set to head into Thursday s Europa League clash at Olympiacos with criticism ringing in his ears, having felt compelled to issue an apology on Instagram.
But the 28-year-old has since been showered with praise by Thomas Partey and ex-Gunner Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who is now with…
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis took aim at former head coach Maurizio Sarri for errors in judgment last season, while he asked Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani to lower his salary.
Sarri – who is set to join Premier League side Chelsea – guided Napoli to their second runners-up finish in three Serie A seasons but the Italian boss was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
De Laurentiis was critical of Sarri and his lack of rotation throughout the season after Napoli threatened to dethrone titleholders Juventus last term.
Reflecting on Sarri and the past campaign, De Laurentiis said: Last season was distorted and snatched from us: we belong to what [former Italian actor] Toto called The Band of Honest Men [referring t…