Tottenham forward Richarlison has suggested his former club Everton have a lack of ambition as he explained his reasoning behind leaving Frank Lampard s team.
Everton finished 16th last season – their lowest Premier League placing since the 2003-04 season – only ensuring their status as an ever-present in the competition thanks to a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace in their penultimate game.
Richarlison scored in that win and played a pivotal role in Everton s survival, netting six goals from the start of April. Having finished as the Toffee s top scorer, with 10 league goals, he was sold to Tottenham in June for an initial £50million, with potential add-ons taking the deal to £60m.
Everton s finances have been under scrutiny after their lavish spending…
Giorgio Chiellini hopes his injury woes are behind him ahead of the new Serie A season but will not add to speculation linking Luis Suarez with a move to Juventus.
Juve have reportedly been involved in protracted negotiations to sign Suarez, who was involved in an infamous biting incident with Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, from Barcelona.
Suarez, Edin Dzeko and Moise Kean have all been linked with the Italian champions and new head coach Andrea Pirlo has acknowledged he wants another centre-forward as soon as possible.
Club captain Chiellini insisted those words represent enough discussion over the topic, with Juve looking to add a focal point to a star-studded attack that includes Cristiano Ronaldo, Dejan Kulusevski and Paulo Dybala.
Pirlo spoke on …
Jamal Musiala has withdrawn from Germany s squad for the March international break, with the Bayern Munich forward ruled out with a hamstring strain.
The attacker, who has won 20 caps for his country since his debut in 2021, had been called up for the team s friendlies with Peru and Belgium.
But he will no longer link up with Hansi Flick s squad after he picked up a leg problem during Bayern s 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Flick confirmed the news ahead of his team s open recovery session in Frankfurt on Monday, and confirmed he would not call up a replacement for Musiala.
We [had] all hoped that Jamal would be fit, because he has unique qualities, he said. That s why it s a shame for everyone that he won t be with us.
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Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano said Robert Lewandowski and Real Madrid star Karim Benzema are both worthy of this year s Ballon d Or.
Lewandowski and Benzema are among the nominees for football s most prestigious individual award – the 30-man shortlist will be whittled down to just three players.
Upamecano is team-mates with Lewandowski at Bundesliga champions Bayern, while he also plays alongside Benzema for World Cup and Nations League holders France.
Asked about Lewandowski and Benzema ahead of Bayern s Champions League fixture with Benfica on Wednesday, Upamecano replied: Very good question!
Lewandowski or Benzema, both of them deserve it [Ballon d Or]. They are the two best strikers in the world. They prove it year after year.
If …
A weakened Milan side were held to a 1-1 draw in Serie A by Bologna at the Stadio Renato Dall Ara.
With their focus clearly on the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie with Napoli, Stefano Pioli s side made 10 changes and fell behind to a Nicola Sansone strike inside the opening minute.
The early goal sparked some life into Milan s understudies, with Tomasso Pobega s fierce strike levelling the scores before the break.
Neither side could find a winning goal in the second half, with honours even and a result Bologna will be happier with.
33 Nicola Sansone has equalled Gregoire Defrel as the player who has scored the earliest goal against AC Milan in a Serie A match since Opta started collecting this data (since 2004/05): both have found the…
Tyrone Mings has backed England’s “serial winners” to deliver silverware.
The Aston Villa defender believes the squad have enough experience to end their trophy drought.
Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, John Stones, Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker linked up with the squad on Tuesday after Manchester City completed the treble following their Champions League win over Inter Milan on Saturday.
We got off to a winning start at two years ago today!
— England (@England)
Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw helped Manchester United with the Carabao Cup this term while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Kieran Trippier have won league titles, with Declan Rice winning the Europa Conference League with West Ham.
England face Malta …
Athletic Bilbao have confirmed Ander Iturraspe and Mikel Rico will not have their contracts renewed beyond the end of the season.
Both players have struggled for game time this campaign, making just a combined nine appearances, and have been told they are free to leave when their deals expire on June 30.
Iturraspe – who has been linked to a reunion with former Athletic coach Marcelo Bielsa at Championship side Leeds United – has featured 320 times for the club since making his debut in 2008, while Rico has played 176 games following his arrival from Granada in 2013.
Athletic are seventh in LaLiga with three games remaining, five points away from the Champions League qualification places.
…
Hearts have decided to terminate the season-long loan deal of Rangers midfielder Alex Lowry.
The 20-year-old moved to Tynecastle at the start of August in search of more regular game time but he struggled to nail down a starting berth in Steven Naismith’s team.
Lowry made 17 appearances in total for the Jambos but only 12 as a starter. His best moment in a maroon jersey came in late September when he scored a late winner away to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup.
can confirm Alex Lowry’s loan spell with Heart of Midlothian has come to an end.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC)
The Ibrox academy graduate, who has been troubled by a back issue recently, started only two of Hearts’ last eight matches before the winter break.
The Tyne…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 8/13 @
In what looks set to be an action-packed A-League showdown on Friday morning, Wellington will welcome Melbourne Victory to the Sky Stadium.
Starting with the hosts, putting in another stellar performance last weekend as they eventually snatched a thrilling 4-3 win away at Perth, Wellington have continued on a remarkable A-League romp this season. Receiving a string of plaudits and already cementing their spot as the A-League’s surprise package this year, Giancarlo Italiano’s side are currently leading the chase at the top of the table and the mood in their camp appears to be at a red-hot high. While the Phoenix might have signed off 2023 with a 3-1 defeat against Sydney, that is just the second loss that Wellington ha…
According to , Barcelona are interested in signing Leroy Sane from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2024. The report has claimed that Sane could leave Bundesliga champions Bayern at the end of the season, and that La Liga champions Barcelona are considering making an offer for the 27-year-old winger.
Sane has been on the books of Bayern since 2020 when he joined from Manchester City. The winger has helped the Bavarian giants win the Bundesliga thrice, the DFL-Supercup on two occasions, the UEFA Super Cup once, and the FIFA Club World Cup on one occasion. The Germany international has scored five goals in six Bundesliga matches so far this season.
Barcelona are second in the La Liga table at the moment with 20 points from eight matches, a point behind leaders and bitter ri…