Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is adamant he never made any comments suggesting he is set to join Chelsea at the end of the season.
Quotes attributed to Calhanoglu surfaced at the weekend in Turkish publication Fanatik, with the 22-year-old alleged to have said a move to Stamford Bridge was on the cards come June.
However, the Leverkusen star has made it clear he did not give any interviews to Turkish journalists regarding his future or his recent four-month ban.
I said nothing about Chelsea in the press and did not talk to any Turkish journalist neither about the court decision nor about my future! Calhanoglu stated on Twitter.
I said nothing about Chelsea in the press didn t talk to any Turkish journalist neither about the court decision …
Ronald Koeman believes Everton will be firmly in the Champions League qualification hunt if they can collect four points from their next two matches against Liverpool and Manchester United.
Everton are playing at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday, before travelling to Old Trafford on Tuesday in a crucial double-header.
A superb run of form that has seen Koeman s side lose just once in the top flight in 2017 has them sitting just six points behind fourth-placed rivals Liverpool.
And Koeman feels a win and a draw in the matches against Jurgen Klopp s men and United will give his team every chance of sealing a top-four finish.
I believe that yes [four points would see us challenge for the top four], he said to Sky Sports.
We need to show i…
Germany are in a vulnerable position as the World Cup holders face a premature exit but Thomas Muller remains optimistic amid the chaos.
The world champions will take on Sweden in an important Group F match in Sochi on Saturday after last week s shock loss to Mexico.
Germany were uncharacteristically poor in a 1-0 defeat, triggering widespread backlash and reports of squad disharmony, which star forward Muller dismissed in the build-up.
With Sweden in a strong position after edging South Korea, Germany s title defence could hinge on the result at Fisht Stadium and, while the heat is on, Muller is upbeat.
We have made ourselves vulnerable. We are self-critical enough to analyse the situation, but now we must look forwards together, Muller said.
Former Colombia international Rene Higuita has been named as Atletico Nacional s new goalkeeping coach.
The 50-year-old, famous for his innovative scorpion kick save at Wembley Stadium in 1995, played for the Colombian club over 180 times across two spells in the 1990s.
Higuita had previously coached at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia after bringing his playing career to an end in 2010.
Speaking at a media conferece, Atletico president Andres Botero said of Higuita s return to the club: This is great news for the Atletico Nacional club, for the fans and for the whole country.
We not only want to prepare goalkeepers for Nacional, but for Colombian football and for international football.
He always said that the dream of his life was to return to Atleti…
Reports in Spain suggest that Manchester City midfielder David Silva has reached an agreement with La Liga side Las Palmas.
The highly rated footballer will remain at Etihad Stadium until his current deal expires in June 2019 and will then join boyhood club Las Palmas on a free transfer.
A verbal agreement is reportedly in place as Silva clearly wants to end his career in his hometown, although the attacking midfielder will only return if the team remain in the top flight.
The 31-year-old joined Man City from Valencia in 2010, going on to make over 300 appearances for the new club, but he always maintained his desire to hang up his boots at Las Palmas.
Las Palmas kick off the new league campaign away to Valencia and they are .
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Atletico Madrid s defensive performance in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid proves that they have become a different beast under Diego Simeone, according to Diego Forlan.
Simeone s men were second best for much of a cagey quarter-final first leg with their city rivals at Estadio Vicente Calderon on Tuesday.
Yet they were able to stand firm for a goalless draw thanks in part to a fine goalkeeping performance from Jan Oblak, setting the stage for a tense second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday.
Diego Simeone s Atletico Madrid is a different beast to the team I played for, former Atletico striker Forlan wrote in his column for The National.
The first thing he did when he arrived, soon after I d left the club in 2011, was fix the …
One of the greatest rivalries in football will reach new heights when Boca Juniors and River Plate meet in a Superclasico Copa Libertadores final for the first time.
Boca will begin their bid to win South America s premier club competition for a record-equalling seventh time against their most fierce rivals at La Bombonera on Saturday.
However, River have won each of their last three appearances in the Libertadores final – most recently in 2015, which was also masterminded by head coach Marcelo Gallardo.
Ahead of the first leg, we bring you the best Opta Facts on one of the biggest games South America has ever seen.
1 and will meet in a Copa final for the first time ever. Unbeatable.
— OptaJavier (@OptaJavier)
THE TEAMS
Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in the latest instalment of one of the Premier League s heavyweight fixtures.
Antonio Conte s champions appear to have put their shock opening-day defeat to Burnley behind them by reeling off three consecutive victories domestically and thumping Qarabag 6-0 in the Champions League.
The feel-good factor surrounding Chelsea s stunning title triumph last season was punctured by Arsenal s stirring 2-1 FA Cup final win over the Blues, who they also bested at Wembley on penalties in last month s Community Shield.
The intervening weeks plunged the Gunners into all-too-familiar turmoil, with a 4-0 thumping at Liverpool and the Alexis Sanchez transfer saga bringing the vitriol that simmered at Emirates Stadium last season …
“Why not? I still dare to play in the Bundesliga. I’m healthy and I feel completely fit and I want to play for a few more years”.
Those are the words of German football legend Lukas Podolski who, at the age of 33 years old, is interested in making a triumphant return to Bundesliga. Podolski, who played for the Germany senior side between 2004 and 2017, is currently plying his trade over in Japanese football with Vissel Kobe. Alas, during a recent charity match, he revealed that he still thinks that he’s got a lot left in the tank.
Podolski hasn’t been a part of the division since back in 2012, before he made the transition over to the Premier League with Arsenal. To this day he’s still considered to be a legend in the realms of the German game, but the quest…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes his “smart” players understand and embrace the increased competition for places up front.
The five forwards he has at his disposal have contributed 30 goals so far this season but only Mohamed Salah, who has 10, is a guaranteed starter every week.
Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz -unavailable for the last two matches due to his father’s kidnapping in Colombia – have all made an impact when they have been selected and despite Klopp’s rotation they all appear to gel well together.
“The boys are all smart. The good thing is we have really only smart players, that means they understand they cannot play all the games,” he said.
“It’s not, ‘I want to play Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, …