Neymar has been named La Liga s Player of the Month for November, the first Barcelona man to be given the award.
The Brazilian, who netted five goals in three games for the Spanish giants last month, is the first Barca player to win the prize since its inception at the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
Despite the Catalan club winning the league title, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League last season, no member of the Barcelona squad picked up the award and overall it has taken until the 21st time of asking for Neymar to end the streak.
The 23-year-old, who has a league-leading 14 goals so far this term, is the 15th forward to have claimed the player of the month gong.
Five players have taken home the title on more than one occasion, including Cristiano…
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel acknowledges it is a rough time for out-of-favour striker Tammy Abraham.
Abraham s chances of being selected for England at Euro 2020 appear to be slipping away, but Tuchel insists he cannot pick players on that basis.
With Chelsea away to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, the prospect of a recall to the starting XI for Abraham seems slim.
The former Aston Villa loanee has not played for Chelsea since February 20 and has been subbed off by half-time the last three times he started in the Premier League.
Ahead of the Palace clash, Tuchel was asked about whether Abraham s recent return from injury and his hopes of representing England at the Euros meant he would play more before the end of the season.
I …
Should Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich to win the Champions League next Saturday in Madrid for their third European Cup trophy but first since 1965 it would represent an incredible achievement their charismatic Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho told the Sunday Times.
The 47-year-old who could add the Serie A title to the Italian Cup later on Sunday said that while Porto s victory in the 2004 edition had been superb, this would be on a different plane to that success.
Ah, in Porto we did it, we won UEFA Cup, Portuguese Cup and championship (2003) and the next year we won the Super Cup, championship and Champions League, so we did three out of three, said Mourinho, who would become the youngest coach to win the European Cup twice should Inter defeat the newly-crowned German …
Benfica keen on Juan Iturbe
Portuguese giants Benfica are stepping up their efforts to sign Argentine winger Juan Manuel Iturbe from AS Roma, according to TVI 24.
The 22-year-old has failed to prove his worth at Stadio Olimpico and it would appear as though he is currently not in the first team plans of coach Rudi Garcia.
As a result, Iturbe is widely expected to leave the Giallorossi before the summer transfer window closes and Benfica appear to be leading the chase for his signature.
The midfielder s agent is already in Lisbon, trying to agree a season-long loan with the Eagles, while Genoa are another side showing interest in his services.
Iturbe made a name for himself playing for Hellas Verona on loan from Porto, and he then completed a big …
Paulo Dybala tweeted out his appreciation for Maurizio Sarri the day after the Italian coach was sacked by Juventus.
The Serie A champions decided to take swift action following Friday s Champions League exit to Lyon, announcing the end of Sarri s reign less than 24 hours after the second leg of the last-16 tie.
Juve did not wait long to name his replacement either, giving the job to Andrea Pirlo just over a week after appointing the former Italy international as their new under-23 team coach.
The internal promotion came as a surprise too, considering links to former Juve player and current Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, ex-Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and Simone Inzaghi, who is in charge of domestic rivals Lazio.
Reacting to the departur…
Manuel Locatelli came up with another precious Juventus goal to keep their winning run going in a 1-0 Derby della Mole success at Torino.
After an awful start to the season, the Bianconeri came into this game against their city rivals on the back of three victories in a row in all competitions.
Wednesday s Champions League triumph at home to holders Chelsea provided a particular highlight, but it looked as though Juve s momentum would be checked as the final match before the international break remained goalless heading into the closing stages.
Locatelli – whose first goal for the club proved decisive against Sampdoria in Juve s previous league game – came up with a winner four minutes from time, however, reward for a much-improved second half and enough to …
(GSM) Real Madrid midfielder Kaká has dismissed suggestions that he is looking to leave Santiago Bernabéu in January.
Kaká, who moved to Madrid from Milan in the summer of 2009 for a €68.5 million fee, has had his appearances restricted by a knee operation which he underwent after the World Cup.
His form has not reached the same heights as it did in Italy and the Brazilian has been linked with a return to Serie A, although the 28-year-old has now reiterated that he has no plans to leave the Spanish capital in January.
Speaking via his Twitter account, he said: My declarations are coming out in some media that are not true. My concern at this time is solely and exclusively with my physical recovery.
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Bayern Munich defender David Alaba has taken the time to praise Pep Guardiola and feels the former Barcelona coach has reinvented football with his unique philosophy.
Alaba has been working with Guardiola since the latter took charge of Bayern in 2013 and he believes the Bavarians would not have been as successful without the 45-year-old.
The coach is very demanding but it s really amazing to train with him, Alaba was quoted as saying by The Guardian. It s like he reinvented football.
He thinks about football 24 hours a day, he s always explaining to us on the screen what s the best way to attack, best way to defend, the best way to play with the ball.
Now that he s here in his third year, we understand him better as well. We wouldn t be as successful…
Wayne Rooney says he wanted to finish his career at Manchester United but believes he chose the right time to leave the club.
The 33-year-old scored a club-record 253 goals in 559 appearances for the Red Devils between 2004 and 2017.
The former club captain departed for boyhood side Everton in July last year after struggling to find regular first-team football under Jose Mourinho, before leaving England to join DC United in June.
Rooney admits he would prefer never to have left Old Trafford but thinks he was right to seek a new challenge after falling down the pecking order.
Of course you miss it, he told MUTV. It was the highlight of my career, playing for Man United, and I was there for so long. But it was the right time.
I wasn t playing, f…
Paris Saint Germain eased into the semi-final of the Coupe de France as Kylian Mbappe’s goal helped Luis Enrique’s side to a 3-1 win over Nice.
Coming off the back of three consecutive Ligue 1 draws that had seen their lead at the top of the table cut to 10 points, PSG maintained their bid to win three trophies this season as they comfortably dispatched Francesco Farioli’s team at the Parc de Princes.
Mbappe struck after just 14 minutes to give the home side the lead.
Paris Saint-Germain will play Stade Rennais FC in the semi-final of the
The tie will be played on Wednesday 3rd April at 9:10pm (CET)
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
Ousmane Dembele’s cross from the right took a deflection and landed at the striker’s fee…