The Premier League has welcomed a declaration from the European Union Court of Justice (CJEU) that attempts to sanction European Super League clubs would be legal.
On Thursday, CJEU advocate general Athanasios Rantos dealt a blow to the Super League s supporters – including Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus – stating UEFA and FIFA would be acting lawfully by preventing clubs from participating in third-party competitions.
With a judgement expected in the new year, Rantos was responding to a request by a Madrid court for a ruling on whether the governing bodies could take action in accordance with competition law and fundamental freedoms.
Supporters of the Super League had argued sanctions would be incompatible with EU competition law.
But UEFA descr…
The agent of Manchester United winger Nani, Andrea Pastorello, expects the player to leave the club when the transfer window re-opens in the summer.
Nani, who joined United from Sporting CP for €25.5 million in the summer of 2007, put pen to paper on a new five-year contract at Old Trafford in September.
Upon securing Nani s services until 30 June 2008, : I m really pleased Nani has re-signed for the next five years.
He has great ability and experience beyond his 26 years. I ve been impressed with his approach to training and look forward to working with him in the coming seasons.
However, the Portugal international, 27, has made just nine English Premier League appearances without a goal this season and finds himself behind the likes of A…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed 21-goal winger Riyad Mahrez, whom he says reads the game perfectly .
The Algerian has been a key part of City s Premier League title push, netting eight goals in their past 10 league games, for a season total of 10.
Mahrez has been influential in Europe as well with six Champions League goals for City, who are into the quarter-finals. Across all competitions this season, he already has 21 goals to his name.
The 31-year-old contributed 14, 13 and 12 goals over the previous three seasons, with his increase in production prompting praise from Guardiola – 21 is already a personal best.
He s an exceptional player,” Guardiola said at the news conference prior to Monday s league game with Crystal Palace. He s…
Millie Bright says an agreement has been reached between England players and the Football Association with regard to the dispute that has been ongoing over bonuses and commercial structures.
Just prior to the summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the Lionesses in a statement tweeted by Bright expressed their disappointment at the matter having not been resolved before the tournament, and said they had decided to pause talks with the intention of revisiting them after.
Asked for an update on the situation on Thursday, Bright – who captained the European champions at the World Cup, where they finished as runners-up – told a press conference: “We’ve had a really good conversation with the FA.
From your Lionesses x
— Millie Bright (@Md…
Since Ralf Rangnick took charge at Manchester United, much of the focus on them has revolved around – unsurprisingly – how they press, or don t, for that matter.
Of course, the overriding narrative when he was appointed fixated on how he was the supposed godfather of gegenpressing and would definitely have United pressing more effectively than Liverpool in a matter of weeks…
Okay, there probably weren t many making such grand claims, but the point remains: United s off-the-ball work became the focus.
That meant their rather underwhelming attacking displays went a little unnoticed until Rangnick started talking about their expected goals (xG) after their 1-1 draw with Southampton.
As it turns out, since Rangnick s arrival, United have underperformed …
Sunderland manager David Moyes has backed Everton midfielder Ross Barkley to recover from the dip in form that led to him being omitted from the England squad.
Barkley did not feature at all at the European Championship, and new manager Sam Allardyce picked the likes of West Ham s Michail Antonio and Danny Drinkwater ahead of the 22-year-old in his squad for September s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.
But Moyes, who introduced Barkley into the Everton team in August 2011, believes the Liverpool-born playmaker is still improving.
Ross is a really talented player, Moyes told the Mirror. We gave him his debut. We gave Wayne Rooney his debut at 16 and Jack Rodwell his debut at 16. We gave a lot of boys their debuts at Everton.
In Spain, they don’t …
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has heaped praise on midfielder Isco, saying he could become the next Clarence Seedorf.
The 21-year-old moved to the Bernabeu from Malaga at the start of the season, and has featured in the majority of Madrid s games as they continue to chase glory on three fronts.
The midfielder has nine goals from 34 appearances in all competitions this term, and Ancelotti believes he could go on to become as successful as Seedorf, who Ancelotti managed at Milan between 2002 and 2009.
He played very well against Schalke, Atletico Madrid, and very well with his national team, said the Italian of Isco.
I m confident he can perform this role in the past I had another player very similar to Isco, he had a lot of quality.
I m talking about See…
Luka Zahovic s late equaliser gave Maribor a 1-1 draw with Sporting on their return to the UEFA Champions League group stage after 15 years.
The 18-year-old Portugal-born forward and son of ex-Porto and Benfica attacking midfielder Zlatko Zahovic salvaged the Slovenians a point in dramatic circumstances at Stadion Ljudski vrt after Nani appeared to have given Sporting an opening Group G win.
Sporting had themselves not appeared in the group phase since 2008-09, although the Primeira Liga side looked far more settled from the start, with Andre Carrillo striking the crossbar in the 26th minute.
Maribor eventually came to life towards the end of the first period and Aleksander Rajcevic hit the post with a powerful header.
But it was in the final 10 minutes t…
Robin van Persie reached 300 career goals after scoring for Feyenoord to help his side reach the final of the KNVB Beker.
The former Arsenal and Manchester United forward returned to Feyenoord in the January transfer window, 14 years after he left to join the Gunners.
And the two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner scored his 300th career goal in Feyenoord s 3-0 defeat of Willem II in the KNVB Beker on Wednesday.
Van Persie hit 132 goals in 278 games for Arsenal before a move to rivals United helped the Netherlands international win the 2012-13 Premier League.
G o a l s !
— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord)
Van Persie, who scored 50 international goals, has scored once every 67 minutes for Feyenoord since re-joining the c…
Football has become increasingly commercialised / Image via sportbusinesscentre.com
Festive Football
Boxing Day, as the first segment of festive fixtures and holiday football, remains to this date a strongly-rooted tradition in United Kingdom and top-tier football leagues in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
And whereas Europe’s top football leagues such as La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga all go to shorter or longer winter sleep, which usually lasts until the first, second and it rare cases the third week of January, United Kingdom clubs would go on to play a couple of New Year rounds which bring special appeal to Europe’s most exciting and adored football competition.
Over the last few years however, there seems to be a firm split in public opinion in r…