‘No Chance’ Willian Would Have Stayed At Chelsea Under Conte

Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Willian warms up before the English Premier League football match between Huddersfield Town and Chelsea at the John Smith’s stadium in Huddersfield, northern England on August 11, 2018. Oli SCARFF / AFP
Chelsea winger Willian has admitted there is “no chance” he would have remained at the club had former manager Antonio Conte not been replaced by Maurizio Sarri last month.

Conte was dismissed just four weeks before the start of the season despite winning the Premier League in his debut campaign and the FA Cup last season.

However, the Italian paid for fallouts with a number of senior players and failing to qualify for the Champions League when he was finally dismissed after months of speculation over his future.

Willian was also linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge with Chelsea rejecting a bid from Barcelona over the summer.

But he looks set to stay in London with the transfer deadline for Premier League clubs now having passed, meaning the Blues are unlikely to entertain any further bids from foreign clubs.

“No chance. No,” the Brazilian told ESPN when asked if he would still be at the club had Conte remained in charge after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Huddersfield on Sarri’s Premier League debut.

“I’m here because I want to play for Chelsea. I will only leave if Chelsea want me to go.”

Sarri has warned it will take time to master the brand of free-flowing attacking football he implemented at Napoli.

But his desire to play on the front foot has already endeared him to Willian after two seasons under Conte’s rigorous tactical approach that prioritised making Chelsea hard to beat.

That approach was rarely successful against Arsenal, who Chelsea host at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Conte won just one of eight meetings against their London rivals, but Willian expects a different outcome thanks to Sarri’s approach.

“We have a great game to play against Arsenal and we want to win again,” he added.

“I think we have a good chance to turn the results around against them because now we have a different way to play football.

“The manager tells us to play, to enjoy ourselves on the pitch, with responsibility. Now we have a different style, that’s why we can create problems for Arsenal.”

Super Eagles Players Get N3.6M Each As Match Bonus After Win Against Zambia

An outstanding display by the Super Eagles of Nigeria to beat Chipolopolo of Zambia 2-1 which is Nigeria's first against Zambia on home soil and therefore ended their 14 game unbeaten run in all competition.
 Goals from Arsenal's Alex Iwobi (32 mins) and Manchester City wonder-kid Kelechi Iheanacho (42 mins) gave Nigeria a first half lead before veteran Collins Mbesuma pooled one back for the Zambians but that did not stop the Eagles from claiming victory as they got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start.

Meanwhile the Super Eagles players received their flight ticket refunds, match bonus for the AFCON qualifier against Tanzania last month as well as appearance fees for two friendlies in May against Mali and Luxembourg. It is estimated that a player who was involved in all three matches would have received close to $8,000 (over 3,600,000 Naira).

Beating Manchester City Is A Big Statement – Tottenham’s Alli

Dele Alli hailed Tottenham’s “big statement” following their superb 2-0 victory over Manchester City at White Hart Lane.
Sunday’s contest pitted the last two unbeaten Premier League teams against one another with City having won each of their six league matches under Pep Guardiola.
But Tottenham were rewarded for a slick and industrious display as a comical own goal from Aleksandar Kolarov and Alli’s cool finish saw Mauricio Pochettino’s men close to within a point of City at the summit.
“It’s massive. I think it’s a big statement from us. We knew what we’re capable of, we knew we’d have chances if we stuck to our game plan and it took it to them,” Alli told Sky Sports.
“They’re a great team and they’ll be up there but we showed what we’re made of.
“It’s massive going into the international break – no one wants to go into that on the back of a loss, it’s important we keep going.”
Team-mate Victor Wanyama was one of a number of Spurs players to excel in front of their home supporters and the midfielder says the team were rewarded for their hard work.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” he added. “We showed how solid we are and how compact we are.
“I’m happy to take three points. We knew we had to work hard, we enjoy working hard, when it comes to games we have to work extra hard. The hard work paid off.”

Leicester Boss Claudio Ranieri Happy To Take A Draw Against Southampton

Claudio Ranieri says his Leicester City side were lucky to escape with a draw following their 0-0 stalemate with Southampton.
The two clubs had to settle for a share of the spoils at the King Power Stadium on Sunday, but Southampton could well have taken all three points with Charlie Austin hitting the post and wasting another fine opportunity.
“I’m very happy because Southampton deserved to win,” Ranieri is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. “They played better. We conceded too many chances to score a goal.
“I recognise they played better than us. Fortunately we finished with a draw from the match.”
Southampton boss Claude Puel, meanwhile, was disappointed his side were not leaving the King Power Stadium with a victory under their belts.
“We finished this game with a little disappointment, because we have the feeling that we could have won this game,” he told Southampton’s official website.
“We have made a very good game, with good qualities. It is difficult to play against this team, with their good organisation. They are strong in defence and the long ball is very difficult to defend, but my players produced a very good game, with many opportunities, and this is very interesting for the future.
“It’s positive for the confidence, but it’s a shame to finish with a draw, because I have the feeling that we have to win this game.”
The result leaves reigning Premier League champions Leicester in 12th, while Southampton have moved up to 10th.

I Can’t Wait For The Season To Star, I Am Desperate To Play Under Mourinho – Rooney

Wayne Rooney has revealed he can’t wait to start playing under Jose Mourinho. He has compared the Portuguese manager, to former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

The England international was close to joining Mourinho at Chelsea in 2013, and now has the shot at for the man. The Portuguese has won three EPL titles, and is looking to win more.

And after opting to leave Everton to work with Ferguson in 2004 – a move that has yielded 13 trophies – Rooney hopes he can enjoy the same amount of success under Mourinho.

“I came to Manchester United because I wanted to work under Alex Ferguson and then in the latter years [with] what Mourinho has done in football, in Spain and Italy and England, he is a manager who you want to play under,” the 30-year-old forward said as United take part at the International Champions Cup in China.

“He is one of the best around and to learn from what he brings it’s going to be exciting for me to try and learn under a manager such as himself.”

Read What Rooney Said below:-

“I’ve been working under the manager for the last few days and the sessions have been very good.

“It is exciting, he is one of the best managers in world football and he has a clear idea of what he wants. I’m just looking forward to playing for him now.”

Don’t Waste Money!! Pogba Not Worth £100m – Scholes

Paul Scholes believes Manchester United will be paying over the odds if they sign Paul Pogba from Juventus for a world-record transfer fee.

Goal reports the 23-year-old is now close to joining United for €110m (£92m) from Juventus, who he joined on a free transfer in 2012.

Scholes is a fan of Pogba’s abilities but feels such a hefty price tag would suggest he is at the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and he does not believe the France international can be considered as good as the Barcelona and Real Madrid stars just yet.

“He was a very talented player,” Scholes told reporters when discussing Pogba’s fledgling United days. “I played with him quite a lot.

“If you ask me, at that time his agent was asking for a lot of money for a player who did not play first-team football except once or twice.

“Okay, he has gone on to great things and there was a massive improvement in him. I just don’t think he is a player worth £100m-plus right now.

“For that money, you would need a player who scores 50-plus goals a season, like Ronaldo or Messi. Pogba is not there yet.”

Jose Mourinho has added Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to his attacking options for the forthcoming season and Scholes feels both men will have points to prove.



“I haven’t seen much of Mkhitaryan but he seems to be a good player,” he said.

“With Ibrahimovic, he was playing at PSG and there were a lot of chances created and it was easy to score in that league.

“Is the United team as good as the PSG team? Not yet, maybe it will be. So in this league he will have to do a lot himself to score goals.”

Nevertheless, Scholes suggested rivals Manchester City might have snared the most impressive buy between the clubs so far this close season by persuading Ilkay Gundogan – the Germany international midfielder who is still recuperating from a knee injury – to join from Borussia Dortmund.

“He is a very good player if he can stay fit,” he added. “I have seen a lot of him with Dortmund. He has had a lot of injury problems but he can be fantastic if he can be fit.

“[Buying Gundogan] for about €20m – that’s a steal, these days.

Manchester United Reach Agreement To Sign Paul Pogba For World Record €110m Fee

The fee agreed with Juventus surpasses the amount paid by Real Madrid for Gareth Bale in 2013, and the France international will become United’s fourth signing under Mourinho.

Manchester United have agreed a world record deal to sign Paul Pogba for €110 million, Goal understands.

Officials from the Premier League club met with their Juventus counterparts earlier on Wednesday to discuss a deal to bring Pogba back to Old Trafford.

It is now understood that United have settled on a fee of €110m for Pogba, which eclipses the previous record set when Real Madrid paid €100m for Gareth Bale in 2013.



The France international will sign a five-year contract for the Red Devils.

Pogba had also been linked with the likes of Real, but they were priced out of a move and the France international was happy to leave Juventus after weighing up his options.

The midfielder is said to be ready to accept a €13m annual salary at Old Trafford, which would almost treble the wages he is currently earning at Juventus.

He originally left United for Juventus four years ago due to a lack of first-team opportunities, but his imminent return to the club will cap a busy start in the transfer market for new boss Jose Mourinho.

Why I Brought Kante To Chelsea – Conte

New Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, has revealed that new arrival, N’Golo Kante, will be very important to his vision for a two-man central midfield.

The Blues confirmed the signing of Kante from Leicester City for a fee around £30million just before their pre-season fixture with Rapid Vienna at Allianz Stadion.

Conte began the game with Nemanja Matic and John Mikel Obi in central midfield, with suggestions that he might prefer a 4-4-2 or even 4-2-4 system at Chelsea.

“Kante was a target and for this reason I am very very happy that the club bought this player,” Conte said.

“He’s a good player, good technique, fantastic stamina and I like this type of player. I think when you want to win you need this player, like Kante, like Matic, who works hard for the team.

“I am very happy because together with the club we are working to improve the squad. We know we have to improve but we prefer to wait than to go for a player that doesn’t adapt to our idea of football. Tomorrow [Sunday], Batshuayi arrives with us and he starts to work with the team.

“We identified [Kante] – me and the club together. I think that he can give a lot to Chelsea to enforce and so on. He’s very important for us if we want to play with two central midfielders. He showed in last season he is able to play with another midfield. Also, I think with this player we reinforce our squad.”

Serena Williams Bags 22nd Grand Slam Title, Equals Wimbledon Record

Serena Williams has won her seventh Wimbledon title which amounts to a total of 22 major Grand slam titles with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber on Saturday in London.

The world no 1 got stuck on 21 Grand Slams since winning last year’s Wimbledon. However, she stepped into the All England Club to retain the title and draw level with Steffi Graf’s Open era record.

Lionel Messi Reportedly Off To Chelsea Over Legal Frustrations In Spain

Strong rumours have linked the Argentine record-breaker, Lionel Messi to England following unhappiness in Spain in the face of tax crisis.

Chelsea will join Manchester City in the chase for Lionel Messi if the superstar gives any indication he might quit Barcelona following strong rumours that the legendary player is unhappy in Spain.

Messi was sentenced to 21 months jail for tax fraud but is not expected to do any time because prison terms of less than two years in Spain can be served under probation.

Barca immediately issued a statement supporting their player but Messi is said to felt the club could have been more supportive during the case.

The fee for Messi would smash the £100million mark and SunSport understands that Messi’s father, who represents his superstar son, has met with Blues’ owner, Roman Abramovich.

The meeting is believed to have taken place in the last ten days on Abramovich’s personal super yacht, the Eclipse. Chelsea chiefs have been monitoring the tax fraud case which saw both Leo and his father convicted.

Between them, Messi and his dad have been ordered to pay just under £3million in fines and the family feel victimised by Spanish authorities.

The Stamford Bridge club were alerted to the possibility that Messi could leave Barca over the tax case and the club’s failure to offer a new contract.

Negotiations were initiated on the basis that if the 29-year-old decided he’d had enough then Chelsea would be in pole position to capitalise.

Russia given ‘suspended’ ban from Euro 2016

Uefa on Tuesday ordered the “suspended disqualification” of Russia from the European Championship declaring they will be ordered out if there is more crowd trouble in a stadium at the tournament.

Russia were also fined €150,000 (N46M) over unrest in the stadium when Russia played England in Marseille on Saturday. Russia were found guilty by Europe’s governing body of crowd disturbances, racist chanting and throwing fireworks.

“This disqualification is suspended until the end of the tournament,” said the Uefa disciplinary commission decision.

“Such suspension will be lifted if incidents of a similar nature [crowd disturbances] happen inside the stadium at any of the remaining matches of the Russian team during the tournament,” it added.

Uefa stressed that its order only applied to trouble inside stadiums where the governing body is responsible for security.

Russia are playing Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday, sparking fears its fans will come into contact with English fans whose team is playing Wales in nearby Lens on Thursday.

After the 1-1 draw in Marseille, Russian fans crossed security barriers inside the Stade Velodrome and attacked England fans. Dozens of English supporters, including women and children, had to flee across security barriers to escape.

Uefa had already warned Russia and England that it could disqualify them if there was more trouble. But only Russia was charged over the conduct of its fans.

Man Utd confirm Van Gaal’s sack

Louis van Gaal has been sacked as manager of Manchester United, the club have confirmed.

Mourinho not returning to Madrid

The Portuguese left Chelsea by mutual consent on Thursday but is not set to make a sensational return to the Spanish club anytime soon, according to their president

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says there is little chance of Jose Mourinho becoming the club’s manager for the second time following his axing by Chelsea.

26 year old Footballer Arnold Peralta shot dead in Honduras

Former Rangers midfielder Caros Peralta was gunned down in the car park of a shopping center in his hometown in La Ceiba, Honduras by unidentified people yesterday Dec. 10th, according to police. Caros had been spending his holidays in his hometown since the conclusion of his team Club Deportivo Olimpia’s season.

The police are still on the trail of the killers but have ruled out armed robbery as the motive.

David Moyes: Real Sociedad Sack Former Man UTD Manager

David Moyes has been sacked as manager of La Liga strugglers Real Sociedad a day short of his one-year anniversary at the Spanish club.

The 52-year-old steered the Basque team to 12th spot last season after taking charge on 10 November 2014.

But La Real are only outside the relegation zone on goal difference and Friday’s 2-0 defeat at Las Palmas was their fourth in five league games.

A Sociedad statement said they had decided to terminate Moyes’s contract.

Assistant boss Billy McKinlay has also been sacked.

Yaya Toure blasts African football players

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure says some African footballers need to show more desire to make it to the very top of the game. Toure, 30, is in the running to win the African Footballer of the Year award for a fifth time after the list of nominees was cut to a 10-man shortlist earlier this week.

Chelsea Player Set to Leave in January

  A prominent Chelsea football club player is set to leave the North London outfit in January following lack of playing time after joining the club during the summer.

Radamel Falcao

Chelsea striker, Radamel Falcao could leave the club as early as the January transfer window.

The Daily Mirror reports that the former Manchester United striker is unhappy at a lack of opportunities to start games for the Blues this season, with Diego Costa and Loic Remy ahead of him in the selection order.

Lamar Odom found unconscious in a brothel, has been hospitalized

Former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player and Khloe Kardashian's ex Husband, Lamar Odom was found unconscious in his brothel room by a member of the staff Tuesday morning after days of partying and taking herbal Viagra .

Ahmed Musa,Vincent Enyeama make CAF Player of the Year list

Super Eagles’players, Ahmed Musa and Vincent Enyeama have made the Confederation of African Football (CAF) 2015 African Player of the Year Glo-CAF award list.

Vincent Enyeama's wife speaks out on his decision to retire from Super Eagles

Vincent Enyeama's wife Promise took to instagram to speak on her man quitting the national team