Category: Sports news

Juventus’ turn to PSG and Manchester United for solutions to attacking problems

Juventus’ have struggled in front of goal this season and have now identified two outcasts at Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United to solve their problem.

They won their last game convincingly but their attacking performances in the course of the season have left much to be considered and desired.

Manager Massimiliano Allegri has had to deal with plenty of issues in the side, including defensive problems, and has struggled to find a solution to any of them as Juventus keep suffering in the league.

They let Cristiano Ronaldo move to Manchester United in the summer, giving up 30 goals a season. Despite having Alvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala and Moise Kean in their squad, however, Juventus only have 20 league goals this season.

This lack of attacking output has kept the Bianconeri out of the top four, and the club’s management, according to reports, are now looking to bring reinforcements in the winter transfer window.

Serie A top scorer, Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored more goals individually than all of Juve’s attackers combined, remains their primary target. The Serbian is currently out of their reach financially, however, making the Bianconeri look elsewhere.

Barcelona target Edinson Cavani and Mauro Icardi are the reported attacking reinforcements, according to Tuttosport.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Juventus to Manchester United has sent Cavani down the pecking order at Old Trafford while Icardi has not replicated his impressive Inter Milan form since joining PSG in 2019.

The Bianconeri hope to secure a loan for one or both strikers in the winter transfer window, as they look to sharpen their fangs up front and begin taking teams out in their usual fashion.

Wanda Nara drops hint of possible Icardi-Juve link up

Mauro Icardi’s wife and manager, Wanda Nara, may have hinted a possible move for the PSG striker back to Italy with Juventus.

In her latest social media post, shared a photo of her wearing a zebra-striped top, with the caption: “I toast for me, for what is coming this year and for you.”

Icardi, 28, joined PSG from Inter in 2019 after initially being linked with Juventus. There is a reported clause in his PSG contract which requires the Parisien club to pay Inter Milan the sum of £12 million if their former captain is moved on from Paris to another Serie A club.

The clause was allegedly installed in the forward’s PSG transfer contract following string interest from the Turin powerhouse club. Yet, Juventus continue to be linked with Icardi and are now rumoured to be discussing with his camp ahead of a winter loan move.

Footmercato in Italy claims that Allegri has already spoken to Icardi’s entourage in recent days and told them he ‘would love to have’ the striker with him in Turin.

Judging by Wanda Nara’s latest post, there might be something concrete on the horizon regarding these rumours. It could yet be another ploy by Icardi’s wife to stir controversy and rumours, as she is known for such antics in the football space.

Juventus rejected Cavani in the summer; now desperate for his signature

Juventus have long admired the Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani since his record-breaking Napoli days. He was the subject of several transfer rumours with Juventus at the centre during his time there and even during his time at PSG after leaving Napoli.

Cavani had rejected the Turin club in the past due to his loyalty to Napoli, choosing to go to Manchester United imafyer his latest rejection of the club.

Following the signing of Ronaldo by Manchester United and the reduction of Cavani’s role in the squad, Manchester United offered Cavani as a replacement for Ronaldo. Juventus declined the offer.

Calciomercato reported that Cavani’s wages at United we’re a lot for Juventus to match, which was the reason for their refusal to sign the one striker they’ve wanted the most in the past decade.

The club had to let Ronaldo go due to his huge financial demands, and bringing Cavani who demanded just as high – £250,000 per week – was going to cripple them further.

This fact, coupled with the new transfer policy within Juventus to sign only youngsters with an average age of 23 years old kept Cavani from moving to Juventus in the summer

Cavani has played just over 200 minutes only for Manchester United in the Premier League this season, which have come across five appearances. The arrival of interim manager Ralf Rangnick doesn’t look to change the situation, and the striker wants out.

Juventus will have to battle with Barcelona for his signature in the winter, just like they did over Matthias De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong three years ago.

Manchester United midfielder Fred feeling ‘blessed’ after scoring the first goal of the Rangnick era

Manchester United midfielder Fred has given Ralf Rangnick a winning start to life at Old Trafford and has come out to state that he feels “very blessed” to be the one to do it.

Ralf Rangnick’s side played some very different football in a 4-2-2-2 formation which showed lots of promise as they dominated the game from start to finish. The narrow scoreline betrays the fact that Manchester United played some of their best defensive and attacking football this season on matchday 15.

It took Fred’s right-footed effort to break the deadlock in the 77th minute as Crystal Palace also magaed to stave off Manchester United’s pressure in the game.

The 28-year-old’s goal was celebrated by his United teammates who were really happy to see the much criticised midfielder get his moment in the spotlight, and Fred feels blessed to be able to have such a moment.

The Brazilian spoke to Manchester United media after the match. “It’s always good to score in a game, but today we win 1-0 and it’s nice that my goal can be so important,” a happy Fred told Stewart Gardner of MUTV.

“Of course, above all, the most important thing is the win to help the team. It was a good performance, we played very well and kept a clean sheet too.

“With it being the first game with our new coach it is so important for us to keep things moving day after day and be ready for the next game.”

Fred also gave some insight into his goal. The midfielder is a left-footer, but tries to make plays and shoot quite often with his weaker right foot.

“With me being left footed, sometimes I try (to shoot) with my right,” Fred explained. “Mason gave me a good ball and in that moment I just looked for the goal and it happened.

“I’m very blessed and so happy to score one more goal here at Old Trafford, in front of our fans.”

Rangnick praises team after impressive display

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick admitted after the match that he did not expect his team to play so well after the events which he witnessed in the past week.

The Red Devils’ impressive performance and win over Crystal Palace came after just one training session under Rangnick who assumed command of the team after caretaker manager Michael Carrick led the team to a 3-2 victory over Arsenal on matchday 14.

In his post-match comments to journalists, Rangnick claimed that he was “surprised” by his players’ performances, who looked like a different team compared to recent weeks.

“I’m more than happy,” the 63-year-old told Sky Sports. “First of all, most importantly, we won the game. Second, we had a clean sheet, third I think we no doubt deserved to win, because we had control of the game.

“I suppose it (the Red Devils’ possession) was more than 60 per cent, and we didn’t give them that many chances to score.

“To be honest I was positively surprised by the performance of the players.

“I didn’t expect us to play at that level after only one-and-a-half training days together with them.”

Rangnick also mentioned the weather from the day before the match, calling it ‘disgusting’ as it afforded the team little chance to train.

“We didn’t have a full training session ahead of this game, yesterday was disgusting weather,” the German said. “It was not even Manchester weather. It [training] was 45 minutes.

“The rest was video footage. I didn’t expect them to play at that kind of level after such a short time.”

Manchester United fans hail Fred

Fred’s goal comes on the back of superb performances in the past eight days, where the Manchester United midfielder showed signs of redemption.

Fred was a mainstay of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United but barely got any praise and barely had any positive things said about him every time he played. Michael Carrick, in his short term as United’s caretaker, pushed the right buttons and Fred began to show the quality which Brazil’s national team have come to rely on in the middle of the park.

Manchester United fans took to social media to praise the 28-year-old for his performance and his goal after the midfielder grabbed the first goal of the Ralf Rangnick era.

Fans have witnessed the many shades of Fred on the pitch and now hope that his recent good form continues as the games start to come hard and fast.

Antonio Conte to go all in for Juventus’ Swedish prodigy

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has thrown his hat in the ring for Juventus’ out of favour Swedish talent, Dejan Kulusevski, reports have now confirmed.

Dejan Kulusevski is one of Mikel Arteta’s targets to help Arsenal’s attack get back into shape and it is understood that the Swede is leaning towards a move to the red half of North London.

But with the latest confirmed reports, Arsenal will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to be able to prevent Kulusevski from wearing the white if their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, in the coming winter or summer transfer window.

Dejan Kulusevski signed for Juventus from Atalanta in the winter of the 2019/20 Serie A season on a four-and-a-half year deal, for a fee in the region of €44 million which includes variables. He was on loan at Parma at the time and was sent back to the club to see out the loan deal.

At Parma, he became the youngest player in the top five European leagues to score at least seven goals and make at least five assists. He won the Serie A Best Young Player for the season, and fully joined his new club, Juventus’, the season after.

Following the sacking of Andrea Pirlo, Kulusevski has now been reduced to a bit-part player, starting only four of his 14 games in the Serie A so far this season. The winger is looking for more playing time, and Antonio Conte is willing to give it to him.

Antonio Conte has stabilised the Spurs ship left in a bit of disarray by sacked coach Nuno Espirito Santo but has made it very clear that he wants new players and wants to ship out a few of his current ones.

And with a reasonable transfer chest available to him in the winter window, Kulusevski’s camp has now begun to consider Tottenham Hotspur as a possible destination for their player.

No permanent transfer offer for the Swede on the books yet

The report by Sportmediaset claims that Kulusevski’s agent Alessandro Lucci is looking at both the Arsenal and Tottenham bids for Kulusevski.

At the moment, however, only loan bids for the £31 million-valued former Serie A young player of the year with an option to buy have reached both agent and club.

Antonio Conte likes the 21-year-old’s tall frame and versatility, as Kulusevski is capable of being deployed in several midfield roles as well as attacking roles. Fast, physically strong, and technically gifted, Kulusevski could come in and comfortably give Giovanni Lo Celso, Dele Alli and a few others a run for their money in the Spurs’ squad.

Antonio Conte’s staff assure Harry Kane of full support

Elsewhere, Antonio Conte and his staff are doing all they can to keep their misfiring striker, Harry Kane, who still remains the centre of transfer speculation, happy at the club.

The Italian’s staff at Tottenham have reportedly been working hard to change the mentality of Harry Kane to ensure he’s ready to stay with the club beyond the January transfer window.

Conte is an expert at transforming players, with Victor Moses and Romelu Lukaku being his biggest examples. Spurs fans still have to worry about Manchester City returning with another tempting bid for the England captain, but can count on Conte to do all he can to bring back the old Harry Kane.

Jose Mourinho in monologue rant over state of AS Roma squad after loss to Inter Milan

Jose Mourinho slipped back into old habits with a monologue rant at his post-match press conference following AS Roma’s loss to Internazionale on matchday 16 of the 2021/22 Serie A season.

Inter travelled to Rome and demolished Mourinho’s side in the first half, whose squad went into the game with a lot key of absences due to injuries, suspension and Coronavirus.

Inter completed their rout of Roma in the first 39 minutes of the game, with goals from Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Edin Džeko who was making his return to Roma after his move to Inter in the summer, and Denzel Dumfries.

Mourinho, who led Inter to a treble in 2010, had never lost a home game in Serie until this season; his second stint in the league. Now, he has lost twice, with this 3-0 hammering from his former club being his second defeat at the Stadio Olimpico for the Giallorossi.

The Special One has not had it easy since assuming the role of AS Roma head coach in the summer following his sacking as Tottenham Hotspur manager the season before.

Mourinho has a reputation for being a bad loser and he slipped back into old habits at the press conference following the game. The 58-year-old Portuguese manager refused to take questions from the DAZN studio or pundits but gave a monologue to the camera.

Inter are stronger than Roma, Mourinho rants

Jose Mourinho told journalists plainly that Inter ‘are stronger than Roma in normal conditions, while also stating that ‘in non-normal conditions, they [Inter] are much stronger.’

This was Mourinho’s first meeting with his former club since winning the treble in 2010 and he did it without Tammy Abraham and Rick Karsdorp who were suspended; Stephan El Shaarawy, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Leonardo Spinazzola who were injured, and Ghanaian youngster Felix Afena-Gyan who was out with COVID-19.

It was also his seventh loss of the season following losses to Hellas Verona, Lazio, Juventus, AC Milan, Venezia and Bologna.

A journalist began by asking Mourinho a question to which former Chelsea manager replied: “Your job is a lot easier than ours which is why we earn a lot more than you.” Mourinho then went on to shut down every question with his monologue rant.

“I apologise to the studio, to the people at home who might be interested in their questions,” the Roma boss manager began.

“Inter are stronger than us in normal conditions. In non-normal conditions, they are much stronger than us. Last season, they were 29 points ahead of Roma. Today, with injuries and suspended players, it was very, very difficult.

“Our attacking potential was practically nil. It was very important to score a goal because we would only have two or three chances. We had three and didn’t score.

“When you play with a defence that has Ibanez and various others in positions that are not their usual ones, you still cannot concede the first and third goals. You just can’t.

“The referee did well, he didn’t influence the result at all, he just should’ve booked Cristante too. We are the most undisciplined side in Serie A, we’ve got more cards than anyone.”

This is not the first time Mourinho has thrown a team he manages under the boss, but the first time he’s done it at Roma who now have a clue how irate their boss can be when things don’t go his way. He went on to congratulate Inter for the win and wish them well for their Champions League game during the week.

“Congratulations to Inter, obviously I wish them good luck for Tuesday,” Mourinho added.

Inter will go head-to-head with Real Madrid for the top Champions League spot in their group on Tuesday.

Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham in furious dig at Der Klassiker referee: “He’s a match-fixer”

Borussia Dortmund’s 18-year-old English wonder-kid Jude Bellingham was left incensed after Bayern Munich snatched a victory in the first iteration of Der Klassiker of 2021/22 German Bundesliga season thanks to referring decisions which he and the whole Dortmund team didn’t agree with.

Jude Bellingham provided the assists for the two goals scored by Dortmund in the 2-3 loss to the German Bundesliga champions in what was a controversial but highly entertaining football match. Referee Felix Zwayer awarded Bayern Munich a penalty in the 77th minute of the game after Matts Hummels was adjudged to have handled the ball.

The players, fans and bench of Borussia Dortmund protested the decision vehemently which held the game for a few minutes, leading to the sending off of Dortmund coach Marco Rose. Robert Lewandowski buried the penalty for his second goal of the game, which was the match-winner.

Speaking to journalists after the match, Bellingham held nothing back as he claimed that a referee like Zwayer should have no business officiating Der Klassiker.

“For me, it wasn’t a penalty, you know?” Bellingham said. “Hummels is not even looking at the ball, and he’s fighting to get it. It hits him and I don’t think he’s even looking at the ball. You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.

“You give a referee that has match fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?”

Marco Rose: Mr Zwayer is welcome to put more obstacles in our [Dortmund] way

Marco Rose, Dortmund’s manager, did not end his protests of the penalty decision until he saw a red card from referee Felix Zwayer. Prior to the Bayern penalty, Dortmund had a legitimate penalty call some minutes earlier which they were denied.

Discussing both penalty decisions, Rose gave Jude Bellingham’s match-fixing comments about Zwayer some context while also furiously lashing out at the 40-year-old referee.

He told Viaplay football: “We all saw what happened. The challenge on Marco Reus is a clear penalty. Mats Hummels’ handball is at least arguable, it’s a pity.

“Mr Zwayer is welcome to officiate a few more BVB games. He can put a few more obstacles in our way.”

Jude Bellingham’s comments sprung from the popular knowledge of a match-fixing scandal in which Felix Zwayer was involved over a decade ago, in 2005. German Bundesliga 2 referee Robert Hoyzer accepted bribes to fix several matches back in 2005.

Zwayer assisted him in one of those fixes – a match involving Wuppertaler SV match – also accepting a bribe for his part in the match-fixing. Zwayer and three other officials later informed the DFB (German Football Association) about Hoyzer’s match-fixing, earning a six-month suspension from refereeing for his part in the scandal.

Zwayer has since been looked upon with scrutinising eyes in the German Bundesliga, despite being one of the league’s top referees.

Thomas Muller empathises with Borussia Dortmund

The controversial game continues to generate a lot of discussion in Germany among fans, players and pundits. This edition of Der Klassiker has left both sections of fans with some form of dissatisfaction with how the result turned out.

Bayern Munich have secured the three points in their bid to win another straight German Bundesliga title. However, not even Mr Bayern himself, Thomas Muller, is confident about how his club secured the three points on their trip to Signal Iduna Park.

Speaking to the media following the game, Muller expressed clear doubts about the game from his perspective. “Dortmund’s first goal has probably helped us. We got into the gaps relatively easily afterwards, the goals were scored after mistakes.

“We should have taken the lead in the first half – In the second half, I don’t know whether we deserved to win from the way we played.”

Bayern Munich remain top of the Bundesliga table with four points separating them and second-placed Borussia Dortmund. They will both be in UEFA Champions League action later in the week as Bayern look to round off a perfect group stage campaign with a sixth straight victory while Dortmund look to cement their Europa League qualification spot.

“Surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo not my motivation”, Lionel Messi insists

Lionel Messi won a record-breaking and record-setting seventh Ballon d’Or on Monday 29 December, 2021, after 180 journalists voted for the mercurial Argentine who has now gone two clear of his closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the most Ballon d’Or awards.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward pipped Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, his closest challenger to the award this year, by amassing 613 points to Lewandowski’s 580. Cristiano Ronaldo finished in sixth place – his lowest finish in 11 years – with 178 points.

Despite it being a rivalry which Messi has insisted makes him – and football in general – better in the past, the 34-year-old has now come out to say that outdoing Ronaldo has never been a source of extra motivation for him to achieve all he has and can in his illustrious career.

Both players have had a chokehold on the award for the better part of the last 15 years, winning 12 of the awards between them. This individual accolade battle was one of the many battles both players had between each other, as they have also both had a chokehold on the European Golden shoe for 10 of the last 15 seasons (Messi has six, a record; Ronaldo has four, the second most).

The Messi-Ronaldo rivalry which started with Messi’s breakout season in 2008/09 became intense in the nine seasons which Ronaldo spent in LaLiga, as both players broke record after record on both sides of the El Clasico divide. Messi has now come out to say that he has only ever been focused on himself following his record seventh Ballon d’Or.

“I always wanted to surpass myself”, Messi says

France Football, the organisers of the show since its inception over 65 years ago, interviewed Lionel Messi after the awards at his home in Paris.

The Argentina national team captain and PSG forward admitted once again that the rivalry has been ‘wonderful’ but he never focused on it as much as many fans and journalists think.

“I always wanted to surpass myself and not look at what others were doing,” Messi told France Football. “With Cristiano, we kept our battle going within the same league for years. 

“It has been wonderful and has helped us both to grow in our careers, but without looking at each other. I just wanted to surpass myself, to be the best I could be, and not better than any other.”

Messi, who finally secured a trophy with Argentina in the summer as they beat Brazil to the Copa America title, had previously come under fire in his home country for failing to replicate the international achievements of Diego Maradona.

This is due to the comparisons the 34-year-old gets with Maradona, who many Argentinians – including Messi – believe to be the best player the world has ever seen. Messi admits that the comparisons bothered him in the past because he doesn’t see himself as a role model.

“I don’t like giving advice,” he said to France Football. “I fought for my dreams. At first it was to be a professional player, then I tried to surpass myself and achieve new goals every year.

“In the midst of it all, there is also an element of luck. It also depends on God, and I believe he chose to have all of this happen to me.”

The former Barcelona captain added: “I’ve been Messi for 34 years, so I’m starting to get used to it. I’m happy with everything that’s happened.

“But sometimes, I have to admit, I’d quite like to go unnoticed, to enjoy being with my family without people recognising me.

“I’m not complaining, though, on the contrary. It’s always nice to receive a compliment, a smile or someone asking for a photo with me. I’m used to it and for me it has become normal.”

Cristiano Ronaldo fails to make list of Portugal’s voting journalist

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn’t attend the Ballon d’Or award in characteristic fashion, failed to make the top five list of the voting journalist from his home country of Portugal.

The final votes were revealed via @TheEuropeanLad on Twitter, who posted a picture of the latest France Football magazine which had the breakdown of votes.

Ronaldo, who finished sixth below Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi, was snubbed by Joaquim Rita of SIC Noticias, who was the journalist tasked with Portugal’s votes for the 2021 awards.

Rita voted N’Golo Kante in first place, Robert Lewandowski in second, Kylian Mbappe in third, Jorginho in fourth, and Mo Salah in fifth, also snubbing eventual winner Lionel Messi.

Simon Kjaer ruled out for rest of season after ACL surgery

AC Milan defender and Denmark national team captain will miss the rest of the 2021/22 season after undergoing surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.

The 32-year-old Dane, who finished 18th in the recent Ballon d’Or rankings, was injured after four minutes in AC Milan’s Serie A game against Genoa and had to go under the knife in order to make a full recovery.

Kjaer’s surgery happened on Wednesday, after which Milan reported the disappointing news of the centre-back’s season coming to a premature end on their official club website.

The statement on the AC Milan club website reads: “AC Milan announces that today Simon Kjaer underwent arthroscopy of the left knee for the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament and the re-insertion of the medial collateral ligament.”

“The operation, carried out at the La Madonnina Clinic, was perfectly successful and was performed by Dr. Roberto Pozzoni, with the contribution of the Galeazzi CTS (Sports Traumatology Centre) team in the presence of the club’s health manager, Stefano Mazzoni.

“Kjaer is well and is motivated to start the rehabilitation process immediately. Recovery time is estimated at six months.”

Kjaer’s absence for the rest of the season comes as a big blow to Milan who stand a chance of reclaiming the Scudetto after a decade this season.

The Rossoneri are just one point in second place behind Napoli at the top of the Serie A table, and Kjaer has been a key reason for their current form.

AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli admits to the squad being dismayed at the news of Kjaer’s season being over. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Salernitana game, Pioli: “We experienced it with great dismay, we know the qualities of the player and the depth of the person.

“His presence in the team is very important for his charisma, personality and knowing how to say things at the right time. We are right behind Simon, worried for his situation but aware and sure that everyone will be fine and he’ll overcome these difficulties because he’s a very strong player and man.”

AC Milan already looking at a replacement for Kjaer

Youngster Matteo Gabbia is the only other centre-back in the squad outside Fikayo Tomori and club captain Alessandro Romagnoli, meaning Milan may have to find short-term reinforcements in January.

The Rossoneri have identified AS Monaco’s Benoit Badiashile as this replacement. The club’s management is already on the move working to bring in Badiashile from Monaco, according to reports.

The 20-year-old French centre back is more experienced than his age suggests, with over 100 official games for Monaco with performances that have attracted the attention of many clubs.

However, Monaco are not willing to part ways with their gem in January unless an offer of 30 million euros arrives.

Real Valladolid was not first choice for ownership, says Brazilian icon Ronaldo

Brazilian icon and Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, commonly known as Ronaldo, has revealed in his latest interview that Real Valladolid was not on the top of his list when he decided to go into club ownership.

The former striker now turned business mogul said he considered buying football teams in the English Football League Championship and the United States Major League Soccer before turning his sights to LaLiga where he cemented his football legacy with Real Madrid to become the majority stakeholder in Real Valladolid.

Ronaldo decided to go into club ownership after his retirement from football in 2011 following a career that spanned almost two decades in which he represented football’s biggest and best clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and AC Milan; winning several individual awards including the Ballon d’Or and the World Cup golden boot, as well as many trophies including two World Cups.

His first choice was the MLS. “I went to New York and I had a meeting with the MLS president and he presented his ideas,” Ronaldo told The Flow Podcast.

“‘[The MLS President said] You can win all you want but if you don’t have €70m for the franchise, you go nowhere.’. That made me reject that project.”

He then explained on the podcast how he tried to purchase a second-tier English team, only for this plan to hit a stumbling block as well, which forced him to look elsewhere in Europe. 

“I looked a lot, in the [English] Championship but everything was too expensive,” he added.

“The Premier League is a complete success worldwide and so is the Championship, but you had to have £60 million, so I then looked in Portugal and Spain, where the prices were more affordable.”

Ronaldo ended up acquiring a 51 percent majority stake in the Valladolid club three years ago. He now serves as the club president alongside being the owner of the club.

Real Valladolid not a long term venture, claims Ronaldo

Ronaldo, in an interview in March 2021, stated that his ownership of Real Valladolid is not a long term venture as he plans to give it up once he achieves his goals at the club.

The club which he settled for in September 2018 after a long search and whose majority shares cost a total of €30 million is his first foray into club ownership and he sees it as a stepping stone to bigger things.

Ronaldo intends to lead Real Valladolid to a place where they can comfortably challenge for trophies in Spain and for spots in European competitions by the time of his departure.

In the March 2021 feature on Sports Illustrated, Ronaldo said: “I’m not going to stay here forever, because I have other things for the future in my mind.

“But it’s too early to talk about that. I want to make this club much better and bigger than when I got it. After that, let’s see.

“For now, it’s just: Keep working and keep the club in the first division.”

Real Valladolid currently play in the Segunda Division of LaLiga after being relegated last season and are currently fifth in the standings as they look towards promotion for the 2022/23 LaLiga season.

Antonio Conte backs misfiring striker to come good for Tottenham Hotspur soon

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has come out to defend Harry Kane’s poor form in the Premier League while backing him to find his scoring boots in the competition sooner than later.

Harry Kane was the subject of major transfer speculation involving last season’s title winners and UEFA Champions League finalists, Manchester City, who were ready to splash in excess of £100 million to secure his signature.

Manchester City went most of their title-winning 2020/21 season without a central striker due to their main striker and record goalscorer, Sergio Aguero, battling serious fitness issues for most of the season. Gabriel Jesus, Aguero’s backup, played his best football behind a striker or on either flank, leading manager Pep Guardiola to do a lot of tinkering.

In the summer, they lost Aguero on a free transfer to Barcelona and were in dire need of a striker which led to the transfer speculations surrounding Harry Kane. Kane ended up remaining at Spurs but has since starved Spurs fans of the quality which he displayed for the past seven seasons.

The England captain has scored just once in 12 Premier League appearances for Spurs this season. In many games, he has looked unmotivated and his game has felt forced. The reason for his struggles could be narrowed down to all the events of the summer which also included the emotional penalty shootout loss to Italy with England in the final of the Euro 2020 tournament in Wembley.

Conte’s arrival at Spurs has since seen a change in his game this season. However, the goals are still not forthcoming, with the 28-year-old missing chances that he would bury with eyes closed in the past.

Tottenham is first on Harry Kane’s mind, Conte claims

Conte defended his star man’s form to journalists in a news conference ahead of Spurs’ trip to Norwich City on Sunday. “First of all, I’m sure Harry is happy if we win and he doesn’t score. Because Tottenham is the first thought for us and Harry,” the Italian manager said.

“It’s important to have chances to score and we’re improving a lot in this aspect. I’m sure Harry is going to score many goals.

“I’m sure he’s going to have a good performance in the same way he had against Brentford against every team we play. I’m very pleased for the way that he’s playing.

“Then I know the striker wants to score but we want to give him many chances to score. I think we’re on the right path to do this type of situation.”

Kane’s form, however, is limited only to the Premier League, as he has consistently turned up for Spurs in the European Conference League where he has six goals in five games so far in the competition. He also remains England’s most dangerous man upfront, as he scored seven goals in their last three qualifiers.

Conte acknowledged this but defended Kane’s form by comparing the tough games in the league to games against minnow clubs in the Conference League and minnow nations in the qualifiers.

“I think that the Premier League is a very, very tough league and every game that you play is not easy,” the Tottenham boss added. “Sometimes with the national team you can play against teams not so strong.

“Also to have more opportunities to score, not only for him but all the players. This league is very strong, this league is the most difficult league in the world.

“For this reason, it’s not simple to win a game, get three points and to score goals. This is the great difference that you can find between the two different situations.”

New COVID-19 variant raises concerns among European clubs over AFCON tournament in January 2022

The new COVID-19 Omicron variant has raised a lot of concerns among European clubs who will have to release their African players for the January 2022 African Cup of Nations holding in Cameroon.

Europe’s clubs are now seeking urgent talks with FIFA, as their concerns over player safety at the tournament increases.

Travel bans and gathering restrictions are once again in fashion following the discovery of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, which has been reported to be immune to every vaccine that has currently been developed for the virus.

The African Cup of Nations is slated to hold between January 9 and February 6 2022 and the public health situation globally looks set to present a major challenge before the tournament begins.

Other continental bodies are also looking to resume international games from January 24 January to February 2 2022, presenting even more concern for European clubs.

The United Kingdom has since added 10 more Southern African countries to its travel ban list after the Omicron variant was discovered, a few of which will be participating in the tournament, which raised the concern.

European clubs looking to avoid a repeat of September 2021 events

The European Club Association (ECA), chaired by Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is understood to be seeking these talks in order to avoid the health and safety issues that arose from the September 2022 international break.

Premier League clubs refused to release players who played for countries on the United Kingdom’s restrictions list because they would have been required to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days on their return to the UK.

In trying to find a solution to the issues from the September window, English clubs reached an agreement with FAs of the various nations on the UK’s red list to only release fully vaccinated players for international duty on the basis that they quarantined for 10 days at a club facility, only leaving isolation to train and play.

The agreement received a lot of criticism from managers of English clubs, with Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp saying it was “not a real solution”.

The statement from the ECA board reads: “The board agreed to engage urgently with Fifa to ensure all necessary precautions are in place to protect players and club interests as the health situation continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner.”

ECA says no to FIFA biennial World Cup plans

Elsewhere, the ECA also voiced its “unanimous” opposition to FIFA’s plans for a biennial World Cup, a proposal backed by the Confederation of African Football whose tournament is the current source of worry for the ECA.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino looks to begin the new biennial format from the 2026 World Cup, which will also be expanded to 48 teams.

European clubs dominate the World Cup, with the latest edition in Russia in 2018 featuring 90% European-based players. The ECA is adamant about the biennial World Cup plans and says its position represents over 240 professional clubs in Europe.

The ECA said that FIFA’s new international match calendars for men’s and women’s football must ensure the “right balance” between the club and international game, and take into account the voice of club football and the ECA in any decisions taken.