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Showing posts with the label 2017-2018

Borussia Dortmund Sack Manager Bosz

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Borussia Dortmund have announced that they have sacked head coach Peter Bosz after less than six months in charge, replacing him with former Cologne boss Peter Stoger (pictured). The 54-year-old Dutchman arrived in the summer as the long-term replacement for Thomas Tuchel at BVB, having enjoyed terrific success with an Ajax side he led to the final of the Europa League last season. However, things have not passed nearly so smoothly in Germany, and Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat against Werder Bremen, which has left Dortmund seventh in the Bundesliga standings, 13 points behind leaders Bayern Munich, was the final straw. Stoger has now been appointed as Bosz's replacement for the rest of the season, having been sacked by Cologne at the start of December. The 51-year-old spent four seasons in Cologne, helping Koln qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke revealed the decision to move on from Bosz after such a short period, sayin...

AS Monaco Sign Jovetic

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Monaco have announced that they have completed the signing of Stevan Jovetic from Inter for a reported fee of €11 million. The 27-year-old failed to make an impression in Italy last season and was shipped out on loan to Sevilla, where he played 26 times and scored five goals. He has signed a four-year deal with Ligue 1 champions and is expected to replace Kylian Mbappe, who appears destined to sign for Paris Saint-Germain. The move comes as little surprise as leaked pictures this week showed Jovetic wearing Monaco's No.10 shirt, which is currently worn by Mbappe at Stade Louis II. Keita Balde of Lazio is also reportedly on the club's shopping list, with a transfer fee of €30m supposedly agreed by the two sides. Goal

FC Barcelona Sign Ousmane Dembélé From Borussia Dortmund

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FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ousmane Dembélé for 105 million euros plus add-ons. The player will sign a five year contract and his buy out-clause is set at 400 million euros. Dembélé will arrive in Barcelona on Sunday and he will undergo a medical on Monday morning local time. Born in Vernon, France on 15 May 1997, Ousmane Dembélé is one of the best young players in the world. The French winger stands out for his pace, ability to beat men and versatility. He comes to FC Barcelona after having demonstrated his quality with Rennes and then Borussia Dortmund. He can play on either wing in attack and is known for his great dribbling (last season he carried 103 successful dribbles, more than anyone else in the Bundesliga). At 20 years of age he has played a total of seven games with the French national side alongside Barça players Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne. Last season Dembélé scored 10 goals in 49 matches aside from being thi...

Arsenal Win Community Shield With Win Over Chelsea

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Arsenal defeated Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Wembley to open the new English season with silverware. Thibaut Courtois and Alvaro Morata missed from the spot as Arsenal claimed the Community Shield by beating 10-man Chelsea 4-1 on penalties. After a 1-1 draw in regulation time, the shoot-out saw goalkeeper Courtois, an unusual choice to take his side's second penalty, bizarrely fire his attempt way over. That was followed by new signing Morata missing the target on his competitive debut, with Olivier Giroud going on to score the winning penalty. In the match itself, Victor Moses, sent off when the Blues lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal in May, struck early in the second half with what looked like it would be the winner. But Chelsea had Pedro sent off for a rash challenge on Mohamed Elneny and Arsenal substitute Sead Kolasinac, on his competitive bow, scored a header from the resulting free-kick with eight minutes remaining. Alexandre Lacazette, given h...

La Liga Rejects Neymar's €222 Million Payment

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Neymar's world-record move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain has entered legal limbo as La Liga has rejected the €222 million payment deposited by the player's lawyer. The 25-year-old was expected to complete his move on Friday and push to play a part in PSG's Ligue 1 opener on Saturday against Amiens. However, Neymar's lawyer Juan de Dios Crespo had the cheque to trigger his €222m release clause rejected by the Spanish league on Thursday morning. "We can confirm Neymar legal representatives went to LaLiga to pay buyout clause and it has been rejected," La Liga said in a statement. "That's all the information we are going to give for the moment." The decision to reject the attacker's move - which looked all-but certain after he said goodbye to Barca players and staff on Wednesday and informed the club of his decision to leave - puts the transfer in a completely unprecedented situation, although the latest developments do not co...

FC Barcelona Win International Champions Cup

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The fifth edition of the International Champions Cup is winding to a climax after Barcelona were crowned champions with a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Real Madrid. Earlier in July they had defeated Europa League holders Manchester United 1-0 and Serie A champions Juventus 2-1. Zinedine Zidane's men conquered the Champions League and La Liga last season, but Lionel Messi and Co. got revenge with the first of at least five Clasicos in 2017-18 (two Supercopas and two league games to come). With a footprint in both Asia and the United States, the annual pre-season ICC tournament involving Europe's top clubs taps into the huge fanbases that exist for those teams outside of their local markets. It has drawn huge crowds and sees the clubs involved pocket significant appearance fees - rumoured to be worth up to $20 million - in addition to the longer-term commercial benefits of engaging with supporters across the globe. The downside is the amount of travel involved, with m...

Mendy Moves To Manchester City For Record Fee

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Benjamin Mendy has completed his switch from Monaco to Manchester City, with the English side paying £52 million for the left-back. With the deal, Mendy, who turned 23 on July 17, has become the most expensive defender in football history and eclipses the £45m fee City paid for Kyle Walker last week that made the England star the game’s most expensive full-back. The France international has signed a five-year deal with the Etihad Stadium outfit, becoming their fourth major signing of a window that has also seen them sign Benfica goalkeeper Ederson as well as Mendy’s Monaco team-mate Bernardo Silva. Manager Pep Guardiola is focussing on the long term with City, explaining on Thursday that the players he is targeting this summer “are young players, with the next three, four, five years in mind”. Mendy, who joined Monaco last summer in a €12m deal from Marseille, helped the Stade Louis II side win the Ligue 1 title last season, creating nine goals in only 32 out...

Manchester City Sign Danilo From Real Madrid

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Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Danilo from Real Madrid in a £26.5 million deal. The 26-year-old has joined City on a five-year contract and will immediately link up with Pep Guardiola's squad in the United States, where he may make his City debut in the International Champions Cup. As reported by Goal, City beat competition from Chelsea for the Brazil international and the club are also confident of securing the services of another full-back in Monaco's Benjamin Mendy, with confirmation of his arrival imminent. Danilo's arrival takes City's spending on full-backs past the £70m mark this close-season after they paid an initial £45m for Tottenham's Kyle Walker – a deal that could rise to an eventual £50m. City have seen a number of defenders depart the club since the end of last season. Aleksandar Kolarov was sold to Roma on Saturday, following Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna in leaving. Pep Guardiola is understood to envisage ...

Szczensy Signs With Juventus From Arsenal For €12.2M

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Juventus have completed the signing of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from Arsenal for an initial fee of €12.2million. The Poland international has signed a four-year contract with the Serie A champions after undergoing a medical on Tuesday. The value of Szczesny's transfer could eventually rise to €15.3m depending on certain conditions being met over the course of his contract. Szczesny has spent the past two seasons in Serie A on loan at Roma. He joined Arsenal from Legia Warsaw as a youngster and went on to make 181 appearances in all competitions before the arrivals of David Ospina and Petr Cech left him looking elsewhere for first-team opportunities. Szczesny's path to the starting XI at Juve is likely to be blocked by an all-time great, with Gianluigi Buffon preparing for a career swansong in 2017-18. "I'm delighted to be at Juventus," he told a news conference. "I've spoken to Gigi Buffon – a true legend of the game. "When you j...

Douglas Costa Moves to Juventus On Loan

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The Brazil international has switched to the Serie A champions from Bayern Munich on a season-long loan with the option of making the move permanent in 2018. Costa admitted last term that he was unsettled in Germany, although Bayern boss Ancelotti suggested that his comments came after pressure from his agent to attempt to broker a new contract at the club. The 26-year-old has now said that he felt he could no longer develop at the Allianz Arena, but feels he has nothing to prove to his old club. "I want to develop and I feel like I've joined the perfect team at the perfect time," he told a media conference at his official Juve presentation. "Problems with Ancelotti? No, he's a good person. I'm thinking about myself, I want to develop and I didn't have these possibilities at Bayern anymore. I'm very grateful to them. "I don't have to prove anything to them. I just want to show that Juve have done well to believe in me." Co...

Dani Alves Snubs City to Sign for PSG

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PSG have confirmed the signing of Dani Alves, much to the dismay of Manchester City. The Brazilian moves to France on a two-year deal from Juventus, having been released from his contract in Turin, but his destination has surprised many. Alves appeared set to move to the Etihad Stadium to become City's third signing of the summer following the acquisitions of Bernardo Silva from Monaco and Ederson from Benfica. The former Barcelona defender will earn a whopping £230,000 per week at Parc des Princes following his second free transfer in as many years. The club have also revealed he will wear the No.32 - following in the footsteps of David Beckham and David Luiz - as he battles for a place in the starting XI with Thomas Meunier and Serge Aurier. "I am extremely pleased to join Paris Saint-Germain," he told the club's website. "In recent years, I had been able to watch from the outside the tremendous growth of this club, which has become a str...

Chelsea have officially qualified for the Champions League

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Chelsea have qualified for next season's Champions League after a 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday afternoon following a year of no European football. Pedro's stunning goal set Chelsea on their way at Goodison Park as they earned more than the point they needed to clinch a return to the Champions League. Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink's Chelsea failed to secure any European football last season after a disastrous season saw the Blues finish in 10th place only a year after winning the title. Chelsea remain favourites to win the Premier League title but Roman Abramovich's minimum expectation for his side this season was to qualify for the Champions League again. Qualification is financially important for Europe's top clubs and Chelsea will compete for a share of the €1.3 billion prize fund for clubs. Chelsea will earn a least €12.7 million from UEFA for their participation next season, but that could rise to a maximum of €57.2 million if they win the competitio...