Marc-Andre ter Stegen has suggested he came close to leaving Barcelona in the close-season.
The 24-year-old hinted he was on the verge of an exit from Camp Nou, before Claudio Bravo departed for Manchester City.
Ter Stegen joined Barca from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014, when fellow shot-stopper Bravo also signed from Real Sociedad.
However, the German was initially limited to playing in the Copa del Rey and Champions League, with coach Luis Enrique using Bravo as his first choice in LaLiga.
Following the Chile international s switch to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, Ter Stegen has since been the undisputed number one at Barca although he admits he also considered leaving the Spanish champions.
It was tou…
Valencia will appeal against their five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, calling the sanction “unfair and disproportionate”.
Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
In response, the club have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF).
COMUNICADO OFICIAL | RESPETO POR NU…
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has revealed Zinedine Zidane previously tried to convince him to sign for Real Madrid.
Ribery has established himself as one of the top players in world football since joining Bayern in 2007, helping them become the first German side to win the treble last season.
The France international who is poised to play a key role in his country s upcoming FIFA World Cup play-off with Ukraine was linked with Real and Barcelona before electing to move to Germany, rumours which resurfaced prior to him signing a new deal with the Bavarians in 2010.
And the 30-year-old has now admitted compatriot and Real legend Zidane had attempted to lure him to the Bernabeu.
Barcelona and Madrid are very big teams. There was a moment when both teams were i…
Disbelief. Utter disbelief.
What. A. Game.
This is arguably the craziest UEFA Champions League match we have ever seen in our lives and it is fair to say all of those who missed the opportunity to watch the duel between Manchester City and Monaco will regret it dearly.
We saw eight goals but drew 5 conclusions for you to read:
Games like these are not good for your health
Manchester City and Monaco played one of those games you don’t get to see very often.
The Tuesday night’s clash had it all – starting from the horrendous defending and errors from respective goalkeepers, penalties and denied penalties, all the way to stunning goals and moments of brilliance.
It was Monaco who showed great courage and willingness to go forward and …
Gonzalo Higuain returned from injury to help a Patrick Cutrone-inspired AC Milan come from behind in a 3-1 win over Olympiacos in the Europa League.
Argentina striker Higuain, sidelined with a leg problem for the past two matches, scored in between Cutrone s crucial brace amid a game-changing burst of three goals in nine second-half minutes.
Milan had slipped back into old habits prior to their 70th-minute equaliser, struggling to convert possession into chances as their six-match unbeaten run in all competitions appeared destined to end.
But, having fallen behind to Miguel Angel Guerrero s first-half header, the Serie A side rallied upon Cutrone s introduction and overcame a lacklustre opening hour to stay top of Group F on six points.
Cutrone in 2017…
West Ham face Italian side Fiorentina in the final of the Europa Conference League, looking to end a trophy drought stretching back to 1980.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the talking points ahead of the Hammers’ big night in Prague.
Declan’s destiny?
Oh what a night
— Declan Rice (@_DeclanRice)
It is no secret that Declan Rice will leave West Ham this summer, but he is hell bent on signing off in style. The England midfielder is destined for bigger things with Arsenal, Manchester United and Bayern Munich the frontrunners for his signature. But first, Rice is desperate to emulate Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds by becoming only the third West Ham captain to lift a trophy – and the first in 43 years – and in doing so write his name into Hammers…
Dejan Damjanovic s first-minute penalty dealt Ghana s FIFA World Cup preparations an early setback as Montenegro recorded a 1-0 win.
Damjanovic converted the only goal of the game in Podgorica after the hosts were awarded a spot kick for a foul by David Addy on Filip Kasalica after just 15 seconds.
Ghana settled into the game well after that early blow, but they wasted a host of chances to draw level, with Christian Atsu guilty of missing three alone in the first half.
The 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists continued to push for an equaliser in the second half, but even the introduction of Kevin-Prince Boateng and Asamoah Gyan could not get them back into the game.
With the World Cup only 99 days away, the African nation made the worst possible start as Addy gifted…
Jurgen Klopp is ready to unleash Daniel Sturridge when Liverpool entertain Stoke City in the Premier League on Sunday.
The England striker was controversially left out of the starting XI for the Reds 1-1 draw at Klopp s former club Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday.
The decision paid off, with Divock Origi netting Liverpool s away goal as Sturridge only came on for the final six minutes, but the manager thinks his team will see the benefit against Mark Hughes men, while also praising the Belgium international.
We thought it would make sense to start with Divock [against Dortmund] – it s nothing about Daniel, Klopp said to the club s official website.
Daniel played the last few games. It s completely no…
Christian Eriksen has been in contact with his Inter team-mates as he recovers from a worrying collapse in Denmark s Euro 2020 opener against Finland, the club s CEO Giuseppe Marotta has said.
There were troubling scenes when Eriksen slumped to the ground with no one around him just before half-time of the Group B fixture in Copenhagen, with team-mates forming a protective circle around him as medical personnel rushed to his aid.
UEFA initially confirmed the fixture was suspended but a positive update from the Denmark Football Union later confirmed Eriksen was conscious and receiving further treatment in hospital.
The match would later resume, with Finland securing a 1-0 win in their first ever major tournament match, a result that was understandably overshadowed…
Manchester United travel to the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday for a Champions League round-of-16 tie against French champions Marseille.
United have an impressive recent pedigree in European competition.
They won the tournament in 2008 and reached the final the following season before losing to Barcelona.
In 2010, United dispatched Italian giants AC Milan to set-up a quarter-final with Bayern Munich.
They appeared to be cruising towards a fourth successive semi-final berth before losing Wayne Rooney to an ankle injury.
Strikes from Arjen Robben and Ivica Olic helped Bayern dump United out 4-4 on the away goals and without Rooney they stumbled to second place in the English Premier League behind Chelsea.
They lead the league table by fou…