Thursday 21 February 2019
Wednesday 20 February 2019
Monday 19 June 2017
Sepp Blatter claims football's culture to blame for Ronaldo tax issues
Former FIFA's president Sepp Blatter has compared the situation of the Portuguese to that of tennis legend Roger Federer, who, in his eyes, is "untouchable."
Blatter claimed a culture of suspicion in football is to blame for the investigation of Cristiano Ronaldo by Spanish tax authorities.Prosecutors have filed a complaint in which they accused Ronaldo of a "voluntary" and "conscious" breach of his tax obligations, amounting to a figure of €14.7 million.
The Ballon d'Or holder's representatives Gestifute have denied the accusation, while his club Real Madrid have said they are "absolutely convinced that our player Cristiano Ronaldo will prove his total innocence in this process."
Former FIFA president Blatter is serving a six-year ban from all football-related activity over a "disloyal payment" made to former UEFA chief Michel Platini.
In an interview with RTS, the 81-year-old Swiss claimed Ronaldo's situation is a consequence of endemic distrust in football compared to other elite sports.
"One would never suspect [tennis great Roger] Federer, a money-making machine," he said.
"Federer is untouchable."
Reflecting on the temptation for athletes to break the rules on the field, Blatter cited the example of Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' goal against England at the 1986 World Cup.
’Cristiano Ronaldo is innocent’
"It's not good, but we cheat anyway," he said.
"That's why this sport [football] has set itself some safeguards."
Culled from: Goal
Cristiano Ronaldo tells agent Jorge Mendes to Force through return to Manchester United
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has told his agent to seal a dream return to Manchester United.
Ronaldo wants Jorge Mendes to “do everything possible” to make the move happen.Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2009, stunned the Spanish giants when his desire to leave emerged on Friday.
The forward faces allegations of a £13million tax fraud and now doubts over his Real future have sparked a megabucks scramble for his services.
United, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are all potential suitors.
PSG are prepared to offer £122m to land him plus a staggering salary of £26m per year to persuade him to switch to the French capital.
But Ronaldo is keen to return to United and has instructed his representative, fellow Portuguese and super-agent Mendes, to do everything in his power to make it reality.
The 32-year-old is understood to feel he had unfinished business at Old Trafford and cannot miss out on the chance to return as a hero.
What a way to talk sh** - Messi talks tough on Instagram user
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is currently enjoying some downtime after a long season, in which he stepped up another gear after losing out in the race for the Ballon d'Or to Cristiano Ronaldo in late 2016.
The striker has been chilling in Ibiza as he bids to recharge his batteries, and one photo went viral this week as it detailed how much Mr. Messi had apparently spent at a restaurant - €37,330.It turns out that the ridiculous bill was not racked up by him and his friends, and was either falsely attributed to the group by Instagram user Juezcentral, or cleverly Photoshopped.
It prompted Messi to write in Spanish 'Jajajajajajajaja que manera de hablar al pedo. Como inventan. lo mas lindo es que la gente se lo cree' which means 'What a way to talk sh**. What a way to invent [lie]. The cutest thing is that people believe it'.
The passive-aggressive comment went down well on social media before it along with the photo was deleted by Juezcentral, given that Messi is notoriously grounded and well-spoken.
Chelsea joins bid for Alvaro Morata
There are reports that Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has approved a £70m bid for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.
The Mirror have reported that Chelsea are seeking a replacement for Diego Costa, who is on the verge of a return to Atletico Madrid.The Spanish international has reportedly agreed to terms with United, but Abramovich has given the go-ahead to join the battle for his signature.
Los Blancos are believed to be reluctant to sell the player for purely a fee, but would rather initiate a swap deal should they allow Morata to leave.
The European champions would look to offer both Morata and Keylor Navas to United in exchange for David de Gea, while Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could be part of the demands in a deal with the Premier League champions.
Morata scored netted 19 in 43 appearances for Real Madrid last season, but his number of starts was limited under Zinedine Zidane.
The French coach reportedly wants the 24-year-old to stay at the club, but Morata is desperate for regular game time, which can't be guaranteed at the Bernabeu.
United are still considered favourites to sign Morata as they look to secure a replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Sunday 18 June 2017
AS Roma forward Mohamed Salah to undergo medical at Liverpool
AS Roma forward Mohamed Salah will undergo a medical with Liverpool on Tuesday after a £39 million transfer fee has been agreed with Roma.
According to reports from Egypt top media outlet KingFut; Jurgen Klopp’s side had launched an improved bid of €45m (£39.4m) for the 25-year-old in the wake of accepting that the Serie A club would not bring down their cost on the Egyptian.KingFut claimed that the offer has been accepted by Roma after negotiations with the midfielder’s representative, Ramy Abbas, in London. Salah’s ticket to England has now been booked and the former Chelsea player will arrive for his medical session at Liverpool on June 20.
The European giant has been in talks with Roma since the start of June after their underlying £28m offer was refused. In spite of the need to sell a key player keeping in mind the end goal to meet Financial Fair Play rules, Roma were fixed that the midfielder would not be permitted to leave at a cut-cost charge.
Ronaldo's Agent Held Secret Talks With PSG Just Hours Before Champions League Final
The agent of Cristiano Ronaldo is alleged to have held secret talks with Paris Saint-Germain just hours before the forward played for Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
The Mail claims that Jorge Mendes met with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in Cardiff on the afternoon of June 3rd and the duo spent several hours together.Though Mendes has ties with a number of players at the French club, the Mail suggest that it was Ronaldo's future that was discussed at great length between the two men and that Al-Khelaifi was warned that the Portuguese international could be on the lookout for a new club in the near future.
PSG are understood to have asked Mendes to keep them informed of Ronaldo's situation at the Bernabeu, and they may well have stolen a march on the likes of Manchester United, who are one of the clubs currently being linked with the 2016 Ballon d'Or winner.
The 32-year-old's future at Real Madrid now looks uncertain with reports suggesting on Friday that he wants to leave Spain after the authorities accused him of tax evasion.
The accusation is just one of a number of reasons why Ronaldo allegedly wants to leave Los Blancos this summer, and inevitably talk of his departure has sparked widespread rumours about his next destination.
A return to United seems like a viable option for the former Old Trafford favourite; however, PSG remains in the mix and have long dreamed of signing the Portugal captain.
Indeed, the Parisians attempted to sign Ronaldo 18 months ago before he eventually opted to sign a new deal at Madrid.
It remains to be seen whether reports of the player's unhappiness are true, but PSG's wealthy owners will be quietly confident that they can match any price tag he is given by his employers, as they look to pull off what would most likely be the signing of the transfer window.
Culled from: 90min
Saturday 17 June 2017
I would “love” Kylian Mbappe to join Gunners this summer - Petit
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has admitted he would “love” Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe to join the Gunners this summer, although he warned the 18-year-old of choosing his next club carefully following Anthony Martial’s struggles at Manchester United.
Arsenal have already had an informal offer of £87million rejected by Monaco for Mbappe, but are prepared to use Olivier Giroud as part of any deal with the Ligue 1 champions.Mbappe, 18, is also being monitored by a host of clubs – including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea – but Petit has warned the France international to think carefully about where he goes this summer lest his career follow the trajectory of Martial at United.
He told talkSPORT: “Mbappe is the leader of this generation.
“I would love it [for him to join Arsenal]. I remember two years ago we had almost the same example as Martial.
“Martial was very good the first months with Manchester United and since Mourinho has managed the team he’s not in the same position anymore. It’s a risk.
“Talent is something very important in football but you need to have confidence as well from team-mates and your manager.
“You have to be tough and strong in your mind.”
Cristiano Ronaldo fee put at £131m as forward hints on Real's exist
Cristiano Ronaldo’s advisers are telling clubs that he wants to leave Real Madrid for a “fresh challenge”, with a fee of €150million (£131m) being mooted, and not because of the accusations of tax fraud he is facing in Spain.
Although that claim will be met with understandable scepticism, not least because of the briefings from Ronaldo’s camp this week, clubs are nevertheless being encouraged to believe he is serious in his desire to quit and would welcome offers.Having won the Champions League three times in four seasons and winning La Liga again, it is argued by sources close to Ronaldo that, aged 32, he wants to move on for football reasons and has done all he can in Madrid and in Spain.
There is, however, one big problem with this argument and that is the fact that Ronaldo signed a new five-year deal with Real only last November. The buy-out clause is €1bn, which is obviously unachievable, but a world-record bid of €150m (£131m) may be forthcoming.
That is the figure which is circulating in football and might tempt, in particular, Paris Saint-Germain to make such an offer, while Manchester United remain interested and could also go that high. There could be a new suitor in Inter Milan, who are spending big under their Chinese ownership. If he leaves Madrid, Ronaldo wants to stay in Europe which would rule out a move to the Chinese Super League.
PSG are re-building this summer and have earmarked a budget of €220m (£192.3m) to sign up to six new players under their new and highly-rated sporting director Antero Henrique, who has been recruited from Porto. PSG do not want to blow all their money on Ronaldo, but will generate funds on top of their budget through sales - seven players are up for sale - so may have even more to spend.
They have long courted Ronaldo and have an open dialogue with his agent Jorge Mendes, the representative for PSG player Angel Di Maria, who may be one of those to leave, and also James Rodriguez and Pepe, who are leaving Real and have both been offered to PSG. Henrique also has a strong relationship already with Mendes and knows his fellow Portuguese, Ronaldo.
PSG have previously pointed out to Ronaldo’s representatives that Paris has the largest Portuguese community outside of Portugal in Europe – there are 1.2million in the French capital – and he would be an instant hero at the club where the challenge would be to regain the French league and, more than that, win the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Cristiano Ronaldo
United also remain a possibility and there is strong admiration for Ronaldo and the way he has reinvented himself as a central striker in the past couple of years. The fact that he is 32 is not a concern given the way he looks after himself and has not suffered any serious injuries in his career. There is, therefore, genuine belief that Ronaldo could remain at the top for another four years.
However, United are wary given Ronaldo was expected to return to them in 2013, almost as Sir Alex Ferguson’s parting gift to his successor David Moyes, only to change his mind and sign a new deal at Real. It left United in the lurch and they were also played by Sergio Ramos in 2015.
United are already in talks with Real to sign striker Alvaro Morata and are trying to resist including David De Gea in any negotiations.
Ronaldo is away with Portugal at the Confederations Cup at present and despite the protestations that his desire to leave is not because of the tax case, it is undeniable that the revelation will deflect attention away from the fact that he is accused of defrauding the Spanish tax office of €14.7m (£13m) between 2011 and 2014.