Valencia agree deal for Enzo Perez
Portuguese daily newspaper that Valencia have finally reached an agreement to sign Argentine midfielder Enzo Perez from Benfica.
Los Che have been hot on the trail of the experienced footballer for quite a while now, but they could not agree a deal with the Eagles in the summer transfer window.
The two parties have since resumed talks and Record now claims that Valencia owner Peter Lim was in Lisbon few days ago to sort out the final details.
As a result, Enzo Perez will be signing a long-term contract with the La Liga side in January, following in the footsteps of Andre Gomes and Rodrigo Moreno.
The 28-year-old has been performing at a very high level ever since he arrived from Estudiantes, making 69 league ap…
Pep Guardiola said he would need a nap to talk about Manchester United s many rumoured managers amid mounting speculation regarding potential new Red Devils boss Ralf Rangnick.
Rangnick is reportedly set to take over United on an interim basis following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with a potentially longer stay at Old Trafford in a role behind the scenes.
Former RB Leipzig head coach Rangnick – who also held various roles at the Bundesliga outfit across eight seasons – is currently head of sports and development at Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow.
Talk of Rangnick s six-month appointment has dominated headlines as United reportedly eye long-term targets Mauricio Pochettino of Paris Saint-Germain and Ajax s Erik ten Hag, while Sporting CP boss Ruben Amo…
Former Juventus star Andrea Pirlo has denied mocking Manchester United over their decision to allow Paul Pogba to leave the club in 2012.
Pogba moved back to Old Trafford for a reported world-record fee of close to £93million this month after winning Serie A four times in a row, as well as two Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa titles in Turin.
Pirlo, in quotes attributed to The Daily Mail and widely reported in England, claimed that Juve were still laughing at United for letting the France international leave as a 19-year-old for a nominal fee.
But the New York City midfielder has issued a short Instagram message to deny giving any such interview.
Captioning an image containing the words Caution: No B******* Zone , he wrote: Just to make it clear, I n…
Juventus have re-signed Sebastian Giovinco from Parma, the Serie A champions announced on Thursday.
Parma revealed the completion of the deal on Tuesday, but retracted their announcement just hours later.
Giovinco, who was co-owned by both clubs, has signed a three-year contract which will keep him at Juve until 2015.
Juventus agreed to pay 11 million euros for the remaining 50 percent ownership of the 25-year-old.
He follows in the footsteps of Emanuele Giaccherini, who signed a permanent deal with Juve earlier in the week for 4.25 million euros.
Giovinco, who has made two substitute appearances for Italy at Euro 2012, broke into Juve s first team in 2007 but was quickly loaned out to Empoli to get more games under his belt.
He returned …
Facundo Pellestri ensured Manchester United avoided defeat in their final pre-season friendly as Harry Maguire atoned for his first-half error to help secure a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao.
Maguire, whose mistake had allowed Nico Williams to open the scoring before the break, set up the Uruguay international to level in stoppage time in front of a sell-out crowd at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Maguire, who was replaced as United captain by Bruno Fernandes during a summer of speculation over his future, was included as one of 11 changes to the side which beat Lens 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday, but there was no place for injured £72million signing Rasmus Hojlund a day after he had been presented to the club’s fans.
Late drama in Dublin as Facu lev…
Damiao explains Tottenham snub
Internacional striker Leandro Damiao has revealed that he rejected an offer from Tottenham in order to remain in Brazil.
The 22-year-old is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in South America and has been heavily linked with a move to Europe.
A number of English Premier League clubs have shown interest in the promising forward, but Tottenham were the only side to make an official offer.
The player now explains that he doesn’t want to leave Internacional this summer in spite of the proposal from Spurs.
I ve got Tottenham s proposal, but Inter thought I d better stay, Damiao told UOL.
I will try to reach the World Cup playing for Inter. But have to wait for the window to pass and close.
Dami…
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour has hinted the club intend to sign players before the close of the transfer window.
The Premier League champions have yet to bring any fresh faces to Etihad Stadium, despite speculation linking them with several players including Liverpool defender Daniel Agger and Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.
Manager Roberto Mancini has been vocal in his frustrations at the lack of transfer activity but Mansour has now responded, claiming the City boss is completely satisfied with the current squad while hinting there could be additions.
What is important is to preserve the achievement of winning the title and maintaining the good standards of last season, he said.
We will support the team with a player or players.
…
Manuel Pellegrini insists his club are destined to win the Champions League despite their struggles in Europe under him.
City have been eliminated in the last 16 the past two seasons, while they were sent packing in the group stages in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Pellegrini, who guided Villarreal to the semi-finals and Malaga to the last eight, said he was confident City would eventually become European powerhouses.
We have played Barcelona in the last two years and if we had played Barcelona at Villarreal or Malaga then maybe we wouldn t have gone so far, he said.
This is a very young team compared with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Juventus. We are younger than the teams who normally win the Champions League over the last 10 years.
Our te…
Thomas Vermaelen has been named the new captain of Arsenal following the sale of Robin van Persie, manager Arsene Wenger has revealed.
With Van Persie s departure to Manchester United completed, the Frenchman was keen to name a replacement skipper ahead of Saturday s Premier League opener against Sunderland.
Mikel Arteta has been appointed vice-captain, in only his second season at the club after joining from Everton last year.
The new captain is Vermaelen and (the vice-captain is) Arteta, Wenger told reporters. We have many potential captains in this team.
Vermaelen moved to Arsenal from Ajax in June 2009, instantly establishing himself as first-team regular, scoring on his debut against Everton and notching several more goals in his first season.
…
Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso wants to face former club and titleholders Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
Alonso and Bayern moved a step closer to the Champions League decider in Cardiff on June 3 after crushing Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.
Bayern made the most of their numerical advantage as the German champions eased past Arsenal 5-1 in Tuesday s return leg at the Emirates Stadium.
After booking a spot in the quarter-finals, Alonso who won the Champions League with Madrid in 2013-14 was asked to pick his ideal final and the Spanish veteran said via Radio Onda Cero: A Bayern-Real Madrid final would not be bad.
I think Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are the strongest so facing them later [in the tournament] would be be…