Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has signalled his intent to end his career at River Plate.
The Argentinian agreed a contract extension with the Camp Nou club on Saturday, keeping him in Barcelona until at least 2018.
But Mascherano has now hinted that he will seek a return to his homeland at the end of that new deal.
I m happy to have renewed with the club, he is quoted as saying by Sport.es. I ll play there the next four years.
After (that), I retire in River.
The 29-year-old, who forms part of Argentina s FIFA World Cup squad, began his professional career at River Plate before moving to Corinthians in 2005.
Stints at West Ham and Liverpool followed, and he has enjoyed great success since signing for Barca in 2010, winning the UEFA Champions…
Uruguay made life incredible difficult for themselves by losing to underdogs Costa Rica, meaning they now need to win both remaining games in order to qualify. And while England may be in a similar situation, the Three Lions will be in better mood than the opposition following a very good performance in the 2-1 loss to Italy.
While they had not exactly impressed in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign and needed the play-offs to reach the tournament finals, Uruguay were still tipped for a successful tournament based on their performances over the last few years. After reaching the 2010 World Cup semi-finals, La Celeste also went on to win the 2011 Copa America trophy, and they arrived in Brazil with virtually the same team that featured at those two competitions. Nevertheless…
Manchester City have released veteran duo Martin Demichelis and Richard Wright after their contracts came to an end.
Argentina international Demichelis was brought to the club in 2013 by Manuel Pellegrini, who he had played under at former club Malaga.
In his first season at the Etihad Stadium, he helped City to win the Premier League and the League Cup, making 35 appearances in all competitions.
However, subsequent campaigns were less fruitful, with just one further trophy in two years, and Demichelis found first-team action hard to come by due to the signings of Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala.
Wright, meanwhile, has now announced his retirement, having never made an appearance for City in a four-year spell.
The 38-year-old collected two E…
Jose Mourinho s targets for Manchester United will be aggressive in his debut campaign at Old Trafford.
The former Chelsea boss has started his three-year contract at United having replaced the sacked Louis van Gaal.
United have finished seventh, fourth and fifth in the Premier League since Alex Ferguson s retirement in 2013, but Mourinho is immediately setting the bar high.
He told adidas Front Row: I am not humble when I talk about targets, I m quite aggressive on that.
I want everything and everything is to win matches, play well, score goals, don t concede goals everything. I want everything.
I know that we are speaking about a hypothetical situation which is very difficult to reach but I want everything.
Mourinho called on Unite…
Ivan Perisic appears to be edging towards the exit door at San Siro, with Arsenal widely linked with a move for the Inter winger.
Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta revealed Perisic has asked to leave the club but says there have been no offers as yet despite Arsenal boss Unai Emery confirming the Gunners interest in acquiring an attacking midfielder in the January window.
Having thrilled for Croatia at last year s World Cup, the signing of Perisic might well excite Arsenal fans. But there is a reason Inter would entertain his departure.
The 29-year-old, who turns 30 this weekend, has not been able to repeat his sparkling form from Russia in Serie A this term and his statistics do not compare favourably to last season either.
With the help of Opta, we take a lo…
Sardar Azmoun has joined Zenit from Rubin Kazan for a reported fee of €12million.
The forward, who rejoined Rubin for a second spell in 2017, has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Known as the Iranian Messi by some fans in his native Iran, Azmoun had been heavily linked with a move to Premier League side Wolves in January.
Nuno Espirito Santo s side had reportedly agreed to sign him on loan from Rubin, but the move fell through when Wolves refused to allow a compulsory purchase option included in the deal.
Azmoun, who helped Iran to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, was Zenit s second signing to be announced on Friday after they also confirmed the arrival of Wilmar Barrios from Boca Juniors.
Welcome to Saint Petersburg, Sardar!
— …
Morgan Gibbs-White inspired Nottingham Forest to a vital 3-1 victory over Fulham which eased their Premier League relegation concerns.
Gibbs-White put in a virtuoso display in a golden first half which saw Forest cruise into a 3-0 lead.
After setting up Callum Hudson-Odoi’s opener, he watched as Chris Wood made it 2-0 before completing the scoring with a fine finish on the stroke of half-time.
That sublime opening 45 minutes laid the foundations for just a second league win of 2024 for Forest and the first since they were deducted four points for breaking the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules last month.
That opened up a three-point gap over Luton, who occupy 18th position and visit title-chasing Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Fore…
Thomas Tuchel insisted he was unconcerned about his future at Paris Saint-Germain amid pressure on the coach.
Tuchel s position as coach of the Ligue 1 giants is again being questioned after Tuesday s 2-1 Champions League loss at home to Manchester United.
The German has won the league in both of his seasons in charge and led PSG to their first Champions League final in 2019-20 before they fell to Bayern Munich.
Tuchel is ignoring speculation over his future, telling a news conference: I don t go on the Internet to Google my name. I know how difficult it is here. That s okay for me. I expect nothing else.
I can imagine how it looks from outside. I can rely on myself and on my staff, everybody here at the Ooredoo [PSG training ground] and my relationship …
Striker Asamoah Gyan will take an indefinite break from international football after Ghana s failed Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
Ghana finished fourth at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon after being beaten 1-0 in the semi-final by eventual champions Zambia, with Gyan missing a penalty during the match.
The Al Ain striker also missed a late penalty in Ghana s 2010 World Cup quarter-final loss to Uruguay, and has taken a step back from the international stage after receiving heavy riticism.
My decision had the full backing of family and friends, read a letter that the striker sent to the Ghana Football Association.
His manager Dentaa also confirmed the decision via his twitter account saying: It s a break for a while.
Gyan scored …
Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi believes that Barcelona s future success hinges on Pep Guardiola staying at the club.
Guardiola has led the Catalan outfit to 13 titles since succeeding Frank Rijkaard in 2008, but his future at Camp Nou remains in doubt as he is out of contract at the end of the season.
Messi, who scored his 50th goal of the season in all competitions in Sunday s 2-0 win over Racing Santander, believes the former Spain international is the key to Barca s success and hopes he signs a new deal.
It would be difficult to find a replacement, Messi told reporters.
Barcelona has four years of playing well for him. For me, he is more important than me at Barcelona.
Guardiola has been linked with both Chelsea and Inter in recent weeks, …