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Gareth Bale gave up fighting for a place at Real Madrid, according to former Los Blancos striker and director of football Predrag Mijatovic.

Bale is the subject of much transfer speculation, with the Wales star – signed by Madrid for what was a world-record fee in 2013 – seemingly set to return to Tottenham.

On Wednesday, Bale s agent Jonathan Barnett confirmed to Stats Perform News that talks were ongoing between Spurs and Madrid. There has also been reported interest from Manchester United.

Mijatovic believes the 31-year-old, who made just 20 appearances last season having slipped far down the pecking order under Zinedine Zidane, stopped pushing for a place in the side.

However, he is unsure who is to blame for a breakdown in the relationship betw…

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has confirmed the club intends to bring in further transfer market reinforcements as they aim to take back the Premier League title from Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola s side were unable to make it three domestic titles in a row in 2019-20, falling well short of a dominant Liverpool, who ended 18 points clear of second-placed City.

Winger Ferran Torres and defender Nathan Ake have already arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Valencia and Bournemouth respectively, for a combined outlay in excess of £60million.

Speaking to his club s official website, Khaldoon said City would seek to strengthen further and would not limit themselves to younger players if readymade, experienced performers are what Guardiola requires.

Wh…

Goals at the start of each half ensured Mali advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso.

Mali have not trailed in the tournament so far and their chances of doing that were minimised when Edmond Tapsoba put through his own goal three minutes in, but Burkina Faso had Herve Koffi to thank for keeping the deficit to just one at the break.

Lassine Sinayoko doubled Mali’s lead with the first chance of the second period and Aston Villa winger Bertrand Traore brought Burkina Faso back into it from the penalty spot. Mali, however, held on to book their spot against Ivory Coast in the last eight despite a late offside scare.

FULL-TIME!

The Eagles grab the win from Burkina Faso! |

— CAF (@CAF_Online)

Xavi believes Pedri was a deserved winner of the 2021 Golden Boy award but will not rush the Barcelona midfielder back into action. 

Spain international Pedri was a landslide victor in the voting for Europe s best player aged under 21 – his 199-point advantage over runner-up Jude Bellingham making it a record-breaking success. 

The 18-year-old featured in more games in all competitions (52) for Barcelona last season than any other player, accumulating four goals and six assists in the process. 

He then became the youngest player to represent Spain at a major tournament during Euro 2020, finishing the competition with more passes completed in the final third (177) than any other player. 

Pedri followed that up by travelling to Tokyo for the Olympic G…

Sergio Ramos has become the most capped European footballer of all time, surpassing the record set by Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon.

Real Madrid centre-back Ramos earned a 177th appearance for Spain in Saturday s Nations League match against Switzerland, having pulled level with Buffon when coming off the bench against the Netherlands on Wednesday.

It means Ramos, a World Cup winner with Spain, is now just eight short of the overall record held by Egypt s Ahmed Hassan.

As well as his triumph in South Africa in 2010, Ramos has won two European Championships with Spain and scored 23 goals for his country – putting him joint eighth on the list with Alfredo Di Stefano.

177 Sergio Ramos will make his 177th appearance for Spain (129 wins, 23 goals), becom…

Leon Goretzka praised Hansi Flick following reports Bayern Munich are looking to unite him with Thomas Tuchel in a new coaching team.

German publication Bild suggested interim boss Flick could be kept on as an assistant at Allianz Arena if the Bundesliga side succeed in prising Tuchel from Paris Saint-Germain.

Flick took charge in a caretaker capacity following Niko Kovac s departure in November and has overseen four wins and a defeat in all competitions.

Chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reaffirmed his support for the 54-year-old following the weekend loss to Bayer Leverkusen, a result midfielder Goretzka insisted was not Flick s fault.

He told us what we did well and what we did badly, the Germany international told news portal T-Online.

W…

Mesut Ozil must have enormous hunger to play football again but can flourish in the warm environment he will receive at Fenerbahce, says former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

World Cup winner Ozil is edging ever closer to a move to the Super Lig giants, bringing an end to a seven-and-a-half-year stay with the Gunners.

The former Germany international has not featured for Arsenal since March after being frozen out by boss Mikel Arteta and was not included in their Premier League or Europa League squads for this season.

Wenger was the man to bring Ozil to Emirates Stadium from Real Madrid in 2013 but the attacking midfielder fell out of favour under both Unai Emery and Arteta.

The legendary former Gunners manager is convinced of Ozil s enduring quality ahead o…

Hansi Flick believes success in the Club World Cup will be very special as he closes in on a sixth trophy in just 68 matches as Bayern Munich coach.

Bayern comfortably dealt with CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly in their semi-final on Monday, with Robert Lewandowski getting both goals in a 2-0 win.

The Polish striker, who moved to 29 goals for the season with that brace, made it 1-0 in the 17th minute and eventually put the game beyond Al Ahly in the latter stages, though the Egyptian champions rarely looked a threat to Die Roten.

In Thursday s final Bayern will face Tigres, who defeated Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras 1-0 on Sunday to become the first CONCACAF side to reach the final of the Club World Cup.

French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac got t…

Flamengo have been crowned Brazilian champions for the seventh time in their history and the first time in 10 years just one day after winning the Copa Libertadores.

Gremio s win at Palmeiras left Flamengo with an insurmountable 13-point lead at the top of Serie A and Jorge Jesus side will be able to enjoy their remaining four games of the season with the title secured.

Two late goals from Gabriel Barbosa earned Flamengo a dramatic 2-1 victory over River Plate in Saturday s Copa Libertadores final and sparked wild celebrations in the streets of Rio.

The weekend was made even more unforgettable for Flamengo supporters when Pepe scored in second-half stoppage-time to clinch a 2-1 victory for Gremio at Palmeiras, handing the league leaders their first Brasileirao si…

Southend have secured an urgent court order allowing the payment of players and accountants before deadlines that threaten the club’s survival.

A lawyer for the National League side told a specialist judge they would “simply cease to exist” if payments to playing staff and for the filing of overdue accounts were not made on Wednesday.

Judge Sebastian Prentis heard at an online hearing that players could “walk away” if they did not receive their salaries due at the end of this month, while the National League had said it would withdraw the club’s membership if accounts were not filed “by close of business”.

The insolvency and companies court hearing comes after HM Revenue Customs (HMRC) issued a winding-up petition against the non-league club over …