Louis van Gaal insisted he will not be discussing Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea s future in the media, with Real Madrid waiting in the wings.
Real are interested in attracting Madrid-born De Gea back to the Spanish capital, as the international enters the final year of his United contract.
Both teams are at loggerheads over the valuation of De Gea, while United have turned their attention to Real defender Sergio Ramos.
Van Gaal was quizzed about De Gea by Spanish TV channel Cuatro, but said: I don t want to discuss the issue through the media.
I will speak with my directors, not with the media. I don t have a problem.
De Gea, who moved to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid in 2011, kept 10 clean sheets in 37 Premier League appearance…
Bernardo Silva admitted he had been through a range of emotions after bouncing back from his European penalty heartache with an FA Cup semi-final winner.
The Portugal midfielder scored Manchester City’s late clincher as the holders ground out a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday to book a return to the final.
It came less than three days after he had badly fluffed his lines with a poor spot-kick as City were agonisingly knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in a draining encounter on Wednesday.
The strike that secured our place in the final!
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
Silva released a lot of emotion in a vigorous celebration after his 84th-minute strike and he revealed that was culmination of a lot of fa…
Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco will renew hostilities in the in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France midweek.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco are set to lock horns for the second time in less than a week with a Coupe de France semi-final berth on the line.
PSG welcome Monaco to Parc des Princes on Wednesday after the two teams played out a goalless draw in Ligue 1 action on Sunday.
Laurent Blanc s men dominated but the only thing missing was a goal to beat the hosts in Monaco as PSG missed the chance to go top of the table.
PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi s bemoaned his side s finishing in front of goal but he is counting on the capital club s home support to get them over the line in the quarter-final showdown a repeat of the 2010 fina…
New Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has received a glowing endorsement from his former Borussia Dortmund mentor Ottmar Hitzfeld.
German Hitzfeld signed Lambert from Motherwell in 1996, and the Scot subsequently played in Dortmund s Champions League final upset victory over Juventus in May 1997.
Lambert has been recognised as one of the most promising coaches in Europe, earning a switch to Villa Park after guiding Norwich from League One to the English Premier League.
As a player, Paul always thought like a coach, Hitzfeld told The Mirror.
He was a leader. I have followed his career since.
What was most critical was that Paul was a very good team player. That is one of the most important qualities as a coach and manager of a team.
Pa…
Burnley manager Sean Dyche has backed Andre Gray after the Football Association handed the striker a four-game ban for offensive social media posts.
After Gray scored in a 2-0 Premier League win over Liverpool last month, historic posts from his Twitter account were widely shared, including one that read: Is it me or are there gays everywhere? #Burn #Die #Makesmesick .
Gray issued an apology for the posts, saying he was now a wholly different person and did not hold the beliefs written in those tweets whatsoever , but the 25-year-old was found guilty of six aggravated breaches of FA Rule E3(1) on Friday.
Dyche noted many of Gray s abusive tweets were sent in 2012, while he was playing for non-League side Hinckley Town, as he defended his player.
He …
Manuel Pellegrini hopes Manchester City officials can convince James Milner to sign a contract extension and remain at the club beyond this season.
Milner s eighth goal of the season helped Pellegrini s side beat Swansea City 4-2 on Sunday in the Premier League, a display that left the Chilean singing his praises.
However, with the England international nearing the end of his current deal, Pellegrini faces a battle to keep the 29-year-old, with Liverpool reported to be leading the chase for his signature.
Yes, of course [I want him to stay], said Pellegrini. He s a very important player for us.
It s [new contract] a decision that James must take at the end of the season, what is better for his future?
I always say he is an important player f…
Borussia Monchenglabach midfield star Thorgan Hazard is generating plenty of interest from across the European continent with his impressive performances in Bundesliga this season.
The 24-year-old brother of Chelsea superstar Eden has enjoyed steady progress over the past couple of seasons since leaving Chelsea in 2015 but is now being linked with a return to the Premier League with Leicester City said to be interested in acquiring his services.
The Belgium international notched seven goals in 22 Bundesliga games this season but Foxes are not the only club said to be keen on Hazard.
Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and hot-shots RB Leipzig are also exploring the possibility of landing Hazard during the summer transfer window.
The Foxes,…
Marcelo has accused Real Madrid of failing to implement their game plans following their 3-3 draw with Las Palmas on Wednesday.
Isco put Madrid ahead at the Santiago Bernabeu but Tana netted a quick-fire equaliser, and goals from Jonathan Viera and Kevin-Prince Boateng turned the match on its head after Gareth Bale had been sent off.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in three minutes in the closing stages to rescue a point for Zinedine Zidane s side, but the result was not enough to see them retake top spot from Barcelona, who had earlier thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1.
Madrid still have a game in hand that could send them back to the summit but Marcelo has admitted that they must make huge improvements if they are to end a five-year wait for the title.
It was…
Verdict: France win and both teams to score
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Two sides who have enjoyed a stellar start to their EURO 2020 qualifying campaign, Turkey will welcome France to Konya on Saturday night.
Turkey
Starting with the hosts, after losing three of their four Nations League outings and finishing behind both Sweden and Russia in League B, few would have expected Turkey s eye-catching resurge. Picking up a pair of friendly victories over Greece and Uzbekistan to keep the morale in Şenol Güneş camp the highest it has been in recent memory, the Reds have also enjoyed a stellar start to their EURO 2020 qualifying campaign. Picking up maximum points in their opening two matchups against Moldova and Albania, only their goal difference sees the…
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde conceded the timing of Thursday s LaLiga clash with Las Palmas, which comes just three days before a crucial clash with closest challengers Atletico Madrid, is detrimental to the team.
The league leaders are seven points ahead of Atletico, but their advantage could be trimmed to four by the time they kick off against Las Palmas, a fixture that takes place 24 hours after Diego Simeone s men face Leganes.
A win for Barca against Atletico on Sunday could go a long way to deciding the destination of the title and Valverde hinted at dissatisfaction with their opponents being given an extra day s rest.
Asked if the fixture list is hurting Barca, Valverde replied: Yes, this week. Each team has moments throughout the season in which ther…