Blog – Page 431 – Football Flame

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LALIGA

Pique's Team Pay £411,000 for Promotion to Spanish 3rd Tier

FC Andorra - owned by Barcelona defender Gerard Pique - have paid 452,022 euros (£411,000) to fill a vacated slot in Spain's third tier.The club, bought by Pique's Kosmos group in December, earned promotion to the fourth tier last season but have now replaced Reus, who were relegated as a result of financial problems.Zamora, Jaen, Intercity and Linares were also keen on replacing Reus.FC Andorra, founded in 1942, have played in the league system since 1948.
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NEWS

Neymar Rape Case Dropped Over Lack of Evidence

Police investigating rape allegations against Brazilian football player Neymar say they have closed the case.The Sao Paulo attorney general's office said the case was suspended due to a lack of evidence, but will be sent to prosecutors for a final decision.The investigation was opened after Brazilian model Najila Trindade alleged the footballer attacked her in a hotel in Paris, France, in May.Neymar has denied the accusations, saying he is being extorted.A spokesman for Neymar said that he was not able to comment on the police decision.The case has gripped Brazil, where it has dominated newspaper headlines.
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TRANSFERS

Brighton loan South Africa's Percy Tau to Club Brugge

South Africa's Percy Tau has been loaned out again by Brighton.The 25-year-old returns to Belgium for next season to play for top-flight side Club Brugge after spending last term at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.He signed for Premier League side Brighton last year on a four-year deal but is yet to play for the first team."It's a step up to the next level in Belgium, and he also has the prospect of Champions League football," technical director Dan Ashworth said."It comes off the back of an impressive Africa Cup of Nations campaign with South Africa, and will give Percy the opportunity to further develop his undoubted talent."Tau played in all of Bafana Bafana's matches at the Nations Cup in Egypt as he helped his side reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Man Utd: Romelu Lukaku left out of pre-season friendly squad

Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has been left out of the 26-man squad travelling for Tuesday's pre-season friendly against Kristiansund.Lukaku was part of the pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East, but did not play because of injury.United remain in talks with Inter Milan over the Belgium international, 26, but there is no agreement over a fee.The Old Trafford club rejected a 60m euro (£54m) bid for Lukaku from the Italian giants earlier in July.Inter boss Antonio Conte has said the forward is his number one summer transfer target.Italy full-back Matteo Darmian, another player linked with move away from United, is also absent from the squad heading to Norway for Tuesday's match.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side play their final pre-season friendly against AC Milan in Cardiff on S...
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BUNDESLIGA

Klopp & Reus Win Big in German Football Awards

Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus has been named Footballer of the Year in Germany for the second time in his career.The Association of German Sports Journalists, in conjunction with football magazine Kicker, gave Reus 150 of the 540 votes cast to place him ahead of Bayer Leverkusen prodigy Kai Havertz and Bayern Munich full-back Joshua Kimmich.Reus’ former Dortmund boss, Jurgen Klopp, earned the Coach of the Year title after leading Liverpool to glory in the Champions League.The accolades are considered the most prestigious of their kind in Germany, and this latest honour holds particular value for 30-year-old winger Reus, who battled back from an injury riddled 2017-18 season to score 21 competitive goals for BVB last term.Reds manager Klopp is now a three-time Coach of the Year winne...
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BUNDESLIGA

Kovac Confident Sane Will Join Bayern

Bayern Munich head coach Niko Kovac says he remains confident a deal can be done to sign Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.The 23-year-old has long been associated with a move to the Bavarian giants from the Premier League champions, with Bayern looking to replace legendary widemen Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben who both left the club at the end of last season after long spells filled with trophies.Kovac has described Sane as Bayern’s ‘dream player’, while club icon Lotthar Matthaus says he could be the new face of the club.Kovac issued an update on their hunt for the player on Sunday and said the whole club was focused on getting a deal over the line.“Our club management is very committed behind it and I’m very confident,” the 47-year-old coach told ZDF in Germany. “I assume that we can g...
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SERIE A

Antonio Conte Still Confident on Lukaku Deal

Inter coach Antonio Conte has stated that he remains confident in the club's ability to conduct business as speculation continues to swirl over a move for Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku.The Serie A club have reportedly seen a €60m (£54m) bid for the Belgium international knocked back by the Red Devils, but their boss remains hopeful of bringing the forward to San Siro.The Nerazzurri have already made several eye-catching signings during the off-season, recruiting Valentino Lazaro, Nicolo Barella and Matteo Politano to their squad.But, speaking after his side's pre-season penalty shoot-out victory against Paris Saint-Germain in Macau, the former Chelsea manager has reaffirmed his belief that Inter's hierarchy will deliver, whoever they add in the final weeks of the transfer window."As I'...
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LALIGA

Bale Aims to Have Beckham-Like Impact in China

Gareth Bale believes he can be at the forefront of a football revolution in China should he complete his impending move to Jiangsu Suning.While the deal, which is worth around £1m per week to the Real Madrid forward, is being finalised, a key motivation for the Welshman is the chance to effect fundamental change in the game, rather as David Beckham energised football in the United States with his move to MLS.The 30-year-old believes he has achieved everything in the European game, having claimed four Champions Leagues, one La Liga, one Copa del Rey, three Uefa Super Cups and three Club World Cups in six years at Real. He scored three times in the Champions League final triumphs, and six times in six Club World Cup matches, the second highest tally, behind Cristiano Ronaldo. When at Tottenh...
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TRANSFERS

Liverpool Complete Signing of Teenager Elliott

Liverpool have completed their second signing of the summer after confirming the arrival of Fulham teenager Harvey Elliott.Elliott links up with the Merseyside outfit after a memorable campaign at Craven Cottage during which he became the Premier League's youngest ever player.He could make his first appearance for the Reds on Sunday after being named in their squad to face Napoli at Murrayfield.He follows teenager Dutch defender Sepp van den Berg through the doors at Liverpool after the 17-year-old's arrival from PEC Zwolle was confirmed in June.The signing of 16-year-old Elliott is being seen as something of a coup at Anfield, with the Reds beating off interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain to sign the forward.But it is understood that Ell...
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LALIGA

Valverde : Griezmann Will Flourish With Messi

New boy Anotine Griezmman will likely settle well alongside Barcelona veterans Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez when the trio link up for the new season, says coach Ernesto Valverde.The striker, who arrived from Atletico Madrid as the Blaugrana's biggest recruit of a busy off-season so far , made his second appearance for the club in Saturday's 2-0 friendly win against Vissel Kobe in Japan.The La Liga champions, who also lost to Chelsea in Saitama on their pre-season tour, return to Spain now ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, where they will link up with Argentina duo Messi and Suarez following the duo's extended post-Copa America break."The good players always understand things easily," Valverde told the media, addressing how the France international has settled since the switch to Camp Nou."We'...
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TRANSFERS

Everton in Talks to Sign Juve's Moise Kean

Everton are in talks to sign Juventus striker Moise Kean, as per reports.The Serie A club are looking for €40M (£36M) for the 19-year-old and also want a buy-back clause inserted into any deal.Following the departure of Ademola Lookman to RB Leipzig, the Toffees are looking to bring in another forward and the Italian international is seen as the perfect fit.Talks are believed to be ongoing for a player who scored six Serie A goals in 13 appearances last season and has also played three times for Italy, scoring twice.
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SERIE A

Reports : Dybala Wants to Stay at Juve and Fight

Paulo Dybala wants to stay at Juventus and fight for his place under Maurizio Sarri, according to reports in Italy.Juventus are preparing to make an offer for Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku and had been willing to include the Argentina striker as part of the deal.But Dybala wants to remain in Turin and could return from his summer break early in order to start learning Sarri's methods.Dybala is currently due back at Juventus on August 5 having been given extra time off by the Serie A champions after featuring for Argentina in the Copa America this summer.United have been negotiating with Inter Milan for Lukaku but the clubs remain far apart in their valuation of the Belgium international.
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TRANSFERS

Oscar Holds Talks With Both Milan Clubs

Former Chelsea midfielder Oscar says he has spoken to "two Milan clubs" as he attempts to engineer a move to Serie A.The Brazil international joined Shanghai SIPG as the record signing for an Asian club in 2017. He won the Chinese Super League last year as well as the 2019 Super Cup.The 27-year-old now seems keen to return to Europe and is taken with the idea of playing in Italy's top flight.When asked if he knew of any interested teams, he told passioneinter.com: "Yes, I've spoken to two Milan clubs in these [last few] weeks."I can't go into details, but, yes, one thing I can say: I want to play in Italy."Oscar won two Premier Leagues, the EFL Cup and the Europa League during a five-year stint with Chelsea.It has been suggested Inter or AC Milan could pursue a loan deal for the player, in...
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TRANSFERS

Reports : Gareth Bale Closing in on China Move

Gareth Bale's representatives are in talks with Chinese side Jiangsu Suning about a deal which could see the Welshman earn £1m a week.Reports claim that negotiations are progressing and there is still some work to do, but Jiangsu Suning are increasingly confident they can convince Bale to sign.The 30-year-old has been told he can leave Real Madrid, even though he has three years left on his £600,000-a-week contract.However, any deal will have to be concluded by Wednesday as that is when the Chinese window closes.Another hurdle is that all Chinese clubs have to pay 100 per cent transfer tax on foreign signings, meaning Jiangsu Suning will effectively have to pay double to secure Bale's services.
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LALIGA

'We Lacked Everything' – Zidane Upset After Atletico Rout

Zinedine Zidane is upset but "convinced" Real Madrid will enjoy a good season following their 7-3 rout at the hands of rivals Atletico Madrid at the International Champions Cup.Madrid were put to the sword in New Jersey, where La Liga neighbours Atletico led 5-0 at half-time in the pre-season fixture on Friday.It was an incredible match at MetLife Stadium, where the margin of defeat could have been greater if not for some desperate defending and late goals from Karim Benzema and Javi Hernandez."At eight minutes we were down 2-0. There was no response from us to change something. The first part was difficult. We never entered the game. We have lacked everything. Especially intensity."Zidane continued: "They scored seven goals, it can't happen. That is also known to the players, who are disa...
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LALIGA

Real Madrid's Ferland Mendy Suffers Injury Blow

Real Madrid defender Ferland Mendy is expected to be out of action for three to four weeks with a thigh problem, the club has confirmed. The left-back has been diagnosed with a muscular lesion that will keep him on the sidelines for the opening weeks of the new La Liga campaign. French international Mendy, who made a big money move to Santiago Bernabeu in June from Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, will likely miss his side's first game against Celta Vigo. He has featured in both of Madrid's International Champions Cup pre-season encounters so far, as a substitute in their defeat to Bayern Munich and starting in their penalty shoot-out victory against Arsenal. Los Blancos have already been struck by injury issues, with Marco Asensio suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury against the Gunners aft...
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TRANSFERS

Reports : Dortmund in Talks to Sign Malcom

Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund are negotiating the transfer of Malcom, which would see the Bundesliga club pay €42 million (£38m/$47m) for the Brazilian winger, as per reports. Malcom has an €180m (£160m/$200m) termination clause in his current contract with the Liga champions, but Barca would accept his departure in exchange for €1m more than the €41m they spent to sign him from Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.At the time, it appeared Malcom would be heading to Roma, with the Serie A club having agreed a fee with Bordeaux, only for Barca to swoop in at the last minute to land the winger.But after a bright 2017-18 season with Bordeaux in which he scored 12 goals and added seven assists, Malcom struggled for playing time at Barca, managing 15 appearances for the club and just six starts in La L...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Bailly Injury Not Looking Great, Admits Solskjaer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer accepted Eric Bailly's condition "doesn't look great" after the centre-back suffered a knee injury in Manchester United's win over Tottenham.United clinched a 2-1 victory in Thursday's International Champions Cup clash thanks to Angel Gomes' well-taken effort in the 80th minute, but the main talking point from the contest was the blow to Bailly.The Ivory Coast international had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes following his half-time introduction before going down in need of medical attention, having attempted to block a shot from Son Heung-min, who was flagged offside.Bailly was carried off on a stretcher and later photographed on crutches with his left knee in a brace, continuing the injury nightmare he has had to endure over the past two years with the Red Devi...
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TRANSFERS

Arsenal Confirm Signing of Defender William Saliba

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of defender William Saliba for a fee of £27 million ($34m).The Gunners have been hot on the trail of the Frenchman for a number of weeks and the deal was finally announced on the club’s official Twitter page on Thursday afternoon.The 18-year-old made 16 appearances for Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 last season as the club finished fourth.He is the second signing Unai Emery’s side have made in a short space of time, with Dani Ceballos also announced as an Arsenal player on Thursday afternoon.
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Klopp Rules Out Liverpool Return for Coutinho

Philippe Coutinho will not be heading back to Liverpool this summer, with manager Jurgen Klopp claiming a move for the Barcelona star "is just not possible" at this stage.The Brazilian left the Reds for Barcelona in a massive £142 million ($201m) deal in January 2018, but his time with the Spanish giants has not been easy.The midfielder has failed to settle with the Blaugrana and the club are reportedly looking to move him on this summer in hopes of funding a move for his Selecao team-mate Neymar.Liverpool are among the clubs to have been linked with a move for their former star, but Klopp has emphatically ruled out any such transfer business for his club this summer."In general, Phil Coutinho helps each team in the world, still - 100 per cent," Klopp told ESPN. "It's not about that."I lik...
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