Andres Iniesta is adamant his former Barcelona team-mate Ivan Rakitic wants to stay at Camp Nou despite links with Paris Saint-Germain, Inter and Manchester United.

Croatia international Rakitic has spent five seasons at Barca following a move from Sevilla in 2014 and has been a key part of the side ever since, making at least 32 LaLiga appearances in each campaign.

Although his coaches have valued Rakitic s input, some supporters have questioned whether the 31-year-old merits inclusion in the Barca team.

But in spite of United, Inter and PSG apparently holding an interest in Rakitic, Iniesta is convinced his former colleague has no plans to leave.

Que alegría verte hermano  

— Ivan Rakitic (@ivanrakitic)

I don t know if he is u…

Vitaly Janelt scored a classy double and Christian Eriksen opened his Brentford account in a sensational 4-1 derby win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Bees were the better side in the first half, but it was the Blues who took the lead just after the break through an Antonio Rudiger thunderbolt from long range.

Magnificent Brentford responded to that blow by scoring three times in the space of 10 minutes, Janelt on target with two brilliant strikes either side of Eriksen s clinical finish at the end of a devastating counter-attack.

Yoane Wissa added a late fourth goal as the Bees ran riot in a first victory over Chelsea since 1939, ending their London rivals six-match winning run to move 11 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

3 Ch…

Luis Suarez made his 100th appearance for Uruguay in the World Cup clash with Saudi Arabia in Rostov-on-Don on Wednesday.

As expected, the Barcelona striker was paired with Paris Saint-Germain s Edinson Cavani in attack for the Celeste in the Group A match.

Suarez, who failed to score in the 1-0 win over Egypt to start his country s campaign, became just the sixth Uruguayan to reach a century of caps.

A Copa America winner in 2011, Suarez was sent off for using his hand to stop Ghana from scoring in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.

He then received a four-month ban from all football activity and was suspended for nine international matches after biting Italy s Giorgio Chiellini at the previous tournament in Brazil four years ago.

Uruguay …

Harry is a University of Worcester graduate who has been writing professionally for the last two years. He specialises in several sports such as MMA, pro wrestling and athletics, with football being his primary love. He continues to dream of a life in the Premier League as a Wolves fan.

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Paris Saint-Germain s aggregate lead over Barcelona will not result in a change in Neymar s scheduled return from injury.

Kylian Mbappe made up for the absence of his star team-mate on Tuesday, with his sensational hat-trick propelling Mauricio Pochettino s PSG to a 4-1 victory at Camp Nou in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie.

Neymar – who scored twice in Barca s famous 6-5 aggregate triumph over PSG in 2017 – missed the game through an adductor injury sustained in a Coupe de France win over Caen.

The 29-year-old is set to miss four weeks, which would put him in line to be available for the return leg against his former club at the Parc des Princes on March 10.

However, asked if PSG s 4-1 lead heading into the game will mean there is…

On Thursday night, the Netherlands host Northern Ireland in a game that could prove pivotal to both teams’ chances of qualifying for Euro 2020. Both teams are in good positions in the group. However, with Germany also in Group C

Once again punching above their weight

Northern Ireland are once again mixing with the big footballing countries and not looking out of place. At the beginning of the qualification campaign, most would have had Germany and the Netherlands as likely automatic qualifiers from the group. The two giants of the international game may still clinch the top two spots in Group C.

However, Northern Ireland have done what they have done best under Michael O’Neill and punched above their weight during the campaign. They currently sit second in the tabl…

Vaclav Cerny struck the winner as Rangers ground out a 2-1 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park on Saturday to pick up their first victory of the Scottish Premiership campaign.

The Gers, held 0-0 by Hearts in their opening match of the season last week, survived an early scare when Lennon Miller fired wide from a glorious position in the opening minutes.

However, after Scott Wright had an effort stopped on the line, Cyriel Dessers who rescued a late European draw against Dynamo Kyiv in midweek found the net from close range with 13 minutes on the clock.

Motherwell responded instantly as John Souttar failed to cut out a deep delivery and Robin Propper turned into his own net, but fellow new signing Cerny cut inside and curled in a delightful goal seven minutes late…

Niko Kovac has challenged Bayern Munich to match the level of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund but denied having any interest in poaching their rivals young stars.

Bayern head to Mainz on Saturday ahead of restorative back-to-back wins over Wolfsburg and AEK Athens, Kovac s position having come under scrutiny after they went four games without a win in all competitions heading into the October international break.

The champions slump was made all the more damaging by Dortmund s flying form under Lucien Favre.

After eight games, BVB occupy top spot on 20 points thanks to six wins and pair of draws – three points above nearest rivals Borussia Monchengladbach and Werder Bremen and four better off than Bayern in fourth.

It means the anticipation surroun…

I really like Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and the style of play his team produces. However, yesterday’s 1-0 defeat at Manchester United maybe sums up why the north London side will not be Premier League champions this season.

Pochettino has built a very impressive team at Tottenham. However, despite challenging for the Premier League title for the last few seasons, there seems to be a lack of confidence in their ability to get the job done.

Never looked like winning at Old Trafford

Watching Tottenham play at Old Trafford, I had the sense that the north London side never really believed that they would record a victory. Granted the absence of star striker Harry Kane no doubt hamstrung their efforts at winning the game.

However, the team from nort…

Eventually breezing past PSG thanks to a 4-1 aggregate win on Tuesday night, reached their first Champions League Final and a meeting against Chelsea for May 29th out in Turkey.

While Pep Guardiola s side might have seen The Blues end their FA Cup adventure at Wembley last month, they re within striking distance of recapturing their Premier League crown and still have a silverware sweep at the top of their agenda.

Although Guardiola might be planning for a domestic meeting against Chelsea at the Etihad this weekend, there remains a string of speculation surrounding the future of some of City s biggest stars this summer.

With it already confirmed that the iconic will be ending his decade-long stay in Manchester, we have taken a look at what could be in store fo…