Criticism of Lionel Messi and Neymar for not being team players suggests former Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal does not like players that detract from the coach , according to Rivaldo.
Van Gaal, who coached Rivaldo at Camp Nou, claimed Barca and Paris Saint-Germain had fallen short in the Champions League because Messi and Neymar had been playing for themselves.
The ex-Manchester United manager advised the star duo to be more like Liverpool midfielder James Milner, a European champion in 2018-19, in order to return their clubs to winning ways.
But Rivaldo appears to believe Van Gaal simply does not like outstanding individual talents, as he responded in an Instagram post, including an image of Messi, Neymar and the Dutchman.
Messi, Neymar and Cristiano R…
Kylian Mbappe scored for the seventh successive match across all competitions as his brace led the way in Paris Saint-Germain s 4-1 Ligue 1 defeat of Amiens.
The France star, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Friday, was in lethal form as he took his Ligue 1 tally to 11 for the season, with PSG s star-studded unit of attackers causing struggling Amiens no end of problems and ensuring the champions remain seven points clear of Marseille at the summit heading into the winter break.
PSG s particularly reliable combination of Neymar and Mbappe linked up to great effect early on when the latter opened the scoring in what was a lively first-half display from the former Monaco talent.
Neymar then found the net for the fifth game in a row early in the second half and M…
manager Jose Mourinho says he’s not expecting Paul Pogba to leave the club this summer, according to .
The controverse Portuguese could, however, only offer his guarantees that neither he nor the club want the Frenchman to leave, and that there has been no contact from anyone about Pogba’s future – no clubs interested, no approach by his agent.
Having given up on Pogba as a teenager under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United re-signed the midfielder in 2016 for £89million, a world-record transfer fee at the time. However, the midfielder has failed to reach the heights expected of him so far. Many have criticised Mourinho for the way he’s been employing him, and many reports this season have claimed he wants out of the club. Manchester City manager Pep Guardi…
Julian Nagelsmann will 100 per cent be in charge of Hoffenheim next season, the club insist, despite speculation linking the highly rated coach with Arsenal.
The 30-year-old is reportedly a front-runner to succeed Arsene Wenger after he was overlooked by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, who opted for Niko Kovac of Eintracht Frankfurt to replace their own veteran coach, Jupp Heynckes.
Mikel Arteta and Nagelsmann are purported to be the two men at the front of the queue for the Emirates Stadium vacancy, but Hoffenheim believe their coach is going nowhere having led the club to a Champions League spot for the second season in a row.
The club s director of football Alexander Rosen rejected speculation Nagelsmann could be tempted to take over at Arsenal.
J…
Manchester City have signed Turkey international striker Enes Unal from Bursaspor.
The highly rated 18-year-old becomes Manuel Pellegrini’s first signing of the close-season.
Unal became the youngest goalscorer in Turkish Super Lig history when he netted against Galatasaray as a 16-year-old in 2013.
He made his international debut in a friendly against Luxembourg in March having amassed a prolific record of 24 goals in 25 games for the country’s Under-16 team.
Unal has scored four times in 37 predominantly substitute appearances for Bursaspor, while he was prolific at youth level for his club in Turkey s Coca-Cola Academy League.
…
Out of favour at Manchester United, Matteo Darmian is likely to leave the Old Trafford club once the transfer window reopens in January.
The Italian right-back has been widely frozen by Jose Mourinho this season, who has only used the 26-year-old defender twice in the Europa League thus far, while Darmian is yet to make an appearance in the Premier League.
Matteo Darmian joined Manchester United at the beginning of 2015-16 season, notching 28 Premier League performances for the club and scoring a single goal during that time.
Frustrated with the lack of minutes for Red Devils, Matteo Darmian is already looking for a solution to his frustrations at Old Trafford.
Inter Milan have already expressed their interest in signing the Manchester United outcast as …
Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti insisted captain Mauro Icardi wants to remain with the Serie A club amid transfer speculation.
Icardi helped Inter qualify for the Champions League but the skipper – who reportedly has a €110million release clause – has been linked with Juventus, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Zanetti was asked about Icardi s future but the former Inter captain said he is not concerned over the 25-year-old forward.
It s disappointing he s not going to the World Cup, as he has proved he fits in with the Argentina squad, Zanetti told reporters.
When you have a champion like him in the team, it s only normal to receive many offers, but Mauro is the captain and a reference point for Inter.
We are…
Teenager Chaka Traore scored his second goal in six days as AC Milan beat Serie A strugglers Empoli 3-0 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.
The 19-year-old Ivorian winger, who had opened his Milan account in Tuesday’s 4-1 Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari, came off the bench to notch a third for Stefano Pioli’s men in the 88th minute.
That added to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 11th-minute opener and an Olivier Giroud penalty just past the half-hour mark.
These celebrations
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Third-placed Milan’s third win in four league games closed the gap to second-placed Juventus to four points ahead of the Turin giants’ match at Salernitana later on Sunday.
Aurelio Andreazzoli’s Empoli remain second bottom as their winless ru…
Wayne Rooney will start his bid to succeed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player on the planet when England face Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Rooney spent the last three years playing second fiddle to Ronaldo at Manchester United as the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year became the driving force behind his side s success.
But, following Ronaldo s move to Real Madrid, Rooney is now the main man for United as well as England.
England coach Fabio Capello had already decided to build his team around Rooney and now United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has restored him to his favoured central striking position.
Rooney would never publicly complain about being shunted to the flanks to allow Portugal winger Ronaldo a free role after all he regards his f…
Zambia have called up Aaron Katebe to their preliminary Africa Cup of Nations squad as a replacement for Nyambe Mulenga.
Mulenga suffered a fractured right leg and several lacerations in a car accident that claimed four lives en route to a pre-tournament training earlier this month.
His place in the squad has been taken by defender Katebe, who plays for Zimbabwean outfit FC Platinum.
Coach Honor Janza has named 12 players from the 2013 AFCON tournament, in which Zambia were eliminated in the group stages after three consecutive draws.
A total of 11 players from the successful 2012 campaign that saw Zambia beat the Ivory Coast on penalties in the final have also been included.
Zambia will attempt to replicate that success at this year s event …