The gloom brought about in the early hours by Lionel Messi’s parting press conference in Barcelona was lifted by the thrashing of Juventus later that day. Elsewhere, Arsenal lost their second consecutive match to Tottenham in The Mind Series. Barca proved that there might be life without Lionel Messi, as they beat Juventus 3-0 in the Joan Gamper Trophy. While it was initially built as a clash between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the events earlier in the week ensured half of that iconic pair would not take to the pitch. Messi had left the building by the time Ronaldo lined up with his…
Author: Akshat Mehrish
Akshat Mehrish
Akshat Mehrish is a football expert who has a keen interest in tactics and player recruitment aspects of the sport.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has slammed Nathan Ake for his laid back defending in the FA Community Shield. Leicester City defeated the reigning Premier League champions in the Community Shield on Saturday. Both teams created chances, but lacked the clinical edge, which is not out of the ordinary, given that this was the first competitive match of the season for both clubs and players were bound to be rusty. However, one player who looked a bit more rusty than everyone else was Nathan Ake. The Dutch centre-back was taking a while to get the play moving when the ball was…
Atletico Madrid will sign Wolverhampton striker Rafa Mir in a 15m euros deal, reports Fabrizio Romano. The Spaniard will join Los Rojiblancos after the Olympics, where Brazil recently defeated his Spain U-23 to claim gold. https://twitter.com/FIFAcom/status/1424011756687482892 Mir spent the last eighteen months on loan at Huesca and scored 25 goals in 57 appearances, 13 of those in the top-flight. Despite that, Huesca were relegated from the division. Meanwhile, Atletico are also interested in Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, who is available for transfer. Pep Guardiola confirmed the same in a recent presser but revealed that no club has approached City regarding a transfer yet. The players who want…
Messi will sign for Paris Saint Germain in the coming days, several reports claim. The talks between the player and the club over a free transfer are at an advanced stage, and he has even picked the number he will wear while in Paris. The Argentine will leave Barcelona after spending 17 years with the Catalan club. An agreement between the player and Paris Saint-Germain is said to be close. Reports claim that the 34-year-old has even decided the shirt number he will wear at his new club. https://twitter.com/JulienMaynard/status/1423710454078136327?s=20 Julien Maynard (French media outlet Telefoot) reports that Messi will take the No. 19…
The Belgian is edging closer to a return to Chelsea, although it might not be on the terms which the Blues had hoped for. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Serie A outfit has rejected Chelsea’s initial offer, but soon, the two clubs should reach an agreement. Di Marzio reports that Chelsea are preparing two final offers to present to Inter Milan. The first offer is of 105 million euros plus Davide Zappacosta, while the second involves the Blues paying Inter a straight fee of around 115 million. Inter are expected to reject the first bid as they prefer to be paid…
The Reds continued preparations for the new season by beating the Italian side Bologna twice in back-to-back hour-long games. Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane, and Takumi Minamino scored the goals across the two fixtures, while Divock Origi missed a penalty. Jurgen Klopp named most of what is expected to be his first team this season for the first friendly. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson started as the full-backs while Virgil Van Dijk partnered with Joel Matip in central defence. The midfield trio of James Milner-Naby Keita-Harvey Elliott provided support to Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane. https://twitter.com/VirgilvDijk/status/1423328509485854722 Jota scored the opening goal with just seven minutes on the clock. The Portugal international intercepted a loose…
Lionel Messi will not continue at Barcelona, the club announced on Thursday. The Argentinian forward has since reportedly closed in on a move to Paris Saint Germain, while Major League Soccer is also an option. If the morning reports regarding Messi’s future provided a sense of relief to the Barcelona faithful, the ones which surfaced in the afternoon realized their greatest fear. Shockingly, the reports claimed, Messi won’t be continuing at Camp Nou and would leave as a free agent. Hours later, it was made official by the club, who released the following statement addressing the situation: “Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel…
Barcelona’s summer problems are about to go away for the time being, after LaLiga received a cash injection worth 2.7 billion euros, a majority of which will be distributed to the clubs. LaLiga has secured a loan worth 2.7 Billion Euros from CVC Capital Partners, of which 90 per cent will be redistributed to the clubs to help them deal with the economic difficulties brought forward by the coronavirus. As 90 per cent of the 2.7bn loan is redistributed among the clubs, Barcelona will become eligible for a 280m euros payout. 15 per cent of that amount Barcelona can then divert…
One of the summer’s biggest signings is about to go through as the Cityzens have booked Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish in for a medical. The Birmingham club have started to look for replacements. Reining Premier League champions could soon announce the British record purchase. Grealish is expected to undergo his medical ahead of a move on Thursday before being unveiled as a new player. Sky Sports reports that City triggered a release clause worth 100 million pounds in Grealish’s contract. Villa had attempted to tie their captain down by offering a new and improved contract, but the player chose to…
Chelsea’s journey in The Mind Series reached its conclusion with a draw against rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The Blues led two-nil at one point but were pegged back by their opponents. Elsewhere, Barcelona lost to Salzburg through a late goal. Hakim Ziyech gave Chelsea the lead in the 16th minute. The Moroccan collected the loose ball following N’Golo Kante’s tackle on Lucas Moura, ran the distance, and slammed a fierce shot past Pierluigi Gollini to give the home side the lead. The Moroccan threatened to double Chelsea’s lead shortly after, while Timo Werner had a goal disallowed for offside. Replays, however, showed the German to be well onside, but…