Will Messi win his 5th Ballon d Or? / Image via dailyrecord.co.uk
The 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or approaches and the voters are faced with another tough decision as they prepare to determine the world’s best for the previous twelve months.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been joined in the race by Neymar who broke into contention thanks to his scintillating displays for Barcelona. However, he is unlikely to break the order, at least this year as he faces stiff competition from the two players who have dominated the award for the past seven years.
National team coaches and captains will be joined by journalists from around the world in a tough challenge and a usual dilemma.
Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo carried Real Madrid on his back against Real…
Defender Jan Kirchhoff is on the verge of securing a move away from Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions have confirmed.
Kirchhoff has not travelled to Doha for a mid-season training camp, with the club revealing the 25-year-old is away with his agent concluding negotiations for a possible transfer .
First-team opportunities have been limited for Kirchhoff since arriving from Mainz in 2013, making just seven league outings for the Bavarian giants.
Kirchhoff spent much of that time on loan at Schalke, but only made 20 appearances in all competitions during an injury-marred 18 months in Gelsenkirchen.
Kirchhoff s permanent departure from the Allianz Arena now appears imminent and reports in Germany suggest he is heading to Sunderland to finalise a …
Pep Guardiola has a plan to make sure his Manchester City players cope with playing twice in less than 48 hours in December: Go home, open the fridge and get inside.
The reigning champions have been dealt a tricky hand over the festive period following fixture changes for live television coverage, with their trip to Wolves now starting at 19:45 local time on December 27.
They then welcome Sheffield United to the Etihad Stadium on December 29, that game kicking off at 18:00, before a home match against Everton on January 1, 2020.
Asked what he can do to combat such a quick turnaround between travelling to Molineux and hosting the Blades before the turn of the year, Guardiola replied: Players to the fridge. I m not joking.
Go home, open the f…
He went to Premier League but it has not worked out for him and now he could be going back to his native country. According to Turkish media outlet Sabah, Besiktas are planning on opening talks with Everton to take striker Cenk Tosun on a six-month loan.
The forward has not enjoyed his time in England at all and now he has not be playing almost at all for Marco Silva s side in recent months. He is widely reported to be close to leaving Goodison Park in January transfer window, as no one at Everton sees him as a realistic option to start regularly up front. His 20-odd months in England since joining the Toffees in January 2018 have not been good and now a return to Turkey could be on the cards.
Tosun scored 16 goals for Turkey in 40 appearances and he has a great reputat…
Swede Lars Lagerback has turned down an offer to continue as Nigeria coach, the national football federation (NFF) confirmed on Friday.
NFF president Aminu Maigari said that Lagerback told him he did not wish to continue in his post despite being offered a four-year deal, with Samson Siasia being lined up as a replacement.
Lagerback told me he could not continue as the coach of the Super Eagles because he feared that he might not be able to pen a four-year deal that would keep him in Nigeria for that long, Maigari told sports daily Soccer Star.
He thanked the NFF for the opportunity given him to take the eagles to the World Cup. He said the experience was worth it and that he would always remember Nigeria and her good people.
Maigari added that Lagerb…
What the papers say
Leicester’s James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, who have both been valued at around £40million, could stay in the Premier League while Leicester move down to the Championship.
Tottenham and Newcastle are both reportedly interested in the pair with a bidding battle to ensue over their signatures, The Sun says.
Tottenham’s have another competitor in the fight to sign former Barcelona and Spain manager Luis Enrique as Serie A Champions Napoli are interested in the 53-year-old, according to the Guardian.
The Daily Mail said Juventus were looking the most likely to sign Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic for a reported estimated transfer fee of around £20m.
Social media round-up
Arsenal are facing stiff competition
— talkSPORT (@…
Brazilian midfielder Diego has finally completed his on-off transfer from Juventus to Wolfsburg, the buying club announced on Friday.
The 25-year-old back has signed a four year contract estimated by Juventus to be worth around 15 million euros bringing to an end a move that has been on the cards for several weeks.
The Brazilian, who passed a medical on Wednesday, joined Juventus a year ago from Werder Bremen for 25 million euros, but struggled to score goals.
From 2006 to 2009, he scored 38 goals in 84 league games for Werder, yet at Juventus he scored just five goals in 33 games.
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Nantes hotshot Issa Cissokho has moved to confirm reports linking him with a summer switch to Marseille.
The 28-year-old footballer has seen his stock rise a great deal since joining the Canaries and has lately been the subject of interest from OM.
The French giants are searching for a new right-back as Rod Fanni looks set to quit Stade Velodrome at the end of the current campaign and they seem to have made the Nantes star their primary target.
Cissokho has admitted he is flattered by the reported interest from OM, while suggesting he is likely to leave the Canaries next summer.
“It s flattering that a club like OM is interested in me,” the Senegalese confessed to Radio Monte Carlo.
“I hope to finish the season with Nantes, but it is true t…
Quique Sanchez Flores is desperate for three points against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday to boost Watford s unlikely push for Europe.
Watford have lost five of their last nine Premier League matches but remain just five points behind fifth-placed Manchester United with 12 games to play.
The reverse fixture in October at the Vitality Stadium finished 1-1, meaning the teams head into their 100th meeting in league competition tied on 35 victories apiece.
With Bournemouth having lost just one of their last seven away games in the top flight, Flores expects a difficult battle with Eddie Howe s side as he looks to guide Watford further up the table.
We try to carry on with the same dynamic we have had since the beginning of the season, the Watford coach sa…
Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who really needs to play insisted Portugal head coach Fernando Santos, who appeared to criticise Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ronaldo scored for the ninth time in seven Portugal appearances as the Selecao eased past Qatar 3-0 in Saturday s international friendly.
The all-time leading men s international scorer with 112, Ronaldo started and played 45 minutes after he was benched by United boss Solskjaer in the Premier League last week.
Ronaldo – who has scored against a record 46 nations for Portugal – was rested as Solskjaer opted to start Edinson Cavani before introducing the Portuguese superstar for the final 33 minutes in a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Everton.
After Portugal s routine win, Sant…