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Tag: Players

  • Real Madrid players welcome Ancelotti return

    Real Madrid players welcome Ancelotti return

    Real Madrid players have welcomed the return of Italian tactician Carlo Ancelotti.

    Ancelotti left Everton to return to Real as coach on Tuesday, succeeding Zinedine Zidane after the Frenchman’s resignation last week.

    The Italian, with the likes of Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos involved, previously won the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2014. Indeed, 11 members of the current squad worked with Ancelotti in his previous spell.

    Okdiario says the players are delighted with the appointment believing he is an excellent replacement for the popular Zidane.

  • Serie A: Inter Milan players told to accept pay-cuts

    Serie A: Inter Milan players told to accept pay-cuts

    Former AC Milan striker Paolo di Canio has encouraged Inter Milan’s players to accept pay-cuts.

    Reports suggest Inter’s title winning squad is being urged to surrender two months’ wages to help the club save €35m.

    “I would surely take a pay cut if the club is struggling, it’s fair to help,” Di Canio told Sky Italia.

    “Footballers are privileged and earn a lot of money. It is a pity to take a pay cut when you win the title, but I would accept it.

    “Common sense is needed.”

  • Tottenham caretaker coach to players: Don’t call me boss

    Tottenham caretaker coach to players: Don’t call me boss

    Tottenham caretaker boss Ryan Mason admits he doesn’t want to be called ‘gaffer’.

    Mason, 29, stressed to the squad — with many having been former team-mates — that he wants to keep things informal.

    He said: “One of the first things I said to them was that I do not expect to be called ‘gaffer’ or ‘boss’.

    “Call me what you have been calling me for the last five or ten years — or however long I have known you.

    “The most important thing for me is respect. You can call me what you want but if you don’t respect me then it is not good. The respect is there from everyone.

    “Not just the players but the groundsman, the kitmen, everyone. I have a good relationship with everyone.”

  • Chelsea players relieved as Abramovich drove withdrawal call

    Chelsea players relieved as Abramovich drove withdrawal call

    Chelsea players are happy the club has withdrawn from the Super League project.

    Senior Chelsea players are understood to be relieved by the club’s decision to withdraw their commitment, says PA Sport.

    Top players at Chelsea are pleased with owner Roman Abramovich and the board’s quick move to cut ties with the short-lived breakaway project, the PA news agency understands.

    Chelsea’s players and coaches will now hope to focus fully on what should prove a dramatic end to their season, starting with Saturday’s pivotal Premier League trip to West Ham.

    Chelsea owner Abramovich led the Blues’ withdrawal from the Super League on Tuesday night, having listened to the depth of feeling from club supporters in opposing the radical plans.

    Abramovich has always insisted his ownership of Chelsea was never about profit or simply money, instead the Russian billionaire has been determined to strengthen the club’s long-term future in west London.

    Chelsea are understood to have been among the last clubs to get on board with the Super League plans in the first place.

    Blues bosses felt little option but to sign up, as much in order not to be left behind as to gain full understanding of the plans being progressed across the continent.

  • I know some players complain behind my back, Lampard reveals

    I know some players complain behind my back, Lampard reveals

    Chelsea manager Frank Lampard knows there’s players talking behind his back.

    And the manager has laid down the gauntlet to those complaining as he attempts to snap their form slump.

    Lampard considered, “Player power can be two things, it can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing, and a lot of times in my time here at club, when you have a strong squad of players in their prime performing at the top level there will still be dips but they have personality and they dig in and and find a way, that’s what players do at top clubs who are successful time and time again.

    “Where we are at the minute means we have been off the pace in terms of winning the Premier League for a few years so we’re not in that. When you’re in a rebuild you’re searching for anything that can help this squad grow because as it’s growing there are tough times, they have to react and get over it. Then there’s another tough time and they have to react and get over that.

    “The players have to do that, so for me I’m looking closely now at the players, as I look at myself, because the players will do it on the pitch but I’m always at the forefront of it, to find how they react and dig in as a group because a lot of them are young, some are very new, it’s a big ask to ask young players and players fresh to this club to be like the players who have been here for many years and seen it all before. Other teams around in the Premier League have that, we do not have that, so that’s the first part of player power.”

    Lampard also reasoned: “The players that are wanting to play, some of them will use that for really positivity but some not so much.

    “Maybe some will speak behind backs because that’s how life is, I can’t be concerned with that. All I can say is the players here I feel have a real desire to get out of this mini run of bad results and I can see that in them.

    “If there are players that don’t have those concerns to get out of it then they have decisions to make, and if there’s opportunities that players leave it will have to be right for them, for myself and for the club and then that can happen. But if not we keep fighting and moving on because they want to play and contribute and I want to tap into the positive side of that.”

  • COVID-19: Australian Open players to be shifted to new quarantine hotel

    COVID-19: Australian Open players to be shifted to new quarantine hotel

    Australian Open organisers have been forced to tear up a quarantine accommodation plan for international players a month before the Grand Slam.

    The development followed a threat of legal action from apartment owners at a luxury hotel in Melbourne.

    Tennis Australia and government authorities had arranged for players to serve a 14-day mandatory quarantine at the Westin Melbourne ahead of the Feb. 8 to Feb. 21 Australian Open.

    On Tuesday, the plan was scrapped after apartment owners at the Westin complained they had not been properly consulted and would seek an injunction against it.

    “Following consultation between the owners of The Westin Melbourne, the hotel’s existing residents and COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, the decision has been made to accommodate players and their support teams arriving in Melbourne for the upcoming ATP at an alternate hotel location,” the Westin said in a statement.

    Graeme Efron, a lawyer representing the owners, told Reuters the quarantine plan was “never going to get through”.

    “It was the epitome of hubris that they thought people would go along with it without being consulted,” he said.

    International players at the Australian Open are expected to arrive in Melbourne from mid-January.

    Victoria state Police Minister Lisa Neville told reporters on Tuesday an alternative quarantine hotel had been secured for the players, which would be “stood up today or tomorrow”.

    Many of the world’s top players are planning to compete at tournaments at Melbourne Park in the week before the Grand Slam.

    World number one Novak Djokovic and second-ranked Rafa Nadal are scheduled to play at the team-based ATP Cup.

    This means they will need to arrive in Melbourne at least two weeks before the Feb. 1 to Feb. 5 tournament to complete quarantine in time.

    Melbourne, capital of Victoria state, was the epicentre of Australia’s largest second wave outbreak of COVID-19, which started at two quarantine hotels for international arrivals.

    More than 18,000 infections were recorded in Victoria during the outbreak and nearly 800 deaths.

    Victoria recorded four new cases of COVID-19 in Melbourne on Tuesday, including one in hotel quarantine.

  • January: Offloading players is Arsenal priority – Arteta

    January: Offloading players is Arsenal priority – Arteta

    Arsenal will prioritise offloading players in the January transfer window, says manager Mikel Arteta.

    Midfielder Mesut Ozil, whose deal expires in summer 2021, has been left out of the Gunners’ Premier League and Europa League squads this season.

    Defenders Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac have barely featured in the league in 2020-21.

    “We cannot sustain the numbers that we have in certain positions,” said Arteta.

    “There are some players that are going to go on loan and going to leave, and that is the priority.

    “Then we will see if we have the right opportunity in the positions where we need some more help.”

  • LaLiga: Barcelona to offload six players in January

    LaLiga: Barcelona to offload six players in January

    Barcelona are planning to sell as much as six players in the January transfer window, Marca reports.

    New manager, Ronald Koeman, is still shaping his squad at the Nou Camp, having completed no less than 14 deals in the summer.

    The likes of Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic were all moved out, while Miralem Pjanic, Francisco Trincao and Sergino Dest arrived.

    However, the club is planning to sell defenders Junior Firpo and Samuel Umtiti, who have been deemed surplus to requirements.

    Matheus Fernandes only arrived in the summer after agreeing a deal in January, but he is also on the list to be axed, as well as Danish striker Martin Braithwaite, who has been used regularly off the bench this season.

    Barca will also loan out youngsters Riqui Puig and Carles Alena, who are on the fringes of Koeman’s squad.

  • Koeman puts 12 Barca players up for sale

    Koeman puts 12 Barca players up for sale

    Barcelona are set for a huge fire sale under new manager, Ronald Koeman – with 12 players reportedly up for grabs.

    Big names like Luis Suarez and Samuel Umtiti are facing the chop as the Spanish club looks to rebuild following their 8-2 Champions League humiliation and the prolonged Lionel Messi transfer saga.

    The Catalan giants are also believed to be on the hunt for new names in their dramatic squad overhaul.

    But with Lionel Messi set to stay, the inflated wage bill must first come down to accommodate expensive signings.

    Along with Suarez and French international Umtiti, the likes of ex-Middlesbrough flop Martin Braithwaite and Arturo Vidal could also be shown the door.

    Liverpool fan favourite Suarez, 33, is tipped with a move to Juventus costing around £2.8million plus £12 million in variables, which would link him up with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo after he spent the last few years alongside Messi.

    The deal appeared close before Atletico Madrid become involved and now the Uruguayan is considering staying in Spain, reports say.

    If he were to leave, that would leave Braithwaite as the only recognised out-and-out striker at the club.

    But Koeman is reportedly not keen on him either and is open to offers, despite the 29-year-old’s professionalism.

    Vidal’s move to Inter Milan has stalled, with reports suggesting this is due to the financial repercussions of the coronavirus lockdown.

    And Umtiti also looks set for a move away from the Nou Camp after Koeman told him he can go.

    Along with the big names, the clear out could also see centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo on his way – with Leicester and Everton linked to him – and Nelson Semedo’s position is far from secure.

    Rafinha’s future appears to lie in the Premier League with Arsenal and Leeds battling it out for his signature.

    Left backs Junior Firpo and Miranda, along with youngsters Moussa Wague, Barcelona B central midfielder Monchu and defensive midfielder Oriol Busquets, may also be axed from the club.

    Former Everton boss Koeman is believed to be taking no prisoners to fix the crisis-hit club.

    Along with their dismantling by Bayern Munich, the club also finished five points off La Liga champions Real Madrid in a disappointing domestic season, with Quique Setiens sacked after only eight months in charge.

    On the bright side for Barcelona fans, rumours persist that Lyon hotshot Memphis Depay is on his way to join his former international manager.

  • Players allowed to play for 3 clubs in a season — FIFA

    Players allowed to play for 3 clubs in a season — FIFA

    Players will be allowed to play for up to three clubs, instead of two, during the course of a season, FIFA said.

    The global football body said this was a temporary rule change to alleviate the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic on the sport.

    It added that the move was “to avoid any concerns regarding unemployed players.”

    FIFA also said it would allow national associations to open their transfer window for the 2020/2021 season before the current campaign has finished.

    It said the change was intended to allow clubs to complete the 2019/2020 season with their original squad.

    This is view of the fact that the current campaign had been extended from May into June and July as is the case in a number of European countries.