Sports

Alvaro Morata has denied suggestions he turned down a move to Tottenham two years ago over a fear of playing back-up to Harry Kane.

Shortly after Morata joined Chelsea from Real Madrid, Spurs boss Pochettino claimed he had previously tried to sign the Spain international.

Morata talked about myself, in the media he said Mauricio called me . That was two years ago or more, Pochettino said at the time.

He said to me: Why do you want me if you have Harry Kane?’

Morata is enjoying a fine debut season at Stamford Bridge, with 10 goals from 17 league outings, although his achievements pale in comparison to those of Kane, who has 18 in 19 to take his 2017 tally to 39 a Premier League record for a calendar year.

Our final game of 2017

 Stoke …

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows Erling Haaland s rapid rise means his days as the top-scoring Norwegian in Champions League history are numbered. 

Manchester United boss Solskjaer coached Haaland when he was a teenager at Molde in their homeland. 

Since moving first to Salzburg and then Borussia Dortmund, Haaland has exploded onto European football s biggest stage. 

Dortmund entertain Lazio on Wednesday, with Haaland already on 16 Champions League goals. 

Solskjaer, who famously netted a stoppage-time winner for United in the 1999 final against Bayern Munich, will take charge of the Red Devils against Paris Saint-Germain this week and remains full of admiration for his young compatriot. 

He ll beat it and very quickly that’s for sure, he to…

French giants Paris Saint-Germain were founded less than half a century ago but in exactly 47 years of their existence, Les Parisiens’ contribution to French football has been immense.

As an extension of Stade Saint-Germain, the club formed in 1904, and its merger with Paris FC, PSG became the club that won the total of 34 trophies thus far which makes them the most successful French club in history.

A football infant compared to grandfathers of this game such as Ligue 2’s Le Havre or AS Strasbourg which date back to 1872 and 1890, respectively, PSG now carries the banner of French football history as both Ligue 1 and its most prominent side dream of European glory.

Ligue 1 Rebirth

Ligue 1 has this season become PSG’s playground with Les Parisiens sitting…

Atletico Madrid are set to sign Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Athletico Paranaense, according to .

The Rojiblancos were scouting the 22-year-old for a long time, and their idea was to continue doing so until the summer when they would make a decision, but apparently, sudden competition from the Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo made them put their plans into operation much sooner than that. The midfielder is still expected to make the move in the summer, but the agreement is already in place, both between the two clubs and between the Spanish club and the player over personal terms. Atletico will pay a fee of €30 million for his services.

Guimaraes got very emotional after his farewell match for Paranaense against Santos…

Former Tottenham and Manchester United striker Louis Saha believes Gareth Bale can match Cristiano Ronaldo.

Saha played with Ronaldo at United for four years and was Bale s team-mate at Tottenham for six months in 2012.

Having played alongside both, the Frenchman has backed Bale to reach the same level as Ronaldo, if he mimics the Portuguese forward s commitment at training.

What I saw from Bale in six months was amazing, I could tell straight away he would be one of the best. His physique alone was unbelievable it wasn t normal, Saha told the Daily Mail.

As a striker, you couldn t keep up if he went on the counter-attack. If he ran up the pitch and crossed straight away, I didn t have time to get into the box – he was too fast.

But if you asked me the be…

Adelaide United have suffered a blow with coach John Kosmina resigning from his job citing a lack of trust with certain people at the club.

The Reds are currently sitting fourth in the A-League but have spent the majority of the season in the top two.

Before last weekend we had been first or second in the league and were recognised as a good football team. However, apart from survival, I can see no clear direction. There is no vision. Decision-making at management level is reactive and impulsive at best, and there is no consistency in managerial procedure, Kosmina said.

There is far too much whispering in corridors and around corners. I feel sorry for Rob Gerrard, and I also feel for directors Richard Noble and Phil Lounder people I trust. But I simply cannot,…

Raheem Sterling was the headline absentee as Gareth Southgate handed Eberechi Eze his first England call-up and ended Lewis Dunk’s time in the international wilderness.

Having kicked off Euro 2024 qualification with wins over Italy and Ukraine, attention turns to June’s straightforward-looking doubleheader against Malta and North Macedonia.

Sterling is the most eye-catching absentee for those games as a difficult first season since swapping Manchester City for Chelsea comes to a frustrating conclusion.

The 28-year-old has not played for England since the World Cup quarter-final exit to France – when a burglary at home disrupted his preparations – as injury ruled him out of the March camp.

“I spoke with him a week or so ago – a general catch-up…

Paul Pogba s absence from the Juventus squad on Sunday came after he felt an adductor injury when taking free-kicks in training, according to Massimiliano Allegri.

Head coach Allegri explained Pogba s situation before Juventus faced Sampdoria on Serie A duty, at the end of a turbulent week for French midfielder Pogba.

The former Manchester United player has had a torrid time of things with knee and thigh injuries since embarking on a second spell at Juventus last July, appearing for just 34 minutes across two substitute appearances.

Pogba appeared to have put those issues behind him when briefly featuring in back-to-back games against Torino and Roma, but he was dropped for Thursday s match with Freiburg.

That was down to Pogba turning up late for a team …

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has warmly praised opposite number Thomas Tuchel ahead of Saturday s DFB-Pokal final against Borussia Dortmund.

Guardiola will end his decorated three-year spell at Bayern at the Olympc Stadium in Berlin ahead of his move to Manchester City.

Bayern have claimed Bundesliga glory in each of the ex-Barcelona boss seasons in charge and a win over Dortmund secured the domestic double in 2014.

A penalty shootout loss to Wolfsburg meant they fell short in the Pokal last time around and Guardiola expects a tough encounter with Dortmund, identifying Tuchel as a key factor in their progress to second place and a 78-point haul in the first campaign after Jurgen Klopp s celebrated tenure as coach.

Thomas lives football, Guardiola t…

Atletico Madrid have once again confounded expectations both at home and abroad this season.

Diego Simeone s side pushed Barcelona and Real Madrid all the way in the race for the Liga title, and face a second all-Madrid Champions League final in the space of three seasons at San Siro on Saturday.

Real came out on top after extra-time in Lisbon in 2014, as well as last year s quarter-finals, but Simeone feels this final is 50-50 .

Here we take a look at how Atletico reached Milan.

Group Stages

Atletico started their Group C campaign with a 2-0 win at Galatasaray courtesy of a first-half double from Antoine Griezmann, but Benfica sprang a surprise by beating them 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon on matchday two.

Simeone s team th…