The long-awaited expansion of Anfield represents a big step in the right direction for Liverpool in terms of levelling the playing field with their Premier League rivals commercially, former chief executive officer Rick Parry believes.
Work has started to increase Anfield s capacity from just over 45,500 to 54,000 ahead of the 2016-17 season after Liverpool finally cleared the many hurdles preventing them making their famous stadium larger.
Parry knows the frustrations the club have faced in attempting to either build a new stadium or renovate Anfield better than most, having served as the club s CEO for 11 years between 1998 and 2009.
And Parry feels the club will be able to challenge the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal off the pitch once the expan…
Ivan Rakitic said Barcelona are perfect for him and he is happy at the LaLiga champions amid links to Inter.
Rakitic is contracted to Barca until 2021 but the Croatia midfielder s future is uncertain as Inter, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain reportedly circle.
Frenkie de Jong s arrival at Camp Nou in 2019-20 has raised doubts but Rakitic has no plans to leave the Spanish giants.
I like living in Spain, Rakitic said via DAZN.
Unfortunately, I can t ask for another passport because I already have two, otherwise I d also ask for a Spanish one because I m fine here and I m happy.
My family are happy here too and my daughters are doing well in Barcelona because we re close to Seville. Therefore, staying here is perfect fo…
Martin O Neill has indicated he plans to stay in football after stepping down as Republic of Ireland s manager following their Nations League relegation.
O Neill led Ireland to the last 16 at Euro 2016 but they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and dropped out of League B after a 0-0 stalemate away to Denmark on Monday.
The 66-year-old previously enjoyed successful spells with Aston Villa and Leicester City in the Premier League and took charge of Ireland in November 2013 after he was sacked by Sunderland earlier that year.
And O Neill suggested he will seek another job after ending his five years with Ireland by mutual consent on Wednesday.
I have had the great honour of managing the Republic of Ireland national football team for the past five…
Argentine winger Javier Pastore was one of the first big-name players to arrive in Paris as part of the new PSG project.
Having joined the Parc des Princes outfit in 2011 from Palermo, Pastore quickly established himself as one of the key members of the club but has seen his stock suffer a major drop recently.
The combination of injury problems with the arrival of new talents such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe has severely limited Pastore’s playing time and saw him fall down the pecking order at PSG.
El Gol Digital now reports that Paris Saint-Germain have made the Argentine international available for transfer and that a couple of clubs have already been swayed by the affordable £26 million tag slapped on his back.
Paris Saint-Germain will need to sell…
Lionel Messi says his six-year-old son has questioned why he receives so much criticism in Argentina.
While Messi has inspired Barcelona to domestic and European dominance during his glittering career, international success has continued to elude him.
Argentina have lost successive Copa America finals and were beaten by Germany in the final of the 2014 World Cup despite Messi s efforts.
After Argentina were knocked out by France in the last 16 at Russia 2018, Messi stepped away from international duty and only made his return from a nine-month absence in a loss to Venezuela last week.
Messi subsequently pulled out of the Argentina squad to face Morocco in another friendly on Tuesday, a decision that has re-opened the debate surrounding his commitment to…
Javier Mascherano will leave Barcelona after seven and a half seasons at Camp Nou, the Catalan club have confirmed.
Argentina international Mascherano is expected to continue his career with a reported €10million switch to Hebei China Fortune ahead of the 2018 Chinese Super League season.
The 33-year-old will be granted an institutional farewell by Barca on Wednesday, with president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the first-team squad to be in attendance.
Mascherano has seen his game time severely restricted since Ernesto Valverde s appointment, making just 12 appearances in all competitions as he sits behind Gerard Pique, Thomas Vermaelen and Samuel Umtiti in the pecking order at centre-back.
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Diogo Jota has become the latest Liverpool forward to sign a new long-term contract at Anfield.
The Reds headed into the close-season with their superstar front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino entering the final 12 months of their respective deals.
Salah agreed new terms, while Mane left for Bayern Munich. Firmino has made clear his desire to stay but is yet to put pen to paper.
Now, in the week before the start of the new Premier League season, Jota has ensured he will remain a key part of this Liverpool team.
The Portugal international signed from Wolves in September 2020 and quickly established himself ahead of Firmino in the pecking order, although Mane often played through the centre last season.
This term, Jota will ha…
Former Inter president Massimo Moratti compared supporting the club to loving a beautiful woman who is difficult to deal with and spoilt .
Moratti was president of Inter from 1995 until 2004 before returning to the role again in 2006 until 2013 – the Italian side winning five Serie A titles during his second spell.
Inter also won the Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia treble under Jose Mourinho in 2010, however, the Nerazzurri have not tasted silverware since Moratti relinquished control to Erick Thohir and the Suning Group.
Inter is like loving a beautiful woman who is difficult to deal with a spoilt, all things that are tough to put up with, Moratti told RMC Sport.
Being a president has always been a role of great responsibility and I felt t…
Atletico Madrid edged through to the semi-finals of the Europa League despite a 1-0 defeat away to Sporting CP.
A 2-0 lead from the first leg in the Spanish capital a week ago put Diego Simeone s men in a strong position ahead of the return match at a wet Estadio Jose Alvalade on Thursday.
But on a week that Barcelona and Real Madrid were on the end of staggering Champions League comebacks, Atletico champions in 2010 and 2012 failed to heed those twin warnings and were fortunate to progress with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Jan Oblak made a world-class save to keep out a Sebastian Coates header but a rare mistake from the Slovenia goalkeeper allowed Sporting back into the quarter-final.
The goalkeeper could only tip a Bruno Fernandes cross back into the dange…
Former Middlesbrough midfielder Gaizka Mendieta has credited manager and countryman Aitor Karanka for ending the club s seven-year exile from the Premier League.
For the first time since 2008-09, Middlesbrough are back in England s top flight after Karanka and Co. finished second in the Championship last season.
After losing a heartbreaking play-off to Norwich City in 2014-15, there were fears Middlesbrough s promotion chances might have faded but 12 months on – and with Karanka at the helm – they were not to be denied a runners-up finish behind Burnley.
A former pupil of Jose Mourinho s at Real Madrid, Karanka has played a key role at the Riverside Stadium since arriving in 2013 and Mendieta – who spent five years at Middlesbrough winning the 2004 League C…