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Just a day before making his debut for Spain at the World Cup in Qatar, Marco Asensio gave an interview to 'Radioestadio Noche' on 'Onda Cero' and he talked about the current situation of 'La Roja' and spoke again about his future with Real Madrid.

"Will I close the door on Barca? I'm closing the door on everyone because I'm at Real Madrid. The future will decide. I'm focused on the present, on this World Cup. From January to June I will have to make a decision, although it doesn't depend only on me."

He went on to talk about Gaya's farewell: "The whole team was annoyed. It's a complicated situation but injuries sometimes come like that. I felt sad for him but he'll learn from this experience for sure.

"I'm happy and eager to get started. I've been here for many years and I'm still young. I haven't been able to have that playing time and now I want to contribute. I've always had that uncertainty but also the faith to do things well to be here," he said.

He also explained his situation: "There was an atypical situation. It was a busy summer with a lot of rumours. I started the season and I focused on the only thing I could control. I didn't leave because I wanted to stay at Real Madrid. Ancelotti gave me his faith and that influenced me a lot."

At 35 years of age, the diminutive magician is close to winding down his remarkable trophy-laden career. And after playing already in four World Cup tournaments, including suffering the heartache of losing the 2014 final in Brazil to Germany, Messi is adamant that he wants to make the most of what could be his last hurrah on the global stage in Qatar.

"It is probably my last World Cup, my last chance to land this great dream that we all have," Messi told reporters in Doha. "I don't know if this is my happiest moment, but I feel great. I'm older, more mature, I want to make the most of everything, to live it with the maximum intensity and to enjoy every moment that I have. Today I'm enjoying everything much more. Before I didn't think about that. Age makes you see things differently and makes the little details more important: those that before you didn't give much importance to."

The seven-time winner of the Ballon d'Or is widely regarded as one of the two greatest players of his generation - if not of all time - alongside Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. But after winning almost everything else in football, Messi is desperate to emulate fellow Argentina icon Diego Maradona, who inspired the South American giants to glory in Mexico 1986.

In recent days, Messi has twice trained apart from the rest of the squad but he moved to dispell any concerns amongst Argentines that he might not be fit for Tuesday's Group C opener against Saudi Arabia.

"I trained apart because I had a knock, it was precautionary, but nothing unusual," he said.

'Favourites don't usually win'
Argentina head into the tournament as Copa America holders and unbeaten in 36 matches dating back to 2019. But coach Lionel Scaloni is wary about too much expectation and being lauded as one of the title favourites.

"The big favourites usually don't win the World Cup. There are great teams, no less than eight or 10 that can win the World Cup, mostly Europeans. It's true that the South Americans haven't been able to reach the final recently, apart from Argentina in 2014. It is details that will decide the world champions and they don't have to be favourites."

Argentina's Copa America success last year - defeating Brazil 1-0 at the Selecao's Maracana fortress - lifted the weight of a painful 28-year barren spell without a major title for the Albiceleste. Both Scaloni and Messi acknowledged that the victory had freed the team of intense pressure.

"Having won decompresses you a lot, it gives you peace of mind," said captain Messi. "This allows the people to be less anxious and fretting over results."

Scaloni added: "Now the team goes out to play with much more tranquility, the external pressure isn't there."

Last week superstar Ronaldo lashed out at Premier League club United and the team's coach Erik ten Hag in a TV interview after being relegated to a peripheral role this season. "I have no doubt that this recent episode, that interview, and other episodes with other players that happen sometimes, can sometimes shake the player but won't shake the team," Ronaldo said at a press conference at the Portugal camp.

Ronaldo, who is set to start his fifth and likely final World Cup, was suspended for the Premier League club's 1-1 draw at Chelsea after refusing to come on as a substitute against Tottenham last month. The 37-year-old claimed during the interview that he felt "provoked" into that reaction by Ten Hag and on Monday was unrepentant about giving the interview.

"I don't have to worry about what others think, I talk when I want to," he said. "Everybody in the team knows who I am, what I believe in." Ronaldo said frosty interaction with his team-mate for club and country Bruno Fernandes, along with images of him grabbing Manchester City's Joao Cancelo by the head, had been being overblown by the media.

"In these final stages of competitions there's always those type of moments," said Ronaldo. "We were just playing around, I have a great relationship with him. I was asking him, because his plane was late, I asked him if he came by boat. The same thing happened with Cancelo, he was a bit sad during training and I grabbed him by the neck and told him 'Come on, you've got this', that's what I said. And then it became another controversy at your end.

"The whole atmosphere is excellent, it's bulletproof and iron clad. The next player who comes here, you don't have to ask about that, don't talk about me, you don't have to talk about Cristiano Ronaldo... help them out, ask them about the World Cup." Portugal open their Group H campaign against Ghana on Thursday before facing Uruguay and South Korea.

After missing a friendly with a stomach bug last week, Ronaldo says he is in perfect shape to play. "I feel great, I have recovered my best shape, we've had good training sessions, the team and myself, I'm ready to start the World Cup in the best possible way," Ronaldo added.

Neymar is back to the player everyone knew. The Brazilian player is matching the level he showed in the last two seasons with Barcelona after his injury history. Moreover, Christophe Galtier's arrival on the bench has also had an influence on his potential.

The 2022-23 season is a true reflection of what PSG expected from him. He has scored 15 goals and provided eleven assists in 20 competitive matches this season. Neymar's stats are on the way to the Ballon d'Or podium.

According to 'L'Equipe', the French side consider that the team are now better with Neymar than without him. The PSG striker missed the last match against Juventus, which confirmed that the French team will finish the Champions League group stage in second place.

His future seems quiet at PSG unless Kylian Mbappe, the new leader of the PSG project, considers Neymar's departure again or if Leo Messi wants to return to Barcelona. These events could change the direction of Neymar's professional career.

Man Utd said they would take action after listening to the entire interview and they have stuck to their word. The club have issued a brief statement saying that they have "initiated appropiate steps" after the interview which saw the Portuguese criticise the club, the owners and current manager Erik Ten Hag.

"Manchester United has this morning initiated appropiate steps in response to Cristiano Ronaldo's recent media interview. We will not be making further comment until this process reaches its conclusion," they said in a brief statement.

It is not clear what the appropiate steps are, but it is clear that the club are going to punish the Portuguese forward. Whether that is by suspending him, terminating his contract or selling him remains to be seen.

Former United captain Gary Neville said on Thursday that the Red Devils have no option but to rescind Ronaldo's contract, which runs until the end of the season. Ronaldo is not due back in Manchester until after his fifth World Cup in Qatar with Portugal.

Man Utd's next game is against Burnley in the Carabao Cup last 16 on 21st December while their next Premier League fixture is at home to Nottingham Forest on 27th December.

Ousmane Dembele is still generating a lot of excitement in the transfer window. The Frenchman, who has a contract at Barcelona until 2024 and a clause in his contract of 100 million euros, will just cost 50 million euros between June and July 2023.

The amount will reduced by half and therefore some teams have been trying to lay the foundations to try and persuade him since the turn of the year. One of those is Chelsea, as 'The Sun' points out.

The Frenchman is once again attractive for the West London outfit, who are preparing an attractive offer for Barcelona. That said, the Premier League side are hoping the striker does not negotiate a new deal with Barcelona.

In the meantime, Barca president Joan Laporta said on Tuesday that there is no intention of extending the Frenchman's contract at the moment: "There'll be time to speak about this."

As for Dembele, he is now in the France camp with the national team in Fontainebleu before heading to Qatar for the World Cup. That is a perfect opportunity to shine and either pen a new contract at Barca or move to another club.

The drummers and Indian beat dancers again showed how Qatar 2022 is going to be a different experience for players and visiting fans. Supporters from the subcontinent had outnumbered England fans when they greeted Harry Kane's side on Tuesday.

A crowd of more than 500 that had waited until nearly 4:00 am (0100GMT) to see the arrival of their heroes was split evenly between Argentina's Indian fans and those from the South American country, many of whom have spent thousands of dollars to get to the World Cup.

The team flew in early Thursday from Abu Dhabi, where they beat United Arab Emirates 5-0 in their final World Cup warm-up on Wednesday night with Messi, 35, scoring his 91st international goal.

One of the favourites going into this year's World Cup, the South Americans will begin their campaign on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia in Group C, which also includes Mexico and Poland.

Members of the Argentina Fans In Qatar club, who claim more than 5,000 members, brought drums decorated with "Leo" Messi's portrait to the team base at Qatar University.

"If this is going to be Leo's last World Cup there can be no better place for it," said Munish Sharma who recalled seeing Messi score the winning goal when Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in a friendly match in Doha in 2010.

Indian fans have already made their mark with thousands taking part in a march and wearing the jerseys from top football nations, including Argentina, Brazil and England.

After the famous interview with 'Talk TV', Cristiano Ronaldo has been in the headlines recently. The Portugues man said he felt betrayed by Manchester United and emphasised that he does not respect Erik ten Hag.

After his controversial words, there was a lot of news which came out about possible offers for the forward for the January transfer window. Now, the five times Balon d'Or winner is with Portugal, preparing for the World Cup.

What is certain is that his situation at Old Trafford is unsustainable, and he is already basically out of the club. Even if it was a small gest, the Manchester side have already got to work on getting rid of everything to do with Cristiano and the team.

This was obvious when several workers from the Manchester club started to take down a huge mural from the stadium's facade which had a photo of the ex-Juventus player. It is a clear gest for his more-than-likely goodbye to the club.

Eden Hazard wants to salvage his Real Madrid career but would have no complaints if the club asked him to leave at the end of the season.

The former Chelsea winger has endured a dismal time in Spain, with a string of injuries ruining his hopes of transferring his Premier League form to LaLiga.

Now Hazard has a big chance to show what he can do on a different stage, as he prepares to play a part for Belgium at the World Cup in Qatar.

Set to turn 32 in January, Hazard has managed only two goals and one assist in 15 games for Madrid in 2022, starting a mere four times and playing just 532 minutes in the first team. He has a little over 18 months left on his contract.

Considering Hazard won the Silver Ball at the 2018 World Cup, as the second-best player in the tournament, it has been a staggering descent from main man to bit-part player.

Hazard was Chelsea's player of the year in his final campaign at Stamford Bridge, the 2018-19 season, and he has backed himself to hit similar heights again, given an injury-free run.

Speaking to Marca, Hazard said: "I have to prove to everyone that I can play football. People have doubts about what I can do, but I don't."

He described himself as "a good player who just has to play more football", and can see why there are those who doubt him.

"It is normal. I am a player who has not played many games in three years. I can understand it," he said.

"I don't play, but being a Real Madrid player was my dream as a child and after this year I have another season on my contract. I want to play for this club, with this shirt."

All the same, Hazard is a realist and would not want to overstay his welcome.

He says a January move away from Madrid would be "impossible, because I have family and I like the city".

"But in the summer it is possible that I go," he said.

"If the club tells me: 'Eden, thanks for four years, but you have to go', I have to accept it because it's normal. But I would like to play more, show more that I can play, that I am a good player."

Erling Haaland wishes he was able to play in the World Cup in Qatar, and has named Brazil and England among the teams he thinks could win it. Haaland will not be present as Norway failed to qualify, finishing third in their group behind the Netherlands and Turkey, so the Manchester City striker will have some time off before domestic football in England resumes in late December.

The 22-year-old has scored 23 goals in 18 games in all competitions for City since joining from Borussia Dortmund earlier in the year, and says he will not overdo his training during the enforced break. "I wished I played in the World Cup of course, but that's the reality now [that] I don't do [that], but I will relax my body and my mind a lot and then I will train," Haaland told Sky Sports.

"What I will train on? Nothing special I think, it's been going quite well my first months at City, so I don't need to do so many changes to be honest. It's about preparing myself for the next half of the season and be ready when the next game kicks in after the break."

When asked who he believes will win the World Cup, Haaland said: "I think the favourites should be Brazil, Argentina, France, and maybe England. I cannot only say one because there are so many good teams." Haaland was only able to play in six of Norway's World Cup qualifiers, but he scored five goals before adding another six in six games in the Nations League, and the striker wants his country to qualify for future major tournaments.

"The biggest thing we can do is to get to either a World Cup or a Euros," he said. "That of course is my goal with the national team to do. We know it's difficult, but hopefully in the future one day I'll be able to play there."

Cristiano Ronaldo's problems continue. According to 'Indykalia News', the Portuguese striker has been chucked out of the Manchester United players' WhatsApp group.

It is still not known, according to the source, who was responsable for this decision, but those who did it might be known. The group administrators are captain Harry Maguire and McTominay, and are therefore the only ones who would be able to add or remove members.

This has supposedly happened after Ronaldo's explosive comments. The Portuguese, in a preview of an interview with 'The Sun' which will be released in its entirety either Wednesday or Thursday, claimed he felt betrayed by United and that he did not respect coach Erik ten Hag.

In England, they have already said what the possible sanctions would be (£‎1 million and the termination of his contract), which has provoked some responses. According to 'The Daily Mail', the Red Devil's dressing room are very disappointed with Ronaldo, which was clear from Fernandes' cold and delayed handshake to him with the Portugal side.

Barcelona, with 26 wins out of 34 league matches played in 2022, are the team with the highest winning percentage (76.47%) in the top European leagues.

This year, Xavi Hernandez's side have drawn on four occasions and they have accumulated another four defeats. Last season, between January and June, they lost against Cadiz, Rayo Vallecano and Villarreal and drew against Granada, Espanyol and Getafe. This season they have suffered just one defeat against Real Madrid and a draw against Rayo.

Comparing the main European leagues, Barcelona lead this statistic ahead of PSG and Napoli, both with a 73.53% win rate (25 meetings won out of 34 played).

In fourth position we find Manchester City, with 71.88% of wins (23 victories in 33 matches), followed by Real Madrid and Arsenal, with 69.7% (23 wins out of 33 games). The top 10 is completed by Milan (67.62%), Liverpool (66.67%), Bayern Munich (62.5%) and Lens and Inter (61.76%).

This figure confirms the good form of the team in La Liga, a competition which they currently lead with 37 points.

Barcelona have not had similar figures since 2017. Last season, Barca played 41 matches, winning 24 of them and accumulating a winning percentage of 58.54%. In 2020 the figure was even lower at 57.14% with 20 wins in 35 matches.

In 2019 and 2018 the year ended with 69.23% and 65.79% of matches won respectively. And finally, the highest figure was recorded in 2017, with 32 wins in 39 matches (82.05%).

Belgium captain Eden Hazard said on Monday that he has no doubts about his quality but he understands that there is uncertainty about his lack of playing time at Real Madrid.

"It's up to me to adapt because I had difficult months where I was not able to keep a rhythm. I have to show that I can still do it. I don't doubt myself, but I understand the people who doubts me," he said in a press conference.

"I don't want to leave Madrid but maybe it's not just my decision either. I want to play but it's the manager who makes his choices. I accept, but I want to try to show him that I deserve to play more. When you don't play it's complicated," he confessed.

The Belgian striker, who will be playing his third World Cup, said he wants to "show the Belgian people that he is still in form" in the World Cup.

He also poke about Leandro Tossard: "He has had a superb year. He deserves to play even more than me. So, I'd be the first to congratulate him, but I'll do everything I can to get the coach to put me on the pitch. We know it's going to be difficult, but we're going to give everything we've got on the pitch."

After training on Monday in Tubize, Belgium will travel to Kuwait on Tuesday, where they will play a match against Egypt on Friday before facing Canada, Morocco and Croatia.

Cristiano Ronaldo's situation at Manchester United has been deteriorating since this summer. After the Portuguese wanted to leave the club after failing to qualify for the Champions League this season, Ten Hag's arrival on the United bench saw Ronaldo relegated to the bench.

Moreover, after Cristiano left the pitch and went to the dressing room before the final whistle in a pre-season match against Rayo Vallecano and in the Premier League against Tottenham, the atmosphere became even more tense.

After weeks of rumours about the Portuguese's possible departure from the Red Devils after the World Cup, the '7' bombshell came in an interview with Piers Morgan. "I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me," Ronaldo said. "Not only the coach, but another two or three guys around the club. I felt betrayed."

After these words came to light, although the full interview has not yet been published, Manchester United have decided to take matters into their own hands. The Red Devils' board is prepared to fine the former Real Madrid player at least a million pounds, which corresponds to what he earns in two weeks.

South Korea's captain and talisman suffered a fracture around his left eye during a Champions League match for Tottenham and then had surgery last week.

"We are in contact with him and Tottenham's medical department," said South Korea's Portuguese coach Paulo Bento as he named his squad.

"About the exact day he can train with the team, we don't have that information," he said.

"We need to wait, we need to analyse day by day his situation.

"We have time to decide. The most important (thing is that), he recovers as well as possible, he feels comfortable and then we will take the final decision."

Bento named a 27th player, forward Oh Hyeon-gyu, who will train with the team in Qatar and could replace Son if he does not make it.

South Korea's opening match is against Uruguay on November 24.

Son, who has scored 35 goals in 106 international appearances, wrote on social media this week that "I can't wait to represent our beautiful country, see you soon".

South Korea also play Ghana and Portugal in Group H.

A South Korean team missing Son and other Europe-based players beat Iceland 1-0 in a home friendly on Friday.

Ibai Llanos, a well known and prestigious Spanish streamer, has interviewed Gerard Pique of Barcelona. The Catalan central defender retired as a Barcelona player this Tuesday in Pamplona and he ended up being sent off. "I haven't spoken to the press for months," Pique began.

When asked about his future projects, Pique revealed something very exciting was coming, but refused to go into detail: "Something very big is coming and in a sport we all know. It will be an event which will last months. I will be like Javier Tebas (La Liga president), but I won't vote for VOX" (a far right Spanish political party which Tebas supports).

The tournament will be announced on Thursday and "people can participate in it." "We won't say where it will be until the last minute. Although it will be in Barcelona," he added.

Pique was also asked abut being the Barca president: "Right now I don't have that in my mind. In the future, I'd like to make that move," Pique admitted.

The former Barca defender also described his decision to retire. "I saw that the World Cup break was key for me to retire. If there hadn't been injuries to my teammates, I would have retired earlier."

"I feel free to respond to what I want to," he said. In addition, he categorically denied that he insulted referee Gil Manzano in Pamplona: "I didn't say anything and Gil Manzano sent me off without me insulting him," he commented. "You can't say anything." Once I was sent off, I go into the dressing room, which was right next to that of the officials and a teammate of mine says 'f**k your mother," he commented.

Gerard Pique also commented on reports of him leaving Barca last summer: "It was inviable to sign for Atletico Madrid."

Pique then went back to talk about referees: "It's impossible to talk to the referees. It's a lack of respect that they don't want to speak," he added.

On his goodbye he revealed that he "hates goodbyes. I wasn't expecting so much affection. This year, Barca will fight to win La Liga," Pique said.

Finally, The Barca man then revealed he liked Sergio Ramos' goodbye and the possibility of playing for Spain again. "If Luis Enrique calls me, I'll think about it. I still haven't thought it," he concluded.

16 after a deserved victory over Chelsea. After a goalless first half which saw City dominate possession but Chelsea have the clearest chances, Riyad Mahrez's 53rd minute free-kick put the hosts ahead. Then, Julian Alvarez sealed the win five minutes later. Guardiola's side also had goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to thank as he pulled off numerous terrific saves to prevent Chelsea from getting on the scoresheet and the one time they did, it was offside.

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Both teams made seven changes for the contest while Erling Haaland once again started on the bench for the hosts. Man City had the better of the opening exchanges and Jack Grealish hit an effort narrowly wide of the post. However, Chelsea actually looked the more dangerous and Pulisic would have put Chelsea ahead in the 13th minute had it not been for a superb save from Ortega from close range after a Ziyech cross.

City continued to enjoy long spells of possession, but Mendy in the Chelsea goal did not have to make a save until the 41st minute when Grealish tried to curl one into the corner. At the other end though, Ortega was a busy man. Pulisic once again had an opportunity midway through the first period which Ortega had to tip wide and then, right before half-time, Lewis Hall was denied by the stand in goalie after lovely link up play between Pulisic and Ziyech. It was goaless at the interval, but Chelsea had actually come the closest to scoring.

The second period saw the home side up their game and introduce Phillips and Bernardo Silva. Edouard Mendy was forced into saves in quick succession from Grealish and Mahrez, but Chelsea's resistance was broken in the 53rd minute in very avoidable fashion. Mahrez struck a free-kick from inside the D and the ball passed between Broja and Koulibaly in the wall as the Senegalese international inexplicably did not jump. That left Mendy for dead and rightly furious with Koulibaly.
With Chelsea 1-0 down, Potter's side had to take more risks and City made it two just before the hour mark on the counter. A long ball was played to Mahrez and even though Mendy was able to prevent the Algerian from scoring, he could do nothing about Julian Alvarez netting the rebound. It could have even been three had Mendy not denied Palmer from close range.

Chelsea had opportunities to pull one back and even made a quadruple substitution, but the few times they did attack, Ortega was at his very best. The German made a brilliant stop to deny 18 year-old Lewis Hall while Mason Mount scuffed his effort wide in the closing stages. Chelsea thought they had pulled one back in the 90th minute after a comical sequence of events which saw Sergio Gomez head onto his own post, but the offside flag was up and any hope of a Chelsea fightback was extinguished.

Man City are through to the last 16 after the World Cup and face Brentford in the league on Saturday while Chelsea travel to Newcastle on the same day in their final fixture before the mid-season stoppage.

Cristiano Ronaldo is not living his best moment at Manchester United. The Portuguese striker has been dropped to the bench under Ten Hag and is hoping for a move away from Old Trafford in the upcoming winter transfer window.

The Portuguese left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 for Juventus. A year later, he gave an interview to Thierry Marchand, a journalist from 'L'Equipe', and the latter has used it as a biography. In it, we could read a curious sentence addressed to Leo Messi.

"It's easy to stay in your comfort zone when you are successful. I took a risk coming to Turin. I changed club, championship, football culture, I took a risk and it was that risk that, I'm sure, made me not win the Ballon d'Or in 2018. If Messi wins the Ballon d'Or this year, I will retire from football," he said.

The previous year, the award went to Modric and in 2019, it went to the Argentinian and the former juventus player did not retire from football. He also referred to the interest Paris Saint-Germain had in signing him when he decided to leave the Bernabeu after being crowned five-time Champions League winners.

"I know the door is open. I can see myself playing at the Parc des Princes in front of 50,000 Portuguese emigrants. It would be fantastic," said the five-time Ballon d'Or winner after his farewell words on the pitch in Kiev after beating Liverpool 3-1.

Barça beat Osasuna at El Sadar by 1-2. The victory was hard fought and the match was not without controversy. Lewandowski was sent off after half an hour and left with a controversial gesture to the referee.

Ramón Fuentes explains in 'Mundo Deportivo' what sanction Lewandowski could face. Barça could have to survive three games without the Pole, as that is the sanction that could be imposed on him.

Of those three possible sanctions, one would be for the red card. The other two would be extra if the Competitions Committee considers that he disrespected Gil Manzano.

The referee recorded the following in the match report: "After being sent off and on his way to leave the field, the player twice made a gesture of disapproval of the referee's decision, consisting of holding his finger to his nose and then pointing his thumb towards the referee. When he was about to leave the field of play, he repeated the gesture again, looking towards the assistant referee and in front of the fourth official.

Lewandowski is aware that he will miss the derby against Espanyol. In addition, if the Committee deems it appropriate, he could miss Atletico-Barcelona, which will take place on 8th January, and Betis-Barcelona, which will be played a week later.

What was intended to be Pique's last dance at Barcelona and in the world of football, turned into a somewhat peculiar last 'show'. The centre-back did not start against Osasuna, although everything pointed to the fact that he could say goodbye on the pitch (his coach later confirmed this in the mixed zone).

After the difficult start to the game, where the 'Cules' conceded an early controversial goal by David Garcia, and the later dismissal of Lewandowski, the Barcelona captain could not hold back and went straight to Gil Manzano.

The outcome was as follows: Pique was sent off in his last match as a professional footballer. At the end of the 90 minutes, the referee from Extremadura published the report, where the defender's words were recorded.

"In the 45th minute, Gerard Pique was sent off for the following reason: "At the end of the first half, when he was already inside the tunnel, for addressing me in the following terms: 'Have you seen the corner you gave us? You are the referee who has screwed us the most by far," he wrote in the report, published on the official website of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.

"Once the club delegate was informed of this player's dismissal, he continued to repeat the same expressions described in the section on dismissals, having to be taken into his dressing room by club staff, while addressing me in the following terms: "It's a f***ing disgrace, I s**t on your f***ing mother!"," added the referee.

Undoubtedly one of the biggest names in Europe right now is Jude Bellingham. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is the surprise package of the season and already excelled last year in the Bundesliga alongside Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.

The 19-year-old England international has scored nine goals and provided two assists in 20 games so far. One of the clubs that have their sights set on signing him next summer is Real Madrid.

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The 'Merengues' board consider that Modric and Kroos do not have much more time left in the top flight and the Briton is the perfect player to take the Croatian or the German's place. His arrival, added to that of Camavinga last year, the recent arrival of Tchouameni and Valverde's current form, would significantly improve the midfield.

However, the Madrid side are facing tough competition. Manchester United have joined the race for the Dortmund player. Other powers such as PSG and Bayern Munich lost interest in the operation, but the Red Devils are already planning an all-out offensive.

According to Florian Plettenberg, a journalist for Sky Sport, the Old Trafford outfit are already preparing an offer of around 150 million euros to strengthen Erik ten Hag's project in 2023. However, the operation is complicated by the huge competition and the issue of financial fair play.

Another club closely following the English player's footsteps is Liverpool, who are also willing to pay this figure. It is an express request from Jurgen Klopp, who wants to improve the midfield given the drop in the level it has experienced in the last year.

The first half was very hard fought. Both teams created chances and Rayo made it difficult for Real Madrid to play the ball out from the back thanks to their high pressing. Comesana gave the home side the lead but Madrid came back with a goal from Modric from a penalty and another from Militao. However, minutes before half-time Alvaro Garcia equalised.

The match did not start in the best way for the 'Merengues'. The home side took the lead in the 5th minute with a goal from Comesana. Alvaro Garcia found Fran Garcia on the left flank with space. The Spaniard drove the ball and crossed to the penalty spot where Comesana was. The midfielder beat Courtois with an effort to the far post.

However, Fran Garcia fouled Asensio inside the box and although the referee did not see it, the VAR corrected his decision and awarded a penalty for Ancelotti's men. Modric scored the equaliser from the penalty spot.

As we all know, Real Madrid is synonymous with comebacks and just three minutes later Militao turned the game around by heading past Dimitrievski at the far post from Asensio's cross from the corner.

Rayo Vallecano were quick to respond with a heavy blow for the 14-time European champions. A minute before half-time Alvaro Garcia received the ball inside the box after a rebound and volleyed past Courtois at the near post to restore parity.

The VAR was once again in the spotlight after deciding to retake Trejo's penalty as Courtois stepped out of position before the player shot. This time the Spaniard did score from the spot to give the home side the lead again.

The Spanish side will try to sign him in order to replace Robert Lewandowski and Youssoufa Moukoko is one of the main targets for next season.

The German striker could sign with Barcelona on a free next summer. However, it is not ruled out that Barca could try to sign him at an unbelievable price in January.

However, Moukoko explained that he has not considered changing teams: "I've been here for seven years, I feel at home.... I know this club very well and the manager Terzic trusts me."

Given that his contract with Borussia Dortmund is about to expire, Moukoko has sent a direct message to the club. He is happy and he will receive a renewal offer if the club want to.

[These companies have established a contract whereby the matches will be televised according to subscription plans, as well as packs where you can watch certain specials related to the World Cup. These networks are the main references in the world of cable television and have left no room for people who do not subscribe to them to watch a single World Cup match without paying.

The rest of the tunings have also been distributed by Spanish-speaking channels such as Telemundo, Universo or Peacock, but in the same way there is still no free plan to watch our favourite players. In other words, out of a possible 64 matches, a total of zero will be tuned in for free on public channels, at least in the United States. So, what happens to those matches that there is no way to watch for free? Are we going to have to pay a lot of money in subscriptions for just one month of the World Cup? Well, don't worry, we bring you the solution to all these doubts through a network tool that will delight the most demanding.

There are quite a few streaming services that, depending on the country you are in, may or may not be free. This is the case, for example, in Argentina, where all the 'Albiceleste's matches are televised on public channels. So, if it is possible to watch the matches of each local team for free in every country, how can we jump across the pond to watch Argentina-Mexico or Belgium-Croatia? The solution is quite simple and is called Private Internet Access VPN, a VPN service, or better known as a virtual private network, which offers the legal guarantees of watching football for free and securely. Private Internet Access provides a solution for users to watch all the games legally for free by connecting to their UK streaming servers and watching them on BBC iPlayer or ITV player which feature all the World Cup Games.

This virtual private network service offers a unique opportunity with its offer for the readers of this article, which includes a completely legal and open to the world service where the private network of your home can travel to different parts of the planet to bring you live coverage of the 64 World Cup matches. With just one click and no more headaches, users will be able to sign up for a single rate on this offer, saving more than €100. And, honestly, watching Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo in their last World Cup for this price is more than just a favour. In addition, this tool has the primary objective of protecting the identity of its customers and that is why, through a strict cybersecurity system, no personal data will be leaked for lucrative or abusive purposes.]

Aubameyang was exiled by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta last season following a series of disciplinary issues before joining Barcelona in January.

The 33-year-old's misdemeanours mainly surrounded his poor time-keeping. He was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy and the remainder of his contract was ripped up.

But the Gabon forward returned to the Premier League in September when Chelsea swooped on deadline day, giving him the chance to go head to head with Arteta for the first time since his bitter exit.

Chelsea boss Graham Potter admitted Aubameyang is fired up by the prospect of taking on his former club.

"I think he's looking forward to the game, excited for it," Potter said.

"Arsenal are doing really well and the history makes it an interesting one for Auba."

Aubameyang was one of Arsenal's most popular players with fans during four years in north London, making his departure all the more shocking.

Signed by Potter's predecessor Thomas Tuchel, Aubameyang has made a solid start to life with Chelsea, scoring three times in 11 appearances.

However, Potter is keen to ensure the 33-year-old's revenge mission does not serve as a distraction when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge this weekend.

"The past is the past as far as we're concerned. I don't think we should make it about him," Potter said.

"He is an important part of the team for us but it takes everybody, not just one person."

- No big egos allowed -
While Aubameyang felt aggrieved by the manner of his exit, Mohamed Elneny's claim this week that players with big egos are not welcome in the Arsenal dressing room felt like a swipe at his old team-mate.

"We don't allow big egos. This is the dressing room we have now. Everyone loves each other and everyone works for each other," Gunners midfielder Elneny said.

"This is what actually makes our squad really strong, because we don't have egos in the team."

Elneny claimed in Arsenal's All or Nothing Amazon documentary about last season that Arteta's decision to take the captaincy from Aubameyang showed "balls".

And the Egyptian believes Arsenal have benefitted from Arteta ruling with an iron fist as they look to consolidate their unexpected title challenge at the expense of Aubameyang's Chelsea.

"Now everyone looked at themselves because Mikel did that to the captain of the team. What is he going to do with another player?" Elneny said.

"This showed that now we can't play around, now we have to be calm with the team and the way the team is going we have to stick with the team, not do something different.

"Everyone is scared with their position because this happened to Aubameyang. Of course if anyone is not the captain of the team, does a small mistake, they are going to have the same problem, and no one needs that problem."

Son Heung-min has no chance of making his Tottenham return before the World Cup after suffering a fracture around his left eye, head coach Antonio Conte has declared.

The South Korea forward suffered the injury in Spurs' Champions League win over Marseille on Tuesday, leaving him requiring surgery and throwing his hopes of appearing in Qatar into doubt.

Tottenham have endured something of an injury crisis of late, with Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison and Cristian Romero all sitting out recent matches, leaving Conte short of options with three games remaining before the World Cup.

Spurs host Liverpool on Sunday before an EFL Cup trip in midweek to face Nottingham Forest, then welcoming Leeds in the final game before the tournament in Qatar, and Conte accepts Son will not be available for those matches.

"Today [Friday], Sonny is having his surgery. It's a pity, it's a pity for him. I hope for him to recover for the World Cup," Conte told Sky Sports.

"For sure, to play the last three games with us will be impossible. This is not a lucky period for us, with Kulusevski, Richarlison and Romero out, now Sonny.

"Lucas Moura is up and down with a problem in his tendon. It's not easy, but we are trying to face the situation in the best possible way."

The scheduling of a mid-season World Cup has attracted renewed criticism after several big-name players suffered injuries in recent weeks, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Reece James and Kyle Walker among those either ruled out or doubtful for the tournament.

The situation has led to suggestions players may play with caution to avoid a similar fate, but Conte, who missed Italy's Euro 1996 campaign through injury, says that would be selfish.

Asked whether players might take it easy, Conte said: "No, honestly. I was a player, and I missed the European Championship in England because I had a serious injury in the final of the Champions League, Juventus against Ajax in 1996.

"Absolutely not. I can only speak about my players, the player wants to play in every single game, to try to win.

"I don't know or like players that think to save themselves to play a competition like this, because it means you have a selfish player."

Midfielder Jorginho's contract ends in June 2023. Therefore, from January, he is free to negotiate with whatever club he wants, and Barcelona know that all too well.

The Catalan side have been following Jorginho for a while. According to 'Sport', the club has got one step closer to confirm their interest in the Italian international.

Mateu Alemany reportedly met with Jorginho's agent to talk about a future signing for Barcelona. The Catalan giants have reportedly told him that they want him to sign for the 2023-24 season.

Barca's plan is to arrive at an agreement in January, even though the Camp Nou realise it would be basically mission impossible for Chelsea to let him go mid-season. Therefore, he would join them next season, despite having a spot for him now, if the Blues accepted him leaving.

The Spanish giants are looking for two midfielders. One of them will take Busquets' place, but they are interested in getting another one in. Zubimendi or Ruben Neves' names have been batted around a lot for the vacant space in the Barca midfield.

Jorginho, for now, is up for a move to the Camp Nou. 'Sport' say that the footballer wants to try out La Liga, as he thinks his style of football would perfectly suit the demanding competition.

Barcelona know that they need to work quickly if they want to get hold of Jorginho. Milan is another side who are interested in him, and the two European giants will be battling it out to tempt him, even though it seems that the Barcelona option would already be favoured by the Chelsea man.

'Sport' newspaper reported on Tuesday that Barcelona like Mikel Arteta, although the club still has full confidence in Xavi Hernandez. It is a name that is on the agenda only for future or emergency situations.

The Gunners coach was unsurprisingly questioned about the possibility at the press conference ahead of the Europa League clash with Zurich. "I am extremely happy and proud to be where I am. Barcelona are on a very good path now," he said.

"I think they have a fantastic coach who has been a legend at the club. You have to be very respectful of that," he added.

Arteta, as of today, is leading Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and qualified for the next stage of the Europa League. The London club's season has been outstanding.

Cristiano Ronaldo is not at all happy at Old Trafford. In fact, he is considering leaving. For the '7', his return to United was a disaster.

Another Portugal legend, Futre, understands perfectly how the striker must feel. "I think Ten Hag can't do what he did, he's humiliating him. I respect him, but Cristiano has been five times Ballon d'Or winner," he told 'SerieANews'.

The former Atlético player believes Cristiano deserves more than just a couple of minutes: "You can't tell someone like him to come on two minutes before the end. If he's not well, don't call him up and then he's not on the bench, he stays at home. He can't do that.

He also spoke about Mourinho, another fasmous Portuguese, coach of Roma. "He said 'no' to Madrid when Zidane left because he had already signed for Roma. Someone called him, but he preferred to go there and start that project. He believed in him from the moment he signed," he said.

Jurgen Klopp believes it is unfair to expect players to engage in political protests at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

The decision to host the tournament in Qatar – where male homosexuality is illegal – has long been criticised due to concerns about the country's human rights record.

England's Harry Kane will be among eight European captains to wear a distinctive heart-adorned armband at the tournament, in order to raise awareness of the OneLove campaign against discrimination.

Meanwhile, tennis great Billie Jean King has called on players to act as "influencers" in Qatar, but Klopp believes handing down that level of responsibility is unjust.

"I understand 100 per cent that we talk about it," Liverpool manager Klopp told Sky News after receiving the Freedom of the City on Wednesday.

"But it's not fair to talk now to the players and give responsibility to them, because it's more than 10 years ago that other people decided [to host the World Cup in Qatar], and we all accepted the decision.

"I watched documentaries recently about the election of Russia [in 2018] and Qatar, so it's not about this generation of players to say now that 'we don't go' or 'we don't do that'.

"These are the players. The tournament is in Qatar. The players go there and play the game.

"The decision was made by other people and if you want to criticise anybody, then criticise the people who made the decision. Not the sport, not the competition and for sure, not the players.

"It's not fair that we expect from them that they go there and make big political statements or whatever. It's just not fair."

Klopp did offer his support when asked about the OneLove campaign, but reiterated his belief players should not be expected to protest the initial decision to stage the tournament in Qatar.

He said: "That's absolutely fine, but what I don't like is that we expect them [the players] to do something. They go there to play football. The big tournament was organised and planned by other people."

Last week, Australia's players launched a campaign to highlight World Cup host Qatar’s human rights record.

Real Madrid are back to winning ways. After losing their last Champions League game against Leipzig and drawing their last league game against Girona, 'Los Blancos' needed to take all three points to qualify for the last 16 as group winners.

Ancelotti's side dominated a first half in which three penalties were awarded in 33 minutes. Although the Spaniards kept possession and created chances, Celtic did not give up and also created chances to close the gap.

Modric started the match in style. The Croatian scored the opening goal just 6 minutes into the match. Valverde received the ball inside the box and his shot was blocked by Jenz's hand. The first ever referee to officiate Madrid, Stephanie Frappart, awarded a penalty and Modric converted from the spot.

Just 15 minutes later, another penalty was awarded after Rodrygo's shot was blocked by O'riley's hand. The Brazilian stepped up to take the penalty and extended the lead for the home side.

However, the latter was not to be the last penalty of the first half, as Frappart considered that Mendy had fouled Abada inside the box. But in this case Courtois prevented Juranovic from pulling one back from the penalty spot.

The second half continued in the same vein. Ansesio added another in the 51st minute. The rebound fell to the Spaniard after Carvajal tried to feed Valverde and the winger ended Celtic's hopes with a first-time shot across the face of goal. Madrid showed no mercy and continued their goal fest. Vinicius scored the fourth after Valverde found him with a lovely cross from the right flank. Just ten minutes later Valverde added another one from the D. with a lovely shot across the face of goal.

Jota scored the consolation goal in the 84th minute for Celtic with a lovely free kick to the top corner.

Cases like the game in which Real Madrid knocked out Manchester City are examples of this. With 60% of possession, incredible passing stats and more shots on target, Pep Guardiola's men were unable to do anything against Madrid in their favourite tournament. Everyone knows how the story ended for a team who ruined all bets and allowed Luka Modric to lift his fifth Champions League trophy. But cases like that are few and far between and many times not indicative of the reality of football.

Pep Guardiola has always had a lot of memes made of him because of his way of understanding the game. The Catalan manager has been mocked because of his style which includes lots of possession and few shots on target. In his last Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund, stats showed City had 69% of possession while with regards to shots on target, Dortmund had a total of 10, compared to Man City's eight. And of course, when these things happen, social media becomes full of comments laughing at the goalless draw despite lots of possession.

But is that really the case? We are talking about a style of play which gave Barcelona six trophies in one season, a Bundesliga for Bayern Munich and two Premier League titles for Man City. So it seems like the efficiency of a well defined game, ruins all predictions. We can analyse Guardiola's record stats from the 2021-22 season and the Premier League title he won on the final day of the season. This came after a whopping 29 victories, six draws and three defeats, 93 points, 99 goals and 26 against. The final stats showed an xG of 96.6%, an xGA of 26% and a difference of 70.5%. That is once again proof that the Catalan's way of playing is more than just in one, two or four games. The result of his good work is shown at the end of the season.

Pep Guardiola's style of play is like the kid who passes his initial exams with an average mark, but who ends up performing outstandingly in his final exams and more and more accumulator tips confirm that. The ex-player is clear that with the ball at his team's feet and without giving the ball to his opponent for more than a minute, success is more attainable. All of that is accompanied by a winning mentality, which focusses on the concentration of playing in a team and which has end with one of the most important prizes of the season: the Ballon d'Or club of the year. This decision by French Football was heavily criticised after they chose City over Champions League finalists Liverpool and Real Madrid.

But all of this is nothing more than because of the weight of statistics, data which makes the best become the best. Maybe not something as tangible as a Champions League trophy or Club World Cup trophy, but as relevant to create and play good football. We live in the era of Foden, De Bruyne and Haaland; before it was Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. A bright future for the type of football which owes a lot of its origins to the strategy of one of the most important managers in history.