Mino Raiola believes he may have been too cautious by moving his star client Erling Haaland to Borussia Dortmund.
The 20-year-old sensation joined Dortmund from Salzburg in January 2020 and has been on a goalscoring frenzy ever since.
Dortmund have reportedly set a €180million price tag for Haaland, with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid all expected to compete for his signature.
With a reported release clause in the striker s contract from 2022, clubs will need to meet Dortmund s demands if they wish to sign Haaland a year earlier than that.
Raiola believes the form Haaland has shown in Dortmund colours proves he could have moved directly to one of the continent s biggest clubs.
With Haalan…
Market: Athletic Bilbao win
Odds: 1/2 @
Two sides who already find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the La Liga table, Athletic Bilbao will welcome Almeria to San Mamés on Friday night.
Starting with the hosts, heading into the international break with an action-packed display at home against Rayo Vallecano, Athletic Bilbao will be desperate to keep up that momentum here. Eventually picking up a 3-2 victory at San Mamés, Head Coach Ernesto Valverde will now have a European finish at the top of their agenda this season. Continuing to impress since opening the 2022/23 campaign, the ex-Barcelona boss should find the mood in his camp at a real high. Likewise, on a run that is highlighted by 4-0 and 4-1 wins against Cadiz and Elche, Bilbao have now wo…
Roma forward Gervinho feels Arsene Wenger s decision to play him on the wing prevented him from being a success at Arsenal.
The Ivorian left the Emirates Stadium to join the Italian capital club last month, after scoring just 11 goals in 63 appearances in what proved to be a disappointing stint in the Premier League.
Gervinho who joined Arsenal from Lille in 2011 is hoping to resurrect his career at the Stadio Olimpico, but has been quick to stress that he could have performed better for Wenger s side if the Frenchman had deployed him as a central striker.
I was not getting much time on the pitch and was in need of this time to improve and play my best football, Gervinho told The Sun.
Wenger was not prepared to give it to me.
Also my position on the wing w…
The Football Association of Ireland have announced that Under-21s manager Noel King will take temporary charge of the senior side.
The 57-year-old will fill the gap left by Giovanni Trapattoni s departure at the start of September following a string of poor results while the search for a permanent replacement continues.
Ireland s FIFA World Cup qualification hopes were effectively ended by consecutive defeats against Sweden and Austria earlier this month, and the Italian manager s five-year reign came to an end by mutual consent.
They face two more qualifiers in October, away to group leaders Germany and at home to Kazakhstan.
The FAI confirmed that Ray Houghton and Ruud Dokter would carry out a comprehensive assessment of (the) market to find a new boss ahead of…
Luciano Spalletti plans to read Francesco Totti s autobiography before responding to a section that describes an angry confrontation between the two during their time at Roma.
Totti s relationship with Spalletti became strained towards the end of his penultimate season as a player following a disagreement in the wake of a draw against Atalanta in April 2016.
In his newly published book, the Roma icon recounts a bust-up in the aftermath during which he claims to have called Spalletti a coward for trying to push him out of the club and was consequently banished from the training ground.
When asked for his thoughts on the passage, Spalletti told reporters: I expected this question. I understand your curiosity to know if it is true or not what he wrote.
Howe…
Andrea Pirlo says he cannot think of a player who plays the same way he does, including Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti.
The midfield great, now playing for New York City, lamented the lack of playmakers in the modern game and feels PSG s Verratti is wrongly compared to him.
Even though he is a fan of the Italy international and others, Pirlo thinks the game s top midfielders possess different skillsets.
People compare me to Verratti, and I do really like him, but we have very different playing styles, Pirlo said to Corriere dello Sport.
I like Roberto Gagliardini at Inter too, but he has a different role to mine.
To be honest, I don t see anyone out there who plays the way I do. There are many talented midfielders, but not the kind of…
Best odds: 7/4
Bookmaker:
The biggest game of English football, the one between the 20-time and 19-time champions, is due to take place on Sunday at Old Trafford when Manchester United host Liverpool in the 34th round of the 2020-21 Premier League season.
Quite apart from the immense rivalry between the two clubs, the game and its result are of huge importance to both, as well as the league itself as it could confirm Manchester City as the new champions, providing Pep Guardiola s team beat Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Manchester United
Being the only team that can still mathematically challenge City for the title, United must win on Sunday to stay in that race, again providing City win at Selhurst Park. The Red Devils are obviously in second place, with …
Substitute Chris Wondolowski stunned Real Salt Lake with two late goals as the San Jose Earthquakes rallied for a 2-1 victory.
The MLS career scoring leader entered after 72 minutes and soon erased the Rubio Rubin tally that had put Salt Lake ahead just before the half.
Wondolowski s first goal came from three yards out as he knocked home a rebound from a Carlos Fierro shot that had been parried away by David Ochoa to equalise in the 83rd minute.
The 38-year-old former USA international completed the brace four minutes later, heading home a cross from Fierro to put San Jose on top for good.
THE GREATEST TO DO IT IN
CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes)
Wondolowski now has 168 goals in his MLS career, …
(GSM) Bayern München manager Louis van Gaal advised Ukranian midfielder Anatoliy Tymoschuk to begin a search for a new club.
The 31-year-old Tymoschuk did not start in a single match in 2010 and things are not looking good for the player at Bayern, Van Gaal told Kicker magazine.
If a player does not get to play and has no bright future, I would leave if I were them, Van Gaal said, adding that only his captain and three or four other players are fully certain of a spot in his team s starting line-up.
Tymoschuk joined Bayern from Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg in 2009 but never managed to convince at the German side.
…
Experienced defender Jean Alain Boumsong will follow French teammates Djibril Cisse and newly-arrived Sidney Govou by sealing a move to Greek champions Panathinaikos on Friday.
Media reports here said the 30-year-old will sign a three-year contract with an annual salary of about one million euros with Boumsong s current club Lyon expected to receive 850,000 euros from the deal.
I came to the best team in Greece. I do not know if I will become a team leader, but I promise that I will give my best, said the Frenchman.
Boumsong has played for Lyon (2008-2010), Juventus (2006-2008), Newcastle United (2005-2006), Rangers (2004-2005), Auxerre (2000-2004) and Le Havre (1997-2000).
I have had success in the Champions League with my previous teams and I want to…