When Jose Mourinho was first unveiled as the new Manchester United manager in May 2016, I went on record as saying that they’d “hired the wrong man at the right time”. After all, while the Portuguese was (and never will be) a stylistic match for the Red Devils, his winning mentality and ability to attract some of the world’s best players was desperately required after three years of relative stagnation under the leadership David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal. This made the capture

I learned a lot from Mourinho and Ancelotti - Drogba. Didier Drogba is convinced playing under Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti will enable him to have a successful career in management. The Chelsea legend, who retired earlier this week after a glorious playing career, played under Mourinho and Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge and he reckons their influence would do him a lot of good in the dugout. "I've met enough managers to make it possible," the 40-year-old told Soccer AM. I

Solari unhappy with Madrid display. The problem that saw Real Madrid sack Julien Lopetegui few weeks ago still exists, says Varane. And rightly so. Los Blancos have been defensively poor away from the Bernabeu this season in LaLiga and it continued when they went to Eibar on Saturday. Gonzalo Escalante broke the deadlock in Santiago Solari’s first game as Madrid permanent boss before Sergi Enrich and Kike Garcia found the target as Luis Mendilibar's team stormed to a 3-0 triu

Les Bleus star bemoans Madrid display. Varane and Real had a day to forget at Eibar. Raphael Varane has issued a rallying cry to his Real Madrid teammates after their 3-0 defeat to Eibar, asking them to improve their performance and bounce back to winning ways. The Los Blancos star said after the loss that his side have a "collective problem". Gonzalo Escalante's first-half handed Eibar belief as Sergi Enrich and Kike Garcia hit the target to hand Santiago Solari his first lo

Pep compares result to Man Utd and Real Madrid's. City boss wants his side 'back soon to where' they 'normally are'. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says his side weren’t at their best despite their 4-0 win over West Ham on Saturday. The Spaniard believes his Citizens were “a little lucky” with their goal margin against Manuel Pellegrini’s Hammers. The Premier League champions are unbeaten 13 games into their title defence, with two-points clear off Liverpool at the summit

Neymar made a mistake when he agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona, says former Blaugrana and Brazil legend Edmilson. PSG sealed the services of the Brazil star for €222million, a price tag that stunned the football world in the summer of 2017. However, Edmilson – who spent four years at Camp Nou – thinks Neymar made a wrong decision to leave the La Liga champions. Speaking to Omnisport, Edmilson said: "Neymar's career is a very personal theme. He's decided to go

Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf says Manchester United have to be patient with Jose Mourinho because they are still in transition. United have had a below par start to the season as they sit in eighth spot in the Premier League table, 12 points behind leaders Manchester City. They also have a negative goal difference (-1) after 12 games for the first time since 1977/78. However, Seedorf has backed Mourinho to be successful at Old Trafford and believes the club haven’t had the c

Real Madrid registered a big win against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League and interim boss Santiago Solari said the Champions League victory was about the Los Blancos players. Madrid have sealed three wins on the bounce in all competitions since Solari replaced Julen Lopetegui at the Bernabeu. Solari said on UEFA.com: "It's impossible to win 5-0 away in the Champions League and not play a great game. I'm very happy but this was all about the players - we have some brill

Pep Guardiola says he is sad for his former Barcelona team-mate and friend Julen Lopetegui after he was sacked by La Liga giants Real Madrid. Lopetegui, who was sacked by the Spanish FA just days before the World Cup started in Russia after agreeing to join Los Blancos, was relieved of his duties at the Santiago Bernabeu on Monday night after losing six of his opening 14 games. Sunday's 5-1 El Clasico defeat was the final straw for Lopetegui and he was sent packing a day late

Alli has reached an agreement over fresh terms with the Lilywhites after indicating his desire to stay. Dele Alli has expressed his joy at signing a new five-and-a-half-year contract at Tottenham. The England international put pen to paper on a deal that will see him remain at the north London club until 2024. "Would like to say a big thank you to everyone at the club - chairman, manager, all my team-mates and the fans for their constant support," he said on Instagram. "I've

Cardoner insists Neymar is currently not on Barca’s agenda. Barcelona vice-president Jordi Cardoner has denied rumours linking Brazil star Neymar with a return move to the Camp Nou. Widespread reports in Spain this week suggested the La Liga champions are keen to bring the Paris Saint-Germain forward back to the Camp Nou, with the attacker also eager to return. But, Cardorner told radio station SER Catalunya: "The Barcelona board has not considered the possibility of bringing

Maurizio Sarri says Eden Hazard does not have to move to Real Madrid to become best in the world. The Belgian, who has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, can win everything at Chelsea, including the Ballon d'Or, according to the Italian. When asked about Hazard's future, Sarri said ahead of their clash against Manchester United as Sky Sports quoted: "It will be very important for us if he remains. I think also that he can win everything, also the Ballon d'Or, her

Rumours linking Real Madrid star Luka Modric with a potential move to Inter is "fantasy football" talk, insists Pep Guardiola. The Manchester City boss gave his take on the 33-year-old, who was heavily linked with a shock move to the Serie A side during the summer. When asked about the possible move, the Man City manager said of the FIFA's Best Men's Player on Sunday: "There is, what's it called, fantasy football. “When you speak about a player leaving for next year, the mark

Napoli head coach Carlo Ancelotti has lauded Kylian Mbappe, labeling the Paris Saint-Germain teenager as 'a no-frills guy'. The former AC Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss reckons Mbappe, who is a nominee for the 2018 Ballon d'Or award, is a “fast and effective” player. "Mbappe is a nice player, very fast; but there are a lot of fast players, the difference is he can be both fast and effective at the same time," the Italian said as Goal quoted. "Whatever he does, he's very

Eden Hazard has to leave Chelsea for Barcelona or Real Madrid to be seen as one of the best, according to Boudewijn Zenden. The former Blues star would like the Hazard to stay at Stamford Bridge but believes the Belgian would have to quit the west London club for either Barca or Los Blancos to have any chance of winning the Ballon d’Or. “It will be hard for Chelsea to keep him, with Barcelona, Real ­Madrid and Paris Saint-­Germain around,” said Zenden as Mirror reported. “He

Barkley would like to play alongside Hazard for many years. Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley is hoping Eden Hazard can shun Real Madrid and commit his long-term future to Chelsea. Speaking after the Blues' 3-0 win over Southampton at the St. Mary’s on Sunday, Hazard said: "Real Madrid is the best club in the world. It is my dream since I was a kid. We will see." However, Barkley who has started the season on a high at Stamford Bridge, would like to see the 27-year-old forward

Hazard has been heavily linked with a move to Los Blancos. There’ll be “nothing blocking” Eden Hazard from his dream-move to Real Madrid, says Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard, who moved to Stamford Bridge from the Bernabeu in the summer of 2017, believes the Belgian is happy to play for the west London club - who will make the right call if the 28-year-old eventually decides to leave. "If [Hazard] has spoken so clearly, it's because that is the situation," Morata

Thomas Meunier has backed Raphael Varane to win the 2018 Ballon d'Or. The Belgian reckons the Champions League and World Cup winner deserves the accolade ahead of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and PSG duo Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. "If I had to choose between Eden Hazard and Neymar to win the Ballon d'Or, I would pick Raphael Varane," he said as Omnisport quoted. "The forwards are always thought of, but he [Varane] won the World Cup and the Champions League. He is a regular, I like to

Man Utd star rules himself out from the contention to win the 2018 Ballon d'Or award. Paul Pogba says he does not deserve the Ballon d'Or but would like a Frenchman to win the accolade. There are seven players from Didier Deschamp's Les Bleus - who won the World Cup in Russia this summer - in the 30-man shortlist for the award for the best player of the year. "Whether it's Grizou (Griezmann), Kylian (Mbappe) or Raph' (Varane), they deserve it much more than me," the Mancheste

Joaquin has revealed he was close to joining Real Madrid at some point in his career. The former Valencia winger remains a key member of Quique Setien's side despite his agedness. The 37-year-old, who left Betis initially for Los Che, admits the situation could have been very different if the Andalusian club acted differently at the time. "I was ready to sign the contract with Real Madrid and to have my medical tests," he told Onda Cero. "At that time [Manuel Ruiz de] Lopera