UEFA officially released the Team of the Year as voted by fans on Friday.
Champions League
Friday, January 9, 2015
Thursday, January 8, 2015
CONFIRMED: Inter Milan agree loan for Xherdan Shaqiri
Inter Milan's official TV channel Tweeted: "Total agreement between Inter Milan and FC Bayern for the arrival of Xherdan Shaqiri. Missing are the signatures."
Shaqiri has been frustrated at Bayern for the past two seasons after failing to break into the first-team.
Official: Longtime FC Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés completes his move to Manchester United with an 18-month contract.
Manchester United's official Twitter feed provided details of the new deal:
is delighted to announce that Victor Valdes has signed an 18-month contract with an option for a further year. Leo Messi Staying Due to Tito Promise??
Lionel Messi "is only still at Barcelona because he promised it to Tito Vilanova at his deathbed," according to former Blaugranaassistant coach Henk Ten Cate.
This extraordinary claim was published by Dutch newspaper DeTelegraaf (h/t Stefan Coerts of Goal.com) and adds to speculation suggesting Messi could leave the Camp Nou after forming a difficult relationship with manager Luis Enrique:
Ten Cate continued by saying, "I really want to be supportive, because he has been on another level for 10 years. But I'm not sure he will get back to his best."
Messi is currently being linked with a transfer to Chelsea, with Paul Brown of the Daily Star suggesting a six-year contract is being primed for the Argentinian star.
Atletico vs. Real: Score, Grades Madrid Derby Game
Raul Garcia and Jose Gimenez scored in the second half asAtletico Madrid defeated rivals Real Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey round-of-16 clash amid an intense atmosphere at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.
With the victory, Atletico moved within 90 minutes of the quarter-finals, where they would face either Barcelona or Elche. For Real, who dominated possession throughout the first leg, it's a second straight defeat following what had been an impressive 22-match winning streak.
After a scoreless first half, Garcia put Atletico ahead with a well-taken penalty in the 58th minute. The hosts then doubled their advantage via Gimenez's header 14 minutes from time. Cristiano Ronaldo, who started the match on the bench, was unable to turn around the result for Real after entering as a second-half substitute.
The second leg is scheduled for next Thursday at Real's Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The Blancos will need a 2-0 victory just to force extra time, or a three-goal victory to advance.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Getty ImagesIt would cost a team a lot of money to acquire Leo.
With the transfer window now open in many of the world's top soccer leagues, the CIES Football Observatory has released their semi-annual list of the most valuable football players in the world.
Lionel Messi of Barcelona in Spain's La Liga tops the list with a staggering transfer value of $262 million (220 million) and nobody else is even close.
And that would just be the estimated cost of acquiring the rights to the Argentinean footballer. If a team were able to convince Barcelona to sell Messi, the new club would then have to negotiate a new contract with the player.
Messi reportedly makes slightly more than $50 million per year with his current contract at Barca.
There are a lot of valuable athletes in North America, and while this side of the Atlantic uses a different means of transferring players between teams, it is hard to imagine any team would pay $262 million for their rights and then give them a $50 million annual salary.
Messi's transfer value is calculated by examining transfer fees since 2009 and variables such as recent performance, age, position, current contract, and team performance.
For many of the world's top association football leagues, January marks the mid-season transfer window where clubs are given approximately one month to add players from international leagues.
Here is the rest of the top 10:
- Lionel Messi, Barcelona (Spain) - $262 million (220 million)
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid (Spain) - $158 million (133 million)
- Eden Hazard, Chelsea (England) - $118 million (99 million)
- Diego Costa, Chelsea (England) - $100 million (84 million)
- Paul Pogba, Juventus (Italy) - $86 million (72 million)
- Sergio Aguero, Manchester City (England) - $77 million (65 million)
- Raheem Sterling, Liverpool (England) - $75 million (63 million)
- Francesc Fabregas, Chelsea (England) - $74 million (62 million)
- Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal (England) - $73 million (61 million)
- Gareth Bale, Real Madrid (Spain) - $71 million (60 million)
Monday, January 5, 2015
Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny slapped with £20,000 fine for SMOKING in showers
Wojciech Szczesny has been fined £20,000 for smoking in the showers after a game.
He was caught lighting up following Arsenal’s New Year’s Day defeat at Southampton – to the fury of boss Arsene Wenger, who was already raging over the keeper’s error-strewn horror show.
Szczesny was dropped for the next game, the FA Cup tie with Hull, although Arsene Wenger was always intending to give David Ospina a run in the competition.
But it remains to be seen whether Wenger will further punish Szczesny by dropping him from the team for Sunday’s Match with Stoke City.
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