BARCELONA LIKELY TO SIGN DEMBELE AHEAD OF COUTINHO

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Barcelona are desperate to add a top player as a replacement for former star Neymar Jrthis summer.


There are reports that the club has forgone their interest in Ligue 1 star Seri. There is the option of Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, aside the already confirmed Brazilian Paulinho.

Replacing the playmaker is not easy but the club is seeking a player that can impress at the highest level and complement the attack. Nelson Semedo and Gerard Deulofeu have joined recently as the club is keen on boosting its repertoire of attacking talents.

Borussia Dortmund are willing to let Dembele leave but only at the right price. The player has been throwing all sorts of tantrums like missing training and go AWOL. He has been suspended but it seems the club would accede to his demands of exit. It is reported that the German Bundesliga club has given Barcelona a deadline to meet their asking price. Read more “BARCELONA LIKELY TO SIGN DEMBELE AHEAD OF COUTINHO”

BARCA START THE DEBATE

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Aside the Messi-Ronaldo debate, a new one is starting to brew.


Lionel Messi had help from the team he played as Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Sergio Buskets were all exceptional in their roles. Messi excelled very well from 2009 to 2012. Pep Guardiola as the manager of the team led them to great miracles in the football world.

Guardiola built arguably the finest club football team that would ever be remembered. They were almost perfect! They perfected the tiki-taka style of football with each player reading the mind of others at every point. It was beautiful football.

Zinedine Zidane is doing wonders with his impressive man management of his players. His rotation policies and planning skills have been effective. He brought Los Blancos from ruins last year to finish a point behind Barcelona in the La Liga. He won the Champions League, beating bitter city rivals to it. This season – his first full season in charge – he beat Barcelona to the La Liga and retained the Champions League. Not even Guardiola in his prime did the UCL back to back. Read more “BARCA START THE DEBATE”

SOUTH KOREA TO HOST SYRIA IN WCQ

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Asian side South Korea are set to host Syria in a World Cup qualifying game in the capital, Seoul, the national football federation announced.


The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the meeting between both sides is billed for March 28 at 8pm.

South Korea are bidding for a place in the World Cup next year in Russia. The Syria match would be their seventh in Group A of the final Asian qualification round. The game would also be the first home match for South Korea in 2017. The Asian footballing nation would play China ahead of the game on March 23.

After three victories, Korea are in second place with ten points. They played a draw and lost a game, leaving them one point behind Iran. China, Syria, Qatar, and Uzbekistan are also in the group, slugging it for a spot in 2018. Only two teams would earn automatic qualification while a third would go through playoffs to get a spot in the finals. Read more “SOUTH KOREA TO HOST SYRIA IN WCQ”

SUAREZ EXTENDS BARCELONA STAY

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Barcelona talisman Luis Suarez has agreed to extend his contract with the club.


The agreement will keep him at the Camp Nou until June 2021, the Spanish champions announced on Thursday. The Uruguay striker’s new deal features a release clause worth a staggering €200 million (US$208 million).

The Catalan giant said Suarez, who has netted 97 goals in 116 matches since his arrival from Liverpool in 2014, would officially sign the new deal today.

Suarez said, “They know that I feel happy here and there was never going to be a problem extending my contract, and finally, it’s official.”

The former Liverpool and Ajax striker Suarez helped Barcelona win a treble of Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League in his first season at the Camp Nou and extended his laurel with a domestic double last season. The 29-year-old prolific striker netted in the 3-1 victory over Juventus in Berlin in the 2015 Champions League final as they lifted the title.

Suarez’s incredible goal tally of 59 goals in 53 appearances last season, which includes 40 goals in La Liga, won him the European Golden Boot award for Europe’s top scorer. Read more “SUAREZ EXTENDS BARCELONA STAY”

Sturridge says Klopp’s training is intense

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Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has stated that he has experienced the most intense pre-season of his career at Liverpool.


He said that Jurgen Klopp is a meticulous person and wants to have all his players ready for the start of the season.

Sturridge stated that he is happy to be back in the team and that he wants to prepare himself well so as to avoid missing matches through injuries. Indeed the striker enjoyed a poor campaign last season where he only managed 25 appearances for Liverpool. Most of these appearances have come as substitute and Sturridge will not want a repeat of the same situation this season.

He said that this pre-season has been quite different for him, and it has also been very intense. He said that Jurgen Klopp prepared them tactically as well as technically. There is a lot of hard work as well as running sessions in order to prepare the team physically. Daniel Sturridge admitted that he has not run this much during a pre-season before.
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BARCELONA ACTIVATES DENIS SUAREZ’S CLAUSE

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Catalan giant FC Barcelona are set to acquire Denis Suarez back from Villarreal CF after activating his clause in the deal they have.


The buy-back clause deal is subject to medical examination but the Primera Division club are set to land the player.

Barcelona will now pay £3.25 million to sign the 22-year old who was in plying his trade in the Barcelona B team between 2013 and 2015. The club released a statement that reads: “FC Barcelona have decided to exercise the buy-back clause for the player Denis Suarez, currently at Villarreal CF, which will see the player join the club for the next four seasons with an option of a fifth depending on the number of appearances in the fourth season.”

The statement also read that they will deposit the above sum to buy back the youngster but will set a buyout clause of 50 million Euros for him. He is set to undergo his medical on Teusday, July 5th and is due to be presented to the public the new day.
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