Europe

With Pep Guardiola coming to Manchester City, so too must come the media storm of transfer rumours. It feels like pretty much every player who has ever been somewhat associated with Guardiola has been linked with a move to the Sky Blues in the past month and Gerard Pique is no exception. However, the veteran Barca defender had some surprising words to say in that regard. 

"My love for Manchester United is too great for me to sign for City," said Pique. "Even though Pep is a great coach." 

Chelsea FC are no strangers to controversy and accusations of foul play, whether it's kicking ball boys, wasting time, anything Diego Costa does, racist fans...we could go on forever. Yet in their game against Norwich, Gary Cahill played a back pass to Courtois who picked it up so blatantly, it defies belief.

The man who mugged Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne this weekend had one of the more interesting requests we've heard about from a mugger (we used to be a crime reporter, so this statement is made with at least some authority).

The thief – who made off with €800 in cash, a Rolex and some jewels – had one very peculiar request for Insigne: dedicate a goal to him, the mugger, against Fiorentina on Monday.

Manchester United don't need Jose Mourinho, judging by their performances over the past week.

You can't help but laugh at the constant back and forth of soccer fans. Just two weeks ago, Manchester United fans were calling for Louis Van Gaal's head. Jose Mourinho scarves were being sold outside Old Trafford, and there was talk that the Dutchman was done after pitiful losses to FC Midtjylland and Sunderland. 

I wouldn’t want anything to do with Canales 2010. Have you heard of “winning the game in the pre-game tunnel?” Well, check out how to win a game without even having to lace up:

Paris Saint Germain's attempt to pull an Arsenal "Invincibles" season was put to sleep by a determined Olympique Lyonnais side on Sunday. The Paris club were without the creative flair of Angel Di Maria and Marco Verratti and it showed, as they only managed six shots all day. The PSG defeat sees an unbeaten run of 36 league games come to an end, a run that goes back to March 2015.

You should not try to blackmail Bayern Munich. This was the lesson learned by a man known as the "broomstick robber" (as far as robber nicknames go, he may have drawn the short, uh, broomstick here) when he was arrested for allegedly threatening Germany's foremost football club.

Memphis Depay is a murderer. In Manchester United's game against FC Midtjylland, The Dutch international repeatedly destroyed poor right back Andre Romer, who was left almost in tears after the display. The Red Devils crushed the Danish club 5-1, and at times it seemed more like Memphis Depay vs Midtjylland as the Dutchman ran rampant. 

Strange happenings last weekend, as I picked five of six correct matches last week and nailed two scores cold (Napoli/Milan and Shrewsbury/Man U). Let’s see if I can stay hot this week:

1. Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid, Saturday, 10:00 a.m EST, beIN Sports

Derby day in Madrid sees the host, Real Madrid, and it’s top scoring La Liga offense welcome the stingiest defensive side in all of Europe, crosstown rivals, Atletico. Real’s goal scoring juggernaut of Ronaldo and Benzema will surely test Atletico’s solid back four led by their captain, Diego Godin.

I know exactly what you were thinking when you initially read the sub-headline of this story:

“Wait, he was still around after all this time??”