Quotes

CARDIFF - Gareth Bale intends to return to Real Madrid for the final 12 months of his contract next season, he said on Tuesday.

Bale has been at Tottenham Hotspur on loan this season, initially struggling with fitness but playing regularly in recent weeks, but said ahead of the start of World Cup qualification with Wales this week that he plans to head back to Spain next season.

“The main reason I came to Spurs this season was that I wanted to play football, first and foremost, but going into the Euros I wanted to be match fit too.”

After the brutal police murder of George Floyd on May 25 in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, daily protests turned into nightly riots that shook large sections of the Twin Cities for three straight days.  

The message could be heard loud and clear from protesters — “No justice, no peace” — and read on the graffiti scrawled across Target stores — “Merchandise can be replaced. Black lives can not” — as the worst imaginable provocation coalesced with centuries of repeated injustice to trigger an outpouring of rage and grief.     

As a player whose obsession with football has only increased over the course of a glittering 17-year career, Cesc Fàbregas never grows tired of learning. That’s why, after a career spent entirely in England and Spain, the World Cup winner opted to give France a try by signing for Monaco back in 2019.

After playing 11 full seasons in the Premier League and three in LaLiga, the 33-year-old admits that the differences in Ligue 1 were pronounced. 

New Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino said on Tuesday that he fulfilled a dream to return and manage the French club he played for and captained during his career as a defender in the early 2000s.

Pochettino had been out of a job since being dismissed by Tottenham Hotspur in November 2019 and took over the reins at PSG after Thomas Tuchel was sacked last month.

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said it is his personal duty and the game's responsibility to address the problem of dementia that has impacted several former players.

The issue of dementia in the professional game was sparked by the death of England's Nobby Stiles in October and there have been calls for the issue of head injuries in sport to be given further attention. Stiles and many of his 1966 World Cup winning teammates had been diagnosed with dementia before their deaths while United great Bobby Charlton also disclosed his diagnosis recently.

2020 has been a rollercoaster year for many teams, but few clubs have experienced as many ups and downs this past year as Arsenal.

Last season's FA Cup champions are currently winless in their last seven matches and sitting 15th in the Premier League, which would be the worst finish since 1975-76 for the North London club.

The Gunners have five losses and two draws in their last seven matches, putting Mikel Arteta's status as Arsenal manager under heavy scrutiny. Arteta's response to this criticism was, while interesting, not entirely logical.

Lionel Messi has admitted the ill feeling between him and Barcelona over his attempt to leave the club in the close season has affected his form this season, in which he has posted his lowest goal and assist tallies in 13 years.

Messi caused consternation at Barça when he sent the club a burofax (official notice) that he wanted to leave in August, but then president Josep Maria Bartomeu blocked the move and the Argentine committed to stay this season to avoid a legal battle. He has less than seven months left on his contract and is able to negotiate with other clubs from January.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has claimed Chelsea are favorites to lift the Premier League title this season because of the strength and depth of the squad that coach Frank Lampard has at his disposal.