Thursday 27 December 2018

Barcelona would love to re-sign Neymar,Do you believe this could actually happen?

Lionel Messi has said Barcelona would love to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain, but he doubts the move is feasible. The Argentinian also spoke highly of his "healthy" rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo and his hope to one day reunite with former Blaugrana manager Pep Guardiola.

Neymar joined PSG in the summer of 2017 for a world-record €222 million, and it's difficult to imagine him leaving the Ligue 1 side for much less.

Messi told Marca that while he and his Barca team-mates might want the forward back at the Camp Nou, he suggested the transfer is simply too difficult to pull off:

"I think it is complicated how Neymar would leave PSG. We would love to have him back, as a player and for the dressing room. We're friends, we had some good experiences together and others not so much. But PSG are not going to let Neymar walk away."

It's a realistic assumption to make. Aside from the cost it would take to re-sign Neymar, it could cause a division between supporters, many of whom are likely to hold a grudge for the manner in which he left Catalonia.

Neymar, 26, helped lead PSG to a domestic treble this year although his first season in France was tarnished by a public dispute with team mate Edinson Cavani over taking penalties and a foot injury sustained in March which forced him out for the rest of the campaign.

How Barcelona will attempt to re-sign Neymar from PSG
The move shocked the Spanish champions, with Gerard Pique claiming Neymar would be staying at the Nou Camp just before the move was completed.

Neymar, 26, scored 105 goals in 186 appearances for Barcelona between 2013 and 2017 before completing a world-record move to PSG in the summer of 2017.

The Brazilian has netted 44 times in 49 appearances for PSG since his arrival, but suggestions that the attacker is unsettled in France have gathered pace in recent months.

Ousmane Dembele - signed to replace Neymar - has scored 14 times and registered 13 assists in his 45 appearances for the Spanish champions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund.

"He was the one who left, it would be different if we hadn't believed him and now we wanted to bring him back, but that's not the case," Cardoner added.

"If we did want to sign him then the board would have to discuss it but until now no-one has talked about it."

Barcelona for their part, will accept his return only on two conditions as per the report. The first is that the 26-year-old himself forces the move as the club management believe that they lost face during his transfer saga.

The second one condition being suggested is that the player would have to accept a lesser contract than the one he is currently on at PSG.

The Spanish giants know they cannot compete with PSG financially as they do not have the funds to to splurge for the Brazilian so any deal would see him getting paid lesser than his current salary.

There has been no official word from either the clubs or the player himself on a potential move and while such a transfer looks unlikely, it will be interesting to see how this situation pans out in the future.

Their number one transfer target Antoine Griezmann has publicly pledged his future to Atletico Madrid.


Barca were ready to meet his £86m release clause to sign the Frenchman, with Neymar’s inner circle knowing Griezmann’s arrival would have left no hope of the Brazilian going back to Catalonia.

However, the collapse of Griezmann’s move has at least left a slim possibility that Neymar could end up back alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Monday 17 December 2018

Mourinho needs to step away from the game for a year,Kanchelskis told

Andrei Kanchelskis, who won two Premier League titles and an FA Cup with United, believes Mourinho is not getting the best out of his current crop of players.

"They’ve clearly still not replaced Ferguson and the dynasty he built at the club. I think Pochettino or Ancelotti could make United a force to be reckoned with again."Kanchelskis told Bwin.

"Mourinho needs to step away from the game for a year," he added.


"He’s taking his rage out on the players, fans and media, which means every move he makes is under scrutiny.

"He’s a great coach and I think after he’s spent some time away from the game, he’ll come back in to his next role stronger and fresher."

United are currently languishing in sixth in the Premier League, some 16 points behind leaders and bitter rivals Liverpool.

Mourinho is the third manager in charge since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and is seemingly no nearer to delivering a league title to Old Trafford.


Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool and Jose Mourinho confessed his side had no answer to the Reds' pace and aggression.

Alisson's first-half howler gifted Jesse Lingard and United an unlikely equaliser after Sadio Mane had put Liverpool ahead, but the tenacious Reds were not to be denied their first league victory over United since 2014 thanks to substitute Shaqiri.

Sacking Mourinho wouldn't solve all of United's problems. But it would solve one.

But even then, that just emphasises what a bad job Mourinho has done in constructing his side. Liverpool fielded some wildly expensive talent, but on Sunday they also had three players bought from relegated teams: one scored twice (Xherdan Shaqiri), one was singled out for praise by Mourinho himself (Andrew Robertson) and one helped run the midfield that so outplayed United (Gini Wijnaldum).


In total the three of them cost about £5 million less than United paid for Fred this summer. Fred was nowhere to be seen this weekend, and according to the manager, apparently can't be trusted to start until the defence Mourinho put together is tighter. No wonder the board won't trust him with any more money.

All of the 12 outfield players who appeared for Liverpool against Manchester United had an attempt at goal, a total of 36 efforts to United's six. This wasn't quite so much a football match, more 90 minutes of shooting practice.


Of course statistics usually don't tell the whole story, but sometimes they illustrate it. This time, it was an indication of just how dominant Liverpool were. Shaqiri's two goals may have benefitted from deflections, but that shouldn't detract from the scale of their superiority.

The Manchester United 2018-19 home shirt marks 140 years since the club was founded, with a train track graphic referencing United’s original name; Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Cricket and Football Club.