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Even the €222 million Neymar signing could not take Paris Saint- Germain above the Premier League leaders as history's most expensive team Manchester City boast the most expensive squad in football history after spending €878 million in the transfer market, according to new figures. A study by the CIES Football Observatory shows Pep Guardiola's Premier League leaders have spent more than any other team in Europe's big five leagues, having made Aymeric Laporte their latest signing for a reported club-record fee of €65m in January. City's investment eclipses that of Paris Saint-Germain, whose squad cost €805m, more than a quarter of which was spent on the world- record €222m deal to sign Neymar from Barcelona. Manchester United are third in the list of the top 98 on €747m, ahead of Barcelona (€725m), Chelsea (€592m) and Real Madrid (€497m). There are six other clubs from the Premier League in the top 20, including Liverpool (€461m), Arsenal (€403m), Everton (€365m), Totte...

The Brazilian full-back believes that his compatriot will move to the Santiago Bernabeu from PSG in the future Marcelo believes former Barcelona star Neymar will eventually join Real Madrid. Neymar only completed his world- record €222 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain last August but the Brazil international has already been linked with a sensational switch to Madrid. Indeed, Goal understands that PSG have promised Neymar that they will sell him to Real if they win the Champions League this season. And Madrid full-back Marcelo has tipped his Brazil team-mate to eventually return to Spain via the Santiago Bernabeu. "I think Neymar will play for Real Madrid one day," Marcelo told Esporte Interativo ahead of Madrid's showdown with PSG in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday. "Would Neymar fit at Real Madrid? He would fit, for sure. "It would be great if he came to Real Madrid. "In my opinion the great players have to play at this club." Real p...

The Belgium international struggled to establish himself at Old Trafford under the Dutch coach, eventually leaving for Real Sociedad last summer Adnan Januzaj has again taken aim at former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, criticising him for ruining his confidence and halting the Belgian's "progression". The 23-year-old looked destined for a successful career at Old Trafford when he broke into the first team as a teenager under David Moyes. He became a key part of Moyes' side and regularly impressed on the flank with his ability on the ball, but Januzaj subsequently struggled once the Scot was sacked and replaced by Van Gaal. Chances for game time soon dried up, with Januzaj starting just seven Premier League games in Van Gaal's first season before going on loan to Borussia Dortmund at the start of the 2015-16 campaign, though he found opportunities even more difficult to come by there. After another loan to Sunderland last season, Januzaj eventually esca...

The Belgium goalkeeper is in talks with the Blues over a new contract, but may be tempted to move back to Spain due to circumstances off the pitch The thought of Thibaut Courtois playing for Real Madrid once seemed impossible. The Belgian goalkeeper spent three successful seasons at Atletico and even mocked Los Blancos during trophy celebrations. Now, however, things are a little different. After Atleti beat Madrid in the 2013 Copa del Rey final at the Santiago Bernabeu, Courtois poked fun at Real's fans in a song during his side's celebrations at the Neptuno fountain. In total, he made 154 appearances for the Rojiblancos and won four trophies. All of that makes him something of a symbol for Atleti and their supporters. But the 25-year-old, in his fourth season back at Chelsea (who had loaned him to Atletico), now has his heart set on a return to Madrid — and this time he is more likely to end up at Real. It is no secret that Los Blancos are looking to bring in a new goalkeeper...

WORLD CUP Getty The north African country are set for their fifth World Cup bid after failed attempts to host the tournament in 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 Morocco have unveiled its campaign and logo to host the 2026 Fifa World Cup. They rival a joint bid by Canada, Mexico and the United States to stage the global showpiece on African soil after the 2022 tournament in Qatar. View image on Twitter Morocco 2026 @Morocco2026_EN # DIDYOUKNOW : Former @ CAF_Online Secretary General, Hicham El Amrani, will be the # Morocco2026 bid CEO - bringing with him commercial, marketing and planning expertise, along with extensive experience of working within in elite football governance 11:55 AM - Jan 23, 2018   7 7 Replies     15 15 Retweets     45 45 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy The country’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Moulay Hafid Elalamy has been named the Chairman of the Bid’s Committee while former Caf Secretary General, Hicham El Amrani has ...

Alexis Sanchez’s long-running transfer saga finally ended on Monday when he left Arsenal for Manchester United in a deal that will reportedly make him the highest-paid player in the Premier League. Here we pick out five facts on the 29-year-old Chile striker: Mother’s pride Sanchez grew up in abject poverty — his father abandoned the family shortly before he was born — in the Chilean coastal town of Tocopilla. His mother Martina sold fish and Sanchez earned some money washing cars. While still a boy, he swore to her and his three siblings that one day they wouldn’t have to worry about where the next loaf of bread would come from. He told Spanish newspaper El Pais in 2013: “I’d say to my mum, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be a footballer and everything will work out -– we’ll have money’, and she would laugh.” He honoured both promises. ‘The Wonder Child’ His class was evident from an early age when he made it into the Cobreloa first team aged just 16 and earned his nickname “El Nino Maravilla” (Th...

The Big News broke yesterday “ Alexis Sanchez Joins Manchester United ”  The Chilean joined the Red Devils with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving the other way, a transfer met with the approval of a former club coach. Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen believes Alexis Sanchez’s arrival would be a great move for club and player alike. The former coach said:- “It’s really a good move for Alexis Sanchez. Because he is in the mould, he is the type of player that Manchester United fans would like to see – high energy, high work rate, he creates, he scores goals. “He is an exciting player to watch and will sure play good football at Old Trafford”. Now our Question is this , From your own Experience about Football  Do You Think Sanchez Will Make A Big Difference In Manchester United Team? Drop your comments.

Manchester United have signed Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal, in a swap deal with midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Chile forward Sanchez, 29, who almost joined Manchester City last summer, has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal. City decided earlier this month that they would not pursue their interest in him as they felt making him their best-paid player may affect team morale. Mkhitaryan , 29, moves in the opposite direction to Sanchez after scoring 13 goals in 63 appearances for United. The Armenia international moved to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund for £26.3m in July 2016. He has made only 10 Premier League starts this season and it is understood there was a breakdown in trust with Mourinho, who has made Sanchez his first signing of the January transfer window.

The Arsenal star appears to be in the middle of a Manchester-based transfer tug-of-war, with the Portuguese boss hinting at a possible swoop Jose Mourinho hinted at a Manchester United move for Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez, insisting that you must "fight" when a "fantastic opportunity" arises in the transfer market. Sanchez is in the final six months of his contract at Arsenal and had been expected to move to United's local rivals Manchester City, after he nearly joined Pep Guardiola's men at the start of the season. Goal has learned that the Chilean's family are in London and sources close to the player believe that a January move is close to happening . But Manchester United have reportedly emerged as genuine rivals to City, whose main attraction to Sanchez is understood to be the presence of Guardiola, the coach who signed him for Barcelona. Mourinho's side are said to have presented Arsenal with a bigger offer than City, and although Mourinho clai...

Teddy Sheringham is no longer Tottenham's leading scorer in the Premier League after Harry Kane moved on to 98 with a double versus Everton Harry Kane has left another record in his wake by becoming Tottenham's highest scorer in the Premier League. England striker Kane rounded off a stellar 2017 by breaking Alan Shearer's record for the most Premier League goals in a calendar year and outscored Barcelona and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi for club and country over the 12-month period. Kane has picked up where he left off in 2018, netting a double against AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup before two more goals against Everton at Wembley on Saturday took him past Teddy Sheringham's previous Premier League best for Spurs. Sherringham netted 97 in the top flight for Tottenham across two spells, placing him ahead of Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe on 91. Kane is now on to 98, having punished Everton twice after half-time, with Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen also on target to...

The former Gor Mahia striker reached incredible landmarks after bagging a treble against the bottom-placed side on SaturdayMichael Olunga scored a hat-trick to help Girona to a 6-0 victory over Las Palmas, thus, becoming the first Kenyan to score three goals in a Spanish La Liga encounter. Following his loan move from Chinese Super League outfit Guizhou Hengfeng on deadline day, the striker made his debut for the White and Reds against Sevilla in September to become only the second player from the East African country - after McDonald Mariga - to play in the Primera Division. Used sparingly ever since, Olunga, on his fifth appearance, made history by coming on halfway into Saturday’s encounter - with his side a goal up courtesy Christian Stuani whom he replaced - to score in the 57th, 70th and the 79th minutes. The other goals were scored by Borja Garcia and Cristian Portu, assisted by the lanky Kenya forward. Olunga has played a meagre 136 minutes in five games and the three goals aga...

Saturday's scoreless draw with Leicester, who dominated the first half before being reduced to 10 men, shows nearly all of the Blues are struggling Alvaro Morata has been repeatedly identified as Chelsea's biggest under-performer at the moment but Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to Leicester City showed that his present malaise has spread to many of his team-mates. The Foxes peppered the Blues' goal in the first half with 12 shots in total, the most by any visiting side in the opening 45 minutes of a game at Stamford Bridge since 2003-04. Indeed, while Chelsea ended the game on the offensive, that was only due to the second-half dismissal of Ben Chilwell's senseless dismissal. In truth, Chelsea were lucky to escape with a point. Their historice third consecutive 0-0 draw in all competitions was undeserved, and for all the wrong reasons. A stalemate looks all the more disappointing, given Leicester have lost 12 of their last 14 games against Chelsea in all competitions, ...

The midfielder decided to fight for his spot at Arsenal amid interest this summer, but admits that he might have made the wrong decision Francis Coquelin says that he "almost regrets" not taking the chance to leave Arsenal sooner after completing a move to La Liga side Valencia on Thursday. The French midfielder joined Arsenal in 2008 and came through the system to become a regular for the Gunners, making over 20 appearances in the league in three consecutive seasons. His displays during the 2016/17 season drew interest over the summer, but the 26-year-old wanted to stay and fight for his place under Arsene Wenger. Ultimately, the decision didn't work out, as the midfielder made just one start in the Premier League and racked up just 155 minutes of action in the top flight. Coquelin completed a move away from the Gunners on Thursday and admitted during a press conference that it might have been the wrong decision to stay with Arsenal at the start of the season. "It...

The attacker says he will ink a new deal with the Blues, but only after his team-mate has signed his own extension Chelsea star Eden Hazard has offered new hope to fans that he will sign a new contract with the Blues, but still claims team-mate Thibaut Courtois will be the first to get an extension. Hazard has been consistently linked to Real Madrid, with reports on Thursday even suggesting that he had agreed a move to Spain. But the winger, who took in the NBA clash between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers in London on Thursday along with a host of other big names , has once again hinted at a new deal with Blues, pouring cold water on some of the rumours about his future. “Yes,” Hazard told Mirror Football when asked if he would ink a new contract with the London outfit. “I think Thibaut first. Then I will sign.” Hazard and Chelsea are currently third in the Premier League, just a point back of second-placed Manchester United but 16 behind runaway leaders Manchester City. The...

SPORTTransfer news: Villarreal striker, Bakambu breaks African record Published on January 11, 2018 By Don Silas  Villarreal striker, Cédric Bakambu has overtaken African transfer record held by Liverpool Bound Star, Naby Keita. Chinese club, Beijing Guoan are on the verge of announcing the signing of Bakambu, according to L`Equipe. According to the French sports newspaper, the Congolese International has already passed a medical examination with his new club. Villarreal will receive a transfer fee of 40 million euros, but if tax obligations are included, the Chinese Super League club will end up spending 74 million euros, which will make the 26-year-old the most expensive African player in history. Bakambu will earn 18 million euros every year at Beijing Guoan. The forward has scored 14 goals in 21 matches across all competitions for The Yellow Submarine. To date, the most expensive African footballer in history remains Guinea midfielder, Naby Keita, who has agreed to join Liverpo...

How Harry Kane scored 56 goals for club and country in 2017 Tottenham striker Harry Kane is the third most valuable player in the world, according to a new study. CIES' Football Observatory says Kane is worth 194.7m euros (£172.65m), behind only Paris St-Germain forward Neymar, 25, and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, 30. The England forward, 24, scored 56 goals for club and country last year, making him the top scorer in Europe. Kane's Spurs and England team-mate Dele Alli, 21, is sixth on the list and the second-highest Premier League player. CIES' projected transfer values (in euros) 1. Neymar (PSG) -  213m 6. Dele Alli (Tottenham) -  171.3m 2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) -  202.2m 7. Kevin de Bruyne (Man City) -  167.8m 3. Harry Kane (Tottenham) -  194.7m 8. Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd) -  164.8m 4. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) -  192.5m 9. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) -  150.2m 5. Paulo Dybala (Juventus) -  174.6m 10. Paul Pogba (Man Utd) -  147.5m ...