Mascherano hopes Neymar returns to Barcelona

Philippe Coutinho said he is happy at Barcelona, insisting a Premier League return does not fit into his plans for the future.

Coutinho has been linked with a move away from Barca, where the Brazilian has struggled to cement a regular starting spot since arriving from Liverpool for a reported €160million fee in January 2018.

Manchester United and Chelsea were reportedly possible suitors but Coutinho has no plans to make his way back to England.

My head is exclusively in Barcelona. Returning to England now does not fit into my plans, Coutinho told the Mirror ahead of Barca s Champions League quarter-final showdown against United.

This is my second season here. I have won titles, but I am always an ambitious and demanding player. So, I want more and mor…

Chelsea are ready to cash in on Diego Costa as they look to strengthen for next season, .

The Blues could be set to bring in around £70m from the sale of the Spain international with his former club Atletico Madrid the favourites to secure his services.

Paris Saint Germain have also been linked with a move for the twenty-seven year old, who arrived at Stamford Bridge from La Liga in the summer of 2014.

During his time in England so far, the striker has racked up seventy-one appearances in all competitions, scoring thirty-five goals while he was part of the squad that triumphed in both the Premier League and League Cup under Jose Mourinho last season.

The reigning Premier League champions will be without Costa as they travel to Swansea City on Saturd…

Kolo Toure has no doubt Liverpool have the character to turn their season around ahead of Wednesday s League Cup clash at Bournemouth.

The Merseyside club crashed to a 3-0 Premier League defeat at Manchester United on Sunday, having been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Basel five days earlier.

After an impressive 2013-14 campaign in which they came agonisingly close to being crowned champions of England for the first time since 1990, Brendan Rodgers side have endured a poor start to 2014-15 and sit 10th in the top flight.

Bournemouth will attempt to inflict more misery on the out-of-sorts Premier League side when the Championship leaders compete in a League Cup quarter-final for the first time.

But defender Toure, who replaced the injured Gl…

Sebastien Haller will undergo chemotherapy treatment after his testicular tumour was revealed to be malignant.

The forward, who joined Borussia Dortmund from Ajax this close-season, was diagnosed with a tumour earlier this month after complaining of feeling unwell at BVB s training camp in Austria.

Haller last week underwent surgery in the first stage of his treatment.

Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl had confirmed Haller would be missing for a few months but added further treatment plans were still being discussed.

And a Dortmund statement on Saturday confirmed Haller s diagnosis and the need for chemotherapy.

Haller kämpft gegen bösartigen Tumor

Sebastien wird dem mehrere Monate lang fehlen. Der histologische Befund ergab ei…

A great run of form towards the end of the season coupled with some final day drama saw Tondela secure Primeira Liga survival in stunning circumstances. 

Tondela, who secured promotion by winning the Segunda Liga in 2014-15, were rock bottom with four games left in the season and a whole nine points from safety. 

However, the club from a town with a population of no more than 30,000 then went three games unbeaten, including two wins, to have a chance of survival going into the final round. 

Two wins and a draw had seen the side move up to 17th, two points behind 16th-placed Uniao Madeira and safety, but a final-day win may have not be enough, with other results having to go their way.

Tondela managed to secure a 2-0 victory at home to bottom-placed A…

Frustrated France midfielder Yohan Cabaye has dismissed reports of warring factions within Laurent Blanc s Euro 2012 squad.

Cabaye was arguably the stand-out player for Les Bleus in the tournament, but believes that despite a good individual display, there is much room for improvement.

I think that the Euros were positive on a personal level. To represent the country for me is very important, he told RMC.

If we had won against Sweden, we would have played Italy, but it is far from certain that we would have beaten the Italians.

Against Spain, we knew that it would be a complicated game where we didn t have much of the ball, but we thought that we would have two or three chances. But it is true that in the end, there is a small frustration.

F…

Mohamed Salah spent a moment looking at a picture of Liverpool s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final to motivate him ahead of their triumph over Tottenham.

Salah converted a second-minute penalty in Liverpool s 2-0 victory at the Wanda Metropolitano, and moments earlier he had been in the dressing room reminding himself of the pain he experienced in Kiev 12 months prior.

The Egypt international lasted 25 minutes of the 2018 final, leaving the field with a shoulder injury following a challenge from Madrid s Sergio Ramos, and he said the memory of that night drove him on as he took to the field against Spurs.

I looked at the picture from last year before the game, said Salah.

We were disappointed after the final and now we are bac…

Fulham have completed the signing of German midfielder Thomas Eisfeld on an initial two-year deal from London neighbours Arsenal.

The 21-year-old featured just twice for Arsenal s first team, having arrived at the club from Borussia Dortmund as a youth prospect.

An attacking midfielder with an eye for goal, Eisfeld scored three times on Arsenal s close-season tours of Asia in 2012 and 2013 but failed to secure a regular spot at the Emirates Stadium.

He will link up with compatriot Felix Magath for Fulham s first season back in the second tier having signed a two-year contract that includes the option of a further 12 months.

Magath and Fulham have been busy in the transfer market since their drop from the top flight last season bringing in strikers Ross M…

Schalke have agreed to send Ze Roberto on loan to Flamengo, according to a curt announcement on the club s official website.

The 28-year-old was signed from Brazilian first division club Botafogo for three million euros in January 2008 but failed to settle. The player has featured in just three Bundesliga matches during his time in Gelsenkirchen.

Schalke recently fired a parting shot at Ze Roberto, fining him €5,800 for effectively forcing the move by cutting off all communication with his German employers since he returned to Brazil in December.

…

Prediction: Mexico win

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The Gold Cup is one of the lesser known competitions when it comes to the international stage, but given some of the nations that are involved, we d suggest it s still pretty important. A few nations have yet to get their campaign underway, but two teams who have already kickstarted their respective runs are Mexico and Canada. The two nations are set to help play host to the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States, but for now, they ll be battling it out as opponents.

Mexico

Mexico is a nation that is incredibly passionate about its sports, and as such, football is one of their primary interests. Whilst the 2018 FIFA World Cup may not have gone the way they intended, it feels like they should be con…