Tello on Reds link

Barcelona forward Christian Tello is ready to turn in the performances on the pitch to show just why Liverpool and Spurs wanted him during the summer.

The 21-year-old was courted by the Premier League clubs before he committed himself to a new five-year deal in August and inserted a £20m release clause into his contract which will see him stay at the Camp Nou until 2018.

Despite probably having to play understudy to Neymar, Tello is determined to carve out a first-team berth.

"I always wanted to stay at Barca," he told reporters."The coach has confidence in me, I am content there and ready to play a lot of minutes.

"I feel better than in previous years. I knew that Liverpool were interested in me, but I never planned to leave."

Tello played 34 times in all competitions for Barca last season.

Source: Daily Express

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Barcelona bid €25 million for David Luiz

Barcelona have stepped up their search for a new centre-back by making a €25 million bid for Chelseadefender David Luiz.

Barca set their sights on Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva earlier this summer as a long-term replacement for captain Carles Puyol, but have been frustrated in their attempts to sign the Brazil captain and also missed out on his international team-mate Marquinhos, who joined PSG from Roma in July for €35m.

Sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta then turned his attentions to another Brazilian as Barca looked set to bid for Luiz late last month, but all transfer plans were placed on hold as coach Tito Vilanova departed to continue his cancer treatment and new man Gerardo Martino was installed at Camp Nou.

Martino has said he is happy with Barca's current squad, but Puyol is still several weeks away from full fitness and has been plagued by knee problems over the last two years.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has claimed that Luiz - who is currently sidelined with a hamstring problem - is not for sale, but Barca have opened the bidding for the Brazilian at €25m and sent club representative Raul Sanllehi to London in order to negotiate a deal.

Barca have also dispatched a delegate to Liverpool for talks over the possible signing of defender Daniel Agger and, according to the Danish press, the Blaugrana are ready to offer €20m for the 28-year-old centre-back.

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Football Player's Speed's (2003 - 2013)

Football Player's Speed's (2003 - 2013) >>

FRA Franck Ribery: 9.7m/s (21.7mph, 35.0km/h) 2003

NED Arjen Robben: 9.3m/s (20.7mph, 33.3km/h) 2004

BRA Ronaldo: 9.6m/s (21.4mph, 34.6km/h) 2005

GER David Odonkor: 9.1m/s (20.4mph, 32.8km/h) 2006

BRA Roberto Carlos: 8.4m/s (18.7mph, 30.1km/h) 2007

BRA Alexandre Pato: 8.8m/s (19.7mph, 31.7km/h) 2008

POR Cristiano Ronaldo: 8.7m/s (19.5mph, 31.3km/h) 2009

GRE Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 8.6m/s (19.2mph, 31.0km/h) 2010

ENG Shaun Wright-Phillips: 8.7m/s (19.5mph, 31.3km/h) 2011

ENG Kyle Walker: 9.9m/s (22.2mph, 35.7km/h) 2012

ARG Angel di Maria: 8.6m/s (19.2mph, 30.9km/h) 2013

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Suso fernandez a minion

 SUSO FERNANDEZ A MINION 

Give a like here Football Minions

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Traitor (TORRES) a minon

Traitor (TORRES) a minon 

Comment if u want him BACK !!!

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Steven Gerrard a minion (LFC CAPTAIN)

El Shaarawy

C.Ronaldo and Messi :)

Minions together

Reus :)

Ribery 

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Agger a minion

Daniel Agger a minion hahh funyy lol see below

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Suarez a minion funny

Coutinho and Suarez together

Suarez Alone

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Reus and El Shaarawy minions funny

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Is La Masia's well drying up, or is Tito turning his back on Pep's Cantera?

While Pep Guardiola plundered Camp Nou's production line to great effect, Tito Vilanova's era looks set to be more reliant on imports

COMMENT
By Graham Ruthven

As Barcelona prepared to face Arsenal in the last 16 of the 2011 Champions League, Pep Guardiola was asked for his opinion on opposition midfielder Jack Wilshere.

“He is lucky,” the Barca coach responded. “Because we have many players in the second team like him. He plays because there is no pressure at his club to win titles.”

At the time Guardiola had a basis on which to form his argument. After all, he had led Barcelona to a treble in his debut season as a top-level coach before conquering Europe for a second time in three years in 2011, defeating Manchester United in the final with a line-up consisting almost entirely of youth academy graduates. Guardiola appeared to have established a fully self-sufficient structure, a system that could almost operate without a figurehead.

Under Guardiola, Sergio Busquets, Thiago Alcantara, Pedro, Bojan Krkic, Isaac Cuenca, Marc Bartra, Martin Montoya and Cristian Tello all made the jump from the club’s youth and B teams to the senior squad. The pipeline of accomplished, technical talent flowing from La Masia to the first team was gushing.

When a jaded Guardiola left the club to take a year sabbatical from the game, debate raged as to what the impact would be on Barcelona and the team’s distinct identity. A year on Tito Vilanova has indeed moved Barca on from the Guardiola era, but has the club’s fabled youth academy taken the hit?

Vilanova’s transfer strategy since taking over from Guardiola suggests his faith in La Masia isn’t as steadfast as his predecessor’s.

Since assuming the head coach role at Camp Nou last summer Vilanova has splurged almost €100 million on Alex Song, Jordi Alba and Neymar. While Guardiola also splashed the cash externally, he would regularly look to plug gaps in his squad by plundering the youth ranks.

LA MASIA REJECTS UNDER TITO VILANOVA
THIAGO ALCANTARA
	The highest profile exit since Tito Vilanova's arrival, Thiago chose to join Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich on a five-year deal for €20m plus add ons.
RAFINHA ALCANTARA
	Rafinha, 20, was loaned out for the 2013-14 season to Celta Vigo the day after his brother Thiago left Camp Nou permanently for the Bavarians.
GERARD DEULOFEU
	Believed to be one of Barcelona B's hottest prospects, Vilanova dispatched Deulofeu quickly this summer to Everton on a year-long loan spell.
BOJAN KRKIC
	Following his return to Barca after two forgetful years at Roma and AC Milan, the attacker - now 22 - was instantly sent away to Ajax for a 12-month loan.
ISAAC CUENCA
	In January, it was Cuenca who made himself at home for the second half of last season at Ajax, though his loan spell was wrecked by a knee injury in March.

By parting with €57m for Brazilian posterboy Neymar, Vilanova’s transfer activity this summer could be interpreted as desperation. Neymar is not the sort of player Barca needs but the latest generation of La Masia graduates have failed to earn Vilanova’s trust. His signing is a distraction, albeit an extremely exciting one.

The distinction between Barcelona, the bastions of the youth academy conveyer belt, and their Clasico rivals Real Madrid, the pioneers of the Galactico culture, is no longer so obvious.

Furthermore, Vilanova has actually started to dilute La Masia’s existing influence at Barcelona, allowing Thiago to join Bayern Munich and sending promising young players like Gerard Deulofeu and Cuenca out on loan. It’s been suggested that Barca could even be willing to let Cesc Fabregas, the prodigy who returned to the club just two years ago, leave for Manchester United.

In doing so, Vilanova has to some extent made Barcelona more ordinary, belittling the intimidating aura around the Catalan club and La Masia that once seemed so impervious with Guardiola in charge. While Barca were once a force considered to be immortal, now the perpetual productivity of La Masia doesn’t appear so sustainable.

Of course it would be foolish to assume Vilanova is overlooking the next generation of Lionel Messis, Xavis and Andres Iniestas. Those type of players are the exception, rather than the standard, to what La Masia produces. And, in fact, Vilanova actually fielded the first entirely homegrown XI for the first time in the club’s history in a 4-0 win over Levante last November. But the opportunities that were once afforded to talents like Tello, Pedro and Thiago by Guardiola are no longer on offer.

This new approach is most evident in Barcelona’s search for a new centre-back this summer.

Barca’s deficiency in central defence has been clear for a number of seasons but now that Vilanova has publically recognized that flaw he won’t turn to La Masia for a solution. Bartra and Montoya have been dismissed as credible options and, instead, Barcelona have been linked with expensive moves for Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and David Luiz. "We want to sign a centre back," Vilanova said in a press conference earlier this week.

La Masia is the house that built this storied Barcelona side, but were we misled over the true depth of its riches or has Vilanova chosen to ignore what it produces? Either way, the pipeline is no longer flowing as freely.

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LIVE STREAM FRIENDLY MATCHES

LIVE STREAM FRIENDLY MATCHES

Juventus - Valle D'Aosta | http://aliez.tv/live/juventus_tv_10118/

Inter - Trentino | http://www.livestream.com/crozzpopizzo

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Liverpool and Tottenham £15m Playmaker Target Open To Talks

Liverpool and Tottenham target Christian Eriksen has yet reached an agreement with any club at this stage as his agent insisted he would only leave Ajax if the right offer came up.

Eriksen has become a regular name in recent summer transfer windows, with the 21 year old having starred for Ajax over the last three seasons in the senior line-up.

Both Liverpool and Tottenham have been linked with moves for the young star though recently it had been thought that he would choose Borussia Dortmund and snub the Premier League all together.

But Dortmund have denied that any talks are taking place with Eriksen and have since made a big-money purchase in young playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has since been touted as a replacement for the departed Mario Gotze.

And now £15m-rated Eriksen's agent Martin Schoots says that while the Denmark international is currently in talks with a number of clubs, he hasn't made a decision over his future as yet.

"We still have contact with other clubs, but we never know if a transfer is really happening," Schoots told Sporten.dk.

"We don't want to speculate, and we always said that Christian has no urge to leave Ajax. This is the first summer that he's open for a transfer.

"He will only leave if he can develop at a new club, otherwise he will stay at Ajax."

Liverpool and Tottenham have competed over a number of players in recent years, with both sides holding ambitions of reaching the Champions League and extending their scouting networks in the hopes of finding affordable players on the brink of reaching their peaks.

Eriksen scored 13 goals last season for Ajax and holds a host of trophies to his name having won the Dutch title three times. His achievements come with the fact that he is still very young and has a long career ahead of him if the former Chelsea-trialist can continue to put in the performances he has in recent seasons.

Spurs have already purchased Paulinho so far this summer to beef up their midfield department while Brendan Rodgers has been concentrating more on his attackers and defenders after bringing Philippe Coutinho into the mix last January.

The manager is hoping to add significant depth to the squad though, and if either Tottenham or Liverpool can promise Eriksen game time, it would appear their interest in the young star could become concrete.

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"I was very close to Liverpool"

"I was very close to Liverpool"In 2010, after Rafael Benitez left Anfield, Pellegrini was available following his dismissal by Real Madrid but Malaga proved his next destination.   The Chilean said: "I had twice chances to arrive here before. One was to Manchester City but with the other owners, not these owners.   "Liverpool, I was very near, after Real Madrid, to arrive at Liverpool. But for different things, it was not the moment. Now it is the right moment with the right club."   Pellegrini left Malaga to succeed Roberto Mancini at Etihad Stadium after the Italian was sacked in May just a year after guiding the club to their first league title in 54 turbulent years.

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Sevilla deny Manchester City & Tottenham bids for Negredo

The Spanish striker was rumoured to be on his way the Etihad Stadium after a fee was agreed, but the Rojiblancos president insists he is yet to receive any acceptable offers

Sevilla president Jose Maria Del Nido has denied receiving offers from Premier League clubs for star strikerAlvaro Negredo, despite rumours in Spain suggesting a £21.2m deal had been agreed with Manchester City.

The unsettled Spain international seemed set to follow Jesus Navas to the Etihad Stadium after Atletico Madrid admitted they could not compete financially with the English club, while Tottenham were also thought to be monitoring the situation.However, Los Rojiblancos’ president claims he is yet to receive a single acceptable offer for the 27-year-old, telling reporters: "Sevilla have specific financial demands for Negredo.  If they are not met, then he will play here next year.

“There have not been any offers from the Premier League yet, neither from Manchester City nor Tottenham. 

“Atletico Madrid withdrew from negotiations over ten days ago."

Negredo scored 25 La Liga goals last season as his side finished a disappointing ninth, and has expressed a desire to leave the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in order to play Champions League football.

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Isco in the doghouse over pet Messi

Real Madrid officially announced the arrival of Isco on Wednesday but the 21-year-old may get a few scornful glances from his new team-mates if he ever brings his dog to training.

It had been revealed that the midfielder's dog is named after Lionel Messi and the Spain Under-21 star insists it will remain that way - despite signing for Real Madrid.

"I also had another dog called Figo. It's just an anecdote," Isco said.

"I'm not going to change my dog's name from Messi now because if I did, he would ignore me."

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Moyes to hold first Manchester United press conference on Friday afternoon

The former Everton boss will be accompanied by club captain Nemanja Vidic when he addresses the press for the first time since taking over at Old Trafford on Friday

David Moyes will address the media on Friday afternoon, in his first press conference since replacing Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager.

The former Everton man officially took charge on Monday July 1, and will discuss his first week in command and plans for the future with the international media between 15.30 and 16.30.

He will be accompanied by club captain Nemanja Vidic, and will no doubt face questions over the future of unsettled striker Wayne Rooney.

Moyes has been busy reshuffling the coaching staff at Old Trafford, bringing assistant Steve Round, goalkeeping coach Chris Woods and coach Jimmy Lumsden with him from Everton, while former United man Phil Neville has replaced Rene Meulensteen as first-team coach, with Ryan Giggs also taking up a player/coach role.

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Official : Anelka joins WBA

Steve Clarke is moving closer to handing Nicolas Anelka a return to the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion.

The former France international is due to meet with Clarke on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a free transfer to The Hawthorns.

ESPN sources close to the player have confirmed the 34-year-old former Chelsea and Arsenal striker is considering linking up again with Clarke, his former coach at Stamford Bridge.

Albion are hoping to persuade the striker to sign a one-year deal as the replacement for Romelu Lukaku, but much will hinge upon whether Anelka can reach an agreement over his personal terms.

Anelka is a free agent after leaving Juventus at the end of last season, following a year in China with Shanghai Shenhua and Albion are hopeful he will have a medical and become their first signing of the summer.

With Lukaku returning to Stamford Bridge after a successful season-long loan at Albion and Peter Odemwingie set to move on, Albion are keen to strengthen their attacking options.

They have also been linked with PSV Eindhoven striker Ola Toivonen and Wigan Athletic's Arouna Kone, but are attracted by the prospect of a one-year deal which will not involve a heavy transfer outlay.

Anelka, who also played for Liverpool, Manchester City and Bolton in the Premier League turned 34 in March and Clarke hopes persuade him to make Albion his sixth top flight English club.

Albion also retain an interest in another former Chelsea man Solomon Kalou, but face competition from West Ham United, who have reignited their interest in signing the 27-year-old from Lille.

It is understood that Kalou, who left Chelsea on a free transfer 12 months ago, has a release clause in his contract which is believed to be as low as £3 million, although his £3 million-a-year salary in France is higher than the top earners at the Hawthorns and could prove a stumbling block.

The Ivory Coast international scored 14 goals in 28 league appearances last season but he has admitted that he would welcome the chance to return to the Premier League.

Official: Aubameyang joins Dortmund

The 24-year-old striker arrives from Saint-Etienne and has agreed a five-year deal with the Champions League runners-up

Dortmund have completed the signing of Saint-Etienne striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for an undisclosed fee.

The Gabon international, who struck 19 goals in Ligue 1 last season, was welcomed by sporting director Michael Zorc as the Champions League finalists look to bolster their attack following the departure of Mario Gotze to Bayern.

“We are very pleased that in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang we were able to sign a player we really wanted,” Zorc told the club's website.

“He is offensively very versatile, has a lot of pace in his game, is a threat in front of goal and will provide us with more options.”

Aubameyang took to Twitter to express his gratitude to his former club.

“Before everything I want to thank this great club of Saint-Etienne, a great family that I'll never forget," said the 24-year-old.

“Thanks and let’s go now BvB, a dream which goes on for me. Thanks lord.”

The former AC Milan and Monaco man will join Dortmund after their training camp in Austria.

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With Xavi fading, Barcelona must convince Thiago to stay this summer

The 22-year-old midfielder is close to a move to Manchester United but, given the decline of his senior team-mate, could feature much more for the Catalans if he stayed at Camp Nou

As Brazil battered Spain in the Confederations Cup final on Sunday, Thiago Alcantara will have been an interested spectator. 

Born to Brazilian parents but raised in Spain (the country he has chosen to represent at international level), the Barcelona midfielder has set his sights on next summer's World Cup. And on Sunday's evidence, he has every chance of being there.

Thiago is on the brink of leaving Barcelona as he seeks more first-team opportunities in 2013-14 to impress Spain boss Vicente del Bosque, but Sunday showed Xavi to be a fading force and the midfielder may not need to leave Camp Nou at all in order to achieve his World Cup dream.

Xavi was overrun against Brazil and with his persistent Achilles tendon problems, is no longer the mobile midfielder he once was. Still a wonderful passer, the 33-year-old can no longer press or run as before and takes longer to recover between games. In fact, he undergoes only light training work between matches these days and his influence is greatly reduced when he is made to play twice in quick succession - which is exactly what happened in Brazil.

YET TO SPEAK TO BARCA AS UNITED CLOSE IN

Barcelona spokesman Toni Freixa revealed on Tuesday that the Catalan club have yet to talk to Thiago over his future at Camp Nou, although the Spanish champions have been in contact with the player's father, Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho. Barca still hope to convince Thiago to stay, but believe privately that the midfielder will look to leave as he seeks more minutes in 2013-14 in order to win a place in Spain's squad for next summer's World Cup. United have tracked Thiago for two years and are close to a deal. The midfielder is available for €18 million until August 1, when his release clause returns to the phobiitive figure of €90m. New manager David Moyes hopes the signing will go through over the next few days.

Thiago, who recently starred for Spain's Under-21 side in their European Championship triumph and hit a hat-trick in the 4-2 final win over Italy, is seen as a long-term successor to Xavi at Camp Nou. But he appeared in only 36 of Barca's 60 official games in 2012-13 and failed to feature for 30 minutes or more in 60 per cent of the club's matches, activating a clause in his contract which has seen his price drop from €90 million to a much more attractive €18m until August 1.

That has alerted the attention of many of Europe's top teams, with Manchester United leading Bayern Munich in the race for his signature. Barcelona, meanwhile, have not given up hope he will remain at Camp Nou - and convincing Thiago to stay should be their top priority in the coming days.

Club spokesman Toni Freixa revealed on Tuesday that Barca are still looking to recruit defender Thiago Silva and said three more players could arrive this summer. And on Alcantara, he simply said: "Thiago has not communicated any decision to us. He is a player who is under contract."

Thiago loves Barcelona. The 22-year-old midfielder posted a picture on his Instagram account earlier this week with that very message as he was seen sat in a swimming pool with a friend on a rooftop terrace in the sun. He also loves playing for the Catalan club, but was left unconvinced by initital talks with coach Tito Vilanova at the end of the season.

"Thiago is the future, he is the present - we would like him to stay but the decision is his. He is a player who could be a starter," Vilanova explained after Barca beat Malaga in the last game of La Liga at the beginning of June.

And although Neymar has arrived since then, making competition for places even more fierce at Camp Nou, Xavi's ever more fragile frame means minutes will be available for others at Barca next season. 

The 33-year-old has reached the point where he will need to be rested sensibly and often for the club to carry on enjoying his talents in 2013-14 and beyond. So the opportunity may have finally arrived for Thiago after all. But time is running out and Barca must move quickly to convince the midfielder that he can be the present as well as the future at Camp Nou, just as Tito claims.

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Cavani has heart set on move to Mourinho's Chelsea

The Uruguay striker, who scored three goals at the Confederations Cup, has told his close friends that he wants to move to Stamford Bridge so he can play in the Premier League

Edinson Cavani has set his heart on a dream move to the Premier League and wants to join Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Goal understands.

Having fulfilled his Confederations Cup commitments with Uruguay the Napoli striker is now seeking urgent talks with the Serie A club’s owner Aurelio De Laurentiis, who is intent on receiving the player’s €63 million release clause in full. 

Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain are all competing with Chelsea for the 26-year-old’s services, but the allure of spearheading Mourinho’s strike force at Stamford Bridge is understood to have swayed Cavani, who has spoken of his desire to play in the Premier League on a number of occasions.
"Although Edinson loves Real Madrid, he feels that his style would fit the Premier League much better, and Chelsea are the only chance he has of playing there," a source close to the player revealed to Goal.

“Edinson has already instructed Napoli that he wants to leave and is hopeful that his situation can be resolved as soon as possible.”

Both Manchester City and Real Madrid, whom Cavani claimed it would be “a dream” to play for, have refused to be drawn into a bidding war for the player while, as reported by Goal last month, Chelsea’s €40m plus Fernando Torres offer was firmly rejected.

Chelsea have remained in negotiations with Napoli, however, and will be encouraged by Cavani’s desire to become an integral part of Mourinho’s second coming at Stamford Bridge where he would be an automatic first choice start ahead of the disaffected Torres, youngster Romelu Lukaku and Rafa Benitez’s only major signing Demba Ba.

According to De Laurentiis, Real Madrid have also made a formal offer for the player who has scored 29 league goals last season, while City have cooled their interest having refused to meet the buyout clause and are actively pursuing alternative targets, including Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo.

Paris Saint Germain’s desire to make Cavani their headline summer signing remains strong after they met with his representatives in January and on Tuesday were reported to have submitted a €50m bid.

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El Shaarawy 'never had any doubts' over San Siro stay

The Italy international had been tipped to part company with the Serie A giants, with Manchester City among those said to have been interested in his services

Stephan El Shaarawy has claimed that he never had any doubts over his future at AC Milan - despite constant speculation of late linking him with a move away from San Siro.

It had been widely reported that the Rossoneri were considering cashing in on the Italy international, given his seeming inability to thrive alongside star striker Mario Balotelli.

However, after showdown talks between the player and the club on Tuesday, Milan CEO Adriano Galliani stated that El Shaarawy would be staying at San Siro.

The striker responded to the announcement by Tweeting: "Never had any doubts ... always and only ForzaMilan!"

El Shaarawy netted 16 goals in Serie A last season, but only one following the arrival of fellow forward Balotelli from Manchester City at the end of the January transfer window.

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