Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu is confident that the club s main star, six-time Ballon d Or winner Lionel Messi, will sign a new contract with the club, according to .

Messi s current deal reportedly allowed him to leave the Camp Nou at the end of each season as a free agent, but now the last chance to cut the contract short has expired. Nonetheless, he is still free to leave next summer as the contract expires. And even though it feels like we ve been here before only for the world s best player to reconfirm his commitment to Barcelona, numerous reports suggest it might actually happen this time.

Apparently, the Argentinian is extremely unhappy with the way the club is run and the direction it has taken. A lot of money has been spent on incoming transfers sin…

Liverpool won the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 12 years with a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester City following a 1-1 draw in Thursday s final.

With the senior City team on course to deny Liverpool a first Premier League title with three games of the season to go, the Reds at least ensured silverware for their Under-18 side with the triumph at the Etihad Campus.

It is City s fourth final defeat in five seasons, having been denied by Chelsea in 2015, 2016 and 2017, while it is Liverpool s first success since they overcame Manchester United on spot-kicks in 2007.

With Pep Guardiola watching on, the hosts were largely the superior side from the outset and deservedly went ahead when Nabil Touaizi converted Adrian Bernabe s low cross from the left.

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Alvaro Morata does not think it a major problem that some Atletico Madrid fans were against his return to the club, insisting that  not even Jesus Christ pleased everybody .

The striker joined Diego Simeone s side in January on an 18-month loan deal from Chelsea, where he had struggled following a reported £57million switch from Real Madrid.

It was his allegiances with the European champions that upset a number of Atleti supporters, while others were frustrated that a deal for Morata was pursued instead of giving youngsters such as Borja Garces the chance to impress in the first team.

There were chants to that effect heard in the home LaLiga match against Getafe just prior to Morata s arrival, but the player says he has been made to feel welcome by the club.

Antonio Conte insisted Son Heung-min is underrated and can play in every team in the world, as Tottenham commenced their pre-season.

Spurs have travelled to Son s home country of South Korea, where they will face a select XI from the K-League on Wednesday, before coming up against Sevilla on Saturday.

The 30-year-old notched up 24 goals and 10 assists in 45 games across all competitions last season, and he particularly blossomed after Antonio Conte took over in November 2021, contributing to 26 of those goals in the Premier League alone.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday s pre-season opener against the K-League XI, Conte believes Son is a world-class player who does not receive due praise.

I can say only positive things, because we are talking about a world-cl…

West Ham United are interested in signing West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in the summer of 2022, according to . Johnstone is out of contract at Championship club West Brom at the end of the season, and Premier League outfit West Ham want to sign the goalkeeper on a free transfer then.

The Hammers wanted to sign Johnstone in the summer of 2021. West Ham make a bid of £6 million for the England international goalkeeper, but the Baggies turned it down. David Moyes’s side then signed Alphonse Areola from Paris Saint-Germain, but only on a loan deal.

Johnstone has been on the books of West Brom since 2018 and is one of the best goalkeepers in England. The 28-year-old goalkeeper has earned three caps for the Three Lions. West Brom are third in the Championshi…

Davide Zappacosta and Marko Pjaca have joined Genoa on loan from Chelsea and Juventus respectively.

Zappacosta, 28, spent last term in Serie A with Roma but made only nine league appearances, having suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury while in the capital.

The right-back joined the Blues in 2017, yet, having featured regularly across his debut campaign, he earned just one Premier League start in his second term.

He appears to have fallen down the pecking order under Frank Lampard following the emergence of Reece James, but is under contract until 2022.

Winger Pjaca, 25, has been at Juventus since 2016 after signing on a five-year deal from Dinamo Zagreb.

However, the Croatian has failed to establish himself in the Bianconeri s firs…

Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn has admitted the Bundesliga champions discussed the possibility of signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portugal international is widely reported to be pushing for an exit from Manchester United just one year after re-joining the club from Juventus due to his desire to continue playing in the Champions League, where he is the competitions all-time leading scorer.

Suitors for Ronaldo s services are not forthcoming, however, with Atletico Madrid stating a move was practically impossible despite being linked to his services – and Bayern have now also ruled out a transfer.

While the German giants have a spot in their attack to fill following Robert Lewandowski s move to Barcelona, Ronaldo is not the man they re after with Kahn sa…

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Matches between Chile and Uruguay have become some sort of rivalry ever since their 2015 Copa America quarterfinals match. Now, these two sides will meet once again in the continental competition as La Roja and La Celeste will compete to earn the first spot of Group C. This thrilling encounter between two CONMEBOL heavyweights will happen at Maracana, on Tuesday at midnight UK time.

Chile

Chile have been one of the biggest surprises in the 2019 Copa America so far. Despite being the reigning champions, there was a lot of controversy surrounding La Roja prior to the tournament and their manager, Reinaldo Rueda, was under pressure and on the hot seat. However, those things seemed to be in the re…

Barcelona are set to turn their attention to the quest for Club World Cup glory and Dani Alves is determined to ensure the favourites do not fall flat in Japan.

The competition gets underway on Thursday as Auckland City take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Yokohama for a place in the quarter-finals. CAF Champions League holders TP Mazembe await the winner of that match in the last eight.

But, although Barca do not enter the competition until the semi-finals, all the focus will be on the European and Spanish champions as they aim to win the competition for the third time.

Barca beat Estudiantes 2-1 in the 2009 final having lost to Internacional in the Yokohama showpiece three years earlier and then thrashed Santos 4-0 in the 2011 final.

The Yokohama Internati…

West Ham have allowed young defender Reece Oxford to leave for Bundesliga side Augsburg on a permanent deal.

Oxford, 20, became the youngest ever player to feature for West Ham in 2015, when Slaven Bilic handed him his first-team debut in a Europa League qualifier aged 16 years and 198 days.

The centre-back had been considered a major prospect for the Hammers and England at the time, making seven Premier League appearances in the 2015-16 campaign and reportedly snubbing Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City to sign a new deal.

However, he subsequently struggled to hold down a spot in the first-team squad and was underwhelming during loan spells with Reading and Borussia Monchengladbach.

REECE IS BACK! joins from and signs a permanent contr…