Magath flags Diego return

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore has spoken of his happiness at returning to form following a below-par couple of weeks.

The former Palermo star, who transferred to the Parc des Princes in 2011, was a key player for the club under Antoine Kombouare, but has so far failed to live up to his price-tag under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti.

But the 23-year-old has recovered from his dip in form which saw him dropped to the bench, and played a starring role in PSG s 4-0 win over Evian on Saturday.

The confidence is coming back, and I feel much better than last week. I have more freedom when I m alone, the Argentina international told RMC Sport.

Pastore also sought to downplay rumours of a loan move back to Serie A, insisting that he is doing wel…

As expected, Chelsea have signed Portugal midfielder Deco from Barcelona on a two-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £8million. Deco had been told by new Barca boss Pep Guardiola that he wasn’t required and it was a natural move for him to tie up with his former Portugal manager Phil Scolari at Chelsea.

It is good for me to be here and first of all I am very happy to be here, Deco told Chelsea s official website.

Although this is Scolari’s first signing he was, of course, believed to be heavily involved in the signing of fellow Portugal international Jose Bosingwa.

Deco suffered a series of injuries during the 2007-08 season, and he made just 14 starts in Barcelona s La Liga campaign. He featured in E…

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez in a reported €57million (£48m) deal.

An agreement on the fee was reached between the clubs on July 17, and the player has now signed a five-year-deal, with the option of a further year.

The 24-year-old follows former coach Erik ten Hag to Old Trafford in a move that is thought could potentially rise to €67m (£56.5m) with add-ons.

Martinez s arrival marks the latest building block of the Dutchman s restructuring of the English giants, who posted a worst-ever points total in the Premier League era last term (58).

They also conceded the most goals they ever have in a Premier League campaign (57), something Ten Hag will hope the Argentina international can help i…

Georginio Wijnaldum says Diogo Jota is proving to be an even better acquisition than Liverpool thought he would be.

Jota has been a revelation since joining from Wolves in September for a reported £41million, scoring nine goals in 15 appearances across all competitions. 

He is already well on course to overtake his total Premier League tally of seven from last season, with five goals from as many starts in the English top flight so far this campaign. 

Jota is aiming to become just the fourth player to score in his first five home games for a club in the Premier League when his former side Wolves visit Anfield on Sunday. 

Wijnaldum is in no doubt Jota – who scored 16 goals in 67 Premier League appearances for Wolves – will revel in the occasion …

After maintaining Real Madrid s push for a La Liga and Champions League double, Cristiano Ronaldo reiterated his desire for Zinedine Zidane to stay as coach.

Zidane guided Madrid to a 14th European Cup final following Wednesday s 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid, seeking an 11th European crown when they lock horns with rivals Atletico Madrid at San Siro on May 28 in a repeat of the 2014 final, have steadily improved since Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez in January.

The capital club remain in La Liga contention, just a point behind title holders Barcelona and Atletico with two matches remaining, and Ronaldo once again pledged his support for Zidane, who is no certainty to carry on beyond the season.

He s doing a great job with …

Pele has hit out at Brazil coach Dunga for his reluctance to field creative players and believes the Selecao now come behind countries such as Argentina and Chile when it comes to playing beautiful football.

Brazil were hammered 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup, before crashing out of the Copa America in the quarter-finals at the hands of Paraguay a year later and Pele feels recent results offer proof they no longer set the benchmark.

I am sad just talking about it. I cried watching that game [the 7-1 loss to Germany] and not just because of the score. I cried because I do not know what happened to the joy of Brazilian football, Pele told ESPN.

Maybe this summer in the Olympics and Copa America, we can remind the world of how Brazil p…

While PSV Eindhoven target a successful title defence Ajax are out to revisit past glories while former England coach Steve McClaren cuts his teeth in foreign climes as the Dutch league kicks off this weekend.

McClaren will certainly be grateful that most sides in the Eredivisie are not of the calibre of the Arsenal side which crushed his new employers FC Twente 6-0 on aggregate in the Champions League qualifiers over two legs.

Wednesday s 4-0 beating at the Emirates was at least a little less painful than the Euro 2008 elimination at Croatia s hands which former Middlesbrough boss McClaren famously watched from under an umbrella and public vilification has not resulted either.

McClaren s men will look to put early points on the board at Roda JC Kerkrade on S…

Matt Doherty has leapt to the defence of Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny after their Euro 2024 qualifying defeat in Greece thrust him into the firing line once again.

A 2-1 reverse at the OPAP Arena in Athens left Ireland without a point from their opening two fixtures and knowing their chances of escaping a group, which also includes World Cup runners-up France and traditional European superpower the Netherlands, have receded dramatically.

Kenny once again finds himself under intense pressure as a result, but asked if he was still the right man for the job, Doherty said: “Of course. We are prepared unbelievably well, they do everything for us.

“I was just saying behind the scenes, the staff, the manager, (assistant managers) Keith (Andrews), Sheasy…

Federico Bernardeschi had the last laugh as he returned to his former club Fiorentina with their historic rivals Juventus and scored in a 2-0 victory which puts the reigning champions top of Serie A.

The 23-year-old angered Fiorentina fans in pre-season when he crossed the rivalry that was intensified by Robert Baggio s switch to Juve in 1990 and he silenced the jeers with a second-half free-kick, before Gonzalo Higuain wrapped things up late on in Massimiliano Allegri s 200th game in charge.

For the most part, the first half was a cagey affair, with a controversial VAR decision which ultimately denied Fiorentina an early penalty chief among the few highlights.

The best opportunity in a first period otherwise devoid of them fell to the hosts just before the br…

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho is another player to have decided to hang up his boots.

What’s been mooted for the good part of 2017 has now been confirmed by the man himself who confirmed in a video posted on Twitter that he’d be ending his professional football career to focus on the educational aspect of the game and on his another great passion – music.

Have a look.

Eu tenho um grande anúncio para compartilhar com vocês hoje.

— Ronaldinho Gaúcho (@10Ronaldinho)

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