Wijnaldum forced off ahead of Liverpool´s Club World Cup trip

Eric Cantona has suggested France coach Didier Deschamps omitted Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa from his Euro 2016 squad due to their African heritage.

Benzema was ruled out of the tournament on home soil in April, as the French Football Federation cited his need to work towards unity pending the outcome of a legal investigation into an alleged plot to blackmail fellow international Mathieu Valbuena, which had seen him suspended from international duty in December.

Ben Arfa still has a chance of featuring at the tournament, having been selected among Deschamps stand-by options after a remarkable resurgence in the 2015-16 season in which he scored 17 Ligue 1 goals to fire Nice to fourth place.

Cantona says such form makes Ben Arfa France s best player, while cri…

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu insisted Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann is not in the club s plans, though he refused to rule out a move for Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt.

Griezmann was linked with Barca prior to the 2018 World Cup before committing his future to Atletico, however, speculation of a Camp Nou switch has resurfaced.

However, LaLiga champions Barca are not looking to sign the 28-year-old – who is contracted until 2023 – according to Bartomeu.

[Griezmann] is an Atletico Madrid player and he has a contract [with them], the Barcelona president told TVE.

I like that the great players are in Spain because he gives value to LaLiga Santander [which helps], for example, to get sponsors.

If Griezmann wanted to c…

Former Manchester United winger Nani has backed new manager and compatriot Jose Mourinho to bring the good times back to Old Trafford.

Nani was one of Alex Ferguson s players to be moved on by Louis van Gaal when he replaced David Moyes, but the Dutchman s revolution failed to bring consistent results.

Van Gaal paid the ultimate price for that after United failed to qualify for next season s Champions League with a fifth-place finish in the Premier League in 2015-16, though he did lead them to an FA Cup triumph.

But Nani says United have finally found the right manager to bring the glory days back to the club in Mourinho, who will be tasked with re-establishing United as the dominant force they were in England under Ferguson.

He is a fantastic manager �…

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk insisted he is not daunted by the challenge of trying to stop Lionel Messi and Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals.

Wednesday will see Liverpool travel to Camp Nou for the opening leg of the blockbuster final-four clash against the LaLiga champions.

Messi helped deliver back-to-back LaLiga titles for Barca his 10th league with the club and the Spanish giants are now eyeing a treble.

The five-time Ballon d Or winner has scored 46 goals this season, 10 of those coming in the Champions League, but Van Dijk does not fear Messi.

 Messi  Robertson
 ______  ______
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Three key battles to anticipate on Wednesday night at the Camp Nou

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

I think he is the …

Spanish newspaper that Swansea are in talks with Osasuna midfielder Roland Lamah.

Rather than resting on their laurels following a bright start to the season, Swansea officials are looking for ways to further reinforcing the squad.

With both Michu and Danny Graham linked with January exit, the Swans are keen to add few more players to their ranks during the winter transfer window.

According to AS, the Premier League side are closing in on Osasuna midfielder Roland Lamah.

The same source claims the player has been given permission by his club to negotiate personal terms with Swansea, with the transfer set to be completed in the coming days.

Lamah, 25, joined Osasuna from Le Mans in the summer of 2011 and quickly established himself as a first tea…

Werder Bremen director Klaus Filbry said Real Madrid would rather pay a fine than play a friendly match against them in the off-season.

The Spanish giants are due to embark on a tour to either the United States or Asia after Euro 2012, but were also pencilled in to face the Bundesliga side as part of the deal to bring Mesut Ozil to the Santiago Bernabeu last year.

However, according to the finance official, Real have informed Bremen of their intention to break the agreement and instead look elsewhere for lucrative opportunities during the close season.

It seems Real will not play against us and would rather pay a fine than do so, Filbry told Kreiszeitung.

They have given their preference to a summer tournament in the US or Asia, which would obviously …

Neymar insists team-mate Lionel Messi has nothing to prove to his critics in his second season as a Paris Saint-Germain player.

Messi had an underwhelming first campaign with PSG following his move from Barcelona, scoring 11 goals in 34 games – down on the 38 scored with Barca the previous year.

Those 11 goals came from an expected goals (xG) value of 16.8, suggesting Messi underperformed in front of goal based on the quality of his chances.

Messi assisted 14 goals, though, 10 of which came after the turn of the year – only Barca s Ousmane Dembele (11) has managed more across Europe s top five leagues in 2022.

The 35-year-old impressed in his first competitive outing of the 2022-23 campaign on Sunday as he opened the scoring in PSG s 4-0 Trophee des C…

Bruno Fernandes scored his 13th penalty for Manchester United, though it was not enough to inspire the Red Devils to a comeback in the Champions League.

United slumped to a 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig on Tuesday, having needed to avoid a loss in order to progress from Group H.

Paris Saint-Germain s match with Istanbul Basaksehir was delayed due to allegations of racism from a UEFA official, but last season s runners up will join Leipzig in the last 16.

Angelino, Amadou Haidara and Justin Kluivert gave Leipzig a 3-0 lead, yet Ibrahima Konate s foul on Mason Greenwood handed United – who have conceded three goals in consecutive Champions League games for the first time since April 2003 – a lifeline.

Fernandes duly sent Peter Gulacsi the wrong way to net…

Cristian Montano has accused Oldham of double standards after they sacked him amid spot-fixing allegations before trying to sign Ched Evans.

Oldham Athletic have been accused of double standards by former player Cristian Montano, who was sacked by the club amid allegations of spot-fixing.

Montano was one of a number of players named by the National Crime Agency in November 2013, but he was never charged and the case was eventually dropped.

League One side Oldham courted controversy recently when they considered the prospect of signing convicted rapist Ched Evans, before a largely negative response from sponsors, fans and the general public led to them backing down.

And Montano believes it is unfair that Evans was almost given a chance, while he was …

The latest claims from Spanish prosecutors over Neymar s transfer to Barcelona have been vehemently rejected by the Catalan giants.

Barcelona have reiterated their innocence in relation to the transfer of Neymar after Spanish prosecutors called for the club to face trial.

According to Spanish newspaper AS, a petition was raised against the club, former president Sandro Rosell and current incumbent Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The acquisition of Neymar has been under the spotlight over the past 12 months after his move from Santos prior to the 2013-14 campaign, a deal estimated to be worth in the region of €57million although some claims suggested it was closer to €95m.

The furore led to Rosell leaving his post and Bartomeu stepping up in his place, and h…