Sports

Joan Laporta believes Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann showed ignorance by expressing his bemusement over Barcelona s spending spree.

Barca this month signed Bayern s prolific striker Robert Lewandowski for a fee that is said to rise up to €50million and also brought Raphinha to Camp Nou in a big-money move from Leeds United.

The Catalan giants have also agreed a deal to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla for a reported €55m, while Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen arrived as free agents.

Barcelona could not afford to keep Lionel Messi a year ago due to a financial crisis at the club, but in recent months they have sold 25 per cent of the club s television rights for the next 25 years and secured a hugely lucrative sponsorship deal with Spotify.

Market: St. Mirren win

Odds: 1/1 @

Looking to secure back-to-back Premiership victories this weekend, St, Mirren will welcome Motherwell to Paisley on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, managing to claim a welcomed top-flight boost last weekend, St. Mirren will now be hoping to find some Premiership stability. Eventually picking up a routine 2-0 victory against Ross County, Stephen Robinson’s side should be smelling the opportunity to make another statement here. Gaining a string of plaudits since opening up the 2023/24 campaign and remarkably sat third in the standings, the Buddies have continued to shine thanks to their performances on home soil. Signing off October with a stellar 4-0 romp against St. Johnstone, it should be noted that the Paisley-…

Jordi Alba spared Barcelona s blushes against a defiant 10-man Osasuna after his late strike earned the hosts a 1-0 LaLiga win at Camp Nou on Tuesday.

The substitute tucked a low finish past Aitor Fernandez at the near post in the closing stages to keep the Blaugrana on the march to the title.

It delivered crucial relief for Xavi s side after they had largely failed to make the most out of an extra body against the visitors, following Jorge Herrando s 26th-minute red card.

The win moves Barca onto 82 points and potentially just a couple of games away from clinching a first LaLiga title since the 2018-19 campaign.

An otherwise tepid game that had mustered little in the way of excitement burst into life shortly before the half-hour mark when Osasuna debutan…

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker is in demand in the Saudi Pro League, according to . The report has claimed that clubs in Saudi Arabia are keen on the Brazil international, and that the 31-year-old will get a monster offer.

TEAMtalk has claimed that Alisson’s preference is to stay in Europe if he is to leave Liverpool in the summer transfer window. The former AS Roma star wants to play in the UEFA Champions League and is also keen on keeping his place as the first-choice goalkeeper for Brazil.

Alisson has been on the books of Liverpool since 2018 and has been superb for the Reds over the years. The 31-year-old has established himself as a world-class goalkeeper, and it would be hard for Liverpool to replace him if he left the Merseyside club this summer. He has wo…

Aston Villa veteran Ashley Young has agreed a new one-year contract with the club.

Young, who will turn 37 this week, made 24 Premier League appearances, 10 of which were starts, after returning to Villa for a second spell last season.

He represented Manchester United and Inter after his first four-and-a-half year spell at Villa Park ended in 2011.

Young will now spend the 2022-23 campaign with Villa under Steven Gerrard, as they look to kick on from a 14th-place finish.

Asked why he opted to stay, Young told Villa s website: It was the ambition of the club, the manager, the staff and the players as well  I wasn t ready to go into retirement just yet.

When I spoke to the manager towards the end of the season, he told me what he thought about me…

Chelsea made a dismal start to their Champions League campaign as Mislav Orsic guided Dinamo Zagreb to a shock 1-0 win over the disjointed Blues on Tuesday. 

Orsic handed the hosts a surprise lead with a neat finish after racing onto Bruno Petkovic s flick-on just 13 minutes in, as Chelsea produced yet another toothless attacking display.

Chelsea debutant Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struggled before being withdrawn on the hour, with Dinamo keeping Thomas Tuchel s men at arm s length with a superb defensive performance.

Having made a below-par start in the Premier League, Chelsea must now play catch-up in what could prove an awkward Champions League group, with games against Milan and Salzburg to come.

Mislav Oršić s last four games against Eng…

Erling Haaland s five-goal masterclass fired Manchester City into the Champions League quarter-finals as they dismantled RB Leipzig in a 7-0 rout on Tuesday.

The striker nabbed a first-half hat-trick, including two goals in two minutes, before adding another two after the restart in a tour-de-force performance at the Etihad Stadium for a 8-1 aggregate victory.

Now with 39 goals for the season, Haaland s haul saw him take Tommy Johnson s single-season City record set in 1928-29 among a series of new high marks as Pep Guardiola s hosts tied their record margin of victory in European competition.

Also the youngest and fastest player to pass 30 Champions League goals, Haaland s historic numbers befitted a majestic display up front, with his latest turn destined to go…

Benjamin Sesko remains certain that staying at RB Leipzig is the right decision to develop his career after turning down reported Premier League interest.

Slovenia international Sesko joined Leipzig from RB Salzburg in 2023, scoring 14 league goals last campaign, a tally bettered by only seven players in the German top flight.

That form was said to have attracted Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea to the 21-year-old, who instead signed a new five-year contract with the Bundesliga club last month.

Having committed his future to life at the Red Bull Arena, the striker believes Leipzig will provide a platform for his progression.

I thought it through very well, Sesko said to Nogomania, a Slovenian media outlet. I believe I made the right decision. I wan…

Spain coach Luis Enrique stood by his players, and his philosophy, following their World Cup exit at the hands of Morocco on Tuesday.

It means since winning the title in 2010, Spain have failed to advance beyond the round of 16 stage in three attempts.

Spain racked up 1019 passes over 120 minutes of domination but a glaring lack of cutting edge stunted their attempts to find a goal with the game going to a penalty shoot-out in which Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets all missed.

Luis Enrique insisted he was happy with the way his team played and stood by his style of football.

We dominated but lacked a goal, he said. We created chances, we were progressive but we met an opponent who performed to a high level.

We could ve created mor…

Dani Carvajal has no intention of playing for any European club other than Real Madrid, describing a move to MLS as a possibility at the end of his career.

Carvajal came through the ranks at the Santiago Bernabeu before spending a lone season in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen in 2012-13.

Since returning to Madrid, Carvajal has built a legacy as one of the club s most decorated players, winning LaLiga four times, the Champions League on six occasions and the FIFA Club World Cup five times.

Carvajal scored the opener as Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund in last season s Champions League final, then played a key role as Spain won a record-breaking fourth European crown at Euro 2024.

Carvajal saw fellow Madrid stalwart Toni Kroos hang up his boots after that tour…