Ronaldo leaving Madrid would make Barca star Rakitic happy


Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid would make Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic happy.


Ronaldo cast doubt on his future in Madrid with his comments after they won a third successive Champions League title by beating Liverpool 3-1 last month.


The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has since admitted he timed his remarks poorly, but it remains to be seen whether he will stay at the Santiago Bernabeu for 2018-19.


Should Ronaldo decide to move on, Rakitic suggested it would be good for LaLiga and Copa del Rey champions Barca.


"I find it hard to believe that he'd go," the Croatia international told Marca.


"But, things change quickly in football. And if he does go, I'm not going to lie, I'd be happy."

Messi is best even without World Cup success – Rakitic


Lionel Messi is the best regardless of whether he leads Argentina to World Cup glory, according to Barcelona team-mate Ivan Rakitic.


Messi, 30, is still searching for his first senior trophy with his country, with the pressure again on him to deliver in Russia.


But Rakitic, whose Croatia are alongside Argentina, Iceland and Nigeria in Group D, said the World Cup would not change what Messi was.


"Surely he deserves to win it for who he is. Football isn't tennis: you can't put Messi under pressure by saying he alone has to win the World Cup," he told Marca.


"He does deserve it but there are 32 countries with the same dream. If he wins it at the end, we will all be happy for him.


"However, his story is not going to change if he wins it or not.


"If you are the best, you are it independently of whether you win one or 50,000 titles. One World Cup will not change what Leo Messi means to football."


[SELECCIÓN MAYOR] Esta tarde, la Selección
@Argentina practicó ante la mirada de más de 400 personas, poniendo punto final a la preparación programada para el día.


pic.twitter.com/BmOumHzQOS
— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) June 11, 2018
Messi and Rakitic are set to do battle on June 21, with Argentina favourites to top the group.


While he is desperate to lead Croatia to a win, Rakitic said stopping his club team-mate was impossible.


"In football, no-one has found the formula as how to stop Messi. Not [Croatia coach Zlatko] Dalic, not me, no-one can. What we've got to do is enjoy him," he said.


"We measure ourselves against the best and to have the opportunity to face the best is brilliant. We know that it's going to be difficult but so will the games against Nigeria and Iceland.


"We realise that it's just special to go up against Leo but he also knows that we all want to play well against him."

Zidane: I didn´t leave Madrid to take France job


Zinedine Zidane insisted he did not leave his Real Madrid post just so he could take over as France coach.


Zidane made the shock decision to resign as Madrid head coach just days after leading the LaLiga giants to a third straight Champions League title.


The 45-year-old was quickly linked to taking over his nation, who under Didier Deschamps are considered among the World Cup favourites.


But Zidane said his decision to leave Madrid had nothing to do with potentially leading his country.


"The most important thing is to support the team of France," he told TF1.


"I didn't stop to want to take the team of France. I stopped to make a parenthesis.


"I'm behind the French team. We want it to bring back a second title."


France begin their World Cup campaign against Australia on Saturday before meetings with Peru and Denmark in Group C.

Ronaldo will stay at Madrid and Griezmann at Atletico, says LaLiga president


LaLiga president Javier Tebas believes Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann will stay at Real Madrid and Atletico, respectively.


Ronaldo cast doubt over his future at Madrid after their third consecutive Champions League success last month.


Meanwhile, Griezmann's future at Atletico is uncertain, although the forward is set to announce whether he is staying at the LaLiga club in the coming days, amid Barcelona's interest.


But Tebas expects both players to remain at their respective clubs heading into next season.


"I think Cristiano stays at Real Madrid and Antoine Griezmann stays at Atletico," he told Onda Cero.


While the departure of Ronaldo would be considered a blow to LaLiga, Tebas insisted he was unconcerned.


"Cristiano Ronaldo leaving, out of 10, I'm worried about a five or a four," he said.


"It wouldn't be so dramatic for the league. We are becoming more independent of great players."

Lewandowski won´t be sold – Hoeness rubbishes reported €200m price tag


Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski will not be sold and reports of a €200million price tag are nonsense, club president Uli Hoeness said.


Lewandowski, 29, is linked with a move away from the Bundesliga giants after his agent said last month the Poland international wanted to leave.


Manchester United and Chelsea have emerged as possible destinations, while Real Madrid were initially reported to be interested.


Amid reports Bayern wanted at least €200m for Lewandowski, Hoeness rubbished those claims and said the forward was going nowhere.


"A €200m price tag is nonsense," he told Sky.


"Robert will not be sold and will play next season with us. Everything has been said about that."


Lewandowski, who is contracted until 2021, has spent the past four seasons at Bayern, scoring 41 goals in 2017-18.

The time is now for Belgium, not two or four years´ time – Hazard


Eden Hazard thinks the club form of Belgium's key players such as himself, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku means the time has come for Roberto Martinez's men to match expectations.


Belgium go to the World Cup with arguably one of the most talented squads in the entire competition, boasting a host of players who have starred in Europe's biggest leagues.


Captain Hazard has regularly impressed for Chelsea in recent years, while De Bruyne was one of the top players in the Premier League in the season just finished.


Belgium went to the 2014 World Cup with a similarly impressive collection of players and made little impact and Hazard says they need to show that their time has come this year.


"I think that we are all in top shape," Hazard told reporters. "Kevin at Manchester City, Romelu at Manchester United, me at Chelsea, Thibaut [Courtois] at Chelsea.


"We all play in great clubs, we all had good seasons. So if we want to do something great, it is now.


"The time isn't in one, two or four years. I think now is the moment to be together and do something great.


"There is no 'Eden Hazard dependence'. We have 23 players who can play.


"Obviously, I am in good shape. I can score and be decisive in the group. There is always a player who is more in the spotlight than the others. It's normal.


"But I think every player can find the solution in games. I could play badly in one game and someone else could score or do the right things.


"There is no 'Eden Hazard dependence'. Everybody is working for everybody. Everybody is crucial."

Messi quicker to 100 Champions League goals than Ronaldo

Lionel Messi scored his 100th Champions League goal in Barcelona's last-16 second leg against Chelsea, joining Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to hit that illustrious milestone.

The Argentine star scored his 99th goal in Europe's top club competition in the third minute at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, slipping a near-post shot between the legs of Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to mark the fastest goal of his career for club and country.

And after setting up an Ousmane Dembele strike, Messi hit the century mark in the 63rd minute with a second nutmeg of Courtois.

That tally capped Barca's 3-0 win on the night, with the La Liga leaders advancing via a 4-1 aggregate triumph.

Messi and Ronaldo are now the only players with 100 Champions League goals, though the Barca star managed the feat in 123 matches — 14 fewer than the 137 games his Real Madrid counterpart needed to reach the threshold.

Messi quicker to 100 Champions League goals than Ronaldo

Lionel Messi scored his 100th Champions League goal in Barcelona's last-16 second leg against Chelsea, joining Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to hit that illustrious milestone.

The Argentine star scored his 99th goal in Europe's top club competition in the third minute at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, slipping a near-post shot between the legs of Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to mark the fastest goal of his career for club and country.

And after setting up an Ousmane Dembele strike, Messi hit the century mark in the 63rd minute with a second nutmeg of Courtois.

That tally capped Barca's 3-0 win on the night, with the La Liga leaders advancing via a 4-1 aggregate triumph.

Messi and Ronaldo are now the only players with 100 Champions League goals, though the Barca star managed the feat in 123 matches — 14 fewer than the 137 games his Real Madrid counterpart needed to reach the threshold.

13 PROBLEMS WITH PORK


1) A pig is a real garbage gut. It will eat anything including urine, excrement, dirt, decaying animal flesh, maggots, or decaying vegetables. They will even eat the cancerous growths off other pigs or animals.


2) The meat and fat of a pig absorbs toxins like a sponge. Their meat can be 30 times more toxic than beef or venison.


3) When eating beef or venison, it takes 8 to 9 hours to digest the meat so what little toxins are in the meat are slowly put into our system and can be filtered by the liver. But when pork is eaten, it takes only 4 hours to digest the meat. We thus get a much higher level of toxins within a shorter time.


4) Unlike other mammals, a pig does not sweat or perspire. Perspiration is a means by which toxins are removed from the body. Since a pig does not sweat, the toxins remain within its body and in the meat.


5) Pigs and swine are so poisonous that you can hardly kill them with strychnine or other poisons.


6) Farmers will often pen up pigs within a rattlesnake nest because the pigs will eat the snakes, and if bitten they will not be harmed by the venom.


7) When a pig is butchered, worms and insects take to its flesh sooner and faster than to other animal's flesh. In a few days the swine flesh is full of worms.


8) Swine and pigs have over a dozen parasites within them, such as tapeworms, flukes, worms, and trichinae. There is no safe temperature at which pork can be cooked to ensure that all these parasites, their cysts, and eggs will be killed.


9) Pig meat has twice as much fat as beef. A 3 oz T bone steak contains 8.5 grams of fat; a 3 oz pork chop contains 18 grams of fat. A 3 oz beef rib has 11.1 grams of fat; a 3 oz pork spare rib has 23.2 grams of fat.


10) Cows have a complex digestive system, having four stomachs. It thus takes over 24 hours to digest their vegetarian diet causing its food to be purified of toxins. In contrast, the swine's one stomach takes only about 4 hours to digest its foul diet, turning its toxic food into flesh.


11) The swine carries about 30 diseases which can be easily passed to humans. This is why God commanded that we are not even to touch their carcase (Leviticus 11:8).


12) The trichinae worm of the swine is microscopically small, and once ingested can lodge itself in our intestines, muscles, spinal cord or the brain. This results in the disease trichinosis. The symptoms are sometimes lacking, but when present they are mistaken for other diseases, such as typhoid, arthritis, rheumatism, gastritis, MS, meningitis, gall bladder trouble, or acute alcoholism.


13) The pig is so poisonous and filthy, that nature had to prepare him a sewer line or canal running down each leg with an outlet in the bottom of the foot. Out of this hole oozes pus and filth his body cannot pass into its system fast enough.

Andrés Iniesta with a hamstring injury


Tests carried out confirm the midfielder's problem and his recovery will dictate his return to action Andrés Iniesta has suffered a hamstring injury in his right leg that forced him off in the first half of Barça’s 1-0 win over Atlético at Camp Nou.

The Barça midfielder first felt the problem after 20 minutes and despite continuing out on the field, he was finally replaced by André Gomes on 34 minutes.

Medical tests carried out at the end of the game have confirmed the injury and his recovery will determine when he returns to action.

Asked about the possible absence of Iniesta in the coming weeks after the game, coach Ernesto Valverde replied: “Without Iniesta we lose a unique player, irreplaceable. It’s difficult to find a substitute for his because there is no-one like him in the world. Let’s hope the injury is nothing serious.”

Fiorentina Captain Davide Astori Found Dead

Fiorentina have confirmed that club captain Davide Astori passed away suddenly on the eve of his side's trip to face Udinese in Serie A.

The 31-year-old centre-back had been capped 14 times by Italy and had enjoyed a professional career spanning 12 years.

“Fiorentina are profoundly shaken and forced to announce that their captain Davide Astori has died,” a statement posted on the clubs official website reads.

“For this terrible and delicate situation, and above all out of respect for his family, we appeal to the sensitivity of the media.”

He started out at AC Milan, where he never played a Serie A match, before moving to Cagliari, the club where he made his big breakthrough. He turned out 174 times for the Sardinians in a six-year spell, during which he made his national team debut.

Udinese have confirmed that the fixture they were scheduled to play against Fiorentina on Sunday has been postponed as a consequence.

Pep Guardiola says Arsene Wenger is right man for Arsenal

Pep Guardiola has backed Arsene Wenger to deal with the "situation" at Arsenal, following Thursday's 3-0 loss to Manchester City at the Emirates.

Arsenal have lost five of their last seven games, twice at the hands of City, and find themselves 10 points adrift of the top four, with the Europa League their only remaining chance to win any silverware.

Guardiola, who has lost on three of the 14 occasions he has come up against Wenger, heaped praise on the Frenchman and believes he has the know-how to help the steer the club out of trouble.

"He knows my admiration for him," said Guardiola.

"I can understand the situation. I know all the managers can be in that situation. He knows, he handles that situation. He has a lot of experience.

"He knows the club, he knows the Premier League, he knows his players. And I'm sure he's going to take the right decision, for the club, for him, for the players, for everybody."

€100m Balotelli in talks to return to Italy or England, says Raiola

Mario Balotelli is worth €100 million and set to return to Italy or England, according to his agent Mino Raiola.

The 27-year-old forward is out of contract at Nice at the end of the season, having scored 21 goals in 29 games in all competitions this campaign.

Balotelli has enjoyed two strong seasons at the Ligue 1 club, but appears set to return to the Serie A or the Premier League.

Raiola claimed he had spoken to several clubs about Balotelli, but he ruled out a return to AC Milan for the 33-time Italy international.

"Mario is ready to come back to Italy. He is one of the 10 best strikers in the world, and the number one in Italy," he told RAI.

"He is worth €100m, but he is a free agent so he is a bargain.

"I'm already negotiating with many teams in England and Italy. I talked with Juventus, Roma, Napoli, Inter."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic hints at comeback for Sweden at World Cup

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hinted he may come out of international retirement for Sweden to play at World Cup in Russia this summer.

The striker announced his retirement from the national set-up after featuring for his country at Euro 2016.

A move to Manchester United from Paris Saint-Germain soon followed, though the 36-year-old has seen his second season in English football hampered by injury.

Speaking this week to Swedish media, Ibrahimovic, who has featured just seven times in all competitions this season, implied he could make a return.

"I miss the national team. If I want, I do it. I want to feel I can deliver a good performance," he said.

"We'll see, it's a tough question. I want to feel that I can perform and give back. I don't want to come just because I'm somebody. The door isn't closed for anything."

Paris Saint-Germain confirm Neymar set for surgery

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed star attacker Neymar is set to undergo surgery this week after being diagnosed with a broken foot.

Neymar went down at the end of PSG's 3-0 Ligue 1 win over Marseille on February 25, with tests later confirming he had sustained a cracked metatarsal bone in addition to a twisted ankle.

The star's father called for him to undergo surgery and the club has announced that they and the Brazil national team agree, scheduling a procedure to be done in Brazil at the end of the week.

"After an initial treatment period of three days inline with a strict medical protocol, a joint decision has been taken between the medical staffs of both Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team," PSG said in a statement.

The statement also added the decision was made "in accordance with the player" and the surgery will be performed by Dr Rodrigo Lasmar, accompanied on site by Professor Saillant, representing PSG.

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