Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian striker Neymar has agreed in principle to join Barcelona, July 1. The 21-year-old striker is understood to have signed a deal last week to join the Spanish giants following the Confederations Cup in Brazil, reports Xinhua. Neymar's current club Santos could ratify the deal on Wednesday.
As anticipation surrounding the move intensified, Barcelona star Lionel Messi said Neymar would be a "wonderful signing" for the Catalan club. "I don't know if in the end he will sign with Barca, only he knows the answer to that," Messi told TV channel Qatar Alkass.
"He is a player who has very unique individual qualities. It is clear that for Barcelona he would be a wonderful acquisition." Neymar's move to the Camp Nou would end two years of speculation regarding the future of the Brazil international. A long line of European clubs have been linked to the starlet, including Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus.
Brazil legends Ronaldo and Rivaldo are among a growing chorus of current and former stars to insist Neymar must make a move now if he is to fulfil his potential. Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian winger Lucas Moura is the latest to espouse the benefits of European football....
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02:39 PM, May 22, 2013
Madrid: Florentino Perez's record as Real Madrid president was under scrutiny on Tuesday after the construction magnate's latest coaching project ended in disarray with the premature departure of Jose Mourinho. Perez, who is up for reelection next month, announced on Monday Mourinho would be leaving at the end of the season, three years before his contract expires. The world's richest club by income finished their latest campaign without a major...
05:09 PM, May 21, 2013
Here is a look at the life and career of Jose Mourinho, the charismatic Portuguese manager, who will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after reaching an agreement with the club on Monday to leave three years before the end of his contract: EARLY DAYS: - Jose Mourinho was born in January 1963 in Setubal, Portugal. - Following a modest playing career, he accepted a job in...
09:43 AM, May 21, 2013
Madrid: Mallorca's hopes of avoiding relegation from the Spanish league were kept alive by a 1-0 win against Real Betis on Monday. With two rounds left, 19th-place Mallorca are three points behind 17th-place Deportivo La Coruna but with an inferior goal difference. Mallorca striker Tomer Hemed scored in the 21st minute from close to the penalty spot after goalkeeper Adrian San Miguel saved Victor Casadesus Castano's initial shot. Betis stayed...
09:10 AM, May 21, 2013
Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season having once again produced some golden quotes. Here are some of the Portuguese coach's most memorable utterances over the years as well as what others have said about him. WHILE PORTO COACH: "The only thing that I want to say is that we are the best ones and in normal conditions we are more than the best ones....
09:00 AM, May 21, 2013
Madrid: Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after three years at the Spanish club, paving the way for his expected return to Chelsea. The Portuguese coach's final season at Madrid has been blighted by divisions and a lack of trophies, but he is free to leave three years early from his contract after the final match on June 1 without any compensation involved. "To...
11:42 PM, May 20, 2013
Singapore: Atletico Madrid will not stand in the way of striker Radamel Falcao if he wants to leave the club this offseason, general manager Miguel Angel Gil Marin said Monday. Marin said in Singapore that it's up to Falcao to decide whether to say at Atletico-the newly crowned Copa del Rey champions-but the club would support him no matter what he chooses. "Before the start of the season we talked...
06:42 PM, May 20, 2013
Paris: Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti wants to leave the club and says Real Madrid is a possible destination. The Italian had a meeting to discuss his future with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Leonardo on Sunday. But it's believed the recently crowned French league champions are reluctant to release him a year before his contract expires. "We had a meeting and I asked to leave the club,"...
09:11 AM, May 20, 2013
Barcelona: Newly crowned Spanish champion Barcelona celebrated winning the league title in front of their home fans by easing to a 2-1 victory over Valladolid on Sunday. While rain and dropping temperatures threatened to dampen the party in the stands, Barcelona had little trouble keeping alive its bid to equal Real Madrid's 2012 record haul of 100 points even without the injured Lionel Messi. The weather cleared up in time...
08:26 AM, May 20, 2013
Barcelona: Real Sociedad came back to win 2-1 at Sevilla and Valencia beat Getafe 1-0 on Saturday as both teams remained locked on points in their fight for a fourth-place finish in the Spanish league. Sociedad remained ahead of fifth-place Valencia on head-to-head goal difference and in control of Spain's last Champions League spot with two rounds to go. The Basque side fell behind 10 minutes in at Sanchez Pizjuan...
08:29 AM, May 19, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho were sifting through the debris of what the Portuguese coach termed a "disastrous" 2012-13 campaign after Friday's King's Cup final defeat left the world's richest club without a major trophy for the season. The 2-1 reverse to Atletico Madrid at their own Bernabeu stadium meant Mourinho, widely expected to move on at the end of this term, finished a season without significant silverware for...
05:10 PM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: A Copa del Rey final defeat against Atletico Madrid capped the worst season of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho's career, the Portuguese said on Friday after the 2-1 loss left him without a major title this season. Widely expected to move on at the end of the campaign and linked with a return to Chelsea, a grim-faced Mourinho gave little away about his future but said Real, the world's...
09:18 AM, May 18, 2013
Madrid: Barcelona have confirmed that striker Leo Messi will miss the rest of the season as a result of the muscle injury which forced him out of his side's 2-1 win away over Atletico Madrid. The fact that Messi's injury is a relapse of the hamstring problem, which he originally suffered in the quarter-final of the Champions League April 2 and which has troubled him ever since, is a key...
01:16 PM, May 14, 2013
Paris: Paris St Germain have rejected a bid by Real Madrid to hire coach Carlo Ancelotti, club president Nasser al Khelaifi said on Monday. "They (Real) came and I discussed it with them. He's got a contract with us for one more year...for me, he's here next year. He's a fantastic guy and I'm sure he'll respect his contract," Al Khelaifi said. Ancelotti refused to confirm he would stay at...
10:35 PM, May 13, 2013
London: Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini has denied he has spoken with Premier League club Manchester City over the possibility of replacing Roberto Mancini whose future as the club's manager is under threat after Saturday's FA Cup final defeat. Widespread media reports in Britain suggest City will part company with Mancini, who has been in charge since 2009 and who won the Premier League title last season. City have fuelled the...
02:45 PM, May 13, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane will have surgery on his right knee and will be out of action for four to six weeks, Spanish media reported on Sunday. The France international stumbled awkwardly while making a tackle during Real's 1-1 draw at Espanyol on Saturday and had to be substituted after 19 minutes. "I am sad! The tests today have revealed an injury to the meniscus. They are going...
09:11 AM, May 13, 2013
Madrid: Not even an injury to Lionel Messi in the 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday could dampen Barcelona's celebrations at winning their 22nd Spanish league title. Messi started his first match in six rounds because of a recurring right hamstring injury, but he left the field in the 68th minute with Barcelona trailing 1-0 to Radamel Falcao's 52-minute goal and having made all three substitutions. However, Alexis Sanchez...
08:04 AM, May 13, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid central defender Raphael Varane suffered a knee injury in Saturday's 1-1 La Liga draw at Espanyol and looks set to miss the rest of the season. The 20-year-old France international, who has burst into Real's team this season, fell awkwardly after a tackle in the 19th minute and had to be substituted. "His meniscus is affected. We will see what the scans say in the morning," club...
09:39 AM, May 12, 2013
Madrid: Lionel Messi might have powered Barcelona to this season's Spanish league crown, but they fell to humble crosstown rival Espanyol to finally finish off Real Madrid's title defense with a 1-1 draw on Saturday. So after 10 months of competition, Barcelona's 22nd league title and fourth in five years wasn't decided at Camp Nou, but rather a few miles away at Cornella-El Prat Stadium. Madrid had staved off Barcelona's...
08:05 AM, May 12, 2013
Barcelona: Barcelona will be without goalkeeper Victor Valdes and defender Eric Abidal for Sunday's match at Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club said that Valdes has not recovered from a left-foot injury that kept him out of last weekend's game also. Abidal will be sidelined after hurting a muscle in his left leg during Friday's training session. Abidal recently returned from a liver transplant. Barcelona can clinch the Spanish league title...
05:18 PM, May 11, 2013
