Mourinho gives Chelsea an Atleti makeover

Filipe Luis's arrival at Chelsea was officially confirmed on Friday, making the left-back the second player to swap Atletico Madrid for Stamford Bridge this summer - third, if you count Thibaut Courtois's loan coming to an end.

With Diego Simeone's side having surprised the footballing world by holding off the Clasico giants to win La Liga last season and the Blues finishing off the pace in the Premier League, it looks like Jose Mourinho is trying to recapture that spirit in England this season.

Having also snatched centre forward Diego Costa away from the Estadio Vicente Calderon this summer, Chelsea's new faces may have to pinch themselves for a moment before they realise that they have, in fact, changed clubs.

Saturday, 19 July 2014 12:50

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Mourinho & Wenger serenade in-demand Khedira

After initially looking like leading the race for Sami Khedira, Arsenal have fallen behind Chelsea in the race to sign the Real Madrid man.

Reports suggested high wage demands put off the Gunners but Arsene Wenger will hope he can still attract the World Cup winner to the Emirates Stadium.

You might be thinking: Chelsea surely don't need another midfielder but you'd be wrong, of course. Here's why he'd make the perfect fit for Jose Mourinho's team and why Wenger may actually get fortunate if Arsenal don't land the 27-year-old.

Friday, 18 July 2014 12:52

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Pirl-d'oh! Allegri takes over at Juventus

After Antonio Conte's shock departure from Juventus, the Italian champions have moved swiftly to appoint former AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri.

The news might not go down too well with every member of the bianconeri's squad, though, especially a certain Andrea Pirlo, who worked under the new Juve boss at San Siro.

The Italy international, however, was deemed too old by his former team, and manager, and offered only a short term deal, prompting him to leave the club on a free transfer.

Pirlo has since won three back-to-back Serie A titles, while Allegri was sacked by Milan, and both will hope their relationship can be more productive this time.

Thursday, 17 July 2014 13:00

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Balotelli and The Queen join race for Goal 50!

Jul 16, 2014 08:30:00

The countdown to the 2014 Goal 50 has begun and the debate is raging over which star performers from the season should be included in this year's list of football's most talented

Many of the world's greatest footballers are off enjoying their summer holidays, but the star performers of 2013-14 will still have more than one eye on the annual prize-giving ceremony that is the Goal 50.

Our brilliant artist Omar Momani has drawn up his vision of the high achievers in contention for the list - which will be announced on July 28.

Cristiano Ronaldo and reigning champion Lionel Messi have shared five of the six editions of the award, and both take their place on the first row of this year's starting grid. The Argentine will surely be more interested in winning the Goal 50 than he was in collecting the World Cup Golden Ball.

Gareth Bale joins the Clasico duo on the front row and will be feeling a lot of love after a superb first season at Real Madrid. In the middle are Arjen Robben, whose Goal 50 odds have plummeted after a wonderful World Cup, and Luis Suarez - who will be equally hungry to claim the prize.

Also challenging are the acrobatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the stylish Neymar, the no-nonsense Diego Costa, Colombian revelation James Rodriguez and a very proud Germany World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm.

But who is that at the back of the pack? Only Mario Balotelli and the Queen.

Indeed, some would say that the Italian's chances of winning the Goal 50 are about as good as the Titanic staying afloat after hitting the iceberg!

HAVE YOUR SAY

Do these players deserve to make the Goal 50? If not, who else should be on the list? If so, who should join them and in what order should they be ranked?

Get involved via our Goal 50 section this month and give us all your views on the debate by commenting below and by getting in touch on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #Goal50.

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Van Gaal begins work at Manchester United

Louis van Gaal arrived at Manchester United on Wednesday to begin life as the Reds Devils’ new manager.

After leading the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the World Cup, the Dutchman has refused to take a holiday before starting his new job at Old Trafford.

Van Gaal is expected to lay down the law at Old Trafford with double training sessions, fines and discipline on the agenda as a new Manchester United regime begins.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014 13:10

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The World Cup is over, let the transfer window rush begin!

With the World Cup now well and truly over, our attention returns to the Premier League and the summer transfer window. There have been a number colossal deals so far - Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Luis Suarez to name but three - and there seems no sign of the elite clubs holding back in the market.

With the likes of Diego Costa, Filipe Luis, Arturo Vidal, Toni Kroos, Paul Pogba and Sami Khedira all supposedly available, it really is a race to see who can snap up which superstar the fastest.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014 12:41

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Messi in tears as Gotze wins World Cup for Germany

Germany is the new world champions after beating Argentina 1-0, after extra-time, in the World Cup final at the Maracana on Sunday.

Substitute Mario Gotze was the hero for Joachim Low’s side, scoring the winner after taking down a cross from Andre Schurrle and volleying it past Sergio Romero.

The win was a bitter blow for Argentina, and Lionel Messi, who failed to emulate Diego Maradona although the Barcelona star was awarded the Golden Ball for being the World Cup’s best player

Monday, July 14, 2014 11:48

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Van Gaal heads for Manchester United after World Cup run

Louis van Gaal’s World Cup journey ended on Saturday evening as Netherlands brushed aside Brazil in their third-place play-off.

The 62-year-old will now take up his role as Manchester United boss, with the team set to travel to Los Angeles on Friday to start their pre-season tour.

But one player who will not be joining Van Gaal to Old Trafford is Arjen Robben.

"After the match he [Van Gaal] did ask me to come to Manchester," Robben said after the 3-0 win over Brazil. “But I will not make a transfer. I'm at the right place at Bayern so that has nothing to do with Van Gaal or United."

Sunday, July 13, 2014 12:30

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Suarez heads to Barcelona

One of the summer's biggest transfer sagas reached its conclusion on Friday as Liverpool and Barcelona confirmed they had reached agreement for the transfer of Luis Suarez.

The controversial Uruguay international is expected to finally complete his move next week, putting pen-to-paper on a five-year deal for a fee in the region of £70m.

Suarez will wear the No.9 shirt at Camp Nou and will add some bite to the Barcelona attack alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Saturday, July 12, 2014 11:37

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Now for the hard part: Where will Alexis play?

The easy bit is out of the way - Arsenal have signed Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, now they just have to work out where to play him.

Gunners fans will be drooling at the thought of the Chilean's link-up play with Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott et al, but where will he be deployed?

Arsene Wenger plans on turning Alexis into the next Thierry Henry or Robin van Persie - i.e. converting him from a wide position to the centre. Can it be done?

Friday, 11 July 2014 14:45

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