Iker Casillas has revealed his regret at not confronting Jose Mourinho during the pair s fractious relationship at Real Madrid.
Mourinho spent three years in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013, a period which delivered one league title and one Copa del Rey.
Although that LaLiga-winning side racked up 100 points and scored 121 goals en route to dethroning Barcelona in 2012, Mourinho was far from a universally popular figure in the Spanish capital.
That included a bust-up with Casillas, whose close friendship with his Spain colleagues at Barca reportedly angered Mourinho.
The goalkeeper was dropped midway through the 2012-13 campaign with Diego Lopez preferred in his place, while rumours began to circulate that Casillas was the source…
While the Premier League might steal centre stage on Wednesday night, there are a host of intriguing affairs from across all of Europe’s elite.
With a stacked winter schedule getting underway in midweek, we have taken a glance at some of the most interesting betting markets that are available.
19:30 Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth
While Crystal Palace might almost find themselves sat in Premier League limbo, Roy Hodgson’s side are enduring what has been an extended inconsistent spell this season. Although the Eagles might have snatched a 1-1 draw away at West Ham over the weekend, Wednesday’s hosts have claimed just a single victory from any of their previous seven straight Premier League appearances a run that stems all the way back to September 30th.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived in Madrid for sentencing in a tax fraud case.
The 33-year-old is accused of committing four crimes against the Spanish treasury between 2011 and 2014 while he was playing for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo is alleged to have concealed income earned through image rights by using offshore companies.
The Portugal star is expected to receive a reduced two-year prison sentence and a fine of €18.8million, according to EFE, after striking a plea deal with the prosecution in which he admitted the four charges.
Under Spanish law, he will not be required to spend any time in jail as it is a first-time offence.
Ronaldo attended court early on Tuesday, accompanied by girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez.
The forward, who left Madrid las…
Diego Costa was thrilled to come back from 10 weeks out in Atletico Madrid s derby win at his old club Rayo Vallecano.
Costa was in Atletico s squad for the first time since the start of December after undergoing surgery on a foot injury.
The striker came off the bench before Antoine Griezmann s deflected volley in the 74th minute saw Atletico bounce back from successive LaLiga losses to move back up to second in the table.
Costa s return is a timely boost for Atletico ahead of Juventus visiting the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.
And Costa, who scored 10 LaLiga goals in 16 games on loan at Rayo to help them stay up in the 2011-12 season, was glad to be on the pitch again after a lengthy layoff.<…
Diego Simeone said he spotted positives in Atletico Madrid s performance, despite the disappointing 2-2 draw at Villarreal in their LaLiga opener on Monday.
Atletico had to fight back twice in the first half to rescue a point against Villarreal, who made the most of their rivals mistakes in defence.
Arnaut Danjuma easily beat Atletico defender Axel Witsel to score Villarreal s opener before a bad mistake by goalkeeper Jan Oblak 19 minutes later led to an own goal from captain Koke.
We played a good game. We had individual situations that we have to improve but as a collective effort the team played well, but we conceded goals we could have avoided, Simeone told Movistar Plus.
[The] thing is, in the few chances they had in attack we were toothless and co…
He told L Equipe: He [Silva] had given up hope [of signing a new deal] because Leonardo told him two months ago that he did not want to extend it. But last Tuesday, Leonardo called Thiago and raised the possibility that he would stay another year.
Thiago had already reached an agreement with Chelsea, there was no turning back. When you make such a proposal, you have to be convinced.
An athletic director who tells a player he doesn t want him anymore, and two months later wants to extend it, how do you take that?
In a club, the athletic director and the coach have to walk together. This was not the case. Tuchel always wanted to keep Thiago. The one who didn t want to is Leonardo, and he s the one with the power.
That s why, even if he hadn t signed wi…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic would not speak to his team-mates if they got the better of him in training, Kevin-Prince Boateng has revealed.
Barcelona forward Boateng played alongside Ibrahimovic for two seasons at AC Milan between 2010 and 2012, before the Sweden international joined Paris Saint-Germain.
Ibrahimovic now plays in MLS with LA Galaxy and was involved in a fracas with former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha during a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday.
Galaxy s winner came courtesy of Ibrahimovic, who then appeared to goad Onuoha during his celebrations.
HEAR ME ROAR.
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy)
And though Boateng has played down Ibrahimovic s bad boy persona, he disclosed that the former Inter and Barca forward would o…
Cesc Fabregas is ready and willing to play for Spain under a new coach, but admits a fresh generation of players must be nurtured in order to recapture former glories.
The 31-year-old has not played for Spain since their 2-0 defeat to Italy in the last 16 of Euro 2016, having been frozen out by former national team head coach Julen Lopetegui.
The departure of Lopetegui two days before their World Cup opener came too late for Fabregas to have any involvement in the tournament, which saw La Roja surprisingly knocked out by hosts Russia in the second round under interim boss Fernando Hierro.
Fabregas, who won successive European Championships and the 2010 World Cup with Spain, sent a message to whoever takes over from Hierro, stating his availability and desire t…
With a stacked Sunday schedule from across Europe on the cards, we are offered a host of noteworthy meetings to keep an eye out for this weekend. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Sunday acca, we have found you a handful of helpful tips to help boost your weekend flutter.
Sunday 8th November
BST 12:00 West Brom vs Tottenham
Starting with Sunday s guests, despite a shock European defeat away at Antwerp when closing October, Tottenham have bounced back and will be confident of extending on their domestic run this weekend. Making a return to winning ways while on Europa League duties earlier in the week thanks to a 3-1 victory against Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets, Jose Mourinho s men also find themselves in the midst of a six-match Premier Le…
Christian Pulisic will have to undergo a scan to assess an injury sustained during the warm-up ahead of Chelsea s 3-0 win over Burnley, Frank Lampard has confirmed.
Timo Werner was drafted into the starting line-up after Pulisic, who scored a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture last season, tweaked his hamstring prior to kick-off on Saturday.
Chelsea were unfazed by the United States international s absence, with Hakim Ziyech netting the opener to become their first player since Diego Costa in 2014 to score in each of his first two starts in all competitions.
Kurt Zouma powered in his third Premier League goal of the season – already a career-best tally – before Ziyech teed up Werner to round off the scoring with 20 minutes remaining.
The injury to…