Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has taunted Arsenal, saying their former captain Cesc Fabregas loves Chelsea already .
Mourinho s league leaders face Arsene Wenger s men at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, with Fabregas facing his former club for the first time since leaving in August 2011.
Fabregas has made a bright start to life at Chelsea, helping them to five wins in six Premier League matches and a three-point lead at the top of the table.
Mourinho said the Spain international would always respect Arsenal, but believes Fabregas already loves rivals Chelsea.
Fabregas will never lose his respect and connection with a club where he arrived as a kid and left as a top player, the Portuguese tactician said.
Arsenal made him. I wouldn t be happy if he cam…
AC Milan striker Fernando Torres has insisted the arrival of Diego Costa forced him to leave Chelsea, but believes he made the correct decision in joining the Rossoneri.
The Spain international, 30, completed a two-year loan move to Milan in the summer, and has gone on to score one goal in four Serie A appearances for the club.
I had decided to leave Chelsea, Torres, who joined Chelsea from Liverpool in a £50 million in January 2011, told Corriere dello Sport.
With Mourinho there was a relationship of respect, but the club had bought a new striker.
With the Coach I had spoken often about my future, he wanted me to stay in London. But I needed a new stimulus for my career.
That day I received a phone call from Milan. I was prese…
Comparing the status of the club to when he first assumed control, Nagelsmann – who has helped revolutionise not only Hoffenheim but the Bundesliga with the introduction of a 6 3-metre videowall to analyse training – added: Boredom is the worst factor, this is a big danger for any well-functioning relationship be this for me as a head coach working together with the players or be this in a private relationship.
There has always got to be that bit of fire. I have a good rhetoric and I can excite groups of people. I already managed to do that in school. You need this gift in order to stand in front of a group of people and to convince them of an idea. You need to be very brave if you want to be a successful head coach – you need to try new things, not be afraid of making mi…
Southampton have completed the signing of Wesley Hoedt from Lazio for a fee believed to be in the region of £15million.
Centre-back Hoedt arrives as additional cover for his fellow Netherlands international Virgil van Dijk, who remains absent from the Saints first-team picture after stating his desire to leave.
Hoedt has agreed a five-year deal at St Mary s Stadium, and becomes the club s third arrival of the transfer window following the captures of Jan Bednarek and Mario Lemina.
The 23-year-old moved from AZ to Lazio in 2015 before establishing himself in the Italian capital and making his international debut earlier this year against Bulgaria.
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Move over Lionel Messi, there s a new MVP in town at Barcelona.
Ansu Fati, the 17-year-old phenomenon, was named September s player of the month in LaLiga on Saturday after his stellar start to the season.
The announcement was made by league sponsors Santander, who declared on Twitter: We already have a winner of the #MVP September in @LaLiga.
The chosen one is @ANSUFATI. CONGRATULATIONS, star!
Fati only played one LaLiga match in September, as Barcelona began their season later than most due to their Champions League involvement last term.
However, the teenage forward made an instant impact when he scored twice in the first 20 minutes of a 4-0 win over Villarreal at Camp Nou.
He netted again, four days later, on October 1, in a 3-0 …
Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be ready to face Inter in this weekend s Derby della Madonnina after recovering from coronavirus, according to Christian Vieri.
Ibrahimovic contracted COVID-19 last month and missed four games before the international break but has been cleared to make his return on Saturday.
The 39-year-old has not played since scoring twice against Bologna on September 21, taking his tally to 14 goals in 22 appearances since returning to San Siro in January.
Despite his lack of minutes over the past month, former Milan and Inter forward Vieri expects Ibrahimovic to be at his best in one of the sport s most iconic fixtures.
His experience has no equal and encompasses everything, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Fresh air <…
Ajax captain Jan Vertonghen has revealed he could remain with the Eredivisie champions until his contract expires in June 2013.
The Belgium international had been linked to several top European clubs before the 2011/12 campaign and would like to move to a bigger team in the future.
But the 24-year-old insists he is in no hurry to leave the Amsterdam-based side and is happy to see out the remainder of his contract with the Dutch giants.
I will definitely stay for another six months, the centre-back told the club’s official website. I ll just see what happens after that. Everybody knows that I m an ambitious guy, but it s not like a summer transfer is a must.
I want to make the next step in my career at some point, but it s very well possible that I …
In what was a heavyweight London derby on Sunday lunchtime, Arsenal laid down a real marker as they picked up a deserved 1-0 win away at Chelsea.
Putting in another stellar display at Stamford Bridge and with Gabriel s second-half finish proving to be the match winner, the Gunners also found a route back to the top of the Premier League table.
Only continuing on what has been a remarkable purple patch since opening up the 2022/23 campaign, Mikel Arteta s youngsters now find themselves firmly at the heart of a shock title chase in north London.
Largely not having to get out of second gear and knowing that they could have easily left Stamford Bridge with a couple more strikes to show for their troubles, Arsenal also piled more pressure onto an inconsistent Chelsea…
Bayern Munich striker Ivica Olic says he will not leave the club in January, despite being linked with a move away from Allianz Arena.
The experienced Croatia international has endured an injury-plagued spell of late and has fallen down the pecking order at the Bundesliga giants.
Olic is out of contract at the end of the season and has attracted interest from teams in Germany, Italy and Spain, but it appears that any potential move will have to wait.
They (Bayern Munich) say they are relying on me and that selling me is not an option, the 32-year-old told Sportske Novosti.
I had told them I d wanted to go and had some great offers but they didn t want to discuss it. They even told me I would be punished if I continued to talk about leaving.
Ol…
Dijon have secured the loan signing of Chelsea winger Gael Kakuta until the end of the season, according to their website.
The 20-year-old winger has returned to his native France, having recently endured unsuccessful temporary spells with Fulham and Bolton in the English Premier League.
The France Under-21 international revealed on Monday that he had been attracted by the Ligue 1 club s attractive brand of football.
Kakuta arrived back at Stamford Bridge from his spell with Owen Coyle s Bolton at the end of December, having featured six times for the club in all competitions and scoring one goal.
The Frenchman was the subject of controversy following his move to Chelsea from Lens in 2009, with FIFA initially ruling that he had breached his contract in m…