Brazil legend Dani Alves is dreaming of winning the World Cup for the first time in Qatar to leave a legacy in the twilight of his career.
Alves turned 39 on Friday but the veteran Barcelona full-back is still going strong at the highest level.
The veteran has won an incredible haul of medals during his illustrious club career, while he helped his country win the Copa America twice and captained Brazil to Olympic glory in Tokyo last year.
It is 20 years since the Selecao last won the World Cup and Alves missed the 2018 tournament in Russia due to injury.
The Barca great says he has given plenty of thought to what might happen if he lifts the World Cup and hopes to realise that ambition this year.
¡Hooooooooooooooola!
— FC Barcelona (@…
Market: Watford win
Odds: 27/20 @
Two sides who find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the Championship table, Watford will make the trip to Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon when they meet Bristol City.
Starting with the hosts, crashing out of the EFL Cup earlier in the week thanks to a nightmare display on home soil, Bristol City find themselves in the midst of an extended rut. Eventually getting hit with a 3-1 loss at the hands of League One outfit Lincoln, Nigel Pearson once again has real pressure on his shoulders. Now holding just a three-point buffer from slipping into the drop zone, the Robins have failed to win any of their last five matchups across all formats. Despite picking up a much-needed 2-0 win away at West Brom last month, it appea…
Mauricio Pochettino believes Liverpool were awarded a soft penalty in their 2-1 Premier League victory against Tottenham but accepted the referee s decision to point to the spot.
Sunday s clash at Anfield was poised at 1-1 when referee Anthony Taylor adjudged that Spurs full-back Serge Aurier had fouled Sadio Mane inside the box.
Mohamed Salah converted the subsequent spot-kick 15 minutes from time to complete Liverpool s comeback win after Jordan Henderson had cancelled out Harry Kane s 47-second opener.
Tottenham manager Pochettino feels the call was a little harsh on his side, who end the weekend in 11th place following their fourth league defeat of the campaign.
I don t want to complain I need to accept the decision of the referee and the VAR, he sai…
Robert Lewandowski continued his extraordinary form with a four-goal haul as Bayern Munich secured top spot in Champions League Group B with a 6-0 thrashing of Red Star Belgrade.
Leon Goretzka put Bayern – rejuvenated under Hans-Dieter Flick – in front, but it was Lewandowski who was the star of the show at Rajko Mitic Stadium on Tuesday.
Having been denied a goal by VAR earlier on, Lewandowski tore Red Star to shreds with four goals in 14 second-half minutes – the quickest quadruple in Champions League history.
After doubling Bayern s lead with a composed penalty, Lewandowski tucked in a close-range second before completing an 11-minute hat-trick with a header.
14 Robert Lewandowski has scored in 14 minutes 31 seconds the fastest ever quadruple i…
Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso revealed he almost joined Barcelona before he made the move to the Spanish capital.
Alonso, 35, left Premier League side Liverpool for Madrid in 2009, going on to win LaLiga, the Champions League, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana before linking up with Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich five years later.
But it could have been a lot different for Alonso who is set to retire at the end of the season had it not been for the emergence of fellow Spaniard Sergio Busquets at Barca.
It happened not long before I left for Real Madrid, Alonso told El Pais.
Liverpool told me that they wanted to sell me, [manager at that time, Rafael] Benitez too, and Pep showed an interest in my situation.
He wanted to sign me b…
The European Club Association (ECA) has elected Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to the UEFA Executive Committee.
Al-Khelaifi, who has been at PSG since 2011, joins Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli as the two ECA representatives on the committee, replacing Ivan Gazidis who left Arsenal for AC Milan last year.
The decision to elect Al-Khelaifi must now be ratified by the UEFA Congress at a meeting on February 7 in Rome.
Al-Khelaifi said of the decision: I am deeply honoured to have been elected by my fellow ECA Executive Board members to join the UEFA Executive Committee.
I look forward to working alongside members of the UEFA Executive Committee to enhance and develop European football, while ensuring that the interests of all the clubs a…
Manchester United completed the greatest Champions League escape after stunning Paris Saint-Germain at the death in their dramatic last-16 fixture.
Marcus Rashford converted a 94th-minute penalty following VAR drama to give a depleted United a stunning 3-1 victory in Paris, which levelled the tie at 3-3 on aggregate but sent the Red Devils through on away goals.
Rashford s goal made history for United, who became the first team in the Champions League to progress having lost by two or more goals at home in the first leg of a knockout match, after last month s 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
Here, with the help of Opta, we look at some of the key stats behind United s incredible victory on Wednesday en route to the quarter-finals.
1 Marcus Rashford s …
According to a recent report from over in France, Patrick Vieira is being considered one of the leading candidates to take over from Unai Emery as the new Arsenal manager. The Frenchman is currently in his homeland where he is the manager of Nice, who find themselves in 14th position in Ligue 1. However, how well or badly he’s doing in his current managerial role doesn’t seem to be all too much of a concern for the Gunners – as they just want to see the popular captain return to where he made himself famous.
The current man in charge, Freddie Ljungberg, is also a legend from his playing days with Arsenal, but it doesn’t appear as if he’s got the same managerial prowess as Vieira in the eyes of many fans.
There are plenty of targets out there for Arsenal…
Trent Alexander-Arnold explained his quick-thinking that led to Liverpool s decisive goal against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final was purely instinctive .
The right-back produced what manager Jurgen Klopp described as a moment of genius as Liverpool incredibly crushed Barca 4-0 on Tuesday to move into the Champions League final 4-3 on aggregate.
Alexander-Arnold caught Barca napping and out of position with a quick corner, which Divock Origi clinically put away for Liverpool s fourth in the 79th minute.
Asked about the corner, Alexander-Arnold told BT Sport: I think it was just instinctive.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL HERE WE COME
— Trent Arnold (@trentaa98)
It was just one of those moments where you see the opportunity and …
Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in the summer of 2023, according to . The Germany international is out of contract at defending Premier League champions City at the end of the season, and former La Liga winners Atletico are reportedly keen on snapping him on a free transfer.
Gundogan has been on the books of City since 2016 and has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. During his time at the Etihad Stadium so far, the 32-year-old has won the Premier League title four times, the FA Cup once, and the EFL Cup on four occasions.
So far this season, Gundogan has made 10 starts and two substitute appearances in the Premier League, scoring two goals and providing two assists in the process.…