Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has hinted at Robert Lewandowski joining the club on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Lewandowski – who scored 36 goals in 49 comptetitive appearances for Dortmund last season – has been regularly linked with a switch to UEFA Champions League winners Bayern in recent months.
Bayern, who also won the Bundesliga title last season and the DFB Pokal in a historic treble, have failed to land their man though, with the 24-year-old now likely to remain at his club until his contract expires in a year s time.
Dortmund have already lost star midfielder Mario Goetze to Bayern this year and they are refusing to do business with the Bavarians in a bid to keep their own title aspirations alive.
When quizzed about the p…
Lamine Yamal must appreciate the reality of rough treatment by opponents at Euro 2024, so says Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente, ahead of Tuesday s last-four meeting with France.
The 16-year-old has impressed for La Roja in Germany, assisting three goals as Spain have won all five of their matches at the tournament.
No Spanish player has ever registered more assists at a single European Championship tournament, while Yamal has created 14 chances – the most at a major competition for Spain since Xavi s 25 at Euro 2012.
Yet Spain have been somewhat frustrated by tactics from the opposition to stop Yamal and wing partner Nico Williams, with repeated calls for more protection of their players.
Yamal has only won four free-kicks at this tournament, however…
FIFPro, in association with FIFA, has announced the final 55 players in contention for a spot on the 2015 World XI.
The 55 players have been selected by professional footballers worldwide, with a new record of almost 25,000 players from 70 countries participating in this year’s ballot.
The FIFA FIFPro World XI will be announced on January 11, 2016, at the Ballon D’Or ceremony in Zurich.
The 55-player shortlist: (home country/club)
Goalkeepers (5): Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain/FC Porto), David De Gea (Spain/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich).
Defenders (20): David Alaba (Austria/Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain/Barcelona), Jerome Boateng (German…
European champions Spain beat Chile 3-0 at the Madrigal stadium in an international friendly here on Wednesday to finish a marvellous year with yet another victory.
A David Villa first half penalty, then goals after the break from Fernando Torres and Santiago Cazorla completed an emphatic win to cap a fantastic 2008 when they won the European title 44 years after their previous triumph in the competition.
Spain, without injured players David Silva and Andres Iniesta, also extended their unbeaten record to 28 against a tough Chilean side which had beaten Argentina 1-0 in World Cup qualifying in their previous match.
Chile, who played attractively in the second half, had not lost for more than two years. Their previous defeat came against Romania on November 15…
It’s been nothing but coal in the stocking for the Cleveland Browns. After losing on Monday with a ridiculously depleted roster mostly comprised of practice-squad players, they now travel to Lambeau (on a short week) to face the Green Bay Packers on Christmas Day.
The Packers, who have the league’s best record at 11-3, are unsurprisingly NFL betting favorites at home, laying a touchdown against a 7-7 Cleveland team that is clinging to fleeting playoff hopes.
Here are our best free NFL picks and predictions for Browns vs. Packers on Saturday, December 25.
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Thanksgiving is a pile of leftovers in the fridge, which means we’re hitting the home stretch of the NFL schedule.
With the calendar flipping to December in NFL Week 13, the pressure is mounting. Not just on teams pushing for the postseason but also on NFL bettors. Beating the bookie gets harder every week, but as long as you’re getting the best of the number to back up your wagers, you’ve got a fighting chance.
We help you do just that, highlighting the best NFL Week 13 spreads and totals to bet right now and which one you may want to wait for adjustments to bet later.
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In a wide open NFC playoff race, the Los Angeles Rams have been surging in recent weeks and since the return of Matthew Stafford from injury, Sean McVay’s team has gone 4-1 in its last five heading into the Week 16 odds opener.
However, now Stafford & Co. will have to deal with a New Orleans Saints defense that’s been one of the best in the league this season and is equally hungry for a playoff berth.
You can see how I’m betting on Matthew Stafford’s odds as I dive into the TNF odds to bring you my free NFL picks below.
For more TNF coverage, check our Saints vs. Rams predictions and our best TNF prop bets!
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Joni Mitchell taught us that, “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.
In the case of Aaron Rodgers, the New York Jets only got four snaps with the veteran quarterback but now know what they’ve got: an elite defense, a bruising rushing attack, and a passing game ready to pop after being held back by rotten QB play in 2023.
The promise of Rodgers carried weight with the betting markets last summer and the bar is even higher in 2024. Gang Green lays points in 14 games, according to look-ahead lines, and their win total is at 10.5. New York is -175 to make the playoffs, a co-fave to win the AFC East, and among the second tier of Super Bowl contenders.
This is the Jets we’re talking about, however. So,…
The problem with any discussion of Marcelo Bielsa is the tendency immediately to speak in grand broadbrush terms; everybody already knows what they think about him. It’s the curse of our age that positions so rapidly become entrenched, even when it comes to the ostensibly trivial issue of how football should be played.
Nobody can ever simply question the way Ole Gunnar Solskjær structures a midfield or his organisation of the press or ask whether the inclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo might have made those issues worse, without immediately being cast as anti-Ole or anti-Manchester United, revelling in every goal conceded.
Grealish and Sancho could be thriving if each were at the other’s club | Jonathan WilsonRead more
The Premier League is the dominant force in the Champions League: Saturday’s final will be the fifth in six years to feature at least one English team. Football generally works in cycles, though, and the rest of the continent will be plotting to take over again.
In the five finals before 2018, there was not an English side in sight and Spain was lording it over its rivals. Real Madrid won four out of five from 2013 in their dominant cycle, but they have been overtaken. Manchester City enter their second Champions League final in three years against Internazionale, who are the first Italian team since 2017 to reach this stage of a competition Serie A has dominated in the past. In the 10 seasons starting in 1988-89 an Italian club reached ni…