In football s parallel universe, it pays to fail. Manchester United celebrated an 11th English Premier League title at the weekend as well as eyeing a potential third European crown under Sir Alex Ferguson which was achieved on a 2008 wage bill of 121 million pounds ($185 mln).
By comparison, Chelsea, out of the title race in England and Europe, have spent 148 million pounds ($226 mln).
Up in England s under-performing north-east, Newcastle United welcome 50,000 fans to a home game who deliver a million pounds ($1.4 mln) in gate receipts.
The club also receives tens of millions more in TV income and have also enjoyed a couple of lucrative, if brief forays into the Champions League.
Billionaire sports retailer Mike Ashley, who bought the club in 2007, pai…
Schalke s Julian Draxler has reportedly rejected Real Madrid and Manchester City, while ex-Barcelona star Bojan Krkic may return to Spain.
According to Schalke s chairman Clemens Toennies, 19-year-old Draxler who has represented Germany on six occasions and has played 109 matches for Schalke wants to stay with the Bundesliga club despite offers of up to 50 million euros .
Real Madrid and Manchester City have reportedly met Draxler s buy-out clause of 45 million euros but Toennies has told German newspaper Bild that the highly rated central midfielder wants to play a fourth season with Schalke.
Jule (Draxler) told me that he will stay with us although he can earn 50 million euros elsewhere, Toennies said.
Meanwhile, Bojan who left Barcelona for Roma in July 2011 a…
He said: “We have not made any inquiries or any decisions about our recruitment leading into January.
“This is a chance for the goalkeepers we have at the football club to consolidate their positions, and that will be the same for every other position at the club.”
Howe had earlier confirmed that Pope is awaiting a final decision on the way forward, but that surgery was inevitable.
He said: “We anticipate he’ll be operated on – there’s no doubt he needs an operation – so he will be out for a period of time.
“The operation hasn’t happened yet, but we’re thinking roughly around four months, so it’s a big blow to us, but one that we expected after the game.
“He’s naturally down because at this stage of the season where we …
New Czech Football Federation (CMFS) head Ivan Hasek announced on Tuesday he was taking over the Czech national team as head coach until the end of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
An extraordinary situation requires an extraordinary solution, said Hasek, pointing out that the Czechs stand just fourth in qualifying Group Three, seven points off the top place finish which guarantees a place in next year s finals.
Hasek, who was appointed as the CMFS head at the end of June after coaching Emirati club Al Ahly, sacked Frantisek Straka as national coach on June 30.
Straka was appointed a month earlier on a temporary basis to replace Petr Rada, who was dismissed after a series of lacklustre results in the qualifying group.
This is not a standard approach. I t…
Manchester City made it three consecutive Premier League victories as they swept aside Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening.
Ilkay Gundogan gave the visitors the lead midway through the first half by turning away from Thiago Silva and smashing home before Phil Foden swept in to double the lead. Kevin De Bruyne then extended that advantage before the break after Raheem Sterling hit the post. They were not quite as clinical after the break, with Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring a late consolation for Chelsea late on but it mattered not as City chalked up a convincing three points.
Here are three things we learned from Stamford Bridge:
City soar before the break
For a side who had somewhat struggled to score goals so far this season with just 21 in 15 matches, a…
Market: Werder Bremen draw no bet
Odds: 7/10 @
Hoping to make an immediate return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, Werder Bremen will make the trip to the Vonovia-Ruhrstadion when they meet Bochum.
Starting with the hosts, while Bochum might have shocked many across Germany last season as they clung to their Bundesliga status, Thomas Reis side are in the midst of a rather public struggle. Last seen putting in another toothless display as they were hit with a 1-0 loss away at European contenders Freiburg, the Blues are tipped as a landslide relegation pick this time around. Losing each of their opening four top-flight matchups since opening the 2022/23 campaign, the ex-Wolfsburg coach finds growing pressure on his shoulders. In fact, on a run that is highli…
Ilkay Gundogan scored a stoppage-time penalty to give Barcelona a 2-1 win at Las Palmas and close the gap at the top of LaLiga.
After Barca saw defender Joao Cancelo forced off early on with a knee injury, Munir El Haddadi put the Canary Islanders ahead against his former club.
Ferran Torres equalised soon after the restart before Gundogan slotted in a dramatic late winner from the penalty spot after being pushed over by Daley Sinkgraven, who was shown a red card, to leave Barca seven points behind leaders Real Madrid and Girona.
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Brazil forward Vitor Roque was named on the bench after Barcelona received league clearance on the 18-year-old forward’s 40million euro (£35m) move from Athletico Paranaense.
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Martin Paterson s headed goal gave Northern Ireland a first victory over Russia 1-0, as the visitors World Cup qualification hopes were dented.
The diminutive striker combined well with Niall McGinn throughout proceedings but the pair s efforts were rewarded with 43 minutes on the clock when Paterson thumped the ball home.
That was enough to give Northern Ireland fans a first victory to celebrate since August 2011, when they ran out 4-0 winners over minnows Faroe Islands, while it also marked manager Michael O Neill s first in charge.
For Russia, however, it was a huge opportunity missed to return to top of their group above group rivals Portugal.
With Jonny Evans and Kyle Lafferty both absent through injury or illness, and Chris Brunt suspended, Northern Irelan…
Bastian Oczipka is eager to start talks with Eintracht Frankfurt over a new contract.
The 25-year-old full-back has been a regular for the Bundesliga side this term, making 10 league appearances for Thomas Schaaf s men.
However, Oczipka s future remains up in the air with his present deal set to expire at the end of the season.
And the former Bayer Leverkusen man is keen to pen fresh terms at the Commerzbank Arena.
It would be nice if there were talks soon, Oczipka told Bild.
I feel incredibly well here and I would love to stay.
Frankfurt is just great, the club and the city.
Oczipka joined Frankfurt ahead of the 2012-13 campaign and has gone on to make 63 Bundesliga appearances for the club.
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France defender Samuel Umtiti is in a relaxed mood as he prepares for the World Cup in Russia after signing a contract extension with Barcelona.
The 24-year-old was linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this year but signed a fresh five-year deal at Camp Nou, raising his release clause to a staggering €500million.
Heading into the tournament on the back of a successful campaign with Barcelona, where he won LaLiga and the Copa del Rey, Umtiti will be hoping to improve on his nation s performances from the European Championships in 2016.
Les Bleus were defeated in the final of their home tournament, with Umtiti then sealing a move from Lyon to Barcelona, and the central defender is pleased he can now focus solely on his football.
Since my exten…