Guti reveals River Plate snub

Wilfried Bony expressed his gratitude to Swansea City after completing his much-anticipated switch to Manchester City on Wednesday.

Bony, who is currently on international duty with the Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations, moves to the Etihad Stadium after penning a four-and-a-half-year deal following days of negotiations between the two clubs. 

The striker signed from Vitesse for a club-record £12million in 2013  will leave behind a sizeable void at Swansea, having netted 34 goals in 70 appearances for the Liberty Stadium outfit, but says he will look back at his time in south Wales with great affection. 

I m going to really miss Swansea the club and its people, he told the club s official website. But it s a big challenge that I had to take; one I …

Kylian Mbappe must wait to show why he was worth the bumper pay deal that kept him at Paris Saint-Germain, with the striker unexpectedly forced to miss the team s Ligue 1 opener.

The reigning French champions announced that Mbappe, who was pictured in training on Thursday, would miss Saturday s game away to Clermont due to an adductor injury.

That will surely be welcome news for minnows Clermont, who suffered at Mbappe s hands last season. The France star scored once in PSG s 4-0 home win over Clermont, and then hit a hat-trick in a 6-1 away trouncing in April.

Mbappe s absence came in a team news bulletin from PSG that said an update on the 23-year-old, who signed a new three-year contract in May, would come in 72 hours time.

It means Christophe Galt…

Valencia coach Gennaro Gattuso has revealed Goncalo Guedes is set for a move to the Premier League after being left out of Los Che s squad for a friendly win over Atalanta on Saturday.

Guedes was absent as Gattuso s men wrapped up their pre-season preparations with a 2-1 victory over the Serie A club ahead of their LaLiga opener against Girona on August 14.

The 25-year-old, who has 32 senior caps for Portugal, has been linked with a move to England on several occasions in the past, with Bruno Lage s Wolves mentioned by the Spanish press as potential suitors during the current transfer window.

When asked about the attacker after Valencia s win, Gattuso said an offer from an unnamed Premier League side had proven too good to turn down, as he professed his hope t…

Competition: Premier League

Market: Manchester United to beat Chelsea

Odds:

The Premier League returns for yet another massive round of games that will bring a huge amount of entertainment and goals as the world s most competitive league continues. The league table is currently exceptionally tight meaning that a single win can quite often see a side rise up a number of places and, with this in mind, Manchester United host Chelsea on Sunday.

Manchester United have been in very good form this season and they are looking to clinch second-place in the league. After 27 games they have won 17 times, lost five and drawn five, scoring 51 goals and conceding 19 times. In their last five they have won three games and lost twice which has seen them onto 5…

The focus of the football world was still firmly on Euro 2016 just two days after Portugal s dramatic win over France when 1,632 fans witnessed what is already one of the biggest shocks of the upcoming season as Celtic fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Lincoln Red Imps.

Newly appointed Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was quick to downplay the significance of the Champions League qualification loss at the Victoria Stadium, insisting it was not an embarrassing result for the one-time European Cup winners at the hands of Gibraltar s champions. 

Yet there is no denying Lincoln s victory courtesy of a single Lee Casciaro strike was at the very least a remarkable result.

Rodgers can count on hugely promising youngsters such as Moussa Dembele and Patrick Roberts, as we…

Vitesse midfielder Theo Janssen has hinted that he could retire from football at the end of the current season.

The 31-year-old only signed a three-year deal with the Eredivisie high-flyers last summer, but he is already thinking about calling it quits.

Janssen says that he plans to consider his future when the current season draws to a close.

“Am I going to continue? It is not yet certain,” the highly rated midfielder in Voetbal International.

“At some point you have to make a choice. At the end of the season we will see how I feel and how the club feel.”

Janssen began his professional career at his boyhood club, while he also represented Genk and Twente before joining Ajax in the summer of 2011.

Despite impressing in his first …

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claims midfield superstar Kevin De Bruyne plays the type of passes other footballers are simply incapable of.

The Belgium midfielder produced a dominant display to inspire City to a comfortable 3-0 away win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.

De Bruyne scored two fine goals either side of an assist for Raheem Sterling, leaving defending champions City 14 points behind leaders Liverpool.

The two-goal star played in a more advanced role and, while lauding his passing, Guardiola acknowledged the benefits of De Bruyne being shorn of defensive responsibility.

Kevin made an incredible two goals and an assist, Guardiola said in his post-match news conference.

He is an extraordinary player so we don t di…

Cristiano Ronaldo became only the fourth player to score at least 33 Serie A goals in a calendar year by bagging a brace in Juventus 4-0 win over Parma.

The 35-year-old scored in each half as Juve cruised to a victory that moved them level on points with Inter and one adrift of leaders Milan, both of whom play their game in hand on Sunday.

Ronaldo equalled former Juventus forward Omar Sivori s goal haul from 1961 the joint-third most in a single year behind Gunnar Nordahl (36 in 1950) and Felice Borel (41 in 1933).

He could move further up the list as Juventus have one more league match to play in 2020 a home meeting with Fiorentina on Tuesday.

has equalled Omar Sivori, the last player to score 33 goals in a single calendar year in , in 1961

�…

Rafael Benitez remains on course to become only the second coach to win the UEFA Europa League on three occasions after a 2-2 draw saw Napoli stroll past Wolfsburg 6-3 on aggregate

Having already won the competition with Valencia – in its previous guise as the UEFA Cup – and Chelsea in 2013, Benitez could match Giovanni Trapattoni s record after his Napoli side cruised into the semi-finals thanks to goals from Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens.

Wolfsburg dominated the opening half and could have wiped out their three-goal deficit in the first half but Ivan Perisic and Nicklas Bendtner both failed to take their chances.

Napoli made them pay five minutes after the break as Callejon converted a Gonzalo Higuain pass  albeit with the aid of a deflection.

T…

Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul could be set to seal a move to North East rivals Middlesbrough, .

The Netherlands international has one year remaining on his current deal at St James’s Park but his future is uncertain following his sides relegation to the Championship.

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has already moved to bring in competition between the posts, agreeing a deal to sign Matz Sels from Gent for £5m.

Aside from loan spells with Falkirk and Carlisle United, Krul has spent his entire club career so far with Newcastle, racking up one hundred and eighty-five appearances in all competitions.

He has been capped eight times for his country, with one of those appearances coming at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

He was brough…