Thiago pledges future to Bayern

Bayern Munich forward Xherdan Shaqiri claims that he was the subject of an unsuccessful bid from Liverpool before the World Cup.

The Switzerland international was linked with a move to Anfield before switching to the German champions from Basel in 2012.

Shaqiri has collected two Bundesliga titles, the UEFA Champions League and two DFB-Pokals since moving to the Allianz Arena, but has not been a regular starter due to the presence of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

That led to speculation that the 22-year-old may seek to leave Bavaria, and a rumours of a transfer to Liverpool resurfaced in the close-season.

And Shaqiri has now revealed that the Premier League giants made an offer for his services, but Bayern were unwilling sellers.

Liverpool made …

​Eden Hazard believes Chelsea have assembled a strong enough squad to go all the way in the UEFA Champions League this season.

The Belgium international arrived at Stamford Bridge in June 2012 a month after the club secured their maiden European crown against Bayern Munich.

Since Hazard s arrival, Chelsea have gone out in the group stages and were beaten semi-finalists last term.

With the likes of Diego Costa, Filipe Luis, Cesc Fabregas and Loic Remy joining the club during the close-season, Hazard is confident they have what it takes to reach the final in Berlin next May.

My ambition in the Champions League is pretty much the same as it has been since I’ve been at Chelsea, he told the club s official website. Personally and collectively it is to go …

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected an appeal made by Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu against an order to pay Chelsea £14.5m in damages. The Blues sacked the Romania international in 2005 after he tested positive for cocaine. “The Court of Arbitration for Sport has today dismissed the appeal filed by the Romanian football player, Adrian Mutu, against the decision rendered by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber on May 7, 2008 in which he was order to pay €17,173,990 in compensation… for breach of contract,” a statement read.

…

Inter playmaker Wesley Sneijder is on the verge of joining Galatasaray according to his agent

Inter and Holland international Wesley Sneijder is set to make a £10million move to the Turkish top flight with Galatasaray.

However, the Dutch playmaker is allegedly not convinced that the move is the right one for him.

Interest

The Dutchman’s agent Soren Lerby has revealed publicly not he is about to make the move.

Whether that’s to create interest from elsewhere or whether it is to give fans of the star information about their hero remains to be seen.

There has been constant speculation throughout his career that the Dutch international is moving to the Premier League. Tottenham are currently being linked with a last-ditch move for Sneijd…

Bournemouth midfielder Jack Wilshere almost fell out of love with the game during his recovery from injury last season.

Wilshere, 24, has earned an England recall after impressing at Dean Court, on loan from Arsenal.

The midfielder s injury-riddled career continued last season. He made only three appearances in 2015-16 due to a broken leg.

It was difficult at times. I was injured and it wasn t as if it was my first injury, Wilshere said.

I nearly did [fall out of love with the game]. The injury last season was the hardest to take mentally, because I have been through a lot.

I missed the fight of the Premier League, being involved in all the big games and making a difference for a team and I wanted to feel that again and almost fall back in love…

Mikel Arteta expressed his surprise after Bernd Leno suggested he was forced to leave Arsenal due to politics rather than performances.

The Germany goalkeeper swapped London clubs ahead of the 2022-23 season as he ended a four-year stay at Arsenal to join fellow Premier League side Fulham.

Leno penned a three-year contract with the Cottagers in a bid to boost his hopes of featuring at the World Cup for Germany later in the year, after falling behind Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal pecking order.

The 30-year-old departing Emirates Stadium came as no surprise after Arsenal brought in goalkeeper Matt Turner from New England Revolution, though Leno says he was forced out the club.

When I realised that it wasn t about performance or quality, I knew I had to go,…

Ian Ayre says Liverpool owner John W. Henry and chairman Tom Werner have approached Manchester United and Arsenal for advice.

American businessman Henry took control of the club in October 2010, when Fenway Sports Group bought out Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

And managing director Ayre has revealed that, although Henry and Werner have experience in sport with baseball franchise Boston Red Sox, they are still learning about football and have sought guidance from rival clubs as a result.

He and Tom are both very open in their approach, Ayre told reporters.

They ll contact David (Gill) at United and Ivan (Gazidis) at Arsenal (and ask), What do you think? That s healthy. Let s get a rounded view of the sport and how we should be doing things.

It …

Sunderland were denied a win by former loanee Ki Sung-yueng in a 1-1 Premier League draw at Swansea City on Saturday.

Ki Sung-yueng returned to haunt former club Sunderland as his second-half header rescued a 1-1 Premier League draw for Swansea City on Saturday.

The South Korea international, back in the starting XI after reaching the Asian Cup final with his country, spent the majority of last season on loan at Sunderland.

And the midfielder, who also had a goal ruled out in the first half, made a decisive contribution when he stooped low to meet Kyle Naughton s cross in the second half at the Liberty Stadium denying Sunderland what would have been back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.

Swansea were somewhat unfortunate to go into t…

Antonio Brown and Logan Paul teased a potential fight on Twitter on Saturday.

Having apologised over issues that have kept him out of the NFL since September, Brown asked if he should fight Paul.

A YouTuber, Paul lost to KSI in a bout which attracted plenty of interest in Los Angeles in November last year.

On Saturday, Brown tweeted: Should I fight @LoganPaul for 4.1m with possibly 8.2m raise?! I ll donate proceeds to charity he keep coming at me about this non-stop.

Paul responded: If you do, I ll match your donation.

if you do, i’ll match your donation

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul)

Brown apologised to the NFL following a series of alleged off-field incidents as he played just one game in the league in 2019.

Wide recei…

Almeria have been promoted back to La Liga after a 4-0 aggregate win over Girona in the Segunda Division play-off final.

Javi Garcia’s side have spent two seasons in Spain’s second tier following their relegation in 2010-11, but they secured this year’s final promotion place on Saturday after finishing third in the regular season.

Thanks to a solitary goal from Brazilian striker Charles, Almeria picked up a valuable away win in Wednesday’s first leg before recording a comfortable 3-0 victory at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos to confirm their passage back to the La Liga.

Charles bagged a double after highly-rated youngster Aleix Vidal gave the hosts a 17th-minute lead, and the Brazilian forward’s goals took his season tally to an impressive 32.

Alme…