Banega completes Sevilla return

In a recent interview, Filipe Luis has confirmed that he asked to leave Atletico Madrid this past summer. The 33-year-old, who re-joined Atletico from Chelsea back in 2015, was the subject of much speculation with Paris Saint-Germain being very interested in acquiring his services. According to Luis, Atletico made it sound as if he was insisting on leaving which wasn t the case, and that upset the Brazilian as he felt like they were trying to ruin his image in the public eye.

PSG worked hard to try and get the deal done before the summer transfer window officially shut, but Atletico refused to give consent to the move which clearly upset Luis.

Given his age, it would seem as if time is running out for him to make a big move like this, and if he s going to succeed in pus…

Per Mertesacker has said he paid no attention to Troy Deeney’s comment that Arsenal lack cojones following their 2-1 defeat to Watford, but admits his side must be mentally tougher.

Deeney accused Arsenal of a lack of fight after Watford came from a goal down to beat the Gunners 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Saturday in the Premier League.

Mertesacker had earlier opened the scoring for the Gunners and says his team need to learn from a defeat that leaves them nine points behind leaders Manchester City.

I don t know what he [Deeney] said, Mertesacker told Sky Sports. I don t pay attention. Anyway it was after the game I think, so I didn t watch it.

We should concentrate on ourselves first of all, there are so many guys involved and so many opinions, which…

Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has emphatically hit back at criticism levelled at him by Hans-Joachim Watzke – branding the Borussia Dortmund chief executive a clown .

Aubameyang left Dortmund after four-and-a-half years at Signal Iduna Park to join the Gunners in January 2018 for a fee in the region of £56million (€63m).

The 30-year-old Gabon international has enhanced his reputation as one of the most prolific goalscorers in Europe – netting 39 times in the Premier League, including seven in seven appearances this term.

However, Arsenal have been restricted to a diet of Europa League football since Aubameyang joined, leading Watzke to suggest he left Champions League mainstays Dortmund for financial reasons.

Aubameyang, who plays gre…

Oliver Bierhoff described Germany s management team as part of the problem as he admitted his shared responsibility with head coach Joachim Low to address the national team s shortcomings.

In the aftermath of Germany being knocked out in the first round of a World Cup for the first time for 80 years, Low re-stated his commitment to remaining in charge and general manager Bierhoff backed the 58-year-old as the man to turn their fortunes around.

To do that, Bierhoff says the duo must begin their analysis of a hugely disappointing campaign in Russia with themselves.

We are also part of the problem, we have to first start with us, Bierhoff told Welt.de.

We have the responsibility, must accept criticism, we are convinced that we can do it.

I sti…

Alvaro Morata moved Atletico Madrid a step closer to the Champions League knockout phase by securing a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

Diego Simeone s side had gone four home matches in all competitions without a win and had only scored once in their past three games at Wanda Metropolitano.

They rarely looked like ending that particular run against a Leverkusen side who lost their first two Group D matches and were beaten 3-0 by Eintracht Frankfurt last Friday, until Morata s powerful 78th-minute header proved too much for Lukas Hradecky.

Atletico lost Jose Gimenez to injury after only 15 minutes but Jan Oblak s goal was relatively untroubled, despite the visitors enjoying most of the first-half possession.

Hradecky made a routine stop from …

England are to face Netherlands and Italy in March as part of their preparations for the 2018 World Cup, the Football Association has announced.

The fixtures will provide Gareth Southgate s side with an opportunity to face top-class opposition ahead of the showpiece tournament in Russia.

The Three Lions will travel to Amsterdam to face Netherlands on March 23 before welcoming Italy to Wembley Stadium four days later.

England have lost their last two meetings with the Dutch, who failed to even reach the World Cup qualifying play-offs after finishing third in Group A, including a 2-1 loss on home soil in March 2016.

Italy, meanwhile, missed out on a World Cup berth for the first time since 1958 after losing a two-legged play-off against Sweden. The Azzurri …

Christian Eriksen said he was a happy man after making his long-awaited return to football in Brentford s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United, having suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 fixture last June.

The Denmark midfielder joined Brentford on a free transfer in January after leaving Serie A champions Inter, having suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during his country s Euro 2020 group-stage fixture against Finland in Copenhagen.

Eriksen received a standing ovation from both sets of fans when he was introduced as a second-half substitute against the Magpies, 766 days after making his last Premier League appearance, which came for Tottenham against Norwich City in January 2020. 

The timing of his return was not entirely ideal, with the Bees…

Pep Guardiola believes he has everything I could possibly want at Manchester City after signing a new two-year contract.

Guardiola arrived at City from Bayern Munich in 2016 and has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three EFL Cups.

The Catalan manager s deal at the Etihad Stadium was set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season, with rumours of interest from former club Barcelona emerging.

But an agreement with Guardiola was announced on Thursday, extending his City stay until 2023.

The treble-winning coach was delighted with the news as he spoke glowingly of the support he receives in Manchester.

Ever since I arrived at Manchester City, I have been made to feel so welcome in the club and in the city itself from the players, the staf…

Marco Verratti and Jorginho were among a group of six players to leave the Italy camp after their failure to qualify for the World Cup. 

Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne, Domenico Berardi and Gianluca Mancini also returned to their clubs ahead of schedule, with the latter two having sustained knocks. 

Italy coach Roberto Mancini is expected to ring the changes in a friendly against Turkey on Tuesday following the Azzurri s shock defeat to North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final on Thursday. 

The Euro 2020 champions first ever home loss in World Cup qualifying meant they failed to reach successive finals for the first time in their history. 

Instead of taking on Portugal in the play-off final, Italy will depart for Konya on Monday.�…

Tottenham Hotspur are in talks over the possibility of signing Jannik Vestergaard with the defender in the final year of his contract with Southampton, according to .

The talks are a result of their wish to sign two defenders this summer, and Vestergaard s international teammate Joachim Andersen is another player considered, having spent 2020-21 on loan with Fulham. Anderson apparently has no intention of returning to his parent club, Olympique Lyon, where he is under contract until 2024. The final decision will be made by the newly appointed Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who prefers a three-man line at the back. It is a system which both Vestergaard and Andersen are familiar with, having played that way with Denmark at the ongoing Euros.

Vestergaard joined the Sai…