Mats Hummels was surprised by the reaction from Borussia Dortmund supporters to his transfer to fierce rivals Bayen Munich during the close-season.
Hummels became the latest Dortmund player to move to the Allianz Arena for a deal reported to be in the excess of €30million, following in the footsteps of Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze.
The defender who originally moved from Bayern to Dortmund in 2008 was criticised by some fans for re-joining the German champions, something he finds hard to understand given his eight-year stay at the club.
It has quickly been made out to be ingratitude, but then what does gratitude mean? Hummels told Kicker.
Does gratitude mean that you have to spend your whole life with this one club? I feel I have always been ful…
Best Odds: 1/2
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Looking to get their hands on a maiden Champions League crown and complete a history-making treble, Manchester City will meet Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
Manchester City
Starting with Manchester City, crowned FA Cup champions at Wembley last weekend as they clinched a 2-1 victory against local rivals Manchester United, Pep Guardiola’s side know that they are just 90 minutes away from making major history. Eventually defending their Premier League title last month and already getting their hands on two pieces of silverware, the Sky Blues are now looking to become the first English club since 1999 to be crowned treble champions. Although the former Barcelona boss might have seen his superstar squad sign off …
Juventus are interested in signing Rodrigo De Paul from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that the former Serie A and UEFA Champions League winners have had an eye on De Paul even since his time at Udinese and remain keen on securing the services of the Argentina international midfielder.
De Paul has been on the books of Atletico since the summer of 2021 when he joined from Italian club Udinese. The 28-year-old has failed to make a huge impact at the former La Liga winners, who are willing to cash in on him and want to recoup the €35 million they paid for him.
The Argentine star has made four starts and two substitute appearances in La Liga for Atletico so far this season, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the proc…
Liverpool were beaten by Real Madrid in that notoriously controversial 2018 Champions League final, when Sergio Ramos dealt Loris Karius an elbow to the head and injured Mohamed Salah, and went unpunished for either incident.
The Merseysiders took that game personally and came back the following season, winning the trophy while Real left the competition after the round of 16. Real, on the other hand, knocked Liverpool out in the quarterfinals last season.
With all this in mind, the final this year is set to be a real treat, and Salah obviously can t wait.
When they ask me, who we want? I say Real Madrid. It was an easy answer.
Mo Salah admits he wanted to face Real Madrid in the Champions League final
— Football Daily (@footballdaily)
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Kaka is keen to see compatriot Neymar establish himself as the heir to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as he backed Brazil as favourites for the World Cup.
The South American giants head to Qatar in search of their first crown since victory in 2002, when Kaka was part of the squad, following 20 years of European dominance on the world stage.
Brazil are seen as leading contenders at Qatar 2022, alongside arch-rivals Argentina, with Kaka highlighting the fact that it is likely to be Messi and Ronaldo s last tournament.
Neymar, now 30, could have at least one more World Cup appearance in his locker before he hangs up his boots, and Kaka is keen for the Paris Saint-Germain forward to follow Messi and Ronaldo s lead at the pinnacle of the game.
The differe…
Mauricio Pochettino believes Liverpool were awarded a soft penalty in their 2-1 Premier League victory against Tottenham but accepted the referee s decision to point to the spot.
Sunday s clash at Anfield was poised at 1-1 when referee Anthony Taylor adjudged that Spurs full-back Serge Aurier had fouled Sadio Mane inside the box.
Mohamed Salah converted the subsequent spot-kick 15 minutes from time to complete Liverpool s comeback win after Jordan Henderson had cancelled out Harry Kane s 47-second opener.
Tottenham manager Pochettino feels the call was a little harsh on his side, who end the weekend in 11th place following their fourth league defeat of the campaign.
I don t want to complain I need to accept the decision of the referee and the VAR, he sai…
Neymar has been benched for Paris Saint-Germain s Champions League clash at Real Madrid.
The Brazil star returned from a month-long absence with a hamstring injury in Friday s 2-0 Ligue 1 victory over Lille.
However, with PSG already through to the next round head coach Thomas Tuchel has opted not to risk the fitness of the flamboyant forward.
Instead, Mauro Icardi, Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappe line-up in a front three for the Group A clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It marks the first time Neymar has started a Champions League match on the bench since November 2014 when he was at Barcelona.
There are few surprises for a Madrid side who are still yet to book their spot in the knockout stages, with a win against PSG guaranteeing a last-16 berth.…
Cristiano Ronaldo s representatives have strenuously denied claims made in a report by German magazine Der Spiegel that the Real Madrid star paid a woman to cover up an allegation of rape.
Gestifute, the sports management company founded by Ronaldo s agent Jorge Mendes, dismissed the story as a piece of journalistic fiction .
In a statement responding to the article, it criticised a disgusting and outraging allegation and said Ronaldo will do everything in his power to react .
The statement read: Today, the German newspaper Der Spiegel published a long article regarding an alleged accusation of rape that would have been directed at Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, about eight years ago.
The article is nothing but a piece of journalistic fiction.
The a…
Verdict: Both teams to score – yes
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Both Inter and Lazio will be looking to put their recent Serie A struggle behind them as they lock horns in the Coppa Italia quarter-final on Thursday evening.
Inter
Inter Milan are suffering from a worrying dip in form which saw them fail to win any of their last two matches without even finding the net. A goalless draw against Sassuolo was followed by a 1-0 beating at Torino which put an end to Nerazzurri’s seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
Luciano Spaletti will now shift his team’s focus to the Coppa Italia as Inter eyes a chance to win their first piece of silverware since 2011. It was the year Nerazzurri last lifted the Coppa Italia after beating Palermo in the fin…
Alex Telles scored a match-winning penalty with three minutes of extra-time remaining as Porto beat Roma 3-1 to clinch a 4-3 aggregate victory and progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Roma took a 2-1 lead into the second leg after an uninspiring victory at Stadio Olimpico but Porto levelled the last-16 tie when Tiquinho Soares scored from close range to put the hosts ahead on the night.
Daniele De Rossi struck from the penalty spot but Moussa Marega made it 2-1 early in the second half before Wednesday s game petered out and went into extra-time.
A penalty shoot-out looked imminent until Alessandro Florenzi s shirt pull on Fernando prompted a VAR consultation and, after referee Cuneyt Cakir pointed to the spot, Telles stepped up to send Est…