Mancini: The title race is over

 

 

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has conceded that the club can't win the Premier League title this season, with rivals Manchester United 15 points clear at the top.

However, with an FA Cup semi-final still to contest against the winners of a replay between United and Chelsea, Mancini refused to be downbeat about their season, instead backing his side to cement second place in the league and finish the term strongly.

"It's over, but this doesn't change anything because we should do our best from now to the end," Mancini told reporters.

"Every top team, when you can't win a title, you should try to play well, try to win all the games, and we have the FA cup semi-final.

"We have Chelsea four points behind, Tottenham five points behind and we play another nine games. For this reason it's important to keep working hard."
The future of the Italian boss remains up in the air, amid reports that he, along with midfielder Yaya Toure, have been targeted by Ligue 2 leaders Monaco, but Mancini laughed off suggestions he was interested in the role.

"Monaco is one of the best teams in the French Second Division and they have a good manager. I'll stay here for a long time, like Yaya," he added.

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Alexis agent set for Juventus talks

 

 

Fernando Felicevich, the agent of Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez, is set to fly to Italy for talks with Juventus and Inter, Goal.com understands.

The Chilean enjoyed a successful spell in Serie A with Udinese between 2006 and 2011, but left for Camp Nou for an undisclosed fee two years ago.

However, he has struggled with form and injuries since moving to Catalunya, scoring just twice in his 20 Liga appearances this season.

The Turin giants have been monitoring his situation for several months now as they look to bolster their front line, but could face competition from the Nerazzurri, who have joined the race for his signature in recent weeks.

Felicevich will also discuss the future of another of his clients, Bianconeri midfielder Arturo Vidal, who was confirmed as a €30m-target for Bayern Munich by Goal.com last month.

However, there is also interest in the former Bayer Leverkusen man from the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, although the Chile international is determined to stay at Juventus Stadium.

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Why I will not recall Odemwingie anytime soon – Keshi

Stephen Keshi has indicated that Osaze Odemwingie’s attitude might keep him out of the national team for a long time. 

The West Brom forward, was excluded from the squad that went on to win the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa and Keshi revealed that he has shown no remorse, as he refused to congratulate the players and officials. 

“There is no doubt that Osaze is a good player, but he hasn’t shown the right attitude that he is ready to play for the country again. Nigerians won’t believe that Osaze has not sent a word or text messages of congratulations to us after the Nations Cup. This shows the kind of a person he is,” Keshi said. 

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“The Best Team Lost” – Mourinho

Despite qualifying for the quarter-finals, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, conceded that his team did not deserve to eliminate Manchester United. 

“The best team lost, we didn’t play well & we didn’t deserve to win,” the Portuguese said. 

The former Chelsea boss, went on to praise the attitude of Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, who fought on, even after Nani’s controversial dismissal. 

He said: “Man Utd have the mentality of lions. They are aggressive in a good way. They are giants and are fantastic.” 

On his potential return to English football, he added: “If somebody wants me one day I will be back (in English football).”

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List Of 27 Players Who Left ARSENAL FC To Go And Win Trophies

THE harsh truth is any player joining Arsenal in the last eight years has had to forget about winning silverware.

But 27 players who have walked out on the Gunners since their 2005 FA Cup triumph against Manchester United, have gone on to collect a combined 76 trophies…

ASHLEY COLE

Left 2006. 8 trophies. With CHELSEA — Premier League 2010; Champions League 2012; FA Cup 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012; League Cup 2007; Community Shield 2009.

PATRICK VIEIRA

Left 2005. 8 trophies. JUVENTUS — Serie A 2006. INTER MILAN — Serie A 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010; Italian Super Cup 2006, 2008. MAN CITY — FA Cup 2011.

THIERRY HENRY

Left 2007. 7 trophies. BARCELONA — La Liga 2009, 2010; Copa del Rey 2009; Spanish Super Cup 2009; Champions League 2009; UEFA Super Cup 2009; Club World Cup 2009.

ALEXANDER HLEB

Left 2008. 5 trophies. BARCELONA — La Liga 2009; Copa del Rey 2009; Champions League 2009. BIRMINGHAM — League Cup 2011. BATE BORISOV — Belarusian Premier League 2012.

EDUARDO

Left 2010. 5 trophies. SHAKHTAR DONETSK — Ukrainian Premier League 2011, 2012; Ukrainian Cup: 2011, 2012; Ukrainian Super Cup 2012.

CESC FABREGAS

Left 2011. 4 trophies. BARCELONA — Copa del Rey 2012; Spanish Super Cup 2011; UEFA Super Cup 2011; Club World Cup 2011.

LASSANA DIARRA

Left 2008. 4 trophies. PORTSMOUTH — FA Cup 2008. REAL MADRID — La Liga 2012; Spanish Super Cup 2012; Copa del Rey 2011.

JOSE ANTONIO REYES

2007. 4 trophies. REAL MADRID — La Liga 2007. BENFICA — Portuguese League Cup 2009. ATLETICO MADRID: Europa League 2010; UEFA Super Cup 2010.

STEPHEN O’DONNELL

2005. 4 trophies. BOHEMIANS — League of Ireland 2008; FAI Cup 2008. SHAMROCK ROVERS — League of Ireland 2011; Setanta Sports Cup 2011.

KOLO TOURE

2009. 3 trophies. MAN CITY — Premier League 2012; Community Shield 2012; FA Cup 2011.

MATHIEU FLAMINI

2008. 2 trophies. AC MILAN — Serie A 2011; Italian Super Cup 2011.

GAEL CLICHY

2011. 2 trophies. MAN CITY — Premier League 2012; Community Shield 2012.

SAMIR NASRI

2011. 2 trophies. MAN CITY — Premier League 2012; Community Shield 2012.

GILBERTO SILVA

2008. 2 trophies. PANATHINAIKOS — Greek Super League 2010; Greek Football Cup 2010.

EMMANUEL EBOUE

Left 2011. 2 trophies. GALATASARAY — Super Lig 2012; Super Kupa 2012.

ANTHONY STOKES

2007. 2 trophies. CELTIC — SPL 2012; Scottish FA Cup 2011.

MATTHEW CONNOLLY

2008. 2 trophies: QPR — Football League Championship 2011. READING — Football League Championship 2012.

ONE-HIT WONDERS

SOL CAMPBELl

Left 2006. Portsmouth — FA Cup 2008.

SEB LARSSON

Left 2007. Birmingham — League Cup 2011.

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR

Left 2009. Real Madrid — Copa del Rey 2011.

JERMAINE PENNANT

Left 2005. Liverpool — Community Shield 2006.

EDU

Left 2005. Valencia — Copa del Rey 2008.

LAUREN

Left 2006. Portsmouth — FA Cup 2008.

FRAN MERIDA

Left 2010. Atletico Madrid — UEFA Super Cup 2010.

FRANK SIMEK

Left 2005. Carlisle — Football League Trophy 2011.

FREDDIE LJUNGBERG

Left 2007. Seattle — US Open Cup 2009.

MARK RANDALL

Left 2011. Chesterfield — Johnstone’s Paint 2012.

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Five transfers that could break the £80 million world transfer record

Rumours are abound of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid this summer and, were it to happen, he would likely command a fee close to his world record £80million transfer to Spain from Manchester United.

Whether it would exceed that enormous amount paid by the Santiago Bernabeu club in 2009 is up for debate, but it would certainly be expensive.

In fact, with the spectre of Financial Fair Play on the horizon, it is questionable as to whether any transfer will ever surpass the record.

GMF decided to scour the world to find the players that could be candidates to break Ronaldo’s record fee, or at least come close to it – five players that could conceivably be the next transfer blockbusters.

We aren’t saying these transfers are definitely going to happen, or that they will definitely break the record; we’re just saying they have the potential to leave football fans open-mouthed at the scale of the financials.

So, here they are:

Gareth Bale

The Spurs winger has been setting the Premier League alight in recent weeks and his price is rising with every match-winner wondergoal he scores. It is a shame that Tottenham Hotspur are a club that do not possess the financial clout to resist huge bids for their best players.

Bale is proving to be almost unstoppable when on his game and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is famous for getting every last penny out of the buying cliubs that are interested. Transfer fess from £70million to £50million have been mooted for the Wales international, so you know it will be big when he does eventually leave.

Neymar

Brazil’s young hope has been getting quite a billing over the past two years and it is all geared towards getting as lucrative a deal as possible when he makes his eventual move to Europe. 

His club Santos cannot boast the financial power of Europe’s bigger clubs, so his first move is unlikely to be his biggest. If he progresses, as many believe he is capable, his second move could well command an astronomical fee.

Wayne Rooney

Paris St Germain are reported to be retaining an interest in the England forward, who will be entering the final two years of his Manchester United contract at the end of the season.

The Qatar-backed Ligue 1 club have serious financial clout and it would likely take much of it to persuade Rooney to move away from Old Trafford. Rooney’s commercial value makes him an extremely valuable asset even before his contribution on the pitch is considered; he is the star of Roy Hodgson’s Three Lions team and faces up numerous products.

All of which make his value to United extremely high and drive up what would already be significant price.

Jack Wilshere

Arsenal fans will not want to envisage their golden boy leaving Emirates Stadium at any time in the future, but star men departing the Gunners has become so regular an occurrence in the recent past that it would be foolish to dismiss it ever happening.

If Rooney is the current face of the England side, Wilshere is undoubtedly the successor. Arsene Wenger is one of many to say he could be one of the world’s best eventually so a transfer fee for him will have to be huge.

The fact that he is still very young and is yet to hit his prime, added to the improving financial power of the Gunners, mean his stock, and price tag, are only going to be rising.

Juan Mata

The Spaniard has been sensational since he moved to Chelsea from Valencia in 2011 and has been improving ever since. The Blues have been going through some troubled times recently and do not have the cushion of last year’s Champions League triumph to remedy a poor Premier League season.

If the unrest causes them to fail more often, then players like Mata could well decide they want a new challenge. However, the presence of Roman Abramovich means they are unlikely to ever have to sell a player and it would take a large pile of cash to convince him to part company with one of his most prized charges.

Mata is surely the most prized of those, except for maybe Eden Hazard, and his age, alongside his supreme talent, would likely mean he would cost a significant amount of money.

Which other players do you think could draw record-breaking transfer fees in the future? Leave a comment below to let us know…

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