Category: football

Barcelona’s new technical director Ramon Planes insists the club want to keep Lionel Messi after the Argentine handed in a transfer request.

Messi informed Barcelona’s hierarchy of his decision via burofax on Tuesday evening and is now pushing to leave Camp Nou on a free transfer due to a clause in his contract.

However, Barcelona are aware that the clause which allows Messi to leave for free expired on June 10 and the club believe they are now able to hold out until their captain’s €700 million (£629m) buyout fee is met.

Messi is arguing that the clause remains active as the coronavirus pandemic halted Barcelona’s season and the club’s campaign did not end until their 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on August 14.

Manchester City are believed to be leading the race to sign Messi, with reports claiming that the 33-year-old has already held talks with Pep Guardiola and is keen on the prospect of being reunited with his former manager.

On Wednesday, Barcelona unveiled their new signing Francisco Trincao and at the presentation for the 20-year-old Portuguese forward, Planes responded to Messi’s push to leave Camp Nou and denied reports which claim that the forward will refuse to report for pre-season training.

‘It was very important news, we have always said that we want to build the new Barcelona around Messi, the best player in history,’ said Planes, who replaced Eric Abidal as technical director last week.

‘We can’t have a public dispute between Barcelona and Messi because neither side deserves that. ‘Messi has not told us that he’s not going to show up for training.

We do not contemplate any contractual exit, because we want Messi to stay.

‘Internally we have been working for long hours to find the best solution for the club and for Leo. ‘Anyone that understands a little bit about football wants to have Leo in their team. It is an immense pleasure to see a player like him. He is a winner, Barcelona are winners and we want to get back to winning.’ he concluded.

Dean Henderson has ended speculation over his Manchester United future by signing a new five-year contract at Old Trafford, with the option of a further 12 months to be triggered before June 2025.

The 23-year-old, who has been named in the England squad for next month’s Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark, has spent the last two seasons on loan at Sheffield United. His performances for Chris Wilder’s team last season led to Henderson being linked with a summer move to Chelsea.

But Henderson has now committed his future to United, sparking the prospect of a battle for the No. 1 spot this season with David de Gea.

“The pathway that I have been on for the past five years has been fantastic for my development and the invaluable loan period at Sheffield United has been part of that,” Henderson said. “The goalkeeping department at United is excellent; there are three top-level goalkeepers who have achieved so much in the game and I look forward to working with the group.

“The faith that the manager and the club have shown in me with this contract means a lot to me and will continue my progression as a goalkeeper.

“I’ll be giving everything to improve every day so that I can play as many games as possible for this great club.

“Now I am looking forward to joining up with the England squad and then preparing for the season ahead.”

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now expected to keep Henderson in his squad for the coming season rather than loan him out again.

“We are delighted that Dean has signed his new contract,” Solskjaer said. “He had another great season at Sheffield United, where he gained a lot of experience and grew both as a player and a person.

“Dean is a fantastic young keeper with the attitude and work-rate to keep improving every day.

“We are in a strong position within the goalkeeping department and that gives us the competition for places that we are looking for in the squad.”

Fans will return to a football stadium in England for the first time following the coronavirus lockdown when Brighton host Chelsea in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, after the government approved a raft of pilot events.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed on Wednesday a raft of new events where spectators would be admitted on a socially-distanced basis, following the ban on mass gatherings introduced in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The test events will also include a Premiership rugby fixture, three horse racing meetings and cricket fixtures in the Bob Willis Trophy and T20 Blast.

Brighton announced that season-ticket holders and some club members will be able to purchase a total of 2,500 tickets for the match at the AMEX Stadium, where several measures will be introduced to fulfil government guidelines.

Fans will have to wear face masks upon entering the stadium, but will be allowed to remove them once they are in their seat, or for eating and drinking purposes.

Supporters are to socially distance, and will be instructed to remain in the seat they are allocated to ensure a low risk of transmission.

Stewards will also be permitted to carry out random temperature checks on supporters whose details will be stored in line with the government’s track and trace system.