All posts by CFD

If ever an occasion was crying out for Gareth Bale‘s star quality, it was this one. Tottenham scraped through the Europa League second qualifying round with a chaotic 2-1 win over nine-man Lokomotiv Plovdiv in Bulgaria. It was a quintessential early-season Europa League tie, played on a heavy pitch against a dogged opponent and eventually descending into chaos, as the […]

Gareth Bale is closer to leaving Real Madrid now than at any time during his seven years at the Spanish club, according to his agent. Jonathan Barnett told BBC Wales Sport talks over a move back to Tottenham are “slowly progressing”. Spurs boss Jose Mourinho refused to speculate on the talks on Wednesday. Bale, 31, left Spurs […]

The 31-year-old’s deal had been due to expire at the end of the season, but he has now ended speculation by extending his stay at the Emirates. The Arsenal captain scored in their opening-day 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday, with first-team manager Mikel Arteta hinting after the match a new contract was close. “Signing […]

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has signed a new contract that will keep him at the BBC until 2025. The former England striker’s new deal includes a 23% pay cut and will see him continue to host Match of the Day. He will also front the BBC’s FA Cup coverage, major football tournaments […]

It would cost £300m for any club to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain next summer, according to a report. News emerged over the weekend claiming that Mbappe has told PSG he plans to leave at the end of the season. The French World Cup winner believes he would have a better chance of winning […]

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman wants to sign Mohamed Salah from Liverpool ahead of his team-mate Sadio Mane. Liverpool could have a fight on their hands to keep Mohamed Salah at Anfield as Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has made the Egypt international his top transfer target. The new Barca manager is determined to make the shock […]

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is working hard to strengthen his squad ahead of the new Premier League season, which gets under way this weekend. The Gunners won the FA Cup in 2019/20 and again showed the potential they have under Arteta by beating Liverpool to win the traditional curtain-raiser for the new campaign, the Community […]

The Premier League is in for a treat on the evidence of Leeds’ first top flight appearance for 5,964 days but Marcelo Bielsa is not one for plaudits. It was points he wanted at Liverpool and one was firmly within his team’s grasp until Rodrigo, the club’s £30m record signing, foolishly gifted the champions an […]

Arsenal have handed Mikel Arteta significantly more power by promoting him from head coach to first-team manager, formally widening his remit across their football operations. It is a reward for the eye-catching impact Arteta has made, materially and behind the scenes, since succeeding Unai Emery. His first half-season brought an FA Cup win and a […]