Raphinha sealed his move to Barcelona on Friday as club president Joan Laporta hailed the Brazilian winger, declaring: We think the beautiful game is coming back.

At the age of 25, Raphinha follows compatriots Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Neymar in arriving at Camp Nou with high expectations on his shoulders.

He could soon be joined by Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been Barcelona s prime target, but Laporta was not missing a chance to trumpet the club s first big-money signing of the close season.

This is very exciting for us. For all of us who have lived through golden times at the club, there were always Brazilians, Laporta said.

He takes the baton of illusion and magic. From the club, we think that the beautiful game is comin…

James Milner believes Liverpool can cause problems for Champions League favourites Barcelona despite his own forgettable experiences at Camp Nou. 

Milner was part of Manuel Pellegrini s Manchester City teams that bowed out at the first knockout stage in 2014 and 2015. 

The Reds will face Lionel Messi and his illustrious team-mates at a deeper stage of the competition, having swatted aside Porto to reach the semi-finals, and the 33-year-old believes their playing style under Jurgen Klopp can pose tough questions of any opponent.

We can beat Barca but we know it will very tough, Milner told reporters. I ve been there a couple of times in the knockout stages with City and not got the right result, so hopefully it is third time lucky for me. 

They a…

Ten-man Atletico Madrid missed out on the chance to replace Barcelona at the top of La Liga as a heavily deflected goal with four minutes to go saw them lose out 1-0 to lowly Malaga.

With Barcelona taking part in  and winning the Club World Cup final earlier on Sunday, Diego Simeone s men knew that even a point from their trip to La Rosaleda would be enough to send them into the Christmas break as outright leaders. 

But instead, Charles late effort took a wicked deflection off Diego Godin and secured just a fourth victory of the campaign for the hosts and their first over Atletico since 2009.

The visitors had been looking to extend their unbeaten run to 16 games, but were outplayed by the home side for long periods and lost Gabi to a red card early in the…

Memphis Depay has told Lyon to make the most of him while they can as he is unsure if he will still be at the club after January amid persistent links with Barcelona.

Barca boss Ronald Koeman has made no secret of his desire to sign Depay, with whom he worked as head coach of the Netherlands national side.

A deal failed to materialise late in the recent transfer window, despite the 26-year-old agreeing personal terms with Barca, but a fresh approach is expected in the new year.

Depay is out of contract at the end of 2020-21 and says he cannot guarantee he will even see out the remainder of the campaign at the Groupama Stadium.

You ask me about this a lot. But I m not going to make promises that I m not sure I can keep, he told Telefoot when asked if …

Pep Guardiola has announced his intention to leave Manchester City and explore opportunities at international level when his contract expires at the end of next season.

Guardiola is now in the penultimate year of his deal at the Etihad Stadium, where he has been in charge since July 2016.

After replacing Manuel Pellegrini at the helm, the former Barcelona boss has won three Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and the FA Cup during his tenure with the Citizens.

The 50-year-old revealed he does not plan to extend his stay with the club, and that he is targeting an opportunity with a national side.

After seven years at this team, I think I m going to have to stop, he said at an XP Investimentos event.

I m going to have to take a break, see what we…

Raffael has been our most dangerous attackers in recent years, and still has the quality to make a difference, so we’re very happy that he will be with us again next season.”

Those are the words of Borussia Monchengladbach’s sporting director Max Eberl, who confirmed that Raffael has signed a one year contract extension with the club. The Brazilian has been with the club since back in 2013, when he made the jump over from Dynamo Kyiv. He is considered to be a club legend, and at the age of 33, this deal could be one of the last ones he signs as he approaches the final stretch of his career.

Raffael, who is an attacking midfielder, has been a constant in the Gladbach first team for a long time now. When he retires, many fans are expecting him to continue his work …

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri hailed the quality that Dusan Vlahovic has brought to the Bianconeri squad after he netted two superb goals in a 3-2 win at Empoli.

Vlahovic netted twice after Moise Kean had opened the scoring for the Old Lady in a win which saw them consolidate fourth place in Serie A, although they had to survive a late onslaught from their lively hosts.

The Serbian striker now has 20 Serie A goals this season, while the victory has given Juventus a six-point cushion over fifth-placed Atalanta, ahead of Gian Piero Gasperini s team s clash with Sampdoria on Monday.

Vlahovic s neat finishes proved the difference in a hard-fought encounter in which Empoli managed 11 attempts to the visitors 12.

Allegri was keen to praise the in-form…

Central Coast Mariners kicked off their 2020-21 A-League campaign with a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets on Thursday thanks to Alou Kuol s first-half header at the Central Coast Stadium.

Teenage forward Kuol profited from some hesitant Jets defending to guide in Stefan Nigro s deep free-kick and earn the hosts bragging rights in the F3 Derby.

It marks a first league victory on home soil for the Mariners in nine attempts, while it meant they picked up successive wins in the competition for the first time since December 2017, having ended last term with a 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory at Jubilee Stadium.

The team now coached by Alen Stajcic have finished bottom of the ladder in each of the last three seasons but made a bright start against their neighbours and took…

Fiorentina have confirmed that ex-AC Milan and Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella will stay on at the Serie A club.

Montella, who coached Fiorentina between 2012 and 2015, returned to the Artemio Franchi in April, replacing Stefano Pioli.

But he failed to win any of his eight games in charge at the end of 2018-19, seemingly casting his future in doubt.

However, it has now been confirmed that Montella will take charge of the Viola next season, following a meeting with new owner Rocco Commisso on Friday.

I m very happy. I met Rocco Commisso for the first time in person and his enthusiasm exceeded all my expectations, Montella told Fiorentina s official website.

He conveys a lot of positivity and I m sure this feeling will spread through to everyon…

Real Madrid are the latest in the line of clubs credited with interested in Donyell Malen of PSV Eindhoven.

The 20-year-old has been on impressive form for a while now, having become a regular feature in Ronald Koeman s Netherlands team and his talents have not gone unnoticed. He is currently being courted by the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona, who are all looking to add young firepower on the flanks.

Malen s football journey started at PSV s fierce rivals Ajax, whose academy ranks he left in 2015 to join Arsenal. Two years later he returned to his homeland, this time with PSV. This season he has scored an incredible 16 goals in 18 competitive matches already, which makes the interest of top European sides quite understandable.

Real are currently devi…