Lionel Messi needed a professional on his side and not his father as he attempted to leave Barcelona, according to former Argentina team-mate Hernan Crespo.

After initially telling Barca he wished to leave after a trophyless campaign in 2019-20, and amid frustration with the Camp Nou board, Messi performed a U-turn and elected to stay with the embattled LaLiga giants.

Messi s contract expires next year, with Barca having been desperate to keep hold of their superstar captain as they look to overhaul the squad under new head coach Ronald Koeman, who replaced Quique Setien last month.

But Crespo believes the crisis could have been avoided, telling TyC Sports: Here again, with this whole situation, the issue is that with all due to respect to Jorge Messi, it seems…

Former Premier League referee Bobby Madley has revealed he was sacked for sending a video in which he mocked a disabled person.

Madley left his role in August 2018 and refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said at the time he had decided to relocate due to a change in his personal circumstances .

However, the 34-year-old explained in a blog post on Tuesday titled Time to move on   that he had been  dismissed with immediate effect for gross misconduct on grounds of discrimination .

Madley wrote that he sent a video to a friend, which was later passed to his employers, in which he captioned a clip of a person with a walking impairment: F*** me, I have a chance of winning the parents race this year.

The official said he had be…

Manchester City sealed their Champions League progress as group winners despite Riyad Mahrez missing a penalty and Erling Haaland being kept quiet on his return to Borussia Dortmund in a 0-0 draw.

Pep Guardiola s rode their luck at times on Tuesday and also wasted a glorious chance to claim victory at Signal Iduna Park, but they always knew a point would be enough to win Group G.

That did not always look a given, though. City could not handle Karim Adeyemi before half-time, the young forward teeing up team-mates three times and also missing a presentable chance of his own.

The away side looked brighter after Haaland s half-time withdrawal, but the Norwegian surely would have taken the penalty that Mahrez had saved; it had no bearing on City s main objective, howe…

Jose Gimenez has tested positive for coronavirus, Atletico Madrid have confirmed.

The Uruguay defender was the only player from Monday s tests to return a positive result, the club said in a statement on Tuesday.

Gimenez is now isolating at home, with Atletico confirming LaLiga s protocol has been implemented and the players will complete the next training session individually.

Head coach Diego Simeone also tested positive for the virus earlier this month and underwent a period of isolation, though he did not display any symptoms.

Atletico are due to start their new season at home to Granada at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday.

Simeone s men finished third in a disrupted 2019-20 campaign, while they were knocked out of the Champions League at …

Palermo have confirmed they are planning to take Brazilian striker Amauri back to Renzo Barbera.

The 31-year-old has been deemed surplus to requirements at Juventus and the Bianconeri are looking to cash in on him this summer.

Palermo sporting director, Sean Sogliano has revealed that the Rossanero are eager to have Amauri back after selling him to Juventus for €22 million in 2008.

“He is certainly a suggestive name,” Sogliano told Il Giornale di Sicilia. “He did very well at Palermo in the past.

“He’s someone that interests us and we know that he’s willing to come, but Juventus are in the middle of this too.

“He’s certainly a great player, but, unfortunately, it won’t be an easy operation to complete.”

Juventus are …

An emotional Sven-Goran Eriksson described the experience as “absolutely beautiful” after his long-held dream of managing Liverpool was fulfilled at Saturday’s charity match at a packed Anfield.

The 76-year-old former England boss, who in January revealed he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, grew up a Liverpool supporter and being in charge of the team was something he had always wanted to do.

That became reality as Eriksson, alongside former Reds stars Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge, oversaw a side that beat Ajax 4-2 in an LFC Foundation ‘Legends’ game.

An emotional Sven-Goran Eriksson made a ‘memory for life’ by being part of today s charity match

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

The Swede admitted he had shed tears both j…

Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld expects to face an improved Honduras when the teams meet at the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday.

The match is a repeat of the last round of group fixtures in 2010, which saw the teams play out a goalless draw to crash out of the competition together.

As things stand, both are on course to be eliminated once again, and they will be hoping Ecuador currently second in Group E and ahead of Switzerland on goal difference are unable to get the better of leaders France in Wednesday s other fixture.

Hitzfeld insists his side will be playing for the win, but knows to expect a different Honduran outfit to the one he faced four years ago.

Each game is different, each squad is different, he said. We have new players in the Honduras squa…

Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic does not expect to leave Stoke City in the close-season, despite reported interest from Real Madrid.

Begovic, who has just returned from the FIFA World Cup following Bosnia-Herzegovina s group-stage exit, has proven himself as one of the best keepers in the Premier League since joining Stoke in 2010.

His impressive performances for the Britannia Stadium outfit have attracted attention from a host of clubs, with speculation mounting that Real coach Carlo Ancelotti could make a move for the 27-year-old.

But Begovic claims that his focus is on the task at hand with Stoke, who kick off the domestic campaign with a home match against Aston Villa on August 16.

As far as I m concerned I will (start the season at Stoke), he told TalkSpor…

Tom Heaton has signed a new four year contract with Burnley,.

The goalkeeper, who was part of England’s squad for Euro 2016 has been at Turf Moor since the summer of 2013 having signed from Bristol City.

He has since racked up one hundred and thirty-eight appearances for the Clarets and was ever-present in their 2014/15 Premier League campaign but was unable to help them avoid relegation to the Championship.

Heaton began his career with Manchester United but failed to make a senior appearance for them, gaining his game time in loan spells with Swindon Town, Royal Antwerp, Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers, Rochdale and Wycombe Wanderers.

He was then sold to Cardiff City, where he spent two seasons before moving on to Ashton Gate.

Internati…

Galatasaray have completed the signing of midfielder Fernando from Manchester City.

The Turkish side confirmed the move had been finalised on Friday, a deal that will cost them a transfer fee of €5.25million, which could rise by a further €900,000 in bonuses.

Gala also revealed Fernando has signed a three-year deal and will earn an annual salary of €3.3m.

The 30-year-old spent three seasons with City, who he joined from Porto in 2014, but only started five Premier League matches in 2016-17, Pep Guardiola s first campaign in charge.

Thank you, !  

— Manchester City (@ManCity)

City had left Fernando, who leaves with the 2016 League Cup as his only major honour, out of their pre-season tour of the United States prior to Gala conf…