Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to return to Madrid

Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup has warned Gareth Bale a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona might not be in his best interests.

The winger signed a contract extension in the off-season, keeping him at Tottenham until at least 2016.

But it has not stopped mounting speculation that Bale will move to one of the two La Liga giants at the end of the campaign.

But Laudrup, himself a former Barcelona and Real Madrid player, has told Bale to think carefully about the next step in his career.

As a top player, when you have a possibility to go to the other teams, it s very important to think what would be best and where would I fit in, he said.

You have to realise that playing in Barcelona and Madrid is completely different to playing in the Premier L…

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag expects Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw to return from injury fairly soon but revealed Alejandro Garnacho s situation is more severe .

United confirmed on Wednesday that Rashford is due to miss a few games after sustaining a muscle injury in Saturday s 2-0 win over Everton.

The striker pulled up late on with apparent groin discomfort and was swiftly withdrawn, meaning United will have to cope without their leading scorer for the time being, starting with Thursday s Europa League quarter-final first leg at home to Sevilla.

Shaw will also miss the visit of Jose Luis Mendilibar s side after being absent for the weekend win over Everton.

United have not confirmed what injury Shaw is suffering from, but Ten Hag seems to bel…

Sheffield United have confirmed that convicted rapist Ched Evans will be allowed to train at the club at the request of the PFA.

The Welsh striker was released from the club when he was convicted in April 2012 and was released from prison last month after serving half of his five-year sentence.

There has been much speculation surrounding the future of Evans, with the club denying reports that he had been offered a contract at Bramall Lane.

On Tuesday, United released a statement explaining that they had acceded to a request from the PFA (Professional Footballers Association) to allow Evans to return to training, although the League One outfit are yet to decide if they will re-sign him.

The club acknowledges receipt of a request from the Professional Foot…

​Schalke boss Roberto Di Matteo will not let his history with Chelsea get in the way of plotting their downfall on Tuesday.

Di Matteo spent six years as a player at Stamford Bridge and famously led the club to UEFA Champions League glory as manager in 2012.

The Italian was sacked by Chelsea just four months after that final victory over Bayern Munich, but says he bears no ill feeling as he prepares his Schalke side to face the London club in the Champions League this week.

Schalke sit second in Group G, three points adrift of Chelsea, ahead of the clash at the Veltins-Arena.

Honestly, I am not thinking about Munich 2012 that much, Di Matteo said.

I am a person who looks forward, not backwards, I live in the present, even though lots of people…

Raphael Varane admitted former head coach Zinedine Zidane will be hard to replace and it will take a strong character to lead Real Madrid next season.

Zidane surprisingly left the Santiago Bernabeu last week after two and a half years, guiding the club to three successive Champions League titles and nine trophies in total.

France international defender Varane, who made over 40 appearances for Madrid in 2017-18, acknowledged that it will be hard for the next coach to match his achievements amid links with Tottenham s Mauricio Pochettino and Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri

The new coach must be able to evolve in the Madrid context because it’s not easy, it s a context with a lot of pressure and expectations, Varane said.

Zidane has done something tha…

Premier League strugglers Hull City took the unusual step Wednesday of denying reports that Phil Brown had been sacked as their manager.

Hull issued a statement after several leading British bookmakers stopped taking bets on Brown being the next Premier League manager to lose his job.

Meanwhile former Tigers striker Dean Windass, whose goal in the 2008 play-off final sent Hull into the top flight, said Brown should leave Hull, saying it was time he got moved on .

But a statement issued on the club s official website said: Contrary to media speculation the club can confirm that Phil Brown has not been sacked and remains the manager of Hull City Football Club.

Earlier Wednesday, Brown insisted to a local newspaper he would not be resigning although that d…

Monaco scored twice in the first half hour to beat Tottenham 2-1 at Wembley in their Champions League Group E opener.

In front of the largest home crowd ever (85,011) to watch an English club, Spurs failed to deal with Monaco s counter-attacking threat as they conceded two goals on the break, the first of which was a superb strike from Bernardo Silva.

Thomas Lemar fired in a second and the game looked to be slipping away from Spurs until Toby Alderweireld pulled one back with a powerful header just before half-time.

But Monaco withstood strong pressure from Spurs in the second half to see out the match with their lead intact and inflict a first defeat of the season on their hosts.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino will hope the result – and the …

Richard Money wants Cambridge United fans to believe Friday could be their day to upset Manchester United in the FA Cup.

Cambridge United head coach Richard Money has called on supporters to dream big when the League Two outfit welcome Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round.

The Abbey Stadium has sold out for Friday s televised clash and Money wants home fans to believe that Louis van Gaal s men can be beaten.

I hope they [fans] come to the game full of optimism, he said, having guided his side through ties against Fleetwood Town, Mansfield Town and Luton Town.

I hope they come to the game with some belief that Friday can be the one in one hundred days that we can cause an upset.

We want everyone to embrace the evening and an opportunit…

Tottenham Hotspur are considering a bold move for Juventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo,.

Former Blues and Juve striker Gianluca Vialli mentioned that he had heard rumours of contact between the Italy international and the North London club whilst he was in the studio for The Old Lady’s 3-2 win over AC Milan on Sunday evening.

That match was the 34 year old’s 75th Serie A appearance since switching from Milan in 2011, while his fifteenth minute equaliser was his first goal of the campaign.

He is not yet certain of a new deal with the Italian Champions, with manager Antonio Conte as yet unsure if he deserves an extension.

A host of Premier League clubs have been linked with Pirlo, though it appears that Spurs are leading in the race for his services.

Former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath believes Mario Gotze has struggled at the Bundesliga champions because he took his move from Borussia Dortmund too lightly.

The Germany international joined Bayern in July 2013 for a fee of €37 million, but has since been unable to develop into a regular starter at the Allianz Arena.

However, Magath feels the 23-year-old is on the right path after his difficult start and expects him to slowly get back to his former best. 

In my opinion, Gotze underestimated his move from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern,  Magath is quoted as saying by Bild.

Bayern are a different club than Dortmund. There are a lot of players who have struggled to make the grade at Bayern.

I think that it was extra difficult for Gotze…