Zinedine Zidane feels sorry for former Real Madrid coach Radomir Antic after he claimed Luka Modric did not deserve to win the Ballon d Or.
Antic told Goal that it made no sense for Modric, who lifted the Champions League with Madrid before inspiring Croatia to a first World Cup final last year, to claim the 2018 prize because he doesn t give goals or assists .
Zidane, though, insists Modric fully deserved to end Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi s 10-year dominance of football s top individual honour.
People can say what they want, he told a news conference. I feel sorry for people who say things like that.
He deserves the Ballon d Or, he earned it, with his skill and his attitude. If anybody thinks differently, then I m sorry.
Zidane was sp…
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has appointed a retired assistant police chief constable to lead an independent review into the body s handling of intelligence in relation to Dr Mark Bonar.
The Sunday Times claimed at the weekend that London-based Bonar was secretly filmed by an undercover athlete stating that footballers, cyclists and tennis players were among sportspeople he had treated with banned substances.
The newspaper acknowledged it had no independent evidence of the medic providing such treatment.
Bonar is said to have stressed he administered treatment to the athletes for medical reasons and not to enhance performance, while it has not been suggested the substances were illegal.
Posts on a Twitter page purported to be Bonar s personal account acc…
French striker Loic Remy is almost certain to leave Chelsea at the end of the current season, .
The 29-year-old never quite managed to prove his worth at Stamford Bridge and he was heavily linked with a January exit.
However, while he rejected a lucrative offer from China in the winter, he now seems prepared to move to Asia.
Remy was offered a four-year deal worth €7 million per campaign, but he demanded €9 million, which ultimately prevented the deal from being made.
Nevertheless, another Chinese club appear ready to match his wage demands, meaning that a summer move to China is a realistic possibility.
Loic Remy enjoyed successful spells with QPR and Newcastle United, and he had a good start to the stint at Stamford Bridge, scoring 7 goals…
How many times have you heard Donny van de Beek’s name over the past 24 hours? Probably, a ton. And that’s more than deserved for him, given how good he’s been for Ajax during the current 2018-19 season.
The talented playmaker might not shine as much as Dusan Tadic, Hakim Ziyech or David Neres. He doesn’t grab headlines in the rumour mill like Frenkie de Jong or Matthijs de Ligt, two of Ajax’s biggest transfer chips. But one thing is certain. The 22-year-old central midfielder has been one of the most important players for the Amsterdam-based side.
Over the past 24 hours, van de Beek has been linked with PSG and Real Madrid. He was linked with an AC Milan who were close to sign him two years ago last week. And let’s be honest he would be linked with a move t…
Mark Hughes believes Stoke City are starting to show more intelligence in managing games after they drew 1-1 at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The visitors fell behind to James McArthur s looping header in the 11th minute at Selhurst Park, only for Peter Crouch to tap home an equaliser two minutes later.
Stoke failed to show the same sort of attacking threat that saw them beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Britannia Stadium the previous weekend, but Hughes was content with a point in a match he feels they could have lost earlier in the season.
It s about managing the games and making sure you take something out of the game, he said.
In the past we ve been guilty of doing okay then getting to the last period of the game and conceding and that s taken the game awa…
England defender Gary Cahill said it would come as no surprise if his team went a long way at the FIFA World Cup.
Roy Hodgson s men are given little chance of progressing deep in Brazil, having drawn Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica in Group D.
Cahill, 28, said it was an open tournament with several teams capable of going deep at the showpiece event.
It’s so open, with so many good teams there. In that respect it s like the latter stages of the Champions League, with so many good teams out there, the Chelsea defender said.
If we went forward, would it surprise you? No. If Brazil did, would that surprise you? No.
A lot of teams could go a long way and it wouldn t surprise you – and we re certainly in that category.
Cahill said his move to Chelsea fro…