Rafinha: I hope Neymar returns to Barcelona

Rafinha hopes Neymar returns to Barcelona to reestablish the pure magic of his combination with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Neymar, 27, is heavily linked with a return to Camp Nou, two years after his €222million move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Rafinha would welcome the Brazil international, who scored 105 goals during his four seasons at Barca, combining with Messi and Suarez during three of those, back to the club.

I hope Neymar comes back. He is a great player that would be really good for Barcelona, the midfielder said on Thursday, via Spanish media.

I have never seen anything like the Messi-Ney-Suarez trident, pure magic. And I hope [Antoine] Griezmann comes, too.

 Post-it: An MSN game
 Who has the best aim?

— FC Barcelona…

Prediction: Algeria vs Nigeria

Prediction: Algeria win

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A lot of fans believe that the winner of the Tunisia vs Senegal semi-final is going to win the Africa Cup of Nations and with that being the case, you d have to imagine that the winner of this semi will have a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Algeria are going to be the slight favourites in this one but Nigeria are extremely experienced, and they ll still be viewed as a team that can pop up out of nowhere and put in the kind of performance that makes them worthy of a spot in the final.

Algeria

Algeria have been able to put together a team that, in many ways, comes across as the African equivalent of world champions France. They ve got a few star players up top, but they can also put in a solid defensive pe…

Australia fail to contain Messi but show world´s best cannot ´fly´

Australia s plan to foil Lionel Messi did not come off, but Garang Kuol believes the Socceroos showed in this World Cup campaign they can compete with the best around.

After losing their opening game to France, Australia responded with back-to-back 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark, reaching a last-16 tie against Argentina.

Graham Arnold s side threatened an upset on Saturday, too, but eventually went down 2-1 after Messi inspired La Albiceleste to victory.

Socceroos coach Arnold said of Messi, who scored the opener: Look, he s incredible, one of the greatest ever.

We worked really hard to not be in awe of him, because of the great player he is, but he s remarkable.

I had the privilege of playing against Diego Maradona and now of coaching agains…

Rumour Has It: Barcelona dealt Dembele contract blow as Man Utd, Newcastle lurk

Ousmane Dembele could become the face of a new Barcelona but his future remains unclear.

Xavi has made it clear how much he rates the France international, but his contract expires at the end of the season.

Barca are keen to extend his stay, though it appears their chances have suffered a setback.

 

TOP STORY DEMBELE TALKS HIT PROBLEM

Barca s latest meeting with Dembele s agents did not have the expected end , with tension rising in negotiations, according to Sport.

While the Catalan daily claims Barca are still confident of reaching an agreement, with Dembele having previously given the green light over a renewal, the forward will be able to open discussions with other clubs over a free transfer from January 1.

Sky Sport Itali…

Stockdale ready to fight for first-team place

David Stockdale is ready to battle Maarten Stekelenburg for the Fulham number one spot.

Stockdale returned to Craven Cottage after spending last season on loan with promoted Hull City and is convinced he can show enough quality to force his way into Martin Jol s side.

Mark Schwarzer was first choice at Fulham last term, but left at the end of his contract in June and joined Chelsea.

Stekelenburg was brought in by Jol in June from Roma, but Stockdale is not going to give his team-mate an easy ride in the battle for regular first-team football.

“I will make Maarten or Neil Etheridge, whoever is in front of me, work for their job, he said. That is what I am going to do, make it hard for them.

“For me, every day I have the chance to show the manager what I…

Premier League: Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 1

Daniel Sturridge s rich vein of form continued as his excellent first-half strike gave Liverpool a 1-0 Premier League win at Villa Park.

Sturridge s goal – his eighth in his last seven league matches – was all that separated the two sides on Saturday as Liverpool made it two wins from as many matches to start the new season.

In a fixture where both sides struggled to assert themselves, Liverpool s win saw them make their best start to a Premier League season since the 2008-09 campaign, in which they finished second.

The triumph also extended their superb run at Villa Park, as they notched their 10th win at the venue since 1998.

Of the other six clashes, five have ended in draws, with Liverpool s latest triumph their third in succession.

Close-season sig…

Luis Enrique: I had to give my voice a rest

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was notably quiet on the sidelines and admitted he had to give his voice a rest in their Copa del Rey semi-final return leg against Valencia. 

While Barca needed an 84th-minute goal from Wilfrid Kaptoum to secure a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Wednesday, the defending champions advanced to the final of competition with an 8-1 aggregate win. 

Barca assistant Juan Carlos Unzue was the main man on the sidelines at the Mestalla Stadium, shouting directions to the player s as Luis Enrique took a much-needed break. 

It was because of the state of my voice, the 45-year-old revealed.

I don t have a voice every three days. 

However, Juan Carlos and I have the same idea and whenever he can help out, I like to let him do …

Suarez windfall already spent but Liverpool to back Klopp

The sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona in 2014 has helped Liverpool to post a record profit of £60m in their latest set of financial results.

And although the huge fee that took the Uruguay international to Camp Nou has already been spent, the club has pledged to back manager Jurgen Klopp heavily in the transfer market.

Anfield crowd favourite Suarez joined Barcelona for a fee reported to be in the region of £75m, going on to form an irresistible forward trident with Lionel Messi and Neymar.

While Liverpool have failed to scale the heights on the field since the Uruguayan s departure, their financial figures for the year until May 31, 2015 are healthy as a consequence of his big-money transfer.

Owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have increased revenue year-…

Spanish maestros teach Italy a footballing lesson

I had to say the Spain v Italy clash in World Cup qualifiers on Saturday night fascinated me. How two such big footballing countries ended up in one group is beyond me. The two teams were neck and neck for the one automatic qualification spot. Until Saturday’s game that is.

I expected it to be a rather cagey, niggly game, with Italy providing their usually stout defence. However, Spain playing a striker-less system, as they have done quite a bit in this decade were simply too good for the Italians.

La Roja were in complete control in a commanding 3-0 win at the Bernabeu. Italy had possession at points during the game, but it seemed like that was only when Spain wanted them to have the ball. The Azzurri backline, famous for their toughness had no answer to the Spanish …

Simeone rates all-Madrid Champions League final as ´50-50´

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone rates the mouth-watering Champions League final against city rivals Real Madrid as 50-50 .

Simeone s men saw off two of the tournament favourites in Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the quarter and semi-finals, and a repeat of the 2014 showpiece was set when Real Madrid overcame Manchester City on Wednesday to book their place at San Siro.

Two years ago, an injury-time equaliser from Sergio Ramos forced extra time and Madrid went on to win 4-1 to complete La Decima, but in general it is Atletico who have enjoyed the upper hand in the derby.

In 10 competitive matches since that clash in Lisbon, Atletico have lost just once to their fierce rivals – a 1-0 Champions League reverse last April that sent Real Madrid in the …