Villarreal hand contract extensions to Rukavina, Bonera

Chelsea need to pick up three points in Saturday s lunch-time kickoff against West Ham to keep in touch with the league s pacesetters.

Rafa Benitez s side travel to Upton Park on the back of two consecutive draws and now find themselves seven points behind league leaders Manchester United and six behind second-placed Manchester City.

Chelsea s poor form of late they haven t won in the league since beating Tottenham 4-2 on October 20 has coincided with a distinct lack of goals, with the Blues firing blanks in their two most recent fixtures against Manchester City and Fulham.

It is somewhat disturbing that Fernando Torres remains Chelsea s joint top-scorer in the league this season, given it seems the Spaniard has been lacking touch in front of goal ever since his…

Manchester United have been named the world s richest club for an eighth consecutive year by business publication Forbes.

United are reportedly worth US$2.24 billion, with their value having soared by an estimated 20 percent following their run to last year s Champions League final and record 19th English league title.

Real Madrid recorded a 29 percent rise and trail United with a turnover of $1.88 billion, while reigning European and Spanish champions Barcelona are third with $1.31 billion, an increase of 34 percent.

Manchester United s global fan base of some 330 million also helps makes it the most valuable team in any sport, worth $385 million more than both Major League Baseball s New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, the…

Kylian Mbappe is a leading candidate to become captain of France, head coach Didier Deschamps confirmed on Thursday.

Deschamps will need a new skipper for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland after Hugo Lloris retired from international football.

Lloris stepped down from national team duty after the World Cup, where France lost to Argentina in the final, and tournament top scorer Mbappe is considered to have leadership qualities.

There are some that I consider possible, said Deschamps. Kylian is one of them.

This will go through discussions with them before I make my decision. There is a responsibility in relation to being captain, with a little more important responsibility, but I want to have this discu…

Eden Hazard has announced he will be leaving Lille in the summer with a move to the Premier League seemingly on the cards.

The young Belgian winger had been expected to depart the 2010-11 Ligue 1 champions with Manchester United and Manchester City believed to be in the driving seat to secure the player s signature.

With a bidding war set to ensue, Hazard has taken to his official Twitter account to confirm his time at Lille is due to come to an end.

Two games more to play in the colours of LOSC (Lille) Sniff, the 21-year-old tweeted.

Hazard has previously made no secret for his desire to leave Ligue 1 in the near future with England his preferred destination.

Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal have also been linked with the attacker who has once ag…

Everton continue their search for Carlo Ancelotti s replacement.

One emerging candidate has plenty of familiarity with Liverpool. 

Could the Toffees turn to a former rival? 

TOP STORY – BENITEZ IN MERSEYSIDE RETURN?

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has emerged as a strong contender to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Everton, the Daily Mirror and other outlets report. 

As the Merseyside club s interest in former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo has faded, majority owner Farhad Moshiri apparently plans to speak to the 61-year-old Benitez. 

The Spaniard was Liverpool s manager from 2004-10, winning the Champions League title in 2005. He spent 18 months in charge of Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional before leav…

Pep Guardiola stood by his decision not to utilise any substitutes as Manchester City ran out 2-0 winners at home to Fulham on Saturday.

Kevin De Bruyne scored one and set up another as City cruised to a comfortable victory, taking them to within three points of Premier League co-leaders Tottenham and Liverpool ahead of Sunday s action.

Despite all but wrapping up the points by half-time, though, Guardiola elected to leave all seven substitutes on the bench.

The City boss and Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp have been the two most vocal managers in pressing for the Premier League to allow five changes in a game amid a congested schedule.

Premier League clubs voted ahead of the season to reduce the number of allotted substitutions back to three, with a …

Carlos Tevez has revealed he has no plans to extend his Juventus contract when it expires at the end of next season.

Tevez has scored 36 goals in 72 games since joining the Italian champions from Manchester City in June 2013.

The Argentina international was Juve s top scorer last season as they won Serie A for a third season in succession and is currently their leading marksman this term.

Despite his successes in Turin, Tevez does not plan on a long-term spell in Italy with a return to boyhood club Boca Juniors reportedly on the cards.

I said I wanted to fulfil my contract and that s my idea, I m not thinking of signing an extension because that’s not how I feel at the moment, Tevez told reporters in his homeland.

As I always said, my idea is …

Luis Suarez has revealed he had concerns about his ability to adapt to Barcelona s playing style before signing in 2014.

In his first season at Camp Nou, Suarez scored 25 goals in 43 appearances as the Catalan side completed a Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble.

The Uruguayan has stepped up his contribution this term, converting 56 times in 51 outings in all competitions.

Upon joining from Liverpool, Suarez did not envision such a prolific spell, admitting he was troubled about fitting into the tiki-taka style.

I never imagined that I would be scoring goals here, he told ESPN. I never felt I would adapt to this team s style of play the way I have.

Sometimes they start the touches and I think that I can t do that, that they will …

Jodi Jones was wooed by Malta on Instagram and now he is looking for a picture perfect finish against England.

The Bow-born forward is ready for Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Gareth Southgate’s side and he has been ready for some time.

Three cruciate ligament injuries in just over three years at Coventry put his career on hold and thwarted a move to Leeds.

Euro Qualifiers vs

…

Jurgen Klopp was disappointed Liverpool were not able to produce a special performance against Real Madrid, meaning they would have been eliminated from the Champions League regardless of the first-leg collapse.

Liverpool headed to the Santiago Bernabeu for the return match in the last 16 with a huge task, needing to overturn a 5-2 deficit.

Klopp s Reds were unable to do that as they instead lost 1-0 to a Karim Benzema goal and bowed out 6-2 on aggregate.

While the nature of the heavy defeat at Anfield in the first match impacted on Liverpool s attempts to rescue the tie on Wednesday, Klopp pointed out even a draw at home would not have been enough if Madrid then controlled the second game.

To be honest, if we draw at home and play the game that we playe…