Ex-Barcelona agent reveals how close Lionel Messi’s move to Arsenal was

Lionel Messi came close to joining Arsenal alongside Cesc Fabregas 17 years ago, according to the Barcelona icon’s former agent.

Fabiano Soldini revealed Arsene Wenger had identified the Nou Camp skipper as a potential signing during his academy days.

And alongside Fabregas and Gerard Pique, Messi 33, was one of three possible Wenger targets during his stint in Barca’s famed La Masia.

And while the former Emirates boss, 70, succeeded in bringing Fabregas to North London, the Argentina playmaker chose to stay at the Nou Camp while Pique, 33, went to Manchester United.

Soldini told Marca: “[Messi] was tempted to go to Arsenal, but he didn’t go.

“I remember the day that Cesc asked to leave [Barcelona]. Messi was also asked to go, but he didn’t want to leave.”

Frank Lampard can’t gaurantee Rudiger, Hudson-Odoi’s Chelsea future as exit speculation grows

Frank Lampard has refused to rule out Toni Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi leaving in the transfer window.

Germany defender Rudiger is open to leaving with Paris Saint Germain interested after he was left out of Chelsea ’s squad to face Liverpool on Sunday.

Bayern Munich have also renewed their interest in Hudson-Odoi although Chelsea would be unlikely to let him leave while Christian Pulisic is out injured and the England winger will start in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Hudson-Odoi needs minutes to get his fitness back after injury and seeing his form drop after his break into the England set-up but would seem unlikely he would go to another Premier League club.

Chelsea boss Lampard was asked if either player could leave in this window and he said: “I’m going to skirt around that question. It remains to be seen.

“We’re not in a period where the transfer window or market is acting like it has done in recent years in terms of how players move or what level they move at. Again the competitive games have just started.”

Frank Lampard makes Declan Rice U-turn

Frank Lampard has reportedly urged Chelsea to make a move for Declan Rice and has changed his mind about how he intends to use the England international in his side.

The Blues have long been linked with a move for Rice, who has impressed for West Ham over the past few seasons in spite of their struggles in the Premier League.

Initially it was reported that Lampard wanted to convert Rice from his central midfield position into a centre-back to act as cover for the likes of Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma.

But according to The Athletic Lampard has changed his mind following his side’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, and wants Rice to sit just in front of the back four for his team.

Free-scoring Premier League striker on Manchester United radar

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is on Manchester United’s radar, but they are not the only club who are watching the Everton striker.

The 23-year-old has scored four goals in Everton ’s opening two Premier League games against Tottenham and West From.

However, even before his recent treble against West Brom, his current club had put a £80m price-tag on him, according to The Sun.

United are said to have targeted Calvert-Lewin during the summer window, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen on adding a forward to his ranks.

However, when United made an enquiry, it is said they were ‘stunned’ by the heavy valuation.

And Calvert-Lewin’s future is secure on Merseyside given he only signed a new five-year contract back in March.

Everton have no intention of entertaining offers for their frontman, who tore Slaven Bilic’s Baggies apart on Saturday.

United have backed off in their pursuit of Calvert-Lewin now, with their focus currently on strengthening the defence at Old Trafford.

Photo Credit: premierleague.com

Official: Arturo Vidal joins Inter Milan

Arturo Vidal has completed his move to Inter Milan after signing a two-year contract, including an option for a third, after arriving from Barcelona for free.

It was reported initially that Barca wanted €1m to release the midfielder, but instead the deal was done for only performance-related bonuses.

According to Football Italia, the midfielder flew in on Sunday night at Linate Airport, had his medical on Monday morning and signed the contract at the Inter HQ that afternoon.

The official announcement was not made until Tuesday morning.

It is a return to Serie A for the 33-year-old Chile international, who wore the Juventus jersey from 2011-15.

He worked with coach Antonio Conte to win three consecutive Serie A titles and is reunited with the tactician at San Siro.

Vidal’s previous clubs include Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who he joined in 2018.

He made 124 Serie A appearances for Juve, scoring 35 goals and providing 22 assists.

Photo Credit: Twitter/Inter_en

Liverpool goalkeeper explains why it was easy for him to save Jorginho’s penalty on Sunday

Alisson Becker has explained how he pulled off a spectacular penalty save during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over 10-man Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Jorginho had converted each of his eight previous spot-kicks for the Blues before stepping up to face Alisson, who correctly dived to his left to palm away the effort and preserve a clean sheet.

The Brazilian credited the work of Liverpool’s goalkeeping department for his penalty save in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Chelsea.

The west London club had a chance to halve their deficit when Thiago Alcantara was judged to have tripped Timo Werner in the box.

The Brazilian’s roar of celebration after making the save reflected his satisfaction that the processes of the goalkeeping team had paid off.

“I think in the Premier League this was the third penalty I had the chance to try to save,” the No.1 told Liverpoolfc.com.

“I’m really happy because in the Community Shield we lost on penalties. When the goalie doesn’t save any penalties you stay a little bit down and then you think, ‘I could do more, I could do it differently.’

“But the secret is to keep on going, to know that you are in a good direction, in the right direction, working hard and we did it together – me, John [Achterberg], Jack [Robinson], and all the video team who help us a lot.

“Also with the rebound, Millie and Virg did really well and I think they showed confidence in me that I would save the penalty.

“But we don’t need to talk about the penalty or other saves, we need to talk about the team, how we played so good here. And we have also many things to improve for the rest of the season.”

Liverpool were in the ascendancy during a first half that concluded with Andreas Christensen being sent off for denying Sadio Mane a goalscoring opportunity.

Within nine minutes of the restart, Mane had struck twice to set the reigning champions on course for three more points after beating Leeds United 4-3 on the opening day.

“This is perfect: three points, a clean sheet, something that we chase also,” said Alisson. “Not only the three points, it’s something [a clean sheet] that I think a long time we didn’t get. This season it’s the first time, so it’s good for the confidence of the team.

“But always it’s a massive win against Chelsea away. We know how hard it is, I don’t need to tell you, but we did a really good job.”

Photo Credit: premierleague.com

Police investigate Luis Suarez reported cheating scandal in Italian exam for Juventus move

Reports in Italy state that the country’s police have reportedly investigated claims Luis Suarez cheated in his Italian exam to gain a passport for his failed move to Juventus.

The 33-year-old Uruguay international had seemingly been on the verge of a transfer to Turin and sat an Italian language exam in Perugia to begin the process of obtaining an Italian passport.

La Repubblica reveals irregularities found by Guardia di Finanza and the Perugia Prosecutor’s Office in the certification test he underwent last week.

The newspaper reveals the questions in the Italian test had been agreed in advance with the Barcelona and Uruguay forward.

Juventus have already filled their quota of non-EU players who can join from a club outside Serie A this season, so Suarez could not join unless he gained Italian citizenship.

The Pistolero had agreed personal terms with the Serie A giants, but the deal collapsed because of the passport complications.

Barcelona president blocks Luis Suarez move to Atletico Madrid

Latest news from Spain claim that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has halted Luis Suarez’s move to Atletico Madrid.

The Uruguay international was on the verge of sealing his move to the Atletico Madrid having agreed a deal with Diego Simeone side.

The president of Barça does not want the Uruguayan to go for free to Atlético Madrid and pay a part of his salary for contract termination.

The Catalan club’s president has changed his mind on paying exit fee to Suarez and now demands Now he demands a payment. The two sides will continue to negotiate.

Frank Lampard rekindles trust in Fikayo Tomori

Frank Lampard has insisted he retains full faith in Fikayo Tomori after the Chelsea defender’s first appearance since February in the 2-0 loss to Liverpool.

Tomori came off the bench after Andreas Christensen’s red card for his first Blues outing in seven months on Sunday, as Sadio Mane’s brace sealed Liverpool’s Premier League win.

The England defender has been heavily linked with a loan move away from Chelsea, especially in light of Thiago Silva’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain, but Lampard insists his enduring trust in the 22-year-old.

“I think Tomori did really well, he hasn’t played for a while and it shows his fitness with the rest of the squad, and I was delighted with him,” said Lampard.

“I hope he feels the trust in him. He showed that last year, starting last season’s pre-season as fifth centre-back in most people’s eyes and then playing 20-plus games for Chelsea, so I have got full confidence in him.”

Photo Credit: Twitter

(Watch Video) Alvaro Morata arrives in Italy for Juventus move, medical slated for Tuesday in Turin

Alvaro Morata has landed in Turin and will have his Juventus medical on Tuesday, completing a loan move for €10m from Atletico Madrid with option to buy for €45m.

Football Italia report that the 27-year-old arrived at Caselle Airport at around midnight local time, greeted by supporters and media.

It is a return to the Bianconeri, as he already played there from 2014-16 on loan from Real Madrid.

This new deal is going to be a loan for €10m with option to buy in June 2021 for €45m.

According to Sky Sport Italia, there is also a clause allowing them to extend the loan for another year for €10m, with the option to buy in June 2022 for €35m.

Atletico Madrid are releasing Morata because they have a deal to sign Luis Suarez as a free agent from Barcelona.

Juve’s first choice had been Edin Dzeko, but Roma won’t release him because his replacement Arkadiusz Milik has still not worked out the details of an exit from Napoli.

Seeing the delays in that chain Juventus moved on to Plan B with Morata.

The contracts were exchanged on Monday between the two clubs and Morata should be in Turin tomorrow.

He turns 28 next month and already spent two seasons at Juve from 2014-16, before Real Madrid activated their buy-back option.

Since then, the Spain international centre-forward has moved on to Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.

Morata will welcome a return to Turin, especially as his wife is from the city and they met here.