Jose Mourinho is reportedly angling a reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo at Roma after it was revealed that the gaffer called the Juventus star.
According to reports, Ronaldo is keen to leave the Old Lady this summer, with Mourinho wanting to know the Juventus forward’s intentions and suggest Roma as a solution to keep the tax advantages in Italy.
Ronaldo’s contract with Juventus expires in June 2022, but several reports in Italy claim the Portugal captain could leave Turin already this summer.
Massimiliano Allegri’s return to Juventus has not gone down well with the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
La Stampa reveals his compatriot and former Real Madrid coach Mourinho, who will take over at Roma ahead of 2021-22, called to greet the superstar and wanted to understand his intentions.
Roma would be a solution to save the advantages of the Italian tax rate for foreigners, but the newspaper underlines such a hypothesis would be complex for a thousand reasons.
The report claims Ronaldo seems more and more likely to leave Juve and that his agent, Jorge Mendes, has contacted Manchester United regarding a sensational return to Old Trafford.
He has also been linked with Real Madrid, but the current €31m-a-year salary scares everyone.
According to Sky Sports, no arrests were made but one fan was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The Blues and City will have nearly 6,000 supporters in the Estadio do Dragao for the game, which will take place in front of a total of 16,500 spectators.
Man City and Chelsea fans clashing in Porto last night…
Arsenal star Granit Xhaka has reportedly opened talks with Roma over a shock transfer to link up with Jose Mourinho.
Xhaka has arguably been Arsenal’s most consistent midfielder this term, with Mikel Arteta putting huge trust in him.
The Gunners finished the season in eighth meaning the Emirates outfit will be without European football for the first time in over two decades.
And Arteta is expected to oversee a mass exodus from north London with the likes of David Luiz, 34, already confirmed to be leaving.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now claimed that Xhaka is among the players with offers to quit Arsenal this summer.
The report adds that former Tottenham boss Mourinho is a fan and has already begun talks to bring the Swiss international with him to Roma.
A return to the Bundesliga where Xhaka spent four years at Borussia Monchengladbach has also been mooted as German clubs are also monitoring his situation.
There are reports Chelsea will wear this season’s home kit in the Champions League final against Manchester City on Saturday night after poor results in their new strip.
The Blues wore their jazzy 2021-22 home kit in the defeats against Leicester in the FA Cup final and Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League final.
As a result, Thomas Tuchel’s side will join Man City in donning this season’s home kit for the European finale.
According to The Mail, this is because some Chelsea bosses feel it may be bad luck to wear the new shirt in such a big game.
Back in 2008 the Blues opted to wear their new strip for the Champions League final against Manchester United and were beaten on penalties.
Since then, they played in their current home kits in the 2012 Champions League final and 2013 and 2019 Europa League finals, all of which they won.
And the Chelsea supporters seem to be happy with the decision to stick with this season’s strip.
One fan said: “That’s great. I’ve always wanted us to wear Blue (Home Kit) in the UCL final.”
And another added: “Coming back to this when we win the UCL”
Raheem Sterling insists self doubt could be the biggest obstacle between Manchester City and their Champions League dream.
The City forward struck a confident tone ahead of their date with destiny in Porto predicting Pep Guardiola’s side have the tools to overcome Chelsea.
But he maintained that banishing the inner demons of previous failures is the most important battle they have to win if they are to lift the trophy.
“It is now about focusing on winning that trophy and the only thing that can stop us are ourselves if I am honest,” said Sterling.
“It is a game where I expect a difficult test, but at the same time I expect us to pull through.”
City’s Champions League history has been a story of bad luck and poor judgement.
In Guardiola’s time at the club they have crashed out to Monaco in the last 16, and lost in the quarter-finals to Liverpool, Tottenham and also Lyon last season.
“In the past we haven’t had the rub of the green and the luck that we needed,” said Sterling.
“There have been games that we should have won and certain circumstances we haven’t.
“That is football at the end of the day and why we keep going and love it. This year, we played well and also had the luck that we needed.”
Sterling insists City’s dressing room has never been more confident or relaxed than it has been during this campaign.
And he maintained if City can reproduce their normal game it should be enough to beat Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea.
“The boys have been brilliant this year and we have another opportunity in the final against Chelsea to create something special again,” he said.
“Once you are winning trophies, you just want to win more. Hopefully that carries on into the weekend.
“I think the camp is pretty relaxed. It is the Champions League final, but at the same time we are footballers and we have to not let the occasion get to us and play our football.”
Romelu Lukaku sent a heartfelt message to Antonio Conte after the coach terminated his Inter contract. ‘Thank you for all you did. I owe you a lot…’
The striker was convinced to make the move to Serie A by Conte, who had already wanted to work with him at Chelsea.
It proved a masterstroke, as the Belgian had the two best seasons of his career, reaching the Europa League Final and winning the Scudetto.
Conte terminated his contract with Inter by mutual consent and Lukaku wrote this message on Instagram.
“2014 we spoke for the first time and we have had a bond ever since. We had many moments to work together but only god knows why it never happened earlier.
“You came at the right time and basically changed me as a player and made me even stronger mentally and more importantly we won together!
“Winning is and it’s all that matters to you and I’m glad that i have had you as a coach. I will keep your principles for the rest of my career ( physical preparation, mental and just the drive to win…) it was a pleasure to play for you!
“Thank you for all what you did. I owe you a lot…”
Thomas Tuchel must start winning trophies at Chelsea – or he will be sacked just like Frank Lampard.
That is the view of former left-back Wayne Bridge, who knows all about the pressure and demands for titles at Stamford Bridge.
He told bettingexpert.com: “If he stays on he’s going to have to start winning trophies but I don’t think there’s loads of pressure in terms of what he has achieved so far in terms of where Chelsea were.
“There’s always pressure in big games, you don’t want to lose and Tuchel will put that pressure on himself to win.”
