With Samsung’s 10-year affiliation with Chelsea due to come to an end in the summer, a list of replacements are rumoured to me be in place, with Turkish Airlines favourite to become the next shirt sponsor. After 10 years of on-the-field success, both Samsung and Chelsea have enjoyed a prosperous relationship. The South Korean giants have become an iconic part of Chelsea Football Club. With Financial Fair Play hitting the club hard, Chelsea is seeking an improvement on the £18m a year sponsorship deal currently on the table with Samsung. This is understandable as Manchester United are reportedly earning £50m…
Author: Staff Writer
Ashley Williams has revealed that leading Wales to Euro 2016 would be his greatest achievement. Wales start their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign tonight against Andorra and with stars such as Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, there has been a lot of talk about the side reaching their first major finals since the 1958 World Cup. However, skipper Williams is not getting carried away with the optimism surrounding the Welsh team, but does remain hopeful that they can do it. The BBC quotes the 30-year old as saying: “We’re aware of the great Welsh teams in the…
Brazil star Maicon’s international career is over according to his representative Antonio Caliendo, following his sacking from the national team last week. The former Manchester City player was told to leave the Brazil squad due to an “internal problem” and it is highly unlikely that the 33-year-old will represent his country again. Maicon, has earned 76 caps for Brazil, scoring seven goals and although his international career looks to be over, his representative Caliendo, still believes he has a few more years playing at the top level in club football. Caliendo told Tele Radio Stereo: “I cannot comment on…
Bayern Munich’s new defender Mehdi Benatia has revealed he is suffering a case of sour grapes towards his former club AS Roma, and said he snubbed approaches by Chelsea and Manchester City in favour of a move to the “cold” city of Munich. Morocco international star Benatia had been subject to speculation of a tug of war during the summer transfer window, with big-money clubs including Real Madrid, Chelsea and Man City all understood to have been competing to sign him from Serie A side Roma. The 27-year-old completed a £20m five-year deal with Bayern last month and said…
Argentina defender Martin Demichelis says English football is far more aggressive than that in any European league and has likened it to the game of rugby in terms of it’s physicality. Demichelis, 33, who plays for Manchester City, has played in the German Bundesliga and the Spanish La Liga as well as in his home country of Argentina. He said players get away with a lot more in terms of tough challenges in the English Premier League but they are ruled with a tighter fist where it comes to cheating tactics such as diving. “It’s obvious that the Premier…
Former France winger Franck Ribery has been warned he must stand up and play for his country in the event of being called up, despite having announced his international retirement this summer. Michel Platini, president of UEFA, has spoken publicly about the Bayern Munich star and said the 31-year-old will have to play for the France national team should coach Didier Deschamps decide he requires his services. Although the Bundesliga hero quit international football at the end of the Brazil 2014 World Cup, Platini threatened to suspend Ribery from three fixtures at club level in the event of him…
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has blasted rival mega-money clubs for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations by overspending on big-name players, saying they have an unfair advantage and do not view the rules as much of a deterrent. The Blues chief believes he has completed his deals this year in order to fall in line with FFP regulations and has shamed rival title-contenders for not doing the same. He is of the view that fines are not deterrent for the likes of Manchester City – who had to pay £50m this summer for breaching the rules as a result of…
New Arsenal signing Danny Welbeck has revealed that he wants to emulate the success of Thierry Henry at the North London club. Arsenal paid Premier League rivals £16m for the England striker on transfer deadline day after losing Frenchman Olivier Giroud to injury just days before in the game against Everton. And, the 23-year-old has discussed his determination to become a success at the club. “I loved watching Thierry Henry since I was a little kid,” he told Arsenal Player. “My two idols are Ryan Giggs and Thierry Henry so to come to the club where he was and had…
Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has rued the absence of Peter Odemwingie, bemoaning his serious knee injury. The Nigerian international sustained the injury in Saturday’s win over Manchester City last weekend and later confirmed on his Twitter that he would miss the majority of the season. And, boss Hughes has said how the absence of the former West Brom man will cost his side in more ways than one. “It’s a significant injury and unfortunately it’s a long-term one but Peter has a great attitude to work and life in general,” Hughes told the club’s official website. “He’s always got…
Lukas Podolski is confident that he can prove himself at Arsenal, despite reports linking him with a move out of the Emirates stadium. The German international was heavily linked with a move out of North London this summer with the likes of Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen all linked. But he remained at the club and is due to return following the international break and make an impact, hoping to fill the hole left by Frenchman Olivier Giroud, who is out injured for up to four months. “I had a very good conversation with the manager,” Podolski told Bild.…