Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus insisted his focus was on helping his team at the World Cup, not winning the Golden Boot.
Jesus is set to start up front for the Selecao, who are among the favourites in Russia and begin their campaign against Switzerland on Sunday.
The Manchester City star would become the first Brazilian since Ronaldo in 2002 to top score at the World Cup if he wins the Golden Boot.
But Jesus said that was not among his focuses heading into Brazil s first game of the tournament.
Even before we had these options given by Tite [of playing Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Willian up front] I have always been relaxed. I m very active with or without the ball, he told a news conference.
Not just because of a formation, but because of every…
Alex Ferguson has stated that he will retire as manager of Manchester United should he lead the club to the Champions League trophy in 2009 and 2010.
I d love the club to win more European trophies than they have done and I think I ve made this point a few times over the years, Ferguson told CNN.
I don t think we ve won the number we should have won. There have been years when we ve been unlucky and years we ve been disappointed, and there ve been years when we ve thrown games away, and that sort of gives a kaleidoscope of what football s like.
If we could win a couple more European trophies I then would definitely quit.
…
European champions Barcelona had four players named among the ten finalists for the Ballon d Or, or the European Footballer of the Year award, on Sunday.
The ten, shortlisted from an initial list of 30 nominees voted for by journalists, were revealed in alphabetical order on the France Football website.
The winner will be unveiled in the next edition of France Football magazine on Tuesday, December 1 with Argentina s Lionel Messi tipped as the favourite to succeed last year s winner, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.
Real Madrid player Ronaldo makes this list again this year with former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney.
Four Barcelona players make the final ten Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Spaniards Andres Iniesta and Xavi and Argentina s Lionel Messi.…
Lyon manager Remi Garde has admitted his side have not been at their best this year, but is hopeful they can finish the season strongly.
The former champions have struggled for consistency this term but currently find themselves in third position in Ligue 1, battling with Saint Etienne for the final UEFA Champions League place.
Two points is all that separates Lyon in third from their fierce rivals in fourth and Garde admits that the season has not gone as he had planned, but he is focused on maintaining their top-three place by the end of the campaign.
It is not a secret. Lyon 2013 is not Lyon 2012, he said. But we are still working
on our objectives. We want to be on the podium at the end of the season.
We have
to continue in this way and get good …
Marco Andreolli s agent has confirmed that the player is set to re-join former club Inter.
The defender originally joined the club s youth team from Padova, but departed in 2007 for Serie A rivals Roma and then moved to Chievo in 2010.
However, Andreolli now looks set to re-join Inter upon the expiry of his Chievo contract in June.
He ll probably sign a four-year deal (at Inter), his agent, Patrick Bastianelli, told Sport Italia.
Bastianelli also suggested that there would be no problem should Walter Mazzarri replace Andrea Stramaccioni as Inter manager.
Mazzarri confirmed that he would be leaving Napoli last week, and speculation has mounted that he could replace Stramaccioni as Inter coach.
Is he liked by Mazzarri? Yes, Bastianelli …
Leicester City have reached an agreement with Genk for the transfer of Wilfred Ndidi, subject to a work permit being granted.
The Premier League champions confirmed that the midfielder has agreed personal terms on a five-and-a-half year deal that runs until June 2022.
Ndidi has already undergone his medical at the King Power Stadium and Leicester expect the formalities of his transfer to be completed later this week.
The 20-year-old has spent the past two seasons in the Belgian Pro League after joining Genk on his 18th birthday and helped the club finish top of Group F in the Europa League this season.
Since selling N Golo Kante to Chelsea in July, Leicester have lacked the bite the France midfielder provided in their remarkable title-winning season.
…
Mauricio Pochettino says Son Heung-min will be ready to take on Newcastle United after serving a Premier League suspension, but warned fans not to expect too much too soon from Giovani Lo Celso.
Son missed Spurs first two games of the new season due to a ban after he was sent off against Bournemouth at the end of last term, while Lo Celso made his debut in a short cameo at Manchester City last weekend.
The South Korea star hit 12 league goals in 2018-19, a campaign disrupted by the Asian Games, where he led his country to glory and avoided being called up for military service as a result, and their subsequent run to the Asian Cup quarter-finals.
Son s availability to face Newcastle on Sunday comes with Tanguy Ndombele ruled out by a thigh injury, while England…
Struggling Premier League side Sunderland added some much needed firepower to their out of form strikeforce on Tuesday with the loan signing of Zimbabwean international Benjani Mwaruwari from rivals Manchester City.
The Black Cats got the benefit of the doubt from the Premier League over signing the 31-year-old even though they failed to process the required paperwork before Monday s 1700 GMT transfer deadline.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce whose side have been in freefall after a winless run of 11 games had blamed technical problems for the delay.
Benjani scorer of 29 goals in 43 international appearances is a free agent in the summer but Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said he can move on if he wants to.
The paperwork was lodged but we had …
Alan Curbishley
What is it with clubs forcing their manager’s out of the door by unfair means?
Unfair
Just a few weeks ago Kevin Keegan won his case for unfair, or constructive, dismissal against Newcastle United. That verdict was reached when the tribunal heard that Newcastle had bought a player into the club that Keegan was not consulted about and didn’t want.
Now, Alan Curbishley has won his case for unfair, or constructive, dismissal against his former employers West Ham. In this case, West Ham sold two players, Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney without Curbishley’s agreement.
Contract
It would seem that in both cases the managers in question had a clear contract stating that they would have the final say in all …
Liverpool s Adam Lallana is becoming increasingly influential for England
The fact that England defeated Scotland 3-0 at Wembley on Friday night in World Cup qualifying came as little surprise.
In truth, though, the scoreline flattered the hosts, as the visitors spurn a number of good opportunities in front of goal.
England had three shots on target through Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Gary Cahill that all found the back of the net.
It was not a perfect display from England, but one player stood for the home side for me, Adam Lallana.
Starting to become more influential
Liverpool’s attacking midfielder has always had a good football brain and good technique to boot. In League One and the Championship he was outstanding for Southam…