Andrea Pirlo was very, very close to signing for Real Madrid in 2006 and also held talks with Pep Guardiola s Barcelona.
Pirlo played for Milan between 2001 and 2011, winning two Serie A titles as well as a pair of Champions League trophies with the Italian giants.
But during this time, the Rossoneri were involved in the Calciopoli scandal as one of five teams accused of fixing Serie A matches.
This brought their future participation in Serie A and the Champions League into doubt as Pirlo won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, and a move to Santiago Bernabeu almost materialised.
The former midfielder told FourFourTwo: We had just won the World Cup, but we didn t know what would happen.
I was very, very close with Real Madrid. But then we got told tha…
Stefano Pioli is relishing Tuesday s meeting with old foe Antonio Conte as Milan prepare to host Tottenham in their first outing in the Champions League knockout stages since 2014.
Milan finished second to Chelsea in Group E to progress to the last 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season, when they were hammered 5-1 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid.
Conte s Tottenham stand between Milan and a spot in the last eight, with the former Juventus and Inter boss one of five Italian coaches still present in the competition.
Conte has won eight of his last nine games against Milan (L1) in a run dating back to 2013, and he joins Pioli, Inter s Simone Inzaghi, Napoli s Luciano Spalletti and Real Madrid s Champions League specialist Carlo Ancelotti on an impressive lis…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes it is scary the levels striker Darwin Nunez could reach.
The Uruguay international’s stunning winner in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth was his seventh of the season, having scored in his last three matches.
Nunez scored 15 times in what was a difficult maiden campaign both individually and collectively for the team following his £64million move from Benfica.
The 24-year-old did not speak English when he joined the club but that is developing and Klopp believes he will only got better.
“It is completely different now. The first year was hard for him and then hard for me as well because you see this incredible talent, massive potential, but it is difficult to unfold it,” he said.
Brighto…
Manchester United could allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the club in January with manager Erik ten Hag unwilling to stand in his way any longer if the Portuguese veteran doesn t want to remain at Old Trafford, according to James Ducker of The Telegraph, providing a suitable offer for his services arrives.
Ronaldo was keen to leave United during the summer, but it appears Jorge Mendes, his representative, had trouble identifying a club that would be willing to take him on, and which would be deemed an acceptable destination by the player himself.
Having won everything there is to win in club football on multiple occasions while at Real Madrid, including five Ballon d Ors, and spent three years with Juventus, the 37-year-old returned to Manchester United last year to try …
Maddy Cusack’s family have said they “welcome” the sacking of Sheffield United Women’s head coach Jonathan Morgan.
The Blades announced on Friday that Morgan’s contract had been terminated “due to new information that has come to light within the last few days with regards to Mr Morgan’s conduct before arriving at Bramall Lane.”
His dismissal is not related to the Football Association investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of former Sheffield United player Cusack.
On Friday afternoon, we learnt on social media of the departure of Jonathan Morgan.
We as a family welcome this development.
— themaddycusackfoundation (@MC8_Foundation)
Cusack died aged 27 in September last year. A week after her death, he…
The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) is to launch an investigation following allegations that the joint bid from Netherlands and Belgium for the 2018 World Cup was corrupt.
Along with a joint bid from Spain and Portugal as well as England, the Dutch-Belgian campaign was beaten by Russia who will host the competition, despite allegations that the result was pre-determined.
Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter said recently: In 2010 we had a discussion of the World Cup and we went to a double decision. For the World Cups it was agreed that we go to Russia because it s never been in Russia, eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America. And so we will have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers.
Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant has allege…
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Barcelona, the reigning La Liga champions, will be aiming to get back on the winning track in Spain s top flight as they host Athletic Bilbao at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday night.
Barcelona currently occupy the third position in the La Liga table, having collected 21 points from their first nine matches of the season, while Bilbao sit fifth with 19 points from their initial nine games in the 2023/24 campaign.
Barcelona
Barcelona have done relatively well in La Liga this season, winning six and drawing three of their nine matches to accumulate 21 points, placing them in the third position in the league. They are currently trailing the league leaders, their arch-rivals Real Madrid, by three points.
In the Ch…
Recent upheaval might have leant a touch of anti-climax to Bayern Munich s latest title win but 2020-21 has shown their total dominance of the Bundesliga does not look likely to end anytime soon.
A thrilling quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain saw Bayern s reign as European champions end as they were eliminated on away goals.
The aftermath of that dramatic Champions League showdown saw speculation mount over Hansi Flick s future and the Bavarian giants were in the unusual position of naming the coach of their nearest rivals, RB Leipzig s Julian Nagelsmann, as their next boss before domestic glory had been rubber stamped.
However, familiar celebrations can now begin after rivals Borussia Dortmund beat second-placed RB Leipzig 3-2, with the prints of som…
Ansu Fati s fabulous first-half double fired LaLiga champions Barcelona to victory in their Camp Nou farewell with a 3-0 win over Real Mallorca.
The Blaugrana signed off from their famous stadium in style, with Gavi also netting in a comfortable win over their 10-men visitors on Sunday.
In what was their final home game at their iconic ground before a temporary move to facilitate a lengthy renovation, Xavi s side ensured they bade it a fitting goodbye.
After losses against Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid, it also marked an impressive return to form.
Barca needed less than a minute to carve open their visitors, with Fati tucking away a Gavi cutback following a neat Robert Lewandowski ball into the box.
Matters soon worsened for Mallorca, when Ama…
It took 28 years, but Argentina finally ended a long wait for a major international trophy when they triumphed at the 2021 Copa America.
Lionel Messi starred throughout that tournament in Brazil, which was played partly behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scoring four goals and laying on five more, though it was Angel Di Maria who proved Argentina s hero in the final, scoring the winner against the Selecao.
That triumph marked Messi s first piece of silverware on the international stage, while Argentina won a trophy for the first time since 1993.
It paved the way for Argentina to go from continental champions to world champions less than 18 months later, as Messi inspired them to glory in Qatar.
And now the world champions will look to cemen…