[ad_1] Cesar Montes officially joined Espanyol de Barcelona from Rayados de Monterrey.  The defender longed for a move away from Liga MX, previously negotiating with Russian team Dinamo Moscow before the deal fell through in the Summer. But he finally secured a transfer, joining the La Liga team for an estimated $7m.  “They have given me confidence and I have to reciprocate it. I’m here now because it’s the right time in my career after a World Cup and that’s why it’s happening now,” explained Montes.  “I’m happy and excited, this is a dream come true for me. It’s worth the sacrifice because I’m hereRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea are putting the finishing touches on a deal to sign Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile, 90min understands. Talks were opened with Monaco earlier this month after negotiations over preferred target Josko Gvardiol hit an expensive wall, leaving Chelsea forced to pursue other options for a January switch to Stamford Bridge. A fee of around £30m has been discussed and sources have confirmed to 90min that negotiations are close to a complete agreement. A medical for Badiashile is already being booked in by the Blues. Personal terms have also been finalised and Chelsea believe the 21-year-old will soon become their first official signing of theRead More →

[ad_1] Benfica have identified 19-year-old midfielder Maximo Perrone as a potential successor to Enzo Fernandez, 90min understands. Fernandez’s performances since moving to Europe over the summer had major clubs on alert, while his World Cup-winning antics with Argentina have seen several sides ramp up their interest. While Fernandez is looking to secure an exit from Estadio da Luz, Benfica are busy identifying possible replacements, leading them to Velez Sarsfield’s Perrone. Sources have told 90min that Benfica have joined Manchester City – plus their various affiliate clubs – Newcastle and Wolves in the race for Perrone, who has been likened to Argentine legend Fernando Redondo. TheRead More →

[ad_1] New St. Louis CITY SC signing Njabulo Blom has been backed to ‘take his game to another level’ in MLS by his former Kaizer Chiefs head coach, Arthur Zwane. Blom arrived for an undisclosed fee last week on a contract through the 2024 MLS season after three-and-a-half years with Kaizer Chiefs. During that time, the midfielder notched eight assists in 94 appearances across all competitions, helping the club finish second in the South African top flight in 2019/20. At international level, Blom made his debut for South Africa in a World Cup qualifier against Ghana in September 2021. With that sort of pedigree, BlomRead More →

[ad_1] It’s been sung at Anfield for as long as most of us can remember. In all of football, no other song is as heavily associated with one club and its legacy. But how did Liverpool fans come to sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in the first place? Let’s take a look at the origins of one of the beautiful game’s most iconic tunes. Where is You’ll Never Walk Alone from? ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ dates back to 1945, when it was written for the musical Carousel by esteemed writing partnership Rodgers and Hammerstein. The song is performed by a character named Nettie as sheRead More →

[ad_1] However many goals the great Pele scored throughout his astounding career, we can all agree that it was a lot. So many, in fact, that it’s evidently near impossible to count them properly – and even more difficult to narrow down to a shortlist of his greatest ever strikes for club and country (especially when considering that so much of his career wasn’t captured on camera). A player who defied footballing expectations and people’s understanding of what was really possible in the game, Pele quite simply dominated the sport for around two decades, invariably inspiring audiences and dazzling defences in the process. While thereRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea travel to the City Ground for the first time this century to face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on New Year’s Day. It was an eventful 2022 for Chelsea. Across 12 months which saw Roman Abramovich’s reign as owner end and the managerial hot potato get thrown to another coach, the club recorded the fewest Premier League wins and goals scored across a calendar year since the turn of the century. Here’s the lineup Graham Potter may deploy to get off on the right foot in 2023. Mason Mount has either taken or created more than a quarter of Chelsea’s Premier LeagueRead More →

[ad_1] Cristiano Ronaldo has described Pele as a ‘reference’ point for the rest of football, both in the past and present, as well as still for the future. The Brazilian icon sadly passed away on Thursday at the age of 82. He is the only player to win three World Cup trophies and for decades was considered the greatest of all time. Just a few others have ever come near him in that sense…Diego Maradona, who passed away himself in 2020, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. “My deep condolences to all of Brazil, and in particular to the family of Edson Arantes do Nascimento,” theRead More →

[ad_1] The world of football mourned the death of Pele on Thursday evening. The 82-year-old, the only player in history to win three World Cup trophies, passed away, but his legacy will live on. The legend of Pele touched generations of football fans from every corner of the planet and he was perhaps the very first international superstar. Once news of his death was confirmed, tributes flooded social media. Pele’s own official Twitter account shared a moving tribute shortly after news of his passing broke. A inspiração e o amor marcaram a jornada de Rei Pelé, que faleceu no dia de hoje. Amor, amor eRead More →