Lionel Messi is to stand trial for tax fraud after having an appeal rejected by a Barcelona court.
Barcelona superstar Messi and his father and agent, Jorge Horacio Messi, stand accused of having defrauded authorities of €4.1million between 2007 and 2009.
The Argentina captain s rights are alleged to have been sold by Jorge using companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid Spanish tax obligations.
Last October it was determined that Messi would have to stand trial as he could have known about the alleged impropriety despite pleas that his father was responsible for the family s finances, a decision he immediately appealed.
Messi and his father have also made a payment of just over €5m to the authorities.
But, after seeing his appeal thrown o…
Joe Hart wants Manchester City to tackle Dynamo Kiev with the belief they are potential Champions League winners.
City travel to the Ukrainian capital for the round-of-16 first leg on Wednesday as favourites to progress, a marked departure from expectations of a swift exit after being pitted against Barcelona in each of the past two seasons.
But Manuel Pellegrini s side head into the clash on a damaging run of three consecutive defeats, with title rivals Leicester City and Tottenham inflicting back-to-back home Premier League losses on City for the first time since December 2008.
The Chilean coach passed up the chance to atone for those setbacks by playing a youthful team in the FA Cup fifth round at Chelsea.
Pellegrini pointed to a lengthy injury list an…
David Carney s fine strike condemned A-League champions Melbourne Victory to a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium.
Victory, who have failed to win away to the Jets since 2009, saw Besart Berisha hit the post in the first half as they struggled to find a cutting edge in the final third throughout.
The home side should have taken the lead early on, but striker Milos Trifunovic shot straight at Danny Vukovic after he cut out a simple pass from Leigh Broxham.
Carney came close with an audacious long-range free-kick after half an hour, but his effort went narrowly wide, with Vukovic stranded well off his line.
But the 31-year-old did find the net with just 15 minutes to play, firing the ball it the top corner from just outside the area after L…
Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka may require surgery to rectify the troublesome knee injury that has kept him out of action for over a month, according to Die Roten coach Julian Nagelsmann.
The Germany international, who has two goals and two assists in 12 Bundesliga appearances this term, has not taken to the pitch since Bayern’s 3-2 win over rivals Borussia Dortmund on 4th December, in which he managed just over an hour after struggling with a previous knock.
Speaking ahead of the champions home match against Borussia Monchengladbach, revealed that a decision on whether he requires surgery is due in the next couple of days.
It s complicated. Nagelsmann said of the situation. He [Goretzka] had two good days of training, then we had to decrease the str…
Erik ten Hag slammed Manchester United as by far not good enough after their shock friendly defeat to Rosenborg on Monday.
The Red Devils suffered a late 1-0 loss at Lerkendal Stadion after Noah Holm s 93rd-minute winner.
An underwhelming performance in their first pre-season game was in stark contrast to their last outing before that, a 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Rosenborg were denied by the woodwork on four separate occasions while attempting 22 shots to United s meagre five.
Ten Hag started the likes of Casemiro, Jonny Evans, Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mason Mount, leaving the United boss somewhat furious with their efforts in Trondheim.
The result is not secondary. We play pre-season but at Manche…
Real Madrid are interested in signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window as a replacement for Casemiro, according to . Brazil international midfielder Casemiro is leaving La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners Madrid for Premier League giants Manchester United, and Los Blancos are looking at bringing in Hojbjerg.
Hojbjerg has been on the books of Tottenham since 2020 when he moved from Southampton. The Denmark international midfielder has established himself as an important player for the North London club. The midfielder scored two goals and gave two assists in 36 Premier League appearances for Spurs last season.
Tottenham have sold their best players over the years, but club chairman Daniel Levy will want a lot of money for H…