La Liga
LUIS SUAREZ IN LIMBO AS HE TRAINS WITH BARCA
Luis Suarez is still training with Barcelona despite being told by Ronald Koeman that he’s not part of his plans. The Uruguayan missed Barcelona’s pre-season friendly victory over Gimnastic on Saturday after he was left out of Ronald Koeman’s squad.
He was told upon Koeman’s arrival that he wasn’t part of the Dutchman’s plans to take the club forward, with the new Barça boss reportedly telling Suarez that he won’t be counted on in a telephone conversation.
Suarez’s omission, then, from Saturday’s friendly squad wasn’t too much of a surprise with Koeman’s stance on the 33-year-old clear.
The club are also targeting Lyon captain, Memphis Depay as a potential Suarez replacement this summer, while Lautaro Martinez of Inter has been linked for months.
However, there’s no guarantee that Suarez will depart Catalonia in the current window
According to Mundo Deportivo, Juventus are growing impatient because the striker must pass an exam before obtaining Italian nationality – necessary because Juve has its quota of non-EU citizens covered – and this is something Suarez is yet to do.
Atletico Madrid, however, remains an alternative for the Uruguayan. Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo’s report adds that Suarez is actually keen to remain at Barcelona this summer, and is now looking to ‘force’ his employers into allowing him to remain at Camp Nou before potentially departing on a free when his contract expires at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.
While Suarez missed out, Lionel Messi was included in Koeman’s squad for their 3-1 triumph over third-tier outfit Gimnastic on Saturday. Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho were all on the scoresheet.
Another player absent from Koeman’s squad was Arturo Vidal, who was also told that his services were no longer required at the club.
The Chilean is set to reunite with Antonio Conte at Inter on what’s been reported as a two-year deal worth €6m per season with a medical set for next week.
Barcelona take on Girona in another friendly on Wednesday before the start of their La Liga campaign at the end of September. La Blaugrana host Villarreal in their season opener as they attempt to wrestle back the Spanish title from the hands of Real Madrid.
Whether Suarez is on the club’s books by then remains to be seen, although the possibility of the Uruguayan staying seems to be gradually increasing.
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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