Ronaldo wins European footballer of the year award

Real Betis have confirmed they are hoping to extend Joel Campbell’s loan deal for another season.

The talented forward arrived on a season long loan from Arsenal last summer and has largely impressed at Estadio Benito Villamarin.

He has helped los Verdiblancos climb to European places in La Liga and the Spanish club are now keen to try and hold on to the player for as long as possible.

Real Betis boss Pepe Mel admits they are negotiating with Arsenal over extending the player’s loan deal for another campaign.

We are advancing negotiations to reach an agreement,” Pepe Mel told Estadio Deportivo.

This wont be easy, but we want to speak in London with clarity and to agree a new loan. I believe that it will be positive for all parties.

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Market: Orlando City to score over 1.5 goals

Odds: 8/11 @

Smelling a golden chance on home soil when the midweek MLS fixtures open up, Orlando will welcome San Jose to the Exploria Stadium in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Starting with the hosts, marking their return from the international break and landing a deserved 3-2 victory away at Toronto, the mood in Orlando s camp should be at a real high. Opening up the midweek fixtures sat second in the Eastern Conference and tipped as a clear pick to secure a play-off finish, The Purples have collected nine points from their last four MLS matchups and they have one attacking MVP enjoying another purple patch. Marking his own return from a one-match suspension by finding the net on the road last week, Portugue…

Angel Di Maria is hoping third time s the charm for Argentina at the upcoming Copa America Centenario after suffering heartbreak in their last two final appearances. 

Argentina were defeated in a penalty shoot-out in last year s Copa America final against Chile, just under 12 months after experiencing an extra-time loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup decider.

Paris Saint-Germain attacker Di Maria missed the game against Germany through injury, and was forced off early in the first half in their loss to Chile with a hamstring complaint. 

However, the 28-year-old remains encouraged by Argentina s achievements heading into the special-edition Copa America tournament in the United States, which begins on Friday.

My only wish is to be able to play in t…

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Ze Roberto insists that Jupp Heynckes has no intention of extending his contract with the club for another season.

Heynckes signed a short-term deal when he was appointed as the replacement for Carlo Ancelotti in October 2017.

Ahead of the international break, he has guided Bayern to a 17-point lead at the Bundesliga summit and a Champions League quarter-final clash with Sevilla in his fourth spell in charge of the club.

Despite Heynckes hinting earlier this month that he could stay on for another year, Ze Roberto  who enjoyed two spells at Bayern in the 2000s  claims the 72-year-old has told him this season will be his last.

Recently I had the opportunity to eat with the players and him, but he said to me that he …

Germany won a dramatic penalty shootout 6-5 to book a place in the Euro 2016 semi-finals and send Italy crashing out in Bordeaux.

After 120 minutes of action ended in a 1-1 draw, Manuel Neuer saved from Matteo Darmian in the shootout s decisive moment, with Jonas Hector netting the winning spot-kick.

Simone Zaza, Graziano Pelle and Leonardo Bonucci all missed too in an unbelievable sequence of penalties, with unsuccessful efforts from Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil going unpunished for Germany.

Ozil looked to have put Germany on course for victory in regulation time, but Bonucci s late penalty – after a handball from Jerome Boateng – ensured the game progressed to extra time and then spot-kicks.

The thrilling win helped Germany g…

France international defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has revealed that he is fully focused on Montpellier this season, despite turning down the chance to join Italian giants AC Milan during the summer transfer window, .

After championing the French Ligue 1 last term, Montpellier are currently in 16th place in the league table with a dismal 2-2-5 record.

Yanga-Mbiwa is drawing interest from a bevy of Europe s top football clubs, including the likes of AC Milan and Lille OSC, while FC Barcelona are also rumoured to be admirers of the Frenchman.

The 23-year-old s current contract expires at the end of the season, fueling speculation that Montpellier are preparing to offload him during the January transfer window.

I am not mad that I did not leave. I r…

Italian champions Inter Milan s Chilean international striker Luis Jimenez was snapped up on loan by English Premier League side West Ham on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old known as the Wizard and capped 20 times is the first signing for the Hammers Italian manager Gianfranco Zola this summer.

Jimenez who hasn t represented Chile for over a year joins on a season-long loan with a view to a possible permanent move.

I can t promise anything but I am going to do everything possible to do a good job for the club, Jimenez told West Ham s website.

Jimenez made his name in Italy at Serie B side Ternana, where he scored 25 goals in 88 league appearances between 2002 and 2007.

Short spells at Fiorentina and Lazio followed before Inter Milan opted to buy him on …

Market: Dallas win

Odds: 11/10 @

Looking to try and find a route into the Final Series spots this weekend, Dallas will welcome Austin to the Toyota Stadium in the early hours of Sunday.

Starting with the hosts, putting in what was a rugged display away at Western Conference title-chasers Seattle earlier in the week, some in Dallas camp would have been disappointed to have only left with a point. Snatching a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, Luchi Gonzalez s men have continued on an eye-catching bounce over the past fortnight. Now sat within striking distance of jumping into the Final Series spots, The Toros have collected seven points from their last three MLS matchups. Including back-to-back 4-0 and 2-1 victories against LA Galaxy and Sporting KC, Dallas ha…

In his relatively short time in English football, Claudio Ranieri became pretty universally loved by English fans. He was always well mannered, polite, sporting and pleasant.

Tactically

Tactically he was pretty good too and people tend to forget how far he had taken Chelsea prior to the arrival of Jose Mourinho. Let us not forget that Ranieri took the Blues to a Champions League semi-final which equals anything the ‘Special One’ managed to achieve.

Unfortunately for Ranieri, he earned the nickname ‘the tinker man’ because he was forever fiddling around with formations and players’ positions. He did so to catastrophic effect in the afore-mentioned Champions League semi-final when his �…

Marc Muniesa has signed a four-year contract extension with Stoke City, keeping him at the Britannia Stadium until 2019.

The 23-year-old has chalked up nearly 40 first-team appearances for Mark Hughes s side since arriving on a free transfer from Barcelona in 2013, despite missing a large chunk of last season with a hamstring injury.

Muniesa is expected to start at centre-back for Stoke s first game of the new Premier League campaign, which sees them host Liverpool on Sunday, with captain Ryan Shawcross set to undergo back surgery. 

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