Former Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque says it would have been a dream to have Lionel Messi in his squad at international level.

Barcelona star Messi, who joined the club s academy in 2001, was eligible to play for Spain and Argentina but opted to represent the country of his birth.

His international career has been a relative disappointment compared to his club achievements, with Argentina having lost three Copa America finals and the World Cup final of 2014 with Messi in the side.

The 31-year-old has enjoyed astounding success with Barca, though, and his latest spectacular performance on Wednesday saw him reach 600 club goals with a double against Liverpool to inspire a 3-0 triumph in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.

600 Lionel Mess…

Jordan Pickford is a key figure in England s run to the World Cup semi-finals according to former Three Lions boss Fabio Capello, who said the team finally discovered a goalkeeper who can make saves .

Pickford only made his full England debut in November 2017, just seven months before the World Cup in Russia, but he made crucial saves in the team s round-of-16 penalty shoot-out victory over Colombia.

The Everton shot-stopper had another solid performance in England s 2-0 quarter-final victory over Sweden, keeping his first clean sheet of the tournament, and Capello praised the 24-year-old s positioning and reactions.

Capello, who managed England to 28 victories and six defeats between 2008 and 2012, told Gazzetta dello Sport that Gareth Southgate s side have go…

Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero wants to leave the club in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the Argentina international is keen on parting company with the Red Devils after being omitted from the Premier League and Champions League squads.

The report has claimed that there is interest in Romero from clubs in his native Argentina and abroad. United want between £8 million and £10 million for the 33-year-old, who is out of contract at Old Trafford at the end of the season, but the Premier League giants do have an option to extend his deal for another 12 months.

Romero has been on the books of United since 2015, but the Argentine has failed to dislodged David de Gea from the starting lineup. A move away from Old Trafford in…

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United kicked off their respective FA Cup campaigns against each other at the Molineux on Saturday, which means one of them had to say farewell to the possibility of winning the trophy straight away. A contest between these two, at full strength, would have been easy to predict once upon a time. After all, it is a clash between a team that is an occasional Premier League feature against one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football.

However, things are very different these days. The days of Sir Alex Ferguson s Manchester United are long gone, and current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is just the latest name on the list of those who have tried (and failed) to pick up where the legendary Scotsman left off when he retired in…

Timo Werner is not lacking in confidence despite his Chelsea goal drought, according to head coach Thomas Tuchel.

Werner arrived at Stamford Bridge with a reputation as a prolific goalscorer following his move from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig

But the Germany international has scored just four times in 20 Premier League appearances, with his blank in Sunday s 2-0 win over Burnley stretching his barren run to 12 top-flight games.

The 24-year-old managed three shots on target against the Clarets – more than any other player – and had more touches inside the opposition penalty area (nine) than anyone else.

Despite another scoreless outing, Tuchel has no doubts over Werner s self-belief.

He is totally into it, he gives everything, Tuchel explaine…

Gareth Southgate admitted he was left a bit fed up by the finale of England s opening World Cup match, despite his side running out comfortable 6-2 victors over Iran.

A brace for Bukayo Saka, plus goals for Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish, saw the Three Lions kick off Qatar 2022 in style at Khalifa International Stadium.

But despite matching their biggest single-match haul in a World Cup game, set four years ago in a 6-1 win over Panama at Russia 2018, their manager was still left frustrated by their double concession.

Mehdi Taremi s double, the second of which came from a controversial VAR penalty, denied England a record winning margin, and Southgate acknowledged it added a sour note to his side s otherwise superb performance…

Lothar Matthaus has declared Joachim Low must pack his suitcase and leave his post if Germany fail at the delayed Euro 2020 finals.

Long-serving national coach Low has faced criticism in the wake of the 6-0 defeat to Spain in the Nations League.

Results and performances had been sketchy in the months leading up to November s humiliation in Seville which brought the team s form into sharp focus.

Matthaus, who captained West Germany to 1990 World Cup glory, is now among Germany s leading football pundits and believes Low should not be the only figure to pay the price if Die Mannschaft fail at the European Championship.

Speaking to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, Matthaus said: If the European Championship does not go as we would like and as we can expect in view …

Mesut Ozil has ruled out coming out of international retirement after completing a dream move to Fenerbahce.

Midfielder Ozil joined the Istanbul giants last Sunday after seven-and-a-half years with Arsenal.

The 32-year-old playmaker fell out of favour at the London club and reached an agreement for an early termination of his contract, which was due to expire at the end of this season.

Ozil is relishing the opportunity to reignite his career in the Super Lig, but has no interest in making a Germany comeback after calling time on playing for his country in 2018.

He said during a press conference on Wednesday: If I go on a road, I will never come back. So I will not play in the German national team anymore. I wish them success.

The former Real Ma…

Lionel Messi has paid for Paris Saint-Germain s obsession with winning the Champions League, suggests Ander Herrera.

Messi moved to Parc des Princes in 2021 from Barcelona, and helped PSG to a Ligue 1 success in his first season.

PSG are on the brink of retaining their crown, though Messi s future at the club is far from certain.

Messi has been unable to drag PSG closer to their ultimate goal – winning the Champions League. Earlier in May, Messi was targeted by sections of the club s fanbase after he was suspended for taking an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.

Herrera, who played with Messi last season, sees the PSG s dogmatic pursuit of European glory as the main issue.

I was admiring Leo before [I knew] him, and after knowing him, I admire…

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Celta Vigo are set to play host to Sevilla at the Estadio Balaidos on Friday evening within the 15th round of the season in the Spanish La Liga. The match is a very important one for both sides, as they struggle to achieve the same goal to avoid relegation.

Celta Vigo

Celta were in a similar situation in 2019/20, when they finished 17th and avoided the drop by a single point. In the two seasons that followed, they were relatively safe throughout and ended them around the middle of the table. This time, however, it seems it will be another scramble.

As things stand at the moment, Carlos Carvalhal s team is in 17th place again, with only 12 points from the 14 matches they ve played so far. Espanyol are directly above with the s…