Live Learn Love and Laugh

20/06/2024

Messi set to break 71-year-old Copa América record

Argentina’s captain is set to start today’s inaugural Copa América match against Canada. In doing so, he will break a record which has stood since 1953.

Whatever the outcome of today’s game against Canada, Lionel Messi will enter the history books once again. Argentina and Canada get the 2024 Copa América underway in Atlanta and in this 48th edition of the tournament, Messi will set another record.

Today’s inaugural game against Canada will be Messi’s 35th appearance in the Copa América and will see him overtake the player who holds the all-time appearances record in the tournament.

Messi and Livingstone tied on 34 Copa América appearances
Messi currently shares the record with legendary Chilean goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone. Nicknamed El Sapo (The Toad) and known for being one of the first goalkeeper to wear a short sleeved jersey, Livingstone made 34 Copa América appearances in seven editions of the competition between 1941 and 1953 although he never lifted the trophy. Livingstone played his last game in the South American competition on 28 March 1953, in the 2-2 draw with Bolivia at the National Stadium in Lima.

Messi made his Copa América debut in the 4-1 win over the United States on 28 June 2007, when Venezuela hosted the tournament. It was the first of six appearances which he made in that edition. Argentina reached the final but were beaten 3-0 by Brazil - the first of three finals that Messi would end up losing.

Where is Messi in the Copa América all-time goal scoring list?
He finally got his hands on the trophy in 2021, ending as the joint top scorer with Colombia’s Luis Díaz. Messi equaled Livingstone’s appearances record in the final against Brazil at the Maracanã on 10 July 2021.

In the five editions of the Copa América that Messi has taken part in, he has scored a total of 13 goals and dished out 17 assists. He is just four goals away from equaling another tournament record - Brazil’s Zizinho and Leo’s compatriot Norberto Méndez share the all-time goals record with 17 each.

However the only other two active players on the list are also at this year’s Copa América and both are just ahead of Messi in the goal scorer ranking. Chile’s Eduardo Vargas and Peru’s Paolo Guerrero are both on 14 goals - three away from matching the tournament record.

19/06/2024

Chelsea reject €20m Conor Gallagher offer from Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid appear to be in the market for a new midfielder, and one of their top targets is Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher. The 24-year-old is also attracting interest from Premier League clubs, although Los Colchoneros are determined to win the battle for his signature.

According to Diario AS, Atleti have been in talks with Chelsea in regards to Gallagher, and they recently submitted an informal opening offer worth €20m. However, that was turned down by the West London side.

Gallagher is extremely well-liked by Diego Simeone and the rest of Atleti’s sporting department. The initial refusal is unlikely to dampen their efforts to sign him, although talks are likely to be on hold under after the conclusion of Euro 2024, where Gallagher is currently with England.

Signing Gallagher would be a surprise move for Atletico Madrid, although he has been regularly linked in recent months. It’s clear that a defensive midfielder is more of a priority, and the Englishman is certainly not that – he’s seen as more of a box-to-box player.

19/06/2024

Man Utd tipped to include Harry Maguire in swap deal for Jarrad Branthwaite

Manchester United have been tipped to offer Harry Maguire to Everton in part-exchange for Jarrad Branthwaite after a "ridiculous" opening bid.

The Toffees star is among the Red Devils’ priority targets for the summer transfer window. Man United have already tabled an opening offer for the defender.

They have offered £35m for Branthwaite ’s signature. But that was rejected out of hand by Everton, who are reportedly holding out for closer to £70m for the centre-back.

Former Toffees star Don Hutchison has now suggested that United need to dig a bit deeper in order to seal a deal. He has also tipped the Red Devils to offer former captain Harry Maguire to Everton in part-exchange.

Speaking to ESPN, Hutchison said: “£35million is a ridiculous offer, they are low-balling Everton massively. If they are going to sell Branthwaite, they were rumoured to be wanting about £80 million, but that will probably come down to £60 million or £70 million, but they want a lot of money for him.”

Asked who Branthwaite would partner at Old Trafford, he added: “For United, him (Branthwaite) and Lisandro Martinez. I think they’ll try and move Harry Maguire on – [he’s] on big wages, that’ll be difficult, they might even try and use him in the Branthwaite deal if they tried to bring him in.”

Maguire, signed in a £80m deal from Leicester in 2019, has fallen out of favour over the past couple of seasons. The 31-year-old has just a year remaining on his contract at Old Trafford.

A swap deal for Branthwaite is not the only part-exchange move that the Red Devils have been backed to pursue this summer. Reports have suggested that they could offer Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Crystal Palace in an effort to sign Marc Guehi.

The centre-back has caught the eye for the Eagles and England over recent seasons. But Palace are optimistic of keeping him, having set a price tag of a minimum of £65m.

Guehi, unlike Branthwaite and Maguire, has a spot in the England squad for the Euros. He shone during the Three Lions’ opener against Serbia on Sunday.

19/06/2024

Arsenal to make player-plus-cash offer for Bruno Guimaraes

Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has returned to being a leading target for Arsenal as the Gunners grow frustrated with the lack of response to their wage offer for Spanish international Martin Zubimendi,

Arsenal's interest in Guimaraes has intensified in recent weeks as they look to do a deal below the £100 million which the Magpies set in his contract last year.

Newcastle's financial problems could force them to entertain offers for the maestro, including player-plus-cash deals, especially if the release clause is not met.

Sources suggest that Newcastle might be open to such an arrangement given their necessity to balance the books and not get stung by Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules.

Arsenal have several players potentially leaving the Emirates this summer, such as Oleksandr Zinchenko, Emile Smith Rowe, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Eddie Nketiah, and Thomas Partey.

These players could be valuable additions for Newcastle's manager, Eddie Howe, in the upcoming Premier League season, amend the club may look to offer the side one or two of those names as a way of bringing down the overall price.

Signing a player of Guimaraes' calibre would significantly enhance Arsenal's squad, particularly if the Gunners can include a structured payment which Arsenal have done with many signings in the past.

17/06/2024

Austrian fans in the streets of Düesseldorf!!!

17/06/2024

OFFICIAL: Kante named Man Of The Match for Austria vs France

Kanté has had a stunning performance at his first match in EURO 2024 against Austria.

73 touches

6 x possession won

5 duels won

3 tackles made

2 interceptions

2 chances created

1 clearance

1 foul won

No France player made more tackles, interceptions or created more chances.

17/06/2024

Chelsea beaten to transfer of Brazilian by Wolves as Matheus Cunha seals deal

Wolves have beaten Chelsea to the signing of Brazilian teenager Pedro Lima... thanks to a helping hand from star striker Matheus Cunha.

The 17-year-old right-back, will join Wolves when he turns 18, on July 1 in a deal worth £8.4million.

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs has been working for a number of weeks on a deal for the teen, but there had been fears that a move from Chelsea's parent company BlueCo, could scupper the deal. That prompted Cunha to make a number of phone calls to persuade the youngster - who hails from his home town - to make the move to Molineux.

And with Chelsea having been keen to send Lima to their French feeder club, Strasbourg, whereas Wolves are offering a pathway straight into their senior squad - meaning the possibility of Premier League football immediately - Lima has agreed a move to the West Midlands, with Sport Recife confirming a deal had been reached on Monday.

“Sport Club do Recife announces that it has signed a binding agreement to transfer the economic and federative rights of athlete Pedro Lima to Wolverhampton Wanderers, from England,” the club said in a statement.

“The agreement is subject to customary conditions, including the athlete’s approval of medical examinations conducted by the English club.

“President Yuri Romao and the football management committee will detail the operation in a statement when all acts related to the business have been completed.”

Wolves top scorer last term, Cunha, took to social media to make his delight at the signing clear, declaring: “Born in the same city and now a teammate!

“I hope I can help you with your adaptation and see you delighting our fans! Welcome.”

Lima has played 30 times for Recife across all competitions so far in 2024, including eight appearances in Brazil's national second tier. He will join fellow Brazilians Cunha and Joao Gomes in the Wolves squad.

17/06/2024

Belgium 0-1 Slovakia: Schranz scores the winner, Lukaku has two goal cancelled

17/06/2024

Gianfranco Zola says Chelsea made a mistake by selling three players who were 'the soul of the team' last summer

Gianfranco Zola believes that Chelsea's struggles at the start of last season were mainly due to the departures of three players.

Zola says that the three players who left the club 'were the soul of the team'.

Chelsea legend Zola played for the Blues between 1996 and 2003 and made over 300 appearances for the club.

Last season Chelsea ended up finishing in sixth place in the Premier League after showing signs of improvement in the second half of the campaign.

However, Mauricio Pochettino's team endured some difficult moments at the start of the season.

According to Zola, the sales of Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic, who joined Arsenal and Manchester City respectively, hit Chelsea hard.

Zola also believes that the departure of Jorginho to Arsenal in January 2023 deprived Chelsea of an important leader.

Zola told Ladbrokes: ‘Chelsea have had a hard season especially at the beginning, but they changed a lot.

‘They put a lot of young players in place, and lost a lot of experienced ones like Jorginho, Havertz, and Kovacic. They lost many players who were the soul of the team, the leaders, so it took time to get going.

‘But finally Pochettino got it working and it was working quite well. It was very surprising to see him leaving and I don’t know the full reasons but obviously from a supporter point of view I am disappointed.’

Despite the improvement that Chelsea showed, Pochettino departed the club last month.

There were many changes at Chelsea last summer, with a host of players arriving at Stamford Bridge.

It inevitably took time for some of those players to settle but there were some success stories with Cole Palmer for instance scoring 22 goals in the Premier League.

Enzo Maresca has now taken charge of Chelsea on a five-year deal, while there has already been one new arrival at the club this summer in Tosin Adarabioyo, who will join on a free transfer following his departure from Fulham.

17/06/2024

Messi and Argentina set to win 2024 Copa América according to ‘supercomputer’

Lionel Scaloni’s men are top favourites to retain their Copa America crown at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium final in July.

There is less than a week to go before reigning Copa America champions Argentina face Canada in the 2024 tournament opener in Atlanta with 32 games to be played in deciding who gets to lift the famous trophy in the Miami final on 14 July.

An Angel Di Maria goal secured the 15th Copa triumph for the ‘Albicelsete’ in 2021 final against Brazil with the previous edition of the tournament delayed for a year as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic with games being played in empty stadiums across host nation Brazil in an attempt to contain the virus.

And according to the Oddspedia ‘supercomputer’, Lionel Scaloni’s men are clear favourites to retain their crown when the curtain comes down on the tournament which is being held in the United States with the competition serving as a precursor to the expanded 48 team 2026 World Cup which will be also held in the States with Canada and Mexico also helping out on hosting duties.

17/06/2024

OFFICIAL: Sergio Ramos leaves Sevilla after brief return to boyhood club

Sevilla veteran Sergio Ramos will not continue at the club next year, bringing to an abrupt end his brief return. The 37-year-old will be back on the market again as a free agent, with many expecting him to move outside of Europe this time.

17/06/2024