Bale to hold Lopetegui talks

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has set a Friday deadline for AC Milan to complete a transfer deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy for English star midfielder David Beckham.

Garber said Wednesday that the league will not approve any transfer that is not completed by Friday even though Beckham s three-month loan to the Italian club does not end until March 8, 11 days before the US league s season begins.

There is no reason why this should drag on, Garber said. They either want to do it or don t want to do it. This Friday we need to know if they want to buy David Beckham or not.

Galaxy operators AEG chief executive Tim Leiweke told the Los Angeles Times that AC Milan s first offer for Beckham was too low, although Garber said Wednesday that no formal off…

Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is confident that he can recapture his best form for Real Madrid after finally shaking off his fitness problems.

Van Nistelrooy played 90 minutes as Real were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Alcorcon on Tuesday night to underline to Manuel Pellegrini that he is once again a viable option for the Spanish giants.

After spending nine months on the sidelines due to a knee injury, Van Nistelrooy s comeback game in September saw the Dutch striker sustain a thigh injury which abruptly curtailed his return.

But after his performance against Alcorcon, Van Nistelrooy is hopeful of rediscovering the prolific form that has characterised his career and told Marca he is in perfect shape .

The body responded and that gives m…

Charlie Austin has told that he has no regrets about not leaving Queens Park Rangers.

The striker was strongly linked with a switch to a Premier League side last month, with Newcastle United, West Ham United and Crystal Palace among those interested while at one point even Manchester United were installed as the favourites to secure his services.

However, a move failed to materialise leaving the former Burnley man at Loftus Road until at least January when the transfer window reopens.

Austin moved to QPR in the summer of 2013, and he has since racked up seventy-eight appearances for the club in all competitions scoring forty-two goals – four of which have come in the league so far this season.

That tally leaves the twenty-six year old as the divis…

Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season.

Aston Villa have announced the signing of Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair on loan until the end of the season.

Sinclair has struggled for game time since leaving Swansea City for the Etihad Stadium in 2012 making just 12 Premier League appearances for the club and was afforded just eight top-flight outings during a loan at Villa s Midlands rivals West Brom.

However, 25-year-old Sinclair remains confident that his best years are ahead of him at Villa, who have an option to make his move permanent.

It feels great to be here and the deal is finally done, said Sinclair. It s taken a few weeks but I m happy to be here, to be in the building and to be signin…

Laurent Koscielny has compared fellow French international Nabil Fekir to Barcelona star Lionel Messi ahead of his side s World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Netherlands.

After a breakthrough 2014-15 campaign with Lyon, scoring 13 goals in Ligue 1, Fekir missed a large part of last season due to a knee injury, which also saw him miss Euro 2016.

The 23-year-old has impressed in the opening stages of the 2016-17 season, though, and Koscielny has nothing but praise for the winger.

Nabil has got huge technical skills, the Arsenal man said at a news conference.

He s a bit like Messi with his small steps when he runs with the ball in one-on-one.

He was slowed down a bit with his terrible injury, but he s slowly coming back to his best level. H…

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has called on Riyad Mahrez to take inspiration from star duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in a bid to rediscover his best form.

Mahrez PFA Player of the Year and African Footballer of the Year in 2015-16 has struggled to reach the lofty heights of last season after helping Leicester stun the world by winning the Premier League title.

The Algeria international has been a shadow of himself as Leicester flirt with relegation, relegated to the bench for the club s Boxing Day defeat to Everton.

In a challenge to motivate Mahrez ahead of Saturday s clash against West Ham, Ranieri said: Ronaldo and Messi won the Golden Ball and they want to win again and win again. They are always looking forward.

Riyad won a lot of …

Ange Postecoglou lauded Celtic after their hard-fought Scottish Cup win over Rangers offered the Bhoys the chance to do something special in their treble pursuit.

Jota s first-half header was the difference in Sunday s 1-0 semi-final win over Rangers at Hampden Park, teeing up a meeting with Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the final.

Just one win shy from sealing the Scottish Premiership and with the Scottish League Cup already secured, Postecoglou believes Celtic are on the brink of history.

These things you have to earn, the Celtic manager told Viaplay. It s not just rolling up and hoping it happens.

Rangers put in everything to try and stop us. The boys were brilliant in attack when they needed to – and defend when needed to.

You have to e…

They can’t all be like Sir Alex

Being a manager is a very tough job. When we watch players on the pitch we all think we know what they should be doing but in our heart of hearts we know that we ourselves can’t do it. When you look at any professional doing their job, be they a brain surgeon or a plumber, we know that we cannot do what they do.

Better

When it comes to being a football manager absolutely every single football fan thinks they could do that job and do it a bloody sight better than the man in charge currently does! We are all wrong, but we all believe we could pick a better team, come up with better tactics, be better at motivation, buy better players and get better results.

The fact is, of course, that management is very diffi…

Manuel Pellegrini knows Manchester City must improve on their poor home record in the Champions League.

Since Pellegrini joined the club in 2013, City have won just three of their nine Champions League games at Etihad Stadium.

City were beaten 2-1 by last season s finalists Juventus in their first Champions League fixture on home soil this term.

Pellegrini was not aware of the exact numbers but knows City must turn the Etihad into a European fortress if they want to taste success.

I don t know the exact statistics but we must improve, he said.

I don t know what is the home record. It is just statistics or history. That will not help us to win or lose.

City host Sevilla on Wednesday in Group D and Pellegrini said all the focus is on the …

Arda Turan insists he wants to see out his contract at Barcelona amid continued speculation linking him with a move to China.

The attacking midfielder has only started 10 LaLiga matches this season scoring three times and reports in Spain suggest Luis Enrique s side would be willing to accept a large offer if one is forthcoming from a team in the Chinese Super League. 

But Turkey international Turan, who signed from Atletico Madrid in 2015 in a deal that could reach a value of €41million, reiterated he has no plans to leave Barca.

I am very happy at Barcelona, Turan said to BeIN Sports.

I have a contract until I am 33 and I want to see out that contract here.

I am playing in a team where the best players in the world play and I am trying to …