Palermo star cool on Roma link

The agent of Palermo forward Abel Hernandez has poured cold water on speculations linking Roma with a move for his client.

The Uruguayan striker has missed a big part of the season through injury, but he is still held in high regard by top Italian clubs.

Serie A giants Roma were recently linked with a move for the 21-year-old, but the player’s agent doesn’t think there is any truth in the latest rumours.

“The stories of Roma’s interest in Hernandez are old,” the player s representative Vincenzo D’Ippolito told Rete Sport on Monday.

“Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini is an excellent official who knows Palermo well given his past there.

“However, I don’t understand why this story has re-emerged. I don’t know anything about …

Celebration was response to racist comments – Lozano

Honduras striker Anthony Lozano has claimed he received racist abuse from an Argentina player before scoring in his side s goal 1-1 draw in the Olympic football tournament.

Lozano struck after 75 minutes to give his side a 1-0 lead in their final Group D game, after Bryan Acosta had missed a first-half spot-kick for Honduras.

Mauricio Martinez grabbed a late equaliser for Argentina, but the result earned Honduras a place in the quarter-finals while the Albiceleste failed to qualify.

After scoring his penalty, Lozano was seen holding his finger to his lips – a gesture he explained was in response to comments made to him by an opponent.

He said: I went to shut up an Argentine who made racist comments and I didn t like it. That s why I made the silence [ge…

Arnautovic says he rejected ´several´ Man Utd approaches

Marko Arnautovic claims Manchester United made several attempts to sign him in the last transfer window, but says he opted to remain at Bologna despite his family s desire to return to England.

Former West Ham and Stoke City forward Arnautovic was linked with a move to United as part of the recruitment drive for Erik ten Hag s first season with the club.

The Red Devils reportedly considered a move for Arnautovic after Cristiano Ronaldo outlined his desire to leave Old Trafford, but the 33-year-old insists he is happy with his choice to remain in Italy.

Manchester United tried to sign me several times and it was a difficult decision to stay in Italy, because my family wanted to return to England, Arnautovic told Laola1 ahead of Austria s friendly against Italy o…

Assuncao leaves Atletico for Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo have secured the services of Paulo Assuncao from Atletico Madrid, the club announced on Sunday.

The holding midfielder has signed a one-year deal with the Brazil Serie A club.

The 32-year-old had one year left on his contract with the La Liga side, but was free to negotiate terms with other clubs after having reached an agreement with Atletico to terminate his deal.

Assuncao joined Atletico from Porto in 2008 and had made close to 100 official appearances for the club.

He looked back at his time at the Vicente Calderon but admitted he was eager to return to action in Brazil.

I ve experienced the best moments of my career at Atletico, winning three European titles. I ll always remember my time at Atletico, the midfielder said.

Ranieri: I coached Inter ´at the wrong moment´

Claudio Ranieri feels his spells at Roma and Inter were unsuccessful because he arrived at the Serie A sides when they were past their best.

The current Monaco boss was in charge of Roma between 2009 and 2011, before coaching the Nerazzurri from 2011 until 2012.

Ranieri left both clubs halfway through the season, though, following a string of poor results, and he believes it was a matter of wrong club at the wrong time on both occasions.

I have coached a number of big clubs, but always at the wrong moment. I was there either too soon or too late, Ranieri told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

No-one even knew Valencia when I arrived in Spain, while Chelsea made a name for themselves after making the Champions League semi-finals.

I took charge of Juvent…

Rennes v Paris Saint-Germain: Silva urges focus with Madrid on the horizon

Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva has warned his team-mates not to let their minds wander on to Real Madrid ahead of the Ligue 1 encounter with Rennes.

Laurent Blanc s unbeaten defending champions travel to Roazhon Park on Friday with a healthy seven-point advantage at the summit, chasing a sixth consecutive domestic win.

This recent run of victories was punctuated by a goalless draw against Madrid in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes last week and the return clash at the Santiago Bernabeu comes around next Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Silva is firmly focused on the task in hand and believes there would be no better preparation for facing the 10-time European champions than collecting three points at Rennes.

There is a tough match waitin…

Drogba fantastic with me at Chelsea – Costa hails his idol

Diego Costa has credited club great Didier Drogba for helping to make his Chelsea career a success.

Drogba won 10 major trophies in his first spell at Stamford Bridge, culminating in him scoring the decisive penalty as Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on spot-kicks in the 2012 Champions League final.

He returned for the 2014-15 campaign following brief stints with Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray, alongside Costa  a £32million arrival from Atletico Madrid who consigned the veteran to bench duty as he added League Cup and Premier League medals to his collection.

In an interview with Chelsea TV, the Spain international detailed how Drogba showed no ego and offered plenty of advice when it became clear he would be cast in a supporting role, leaving him to revel in the c…

Sevilla 1-1 Atletico Madrid: Costa´s penalty failure costs visitors

Diego Costa saw a penalty saved as Sevilla and Atletico Madrid each failed to capitalise on Barcelona s defeat earlier on Saturday, playing out a 1-1 draw in Diego Simeone s 300th game as a LaLiga coach.

Barca had collapsed at Levante and, with Real Madrid not in action until later in the day, the winner of this clash would top the table.

But Atleti hailed as one of the best five teams in the world by Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui this week failed to fire for 45 minutes and trailed to Franco Vazquez s header.

Costa arrived from the bench at half-time and Simeone s men started to turn the screw, equalising through Alvaro Morata.

Then Costa, who earlier saw a goal disallowed by the VAR, was denied by Tomas Vaclik with 18 minutes remaining as Atleti fell sho…

Cameroon 1-0 Brazil: Indomitable Lions bow out despite last-gasp Aboubakar strike

Vincent Aboubakar fired Cameroon to a last-gasp 1-0 win over Brazil before being sent off on Friday, but it was not enough to save the Indomitable Lions from an early World Cup exit – or to prevent the Selecao from topping Group G.

Having seen Brazil secure a place in the round of 16 by beating Switzerland last time out, Tite made nine changes to his side, which resulted in a disjointed Selecao showing at the Lusail Stadium.

Devis Epassy kept Cameroon in the contest with several fine saves before Aboubakar nodded home a stoppage-time winner for Rigobert Song s men – and was promptly shown a second yellow card for removing his shirt.

However, the result was ultimately immaterial as Switzerland clung on to beat Serbia 3-2 in the group s other game, ensuring Bra…

Spalletti happy to stay in Russia

Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti says he is very happy in his current role, despite reports linking him to Milan.

The 54-year-old Italian has been in charge of Zenit since 2009, leading the club to two league titles and a series of other cup successes.
With Milan slipping off the pace in Serie A this season – they sit third, 18 points behind Juventus – speculation over the future of Massimiliano Allegri has been rife.
Spalletti has been linked with the job, but doused the flames in an interview with Mattina Sport.
He said: I m very happy in Russia. I don t think I ll be leaving as I m very attached to the project we have at the club.
There are already good and young coaches in Italy, whereas I want to respect the contract I have with Zenit.
Spalletti – who p…