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      Chelsea could have star-studded XI of OUTCASTS that would challenge for Premier League title next season including Mount

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      CHELSEA owner Todd Boehly is creating a squad for the ages, at least in a financial sense. Consequently, with the the Blues’ starting XI being upgraded, the quality of those in reserve has been improved too.
      Here’s how Chelsea could line up next season
      SunSport have taken a look at three ways Chelsea could line up next season after Neymar was sensationally linked with a summer transfer.
      A report earlier today suggested the Boehly has flown to Paris for talks to sign superstar Neymar.
      It comes after the 31-year-old had an argument with PSG chief Luis Campos.
      And now Chelsea have entered discussions to try and sign the superstar, DESPITE already splashing out an unprecedented £600million on transfers in the last two windows.
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      In addition, RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku is already set to join the club having undergone a medical in September.
      With the pair’s introduction and both liking to play behind the striker, the best way to accommodate them both could be to push Nkunku out wide in support of Joao Felix, whose loan deal at Chelsea could be made permanent in the summer.
      Providing N’Golo Kante can remain fit, he will partner British transfer record signing Enzo Fernandez in midfield, while Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Ben Chilwell and Reece James sit in the defence ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
      Looking beyond the starting XI shows a very strong team of outcasts.
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      How Chelsea’s star studded reserves could line up
      This side would include the likes of Champions League winner Mason Mount and serial Premier League winner Raheem Sterling.
      In this hypothetical XI, the two Englishmen would be joined by January signings Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto.
      Meanwhile, Champions League final goalscorer Kai Havertz would lead the line while Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibably marshal the centre of defence in front of Edouard Mendy.
      Marc Cucurella, Mateo Kovacic and Conor Gallagher would come in to complete the XI ahead of a number of other stars still at the club.
      The likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Armando Broja, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos would fill out the rest of the squad alongside a number of academy players.
      Among these would be Carney Chukwuemeka, Omari Hutchinson and Gabriel Slonina.
      Senior stars Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech would also still be at the club, but the trio have all been linked with the exit door at Stamford Bridge in the upcoming summer. More

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      Man Utd Champions League winner looks unrecognisable after taking huge role in Xavi’s Barcelona rebuild

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      A MANCHESTER UNITED Champions League winner looks completely unrecognisable after taking a huge role in Barcelona’s rebuild. The former attacking midfielder works as a sporting advisor for the Catalan giants.
      This ex-Man Utd star looks unrecognisable in his new role at BarcelonaCredit: Getty – Contributor
      Gone is his long and wavy light-coloured hair as he now dons a bald look.
      The 49-year-old featured for Man Utd across four seasons at the club.
      In total, he made 58 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals.
      During his time at Old Trafford he won the 1996/97 Premier League and 1998/99 Champions League.
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      He also had a spell at Barcelona, playing 54 times for the club.
      The Dutchman also had spells at Celta Vigo, Deportivo Alaves and Espanyol.
      After hanging up his boots he managed the Ecuadorian national team and Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.
      Despite his vast football career, some will best know him for being the son of a legend of the game.
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      That’s because his old man was Johan Cruyff, widely regarded as one of the greatest players and managers ever.
      Jordi Cruyff is now working at his and his dad’s old club Barca, helping current boss Xavi imprint his style.
      Man Utd are set to play the LaLiga outfit in the Europa League play-off round.
      Cruyff was in attendance at the draw and admitted he struggled to control his excitement for the game when he found out.
      On his father’s legacy and pressure to live up to him, he told The Telegraph: “You compare mortal with an immortal, a legend with a normal player.
      “I know if people love to compare then it’s stressful because you can never win.
      I think I had that stress in Spain when I was younger and when I went to Man Utd that’s where I felt liberated from all this – in my opinion – stupidity.
      “I still have it almost on a daily basis, the older generation they still have tears when they see me, they want to talk.
      “They just have a necessity to say something about my father and people still have tears in their eyes. I hear it. I’m proud.”
      Jordi Cruyff won the Premier League at Man UtdCredit: PA:Empics Sport More

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      PSG fans full of ‘respect’ for Neymar but slam Lionel Messi as video from Bayern Munich defeat goes viral

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      PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN fans praised Neymar but slammed Lionel Messi after Tuesday’s loss to Bayern Munich.Christophe Galtier’s men lost 1-0 to Bayern at Parc des Princes after former PSG star Kingsley Coman’s winner on 53 minutes.

      Paris Saint-Germain fans praised Neymar after the loss to Bayern MunichCredit: Getty
      Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi got slammed after the Champions League clashCredit: Getty
      Despite the result, a number of the French champions’ supporters sang Neymar’s praises.
      But some were not happy with Messi’s performance in their first leg of the Champions League Last 16.
      This comes after a clip went viral showing the Brazil international pressing the German champions’ defence and chasing the ball.
      But the Argentina captain was nowhere to be found as he was sitting way back while Neymar was going after Yann Sommer and his back three.
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      One PSG fan tweeted: “Messi nowhere to be found. Much respect for Neymar who actually cares can’t even blame him.”
      Another commented: “Messi doesn’t care anymore, he think [sic] in PSG they will carry him too, but unfortunately there is no [Kylian] Mbappe.”
      A third said: “This is what I mean about Messi’s workrate [sic] when pressing.”
      This fan posted: “Neymar needs to stop this Messi service. He is trying to make him relevant and in doing so is ruining his own reputation.”
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      And that one tweeted: “This alone made him [Neymar] my man of the match.”
      But of course there were also PSG fans who rushed to Messi’s defence insisting they were happy with his performance as he wasn’t to blame for the defeat.
      Neymar, however, was also congratulated for taking the initiative to greet the PSG ultras at full-time despite the disappointing result.
      The forward was also the one who beckoned Messi to accompany him. More

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      How Man Utd lined up last time they beat Barcelona with just two players from ENTIRE SQUAD still playing

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      MANCHESTER UNITED head to the Nou Camp aiming to beat Barcelona for the first time in FIFTEEN years.Erik ten Hag’s side drew the Spanish giants in a blockbuster Europa League play-off tie.
      Manchester United beat Barcelona most recently in 2008Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

      United have lost their last four meetings with Barca – the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals and the 2019 quarter-finals.
      But they got the better of Frank Rijkaard’s men in the semi-finals in 2008 to book their place in the final, where they beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow.
      The first leg ended 0-0 in Spain before a 1-0 win back at Old Trafford on April 29.
      Paul Scholes scored a stunning effort to seal the tie, letting fly from 25 yards to beat Victor Valdes – although the midfielder later admitted it was a miskicked slice.
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      Now, though, just two members of United’s entire squad from that memorable night are still playing professional football.
      Those two are Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently left the Red Devils again for Al-Nassr, and unused sub Danny Welbeck, still in the Premier League with Brighton.
      Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes up front alongside Carlos Tevez.
      Scholes lined up in the middle of the park with Michael Carrick, who is now trying to lead Middlesbrough to promotion in his first managerial job.
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      Nani and Park Ji-Sung were the wide men under Sir Alex Ferguson with a back four of Owen Hargreaves, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Patrice Evra.
      Edwin van der Sar was in goal with Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs and Mikael Silvestre coming off the bench.
      Tomasz Kuszczak, Anderson and John O’Shea remained on the bench alongside Welbeck.
      For Barca, Lionel Messi is the only member of the squad still with a club, and a Champions League one at that with Paris Saint-Germain, with Bojan recently leaving Vissel Kobe.
      Among the starters for the Catalan club in Manchester were Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Samuel Eto’o and now-manager Xavi – while Thierry Henry came off the bench.
      Paul Scholes scored the only goal of the Champions League semi-final tieCredit: PA
      Cristiano Ronaldo came out on the winning sideCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      Lionel Messi is the only player from the two squads still an active Champions League playerCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd More

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      Excited Man Utd fans convinced Mbappe is joining club after bizarre translation on Instagram – and even Rashford replies

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      A GLITCH on Kylian Mbappe’s latest Instagram post has sent Manchester United supporters into a frenzy.The Paris Saint-Germain superstar’s club were bizarrely linked to the Red Devils after he shared a new snap of himself in action.
      Kylian Mbappe sent Man Utd fans into meltdown with his latest Instagram postCredit: Rex
      This is how it was translated in EnglishCredit: Instagram
      Mbappe posted a photo from PSG’s 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last night.
      The World Cup golden boot winner, 24, was returning from injury and he almost sparked a comeback after entering the action from the bench.
      Despite being unable to do so, he switched his focus to Instagram afterwards and his eye-catching caption soon had everyone talking – including United’s very own Marcus Rashford who replied with a fire emoji.
      Mbappe wrote in French the words for “all that remains to be done” as he looked ahead to the second leg of the last-16 tie.
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      However, the translation in English bizarrely added the claim that: “Manchester United’s team is now on PSG.”
      And followers of the former Monaco ace quickly took that as a sign that the hitman wanted to join the likes of Rashford at Old Trafford.
      One replied: “Mbappe x Rashford x Sancho .”
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      Another said: “He’s actually coming.”
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      A fellow Red Devil commented: “Man Utd coming to win Champions League next season.”
      While another added: “Welcome our new number 7.”
      And another simply wrote: “Here we go.”
      Even Marcus Rashford got involved in the responsesCredit: PA More

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      Ex-Tottenham star hasn’t aged a day as he joins Spurs fans in away end at AC Milan with X-rated Arsenal slur

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      TOTTENHAM’S travelling support weren’t treated to a vintage performance in Milan last night.But they did have the pleasure of being joined in the away end by a club cult hero.
      Sandro took a cheeky pop at ArsenalCredit: Twitter @N17_SAUL
      The Brazilian joined Spurs fans in MilanCredit: Twitter @N17_SAUL
      Last time Spurs won at AC Milan in the Champions League, Brazilian star Sandro lined up in Harry Redknapp’s midfield.
      And last night he was in among the supporters cheering on his old team.
      The 33-year-old remains a popular figure among Spurs fans, having won them over with his committed displays and eccentric personality.
      Last night he endeared himself to them even further… by taking a pop at hated rivals Arsenal.
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      Asked by a supporter what he thinks of the Gunners, Sandro replied: “S***!”
      Then quizzed what he thinks is “s***”, he responded “Arsenal!”
      His answers prompted cheers from fans – with Sandro laughing and smiling as he put his arm around the Spurs fan.
      Tottenham subsequently fell to a 1-0 defeat to AC Milan, but will still feel in the tie ahead of the second leg on March 8.
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      Sandro made 106 appearances for Spurs after joining from Brazilian side Internacional in 2010.
      He produced outstanding displays for the Lilywhites, before being thwarted by a serious knee injury.
      The 17-cap Brazil international subsequently joined QPR in 2014, but only managed 36 appearances for the West London outfit in three years.
      During this time he played 13 times on loan at West Brom, before signing for Turkish club Antalyaspor in 2018.
      He later went on to play for Genoa, Udinese, Goias and Belenenses.
      Sandro helped Spurs knock AC Milan out in 2011Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd More

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      Mason Greenwood’s potential new club revealed as Champions League side ‘make inquiries’ for star striker

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      A CHAMPIONS League team has been “making inquiries” about potentially signing Mason Greenwood.Greenwood, 21, hasn’t played for his current club Manchester United since his arrest in January 2022.
      A Champions League side have been ‘making inquiries’ on a potential Mason Greenwood transferCredit: Getty
      The striker had attempted rape charges against him dropped earlier this month but his team is carrying out its own investigation.
      He will remain suspended until the end of the 2022/23 Premier League season, according to reports.
      All charges against the footballer, including attempted rape, actual bodily harm and coercive or controlling behaviour, were withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service earlier this month.
      It came after 12 witnesses, including the woman at the centre of the allegations, refused to co-operate.

      And now it’s been revealed as a Turkish team which joined the Champions League last year have shown interest in signing the striker.
      Istanbul’s Fenerbahce United have been “making inquiries” about the star, who has previously said he would like to play abroad.
      Greenwood, who earns around £100,000 a week and is contracted until 2025, is still unable to play for United or train while the Red Devils carry out an internal probe.
      This is said to involve interviews to get his version of events and checks on his physical and mental health.
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      Manager Erik Ten Hag hopes this process will be complete before the summer but it cannot be confirmed, it is understood.
      Prior to his arrest, Greenwood was valued at around £50million and regarded as one of European football’s hottest young talents.
      But United’s women’s players reportedly don’t want him to return to the club.
      According to reports in The Athletic, “the feeling is strong” amongst the team that he should be let go – and is shared by some in the men’s dressing room.
      Fans are also said to be uncertain about his return.
      Greenwood, who was dropped from a multi-million pound boot deal by Nike following his arrest, has made 129 appearances for United, scoring 35 goals and winning one England cap. More

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      Antonio Conte DEFIED his doctor so he could take charge of Tottenham’s Champions League defeat to AC Milan

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      ANTONIO CONTE defied doctor’s orders to return to work with injury-hit Tottenham.But his Spurs side have it all to do after a narrow last-16 first leg defeat in Milan.
      Conte defied doctors orders so he could manage Spurs on TuesdayCredit: Getty
      Tottenham suffered a 1-0 defeat to AC MilanCredit: Alamy
      Boss Conte, who took charge just 13 days after having his gallbladder removed, revealed: “The doctor advised me not to return. His recommendation is to stay calm for 15 days.
      “But you have a sense of responsibility that you want to stay every moment with your players.
      “I’m still not 100 per cent but am trying to manage it in the best way.”
      Conte missed Spurs’ 1-0 win over Manchester City four days after going under the knife, but was back for Saturday’s 4-1 mauling at Leicester.
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      He wore a postoperative stomach support during the period after his surgery and admitted it has been harder to shout from the touchline due to his recovery, as he watched Brahim Diaz give Milan a slender lead with a seventh-minute goal.
      Conte vowed to be fighting fit by the time the Serie A giants come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the return leg on March 8.
      He added: “In the previous match (against City) I was completely out, I have just had surgery and after two days, my doctor said you can’t go’.
      ‘I was wearing a medical device in that period but I was able to interact with my team. I was not at 100 per cent but next game I will be fit and I will try to give my contribution.”
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      Conte was forced to play rookies Oliver Skipp, 22, and Pape Matar Sarr, 20, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma injured and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg suspended.
      And the Spurs boss is ready to lean on the two youngsters should Bissouma’s stress fracture of the ankle keep him out for the season, as is the case with Bentancur due to a serious knee injury.
      Conte added: “Bissouma has a stress fracture in his ankle and when this type of situation happens you never know how long a time he needs to recover. 
      “In my mind, in this moment, is to consider three midfielders. 
      “To have this type of performance from Skippy and Pape Sarr makes me happy.
      “It means they are improving and for sure they will be the future for Tottenham but at the same time they will be the present.
      “The game was a battle and, from the start until the end, we played a game with high intensity. It was difficult to play for us and them.
      ‘We are talking about the first game, there are two games, I hope and I’m sure in the second game, in our stadium, I know our fans will make an important atmosphere to help us overcome Milan.”
      England Under-21 starlet Skipp added: “I enjoyed every minute of it.
      “It was nice to make my debut, from the start anyway. Playing in the Champions League is what you dream of as a kid.
      “It’s only the first leg, we’re still in it and we know with our fans that we can make it a dangerous tie at home.”
      Milan could have dealt an even bigger blow on Spurs but missed two late sitters through Charles De Ketelaere and Malick Thiaw.
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      Boss Stefano Pioli added: “Yes, there are two goals we could’ve scored. But the game was hard-fought, they caused us problems too and we defended very well on set-plays, so there are many positives. 
      “This is just the first step, the second will be even tougher.” More