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      Napoli wonderkid Kvaratskhelia’s agent reveals which club star wants to join as transfer race hots up

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      NAPOLI star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s agent has revealed his the star’s preferred transfer if he were to leave the club would be to Real Madrid.Kvaratskhelia has made headlines around the world this season as he has scored 12 goals and bagged 15 assists in 26 matches across all competitions.
      Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s agent revealed his client’s favourite suitorCredit: Rex
      Kvaratskhelia is a fan of Real Madrid, who are targeting the Napoli aceCredit: Rex
      That has led to interest from the likes of Newcastle, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and the winger’s favourite club Real ahead of the summer transfer window.
      The Georgia international’s agent Mamuka Jugheli suggested the reigning Spanish champions have the advantage in the ongoing bidding war.
      That is because the 22-year-old is a lifelong “Madridista”, even though his rep and father are big Barcelona fans.
      However, Kvaratskhelia remains focused on the Partenopei amid a stunning campaign for Luciano Spalletti’s men.
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      Jugheli told Geo Team: “His father and I are Barca fans, but Kvara loves Real Madrid.
      “If I see him in a Barca shirt I’ll be happy, but he’s Madridista.
      “Napoli director asks me not to be in a hurry — Kvara likes everything in Napoli.”
      This comes after Kvaratskhelia’s suitors were handed a major blow in their bid to land the scintillating forward.
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      That is because Napoli will sit down with his representatives at the end of the campaign and offer a deal worth £2.2million-a-season, plus bonuses, until 2028.
      That sum works out at around £42,000-a-week before add-ons.
      The Georgian has been tremendously influential at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with the Serie A giants on course for their first title in 33 years.
      Spalletti’s men are 18 points clear from second-placed Inter Milan and set for the Champions League quarter-finals after winning 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Last 16. More

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      Jose Mourinho ‘BOOS Lazio U14 player and tells Roma kids to feign injury’ at youth derby

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      JOSE MOURINHO was accused of BOOING a Lazio Under-14 player and telling Roma’s youngsters to feign injuries.The Roma manager, 60, has never been far from controversy throughout his 23-year managerial career.
      Jose Mourinho reportedly got himself involved at the Roma-Lazio U14 derbyCredit: Rex
      The Special One posed for a photo with the victorious Roma youngsters
      The Portuguese was sent off for the third time this season on Tuesday night as his side lost to Cremonese.
      And Italian newspaper Il Messaggero via Corriere della Sera report he was causing further problems two days earlier at Sunday’s youth Rome derby, which he watched with fellow coaches and some first-team players.
      It is alleged Mourinho booed Lazio kid Alexandru Milou from behind the benches as he stepped up to take a penalty.
      He also reportedly ordered the Roma academy talents to dive and pretend they are hurt or cramping in an attempt to waste time while leading 2-1 in the closing stages.
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      A Lazio news site, VoceLAzio, added that Mourinho and senior Roma squad players “assumed an attitude that goes against the lines of respect and sportsmanship” and accused them of “shameful gestures”.
      Lazio are said to be furious with Mourinho’s behaviour and coach Tobia Assumma apparently confronted the ex-Chelsea and Manchester United boss to tell him: “No mister, this is not done.”
      The first-team manager then posed for photos in the dressing room with the victorious Roma rising stars.
      Within 48 hours, Mourinho was in hot water again as he saw red.
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      Cremonese won their first Serie A match in 27 years against Roma, who missed out on the chance to move into the top four and Champions League places.
      And the fiery Special One blew his top at the officials before being sent to the stands after the minnows’ 17th-minute opener.
      However, Mourinho is now considering legal action against fourth official Marco Serra, who is alleged to have told the Roma boss to “mind your own f***ing business” and “go home” during the explosive touchline bust-up.
      Mourinho said: “I am emotional, but not crazy. In order to react the way I did, something had to happen first.
      “I need to understand if I can take any legal action. [Referee Marco] Piccinini gave me a red card, because unfortunately the fourth official does not have the capacity to understand what he said to me.
      “I want to find out if there is an audio recording. I don’t want to get into the fact that Serra is from Turin and on Sunday we are playing against Juventus.”
      Mourinho continued: “For the first time in my career, a fourth official spoke to me in the most incredible way. It was unjustifiable.
      “At the end of the game, I went to speak to them. Piccinini, who was the fourth official in the last game when I was sent off, told me to apologise to Serra.
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      “I told Serra he should have the courage to explain what happened, but he had memory problems.”
      SunSport has contacted Roma for a response to the allegations of Mourinho’s behaviour. More

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      Manager fires incredible blast at Serie A star after hauling him off just 15 MINUTES after bringing him on as a sub

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      TORINO manager Ivan Juric has blasted his own player, Nemanja Radonjic, after hauling him off just 15 MINUTES into his substitute appearance against Juventus.Radonjic, 27, was brought on in the 60th minute with the Turin derby tied up at 2-2.
      Nemanja Radonjic was subbed off 15 MINUTES into his substitutes appearance in the 4-2 loss to JuveCredit: Rex
      Torino manager Ivan Juric put Radonjic on blast after the gameCredit: Getty
      However, after Juve captured the lead for the first time through ex-Torino defender Gleison Bremer, Serbian winger Radonjic was pulled off.
      Radonjic lasted on the pitch just 15 MINUTES and exchanged words with manager Juric as he went off.
      Juve went on to score a fourth shortly after Radonjic’s departure with Adrien Rabiot getting the goal.
      After the game, Juric blasted Radonjic, saying: “There are things I find it hard to understand.
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      “There is a complete lack of respect for this game. You have things to do and you go in and do different things, which means you’re not in it.
      “This guy has ideas and interesting things, but obviously I didn’t manage to make him a soccer player.
      “There’s not much to tell. What disappointed me?
      “One comes in and has things to do.
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      “On the corner kick, in favour you have to do some things and against the others, you have to be present, then sometimes you do well and other times badly, but staying inside the game is fundamental.
      “It often happens that we are not concentrated, today we paid off.”
      Radonjic hit back in Instagram, saying: “Believe in yourself, even when no one else does. God sees everything.”
      The defeat left Torino in 9th while Juve continued their climb up the Serie A table.
      Juve, who were hit with a 15-point deduction, are sat 7th, six points off a European spot. More

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      Newcastle and Chelsea in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia transfer blow with Napoli set to hand wing wonderkid mega new deal

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      NAPOLI are reportedly planning to offer wing wizard Khvicha Kvaratskhelia a bumper new deal.The 22-year-old Georgian maestro has scored 12 goals and provided 15 assists in 26 games in all competitions this season.
      Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s Serie A stats this season
      And the Italian outfit want to double his salary by the end of the campaign, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
      The news comes as a blow to a number of Premier League sides.
      Newcastle are reportedly interested in his signature following his stunning season so far in Serie A.
      Kvaratskhelia was also linked with Chelsea towards the end of last year.
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      Elsewhere, the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are rumoured to be keen on the winger.
      Gazzetta claim several unnamed Prem teams, plus Madrid, are “ready to pay” up to £88million for Kvaratskhelia.
      But Napoli will reportedly sit down with his representatives at the end of the campaign and offer a deal worth £2.2million-a-season, plus bonuses, until 2028.
      That works out at around £42,000-a-week before add-ons.
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      His current salary is reported by Gazzetta to be around £20k-a-week.
      Kvaratskhelia only joined Napoli from Georgian side Dinamo Batumi last summer for just £8.8m, and his current deal expires in 2027.
      He has helped Napoli to a runaway lead in Serie A, with Luciano Spalletti’s side 18 points clear at the top of the table.
      The Italians are also well placed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League following a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash. More

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      ‘What he said was unjustifiable’ – Mourinho considers legal action against fourth official after red card vs Cremonese

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      JOSE MOURINHO has threatened to “take legal action” against the fourth official after he was sent-off last night.The Roma boss saw red for the third time this season as Cremonese sneaked their first Serie A win for 27 years.
      Jose Mourinho was sent-off for the third time this season last nightCredit: EPA
      The Roma boss has threatened to take legal action against the fourth officialCredit: EPA
      Viewers accused the bawling Roma boss of swearing at match officials in English when he was sent off early in the second period
      Ex-Manchester United and Chelsea manager Mourinho went following a row with the fourth official as Cremonese led through Frank Tsadjout’s brilliant top-corner opener on 17 minutes.
      Italy left-back Leonardo Spinazzola fired Roma level from Gianluca Mancini’s long pass as Mourinho watched from the stands.
      But Tsadjout’s strike-partner Daniel Ciofani fired an 83rd-minute penalty winner – following a foul by keeper Rui Patricio – to lift the home side over Sampdoria at the bottom.
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      After the fiery clash, Mourinho was still raging, particularly with fourth official Marco Serra.
      And now he could land himself in further hot water as he blasted the appointment of the official from Turin for the game ahead of Roma’s clash with Juventus at the weekend.
      The Portuguese coach said: “I am emotional, but not crazy. In order to react the way I did, something had to happen first.
      “I need to understand if I can take any legal action. [Referee Marco] Piccinini gave me a red card, because unfortunately the fourth official does not have the capacity to understand what he said to me.
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      “I want to find out if there is an audio recording. I don’t want to get into the fact that Serra is from Turin and on Sunday we are playing against Juventus.”
      Mourinho continued: “For the first time in my career, a fourth official spoke to me in the most incredible way. It was unjustifiable.
      “At the end of the game, I went to speak to them. Piccinini, who was the fourth official in the last game when I was sent off, told me to apologise to Serra.
      “I told Serra he should have the courage to explain what happened, but he had memory problems.”
      When pressed to reveal what Serra had said, Mourinho refused, saying: “I prefer for everything to be done in public.”
      Victory over a Cremonese, who had also dumped them out of the Italian Cup, would have put Roma back in the four Champions League spots.
      As for Cremonese, they joyfully celebrated their first Serie A triumph since March 1996.
      They returned to the top-flight this season as Serie B runners-up.
      But promotion-winning boss Fabio Pecchia quit for Parma in the summer, with former Lazio and Genoa chief Davide Ballardini replacing him but struggling since. More

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      Paul Pogba makes Juventus debut 315 days after last appearance as ex-Man Utd ace finally overcomes injury hell

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      PAUL POGBA has finally made his second Juventus debut… 315 days after his last competitive match.The Frenchman ended his time at Manchester United by picking up a calf injury during a 4-0 loss to Liverpool last April.
      Paul Pogba was back in action after 315 days outCredit: AFP
      The former Man United star helped his side win the Turin derbyCredit: Getty
      The Frenchman arrives at the stadium ahead of his return to actionCredit: Getty
      He subsequently rejoined Juve, the side the Red Devils paid £89million for his services back in 2016, on a free transfer.
      Ahead of his second debut for the Old Lady, however, he suffered a devastating knee injury.
      Pogba, 29, was forced to undergo surgery on his right knee last September, ruling him out of France’s World Cup defence in the process.
      During his layoff Juve were eliminated from the Champions League, before being slapped with a 15-point deduction in Serie A for a transfer scam.
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      He tentatively returned to training last month and was even named on Juve’s 11-man bench for their 2-0 defeat to Monza on January 29, just to warm up with his new team-mates.
      Pogba has now finally returned to full fitness, and was thrust into tonight’s Turin derby against Torino.
      He replaced Enzo Barrenechea on 69 minutes with the score level at 2-2.
      And his introduction appeared to do the trick, with Gleison Bremer putting Juve 3-2 up just two minutes later, before Adrien Rabiot made it 4-2 with 80 on the clock.
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      Pogba, 29, recently returned to full trainingCredit: Getty
      Ahead of the match, boss Massimiliano Allegri said of his No10: “He’s better, he’ll be called up tomorrow.
      “If there’s a need tomorrow, we’ll put him on, he certainly won’t be able to play a lot of minutes.”
      He then added: “Now, to say that Pogba can be a starter for Juventus after 315 days without playing, (Federico) Chiesa, who has been out for 10 months, is the same thing. We need a bit of patience.”
      On what he expects from Pogba, he continued: “I spoke to him like I do with other players.
      “He has to understand that it’s an important part of the season to get back on track, he has to have all the motivation to do good until the end of the season and give us a hand.”
      Juve went into tonight’s match eighth in Serie A – 13 points off the top four due to their deduction.
      They will soon be back in European action too, being drawn to face SC Freiburg in the Europa League round of 16 after defeating Nantes in the play-off.
      Massimiliano Allegri recently sought to temper expectationsCredit: Getty More

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      Fuming Jose Mourinho sent off for third time this season as Roma lose to side with no Serie A win in 27 YEARS

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      JOSE MOURINHO saw red for the third time this season as Cremonese sneaked their first Serie A win for 27 years.Viewers accused the bawling Roma boss of swearing at match officials in English when he was sent off early in the second period
      Referee Marco Piccinini didn’t mess about as he sent Jose Mourinho offCredit: EPA
      Roma chief Mourinho was just as furious immediately after seeing redCredit: EPA
      What a blow for Roma and Mourinho as defeat kept them out of the top fourCredit: Getty
      Ex-Manchester United and Chelsea manager Mourinho went for dissent as Cremonese led through Frank Tsadjout’s brilliant top-corner opener on 17 minutes.
      Italy left-back Leonardo Spinazzola fired Roma level from Gianluca Mancini’s long pass as Mourinho watched from the stands.
      But Tsadjout’s strike-partner Daniel Ciofani fired an 83rd-minute penalty winner – following a foul by keeper Rui Patricio – to lift the home side over Sampdoria at the bottom.
      Victory over a Cremonese team that also dumped them out of the Italian Cup would have put Roma back in the four Champions League spots.
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      So fans weren’t surprised by the manager’s antics.
      One joked: “At this point, Mourinho has more red cards than his actual players.”
      Another posted: “Jose Mourinho doing Mourinho things. Handed a red card at the start of the second half for abusing the officials.”
      A few observers even claimed they could lip-read Mourinho swearing.
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      Defeat puts extra pressure on Mourinho’s men in the Europa League
      Roma face third-placed LaLiga aside Real Sociedad in the last 16.
      As for Cremonese, they joyfully celebrated their first Serie A triumph since March 1996.
      They returned to the top-flight this season as Serie B runners-up.
      But promotion-winning boss Fabio Pecchia quit for Parma in the summer, with former Lazio and Genoa chief Davide Ballardini replacing him.

      Daniel Ciofani, left, enjoys his winner along with Cremonese team-mate David Okereke to leapfrog Sampdoria at the bottomCredit: EPA More

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      Champions League winner looks unrecognisable as he launches own branded wine

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      FOOTBALL fans have been left dumbfounded after a former Champions League winner announced his new wine venture – but it had nothing to do with his role as wine salesman.The Czech Republic international started his career with Banik Ostrava before earning a big move to Serie A in 2000.
      A former Czech Republic and AC Milan star has launched a new wine ventureCredit: Instagram @jankul18
      The 45-year-old looks completely unrecognisable from his playing daysCredit: Instagram @jankul18
      The ex left winger joined Italian giants Napoli after impressing for his country at Euro 2000.
      He went on to make 51 appearances and scored eight goals during his two-year spell in Naples.
      That led to a stint on loan at Udinese, which eventually turned into a permanent move and three seasons with the Italian side.
      West Ham had been linked with our mystery ace – but he spent three years with Udinese as a host of Europe’s top clubs started circling.
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      Eventually, in the summer of 2005, he was snapped up by AC Milan and he went on to enjoy huge success at the San Siro after converting to left full-back.
      And the pinnacle was undoubtedly the 2007 Champions League final.
      He started in defence for Milan as two goals from Filippo Inzaghi sealed a 2-1 victory over Liverpool.
      The man we are talking about is none other than the now 45-year-old Marek Jankulovski.
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      And he continued to enjoy success at Milan as they lifted both the Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup later that year.
      His performances in 2007 also earned him the Czech footballer of the year accolade.
      Jankulovski and Milan then celebrated winning the Serie A title in 2011 but that would prove to be his final campaign at the club.
      He returned to boyhood club Banik Ostrava that summer but the fairytale comeback ended in disappointing fashion.
      Marek Jankulovski won the Champions League with AC MilanCredit: AFP
      He won 78 caps and scored 12 goals for Czech RepublicCredit: AP:Associated Press
      The Czech icon made his debut against Hradec Kralove in October but managed to play just eight minutes after coming off the bench as he suffered a knee injury.
      That turned out to be his last professional game as he announced his retirement due to injury in February 2012.
      The 78-capped national hero did manage to pull on the boots again 12 months later in front of a packed crowd for a farewell match that had been arranged by the club.
      Jankulovski was employed as a consultant by Banik and also started work in his homeland as a pundit for Champions League matches.
      He was then named as Banik’s sporting director in June 2018 but left the role two years later.
      Now he has a new job away from the pitch as he shared his news on Instagram – and his followers could barely believe that it was him as he looks completely unrecognisable from his heyday.
      Standing in front of a huge barrel of wine and holding a bottle of it, he captioned the snap with: “Italy, wine and football.. Introducing WINE LEGEND – Marek Jankulovski. Many thanks to winemaker Fabio for including me in the selected company of champions for whom he exclusively produces wines. Info on where you can order wine will be added soon.”
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      One response read: “He has aged like a fine wine.”
      While another wrote: “It took me a while to work out who this was.” More