Barca president Laporta ´convinced´ Messi will remain at Camp Nou

Defender Philipp Lahm s late strike put three-times European champions Germany in Sunday s Euro 2008 final and sealed a 3-2 win to knock out injury-ravaged Turkey on Wednesday night.

Lahm s 90th minute goal made sure Vienna will be Germany s final destination after Turkey s Semih Senturk had forced an equaliser just four minutes from time to make it 2-2 to set up another dramatic finish.

Germany striker Miroslav Klose had nudged his side into the lead on 79 minutes after Bastian Schweinsteiger s first-half goal had cancelled out Ugur Boral s early strike as Turkey had taken a shock lead.

This was Germany s first win over Turkey since May 1992 and Fatih Terim s battered side used their never-say-die spirit forced the Germans to work hard.

It is an imm…

There was mixed news for the New York Red Bulls on Saturday as Thierry Henry scored the winner before limping off injured against New England.

Henry scored his ninth goal of the season in the seventh minute of the match to give New York a 1-0 win over the Revolution, but hobbled from the pitch just 14 minutes later with a hamstring injury in a big blow for the side.

Connor Lade s curling ball forward was in the perfect position for Henry to rush past his mark and leave Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis stranded as the Frenchman chipped his first touch into New England s goal.

The injury came in the 23rd minute, with Henry hitting the ground despite no contact and leaving the match with what the club is reporting as a right hamstring strain.

Meanwhile, the …

Mikel Arteta has hailed the pre-season performances of William Saliba following Arsenal s 4-0 drubbing of London rivals Chelsea in the Florida Cup.

Saliba returned to the north London side following the conclusion of an impressive loan stint with Marseille and, three years after splashing the cash to land him from Saint-Etienne, now looks set for an entry into the first-team.

Questions had been raised whether Saliba would remain at the club for the 2022-23 season, given the strong partnership of Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White, but Arteta s praise suggests he has a place for him within the squad.

I am really pleased to see the way he is playing, the way he has adapted to the team, the maturity that he s shown at 21-years-old, carry on doing it, he said after the…

Bayern Munich have announced the signing of Hoffenheim goalkeeper Tom Starke.

The Bavarian giants had been looking for a new understudy to Manuel Neuer since Hans-Jorg Butt announced that he will hang up his gloves at the end of the season.

Neither club has disclosed the details of the transfer, with Bayern stating only that the 31-year-old has signed a contract until 2015.

This is the best club in Germany and one of the three best in the world, Starke told Bayern s website.

It is a great honour to be called by one of those clubs. I am very proud, and I feel it is the confirmation of my good performances in recent years.

My time at Hoffenheim came to a very abrupt end, so I first had to seriously ask myself if I was prepared to accept second-c…

Marco Silva praised the performance of his players as Everton maintained their Europa League hopes with a 2-0 win over Burnley.

An own goal from Ben Mee and Seamus Coleman s strike inside the first 20 minutes proved enough for the Toffees, who move to within a point of seventh-placed Wolves having played a game more.

Everton has won five of its past seven Premier League games to end the 2018/19 season on a high after speculation over Silva s future earlier in the season.

Those seven games have yielded six clean sheets and Silva believes things are coming together nicely, but there is still plenty to work on despite the pleasing improvements.

It was a very good performance. The first 30 minutes was fantastic. We played offensive football with quality and …

Having already secured the signatures of two South American stars – Brazilian magician Philippe Coutinho and Colombian talent Yerry Mina – Barcelona are set to add another high-rated prospect from this continent.

Catalan giants are reportedly closing in on the 18-year-old EC Vitoria starlet Luan who’s been one of the biggest revelations in the Brasileirao this season.

Luan scored five goals in just two matches in the youth Copa Sao Paulo de Futebol Junior, having previously turned plenty of heads with his scintillating displays for Brazil during 2017.

EC Vitoria talent is available for as little as €12.5 million which is understood to be a bargain deal for a player of his calibre and vast potential.

claims Barcelona have already held meeting wit…

Sky Sports is reporting that Premier League outfit Swansea are readying January bid for Anderlecht striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The Swans need to act quickly as their star forward Wilfried Bony is expected to complete a big money move to Manchester City in the coming days.

And with Frenchman Bafetimbi Gomis the only other recognized striker in the squad, Swansea appear to be hot on the trail of Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The 20-year-old has already shown a great deal of potential and he has been scoring goals for fun ever since he left FK Partizan Belgrade to join Anderlecht in the summer of 2013.

Mitrovic has so far bagged 26 goals in 52 league outings for the Belgian giants, while netting two times in this year s Champions League.

The…

France coach Didier Deschamps insists he has no regrets over his decision to leave Samir Nasri out of his FIFA World Cup squad.

The Manchester City midfielder was among the more high-profile players to be left out of the French party, although his omission was not altogether unexpected.

Nasri, handed a three-match ban by the French Football Federation for an outburst at journalists during Euro 2012, said he was mentally prepared for the snub, with Deschamps stating he did not see the 26-year-old as a first-team player for France .

While Deschamps acknowledged Nasri had been in fine form for his club helping City clinch the Premier League title he hinted other reasons were behind his absence.

I watched his matches (for City). He has a level of performance for hi…

Antonio Conte hit back at criticism of his Inter side and claimed mistakes from officials also contributed to their Champions League exit after a goalless draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Nerazzurri crashed out of Europe on a wet Wednesday at San Siro as Real Madrid and Borussia Monchengladbach advanced to the round of 16 following a 2-0 win for Zinedine Zidane s side.

Lautaro Martínez hit the crossbar early on and missed several other chances, while Alexis Sanchez s powerful stoppage-time header struck Romelu Lukaku when it may have been heading for the back of the net.

That summed up Inter s night, which ended with them finishing bottom of Group B and Shakhtar having to settle for a Europa League spot.

It is the first time the Serie A side have come …

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag insisted his defence was not to blame for their opening-day defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford.

The Seagulls found themselves 2-0 up at half-time after Pascal Gross scored a first-half brace.

Ten Hag had opted to leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench due to a lack of fitness, but brought him on in the second period to positive effect and an Alexis Mac Allister own goal set up a tense finish.

Brighton held on though for their first ever away win at Old Trafford, condemning Ten Hag to defeat in his first competitive game in charge of the Red Devils.

However, the former Ajax boss refused to blame his backline for the defeat, telling reporters:  It wasn t the defending. We defend as a team and we made …