Asian Champions League draw completed

AS Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi on Saturday ruled out a possible move to English Premier League side Arsenal.

The Londoners were rumoured to be interested in signing the 26-year-old but De Rossi claims he has had no contact from the Gunners and has no intention of leaving his home town club.

Arsenal? I haven t heard anything. Roma said I m untransferable and I want to stay here, he said.

If they wanted to sell me everything would change but they ve always shown faith in me.

De Rossi is looking forward to an improved showing from his team in the Serie A title race this season after they finished a disappointing sixth in 2008-09.

That followed three successive seasons as runners-up but Roma looked to have lost ground on the top three in the …

Brisbane Roar midfielder Erik Paartalu has completed his expected move to Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda.

The 26-year-old was virtually unknown in Australia when then-Roar coach Ange Postecoglou signed him from Scottish First Division outfit Greenock Morton ahead of the 2010-11 A-League season.

But Paartalu made an immediate impact, playing every match of the campaign as Brisbane clinched the A-League title for the first time.

The Sydney-born midfielder wrote his name into Roar folklore in the Grand Final of the 2010-11 season, with his 120th-minute equaliser taking the match to penalties.

Brisbane eventually edged the Central Coast Mariners in a thrilling shootout that Paartalu also scored a spot-kick in.

And he backed it up last season,…

Premier League title chargers Liverpool are keeping close eye on FC Rostov striker Sardar Amzmoun, dubbed the Iranian Messi, according to reports from .

Azmoun moved to FC Rostov in 2015 after his loan from Rubin Kazan turned into a boiling transfer affair ultimately solved by the Court of Arbitration.

Having scored 16 goals in 22 appearance for his country, this 21-year-old is enjoying a terrific run of form at his club which has extended to his team’s Champions League appearances as well, with Azmoun getting his name on the score sheet against Atletico Madrid last week.

The likes of Everton and Stoke City have already been alerted by the Iranian international’s glowing form, whereas Liverpool have joined the race upon the appointment of their new sporting …

Robert Lewandowski made history with his maiden hat-trick for Barcelona against Viktoria Plzen, becoming the first player to hit Champions League trebles for three different sides.

The Poland international found the target twice in the first half at Camp Nou on Wednesday, with Franck Kessie and Plzen s Jan Sykora also netting in a frantic opening 45 minutes.

Lewandowski capped a scintillating performance with his third after 67 minutes, firing a 20-yard finish past Jindrich Stanek after a neat interchange with Ferran Torres, who then struck to seal a 5-1 victory for Barca.

The latter strike for Lewandowski made him the first player to ever score Champions League hat-tricks for three different teams, having previously hit trebles for Bayern Munich (four) and Bo…

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has announced he intends to run for office once more in 2016.

The 49-year-old, who was first elected to the position in 2010, confirmed his intentions at a meeting of the club s senior board members and believes Barca can continue to flourish under his leadership.

It is my intention to present myself for re-election in 2016, to ask the members to again give us their confidence to complete making good the challenges we still face, Rosell said at a club meeting.

Among us all, we must build the future that Barca deserve, we must keep being a club that stand out for their style of play, their management, their values and who are concerned with their country.

We want to keep growing, and we are on a good path. We are full …

Yaya Toure reflected on an unbelievable triumph for Ivory Coast following their dramatic shootout win over Ghana in the AFCON final.

Ivory Coast captain Yaya Toure basked in a career highlight after helping to end his country’s 22-year wait for Africa Cup of Nations glory.

Appearing at their third final in the past nine years, Ivory Coast overcame Ghana 9-8 in a remarkable penalty shootout following 120 goalless minutes.

Goalkeeper Boubacar Barry was his country s unlikely hero, saving two spot kicks and netting the decisive penalty having only started the game due to a thigh injury sustained by Sylvain Gbohouo.

Toure looked on as new Manchester City team-mate Wilfried Bony and Junior Tallo missed his side s first two penalties, with a repeat of their …

Ansu Fati said he still finds himself doubting whether his breakthrough season at Barcelona is all real or not after scoring a match-winning brace in Sunday s 2-1 victory over Levante.

Fati, 17, emerged at the start of the season and impressed with his performances for LaLiga champions Barca, despite being so young.

Injuries contributed to a slight decline in form towards the end of 2019, while recent displays left a lot to be desired, but he appeared to be back to his best against Levante.

Fati scored both of Barca s goals, with Lionel Messi setting each of them up, and generally caught the eye as a creative force as well.

In scoring his goals, Fati became the youngest player to net a LaLiga brace this century and he is struggling to comprehend the life …

Newly-promoted Hull City have agreed a fee with Birmingham City for defender Curtis Davies.

The 28-year-old centre-back will return to the Premier League for the first time since 2010 when he featured for Aston Villa, subject to personal terms and a medical.

Birmingham manager Lee Clark has no concerns the deal will not go through, and he told Sky Sports News: We ve agreed terms with Hull City.

Obviously Curtis and his advisor will be trying to do the same on a personal level.

Then he will be going through a medical and that will probably be a formality because he played numerous games for us last season and has got a good appearance record over the past year.

If the signing is completed, it will mark the second of the summer transfer window for Steve Bruc…

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe lead the nominees for the Best FIFA Men s Player award, but Neymar and Paul Pogba have not made the shortlist.

Neymar finished third in the voting last year but, despite winning four domestic trophies with Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Barcelona, an underwhelming World Cup on his return from a fractured foot saw the Brazil superstar omitted.

Pogba shone at Russia 2018 as France won the World Cup for the first time in 20 years, but the Manchester United midfielder did not follow international team-mates Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Raphael Varane on to the list.

Varane is the only defender included, alongside his Real Madrid colleague Luka Modric the World Cup s Golden Ball winner.

Mohamed Salah s st…

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists the Premier League is still the best in Europe even though there will be no English clubs in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2003.

With Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal already out, United s quarter-final exit on away goals against Bayern Munich on Wednesday ended England s interest in Europe s elite club competition at an unusually early stage.

After dominating the Champions League for much of the last decade, the Premier League s big four could be on the verge of surrendering their supremacy as some of Europe s other superpowers grow increasingly influential.

From the 2003-04 season until this term, at least one Premier League club had made it to the last four and the division had prov…