Reports suggest Barcelona are hoping to capitalise on Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet's dissatisfaction after his club signed Alisson last week.

25-year-old Alisson became the most expensive goalkeeper of all time after the Merseyside club agreed a fee of £66.8 million with Roma, and is expected to become Liverpool's new number one.
Mignolet, 30, is unlikely to want to become third choice at Liverpool and is said to have been listed as a target for La Liga giants Barcelona, as the Catalan club look towards a future without Jasper Cillessen.

According to Marca, the list of keepers Barcelona hope could challenge Marc-Andre ter Stegen's top sport also includes the likes of Koen Casteels from Wolfsburg and Yann Sommer of Borussia Monchengladbach.
Mignolet was included in Roberto Martinez's Belgium squad at this summer's World Cup, but was second choice to Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois.

Neymar has quashed reports about his future by insisting he will remain at Paris Saint-Germain next season.

The Brazilian has been linked with a return to La Liga with Real Madrid, who are chasing a high-profile recruit after selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus.
However, the £198 million world record signing says he is committed to the project in the French capital. He told Fox Sports:

"I'll stay. I have a contract with PSG and I've chosen to be there for the challenge, for new things and higher goals I won't change my mind about it. I hope we can have a successful season, with new silverware, too. The press enjoys creating rumours, but everyone knows how much I care about PSG."
Neymar had a frustrating World Cup as histrionics and play-acting cast him as a villain in Russia. He scored two goals and assisted another as Brazil crashed out in the quarter-finals to Belgium.
But he is already looking forward to linking up with club team-mate Kylian Mbappe, who played a starring role as France lifted the trophy.

"He's a phenomenon, a great player. We knew that for a while, I am with him on a daily basis and know just how much quality he has. I'm very happy for him for the World Cup, for the title," Neymar said.

"I believe he can also fight [to be one of the best players in the world] in the next few years. It'll be nice to meet him again, we've been talking daily, even during the World Cup."
PSG reclaimed the Ligue 1 title last season, although Neymar missed the end of the campaign with a fractured metatarsal.

The French giants now hope to improve their record in the Champions League, having bowed out in the last 16 in the past two seasons, with legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon recruited to add resolve to their backline.

Neymar added: "It'll be an honour to share the dressing room with a goalkeeper as great as Buffon, for his history and for the person he is. He has a lot to offer us, lots of experience."

Daley Blind has rejoined Ajax from Manchester United for 16 million euros (£14 million), prompting the 33-time Dutch champions to spoof England’s football anthem ‘Three Lions’.

Blind, 28, swapped the Amsterdam Arena for Old Trafford in a similarly-priced deal in 2014.
However, he made just seven Premier League appearances last season as he drifted from Jose Mourinho’s first-team plans.

His lack of football is clearly not a concern for Ajax, who tweaked Baddiel and Skinner’s anthem to include the lyrics "Daley’s coming home", "Three stars on a shirt" and "Frank de Boer still gleaming" in his unveiling video.
"To play for the biggest club in the world with such a history meant a lot to me," Blind, capped 54 times by the Netherlands, wrote on Twitter.

"I want to thank everyone, the managers, coaches, the medical department, everyone who helped me to settle in so quick at the beginning, of course my team mates and last but definitely not least the fans."
Ajax have not won the Eredivisie title since 2014.

Liverpool are on the verge of breaking the transfer record for a goalkeeper after agreeing a €75 million (£66.9m) fee with Roma for Alisson, according to multiple reports.

The Reds are now expected to hold talks with the Brazil international.
Liverpool are chasing a new stopper after Loris Karius’ double howler cost them in the Champions League final in May – although doctors later stated he had concussion – while he dropped another clanger in a preseason friendly with Tranmere last week.

Understudy Simon Mignolet is also no stranger to errors, with Jurgen Klopp ready to end the club’s defensive woes and add another reinforcement following last season’s acquisition of Virgil van Dijk – also a world record deal, for a defender, at £75m.
Strangely, he only has one full season at the highest level under his belt at Roma – with Wojciech Scenczny preferred in goal in 2016-17 – while he leaked seven goals to Liverpool in their thrilling Champions League semi-final.

Should the deal go through, it would surpass the €52 million Juventus paid Parma for Gianluigi Buffon back in 2001.

On Wednesday evening it was reported that Alisson will undergo a medical with Liverpool on Thursday ahead of signing a six-year contract.

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been ruled out for the season with manager Jurgen Klopp admitting it will be a "bonus" if he plays any competitive minutes in the upcoming campaign.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, 24, sustained multiple knee ligament damage during the win over Roma in April that saw his knee give away under a challenge from Aleksandar Kolarov.

He was immediately ruled out of the Champions League final and the World Cup, but no further detail was given.

However Klopp has now revealed that the club and player knew of the injury's severity straight away but at the player's request the information was withheld from the public as Oxlade-Chamberlain didn't want the news to disrupt his club and international team-mates.
Now the club have decided to come forward ahead of the new season to avoid any further speculation as to his status, also revealing that Oxlade-Chamberlain had surgery shortly after he suffered the injury initially.

"It feels like now is an appropriate time to tell people that for Ox this coming season will be about focusing on recovery and rehab,” Klopp said.
“We have known this from pretty much the day after he got the injury and after the successful surgery, we were sure of it. I hope everyone treats this information responsibly. There has been no change, no setback – it’s exactly on the schedule we expected and planned for. The new information is that we’re now giving more detail publicly.

" It is typical of Ox that he didn’t want the news to overshadow the end of the season and, to be quite honest, we thought we could wait and tell people at an appropriate time."
“His surgery – which he had on the day of our second leg in Roma – has been completely successful and his recovery has started superbly well.

" But the truth of the matter is that we are preparing this season knowing he will not be with us on the pitch for competitive matches for the majority of it. If we do see him back this season it will be a bonus."
Liverpool have strengthened their midfield options with Naby Keita and Fabinho both joining in the off-season.

Klopp added that Oxlade-Chamberlain agreed with the club's approach to his recovery.

“It is so important – because of how valuable and important he is to what we are looking to do here in the coming seasons – that the focus is on doing this right and not rushed. Ox is completely on board with this approach," said Klopp.

“He is such an outstandingly good person and someone who even when not playing is integral to the heartbeat of Melwood.

“I cannot wait to have him back with us for matches, but we will wait for him and we will show the patience that is required to make sure he comes back ready to continue where he left off: as one of the most outstanding performers in European football in that moment.”

Gareth Bale is set to become the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid after the Portugal striker's £100m move to Italian champions Juventus.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho remains keen to land the Welsh forward, but new Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui is apparently set to hold talks with Bale, according to the Guardian.

29-year-old Bale will apparently seeks reassurances that he is in the frame for a regular starting spot having dropped down the pecking order under Zinedine Zidane last season.Bale joined Madrid from Tottenham for £85.3m five years ago, but finally has a chance to stamp his own authority on the team with Ronaldo departing for Juve.

Bale scored for Madrid as a substitute against Liverpool in their 3-1 win in the Champions League final in May.

More than 300,000 Croats in red and white chequered shirts and scarves poured onto the streets of the capital Zagreb on Monday to welcome home the national soccer team after their run all the way to the final at the World Cup in Russia.

Despite losing to France in Moscow on Sunday, Croatia achieved their best-ever World Cup result, surpassing the third place won 20 years ago at the World Cup in France. "They lost the final, but won the world," was a headline in the Jutarnji List daily.

The team's success in Russia brought evident joy to the small Balkan nation of four million people, and the celebration was broadcast live on national television from the moment the plane from Moscow neared Zagreb airport.

In honour of the team, the plane was escorted by two fighter jets after entering Croatian air space. Upon landing, water cannons created an arch of water that the plane taxied through, and a red carpet was rolled out for the players.
The team rode an open-topped bus towards the city centre through streets swamped with tens of thousands of cheering fans. But after a four-hour ride the bus stopped around a kilometre from the central square as it could not get through the crowds.

More than 100,000 people were waiting for hours in the square, chanting and waving welcome banners and national flags.

"Marry me, Rebic", one of the banners told Croatian forward Ante Rebic.

"We must use this opportunity to build on it, improve our soccer infrastructure and try to be even better," said Robert Prosinecki, a former Croatia midfielder who won the bronze medal in France in 1998, at the celebrations in central Zagreb.

ON THE SAME TOPIC

Liverpool have boosted their attacking options with the signing of Switzerland forward Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City on a long-term contract, the Premier League club said on Friday.

The details of the deal were not disclosed but local media said Shaqiri had joined on a five-year contract after Liverpool paid his £13.5 million release clause.

“It’s a huge club with big history, big players and a fantastic coach (Jurgen Klopp). So I’m really glad and happy to be here," Shaqiri, 26, said on the Anfield club's website Liverpoolfc.com.

Shaqiri started all of Switzerland's games at this year's World Cup, where they lost to Sweden in the last 16, and has scored 21 goals in 74 games for his country, including a last-minute winner against Serbia in the group stage in Russia.
The talented Swiss playmaker is Liverpool's third signing in the transfer window so far after the arrival of AS Monaco midfielder Fabinho and Naby Keita from RB Leipzig.

“He (Shaqiri) is someone who makes a big difference to the squad and team, because he can fit in so many positions in our system. He gives us greater flexibility in how we can use our current players also," said Klopp.
Shaqiri began his career with FC Basel and joined Bayern Munich in 2012, spending 2-1/2 years at the Bundesliga giants before a six-month spell with Inter Milan.

He won league titles in Switzerland and Germany plus the Champions League with Bayern in 2013.

“I know him well from his time in Switzerland and especially Germany – I have been a long-time admirer," added Klopp.

" But the added bonus now is that he knows the Premier League and what it takes to perform in this uniquely intense environment. He also did really well at the World Cup – so he comes to us full of belief and confidence."
Shaqiri joined Stoke in 2013 and scored 15 goals in 84 league games over three seasons at the Midlands outfit, who were relegated from the top flight last season.

“As a player you always want to be on the biggest stage in football. A few years ago I wanted to come too but it didn’t happen," added Shaqiri, who was linked with Liverpool in 2014 when Bayern reportedly blocked a move.
"I’m really happy that now I’m finally here. I want to improve myself too, I want to be with the best and I want to win titles. That’s what I’m here for.”

Chelsea have completed the much-anticipated appointment of Maurizio Sarri as the club's new manager following the departure of Antonio Conte.

Sarri arrives at Stamford Bridge after three impressive years at Italian club Napoli, but will take over at a club facing an uncertain future at boardroom level following Roman Abramovich's UK visa issues.
In a statement released on the club's official website, Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said:

" We are delighted to welcome Maurizio and are looking forward to him bringing his football philosophy to Chelsea. Maurizio’s Napoli side played some of the most exciting football in Europe, impressing with their attacking approach and dynamism, and his coaching methods significantly improved the players at his disposal. He has plenty of experience in Serie A and the Champions League and we know he is relishing the chance to work in the Premier League."
The Chelsea job will be Sarri's first outside of Italy in a managerial career that has spanned 13 years and eight clubs, but the tactically-savvy coach says he is excited about the challenge:

" I am very happy to be coming to Chelsea and the Premier League. It is an exciting new period in my career. I look forward to starting work and meeting the players on Monday ahead of travelling to Australia, where I will be able to get to know the squad and begin our match action. I hope we can provide some entertaining football for our fans, and that we will be competing for trophies at the end of the season, which is what this club deserves."
Sarri has signed a three-year contract and his first Premier League game will be away at Huddersfield Town on August 11 - the opening Saturday of the season.