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Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has hailed Barcelona forward Lionel Messi as the “best player of all time”. Guardiola’s comments come after his side were eliminated from the Champions League via a 5-3 aggregate scoreline in their semi-final against Barcelona. While Messi did not score in Bayern’s 3-2 victory in the second leg on Tuesday, he did play a lovely ...

Kevin Pietersen will not play for England this summer after director of cricket Andrew Strauss said there was a “massive trust issue” between the two. Strauss said Pietersen, who recorded a career-best 355 not out for Surrey on Tuesday, has not been banned from future England action. But, in a 40-minute meeting with Strauss on Monday, he was told he ...

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata believes that finishing in the top four is something his side should achieve every season. United have vitually guaranteed their place in next season’s Champions League following their 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday. But, United now have a chance of breaking into the top three and earning automatic entry into the Champions League ...

Thomas Mueller believes Bayern Munich can make a statement to the footballing world by surmounting their three-goal deficit to beat Barcelona in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal. Bayern left themselves with a mountain to climb in Munich in order to reach the June 6 final in Berlin after losing last Wednesday’s first leg 3-0 at the Camp Nou. Having already turned ...

Schalke have suspended Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sidney Sam indefinitely following Sunday’s 2-0 loss at Cologne. Ex-Ghana forward Boateng, 28, played 59 minutes of the Bundesliga match while Germany winger Sam, 27, was absent. The club, managed by former Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo, blamed a “lack of mutual trust” and told both players they can find new teams. Midfielder Marco ...

Chipolopolo coach, Honour Janza has called on his players not to be complacent with yesterday’s victory over Malawi. Janza says the victory should however build momentum in the players ahead of the COSAFA tournament and Africa cup qualifiers later this year. Janza is however pleased that the team played according to his philosophy of “high pressing” which yielded two goals ...

Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu is on track to be available for the second leg of his side’s Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Mathieu missed the first leg of the tie, which Barcelona won 3-0, due to an Achilles problem. He was also sidelined for Barcelona’s 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday, which saw the Catalans move four ...

Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League qualification were all but ended on Sunday as they drew 1-1 at newly crowned Premier League champions Chelsea in a langourous end-of-season encounter. Both goals were headers scored by former England captains, with Chelsea skipper John Terry’s fifth-minute opener cancelled out shortly before halftime by his Liverpool counterpart Steven Gerrard. Gerrard’s goal prevented him from ...

Ten-man Bayern Munich slumped to a 1-0 home defeat by Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday, a fourth straight loss which has hit confidence ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg against Barcelona next week. Borussia Moenchengladbach all but secured a first Champions League group stage spot by crushing fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, while Borussia Dortmund are eyeing a ...

Real Madrid conceded further ground to Barcelona in the Primera Division title race as they drew 2-2 at home to fourth-placed Valencia on Saturday night. Two goals in seven minutes from Paco Alcacer and Javi Fuego put Champions League-chasing Valencia in the driving seat, while Real’s misery was compiled when Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in a lively first half ...