Lionel Messi has turned down Barcelona’s offer of a new contract worth between £25m-30m a year.
Spanish newspaper, AS, reports that the 28-year-old wants an improved offer from the club.
Messi’s current deal at the Nou Camp runs out in June 2018 and he has been in discussions with the La Liga champions over an extension for months.
However, negotiations between Messi’s father and agent, Jorge and Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, have not been concluded.
But despite the initial contract rejection, AS reports that a deal is still likely to be struck over the coming weeks.
It is understood that Messi is ready to hold out, especially given the recent contracts given to team-mates Luis Suarez and Neymar
Manchester United have confirmed that the electrocuted Nigerian fans will be remembered at the Old Trafford when they host Swansea in a league fixture on Sunday
Tragedy struck during the Red Devils’ Europa League encounter as Anderlecht as the football fans were electrocuted at Nyagasang, Calabar.
They had gathered at the popular viewing centre when a transformer nearby exploded twice – with a high tension wire dropping on the structure built with zinc.
However, the club has announced that against the Swans, Jose Mourinho’s men will wear black armbands to pay tribute to the victims of the tragedy.
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”The #MUFC players will wear black armbands on Sunday in memory of the seven fans who lost their lives recently in Calabar, Nigeria,” the club tweeted.
United who played a 0-0 draw against Manchester City on Wednesday need a win against Paul Clement’s men to boost their chances of qualifying for next season’s Uefa Champions League.
They are fifth on the log with 64 points after 33 games. Swansea are in the relegation zone with 31 points after 34 outings.
Chelsea midfielder, Eden Hazard, has ruled himself out of the running to replace John Terry, as the new captain of the team.
Gary Cahill has worn the armband in Terry’s absence this season and appears to be the leading candidate to be named skipper ahead of the 2017/2018 campaign.
“I think we have some players who can be more than a captain in this team,” Hazard told Sky Sports.
“When I talk to you at the national team, I do not know if I am a good captain, but I am a captain on the pitch.
“Off the pitch I do not like to talk a lot. In England I think the captain has to talk and make people ready for the games. I am not this kind of guy, I can talk with my feet but it is not my job to talk to everyone.
“I think JT does this, Gary [Cahill], [Cesar] Azpilicueta and even Cesc. They deserve to be captain.”
Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, lost his teeth after his collision with Marcelo in Sunday’s El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Both players jostled for the ball in the 20th minute, with Marcelo appearing to elbow Messi in the face. The incident left the Argentine bloodied and he was given medical attention on the touchline.
Messi returned to the pitch with gauze in his mouth.
Press Association is now reporting that he also had a black eye.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner went on to score in the 33rd minute to make it 1-1, before scoring the winner in the 92nd minute.
The win takes Barcelona takes top of La Liga, with Real Madrid dropping into second place although they have one outstanding game.
Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has explained that he started Zlatan Ibrahimovic from the bench against Chelsea on Sunday, because the 35-year-old is tired.
Ibrahimovic is United’s leading scorer this season with 28 goals in all competitions.
However, Mourinho chose to go with Marcus Rashford, Jesses Ligaard and Ashley as his attacking trio at Old Trafford.
When asked about Ibrahimovic’s omission, he said: “He’s tired, very tired. I’ll try to protect him but let’s see the result. He’s on the bench and ready to help.”
The Swede had also admitted that he was not sharp in their Europa League clash at Anderlecht andagreed with the manager’s criticism
United failed to convert a number of chances, after they took the lead through Henrikh Mkhitaryan. They eventually went on to concede a late equalizer when Leander Dendocker headed past Sergio Romero.
An angry Mourinho faced the media afterwards and ripped into his attackers.
“I think he is right in this matter because I was not feeling good in the sense of I was feeling tired,” Ibrahimovic admitted.
“But it is not an excuse because I still have to do well, I still have to do much more and much better than I did. I speak for myself and [Anderlecht] was not a good performance.
“We have one month to go, it is many games we play. I have been playing almost all the games.
“But we are still grinding, we are still pushing because we have the Europa League and the end of the Premier League. We fight for it.”
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Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are frequent opponents in the later stages of the UEFA Champions League, with 2016/17 marking their 11th such knockout tie in the European Cup.
This first leg is the 23rd match between the two sides, making it the most played fixture in UEFA club competition.
Both teams performed impressively in reaching the quarter-finals, Bayern dismantling Arsenal FC over two legs and Madrid – bidding to become the first side to retain the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era – proving too strong for Napoli.
his is the clubs’ third meeting in six seasons, each having won one of those ties. Overall, the teams have played in ten previous knockout contests – all in the European Cup – with five wins apiece.
Most recently, Madrid – then coached by current Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti – were 5-0 aggregate victors in the 2013/14 semi-finals, en route to lifting the trophy for a tenth time.
Karim Benzema (19) got the only goal of the first leg in Spain against Josep Guardiola’s Bayern, before Sergio Ramos (16, 20) and Cristiano Ronaldo (34, 90) scored twice apiece in Munich to inflict what remains Bayern’s heaviest European home defeat.
Source: Super sport
Mourinho suggested that the Blues were praised for winning with a defensive style, while his United team were not praised enough for trying to attack.
“When my teams are playing pragmatic football and winning matches and winning titles you say that is not nice and not right,” he said after the 1-1 draw with Everton.
“Then my team play very well – and is a huge change to the last two or three years [at Man United] – now you say what matters is to get the result no matter what.
“In this moment we have teams getting results that defend with 11, kick ball and attack the space on the counter-attack… it is phenomenal, it’s beautiful. You have to make a decision.”
Mourinho also explained why he brought on Marouane Fellaini in the second half of the game at Goodison Park. The Belgian gave away a late penalty, that saw Everton equalize through Leighton Baines.
When asked about the substitution, he responded: “I thought you would know more about football than you do, the answer is obvious.
“Everton is not a passing team any more like they were in the past. Everton is a team that plays direct: goalkeeper direct, Ashley Williams direct, Funes Mori direct. Everything direct.
“When you have on the bench a player with two metres [in height] you play the player in front of the defensive line to help the team to win the match.”
Diego Costa, Willian and Eden Hazard struck for Chelsea to fire them to a 3-1 Premier League win at Manchester City on Saturday, cancelling out Gary Cahill’s spectacular own goal in the first half.
Luis Suarez put the Blaugrana in front but they were denied a precious victory late on as Zinedine Zidane's men maintained their six-point lead over their rivals in La Liga
A 90th-minute header from Sergio Ramos saw Real Madrid snatch a 1-1 draw against Barcelona to retain their six-point lead at the top of La Liga after a lacklustre Clasico
The Chile international was the star of the show as the Gunners romped to victory with Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also on the scoresheet for the visitors
Alexis Sanchez scored a 14-minute hat-trick in a frantic finale as Arsenal moved second in the Premier League with a 5-1 victory over struggling West Ham at London Stadium on Saturday.
