Edinson Cavani
is prepared to ask Paris Saint-Germain to lower their £50million asking
price in order to force a move through to Arsenal, report the Express.
In recent weeks, the Uruguayan star has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with his priorities being a London club.
Despite publicly announcing his desire to stay in France, reports suggest that he is desparate for a move to Arsenal and will demand that the deal goes through in January.
Arsene
Wenger has confirmed that the finances are available should Arsenal
want to make a signing in January, however fans are expecting a defender
or a defensive midfielder as priority. Liverpool and
Manchester United have also been linked with a move for the 27-year old,
however it is believed that Cavani prefers the prospect of linking up
with the likes of Alexis Sanchez at the Emirates.
It is not yet
disclosed what fee Cavani will request, however should the opportunity
arise, it is very possible Arsenal could get their man.
Manchester City
have reportedly met with representatives of Juventus midfielder Paul
Pogba in attempts to sign the player as a replacement for Yaya Toure,
report Manchester Evening News.
Since leaving local rivals Manchester United
for Serie A side Juventus in 2012, the French midfielder has often been
linked with a return to the Premier League, with Manchester City as
favourites.
The 21-year old has since become one of the best
central midfielders in the game, securing a place on the shortlist for
the 201 Ballon d'Or World XI.
City are confident of escaping
Financial Fair Play sanctions, despite the player being priced just
under £47million, as they expect to break even in 2015. Manuel Pellegrini is making Pogba his priority as it becomes increasingly likely that Yaya Toure may be playing his last season in Manchester.
Pogba
is as close to a like-for-like swap with Toure as you can get, with the
Frenchman often being labelled the 'Young Yaya Toure'.
Luis Enrique believes Barcelona can feel confident of beating Paris Saint-Germain and topping UEFA Champions League Group F.
Barca head into Wednesday's pool finale at Camp Nou knowing only a victory will do if they wish to leapfrog French champions PSG into top spot.
Both
teams have already qualified comfortably for the knockout stages, but
PSG sit a point clear of Barca at the summit with just one game
remaining - thanks in no small part to their thrilling 3-2 win over Lionel Messi and co in Paris in September.
But with
the likes of Bayern Munich and Chelsea having already secured top spot
in their respective groups, Barca and PSG know how important going
through in first place could prove ahead of next Monday's last-16 draw
in Nyon.
And Barca coach Luis Enrique is confident that his
in-form side - who have won their last seven matches in all competitions
- can claim the three points they require from what promises to be a
tense evening in Catalonia.
"I don't know if it is the best
moment to play PSG, but it is certainly a good one," said the
44-year-old, who will be without suspended full-back Dani Alves.
"We
are playing a rival which has made things difficult for us with their
quality, so the clash with PSG is a wonderful, perfect match.
"We
know that any winning result works for us, and we are going to fight
the same way that we have since the beginning of the season."
In order to win Group F, however, Barca need to do something no other team has managed this season.
Following
their 2-1 win over Nantes on Saturday - and Premier League leaders
Chelsea's defeat at Newcastle United earlier in the same day - PSG now
stand as the only team in any of Europe's five most major leagues not to
have lost a game in any competition this term. Laurent Blanc's
side have won 15 and drawn eight of their 23 matches thus far in
2014-15, with last weekend's victory against Nantes coming courtesy of a
brace from former Barca striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
However,
Blanc is well aware that PSG's unbeaten run is set for its sternest
examination yet, and has called on his players to up their game ahead of
their crucial trip to Spain.
"We're happy to have won [against
Nantes], but we will need to improve to get a win against Barcelona,"
the Frenchman, who played for Barca for one season in the 1990s,
commented.
As is the case for any team visiting Camp Nou, keeping
Messi quiet will be key if PSG are to escape with their undefeated
record intact.
That will be easier said than done, though, as the
Barca talisman heads into the game in scintillating form even by his
own exalted standards.
Messi scored a third hat-trick in his last
four appearances in Barca's 5-1 rout of neighbours Espanyol on Sunday,
and was also on target in their defeat at Parc des Princes earlier in
the season.
PARIS,
FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 30: Clement Chantome of PSG and Xavi Hernandez of
Barcelona in action during the UEFA Champions League Group F match
between Paris Saint-Germain FC and FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes
stadium on September 30, 2014 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Share this:
0
0
0
0
FC Barcelona
and Paris Saint Germain will collide in a decider that will determine
who finishes as group winners when the two giants meet in match-day 6 of
the Uefa Champions League tonight.
The kick-off at Nou Camp Stadium is scheduled for 21:45 CAT or GMT+2.
A
team that goes into this encounter under pressure is FC Barcelona who
need an outright win to top the group while Paris Saint Germain can
cement a top spot in Group F with a draw.
The Spanish side Barca are second on the log with 12 points and trail leaders PSG by just a single point.
FC
Barcelona won’t just target a win to finish top and have a favourable
seeding in the last-16 draw, but to get a revenge over PSG, who beat the
Catalans 3-2 in the reverse fixture in Parc des Princes in Paris,
France late in September.
The player who will making headlines going to this match is former FC Barcelona player Zlatan Ibrahimovic,
who played for FC Barcelona between 2009 and 2011. The Swedish striker
will be the main threat according to FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André
ter Stegen.
“We know how good Ibrahimovic is,’’ said the German goalkeeper Ter Stegen, who has played in all five previous Uefa Champions League
matches ahead of first choice goalkeeper Claduio Bravo. “He is one of
the best. We’ll have to be careful with him - and with the rest of their
team! Like us, they are dangerous as a team.
The 22-year old shot-stopper added: “if we play the way we know we can, we’ll win … We want to finish top of the group.
In the team news, Brazilian right-back Dani Alves is suspended for this tie, while Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen are also out with virus and injury respectively.
Lionel Messi is the best player in the world and should win the FIFA Ballon d'Or, according to Argentina legend Javier Zanetti.
Zanetti, capped a record 145 times by his country, has backed compatriot Messi to claim the award ahead of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Barcelona
may have endured a sub-standard year, Messi has continued to add to his
impressive list of personal achievements, becoming the all-time leading
goalscorer in both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
And Zanetti feels the 27-year-old is worthy of another Ballon d'Or gong.
"I'm
hoping that Messi wins it - he's a true great," former Inter stalwart
Zanetti told FIFA.com. "He never stops surprising people: at any given
moment he's capable of improvising with a touch of skill or something
spectacular that can win you a game.
"In my view, he's the best player in the world."
Messi, Ronaldo and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer are on the shortlist for the award.
Real Madrid made it six wins from six in Group B of the UEFA Champions League with a comfortable 4-0 win over 10-man Ludogorets on Tuesday.
The
defending European champions were guaranteed top spot but completed a
clean sweep for a second time in their history after goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Alvaro Arbeloa and Alvaro Medran. Ludogorets saw
Marcelinho sent off midway through the first half and missed out on the
Europa League as they struggled to contain the quality of the Spanish
giants.
Amid early pressure from Real, Ludogorets' slim hopes of
taking anything from the Santiago Bernabeu diminished with the loss of a
man and a goal in quick succession. Marcelinho
– on target in the reverse fixture - handled Raphael Varane's goalbound
header to earn a straight red card before Ronaldo converted the penalty
to move past club legend Raul to outright second in the competition's
record scorers list with his 72nd Champions League goal.
Bale doubled the advantage late in the first half with a header from Toni Kroos' corner before Arbeloa added a third 10 minutes from time with his first goal in over a year.
Young
midfielder Medran added a touch of gloss to a straightforward outing
with a late strike - his first at senior level - as Real eased to a 19th
straight win in all competitions - breaking Barcelona's Spanish record
for consecutive victories.
Having fallen behind early in the
reverse fixture, Real were on the front foot from the off with Bale and
Javier Hernandez threatening with headers in the opening stages.
Isco
was thwarted by a smart Vladislav Stoyanov save 14 minutes in following
Asier Illarramendi's clever ball before Virgil Misidjan tested Keylor
Navas with a curled strike from the edge of the area.
However,
Ludogorets were dealt a double blow 19 minutes in when Marcelinho was
sent off for blocking Varane's header on the line with his hand.
Ronaldo made the visitors pay with a chipped effort from 12 yards to open the scoring and set Real on their way.
Ludogorets
managed to keep Real at bay somewhat after the opener - displaying the
defensive shape that had seen them lose just once in 11 games prior to
Tuesday's clash.
However, the hosts' quality came to the fore
again eight minutes before the break as Bale crashed a header off the
crossbar and past Stoyanov to ease Real into the break two goals ahead.
Making
the most of their numerical advantage, Real continued to threaten
although visiting captain Svetoslav Dyakov went close before the hour as
Navas was forced into an acrobatic stop.
With Georgi
Dermendzhiev's men defending impressively and Real's victory under no
real pressure, chances were at a premium until the latter stages.
Arbeloa
- having already seen a header hit the crossbar - finished from close
range before Medran's deflected strike looped over Stoyanov to give the
20-year-old his first goal for the club on his Champions League bow.
Is Rihanna pregnant? According to reports, the
singer is expecting her first child with Drake, and is said to be
“happy” about the pregnancy. According to the International Business Times, there isn’t too much evidence to go on, aside from a report by MediaTakeOut which claims that not one, but two sources have confirmed the news, adding that Rihanna is going to release a song to make the announcement.
“The report notes that Rihanna is ‘extremely happy about having a
baby.’ It is said that she found out that she is pregnant only a ‘few
days ago.’ As disclosed by one of their unnamed sources, the song talks
about the ‘baby growing inside me.’ Furthermore, during her rumoured
pregnancy, Rihanna is taking some precautions. She has reportedly
‘banned all weed smoking inside the studio’ while she is working on her
music,” reports the International Business Times.
If Rihanna is pregnant, she won’t be able to hide it for very long.
While some people aren’t putting too much stock in the rumors, others
have already put her on “bump watch.”
As for Drake being the rumored child’s father, well, that’s just another rumor. According to Celebrity Dirty Laundry, RiRi’s maybe-baby could have been fathered by someone else,
because no one really knows who she has been dating… since most people
believed that she was single — and maybe she is. Things happen. Chris
Brown’s name has even been thrown into the maybe-baby daddy mix, though
many feel as though he’d be the least likely father.
“The popular theory on social media is that it may be rapper Drake,
Rihanna was romantically linked to him earlier this year. The singer was
also spotted out on dates with Cliff Dixon this summer, they alleged
met through mutual friend and rapper Big Sean,” reports Celebrity Dirty Laundry.
Rihanna hasn’t been hit with pregnancy rumors hardly at all, which
could by why people seem to be falling for them this time. As previously
reported by the Inquisitr, RiRi has been focused on her new albumR8which
she has been recording in SoHo (New York). She has been very quiet in
general, not giving too much away about her music — or her life. She
seems to have scaled back a bit, to really stay committed to her career,
but that could also be because she’s expecting… that is, if you believe
any of the rumors.
Do you think RiRi is having a baby?
[Photo courtesy of Billboard]
