Gimnasia Lure's Ronaldinho Out Of Retirement

Argentine legend and Gimnasia Boss Diego Maradona is hoping to convince Ronaldinho out of retirement to join his Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata side.

The Brazilian is currently under house arrest in Paraguay as his case has been halted due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Ronaldinho has been contemplating on a comeback to football, but there haven't been any negotiations between the two parties yet, though Gimnasia coach Maradona is hopeful.

The former Barcelona superstar came close to joining Gimnasia in 2016 as the club offered him 1.5 million dollars per year.

However, his brother, who was heading the negotiations, announced that Ronaldinho will not move to the Argentine team.

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Arsenal Keeps Ceballos, Signs Cedric Soares And Pablo Mari On A Permanent Deal

Arsenal have confirmed they are making Pablo Mari's transfer permanent. 

£8million transfer option has been the hit as well as tying down David Luiz to a new one-year contract.

Cedric Soares, the Portuguese international who is still yet to kick start a game for the club despite arriving in January, has also signed a "long-term deal", while Dani Ceballos' loan from Real Madrid has been extended till the end of the current season.

The quartet were due to leave the Emirates Stadium on July 1, with their contracts set to expire next week.

All will now remain, most notably Mari, whose loan deal from Flamengo has been made permanent, and ex-Chelsea defender Luiz, who has found himself under fire from fans after his recent red card against Manchester City.

The Brazilian's one-year option had initially not been taken up by the club.

But with both he and Arteta keen for him to remain, a new deal, on slightly reduced terms, has been cut.

“With Pablo we’re all disappointed he got injured at Manchester City. Since Mikel arrived here he was asking for a central defender who was left-footed.

"We were really pleased with Pablo - his behaviour, the way he is training, his mentality and his quality.

"Unfortunately, he has that injury but of course we are really happy to keep him for the future."

Portugal full-back Cedric, part of their Euro 2016-winning side, arrived in North London from Southampton in January on a free transfer.

Injuries mean he is yet to feature for the club since his arrival, but the 28-year-old is understood to have been handed a four-year contract.

It's hoped he will challenge Hector Bellerin for the right-back spot next term.

“Cedric is also going to be an important player," added Edu. "He has been unlucky with the injuries but he is close to being ready and gives us more strength in the right-back position.

"We’re also pleased Dani will finish the season here.

"He is making a good contribution and we look forward to him having a strong finish to the season.”

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Morgan Recalls How He Adviced Gunners To Appoint Jorgen Klopp Five Years Ago

Under the shrewd managerial competence of Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool lifted their first league title in 30 years after Manchester City's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea left them trailing by 23 points with seven games still to play.

As a result, Liverpool are crowned champions of England, Europe and the world but Morgan was left in dejection at the thought it could have been Arsenal jubilating if they had listened to his advice five years ago.

Klopp was still in charge of his previous side Borussia Dortmund as at that period but had already announced his intentions to leave the German side at the end of the season, thus effectively becoming a free agent in the summer.

Already at that point Klopp was considered one of the biggest managers in Europe having landed back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Dortmund, including a league and cup double in 2012, against a vastly more resourceful and rich Bayern Munich outfit.

'Arsenal would be perfect for Jurgen Klopp - and he would be perfect for Arsenal. Sign him.

'If we don't sign Klopp, he will go to another top club and win trophies. The guy's a dynamic, driven young winner.

'Two league titles in last five years against one of the greatest Bayern sides ever - and some Arsenal fans don't think Klopp's good enough? Wow.

'Klopp would be our Mourinho. The time has come, Arsenal - act. #KloppIN'.

Despite his predictions over his future success coming true, Arsenal failed to act and stuck with Arsene Wenger for another three seasons.

Although they went on to win two additional FA Cups under the Frenchman, they also dropped out of the Champions League in 2017 and have not returned since.

The Gunners now currently sit ninth in the Premier League table with just half the points of Liverpool under new boss Mikel Arteta following the sacking earlier in the season of Wenger's eventual successor Unai Emery.

Klopp spent five months out of the game after leaving Dortmund, before being appointed Liverpool boss in 2015 following the sacking of Brendan Rodgers. The rest as they say is history.

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Ferguson Already Knew Klopp Would End Liverpool's 30 Year Wait - Jammie Carragher

Former and legendary Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson already knew that Jurgen Klopp would be the man to end Liverpool's 30-year wait for the premier league title from the moment he arrived, according to Jamie Carragher.

The German arrived on Merseyside in 2015 after impressing with his games at Dortmund, taking them to the Champions League final and winning the Premier League.

However, he arrived to a squad who had finished sixth the previous season were lacking in quality in vital areas, leading few to imagine the transformation Klopp has managed at Anfield.

'Outside Anfield, there was only one high-profile figure in the game who tried to convince me Klopp could bring the title to Anfield,' Carragher told the Telegraph.

'I should have listened to Sir Alex Ferguson. I will never forget meeting Sir Alex when I played in Michael Carrick's testimonial in June, 2017. "You've got yourself a manager, there," Fergie told me.

'It was the look he gave me which was most revealing, as he explained how impressed he had been with Klopp during Champions League coaching seminars.

'Klopp attended while Borussia Dortmund coach to hear from the most esteemed football minds. He felt, and exhibited, no inferiority complex, and Ferguson intuitively knew he was perfect for Liverpool.'

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Sheffield United Optimistic On Gunning Down Arsenal At The Bramall

Sheffield United Boss Chris Wilder  speaks Ahead of Arsenal's FA cup quarter final trip to the Bramall Lane. 

He recollected Arsenal's legend Nwankwo Kanu's controversial assist for Marc Overmars' goal when both teams met in the competition back in February 1999.

Alan Kelly's clearance was put into touch for Sheffield United striker Lee Morris to be attended to at the other end of the pitch.

Arsenal legendary midfielder Ray Parlour intended to give the ball back with his throw-in as it's the convention but Nwankwo Kanu, eleven minutes into his debut, misunderstood the situation and Marc Overmar's instinctive reaction was to score with ten minutes remaining.

The Gunners coached by Arsene Wenger decided on a sporting solution and offered a rematch which was again won by them.

"There have been a couple of instances against Arsenal in the Cup, the one at the old Highbury ground when Kanu decided to go his own way," the Sheffield United coach was quoted as saying by the Mirror.

"That was quite an interesting afternoon! I was at that game.

I went to a lot of ­Sheffield United games.

"I must have been dropped so many times when I was at Rotherham, ­Bradford and Notts County to allow me to go to all these games!"Games against Arsenal, we’ve had a decent run at it.

They’ve been very, very intense and quite tight.

I’m not expecting anything ­different on Sunday and yeah, it would be great to win this time.

" A two-time African Footballer of the Year, Kanu won the FA Cup three times during his playing days in England.

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Pjanic Medical Takes Place In Turin As Barcelona Transfer Moves Closer

Barcelona star Arthur Melo has arrived in Turin ahead of his medical, while Miralem Pjanic will have his Barcelona medical in Turin as well.

The Brazilian landed at the Caselle Airport in Turin via private plane late on Saturday night.

According to Spanish newspaper Sport, he was accompanied by family members and former Barcelona director Robert Fernandez.

He will complete a transfer worth €70m, as Pjanic is going to Barcelona with an additional €10m cash sum.

It’s believed Arthur’s contract with Juve will be worth up to €7m per year, including performance-related bonuses.

The two clubs are rushing to get the deal finalised by June 30 so that it counts for the 2019-20 financial year.

These players will see out the season at their current clubs, not making the transfer until the 2020-21 season.

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Champions League To Return on August 7 As 'Final 8' Will Be Held in Lisbon on August 12

UEFA have confirmed today plans to end this season's Champions League with a mini-tournament in Lisbon over 12 days in August.

Europe's premier club competition will complete its 2019-20 edition with a final-eight World Cup-style tournament, held in the Portuguese capital, from August 12 to August 23.

After the four outstanding last-16 ties are completed at the scheduled home stadiums, the quarter-finals onwards will be held on neutral territory, with no fans present and, most notably, over just one-leg.

As things stand, teams will not have to quarantine either, with each club are likely to set up in their own hotel away from the public so that social distancing measures can be maintained.

UEFA have earmarked August as the month to complete the competition in order to give Europe's top domestic leagues enough time to finish their respective seasons.

The 'final eight' tournament will be held over 12 days in Lisbon, with the first match taking place on August 12 and the final being played on August 23.

Instead of playing the quarter-finals over two legs as normal, the new plan will see the ties become single games across four straight days.

The semi-finals, which will also be played over one leg, will take place on August 18 and 19, with the final at the Estadio da Luz four days later.

Istanbul was due to host the 2020 final but will now be the venue for the 2021 showpiece, with all other scheduled hosts moving back a year.

The teams already qualified for this season's quarter-finals are France's PSG, Italy's Atalanta, Spain's Atletico Madrid and Germany's RB Leipzig.

The remaining last-16 second-leg fixtures are Manchester City's home tie against Real Madrid, Chelsea's trip to Bayern Munich, Juventus's home game against Lyon and Napoli's visit to Barcelona.

Portugal was picked because of its location and the fact it has no teams left in the competition.

Lisbon emerged as an attractive host city because it has two stadiums with the facilities needed for elite matches - Benfica's Estadio da Luz and Sporting Lisbon's Estadio Jose Alvalade.

In addition, most of the country's coronavirus restrictions are also being lifted this month, with air travel in and out of the country allowed from June 22.

Visitors will not need to go into quarantine on arrival, although additional health and safety measures will be in place in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Organisers are proceeding on the basis that all matches will be played behind closed doors, with only essential personnel allowed on site.

However, UEFA are understood to have left the door open for possible changes should public health conditions in Portugal allow.

If government guidelines are altered in time for ticketing to be organised, there is an outside chance that some fans could be allowed in to watch.

The capacity of both grounds would be greatly reduced in order to comply with social distancing rules and other safety protocols.

UEFA are braced for a loss in income from broadcasters, who will expect sizeable refunds because they will have six fewer games to show as a result of the new format.

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Liverpool 'Consider £110M Move On Wolves 'Generals' Ruben Neves and Adama Traore

Liverpool Boss Jurgen Klopp is determined to keep improving on his squad, eyeing up a swoop for Wolves stars Ruben Neves and Adama Traore.

With Liverpool inches from the title and Jordan Henderson's fingers hovering above the Premier League trophy, the Reds are already looking ahead to a title defence.

A number of departures are likely in the summer with Xherdan Shaqiri and Adam Lallana almost certain to leave, while Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita and Divock Origi's Anfield futures remain in doubt.

Klopp is a known admirer of Nuno Espirito Santo's work at Wolves and in particular his star players Neves and Traore, who Liverpool are considering a £110m move for, according to the Sun.

Traore was described as 'unplayable at times' and 'unbelievable' earlier this season, and has been one of the standout performers of 2019-20.

The Spaniard has finally turned the raw pace and power he's shown since his Barcelona academy days into a terrorising threat for top-flight defenders, bagging four goals and seven assists.

Midfielder Neves joined from Porto in 2017, helping Wolves climb out of the Championship before proving his £16m fee was a bargain in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old could refresh the Liverpool midfield and challenge for a place in the Champions League winners' first XI.

Liverpool restart their march to the title with Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, hoping to secure the title the day after Wolves take on struggling West Ham behind-closed-doors.

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PSG Confirms Edison Cavani & Thiago Silva Will Leave This Summer As A Free Agent

French Ligue 1 giant Paris Saint-Germain director Leonardo confirms ‘Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva will be leaving’ at the end of the season as a free agents.

Their contracts are due to expire and have been linked with numerous clubs, including Cavani to Inter and Atletico Madrid, with Thiago Silva potentially returning to Milan.

“It’s true, we are reaching the end of the road with them,” Leonardo told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

“The idea is to keep them until the end of August so that they can play in the Champions League.”

Cavani is 33 years old and had moved to PSG from Napoli for €64.5m in the summer of 2013.

As for Thiago Silva, the 35-year-old centre-back joined the Parisians from Milan for €42m alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2012.

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Manchester United Offer Alexis Sanchez A Lifeline After Torrid Time In Italy

Former Arsenal and Current loany Manchester United player Alexis Sanchez is set to be welcomed back at Old Trafford next season but may have to settle for a back-up role.

The Chilean striker is currently on loan at Inter Milan, where he has continued his disappointing form in major European football after being exiled at United last season.

The 31-year-old is currently on a £500,000-a-week contract and has two years on his current Manchester United deal.

According to the Daily Mirror, United manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has met with the club's chief executive Ed Woodward, with the club choosing to keep Sanchez in its ranks next term instead of paying off the striker to terminate his deal.

Financial constraints at the club caused by the coronavirus pandemic has forced Manchester United's hand on this matter, though the Chilean is likely to be used as a back-up option next season.

While Solksjaer is happy to include Sanchez in his plans for the 2020/21 season, he is wary of the forward blocking the development of other youngster such as Daniel James and Mason Greenwood.

The 31-year-old joined Manchester United from Arsenal in January 2018 in a swap deal involving Henrikh Mhkitaryan.

He has since made 32 league appearances for the Premier League giants.

He enjoyed a torrid first full season at United, which saw him score just once in a league campaign where he fell out of favour with both Jose Mourinho and his replacement Solksjaer.

He moved to Antonio Conte's Inter at the beginning of the current campaign along with fellow United exile Romelu Lukaku, who joined the Serie A club for £73million, but has yet to pick up his form.

The Chilean has played just 16 games in all competitions since joining Conte's team due to injury problems and stiff competition for places.

Sanchez was a second-half substitute for Inter in their Coppa Italia second-leg tie on Saturday night, which the Nerazzurri drew 1-1 to crash out of the competition.

Before joining Manchester United two-and-a-half years ago, Sanchez enjoyed a goal-laden spell at Arsenal, where he scored 80 times in 166 games for Arsene Wenger's Gunners.

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Barcelona Mount Pressure On Arthur To Accept A Swap Deal With Juventus' For Pjanic'

Spanish giant Barcelona are cranking up the heat on midfielder Arthur to accept a swap deal with Juventus' Miralem Pjanic, according to reports in Spain.

The Catalan giants have taken a heavy financial hit amidst the lethal Covid-19 pandemic, with their players taking hefty pay cuts to support other staffs at the club.

Barcelona and Juventus are continuing to struggle over the transfer fee, with Pjanic reportedly determined to join Barcelona after supposedly turning down advances from Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.

But so far Arthur has refused to move in the opposite direction, and according to Spanish outlet SPORT, Barcelona cannot keep waiting and are now turning up the pressure on Arthur to accept the move to Italy.

The Brazilian came on as a second-half substitute in the club's 4-0 win at Real Mallorca on Saturday, with boss Quique Setien preferring to start with Arturo Vidal, who scored the opening goal of the evening.

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OFFICIAL: PL Approve 5 Subs Per Game & 9 Subs On The Bench

For the rest of 2019/20 season up to five substitutions is to be allowed in every match and team benches will increase to nine players, approves Premier League.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

Premier League Shareholders today agreed temporary changes to the rules relating to substitute players.

For the remainder of the 2019/20 season, the number of substitutes that can be used during a match will increase from three to five players.

This is in line with the temporary law amendment made by the International Football Association Board last month. 

Shareholders also approved for Clubs to increase the maximum number of substitute players on the bench from seven to nine for the rest of the 2019/20 season. 

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Tottenham Records A Positive Case Of COVID19

The Premier League have announced a positive case of coronavirus after 1,197 samples across the fifth round of testing this week.

With exactly two weeks until the top-flight season resumes, numbers of positive cases have remained very low but climb from the zero recorded in the fourth set of tests.

Tottenham have revealed that the individual to have tested positive for coronavirus is a player/staff member from their club.

The individual's name will not be disclosed.

They are currently asymptomatic and will now self-isolate for seven days.

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Chelsea Agree Deal On Timo Werner From RB Leipzig (Sky Sports)

The Blues (Chelsea) have agreed a deal to sign Timo Werner from German top flight club RB Leipzig, according to Sky Sports.

The German international striker has a release clause of €55m (£49.4m) which expires on Monday June 15.

Chelsea have offered a £200,000-a-week deal to Werner, who also interest Liverpool and Manchester United.

He had publicly indicated his preference to move to Premier League leaders Liverpool but they were unwilling to pay the release clause in the current climate.

That allowed Chelsea to move in for their number one forward target, and the 24-year-old is happy to play for Frank Lampard's side. 

His priority has always been to sign for a Champions League club where he can play regularly.

Werner will join Hakim Ziyech, who is joining from Ajax for £33m on July 1, as new additions at Stamford Bridge this summer following their transfer ban being lifted by FIFA in December last year.

Chelsea were unable to sign players last year and opted not to bring in any acquisitions in January, instead focusing on their main targets this summer.

The club are also interested in bringing in a new left-back, with Leicester's Ben Chilwell their number one target.

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Benfica's Zivkovic 'Taken To The Hospital After Attack On Team Bus

Julian Weigl and Andrija Zivkovic have reportedly been taken to hospital after the Benfica team bus was stoned by angry fans, according to A Bola.

The incident occurred after Benfica's first game since the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, when they were held to a goalless draw against Tondela.

The long-awaited return for football in the country appeared to be going well, with touching gestures in stadiums around the league, however the apparent attack on the Benfica team bus ended the day in disgrace.

Reports say that the players were both hit in the face by shards of glass from the bus' windscreen after it was hit by rocks.

The bus was apparently under escort from local police as it returned from the stadium to Seixal, however the attacker has not yet been identified.

They were treated at the club's training centre nearby, and were then taken to Hospital da Luz as a precaution.

With scarves replacing fans and an eagle mascot making its traditional pre-game flight, Benfica were held to a 0-0 draw by Tondela on Thursday, missing a chance to take the outright lead of the Portuguese league in the team's first match since the competition was halted nearly three months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of scarves with the club's red and white colours were placed on the seats at the Stadium of Light to represent Benfica fans as the club returned to action a day after rivals Porto lost 2-1 at Famalicao in their first game back.

The pair of results left the clubs tied with 60 points with nine rounds remaining. Porto had carried a one-point lead from before the pandemic.

The Benfica scarves on the stands had messages such as 'always together' and 'wherever you are.' A big banner with the words 'here we are' was seen above the scarves in one of the seating sections.

Before the match, one of Benfica's eagle mascots flew around inside the stadium in a tradition that happens before every home match.

'It's ugly to play in an empty stadium,' Tondela coach Natxo Gonzalez said. 'I don't get football without fans, but we have to get used to this new reality.'

Needing a win to overtake leaders Porto, Benfica dominated from the start against 13th-place Tondela, creating more than 20 attempts without being able to capitalise. Benfica were denied twice by the woodwork near the end.

'They always played with 10 men behind the ball, it was tough,' Benfica midfielder Adel Taarabt said. 'We kept trying and trying but the ball just wouldn't go in. Of course we missed our fans, but that can't be used as an excuse.'

It was the third consecutive draw for the defending champions, and the second at home. Benfica haven't won in four straight matches at the Stadium at Light in all competitions.

Earlier on Thursday, Maritimo and Setubal played to a 1-1 draw to stay in the bottom half of the table.

Sporting Lisbon played Vitoria SC later on, where photos of fans were placed on the seats in the empty stadium.

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