Highly rated centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly has signed a new five-year contract at Napoli, according to club president Aurelio Di Laurentiis.
Koulibaly joined from Belgian side Genk in 2014 and swiftly established himself in Napoli s first team, developing into one of the finest in his position in Serie A.
Chelsea have often been linked with a move for him, even before former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri took charge at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester United are also reported admirers.
De Laurentiis even claimed in July the club rejected a €100million offer for Koulibaly from an unnamed Premier League club, a figure he revised to €90m on Saturday.
But the key issue from the Serie A side s perspective is the 27-year-old looks set for a long stay.
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Kylian Mbappe put the furore over his move to Real Madrid to one side as France s fantastic leader dominated in Wednesday s 3-0 friendly victory over Luxembourg.
Didier Deschamps lauded the leadership qualities of star striker Mbappe, who celebrated confirmation of his switch to the Spanish capital with a goal and two assists at Stade Saint-Symphorien in Metz.
Mbappe dazzled down the left flank to find space and tee up Randal Kolo Muani s first-half opener before paving the way for Jonathan Clauss finish after the break.
The France forward was not done there, however, rounding off a fine individual performance with a late goal after an assist from former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Bradley Barcola.
Just 12 days before Les Bleus Euro 2024 opener against …
Manchester United have triggered one-year extension clauses in the contracts of Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot and Fred, Erik ten Hag has confirmed.
With United three points adrift of the Premier League s top four with a game in hand ahead of the competition s resumption, each of the quartet has played a key role for Ten Hag s side.
In particular, Rashford has looked rejuvenated since the Dutchman took charge, leading the Red Devils scoring charts with four Premier League goals this term and netting three times for England at the World Cup.
Rashford s deal had been due to expire at the end of the season, leading the forward to be linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, but Ten Hag has confirmed the 25-year-old is set to stay.
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Lionel Messi s long wait for major international honours with Argentina is finally over after playing a starring role in their Copa America triumph, winning the Player of the Tournament prize before the final was even played.
In the age-old – and some might say tiresome – greatest of all time debate, the stick usually used to beat Messi with revolved around his lack of titles with Argentina, but that is no longer relevant and he also played a vital role for La Albiceleste.
It was also an important barrier that Argentina broke down as a team, winning their first major international title since 1993.
Messi s performances see him lead Stats Perform s Opta data-driven Team of the Tournament, and he is joined by some familiar names as well as those who enjoyed bre…
Cardiff City can boost their Premier League survival hopes against Stoke City by recording back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Victory over Southampton last weekend ended a five-game winless run for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s men, and moved them to within three points of safety.
They host an in-form Stoke side this Saturday, though, with the Midlands outfit having lost just one of their last seven top-flight matches to move them into the comfort of mid-table.
However, five of Cardiff s seven top-flight victories this term have come at home, while Stoke have won just twice away all season.
And Solskjaer, who has overseen three Premier League wins since replacing Malky Mackay, remains confident Cardiff can avoid relegation back to the Championship at the…
Pele leaves a legacy impossible to summarise in words but FIFA president Gianni Infantino believes the Brazil great achieved immortality after his death on Thursday.
Sao Paolo s Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital confirmed multiple organ failure as the cause of death for the three-time World Cup winner, who many consider to be the greatest footballer of all time.
The Santos legend had been battling colon cancer, with his family travelling to join him earlier in December after being moved into palliative care when his body stopped responding to treatment.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo Nazario and Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to the 82-year-old before Infantino joined a plethora of players, clubs and sporting organisations to offer their kind recollections.<…
Vinicius Junior has criticised LaLiga bosses for failing to effectively tackle racism after the Real Madrid forward was targeted at Real Valladolid.
The Brazilian had items thrown at him from the stands after he was substituted late on, and shocking footage of verbal abuse emerged after Friday s game.
Madrid sealed a 2-0 win in their first league game since the World Cup, with Karim Benzema getting both goals.
Vinicius posted a picture of himself with Benzema soon after the away victory, with the caption: God bless us!
Having considered the unsavoury events of the evening, Vinicius added on social media on Saturday: Racists continue to go to stadiums and watch the biggest club in the world up close and @LaLiga continues to do nothing
I will con…
Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm made his 500th appearance for the club in Saturday s Bundesliga clash with Schalke.
Germany s World Cup-winning captain of 2014, Lahm made his Bundesliga debut for Bayern in November 2005 against Arminia Bielfeld, three years after making his first appearance for the club in the Champions League, the pair of formative appearances bookending a two-season loan at Stuttgart.
He has since gone on to win seven Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals and the 2013 Champions League among other medals in a bulging haul.
And yet another milestone was racked up when he replaced Rafinha in the 77th minute at the Allianz Arena.
A regular since his introduction into the first team by Felix Magath, Lahm has worked with eight head coaches a…
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Having both won their respective 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers earlier last week, France and Spain go head-to-head in one of the most glamorous fixtures in international football, which is expected to bring forward an exciting performance despite the lack of competitive importance.
France
Les Bleus might have recorded a 3-1 win over Luxembourg on Saturday, but the display against the tiny nation was far from a convincing one. Luxembourg even went on to score an equaliser to briefly go 1-1 with the Euro 2016 finalists, before conceding two more and ultimately losing the game. Oliviero Giroud scored a brace and Antoine Griezmann scored one goal as well in a game which allowed France to keep their three-point gap in f…
Xabi Alonso has finalised his move from Real Madrid to Bayern Munich.
The German champions announced on Thursday that, following negotiations with both Real and Alonso, the midfielder would switch to the Allianz Arena subject to a medical
A short statement published on Bayern s official Twitter feed on Friday read: Xabi Alonso has completed his move to Bayern!
Contract between FCB and Real Madrid signed.
The 32-year-old, who announced his retirement from international football on Wednesday after winning 114 caps for Spain, signed a two-year extension to his Real contract back in January.
However, he has seemingly been pushed down the pecking order following the arrivals of Toni Kroos who joined from Bayern and James Rodriguez.
Alonso mov…