Milan close to Mesbah deal

Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has agreed a contract extension with Feyenoord and will remain at his boyhood club for another season

Van Persie returned to Feyenoord in January 2018 after cancelling his contract with Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Having helped his club clinch the Dutch Cup with a sublime goal in April’s 3-0 win over AZ Alkmaar, the 34-year-old said he was not ready to hang up his boots and has now officially signed a deal that will keep him at club for another campaign.

The club’s technical director Martin van Geel and the manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst were pleased to tie the experienced forward for yet another year.

Van Persie did well in his return to Feyenoord and is edging towards the finish line of…

Inter readying bid for Moutinho

Inter Milan are hot on the trail of Monaco star Joao Moutinho, Journal du Dimanche has moved to suggest.

The Nerazzurri recently recruited Geoffrey Kondogbia from Stade Louis II for staggering €40 million and they now seem ready to pay top dollar for his former teammate as well.

According to Journal du Dimanche, Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini hopes to lure Joao Moutinho to Stade Giuseppe Meazza, and the Italian side seem to have no problem with the €25 million asking price.

The Nerazzurri will probably offload Fredy Guarin this summer and they want the Portugal hotshot to pull the strings in midfield next season.

Joao Moutinho has been on the radar of Europe s top sides even before he joined Monaco, and ther…

Ronaldinho is currently considering three proposals to return to football, according to his agent and brother Roberto de Assis Moreira.

The two-time former FIFA World Player of the Year appeared to bring his playing career to a close when on September 28 2015 he reached a mutual agreement to depart Fluminense after less than three months with the club.

Now 36, the ex-Barcelona superstar never formally retired from football and made an appearance in the Match for Peace charity game organised on behalf of Pope Francis on October 12.

And he could be primed for a return to the professional game, with Roberto claiming several approaches.

We have three proposals we are considering, Roberto told O Jogo.

Ronaldinho will decide what to do. We are in no …

Paolo Guerrero has been cleared to play at the World Cup following a decision by a Swiss tribunal relating to his drugs ban.

The court in Lausanne has agreed to provisionally suspend the Peru captain s 14-month ban from football while it considers his appeal against the sanction imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

A statement issued by the tribunal confirmed Guerrero, who is Peru s captain, will therefore be free to play at Russia 2018.

Edwin Oviedo, president of the Peruvian Football Federation, described the news as bringing immense joy for all Peruvian people .

What better way to unite the whole country, through news that makes all Peruvians happy, he added in a statement.

Mensaje del Sr. Edwin Oviedo, Presidente de la FPF. …

Second-half goals from Joselu, Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo saw Real Madrid into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 win over fourth-tier Arandina.

Although the final score looked comfortable, Madrid had to be patient against their lowly opponents, who were able to celebrate getting on the scoresheet with a late own goal from Nacho.

Unsurprisingly, Madrid dominated in every department but they had to wait for a 54th-minute penalty from Joselu to break the deadlock, with Diaz adding another just a minute later as Arandina’s resistance finally cracked.

1-3 54 (p) 55 90 +1 90 +3 Nacho (o.g) |

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)

Rodrygo then added a third in the first minute of stoppage time, but Madrid then blotted their copy book with …

Bayern Munich boss Louis van Gaal hopes to reinforce his defence with a new left-side defender. The Dutch coach hopes to sign either Joan Capdevilla from Villarreal or Fernando Navarro from Sevilla this winter.

Van Gaal hopes to bolster Bayern`s back line after a weak start of the season.

They currently sit in eighth place in the Bundesliga, already eight points adrift of leaders Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburger SV, with just three wins from eight games played.

Signing Capdevilla or Navarro won`t be an easy task, considering they both established them self as a regular player for their clubs the last years.

Spanish international Capdevilla joined Villarreal from Deportivo La Coruna in 2007 while Navarro arrived at Sevilla from Mallorca in 2008.

…

Sporting Cristal claimed the Peruvian Primera Division title after they outlasted Juan Aurich in extra time of their third leg on Sunday.

With the Peruvian top flight not using aggregate scores or away goals to decide finals, a third leg was required to decider the winner of the overall championship following Wednesday s goalless draw that left the tie level 2-2 across two matches.

And the third leg at the Estadio Mansiche served up another thriller, as substitute Edinson Chavez s 113th-minute goal gave Clausura champions Cristal a 3-2 win on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.

Chavez, who replaced Maximiliano Nunez nine minutes earlier, came off the bench to help clinch Cristal s first overall championship since 2012.

Juan Aurich the Apertura winners made a …

Uruguay were held to a 1-1 draw with Paraguay on Saturday as their winless run in CONMEBOL qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup continued.

Uruguay finished fourth at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and after winning the 2011 Copa America, hopes were high for the future.

But they might not even reach next year s event in Rio de Janeiro as they failed to win for the fifth competitive match on the trot.

After more than 80 tense minutes at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Liverpool striker Luis Suarez fired Uruguay in front.

Nicolas Lodeiro floated in a ball from the left and Suarez met it emphatically on the volley, thrashing a superb strike into the bottom left-hand corner with just eight minutes to play.

The goal sparked wild celebrations among the home…

Brazil great Pele has offered his reaction to the Chapecoense tragedy, stating for us Brazilians, it is very difficult .

Players and officials from the Brazilian team were among the 71 people to lose their lives when a plane carrying them to Colombia for their Copa Sudamericana final first leg with Atletico Nacional crashed over Cerro Gordo, La Union.

Three-time World Cup winner Pele told ESPN Brasil he feels the nation is in mourning as tributes continue to pour in from around the globe.

It is a sad moment, he said. It makes us sad and makes Brazil sad.

I ask God to give the families strength to get through this suffering as fast as possible.

There are many accidents here on earth. It is sad because they are our brothers.

We must pra…

Bobby Reid and Alex Smithies have signed for Premier League new boys Cardiff City for undisclosed fees.

The pair have each signed contracts until 2022

Reid joins from Bristol City, where he scored 19 goals and provided seven assists in the Championship last season.

He was involved in Bristol s brilliant run in the EFL Cup as they knocked out a number of Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, to reach the semi-finals. 

The forward is now looking forward to his new challenge as Cardiff prepare to try to preserve their top-flight status.

Speaking to Cardiff s official website, he said: I m delighted to be here and to be a Premier League player.

I want to show my high energy and work rate, as well as being creative and working …