Month: May 2019

He has been linked with Chelsea and Bayern Munich but the manager is in no rush to find a new job after leaving Juventus

Massimiliano Allegri insists he has no issues with taking a year out from football if the right opportunity does not present itself following his Juventus exit.

Allegri’s last game in charge of Juventus ended in a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Sampdoria on Sunday courtesy of late goals from Gregoire Defrel and Gianluca Caprari.

The 51-year-old head coach has been linked with a number of jobs around Europe – including Chelsea and Bayern Munich – but Allegri said he will not rush into his next move and is prepared to wait for as long as it takes to find the perfect role.

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“When there is an opportunity, I will return to the bench, otherwise I will take a year off,” he told DAZN after the defeat to Sampdoria.  

“If I have the opportunity to choose, I will choose a team that I like. Concrete offers? Still no. Talking about the future now makes no sense.”

Allegri has won Serie A in each of his five seasons at the Allianz Arena and believes his successor will inherit a team significantly stronger than any other in Italy.

With Cristiano Ronaldo back for a second season and another summer of adding to the team, Allegri says Juventus remain the favourites in Italy heading into the 2019-20 Serie A campaign.

“Whoever arrives will find a team clearly stronger than the others,” he added. “There is a 90 per cent chance of winning the league again.”

Allegri has been given a warm send-off by Juve supporters since the decision was announced last week and he is pleased to be leaving the Italian giants on positive terms.

“At the stadium they were all affectionate; on social networks some hide,” he said. “I am a detached person, but the affection has had a beautiful effect and I’m glad I leave with good memories.”

Prior to managing Juventus, Allegri managed the likes of Milan, Cagliari and Sassuolo, and the coach has never taken charge of a team outside of Italian football.

The former Red praised manager despite his limited playing time under the German during a difficult season on Merseyside in 2015-16

Crystal Palace forward Christian Benteke has praised Jurgen Klopp despite the Liverpool manager showing him the exit at Anfield after just one frustrating season.

Benteke joined the Reds from Aston Villa when Brendan Rodgers signed him for £32.5m ($51m) in the summer of 2015.

Klopp replaced Rodgers in October of the Belgium international’s first year on Merseyside and implemented a different tactical approach which reduced the forward to cameo appearances off the bench.

Klopp moved the player on to South London in the off-season, but Benteke insisted there were no hard feelings.

“Klopp is still the best manager I worked with, although I didn’t play a lot,” Benteke is quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.

“He wanted fast players up front. I understood his decision.”

Benteke has not always caught fire during an injury-hit spell at Selhurst Park. He cost the Eagles £32m, their club record transfer fee and has been first choice when fit, but his goal tally has not been what the club expected.

He scored 15 goals in the Premier League during his first season for the club, and was their top scorer.

In the 2017-18 campaign he scored just three goals in 31 appearances, a performance which saw him miss the World Cup that summer.

He suffered a bad knee injury in this campaign and saw his place taken by fellow Belgian Michy Batsuahyi. In all, the Kinshasa-born striker scored one goal in 16 games for Palace.

He has been linked with a move to China recently, with Marouane Fellaini’s club Shandong Luneng Taishan reportedly tendering a £20m bid.

Benteke is keen to return to the Premier League and regain the form that saw him star for Villa.

He scored 19 goals in his debut season for the Villains, which saw him finish fourth in the Premier League goalscoring table.

“I started well in England, I want to finish in style too,” the 29-year-old 30 cap international said.

“I don’t want to run away like a thief in the night. I injured my knee last season and played through pain. I never felt 100% this season.”

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The Gunners defender believes that the focus on his teams defensive errors is unfair, but acknowledges they must be careful in Baku

Shkodran Mustafi has said that Arsenal must avoid the defensive mistakes that plagued their season if they are to beat Chelsea in the Europa League final.

Mustafi was part of the the Gunners back line that conceded 51 goals in 38 matches in the Premier League last season, leading them to finish in fifth place. As a result they must win in Baku on May 29 to qualify for the Champions League.

The Germany international attributed some of the defensive problems to teething problems under new manager Unai Emery, and believes some of the issues have been blown out of proportion.

“[The final] is going to be a game where one mistake punishes you and that’s why we’ve got to be very careful,” Mustafi said in a press conference.

“Our job as defenders is to try not to concede goals, but if you make 90 percent of your job and in the 10 percent the opponent scores a goal, people forget about the 90 percent

“The coach prefers that we make mistakes but still play our game instead of just playing anything so he cannot identify us with the game we were supposed to be playing.

“You want to finish the game knowing you did this, this, this and that is why you won the game. Rather than saying, ‘How the hell did we win that, because we were bad’

“That will not bring you consistency. You are not going to win without an identity and that was how we wanted to play.”

Mustafi acknowledged that his team were inexperienced in major finals, but that their motivation for success was greater as a result.

“In our team not a lot of players have played in a club level final like this, so for us it is huge,” he continued.

“You can tell me what you think, a lot of players, experienced, who have played a lot of finals or a team which is motivated for their first game.

“It depends how you see it, I think it’s more positive when you have no experience because you go there, you are looking forward to win it. For us it’s more positive than negative.

“Winning a trophy is very important because that is what you’re counting at the end of you career.”

The 20-year-old central midfielder suggested that he’d love to play at the Etihad saying he admires their manager’s playing style

Lyon star Houssem Aouar is keen on playing under Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola but is in no rush to leave the Ligue 1 club.

Aouar, 20, recently completed his second full season in Lyon’s first-team, missing just a single league match as Les Gones finished third in France’s top tier.

The central midfielder has been praised for his ability on the ball and his range of passing, with a host of Europe’s top clubs – including Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid – said to be interested in him.

Guardiola is a known admirer, having been impressed with his performance against City in the Champions League this season, and the feeling is seemingly mutual.

When asked by Canal Plus if he would want to play for City, Aouar said: “You wouldn’t like to go to City?

“It is a great European club and all players have this urge to play for the biggest European clubs, which in addition is led by Guardiola, who for me is a reference as a coach.

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“Guardiola has seen everything before. It is extremely good to play his teams and that’s what I like, his way of seeing football.”

Lyon supporters need not get too worried just yet, though, as Aouar does not appear desperate for an immediate move and even wants more responsibility at the club that developed him.

“I’m still under contract with Lyon,” he added. “I would like to leave a mark on the history of this club.

“After this season there is a new direction, a new coach [Sylvinho]. We will have to sit down and discuss the role I can have. I’m ready to have a technical leadership role.

“I’m a technical leader in the field and especially as a leader in the locker room, so there we go, we will discuss and then we will make decisions with the club.”

Guardiola and City are thought to be keen to beef up their options in central midfield to aid the aging Fernandinho.

They have been persistently linked with Atletico Madrid’s Rodri, but Aouar is two years younger than the Spaniard.

It was hoped that Leonardo, Gennaro Gattuso and Paolo Maldini could bring the glory days back to San Siro but they are all now facing the sack

For five minutes on Sunday evening, AC Milan were in dreamland.

Leading 3-2 at SPAL, the Rossoneri had moved above bitter rivals Inter into Serie A’s fourth and final Champions League place thanks to Empoli’s surprise equaliser against the Nerazzurri at San Siro.

Then, Radja Nainggolan’s 81st-minute strike changed everything.

Despite Empoli’s brave bid to level matters – and save themselves from relegation in the process – Inter held on, surviving a succession of near-misses, the most remarkable of which saw Danilo D’Ambrosio divert a cross against his own crossbar.

As the Nerazzurri’s players celebrated one of the most dramatic finales to a season in Serie A history, their Milan counterparts were left crestfallen in Ferrara. They had won their final four games of the season yet it felt like it was all for nothing.

Even their coach, Gennaro Gattuso, a renowned hard-man, admitted: “I slept very little in the last few days and now, mentally, I’m in pieces.”

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Paolo Maldini’s long-awaited return to Milan last August was meant to herald the dawn of an exciting new era for the Rossoneri, after one of the darkest periods in their entire history.

After the chaos and constant uncertainty of the tenure of Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux., American hedge fund Elliot Management had turned to club men to restore order and stability.

“The beautiful thing about today is that we now have myself, Paolo and Gennaro in the sporting sector of the club,” Leonardo enthused ahead of the start of the 2018-19 season.

With the Brazilian serving as sporting director, Maldini working alongside him as sporting strategy & development director, and Gattuso continuing in his role as head coach, Milan had tasked three former Rossoneri team-mates with reawakening one of the traditional giants of the global game.

However, this veritable dream team has been unable to drag the seven-time European Cup winners out of a seemingly never-ending nightmare.

It is now eight years since their last Scudetto; five since they last competed in the Champions League.

The latter drought is killing the club.

In desperate times such as these for Italian football in general, qualification for Europe’s premier competition has never been so important.

It’s estimated that Champions League football would have guaranteed Milan an estimated €50 million in additional revenue next season, a significant sum of money for a club that ranked 18th in this year’s Deloitte Football Money League – which ranks the game’s highest earners – below the likes of Schalke and Everton.

The Europa League, by contrast, offers €20m at most, with the television market pool share a determining factor.

Of course, while Milan have finished fifth, there’s no guarantee that they will even be allowed to compete in continental competition next season.

With the threat of further sanctions hanging over them for failing to meet Financial Fair Play (FFP) targets, the Rossoneri – who were originally banned from competing in last season’s Europa League before launching a successful appeal – are now reportedly willing to cut a deal with UEFA that would see them excluded from this season’s competition.

The thinking is that having failed to meet their primary objection (Champions League qualification) they may as well take the hit of going a season without European football, using that time in exile to try to balance their books.

It is a risky ploy, of course. The only reason Milan made it back into last year’s Football Money League was their run to the last 16 of the Europa League, which played a significant role in their 8 per cent increase in revenue in 2017-18.

European football is that influential for Serie A clubs, given how far they have fallen behind their Spanish and English rivals in terms of commercial revenue and the value of TV rights deals.

As Deloitte noted earlier this year, “The latest domestic broadcast rights sales process delivered an increase of just three per cent for the three-year cycle that commenced with Sky Italia and DAZN in 2018-19…

“Despite the commencement of a new international rights cycle, delivering an increase of 81% on the previous reported minimum guarantees, distributions to Serie A clubs will see limited growth until at least the next cycle beginning in 2021/22.

“Therefore, further revenue increases for Italian clubs will depend on a club’s ability to deliver growth in matchday and commercial revenue streams, as well as success in UEFA competitions.”

Without Champions League football – or, worse again, any European football at all – Milan are going to be hit hard.

Leonardo even admitted earlier in the season that the club’s summer transfer plans would be determined by their final Serie A standing.

“If this Milan finishes fourth, then we will have a major window in June,” the former Brazil international explained.

“However, if the club’s goals are not met, there will be no major signings and the current players on big deals will not be retained.”

His services are unlikely to be retained either, though, and Maldini’s position is also at risk.

Milan have quickly lost faith in both and new Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis, who arrived in December after quitting Arsenal in September, is planning to completely overhaul the club’s sporting staff.

However, Gattuso, who has for so long seemed like a dead man walking, there is still an outside chance he could be granted a stay of execution, given the dearth of proven, top-quality alternatives.

The former midfielder has admitted his frustration at the fact that Milan had their Champions League destiny in their hands for so long – thanks in no small part to a 10-game unbeaten run earlier this year – only to throw it away by winning just one of the six games that followed their demoralising derby defeat on March 17. Indeed, the Rossoneri were in the top four until losing at Torino in week 34.

However, he maintains that, taking the season as a whole, he did a good job with the players at his disposal. Crucially, Gazidis agrees.

“Despite the victory [over SPAL],” Gazidis commented, “we’re quite disappointed at having failed to qualify for the Champions League.

“However, the team fought hard right until the end and I want to thank them for their efforts in overcoming the difficulties we had in terms of injuries and other setbacks.”

Whether Gattuso gets to keep his job remains to be seen but Gazidis does, at least, enjoy a good rapport with Gattuso, who is nothing if not admirably honest.

The former Arsenal man also believes that Leonardo botched Milan’s transfer market last summer, when the likes of Diego Laxalt, Samu Castillejo and Gonzalo Higuain arrived at the Giuseppe Meazza..

Consequently, despite the successful January additions of Lucas Paqueta and Krzysztof Piatek, Gazidis and the World Cup winner have never quite seen eye to eye, which is why Leonardo is now likely to take up a job with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and be replaced at Milanello by Lille sporting director Luis Ocampos.

Given their financial limitations, Gazidis believes that Milan must now focus on youth and unearthing rough diamonds – areas in which Ocampos excels.

In short, Milan plan to start over. Again.

This sleeping giant remains trapped in a seemingly never-ending nightmare.

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Both the Brazilian and Frenchman have continually been linked with moves away from the French champions

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has increased speculation that both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe could be set to leave the French champions.

The two forwards have been linked with moves away from Paris ever since they joined from Barcelona and Monaco, respectively.

Speaking at the Formula One GP in Monaco, Tuchel didn’t pretend that he could hold onto the duo, appearing to suggest that he is powerless to prevent their exits should they decide their futures lay away from the French capital.

Asked about the rumours surrounding the club’s two star players, Tuchel told Sky Sports F1: “I am used to this. Now it is May, the stuff that I say now might not be true next month.”

Neymar has attracted the interest of Real Madrid ever since he left their arch rivals for PSG for a world-record transfer fee of £198 million ($252m).

Mbappe, meanwhile, recently revealed that he was assessing his future options, stating that a “new project” enticed him.

Tuchel, who signed a contract extension with the club on Saturday that keeps him in the dugout until 2021, says that his own project has only just begun.

Frustrations in the Champions League continue to dominate the narrative in Paris, and Tuchel is hoping to convince both Neymar and Mbappe to remain.

“Things are like they are, there is a lot of speculation which means we have a lot of quality and talent,” the former Borussia Dortmand manager said.

“My wish as a manager and as a coach is clear, I want all my players to stay at PSG and stay with our project. The work is not finished, it has just started.

“My wish is clear, but I can’t promise as that would be naïve and I don’t want to be naïve in this business.”

Tuchel, who replaced Unai Emery last summer after his move to Arsenal, won Ligue 1 in his first season in charge, continuing the club’s domestic dominance.

They have won the French league six times in the last seven years, though they are two from equaling Saint-Etienne’s record of 10.

But the club’s European ambitions remain unfulfilled, as they suffered yet another Champions League last-16 elimination, this season coughing up a 2-0 first-leg lead against Manchester United to lose 3-3 thanks to away goals.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists the Blues are being used as a “diversionary tactic on poor investment decisions by other clubs” as he hits back at critics

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has branded La Liga chief Javier Tebas and other critics “jealous”, and insists his side will not be banned from the Champions League or receive a transfer ban as long as investigations into its conduct are “judged on facts”.

City won an unprecedented domestic treble this season but in recent weeks their sporting achievements have had to share the spotlight with allegations of widespread rule breaking and even the policy of the Abu Dhabi government and royal family, given Al Mubarak and Blues owner Sheikh Mansour have strong links to both.

Uefa announced on May 16, two days before the FA Cup final, that it had referred City to its adjudicatory chamber following an investigation into alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations.

Fifa is also probing alleged breaches regarding third-party ownership and the signing of overseas youth players, the FA is examining the signing of young players inside England, and the Premier League is investigating finances, third-party ownership and the recruitment of youngsters. City deny all wrongdoing.

Last week, La Liga president Tebas accused City, and Qatar-backed Paris Saint-Germain, of “inflating the market so clubs have to pay ridiculous sums to keep their players”.

Al Mubarak, who as well as being City chairman sits on Abu Dhabi’s executive council and is an advisor to the royal family, has used an end-of-season interview with the Premier League club’s official website to turn the tables on Tebas and Spanish football’s history of big spending.

“He talks about how we distorted the market? There is a hypocrisy in this statement that is ironic,” the City chairman said. “Number one, let’s look at the Spanish league, the time of breaking records on player acquisitions, I mean, who started that?

“Let’s go back to the world records, [Luis] Figo, [Zinedine] Zidane. These huge jumps in these transfers, where did they happen? You know, the history, you have to look back at the history of La Liga, a league dominated by two clubs, and Mr Tebas should look back at the history of that league and how distortion has happened throughout the ages.

“And then you look back at transfers. In the top 10 transfers of all time, Manchester City has not a single player in that, not a single one. So I don’t really take it seriously and I ask our fans to always put it in context. Always look at facts. And I think people with glass homes shouldn’t be throwing rocks. I’m happy to talk to anyone as long as the conversation is about facts but once we start talking about innuendo and talking about theories I have no time for that.”

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And while he does not expect to receive much sympathy from City’s domestic rivals, Al Mubarak says English clubs should start to take a stand against Tebas’ attacks.

“We have the best league in the world, we have the most commercial league in the world, the most successful clubs in the world, economically, commercially in terms of global presence, and that’s why this attack is not just on Manchester City, it’s against this league. And I hope people start seeing that and start…  I know people don’t want to defend Manchester City, but for God’s sake start defending this league.”

Yet Al Mubarak also rounded on other Premier League clubs, who he suggests have leaked information to the media in a bid to put pressure on the governing bodies investigating the club.

“With success, there is a certain level of jealousy, envy, whatever you call it, that’s part of the game,” he continued. “You know when Manchester United dominated the Premier League for many years, they know what they had to deal with for so many years, that’s part of the game.

“It’s not easy for our competition, we know that; and by the way, the football world is very small and word comes around very quickly so you know, when someone somewhere in a leading position in any club says something, or briefs something, guess what? We know about it.

“The reality is, we didn’t buy the most expensive player in the Premier League, we didn’t buy the most expensive goalkeeper, we didn’t buy the most expensive midfielder, we didn’t buy the most expensive striker, so when people throw that, you know what they throw at us, I go back: let’s look at facts, let’s talk about facts.

“I will not accept for this club to be used as a diversionary tactic on poor investment decisions from other clubs. People make decisions, they’ve got to live by them. We’ve managed ourselves well and we will be judged by facts and facts alone. This is a well-run club. That’s a fact; a well-managed wage to revenue ratio that compares to some of the best run clubs in his league, la liga but frankly in all of European football.”

City could be banned from the Champions League if Uefa’s adjudicatory body agrees with its investigatory body’s finding that FFP regulations have been breached.

The club released a strongly worded statement in light of their referral, criticising the process presided over by chief investigator Yves Leterme and insisting that they are “entirely confident of a positive outcome when the matter is considered by an independent judicial body.”

Al Mubarak strikes a similar tone, stressing that City will not be found guilty by any of the bodies investigating its conduct, providing decisions are based on “facts”.

“Am I uncomfortable? No,” the chairman added. “I respect regulatory bodies doing their job and any regulatory process that asks questions. We have to professionally respond which is what we have done.

“We are dealing with each of these entities as per the process, we have clear answers. I believe, quite comfortably, if the process is going to be judged on facts then unquestionably we will prevail. If it’s not about facts and it’s about other things, then it is a different conversation.

“But I strongly hope that these regulatory bodies will ultimately make the decision based on facts. Now having said that, just going back on this wave that we are dealing with, I think, listen, I’ll be philosophical about this, the reality is we have dealt with this before, with Uefa, this is not the first time we have dealt with it. We are going through the appropriate steps and we’re confident in our position, very comfortable in our position. I’m not concerned about that because facts will prevail.”

The Argentine beat Kylian Mbappe to the goalscoring award, while his great rival failed to make his usual impact in front of the net

Lionel Messi claimed his sixth European Golden Shoe thanks to his 36 La Liga goals for Spanish champions Barcelona, edging out Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

Messi all but clinched the award – handed to the player with the most league goals in any of Europe’s top-flight leagues – for the third consecutive year, beating Mbappe by three following PSG’s defeat Friday. .

Mbappe needed to score five goals in PSG’s Ligue 1 finale to collect the Golden Shoe, however, the French sensation could only manage one in a 3-1 loss at Reims.

The young Frenchman finished the season on 33 goals, which while not enough to topple Messi did mark his new personal best for a single campaign, doubling his previous record of 15 goals for Monaco in 2016-17.

And now that Serie A has come to an end the Argentine officially finishes at the top of the pile in Europe after yet another prolific season in front of goal. 

The 31-year-old Messi led Barca to back-to-back La Liga titles ahead of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid this season.

Messi’s 36 goals came in just 29 starts as Barcelona rotated their talisman more than usual, meaning he finished the campaign with an incredible strike-rate of a goal every 75 minutes.

In all competitions the star helped himself to 51, marking the sixth season in his record-breaking career that he has passed a half-century in club football.

Completing the podium is Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella, who netted 26 to finish as the top scorer in Italy.

Messi now has two more Golden Shoes than Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who last won the award in 2014-15.

The Portuguese sharpshooter finished his first season in Serie A with just 21 strikes, his worst league season in front of the net since his final campaign at Manchester United in 2008-09. 

Not only did he finish behind Quagliarella, Duvan Zapata and Krzysztof Piatek in the race for the Capocannoniere top scorer award, but he also missed out on the top 10 altogether in the Golden Shoe standings.

While Juve’s rotation policy as they cruised to the Scudetto partially explains that drop-off, he nevertheless started more Serie A games at Messi, 30, and has scored just twice in the Italian top flight since the middle of February.

Player	Team	Goals
1. Lionel Messi	Barcelona	36 (72 points)
2. Kylian Mbappe	PSG	33 (66)
3. Fabio Quagliarella	Sampdoria	26 (52)
4. Duvan Zapata	Atalanta	23 (46)
5. Mbaye Diagne	Kasimpasa/Galatasaray	30 (45)
=6. Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	22 (44)
=6. Sadio Mane	Liverpool	22 (44)
=6. Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	22 (44)
=6. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Arsenal	22 (44)
=6. Krzysztof Piatek	Genoa/AC Milan	22 (44)

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The Portugal international was rested for the final Serie A game against Sampdoria, but top-scorer Fabio Quagliarella did play in Genoa

Cristiano Ronaldo will not add the Serie A Golden Boot to his haul of awards after his first season in Italy.

Ronaldo was rested and did not take the field in Juventus’ final Serie A game against Sampdoria on Sunday and thus could not add to his tally of 21 goals in the competition.

He finished fourth in the table behind Fabio Quagliarella, Duvan Zapata of Atalanta and Krzysztof Piatek, who netted 26, 23 and 22 respectively.

The winner of the Golden Boot was on the pitch at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa though. 36-year-old Quagliarella of Sampdoria scooped the gong for his tally of 26 goals, adding hardware to an astonishing late-career renaissance.

While he didn’t add the Golden Boot, Ronaldo did win the Serie A Player of the Year award for his individual performances, and his team won their eighth straight Scudetto.

Ronaldo became the first player to win titles in England, Spain and Italy with the Bianconeri’s triumph.

He is also the only player to win Player of the Year in each of those countries.

However, the Portugal international has only scored twice in the Italian top-flight since mid-February and his total of 21 goals is his lowest in a season since he scored 18 for Manchester United in the Premier League a decade ago.

Quagliarella had never scored more than 20 goals in a season before this year, with his highest previous total being 19 in the 2017-18 season.

His performances this year saw him win a shock recall into the Italian set-up.

He was called up by Roberto Mancini for Euro 2020 qualification matches with Finland and Liechtenstein, and his start in the second game was his first competitive game for the Azzuri since 2010. He scored twice, becoming Italy’s oldest ever goalscorer.

Atalanta’s Zapata also had his first 20-goal season this year, with his previous high being 11 in 2017-18 while appearing alongside Quagliarella for Sampdoria.

Zapata scored his 23rd of the year in Atalanta’s final game, which his team won to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Meanwhile, Piatek enjoyed a brilliant debut season in Serie A, scoring 13 goals in just 19 games for Genoa.

Those performances caught the eye of Milan, with Piatek netting nine times in 18 games following a January move to San Siro.

Piatek’s goals were not enough for Milan to qualify for the Champions League as a late Inter winner consigned them to the Europa League.

Player	Team	Goals
Fabio Quagliarella	Sampdoria	26
Duvan Zapata	Atalanta	23
Krzysztof Piatek	Genoa/AC Milan	22
Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	21
Arkadiusz Milik	Napoli	17
Francesco Caputo	Empoli	16
Dries Mertens	Napoli	16
Andrea Petagna	SPAL	16
Leonardo Pavoletti	Cagliari	16
Ciro Immobile	Lazio	15
Andrea Belotti	Torino	15

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The Argentine believed the Liverpool midfielder was out for revenge over being made a highlight in 2015, but the Reds man holds no ill will

Liverpool midfielder James Milner says Lionel Messi called him a donkey during the first leg of their Champions League semi-final for a rough tackle that sent the Barcelona star to the turf.

Late in the first half of that opening leg at Camp Nou saw Messi come into contact with Andy Robertson along the sideline. Off balance, Milner came in late with a shoulder barge on the Barca talisman, sending Messi to the ground.

Incensed over the late contact, Messi called for a yellow card to be handed out but Milner escaped a warning on that occasion.

Having been embarrassed by a Messi nutmeg back in 2015 when he was a member of Manchester City, the Argentine believed it was an attempt at payback.

“He wasn’t happy,” Milner, who is learning Spanish, told the Daily Mail. “He was giving me plenty in Spanish going down the tunnel at half-time as well. He was calling me ‘burro’.

“It translates as donkey but I think it’s also used in Spanish football as a general term for someone who goes around kicking people.

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“I asked him if he was all right, but he wasn’t having it. I don’t think he realised I understood his Spanish.

“He said: ‘That foul you did, that’s because I nutmegged you’. I left him to it at that point and went into the changing room.

“Look, I’ve only got admiration for him. He has earned the right to say what he wants.”

Milner admitted that given Messi’s skill, that level of physicality is required in order to help get him off his game.

However, the midfielder also noted it’s staying within the limits – his intention was never to hurt Messi.

“The stuff he did in that game, stuff he has done his whole career, it makes him tough to play against,” Milner added. “If you try and stop him, you can’t be scared of being made to look foolish. I’ve done it.

“I’ve been nutmegged by him and it has been viewed a million times. I wasn’t the first and I won’t be the last. He’s an incredible player.

“But with players like that, you have to let them know you’re there and not let them have everything their own way. You just need to try to disrupt their rhythm.

“You don’t want to hurt him but it’s a physical game and, if he’s running the game, you try and knock him out of his stride. It’s part of the game, the mental side.”

While those efforts weren’t rewarded in the first leg, which saw a 3-0 Barca victory, a stunning comeback at Anfield saw Liverpool emerge 4-0 winners to advance to the final.

And Milner, who was overcome by emotion at the final whistle, believes the quality of opposition, combined with the injury absences of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, made it a night to remember.

“Messi’s an amazing player and the special thing about the night was to turn it round against a team like that with the best player in the world in there and Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique, too,” Milner said. “There are not many teams in the world that could turn around a deficit like that with two of your star players gone. It was such a team effort.”