Benatia compares Allegri to Guardiola

Troubled sports broadcaster Setanta was on Friday racing against the clock to secure a rescue plan to avoid its 46 English Premier League matches for next season being auctioned off to rivals.

Media reports say Setanta owes more than 30 million pounds to the Premier League.

The league announced earlier this week that it would offer the games for which Setanta has broadcast rights to other television firms, if the struggling pay-TV group fails to pay off the crucial bill by the end of Friday.

If the Irish broadcaster does not meet its contractual obligations then the 2009-10 broadcast rights for the games set to feature clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal will be sold after a bid deadline at the start of next week.

The league said in a statement o…

Premier League champions Manchester United have dismissed claims they stole 16-year-old midfielder Paul Pogba from French club Le Havre.

United have been accused of offering very large sums to the parents of the teenager, who has captained the national team at under-16 level, to induce him to end a contract he has until the end of this season.

In an angry statement Le Havre said: This act is even more unacceptable as it comes from a club with such stature.

But a United spokesman told BBC Sport: It is complete nonsense. Everything has been done within UEFA guidelines.

Le Havre, who were relegated to the French second division last season, claim an agreement between the club, Pogba and his parents was in place for the player to stay until the end of the …

Samara s World Cup journey is over, but what legacy will the finals leave behind? The city s Russian Premier League club, Krylya Sovetov, or Wings of the Soviets , stand to be the primary beneficiaries.

England s quarter-final win over Sweden on Saturday was the last of the six Russia 2018 fixtures at Samara Arena, situated a 30-minute drive from the centre and built to look like a huge UFO, in keeping with the region s ties to the aerospace industry.

Also known as the Cosmos Arena and constructed specifically for the tournament, the venue is soulless to look at from the outside, surrounded by vast, open expanses of concrete and ominous perimeter fencing.

But inside, the 45,000-capacity arena is visually striking, with its multi-coloured seating and broken…

James Maddison and Neal Maupay were embroiled in a war of words after the Brentford forward mocked the Tottenham midfielder’s goal celebration.

Maupay opened the scoring in the 15th minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night and celebrated by throwing a dart alongside Ivan Toney, mimicking the move Maddison and Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min have done this season.

James Maddison wasn t happy after Neal Maupay and Ivan Toney copied his celebration

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt)

That annoyed big darts fan Maddison, who had a heated exchange with Maupay on the goalscorer’s way back to the centre circle.

The England international had the last laugh though, with goals from Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson an…

Wayne Rooney was exploited when the now Manchester United and England striker burst on the football scene as a teenager, a court was told here on Tuesday.

Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of England s Professional Footballers Association (PFA), a players union, cited the career of former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne as an example of what can happen to talented youngsters who are not given the correct guidance.

He added Gascoigne now needed the PFA assistance to help keep a roof over his head.

Taylor was giving evidence as an expert witness in a case at Manchester s Mercantile Court.

Rooney, 24, is being sued there for 4.3 million pounds (6.7 million dollars, 4.9 million euros) in a contractual dispute with Proactive, the sports agency the forward …

Isco is eager to put pressure on coach Rafael Benitez for a consistent starting spot, after scoring the opening goal in Real Madrid s 3-1 win over Las Palmas on Saturday.

The 23-year-old playmaker has failed to secure his position in the side since joining from Malaga in July 2013 but has enjoyed a recent run of form to start the last five games for the Madrid giants.

After starting on the right of the front three in attack against the Canary Island outfit, Isco admitted he is happy to play in any position and wants to give Benitez a selection dilemma.

I m comfortable anywhere, as long as it s on the pitch, he said. I will continue working and fighting to make it difficult for the manager .

Madrid temporarily extended their lead at the top of La Liga bef…

that AC Milan are hot on the trail of PSV Eindhoven midfielder Adam Maher.

The Rossoneri are in the market for a talented central midfielder and they appear to have set their sights on the Eredivisie starlet.

AC Milan have been closely monitoring the player s performances of late and they believe the time is right to step up their interest.

The only problem could be the €15 million asking price as PSV Eindhoven will not afford their star player to leave on the cheap given that he has two and a half years left to run on his current deal.

Adam Maher, 22, had made a name for himself while at AZ Alkmaar, and he secured a lucrative move to Phillips Stadium in the summer of 2013.

He has since developed into an important member of the squad at PSV,…

Pep Guardiola proclaimed Erling Haaland to be one of the best strikers in the world, though he refused to be drawn on transfer speculation linking Manchester City to the Borussia Dortmund star after the two teams were drawn together in the Champions League. 

Haaland appears to be the main threat as Guardiola seeks to avoid a fourth consecutive quarter-final exit in Europe s top competition, while there will also be a reunion with ex-City youngster and England winger Jadon Sancho. 

As Sergio Aguero s contract runs down and City s all-time leading goalscorer struggles for minutes, rumours linking the Premier League leaders and Haaland – whose father Alf-Inge captained City at the start of the century – have mounted. 

Speaking after Friday s Champion…

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has been accused by LaLiga chief Javier Tebas of psychologically kidnapping Barcelona in recent years.

Tebas has previously criticised Barcelona for supporting a proposed Super League, which failed to get off the ground as a backlash quickly led to the withdrawal of nine of the 12 founding members.

The 59-year-old also more recently hit out at Barca and Madrid for rejecting a €2.7billion arrangement with CVC Capital Partners, a deal that he argued would have allowed the Catalan giants to keep hold of Lionel Messi.

In the latest exchange between two of the most powerful men in Spanish football, Tebas has now claimed Perez swayed Barcelona counterpart Joan Laporta s decision to not accept the offer on the table.

I h…

Only Cristiano Ronaldo s world record transfer prevented Manchester United making an annual loss of more than 30 million pounds, figures released by the English Premier League champions showed on Monday.

United declared a pre-tax profit of 48.2 million pounds (77.7 million dollars, 53.6 million euros) for the year up to June 30, 2009.

But without the departure of Portugal winger Ronaldo, sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid for 80 million pounds (129 million dollars, 90 million euros), the Old Trafford club would have been reporting a a loss of 31.8 million pounds.

The club s figure also showed they had paid 41.9 million pounds in interest on a huge loan of 509.5 million pounds.

Turnover was up to 278.5 million pounds from 256.2 million a year ago.