Stoke City insist there is nothing in speculation linking Xherdan Shaqiri with a move to Serie A runners-up Roma.

The 25-year-old winger has been linked with Roma as a potential replacement for Liverpool-bound Mohamed Salah, who Jurgen Klopp s side have reportedly agreed a £39million fee for.

But Stoke insist there is no substance to the rumours about Shaqiri, who revealed earlier this month he only wants to leave the Premier League club for a step up .

No, there is nothing in that, Stoke chairman Peter Coates told the Stoke Sentinel.

There are no plans to sell him either. He seems very settled with us and towards the end of the season he came back [from injury] and did well.

We are settled with him, too, and are hoping to see a good season fr…

Tottenham striker Harry Kane posted a sly social media dig at his critics after retaining the Premier League Golden Boot.

Kane finished as the top scorer in the English top flight for the second season in succession, blowing away the competition during the final week of the campaign.

The England international struck four goals in Spurs 6-1 demolition of Leicester City last Thursday before netting another hat-trick as relegated Hull City were put to the sword 7-1 on Sunday.

Kane also broke through the 20-goal barrier for a third consecutive season, having long since put assertions that his 2014-15 efforts marked him out as a one-season wonder to bed.

The 23-year-old made reference to those who doubted his prowess on the back of forgettable early-career loa…

Cristiano Ronaldo remains an important part of Erik ten Hag s plans at Manchester United and the Dutchman hopes he can count on him through the rest of the season.

The forward is absent for Saturday s Premier League clash against Chelsea after he was dropped for disciplinary reasons following his refusal to come on as a substitute during Wednesday s 2-0 win over Tottenham.

Ronaldo left the game early, heading down the Old Trafford tunnel before the final whistle, echoing his pre-season actions when he departed a friendly with Rayo Vallecano before the end.

Speaking ahead of his side s trip to the Blues, Ten Hag stressed it would be a one-and-done sanction for the Portugal forward and that he believes he can rely on the veteran across the remainder of the campaign…

Phil Foden scored twice as Manchester City eased to a 4-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion to keep pressure on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea sent out a message with a thumping 7-0 win against Norwich City earlier on Saturday, but City responded with a convincing win of their own to close the gap on the leaders to two points.

Foden s double at the Amex Stadium came after Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring as the visitors went three goals ahead inside 31 minutes in a dominant first-half showing.

Brighton improved in the second half and pulled back a deserved consolation nine minutes from time through substitute Alexis Mac Allister s penalty, though City had the final say when Foden played in Riyad Mahrez for a late fourth.

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The road for Corinthians to their Campeonato Paulista quarter-final clash with Oeste can be divided into two distinct phases.

In the first, the Musketeers lined up with the likes of legendary Brazil duo Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos and midfield schemer Jucilei.

Since then, Ronaldo has retired and Roberto Carlos and Jucilei were sold off to ambitious Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.

The second phase saw a new-look Corinthians, led by striker Liedson.

The Brazilian-born Portugal forward a January arrival after eight prolific seasons with Sporting Lisbon has had an immediate impact, striking 10 goals in his first eight games and taking Corinthians to the top of the table.

Following the 2-1 loss to Sao Paulo on February 26, however, Tite s men seemed to…

Simone Inzaghi believes Inter have achieved something special by qualifying from a Champions League group that also contained Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Inter thrashed Viktoria Plzen 4-0 in San Siro on Wednesday to confirm their place in the last 16, with the victory putting them out of Barcelona s reach.

When the draw was made, most felt Inter were the outsiders with Bayern and big-spending Barca expected to go through.

But Inter took four points from two games against the Blaugrana, results that ultimately proved crucial in beating Xavi s men to qualification.

Inter secured their progress with a match to spare, leaving Inzaghi elated with an achievement that he feels goes beyond his previous expectations.

To achieve this goal, the first of th…

Feyenoord coach Mario Been has quit the Eredivisie club after players led a revolt against him.

Been oversaw Feyenoord’s disappointing 10th place finish last season, having joined the club in 2009.

Traditionally one of the powerhouses of Dutch football, Feyenoord have struggled to compete with rivals Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven in recent campaigns, and it appears the club’s players have had enough.

The squad took a vote, with 20 out of 23 expressing their lack of faith in the coach, leading to Been s resignation hours later.

Been came to his decision yesterday after captain Ron Vlaar told technical director Martin Van Geel that the majority of players had lost confidence in any further cooperation with the coach, the club said in a statement. <…

Russia staged a stunning comeback to beat Switzerland 6-4 in the final of the Euro Beach Soccer League on Sunday.

Switzerland led 4-1 in Moscow before Russia staged a remarkable recovery, with a double from Dmitry Shishin giving them their second title.

A hat-trick from tournament Most Valuable Player Dejan Stankovic had helped Switzerland to a three-goal lead, before Russia began their comeback.

Shishin s goals in the 33rd and 35th minutes saw them claim their second title after the 2009 success.

Meanwhile, Spain were relegated from Division A after suffering a 5-0 loss to Italy.

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Zinedine Zidane feels Real Madrid are the favourites in their Champions League semi-final tie with Manchester City, but has warned the Premier League side should not be taken lightly.

Speaking after the two clubs were drawn together in Friday s draw in Nyon, the French coach said Madrid s struggles against Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals were behind his call for caution.

The Liga side needed a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick in the second leg to turn things around after a 2-0 defeat in Germany in the first leg, and Zidane is adamant Madrid cannot afford to make the same mistakes.

Real Madrid are always the favourites and that s no different in the semi-final against Manchester City, Zidane said at a media conference.

But City are a great team. I do not want…

A jury has concluded that the 96 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.

The six women and three men finished their deliberations on Monday, having retired to consider more than two years of evidence during the inquiry into the events of the FA Cup match on April 15, 1989 between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.

The decision comes after years of campaigning from bereaved families and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, which sought the disclosure of the true causes behind the tragedy. 

Coroner John Golding said he would accept a majority verdict on whether the 96 individuals were unlawfully killed, after the jury unanimously agreed on answers to a further 13 questions concerning the disaster. A verdict of seven to two was passed.

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