Real Madrid president Florentino Perez predicted Luka Modric could win the Ballon d Or for a second time after his masterclass in the Supercopa de Espana final.
Croatian playmaker Modric scooped France Football s prestigious prize for world player of the year after his dazzling performances at the 2018 World Cup.
He will turn 37 before the Qatar World Cup in November, but Modric s goal and overall display in the 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday showed he remains a force.
Thibaut Courtois saved a late penalty from Raul Garcia as Madrid made sure of a first trophy since Carlo Ancelotti returned to the club for a second spell as coach.
Asked about Courtois and Modric, Perez said after the game: Without wanting to brag, they are the two best in thei…
New Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink has warned fans that appointing him as manager does not mean the squad have a quick fix to their recent problems.
The 69-year-old faces Watford in his first game back in charge on Saturday, after watching from the stands as Chelsea beat Sunderland 3-1 last week in the wake of Jose Mourinho s departure.
Hiddink, who led the club to the FA Cup in his opening spell at the helm back in 2009, reflected on the club s poor form prior to his arrival and stressed it would not be easy to turn the situation around.
He said: If you look back a bit to last season where there was this huge success in winning the title then of course you go into the next season and you have your targets, your aims and your aims are the same.
Getting …
Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes Francesco Guidolin has the pedigree to turn Swansea City s fortunes around as he prepares to host his former club at Goodison Park.
Swansea climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Watford on Monday, with new head coach Guidolin assigned a watching brief at the Liberty Stadium.
The former Udinese boss will take charge of first-team affairs on Sunday and Martinez, who was manager at Swansea from 2007 to 2009 following a successful stint as a player at the club, believes the appointment could prove to be Huw Jenkins latest successful punt as chairman.
Francesco has got a long, long career in Italian football and previously in French football, Martinez told a news conf…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says the release of Luis Diaz’s kidnapped father just a couple of hours before their Europa League tie in Toulouse was perfect timing.
Luis Manuel Diaz was taken along with his wife Cilenis Marulanda 12 days ago, although Diaz’s mother was freed swiftly.
After a long wait and days of negotiation with guerilla group the National Liberation Army, Diaz’s father has been released.
We are delighted by the news of s father s safe return and we thank all those involved in securing his release
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
“It looks like Lucho (Diaz) is really happy, (giving) thumbs up all the time,” Klopp told TNT Sports.
“It looks very, very good. Timing-wise it couldn’t have been better. If it is now th…