Ozil not ruling out Schalke return

Zinedine Zidane said Wednesday s 0-0 Clasico draw between Barcelona and Real Madrid was not good enough , even though he was impressed with his players.

Gareth Bale saw a goal correctly disallowed for offside in the second half of the stalemate at Camp Nou, which leaves Barca and Madrid level on points atop LaLiga.

Madrid managed 12 shots in the first half, the most they have managed in the opening 45 minutes of an away game against Barca since at least 2003-04, but they could not find a breakthrough to avoid a first league goalless draw with their fierce rivals since 2002.

Zidane was frustrated with the result given the chances his side created early on, but the head coach was not displeased with his players efforts.

12 mustered 12 shots in the opening …

West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet was also France s star player at Euro 2016.

West Ham United suffered a shock defeat to Romanian Liga side Astra Giurgiu in the second leg of the Europa League playoffs on Thursday night to be eliminated from the competition for the second season running.

The Londoners failed to score at the London Stadium, and haven’t looked at their attacking best this season without 2015/16 Hammer of the Year Dimitri Payet, currently recovering from a muscle problem.

Goals have unsurprisingly dried up

Dimitri Payet scored and created 21 goals in 29 Premier League starts for West Ham last season, and his absence has certainly hurt the London outfit. United have scored one or less goals in five of their six games this season, compared t…

Juventus have agreed a deal with Chelsea that sees Juan Cuadrado return to the club on a three-year loan.

After failing to establish himself at Chelsea following his move from Fiorentina in February 2015, Cuadrado spent the 2015-16 campaign at the Turin giants.

The Colombia international made 40 appearances in all competitions as Juve became the first club in Italian history to do the Serie A and Coppa Italia double in successive seasons.

Cuadrado will continue his career on loan at Juve, with the agreement running until June 30, 2019.

The Bianconeri will pay Chelsea €5million per season for the next three campaigns and have the opportunity to purchase him outright in a deal worth €25m.

An official club statement read: Juventus can today con…

​Paulo Bento has left his role as Portugal head coach after their disappointing 1-0 defeat to Albania on Sunday.

The 45-year-old s position had come under further scrutiny following the loss in Aveiro as supporters expressed their discontent at the final whistle.

Bento s international career began well as he guided Portugal to the semi-finals of Euro 2012 before the side finished second behind Russia in qualifying for this year s World Cup in Brazil and had to beat Sweden in a play-off to reach the tournament.

Portugal failed to shine once in South America and were eliminated at the group stages behind Germany and United States.

Bento remained in charge amid calls for him to quit before Sunday s loss to Albania in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier caus…

Liverpool have rejected a bid from Manchester City for the services of young forward Raheem Sterling

The Raheem Sterling saga has gone on for a while now, ever since it emerged that the youngster was not going to sign a new deal with Liverpool.

There have been various reasons cited for his unwillingness to sign a new deal at Anfield, worth a reported £100,000 per-week.

The main reasons being suggest are that the clubs ambitions do not match his own, he is feeling bullied by the club or the main one he wants more money, which representative Aidy Ward has wholeheartedly denied.

Bid

It looks likely that Sterling will leave the Merseysider’s this summer. The first bid for Sterling of the summer has arrived. According to , that bid was £25million …

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew wants to sign two new strikers in the transfer window.

Senegal international Papiss Cisse was often utilised as a lone striker last season after Demba Ba departed St James Park for UEFA Europa League winners Chelsea in January.

Yoan Gouffran, Shola Ameobi and youngster Adam Campbell all provide competition in Newcastle s forward line, but Pardew is keen to bolster his options with Aston Villa s Darren Bent and Loic Remy of QPR mooted as potential targets.

I think we might need two strikers, Pardew told the Shields Gazette.

I personally think, my competition in that area Cisse, Shola, Gouff (Gouffran) and Adam Campbell last season wasn t strong enough.

In the Premier League, that s not enough. I need more than that.

…

Napoli could incur a one-point deduction and a 100,000-euro fine for their alleged involvement in the Scommessopoli scandal.

An Italian Football Federation prosecutor has called for Paolo Cannavaro and Gianluca Grava to be suspended for nine months after they were asked to rig a Serie A match.

The accusations revolve around the fixture between Sampdoria and Napoli on May 16, 2010, which the former won 1-0 to seal their place in the following season s Champions League playoffs.

However, it is believed that former reserve goalkeeper Matteo Gianello had asked the pair of defenders to participate in an attempt to fix the match, only for the request to be turned down.

Gianello s proposal on Cannavaro and Grava refers to someone who reported, in confidence, a…

Diego Maradona is only considering victory for his Argentina side in next month s pivotal World Cup qualifier against continental arch rivals Brazil.

With four games to go in South American zonal qualifying, Argentina are lying fourth in the last automatic qualifying spot for South Africa, with 22 points, five behind leaders Brazil.

Chile and Paraguay are in second and third.

Despite that precarious position, Maradona was in positive mood Wednesday, telling a press conference in Rosario where the September 5 tie is being held: I m only thinking of victory, I m not considering defeat.

Honours were shared with a goalless draw in the two countries first meeting on the road to South Africa in Belo Horizonte in June last year.

But this time Maradona …

Melbourne Heart right-back Michael Marrone has departed for China to discuss terms with an unnamed club.

Marrone has made 70 appearances since joining the Heart for their inaugural 2010-11 season and has long been linked with a move overseas.

He was on the verge of a move to Serie A outfit Cagliari before the 2011-12 campaign before a change of coach scuppered the transfer, but it now appears he has gotten his wish.

Newly capped Australia international Marrone will miss Heart s Round 16 A-League match with Sydney on Sunday, with coach John Aloisi wishing the 25-year-old the best.

Michael has been a great servant of the club and has become a fan favourite, Aloisi said via statement.

During his time with the Heart he has become one of the competi…

Two first-half goals helped Oman to a 2-0 Asian Cup qualifying win over Singapore at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday.

Neither side featured in Qatar 2011 but Oman gave themselves a great opportunity to qualify for Australia 2015 by moving top of the group thanks to strikes from Qasim Said and Eid Mohammed.

Oman, who were without injured goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi as well as vice-captain Ahmed Mubarak and striker Ahmed Hosni, got off to the better start and were rewarded for their efforts early on.

Good play on the right-hand side from Said saw him cut in and fire an effort into the far corner after 14 minutes to put his side on their way to their second win of qualification.

Singapore, who shipped four goals in their first group game against Jordan, produced …