The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PSV Eindhoven

  • Barcelona set to sign De Ligt as Ajax agreement nears – sources

    Barcelona are close to reaching an agreement to sign defender Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax, club sources have told ESPN FC.

    The La Liga leaders have the situation “under control,” according to the sources, and not getting the deal over the line now would provide similar levels of disappointment to last summer when they were turned down by Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann at the last minute.

    Juventus and Bayern Munich are also keen on De Ligt but one source has said the Netherlands international “only wants to listen to Barcelona.”

    The same source added that “as was the case with Frenkie de Jong, Ajax will warn [Barca] if any other clubs make a serious move for [De Ligt].”

    De Ligt’s agent Mino Raiola is in regular contact with Barca, who value the signing of De Ligt on the same level as the arrival of his Ajax teammate De Jong, who will join the Catalans for €75 million in June.

    Barca, though, remain keen to respect the protocol put in place by Ajax, who still have a lot to play for this season and want their players to remain focused on sporting objectives.

    Ajax are level with PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie table and will face Willem II in the Cup final.

    They also qualified for the Champions League semifinals for first time since 1997 with De Ligt scoring the winning goal as they knocked out Juventus in Turin.

    Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu told ESPN FC in an exclusive interview he knows what will happen with De Ligt in the summer “but now is not the moment to talk about it.”

    Read Also: Barcelona set to hand Messi fresh £175million deal

    The club are expecting to pay somewhere close to €80m to get the deal over the line, which sources have said is possible even though they have to be careful with how they manage their finances this summer.

    A number of players will leave Camp Nou in the postseason to fund the moves for De Jong, De Ligt and potentially another forward and a left-back. Sources have told ESPN FC the club are looking to make as much as €300 million in sales.

    The Spanish champions are well covered in the centre-back positions.

    Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet have been in great form this season while Samuel Umtiti has just returned from injury.

    Jean-Clair Tobido, a January signing, is also tipped to have a big future in the game.

    Thomas Vermaelen, though, will leave for free in the summer and Barca do not plan on exercising an option to make Jeison Murillo’s loan deal permanent, creating space for one new defender.

  • Messi leads Stylish Barcelona to war against Eindhoven

     

    Stylish football on the pitch, stylish outfits off the field – that looks to be the unofficial motto of Barcelona football club.

    They jetted off from Spain on Tuesday afternoon ahead of their Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven in Holland on Wednesday.

    The Barca players flew out in matching grey suits, complete with cardigans and warm woolly scarves.

    Barcelona have donned the fashionable – and expensive – gear before, wearing identical grey suits for their European away day against Tottenham last month.

    The outfit is designed by Thom Browne tailors, one of their global sponsors, which, including the white shirt with an Oxford tie, a 4-bar jacket vest and black shoes of grain leather of pebbles, comes to a grand total of £4,200.

    With 20 players in Barcelona’s travelling party, plus the manager, that’s around £100,000 worth of just travel gear.

    The Barca players will wear Thom Browne suits for the next three seasons for their trips to away Champions League matches.

    Lionel Messi looked particularly snug, his scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, adding to the insulation already provided by his impressive beard.

    Gerard Pique looked to be feeling the chill a little less, his scarf hanging open around his collar, while fellow centre back Samuel Umtiti chose to forgo his scarf altogether.

    Whatever their garments, Barca are home and cosy in Champions League Group B, securing qualification for the knockouts with two games to spare.

    Barca sit on 10 points at the summit of Group B, three points clear of Inter Milan. They will guarantee top spot if they beat winless PSV.

    They will however have to attain those crucial three points without striker Luis Suarez, who has been sidelined for two weeks with a knee injury.

  • Ronaldo hospitalised in Ibiza with pneumonia

    Former Brazil and Real Madrid great Ronaldo Nazario is currently in hospital in Ibiza recovering from pneumonia, local media said on Sunday.

    Newspaper Diario de Ibiza said the two-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2002 World Cup Golden Boot winner is currently in the intensive care unit at the private Policlinica Nuestra Senora del Rosario hospital.

    Sources told Diario de Ibiza that Ronaldo was recovering well.

    The hospital could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.

    Ronaldo, who was on holiday in Ibiza when he was taken ill, retired from football in 2011 following a hugely successful career.

    He featured stints at PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Brazilian sides Corinthians and Cruzeiro as well as Real Madrid, where he is a club ambassador.

    He won two La Liga titles with Real, the UEFA Cup with Inter and lifted the World Cup in 1994 and 2002 with Brazil, also reaching the tournament’s final in 1998.

    He picked up the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world in 1997 and 2002.

  • Bobby Adekanye to stay at PSV

    Bobby Adekanye to stay at PSV

    Barcelona loanee Bobby Adekanye will be with Dutch giants, PSV Eindhoven, for at least the next 12 months, sl10.ng reports.

    Reports that emanated from the Spanish press on Wednesday had suggested that the winger will cut short his loan spell at the Dutch club, and return to La Masia academy in February 2015.

    But Ademola Adekanye, who acts as agent for his son, has put to bed those arguments, insisting that a deal has already been struck for the player to remain in Holland until the end of this year.

    ”Bobby is not going back to Barcelona yet, and he is happy with PSV Eindhoven for now,” Adekanye told sl10.ng.

    ”Yes, I can confirm that he is not returning to Barcelona next month.”

    The highly rated starlet was allowed to leave Barcelona last year after FIFA sanctioned the club for violating the regulations on international transfers and registration of foreign young players.
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