Antoine Griezmann faces a learning curve at Barcelona but Ernesto Valverde was pleased with the glimpses of debut class he saw on Tuesday.

The LaLiga champions went down to an entertaining 2-1 friendly defeat to Chelsea in Saitama, with Griezmann completing the opening 45 minutes.

He was flanked by France team-mate Ousmane Dembele and youngster Alex Collado in attack.

Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong was introduced for his own bow amid a slew of half-time changes.

Griezmann has to get used to Barcelona s play, Valverde told a post-match news conference after goals from Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley rendered Ivan Rakitic s stoppage-time strike a consolation.

It s easy to see how dangerous he is with the ball. He has bad intentions always f…

According to Super Deporte, the race to sign star is hotting up with Levante showcasing their interest. The 21-year-old has been on the books at the Bernabeu since he was just ten years old, becoming an official member of the senior squad back in 2015. While he may not have exactly set the world on fire up to this point he s still rated as a €10 million prospect, and two La Liga clubs including Levante want to ensure that his legacy in the top flight of Spanish football continues to grow.

Mayoral scored one goal in four appearances in the UEFA Champions League this season, as he continues to show a growing maturity with each and every passing game. Real Betis are the other club who are extremely interested in luring him away from Madrid, but there s always the chance of mor…

Real Madrid have made an enticing offer to Paris Saint-Germain, according to .

Apparently, the Spanish giants are keen on making a big statement this summer and they are looking for a way to add Neymar to their ranks. To that end, they have apparently offered PSG the services of Luka Modric and €120 million.

The situation surrounding the Brazilian star has been a rather tense one. He has had a number of disciplinary issues following the Ligue 1 title holders   unexpected exit from the Champions League last season at the hands of Manchester United, and he has been heavily linked with a return to Barcelona which he left in 2017 for the still-holding world record fee.

However, it appears that PSG are extremely unwilling to deal with the Catalan club again, and t…

Bukayo Saka s away goal gave Arsenal the upper hand as they drew 1-1 with Benfica in the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie at Stadio Olimpico.

Pizzi became the leading goalscorer in the competition this season with seven when he put Benfica in front from the penalty spot early in the second half after Emile Smith Rowe handled.

Arsenal only had themselves to blame for being behind after some poor finishing, but Saka levelled just over two minutes after Pizzi struck at the neutral venue in Rome on Thursday.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was particularly wasteful, but the Gunners have the edge ahead of the second leg at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens next week.

It’s all to play for in Athens.

— Arsenal (@Arsenal)

…

Cristiano Ronaldo provided Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti with no problems during their time together at Santiago Bernabeu, the head coach has insisted.

The 37-year-old is a free agent following his dramatic release from Manchester United ahead of the World Cup, which came after a seismic interview with Piers Morgan where he slammed the club s owners and manager Erik ten Hag.

Having fallen out of favour at Old Trafford, Ronaldo found himself struggling for selection once again on the international stage after being dropped by Portugal for their 6-1 last-16 triumph over Switzerland.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) have insisted Ronaldo did not threaten to leave Portugal s World Cup camp due to a disagreement with coach Fernando Santos in the wake of bei…

Barcelona are set to lose Ansu Fati for another long stretch of games after details of his latest injury setback were revealed.

The 19-year-old Spain international has had a dismal run of luck with injuries and appeared to be in tears as he was substituted in the Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.

Fati had come off the bench just after the hour mark but had to be replaced early in extra time, with Barcelona stating after the game he had sustained a femoral biceps injury in his left thigh .

The wording of that diagnosis was adjusted on Friday evening, and it remains to be seen whether Fati plays again this season.

Barcelona said in a statement: Tests carried out on the first-team player Ansu Fati on Friday confirmed that he has a proximal …

Tottenham are believed to have rejected a world-record bid from Real Madrid for Gareth Bale

According to Daily Mail and other newspapers, Tottenham are believed to have rejected a world record bid for Welsh superstar Gareth Bale, depending on which newspaper you read the bid was between £82million and £86million.

Chairman Daniel Levy appears determined to keep Bale at White Hart Lane and looks set to reject all bids for Tottenham’s star player.

Upset

The player himself is believed to be upset by the bid being rejected and the fact that Levy would not even consider the bid.

It seems that Bale now has his heart set on moving to the Bernabeu to play with likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil.

Real Madrid is without a doubt one of the…

England star Georgia Stanway insists the resignation of Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has to be “the start of something, not the end of something”.

Rubiales finally announced he was quitting as president of the RFEF on Sunday night, three weeks after he kissed Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the World Cup final trophy presentation in Sydney.

Hermoso later said she had not consented to the kiss, but Rubiales has spent the last three weeks standing firm in saying he would not quit over the incident despite the opening of disciplinary proceedings by football’s world governing body FIFA and the instigation of a criminal complaint in the Spanish courts.

Defenderé mi honorabilidad.Defenderé mi inocencia.Tengo Fe en el fut…

Roma have completed the signing of Fiorentina midfielder Adem Ljajic for an initial fee of €11million.

The Serbia international signs a four-year deal at the Stadio Olimpico, after a near three-year stay at the Florence outfit.

Roma will pay an additional €4million to their Serie A rivals, dependent upon Ljajic and Roma s achievements during his time at the club.

The 21-year-old has been linked with several clubs throughout the transfer window, including Premier League sides Liverpool and Tottenham.

But he has decided to continue his development in Italy with Rudi Garcia s side.

Ljajic started his career at Partizan Belgrade, making 57 appearances and scoring 12 goals after making his debut at the age of 17.

A move to Manchester United collapsed i…

Juande Ramos will be out to end his former club s UEFA Europa League hopes when Dnipro host Tottenham in the first leg of the last 32.

The Spaniard managed Tottenham between 2007 and 2008, leading them to a League Cup title before being sacked with the London club rock-bottom of the Premier League.

Ramos is now in charge at Ukrainian side Dnipro and will hope to exact a measure of revenge on the club who dismissed him after less than a year at the helm.

Dnipro, who have not played a competitive game since December because of the mid-season break in the Ukraine, are enjoying a strong season in both domestic and European competition, sitting fourth in the domestic table and having qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League after finishing second behind Fioren…