When you have the talent and trophy-laden career of Lionel Messi, it really doesn’t matter how you look. The Argentine superstar will be grateful for that as he has followed in the haircut horror footsteps of Aaron Ramsey in giving himself a bleached blonde makeover.
The Barcelona star’s wife, Antonella Roccuzzo, posted an image of Messi sporting his distinctive new look on her Instagram profile.
The current Ballon d’Or holder joins the likes of Ramsey, Samir Nasri and Phil Jones in taking the radical stylistic step.
Messi won’t care much about his hair though as he prepares to link up with his Barcelona teammates in England at St George’s Park.
Messi will join Neymar, Luis Suarez and the rest of the Barca stars in the 25-man squad, before turning out for their opening pre-season clash against Celtic at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on 30th July.
The 28-year-old has had a couple of months to forget. After missing a penalty in Argentina’s Copa America final shootout defeat to Chile, Messi announced his retirement from the international stage.
Messi’s troubles off the pitch continued as he was handed a suspended 21-month prison sentence for tax evasion in Spain. The Barca legend will hope to put his troubles behind him and focus on club football once more, as the Catalan giants set to out to defend their La Liga crown.
Newly promoted clubs have a long-held tradition of trying to drag tempt players from their former Championship rivals to pop up to the top flight with them – and it looks like Burnley are no different, with Talksport claiming the Clarets are keeping tabs on Leeds vice-captain Liam Cooper.
West Brom are also said to be interested in the 24-year-old centre-back, who joined Leeds for just £600k in 2014.
The Telegraph claim that Watford are readying a £20m bid to snatch West Brom striker Saido Berahino from right underneath Stoke City’s noses, with the Potters dithering on paying up for the 22-year-old.
Mark Hughes is keen on bringing the England Under-21 international to the bet365 stadium, but the club are struggling to justify dropping more than £15m on a player who has just one year left on his contract.
Having been linked with Chelsea after his goal against Belgium at the start of Euro 2016, it looks as though Emanuele Giaccherini is heading back to his homeland this summer – with GianlucaDiMarzio.com claiming that a deal has been agreed between Sunderland and Torino.
The two clubs are said to have agreed a fee of €2m (£1.7m), although it’s possible that Giaccherini will stall on putting pen to paper on the off-chance that Chelsea could make a late swoop.
West Ham could be close to offloading striker Enner Valencia to Lazio this summer, with the Daily Mail reporting that the Serie A side have put in an offer to take the Ecuadorian on loan with the option to buy him for £10m.
The Hammers are hoping not to make a loss on the £12m fee they paid to Pachuca in 2014, as they look to revamp their strike-force ahead of their first season at the Olympic Stadium.
The Sun report that Tottenham are getting ready to make Harry Kane their record earner in the coming weeks, with a five-year deal worth as much as £5m per year.
It’s said that negotiations over the deal began while the club were chasing the title earlier in the year, and have finally reached a point where both parties are happy to move forward with the £25m contract.
Everton are said to be weighing up a £17m bid for Leicester City’s title-winning goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel as they look to finally secure a steady number one goalkeeper, after a period of uncertainty with an aging Tim Howard and an average Joel Robles.
The Liverpool Echo report that the 29-year-old could be set to double his £35,000-a-week wages with a move to Goodison Park, as they look to reinforce their back line with the assistance of new investment from Farhad Moshiri.
The Foxes could be powerless to prevent their key man leaving too, with the Toffees hoping that the £17m bid will trigger a reported release clause in the Dane’s contract.
Comments from Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano have hinted that Schalke’s Leroy Sane could be on the verge of completing a £40m move to the Etihad, as he admitted that “two deals are close” to completion.
The Manchester Evening News report that Soriano’s comments are thought to be in relation to Sane and either Oleksandr Zinchenko – whose move was announced yesterday – or Everton’s John Stones.
In the same day as the Sun report that Arsenal have held talks over the transfers of Romelu Lukaku and Alexandre Lacazette, transfer specialist Emanuele Giulianelli claims that the Gunners have also made contact with the brother and agent of Napoli star Gonzalo Higuain.
He tweeted: “Arsenal want to take advantage from the situation of Higuain with Napoli and have asked informations to his brother Nicolas.”
Higuain has a reported release clause of £78.9m, but recently rejected an offer of an extension from the Serie A club, giving rise to hopes that he would be willing to leave the Serie A club if the right offer came in.
The Mirror report that Valencia have rejected a bid worth around £40m from Chelsea for Portuguese star Andre Gomes, as Antonio Conte looks to rejig his Blues squad after leaving Euro 2016 on Saturday.
Juventus and Manchester United have both been linked with moves for the 22-year-old, who blew hot and cold slightly in La Liga last season – but did enough to show his impressive potential and get some of Europe’s biggest clubs interested in him.
Reports from the Mirror on Tuesday morning claim that both Liverpool and Crystal Palace are confident of agreeing a deal over the transfer of Christian Benteke, as the pair fight over the exact fee the Eagles will pay for the Belgian.
The Reds are said to be trying to squeeze Palace to within a couple of million pounds of the £32.5m they paid Aston Villa last summer – getting all of the cash up front – but Palace are hoping to pay just £27.5m and stick the rest of the money onto the deal in add-ons.
Reports from Spain claim that agent Jorge Mendes is trying to convince Manchester United to throw in a bid for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, despite the 21-year-old signing a new deal at the Vicente Calderon less than two months ago.
Sport explain that Mendes owns a 40% stake in the player via his company, meaning that any deal to take the starlet away from his club would benefit him personally – especially if any clubs were to trigger his £68m release clause.
Mendes’ close relationship with Jose Mourinho is well-known, the so-called ‘super agent’ representing his countryman and negotiating deals to bring his clients to play under the Manchester United manager on more than one occasion.
Portugal winger Nani has joined Valencia, on a three-year deal from Fenerbahce, as per The Express.
The Spanish side fought off competition from clubs such as Everton and Stoke City to secure the 29-year-old’s signature, with Potters assistant manager Mark Bowen having expressed his side’s interest in bringing the player back to England on Tuesday.
A club statement read, “Valencia have reached an agreement with Luis Carlos Almeida – “Nani” – for the player to join the club for the next three seasons.
He is currently in France with the Portuguese national team, who will play in the Euro 2016 semi-finals against Wales this Wednesday. Nani will be presented as a Valencia player in the coming days.”
The winger’s eight-year spell at Manchester United ended with him viewed as a wasted talent, but a strong season in Turkey, followed by some impressive performances in Portugal’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 have seen him rebuild his reputation somewhat.
It was that form that saw Stoke and Everton register their interest, but the 29-year-old has instead opted to join Valencia, as they look to bounce back from a chaotic season that saw Nuno Espirito Santo, Salvador Gonzalez and United legend Gary Neville all fail to steer the club away from trouble.
Leaving Old Trafford, where he laboured under comparisons with Portuguese compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have been the making of Nani, who was wildly inconsistent during his time in Manchester.
He is now a much more disciplined and consistent performer and has embraced his supporting role to Ronaldo throughout the ongoing tournament in France, having scored two goals and converting his shootout penalty in Portugal’s quarter-final triumph over Poland last week.
Valencia fans will hope Nani can inspire an upturn in fortunes at the Mestalla Stadium, after the club’s disappointing 12th place finish last season.
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku is able to commit his future to the Merseyside club after the arrival of recent chairman Farhad Moshiri, according to The Mirror.
Lukaku had needed to stop the Goodison Park aspect in pursuit of Champions League soccer however is now able to open talks over a brand new contract after being satisfied that he can play in Europe’s elite competitors with Everton.
Lukaku scored 25 targets in all competitions throughout the 2015-16 season, including 18 within the Premier League, and it is believed that he’s integral to new manager Ronald Koeman’s plans for the upcoming campaign as Everton look to enhance on their underwhelming season underneath former boss Roberto Martinez.
Everton completed eleventh throughout the latest Premier League season, finishingon 47 points, conceding 55 goals. They’ve made steps in addressing that poor defensive document after reportedly agreeing a deal with Zenit for defensive midfielder Axel Witsel. The Belgian worldwide will signal a deal price £120,000 per week, changing into Everton’s greatest-paid participant.
Lukaku, 23, had been closely linked with a transfer away from Everton, with each Napoli and Chelsea reportedly excited about signing the Belgian.
They had been postpone by the £65m price ticket Everton had been demanding for his signature, nevertheless, and now it appears unlikely Lukaku will transfer away from Goodison Park after being impressed by his new chairman Farhad Moshiri’s ambition.
Lukaku has scored 43 Premier League goals in 104 appearances for Everton and has beforehand performed for Anderlecht, Chelsea and West Brom. He not too long ago performed for Belgium on the European Championship in France, scoring a brace towards the Republic of Ireland in an in any other case disappointing campaign.
With the cost of football in England nothing short of extortionate compared to model sides Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, we countdown the cheapest sides to watch this year in the Premier League.
You may be surprised!
This may not be a surprise to anyone, with Arsenal year after year being the most expensive side to watch.
A season ticket to the Emirates comes at a sky-high price of £1,035. To put this price into perspective, that would have seen you pay about £86.25 for each win Arsenal achieved at home last season (12).
Spurs come in at second-most expensive in the league, but still a considerable amount cheaper than rivals Arsenal.
To watch Spurs at the Lane this season, it would cost £765. Despite their strong 3rd place finish last season, Spurs have frozen the season ticket prices, although, a price-cut would have been nicer.
To watch Liverpool play at the rejuvenated Anfield this upcoming season it will cost £25 less compared to last season.
Liverpool have set their prices at £685 for the new season, down from £710. Looks like Klopp is working his magic on and off the field!
Antonio Conte’s arrival has sparked belief around the stadium grounds once again, belief that has been amiss since, well, the start of last season.
Chelsea’s season tickets stand at £750 for the upcoming season, indifferent to last year’s amount. However, a season ticket holder would have paid £150 per win last season as the club merely imploded.
Another season for Southampton, another new manager. The fans experiencing the club constantly changing must almost be like a second-nature to them now on the coast.
However, one change that may be welcomed by the fans is the season ticket prices, which unfortunately has not. The fans will yet again fork out £584 to watch their side this season.
The newly promoted side features quite highly on this list, with the Boro fans paying £570 to watch their team this season.
It may be a bit unfair on the fans, as this is an increase of a huge £109 compared to last season. Maybe justified by being back in the Premier League, but an unwanted change at that.
After a very impressive season – quashed by only that of the achievement of Leicester City, Bournemouth have frozen their season ticket prices for the new season.
It will cost £550 to watch the Cherries battle another season in the Premier League.
The Premier League giants have seen significant changes this summer, with Jose Mourinho and a string of new signings – including the one and only Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
To see the glossy new side in action this season, a season ticket will cost £532.
Everton are also one of the few that have cut the prices for next season also, following Liverpool in this instance, dropping by £36.
To watch Everton play this season, it will cost £515. However, they had a pretty torrid time at home last season, winning back to back home games just once in 2016.
If rumours are to be believed, Watford could have already made a substantial amount of money this summer transfers window, but chose not to.
The Hornets are in their second successive season in the top flight now, and it will cost exactly the same as last season for a season ticket, coming in at £505.
Dodgy dancing is becoming part of the Crystal Palace agenda. First manager Alan Pardew in the FA Cup, now midfielder Joe Ledley at the Euros.
The fans at Palace are arguably the best in the league, and lets hope more singing is greeted with more dodgy dancing on the pitch and sidelines. The fans will be in full voice again too, as the prices for a season ticket stood firm, costing a reasonable £420.
Just cheaper than Crystal Palace, Swansea City season tickets stand at £419 at the Liberty.
The club went through some radical changes last season, but with Guidolin nailed on to the lad the side, the club can only build on their 12th place finish last year.
Football at the Hawthorns may not be the best standard in the league and perhaps far from it. However, at least the fans can have comfort in their season ticket prices costing just £399.
This means you will pay just £21 per game, which is a neat little figure.
Champions Leicester City have welcomed Champions League football to the King Power next season, and look to build on their success.
Fans may have been either relieved or perhaps a little disappointed that the club’s season ticket prices have stayed the same from last season, costing £395 for a new buyer.
Premier League football returns to Turf Moor this season, bouncing straight back after being relegated in 2015
A season ticket will cost £390 for the upcoming season, the very same as last season, which is certainly good news for the fans. They’ll be doing their best to ensure the team don’t go straight back down again.
Fat Sam ensured Sunderland safety yet again after flirting with relegation for the entire season.
Although they normally find themselves at the bottom side of the Premier League, they find themselves in the ‘top five’ in this list. The price for a season ticket at the Stadium of Light costs just £380.
The price you pay to watch talents such as Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva could cost a big amount, but Manchester City’s season tickets cost the amazingly low sum of £299.
This is the price every club should aim for, so well done to Manchester City. Although, it’s not as if they need the money.
Stoke City have really transformed over the years, with stars all over the pitch. Last season they had the most Champions League winners in their squad in the entire league.
A season ticket to watch the Potters is just £294, the third cheapest in the league.
By far the most drastic change in any side in this list. West Ham make their move to the Olympic stadium this season, bidding farewell to the Boleyn Ground
Another thing they can bid farewell to is a high season ticket price, as the Hammers have reduced the price of a season ticket by £328.50.
A season ticket now costs £289,, an unbelievable figure!
After winning the Championship play-offs and entering the Premier League once again, fans will be delighted when they see that their season ticket prices have dropped £284 since their last season.
The cheapest side in the league to watch, a Hull City season ticket costs just £252.
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