Transfers

Barcelona's interim president Carlos Tusquets feels the club should have cashed-in on Lionel Messi during the summer transfer window.

Messi was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City and sent a recorded delivery (Burofax) letter stating his intention to leave. He later said the decision was due to being disillusioned with the direction the now former board had taken the club. Ex-Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned in October rather than face a vote of no confidence, with Tusquets taking temporary charge until January's elections.

Torino's Andrea Belotti was allowed to run on to the back post by Sampdoria's defense in the first half of the matchup between the two sides on Monday and promptly made his opponent's pay. 

Belotti tucked away his seventh league goal of the season after a lovely piece of skill by 19-year-old right back Wilfried Sango was followed by an inch-perfect cross to find the club captain in the six-yard box.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he is unsure what the future holds for Lionel Messi but hopes as a Barcelona fan that the Argentine forward will remain at the LaLiga club until the end of his career.

Guardiola, who has guided City to two Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup following his arrival in 2016, signed a new two-year deal on Thursday that will keep him in charge until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he is hurt by Mesut Özil's situation at the Premier League club but is resigned to facing questions about the German midfielder after every defeat. Özil, 32, who is under contract with Arsenal until June 2021 earns a reported $452,830 per week, but has not played for Arteta’s side this season after being left out of the 25-man Premier League squad.

The playmaker, who last played for Arsenal in March, was also left out of their Europa League squad, leaving him only eligible for Under-23 games. 

A frustrated Lionel Messi said he is tired of being blamed for problems at Barcelona after he was accused by Antoine Griezmann's former agent of making life difficult for the French striker at the LaLiga club.

If Liverpool didn't have an injury crisis at center back before, it certainly does now. After losing Virgil van Dijk to a knee injury in the Merseyside derby last month, Joe Gomez is now expected to miss most of the season after injuring his knee during England training on Wednesday.

Paul Pogba "cannot be happy" with the situation he finds himself in at Manchester United, France head coach Didier Deschamps said on Monday.

The French midfielder has started just four of United's seven Premier League games this season, and just one of three in the Champions League. Pogba's future at United remains uncertain after he suggested last month that he "dreams" of playing for Real Madrid.

I think I speak for many other Liverpool fans when I say I was skeptical when the club signed Diogo Jota. Nearly $50 million for a player who scored just seven league goals last season? Especially with the attacking depth the Reds have? Mo Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino starting. Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino, Xherdan Shaqiri, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita off the bench. Liverpool only has three senior center backs, and Klopp is going off and overpaying on a somewhat promising attacker? It didn't make much sense at the time.

Vaclav Cerny was once among the highest-rated prospects at Ajax.

The young Czech winger, who broke into the first team at the Amsterdam Arena as a 17-year-old, scored 31 goals and assisted 25 for Ajax's U-21 side. He was valued as highly as $2.2 million in July 2016, according to Transfermarkt. After a bright start in the senior squad under Frank De Boer, Cerny suffered an ACL injury, which kept him out of action for nearly a year.

The scouting department at Brentford looks to have secured another gem in striker Ivan Toney. 

Brentford has become well-known in recent years for its use of football analytics to scout and sign high-potential players, who the club then sells on for a large profit after a time. This summer's transfer window proved no exception as the Bees sold forwards Ollie Watkins, a $2.2 million arrival in 2017, to Aston Villa for $33.8 million and Saïd Benrahma, who cost the club $1.8 million in 2018, to West Ham for $25.4 million.