Pep Guardiola has joked he may come out of retirement for Manchester City’s Carabao Cup trip to Newcastle.

The treble winners are three games into a run of seven matches in three weeks and manager Guardiola intends to make changes for Wednesday’s third-round tie at St James’ Park.

However, with injuries affecting the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva, the options for rotation among his main first-team squad are actually limited.

That has prompted the former Barcelona midfielder to jest that at 52, 17 years after calling time on a distinguished playing career – and notwithstanding his recent back surgery – he could lace up his boots once again.

He said: “Some players who’ve had a lot of minutes are not go…

Torres hailed the role of Blaugrana veteran and Spain team-mate Sergio Busquets, as well as Barca president Joan Laporta, as he fought to adapt and improve on his underwhelming form.

The president is very close with everyone. All of my team-mates have helped me, he added. Busquets told me that I should be calm. That the reward would end up coming.

The 22-year-old plans to stay and fight to prove his worth at LaLiga leaders Barca, with Xavi s impressive managerial skills at the forefront of his reasoning.

I want to succeed at Barcelona, ​​I see myself here for many years, he continued. I m not to blame for the price they wanted to pay for me.

I wanted to come because this is Barca and you can t say no.

Xavi called me several times. He carr…

Brazil forward Marta is expected to miss her side s opening Women s World Cup match against Jamaica because of a thigh complaint.

The 33-year-old picked up the injury in training on May 25 and was considered a major doubt for Sunday s Group C clash in Grenoble.

It has now been confirmed by Brazil boss Vadao that, despite making a good recovery over the past week, Marta is likely to play no part against Jamaica though she may still be named among the substitutes.

Marta s condition has improved a lot, quicker than we originally expected, he said in a news conference on Saturday. It was a problematic injury. But the truth is that she can t play tomorrow.

She can be on the bench if she prefers to join her team-mates, but she s not in the proper condition to…

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone felt Sevilla were worthy winners after his side slumped to a home defeat in the Copa del Rey.

Despite going ahead through Diego Costa in the 73rd minute in the first leg of the quarter-final tie, Atletico were beaten at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday.

Jesus Navas and Joaquin Correa struck in the final 10 minutes to see Sevilla to a 2-1 victory, a result Simeone said was fair.

It was a difficult game. Sevilla, in the first half, had situations. It was open, he said, via Marca.

In the second, we got ahead and that was when they were the most decisive.

The victory is deserved, but there is a match in Seville in a week.

94 | 1-2 | Final. Termina la ida de los 1/4 de final de la en el Wanda

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described old foe Jose Mourinho as a good guy ahead of this weekend s Manchester derby.

United boss Mourinho has clashed with Guardiola numerous times over the years, with their previously intense rivalry dating back to when they coached Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

Mourinho was widely assumed to have been annoyed by Barca s decision to appoint Guardiola over himself in 2008 and the pair had a number of fractious encounters during their time together in LaLiga.

A Clasico clash provided the nadir when Mourinho poked a finger into the eye of Guardiola s assistant Tito Vilanova during a touchline fracas.

But since they took charge at United and City the relationship between Mourinho and Guardiola appears more …

Borussia Dortmund defender Achraf Hakimi has admitted that his heart is still divided between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund as speculation over his future in the world of football continues. 

The 21 year old is currently on loan with Dortmund from Real, and while Madrid may serve as his parent club in this instance, it certainly doesn’t seem as if the youngster is willing to commit his immediate – or long term – future to the club. 

Dortmund have made several moves across the last two transfer windows that have showcased their intent both in domestic and European football, and it’s just a matter of time before we see them rise back up through the ranks of the elite within the Champions League and beyond. 

Hakimi knows that he has a secure plac…

Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui insists he has no extra motivation to beat Real Madrid, despite his short-lived spell at the Santiago Bernabeu last year.

Lopetegui lasted four and a half months before being axed by Madrid last October following a heavy 5-1 loss to bitter rivals Barcelona.

The 53-year-old took just 14 points from a possible 30 during his time in the Spanish capital but has had far more joy at Sevilla since his appointment in June.

Sevilla are two points better off than Madrid ahead of Sunday s clash at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, but Lopetegui claims he is not out for revenge against his former side.

Julen Lopetegui: In the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, there are always great matches and there is always an incredible atmosphere .

— S…

Cristiano Ronaldo has ended a nine-year spell at Real Madrid by agreeing to join Juventus in a deal reported to be worth €105million.

Ronaldo indicated after Madrid won their fourth Champions League in five years that he was considering leaving the club.

And Serie A champions Juventus have swooped to sign the Portugal captain, reportedly paying Ronaldo €30m a year.

Real Madrid CF communicates that, in response to the will and request expressed by the player Cristiano Ronaldo, he has agreed to transfer to Juventus FC, Madrid said in a statement.

Today, Real Madrid wants to express its gratitude to a player who has proved to be the best in the world and who has marked one of the brightest times in the history of our club and world football. 

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Sassuolo ant Torino are set to face each other at Sassuolo s in Reggio Emilia on Monday, in the last game of the 28th round of the Serie A season. It should be an interesting mid-table clash between two very decent teams, and neither will be playing under particular pressure.

Sassuolo

It will be exactly 10 years since Sassuolo earned promotion to the Serie A this summer, and it s more than safe to say that they ve established themselves completely as a necessary and enriching part of the Italian top flight over that decade. They even played in the Europa League in 2016/17.

As things stand, Alessio Dionisi s team are 12th in the Serie A table at this point, with 36 points. There s a big gap (17 points wide and spanning five tea…

Neymar is progressing well in his recovery from an adductor injury, according to Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino. 

The Brazil star has been out of action since suffering the blow in PSG s Coupe de France win away at Caen on February 10. 

His timeline for a return put him on track to feature in the second leg of the Champions League last-16 clash with his former club Barcelona on March 10, PSG holding a commanding 4-1 lead in the tie. 

And, following PSG s 1-0 victory over Bordeaux on Wednesday, Pochettino gave an optimistic update on Neymar s status. 

He told a media conference: Tomorrow, we will evaluate the players and the fact that we can recover a few players, that would be a good thing for the match on Saturday [against Bre…