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Memphis Depay has found himself on the fringes of the Manchester United first team since Mourinho took over and he doesn't look too happy about it. Even the sight of his £250K Rolls Royce didn't seem to lift his spirits. The Dutchman was pictured looking glum as he rolled out in the super car for lunch with a friend in Cheshire village. He has hardly featured for United this season and has strongly been linked with a move away from Old Trafford but Mourinho has hinted that the player has a future with the Red Devils. Mourinho said of the 22-year-old: 'We have a lot of players in Memphis' position. It is the one position where we are overbooked really. 'We have Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Mata, Rashford, sometimes Rooney, Memphis. We have a lot of players there. So it is not easy for anyone of them to play. 'I was informed by the club that there is a chance Memphis could leave. From a human point of view, I cannot stop him from leaving when he is not playing ...

Pep Guardiola’s successor Carlo Ancelotti says he has changed little at Bayern Munich as the defending German champions drubbed Werder Bremen 6-0 on Friday to kick off the new season. The Italian is clearly a fan of the adage ‘never change a winning team’ after Guardiola led Bayern to the German league and cup double on his swansong last season. Under Guardiola, now head coach at Manchester City, and his predecessor Jupp Heynckes, Bayern won the last four Bundesliga titles in a row, a record in Germany’s top flight. Ancelotti says he made few changes to Guardiola’s set up as Robert Lewandowski netted a hat-trick and Bayern enjoyed 70 percent possession at Munich’s Allianz Arena. “I changed very little as this is a very strong team, maybe we just need to play forward a little more,” Ancelotti told German broadcaster ARD. “I am very happy. That was a very good performance from my team. “We got off to a good start and took control of the game early on. “We played well o...

Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho, has warned Bastian Schweinsteiger that he would rather play youngsters than allow him feature for the club again. Mourinho has banished the German midfielder from the first team, but Schweinsteiger is adamant he will not join another club in Europe. His stance has made it almost impossible for United to offload the 31-year-old and Mourinho is not ready to reconsider his own position. “I have 23 players in the squad and in principle nobody is leaving, because I don’t want anyone to leave,” Mourinho said. “No-one is coming and 23 players is more than enough. If we have any kind of problem or any kind opportunity, I have a few young players in the academy that I will be more than happy to give an acceleration in that process and to bring them up now and again.” Asked if Schweinsteiger could play for United again, the Portuguese said: “I think it’s very difficult to happen. I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’m saying its very difficult be...

West Ham failed to reach the Europa League group stage as Astra Giurgiu condemned the Hammers to a first competitive loss at the London Stadium. After a 1-1 away draw last week, West Ham trailed when Filipe Teixeira precisely finished a swift counter-attack by the Romanian champions. The Hammers improved after the break, with Jonathan Calleri and Winston Reid bundling their best chances wide. Ashley Fletcher also went close, but West Ham could not force extra time. It is the second successive season that Astra, who have only won once in five league games this season, have knocked the Hammers out of the Europa League qualifying round. The home fans quickly left the Premier League club’s new 60,000-seater stadium within seconds of the full-time whistle, although the small pocket of Romanian fans remained to celebrate with their jubilant players. “The disappointment is massive,” said West Ham manager Slaven Bilic. “We didn’t play good in the first half or with desire as...

Police in Brazil have charged US swimmer Ryan Lochte with making a false statement about being robbed at gunpoint during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The police statement also recommends that the court issues a summons for the gold medal winner. The US State Department said it was aware of the request. Lochte flew out of Brazil after the Games before he could be questioned about the alleged false claim. He initially claimed that he and three fellow swimmers were robbed at gunpoint in a taxi by men with a police badge as they returned to the Olympic village from a party. But the police say he made up the story and officers produced video evidence that the group were actually challenged by security guards after they’d vandalised a petrol station toilet. The swimmer has admitted he was drunk and apologised, but he now has to decide whether or not to return to Brazil to defend the charges. The crime faces a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and the 32-year-old ca...

Kenyan athletes are stranded in a Rio shanty town where gun shots can be heard following the closure of the Olympic village, the team captain says. Officials delayed their return home as they looked for a “cheap flight”, said Wesley Korir, a marathon runner who is also an opposition MP. He posted images on Twitter of dilapidated buildings in the area where he said they were forced to stay. Team Kenya has been dogged by allegations of mismanagement at Rio. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered an investigation into the mismanagement of the team. Athletes had experienced “hell”, and he would demand action when he returned home, Korir said. The team won 13 medals, the highest by an African country, and this “is how they threat us”, he added. The men’s marathon team is among the athletes stuck in the shanty town, except for gold medallist Eliud Kipchoge who bought his own ticket to leave, Korir said. Athletes were ordered to stay indoors as gun shots were heard ...

The former head of European football, Michel Platini, arrived at the world’s top sports court on Thursday to testify at Sepp Blatter’s last-chance appeal against his FIFA ban. “I came to tell the truth, for the umpteenth time,” Platini told reporters outside the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. The former French international is the key figure in the scandal that brought down Blatter, which has been the subject of extensive debate, including in FIFA’s ethics committee. Platini was on the receiving end of the suspect 2 million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment that Blatter authorised in 2011. FIFA has said the payment amounted to an ethics violation and has suspended both men for six years. Blatter and Platini insist it was a legitimate payment for an unpaid balance that FIFA owed the UEFA boss for consulting work done a decade earlier. Platini lost his CAS appeal against his own FIFA ban earlier this year, at which Blatt...

Mikel John Obi has hinted that he would want to make another appearance at the Olympic Games in four years when the Japanese city Tokyo plays hosts to the World. The Chelsea midfielder, one of two senior players in the Nigeria Under-23 squad that won bronze in the men’s football event at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, opened up that he “enjoyed every minute of being in Brazil” and is already relishing the prospect of featuring at the next Olympics despite knowing that he would be 33 by then. “This experience has given me the hunger to do it again at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. I will be only 33 then and my game will still be at a high level. “I enjoyed every minute of being in Brazil and I have been talking to the other guys about playing in another Olympics. I’m already looking forward to it and the countdown is on!” Mikel wrote in his column for ‘Evening Standard’ on Monday. The 29-year-old is also proud of being an Olympic medal winner and took time to relive how the Nig...

Former captain Patrick Vieira supports manager Arsene Wenger’s stringent transfer policy at Arsenal but said reinforcements might be needed following the north London side’s lacklustre start to the Premier League campaign. Arsenal played out a goalless draw with champions Leicester City on Saturday after losing their opening game against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month. With the Gunners still searching for their first win of the season, Wenger has come under increasing scrutiny from the fans and the media for his lack of investment into the squad, which finished second last campaign. “I quite admire that, in the world where some clubs have so much money, they go and buy players who are £40 million and are worth £10 million,” Vieira, who captained Wenger’s last title-winning team in 2004, told British media. Wenger has made three additions to his squad during the current transfer window, bringing in midfielder Granit Xhaka, defender Rob Holding and strike...

Tammy Danagogo, immediate past Minister of Sports, says Dream Team’s efforts and sacrifice in the midst of nothing is responsible for their victory in the just concluded Rio Olympics. Danagogo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Port Harcourt that Coach Sampson Siasia and the players deserved commendation for their fighting spirit and determination to succeed. “First, I congratulate the boys and the coaches, I think it is their efforts and sacrifice that has given Nigeria honour. I commend them for their sacrifice to the nation. “I believe that from what we saw, and what we know, we have the potentials to win even gold medals, if we had given all what we should have given into the competition. “But nevertheless, the boys in the midst of nothing were able to make water out of the rock with the rock situation they found themselves,” Danagogo said. According to the former minister, there is need to do more as a country, government and as managers of sports to be...

It is indeed sad that Nigeria couldn't win a gold medal at the Olympic games held in Rio. But it is also a delight to see Nigerian-born American athlete, Morolake Akinosun clinch Gold at the games in Rio. 22-year-old Morolake Akinnosun is the daughter of Pastor Wale and Pastor Foluke Akinosun and she was born in Lagos, Nigeria, although she represented the U.S.A at the games. Morolake is an American track runner who participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and won gold at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto in 4 x 100 meter with team mates Barbara Pierre, LaKeisha Lawson, Kaylin Whitney. She is only the second woman ever to score in four events at an NCAA Outdoor Championships in consecutive seasons. She is a four time NCAA 4 x 400 champion.

A benefactor has handed a reward of $390,000 to the Nigerian Olympic football team in Brazil after the West African country won bronze on Saturday. Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu had promised to reward the team after hearing about their financial difficulties before and during the tournament. Takasu fulfilled his promise by presenting cheques of $200,000 and $190,000 to coach Samson Siasia and Captain John Mikel Obi respectively on behalf of the team. He met with them two hours after Nigeria defeated Honduras 3-2 in the bronze medal play-off. “The $200,000 covers the bonuses and allowances as promised and the $190,000 is for the bronze medal,” Takasu told BBC Sport. “I had travelled from Tokyo prepared to reward them anyway, and to watch them win the bronze inside the stadium was very fulfilling,” he added. Before arriving in Rio, Nigeria’s ‘Dream Team VI’ were held up in Atlanta, USA, because of a problem with the payment for their flight, and they only landed in B...

The eagerly awaited football season is indeed back and full of drama already, but for some of us there's still a bit longer to wait to get our full dose of excitement. Fifa 17 is just around the corner, and gamers are now getting a much clearer idea of what's in store this year. So here's everything you might be itching to ask and what to expect: When will the game be released? Fans can hurry down to the shops on Thursday September 29 in the UK to grab the latest edition. Gamers in the US are lucky enough to be getting it two days prior. It’s also available to pre-order through EA Sports. What new features can we expect? Producers are boasting a plethora of adjustments and new features to the latest version. Firstly, the Career mode has been given an overhaul. Managers will be individually tailored with their own personalities. You will also get a more hands-on approach, with realistic board expectations and a more in-depth view of your club’s finances. Fifa 17 T...

Alexis Sanchez has hopes of leaving Arsenal before the market shuts. The attacker has so far baulked at recent Arsenal attempts to discuss new terms and Don Balon says he plans to leave. Alexis, formerly of Barcelona, was eager to hear from Real Madrid at the beginning of the summer transfer window, but their interest has since waned. Instead, Juventus are now emerging as a potential destination. Sport says Alexis has told Arsenal officials he wants to leave and has urged the club to listen to Juve’s offer. However, the Chile international has been informed he will only be allowed to leave if the Gunners can secure a replacement before the transfer deadline falls.

Jose Mourinho has explained why he didn’t name Henrikh Mkhitaryan in his starting XI for either of Manchester United’s first two competitive games of the season. Attacking midfielder Mkhitaryan, 27, became the second of the Reds’ four summer signings when he completed his switch from Borussia Dortmund early in July. Last season’s Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Year started United’s first three pre-season encounters, against Wigan Athletic, his old club Dortmund and Galatasaray, before playing the second half of Wayne Rooney’s Testimonial against Everton. But the Armenian is being eased into competitive action, coming off the bench in stoppage time in the Reds’ Community Shield win over Leicester City, and for the final 15 minutes of the Premier League opening-weekend victory at Bournemouth. Asked in his Thursday press conference to reveal his thinking behind the decision, Mourinho provided an honest and detailed answer, reiterating that Mkhitaryan would be an important pl...

Dalilah Muhammad of the United States led from start to finish to take the Olympic gold medal in the 400 meters hurdles on Thursday and complete a U.S. double in the women’s and men’s events. Denmark’s Sara Slott Petersen won the silver medal ahead of Ashley Spencer of the United States, with world champion Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic managing only fourth. With steady rain pouring down at the Olympic stadium, Muhammad shot out of the blocks, rose quickest at the first hurdle and never looked like being overtaken. She clocked 53.13 seconds to win by a margin of 0.42. “The reality of winning is even better than the dream. Olympic champion in front of my name,” said Muhammad, runner-up at the 2013 World Championship. The 26-year-old had come to the Rio Games as the fastest woman in the event this year, Petersen, the European champion, ran 53.55 seconds, and Spencer recorded a personal best of 53.72. The result underlined U.S. supremacy in the hurdle events, with Ke...

Japanese Pole Vaulter at Rio 2016, Hiroki Ogita has hit back on Twitter at the jests and criticism he's received after his seemingly 'erect' penis and leg hit the bar at 17 feet, 4 inches leading to his disqualification from the men's pole vault competition  on Monday . The video quickly spread online with most people on social media joking that he would have qualified if his erect penis hadn't gotten in the way. The athlete has fired back on Twitter. "I never expected the foreign media to take me down like this," the 28-year-old athlete tweeted in Japanese. "It's one thing if it was true, but I have to say I'm pretty devastated that they'd go so far to make something up to mock and ridicule me so much." "To be honest, it's pretty rough, but I guess I'm in the spotlight so this might be some kind of opportunity. I'll do my best and get the results so that I get the last laugh," he wrote. ...

Usain Bolt vowed to go for a world record in Thursday’s Rio Olympics 200m final after Jamaican compatriot Elaine Thompson completed a stunning women’s sprint double. Brazil’s football team set up a revenge showdown against Germany — who crushed the hosts 7-1 in the World Cup two years ago — only to lose another strategic final to the Germans on Copacabana beach. Bolt, boosted by his win in Sunday’s 100m final, looked unstoppable as he reached the 200m final with a season’s best of 19.78sec. He had time to ease up 40 metres from the line and still finish ahead of Canada’s Andre De Grasse. Bolt believes his world record of 19.19sec is in jeopardy. “I definitely think I can try for the world record, I definitely feel that,” he said. There was a shock as Bolt’s US rival Justin Gatlin — the fastest man over the distance this year — failed to make the final. Gatlin, who has been booed in Rio over two doping failures and came second in the 100m, blamed an ankle injury suffered...

The men's semi-final had barely kicked off when Barcelona forward Neymar intercepted the ball, charged towards the Honduran side, challenged the goalie and bundled the ball into the net, sending the Maracana stadium into a frenzy of cheers. "It was amazing to just arrive in the stadium and watch a beautiful goal," said Filipe Deliza, a 19 year-old law student from Rio at the packed Rio venue. "I was expecting Brazil to win but I was not expecting it would be so easy," added Deliza, wearing a yellow Brazilian shirt. Hurt Honduras were shaken by the goal and never recovered, going on to lose 6-0. "We didn't expect this," Honduran keeper Luis Lopez told Reuters about Neymar's goal. "Honestly, it hurts." But soccer-mad Brazilians were delighted, chanting "Neymar!" during much of the match - including when he netted a penalty at 90 minutes to put the icing on the cake. Neymar will have to keep the magic going to a...