Louis van Gaal attacks ‘horrible’ reports and plans to see out contract

 

Van Gaal fails to give direct answer on whether he offered to resign 
• Manchester United manager admits FA Cup defeat at Derby would put him at risk

Louis van Gaal went on the attack at his pre-FA Cup press conference when asked to clarify whether he had offered to resign after last weekend’s home defeat by Southampton, before admitting that a similar result in Friday night’s tie at Derby County could get him the sack. “We cannot lose to a Championship club,” he said.

Over the resignation issue the Manchester United manager claimed he was being questioned about his future in a disrespectful way and complained his treatment by the media had been “awful and horrible” but perhaps significantly he did not offer a direct answer.

“I don’t think I have mentioned that ever,” Van Gaal said. “You make your own stories and I am concerned that people believe what you write. This is the third time I am sacked and I am still sitting here. You write all these stories and then I have to answer questions about them. I am not doing that, it is awful and horrible.”

That may be how the Dutch manager feels, though there is a distinction between offering to resign and being sacked, one that Van Gaal seems to be trying to blur. And it remains true that the first person to mention the possibility of resigning, or walking away before waiting to be sacked, was Van Gaal himself at the Britannia Stadium after the Boxing Day defeat by Stoke.

The manager who now says he never mentioned the subject of resignation said at the end of December: “I can quit by myself.” A slight upturn in results in the new year put the matter on hold but a manager of Van Gaal’s immense experience ought to know that, if you place such a comment on public record, it will naturally resurface should performances take a turn for the worse.

Van Gaal conceded the fourth-round Cup tie at Derby had become a game he could not afford to lose. “Maybe then you will have written the truth [about him being sacked] because sometimes it happens. I cannot lose any more, because if I do then I am condemned to being sacked for a fourth time.”

The United manager accepted performances had dipped, though he cited injuries as a contributory factor to the side dropping out of the top four, and agreed that fans had a right to make their feelings heard after the manner of the last defeat.

“It is always like that when you lose a game, especially in the last minute,” he said. “If you play badly and win you are not so fed up but you can also play well and lose, as we did at Chelsea last year, and then you are more fed up than ever.”

Although some United supporters at the end of the Southampton game looked as if they could not possibly be more fed up, they should brace themselves. Van Gaal has reiterated his intention to see out his three-year contract. “Everybody knows I have signed here for three years. I don’t answer any more questions about that because you are making your own stories but I have always said that it is not one game but a process. I want to continue until the end. I know that the results have not been as good as expected but we are all professionals here. It is your duty as a manager and a player to cope with the criticism and stand up again. We are only at halfway – there is still time to improve.”

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne out for 10 weeks due to knee injury

Belgium midfielder tore ankle and knee ligaments against Everton 
• Agent fears he could miss European Championships in France

Kevin De Bruyne is set to miss at least 10 weeks after scans revealed the Belgium international tore ligaments in his knee and ankle in the Capital One Cup semi-final victory over Everton on Wednesday. That would mean he would return to action in mid-April and his agent fears the Manchester City attacking midfielder could miss the European Championship as a result.

De Bruyne, who came on as a late substitute for Yaya Touré in City’s 3-1 win, appeared to catch his studs in the turf and twist his knee as he challenged Ramiro Funes Mori in injury time and was carried off on a stretcher.

De Bruyne revealed on Twitter on Thursday night that he would not play for 10 weeks. “Just got back from the specialist. I’ll be out for around 10 weeks,” he Tweeted. “I’ll work hard on my recovery and hope to be back on the pitch asap. Thank you all for the supportive messages!”

Speaking to the Guardian earlier, his agent, Patrick De Koster, said they will discover more after further tests in the next few days whether he will play again this season.

“Kevin will be out for at least six weeks but it is too early to know more at this stage,” De Koster told the Guardian. “He’s confident. Of course he is a bit sad that he will miss so many important games like the Capital One Cup final and Champions League but Kevin would not be Kevin if he wasn’t already thinking about playing again for City.”

Asked whether the injuries – understood to be tears to the lateral ligament in his right knee and another to one of his ankle ligaments – could mean De Bruyne misses out on playing for Belgium at Euro 2016, De Koster added: “You never know. I’m not going to discuss that at the moment. All Kevin can do now is concentrate on getting better and we will see.”

In what had been an eventful game for the player signed from Wolfsburg in August for a club record £54m – he scored in the 70th minute after the officials missed the ball going over the byline in the buildup and crossed for Sergio Agüero to make it 3-1 on the night – City progressed 4-3 on aggregate and will meet Liverpool in the final at Wembley on 28 February.

The prognosis will be a blow for the manager, Manuel Pellegrini, with City still battling for trophies on four fronts. As well as missing the Capital One Cup final, De Bruyne, who has had 12 assists this season and created more chances than any other City player, will miss the Champions league last-16 tie against Dynamo Kyiv and league matches against the leaders Leicester, fourth-placed Tottenham as well as the Manchester derby on 20 March.

It is understood that De Bruyne will remain in Manchester for his recuperation as his girlfriend is expecting their first child shortly and De Koster is hopeful the player can make a return before the end of the season.

“He will have more tests over the next couple of days and then we should know more,” he said. “I’ve known Kevin since he was 15 and he has never had such a bad injury before. But we hope he can come back quickly to help City.”

Ronaldinho: Firmino as good as Ozil and Silva

Ronaldinho believes countryman Roberto Firmino is “in the same class” as Mesut Ozil, David Silva and Andres Iniesta.

Firmino joined Liverpool for a deal that could be worth up to £29million from Hoffenheim in the summer, and after initially struggling, the 24-year-old has scored five goals and assisted four in 20 Premier League games.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Firmino’s countryman Ronaldinho has been effusive in his praise for the forward, claiming he is as good as Arsenal star Mesut Ozil and David Silva of Manchester City.

“I didn’t ever question if he would be a great player for Liverpool, I knew that he would be,” Ronaldinho said. “He’s one of the best at what he does in the world. He’s in the same class as [Mesut] Ozil, [David] Silva, Iniesta, and all the other great players who play that role.

“He’s the player that I’m sure Klopp will build his new Liverpool team around,” Ronaldinho added.

“Klopp is one of the best coaches in the world, he will know that Liverpool need better players, he will know that Firmino will need better players around him to get the most out of his game.

“I’m sure when he joined Liverpool, Klopp was promised he could bring in his own players, and with Firmino at the centre of the team, there’s no reason Liverpool cannot challenge once again.”

£40m blunder - Chelsea stars will avoid cost of Champions League failure

Unlike many of their rivals, Chelsea have not put clauses into the contracts of their players guarding against missing out on the Champions League

Chelsea players will suffer no financial hit if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League with the club braced to pay the price for not playing in Europe’s elite competition.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that, unlike many of their rivals, Chelsea have not put clauses into the contracts of their players guarding against missing out on the Champions League.

It means that while Chelsea will miss out on at least £40m, the club’s huge wage bill will stay the same as players such as Eden Hazard, their top earner on £200,000 per week, remain on their full salaries.

The new Premier League television deal will soften the blow and should ensure that Chelsea can meet Financial Fair Play rules, but the club’s wage bill without European football could impact on the level of spending they can undertake in the summer.

It could also be taken into consideration if Chelsea receive enormous bids for any star players, although nobody will be sold if the club are placed under a transfer embargo following Fifa’s investigation into their signing of Bertrand Traoré.

Diego Costa remains keen on a return to Spain while Hazard and Thibaut Courtois will be targeted by Europe’s richest clubs if, as expected, Chelsea miss out on Champions League qualification. Chelsea have already started bringing money into the club through transfers this month, with a £20m-plus bid for Ramires from Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning deemed too good to turn down and Newcastle United target Loïc Remy edging towards the exit door.

While many of the top Premier League and European clubs have moved to an incentive-based wage system, Chelsea have stuck to a more straightforward model.

Chelsea players only receive bonuses for winning trophies, rather than receiving performance-related cash boosts.

The club’s wage bill for the year up to June 2015 was the highest in the Premier League at £215.6m after they paid out bonuses for winning the title and the Capital One Cup. The club’s model means that their players get paid the same whether they finish third or 13th, where they currently lie, if they do not win a cup.

A source who deals with the finances of a number of top Premier League and European footballers told The Daily Telegraph that it is now often the case that wages can drop by as much as 20pc for the failure to qualify for the Champions League, but Chelsea do not operate that system.

Chelsea received a cash boost at the end of the last transfer window, when they recouped around £10m as part of Kevin de Bruyne’s move to Manchester City thanks to a sell-on clause inserted by director Marina Granovskaia.

The Blues will also be due a series of add-on payments if Everton sell Romelu Lukaku this summer.

Charly Musonda has become the latest of Chelsea’s highly-rated youngsters to go out on loan after joining Spanish club Real Betis on an initial six-month deal.

3 Players Liverpool Should Consider Signing After Failing To Land Alex Teixeira

A transfer story that has really set up the pace of the boring and uneventful January transfer window so far is Alex Teixeira’s proposed move to Liverpool. The Brazilian midfielder was first linked heavily with a move to Chelsea but in the last week, Liverpool were rumored to be trying to hijack the deal for the Blues.

Despite Liverpool and the player both willing for the move, Shakhtar Donetsk are seeming very resilient to hold on to their biggest asset. Sky sports havereported that Liverpool have failed to agree with Shakhtar on a fee for the 26-year-old midfield sensation who has scored 22 goals in 15 league games this season.

A deal for Alex Teixeira now seems pretty much off the cards now unless Liverpool agree to pay the unrealistic money the Ukrainian side want. But Liverpool need bolstering in their squad and do not have much time to do it. In this article, we will discuss three players Liverpool should consider after their failure to land Teixeira.

Dennis Praet

The 21-year-old Anderlecht’s Belgian playmaker has been linked heavily with Liverpool during the January transfer window. Praet is a very intelligent player who can play as the number 10 or on either wing. He is pacey and has good skills and impressive technique. His vision is outstanding and he is a perfect match for Jurgen Klopp’s style with his style of play.

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He has scored 4 goals and provided 5 assists for Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League in 20 games. Till date, he has made 159 appearances for the Belgian side making 36 assists and scoring 25 goals. He would be a brilliant addition to Liverpool.