Shawcross signs five-year Stoke deal

Barcelona will need to reduce their wage bill next term, says LaLiga president Javier Tebas, as the club do not have the income in order to match their pay packets.

The Blaugrana have famously been in financial turmoil over recent seasons, yet have been able to conduct high-priced transfer dealings through the activation of financial levers and risky strategies.

These have been born out of selling off crucial non-playing assets, helping to secure moves for Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha ahead of the new campaign amongst others.

But Tebas and league corporate general manager Javier Gomez say Xavi s team will need to cut their cloth, while defending the league s actions that have seen them seemingly over-accommodate the club s needs.

Barca have to reduce …

Lionel Messi believes the special duel between him and Cristiano Ronaldo when the pair were on opposite sides of the Clasico rivalry will leave a lasting impression.

The Barcelona superstar went head-to-head with Ronaldo for almost a decade in LaLiga, where the two scored at an astonishing rate and practically assumed shared custody of the Ballon d Or.

Debate rages over who the world s best player is, but a shortlist of two is almost universally accepted – it is either Messi or Ronaldo.

The Portugal forward has since departed for Juventus, but Messi ​– who won a record sixth Ballon d Or in December – has fond memories of their long-running Spanish saga.

35 s Lionel Messi has become the player with the most hat-tricks in history (35), surpa…

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Round 33 of the Premier League season is being played from Tuesday to Thursday this week, and as its part, West Ham will welcome Liverpool to the London Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The two teams are fighting their respective battles to achieve different goals, which means every point won or dropped between now and the end of the season is likely to be of great consequence for both.

West Ham

The Hammers had a couple of excellent seasons, most notably the last two as they stood a decent chance of finishing inside the top four and eventually securing a place in Europe. Now, however, David Moyes team seems to have lost a big part of that drive and as the campaign approaches its finish, they haven t done enough to feel safe abou…

Ryan Mason has a Tottenham team willing to fight for their place in the upper echelons of the Premier League after a comeback draw with Manchester United.

Goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min helped the interim boss break the club s losing streak in the first game in charge after replacing Cristian Stellini

Mason is no stranger to the Spurs hot seat, having been caretaker following Jose Mourinho s exit two years ago, during which he was in charge for the EFL Cup final.

But after a 6-1 loss to Newcastle United last time out, Mason was delighted to get a response from his side that underlines their desire.

In football, you can win, lose or draw but the most important [thing] is that we react together, he told BT Sport. I have a team that s willing to f…

Real Madrid in fresh assault on De Gea

Champions League holders Real Madrid are stepping up their efforts to sign David De Gea from Manchester United, .

It is no secret that los Blancos are eager to lure the Spain international to Santiago Bernabeu and they are set to try and sign him in the next transfer window.

With long-serving keeper Iker Casillas nearing a summer exit, Real Madrid plan to recruit De Gea at the earliest opportunity.

The 24-year-old has proved his worth at Old Trafford, but his current contract is due to expire in June 2016.

And while the goalkeeper is open to extending his deal, his agents hope to include a €30 million release clause in any agreement, which is enough to suggest they are well aware of Real Madrid interest.

Inaki Williams does not see himself leaving Athletic Bilbao as he has big plans at the LaLiga outfit, despite reported interest from Liverpool.

Williams, 22, has emerged as a possible transfer target for Premier League title hopefuls Liverpool, with manager Jurgen Klopp an admirer.

But the Spanish forward, who earned his first international cap in May, has dismissed a move to Anfield, pledging his future to Athletic.

I m happy at Athletic, it s where I want to be, Williams told AS Diario.

I am very grateful to the fans, the club and my team-mates.

I want to continue here for many more years. I want to be Athletic s future number nine the player who raises the roof at San Mames every week and scores lot of goals.

Williams has been a rev…

Karim Benzema has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo s departure has allowed him to take on a different role in Real Madrid s attack.

The Frenchman has scored a goal every 1.7 games across all competitions in the two-and-a-half seasons since Ronaldo made a €100million switch to Juventus.

But in their nine campaigns together at the Santiago Bernabeu, Benzema was instead finding the back of the net once every 2.2 games.

And the 33-year-old has now acknowledged that he had to sacrifice certain parts of his game for Ronaldo s benefit not that he has any regrets over the matter.

Cristiano s departure allowed me to play a different role. He scored 50 goals every year and you had to adapt to his game, he told El Pais.

15    has scored at least 15 goals …

Jose Mourinho would consider introducing diving lessons for his Roma stars because he fears the only way they will win penalties is by playing the clown .

The head coach was red-carded in Sunday s 1-0 home defeat to Atalanta after wildly protesting when Nicolo Zaniolo went down in the 55th minute under a challenge from Caleb Okoli but did not get a penalty.

Mourinho was adamant his team deserved a spot-kick for that incident, and he also wanted one in the first half for another challenge on Zaniolo, when Merih Demiral appeared to foul the Roma forward.

Zaniolo stumbled on and got back to his feet after tangling with Demiral, and the referee s refusal to point to the spot on that occasion appeared to fuel Mourinho s later tirade.

By marching onto the pit…

Honduras have stormed to the top of Group B at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-0 victory over Haiti, who have yet to win in 2013.

Ronny Martinez and Marvin Chavez scored either side of half-time for Honduras as they ruined Haiti s return to Gold Cup competition, while in the other Group B match, El Salvador drew 2-2 with Trinidad and Tobago.

The win on Monday handed Honduras three points and top spot in Group B with El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago equal on one point, while Haiti were left bottom of the standings.

Haiti missed out on the 2011 Gold Cup, as they won just once in three qualification games held less than a year after the 2010 earthquake in the tiny Caribbean nation, but their return to the continental championships started badly and did not get any bette…

Prestatyn Town s dream maiden European campaign will continue in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Prestatyn qualified for continental competition for the first time in their history by winning the Welsh Cup in 2012-13, but were considered unlikely candidates to progress beyond the first round of qualification.

However, a shock win on penalties against SK Liepajas Metalurgs last week ensured their improbable journey would continue, with the club now preparing to meet Croatia s Rijeka.

And player-manager Neil Gibson, who scored the the second of two late goals in Latvia that forced spot-kicks, admits he can hardly believe his side s progress.

I ve just had a text five minutes ago from (Prestatyn defender) Dave Hayes asking me if it…