Barca Tempted By Griezmann As Transfer Window Set To Open

Barcelona are making moves to bring Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann to the Catalan capital while Manchester City are eyeing Alexis Sanchez as clubs around Europe prepare for the January transfer window.
The winter window opens at one minute past midnight on Jan. 1, but Barca is looking for a belated Christmast present in the France international.
Both players will likely move in the summer but deals could be struck in January, with Sanchez holding out for a reported £400,000-per-week (US$535,000) deal from the runaway Premier League leaders when his contract runs out at th end of the season.
Mundo Deportivo claimed Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has had dinner with Griezmann's parents and sister, who manages the player's affairs, and the club are looking to tie him down to a deal that would see him move in the summer.
Not even Atletico's complaint to FIFA about Barca's public pursual of their star is likely to stop the move from happening, with Barca director Guillermo Amor as good as admitting the meeting took place.
In August, Griezmann's former agent Eric Ohalts revealed that the France forward would have moved to Manchester United in the summer had FIFA not upheld a transfer ban that stopped the Madrid club from buying any reinforcements and now Barca are ready to swoop.
Barca still have full coffers after receiving €222 million ($263 million) from the world record-busting sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Griezmann's 100 million euros buyout clause means the club only need to agree personal terms, avoiding the problems they encountered when they failed to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in August.
Barcelona are however still keeping tabs on Coutinho and could make a lower bid than the €100 million they were prepared to pay in the summer.
After the Neymar signing, PSG has got to sell players to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
Inter Milan are among those looking at PSG midfielder Javier Pastore, who admitted last month he was "disappointed" at his lack of first-team action.
PSG coach Unai Emery admitted that Brazilian midfielder Lucas Moura and French international striker Hatem Ben Arfa are interested in leaving in January, but said nothing Angel Di Maria, who has expressed his annoyance at being forced out of the first team by new arrivals Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Liverpool and Arsenal are keen on PSG's Julian Draxler, but the German international has revealed that he has no plans to leave Paris after finding a new role in Emery's team.
The Qatari-backed Parisians were rumored to be interested in AC Milan's rising star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but after reports of the stopper complaining about being coerced into signing his summer six million-euro contract extension, the club and player - and crucially his powerful agent Mino Raiola - have made moves towards a reconciliation.
PSG have given themselves an FFP boost after agreeing the 35-million-euro sale of 21-year-old talent Gonzalo Guedes with Valencia, where the Portugal international is currently on loan from the Ligue 1 leaders.
The sharks are circling Arsenal, as not just Sanchez but other attacking stars Mezut Ozil and Oliver Giroud head towards potential Gunners exits.
City were denied Sanchez on the summer's deadline day, but City boss Pep Guardiola has indicated he may now wait until the summer before making his move.
Sanchez is reportedly unhappy at Arsenal, and the London club are prepared to open negotiations with City - knowing that Chelsea and Real Madrid are also both interested - to avoid seeing the Chilean star leave on a free transfer in the close season.
City's local rivals Manchester United are looking at the Gunners' other attacking star Ozil, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan the likely player to make way for the Germany international.
United boss Jose Mourinho is a long-time admirer of his former a
Real Madrid charge but the Reds could wait until his contract expires at the end of the season if no-one else makes a winter move.
Giroud could leave as Borussia Dortmund look for a partner for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Chelsea's attacking dynamo Eden Hazard is a top target for Real Madrid, and should the Belgian make a post-World Cup move to Spain, Real's Marco Asensio is keen on joining Guardiola at City. Real are not normally a club that does business in the winter window.
Chelsea are pondering an £80 million bid for Monaco star Thomas Lemar, with Blues striker Michy Batehuayi a potential makeweight as he seeks first-team football to boost his chances of making the Belgian World Cup squad.
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha is also a target for Antonio Conte's side, as is Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, who was denied a summer move to Liverpool, while oit-of-favor Blues centre-back David Luiz had Juventus and Real Madrid keen on his signature.

Terry Daley and Steve Griffiths
Agence France-Presse/Paris

Guerrero To Clear His Name After Ban Cut

Peru captain Paolo Guerrero says he is innocent and will fight to clear his name after FIFA reduced his doping ban to six months, allowing him to play at next year's World Cup.
Guerrero, 33, who plays for Flamengo in Brazil, had been suspended by FIFA in Dec. 8 for a year aftet testing positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine after Peru's 0-0 draw away to Argentina in October.
World soccer's governing body reduced the ban to six months on Wednesday, but Guerrero is still not happy.
"Obviously I am not relieved, it's important to me to keep fighting to prove my innocence. It really is an injustice that they punished me as I have showed I am innocent all along, I proved it, and we will keep proving it until they absolve me."
"They cut the legs from under me," Guerrero added. "I did absolutely nothing wrong."
Guerrero claimed the positive test was due to contamination and vowed to be back in action in 2018.
The former Bayern Munich and Hamburg SV forward, who has scored 42 goals for Flamengo since moving to Brazil in gives the Peru attack a much-needed physical presence and has a galvanizing effect on their less experienced players.
The 0-0 draw with Argentina was a crucial result for Peru, who qualified for the Russia World Cup for the first time since 1982.
The South American side have been drawn in a group with France, Denmark and Australia.

Reuters/Rio De Janeiro

Everton Sees Brighter Season

Everton can completely transform their season by getting positive results during a packed Christmast period, midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson has said.
The resurgent Merseyside club has climbed out of the bottom half of the Premier League and into ninth position with three wins and a draw into four games since Sam Allardyce's appointment as manager earlier this month.
Everton will play four league games and an FA Cup fixture against Liverpool over the next two weeks and Iceland international Sigurdsson has backed the team to continue their revival during a tough period.
"It was a very tough and slow start to the season but at the moment things are looking a lot better. We still need to improve on a few things to keep the momentum going heading into this busy Christmast period," Sigurdsson told the club's website, www.evertonfc.com.
"A few good results change everything in this league and now we're looking forward to a lot of games over Christmast and we can turn this season completely around."
Everton host Chelsea at Goodison Park on Saturday and Sigurdsson called for a competent all-round performance against the champions.
"Chelsea are a very good team and we're going have to perform really well and make sure we take our chances as defensively they are very good and not too bad going forward, either!," the 28-year-old added.
"It's going to be a tough game but over the past few weeks we've been getting good results so we'd like to build on that."

Reuters/London

Bristol City Dumps MU Out of League Cup

English Championship side Bristol City dumped Manchester United out of the League Cup on Wednesday, scoring with seconds remaining to beat the holders 2-1 as Chelsea also progressed to the semi-finals after late drama of their own.
United, second in the Premier League, made 10 changes from their weekend victory against West Brom but still boasted a star-studded line-up including a fearsome front three of Marcus Rashford, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial against the second-division high-flyers.
But as the match appeared to be drifting toward extra time with the score at 1-1, unfancied Bristol dug deep to fashion one last chance and Korey Smith's strike sparked scenes of wild celebration at Ashton Gate.
Bristol, third in the Championship, have now beaten four Premier League sides on their match to the last four of the League Cup and their reward is an even-more daunting-looking two-legged tie against runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The other semi-final next month sees an all-London clash between Chelsea and Arsenal.
"It's an overwhelming feeling of pride, to beat Manchester United is incredible," said manager Lee Johnson. "They are a special group. It has been a long time since we had a result like that at Ashton Gate.
"The lads didn't want to go into extra time and the scenes that winner set off were unbelievable. My dad always says he's the most successful Bristol City manager so I have maybe pushed him close tonight."
The home side took the lead after an even first half, Joe Bryan firing the home side ahead in the 51st minute with a left-foot shot that arrowed into the net past the despairing dive of Sergio Romero.
United were only behind for a few minutes before Ibrahomovic blasted the ball through the wall after a softish-looking free-kick awarded for a foul on Paul Pogba in a central position.
Manager Jose Mourinho threw on even more attackers as he pushed for victory, with Romelo Lukaku replacing Daley Blind while Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on for Ibrahimovic.
But despite pressure from the away side, Bristol held their nerve, taking advantage of some sloppy defensive play from United to score deep into injury time through Smith, who burst into the area, chested the ball down and finished coolly with his left foot.
United surged forward for one last push but it was too late and at the final whistle joyous fans streamed onto the pitch.
"Unbelievable, I don't know what to say," said matchwinner Smith. "We played brilliantly like we have all season. I wasn't being tracked when I made the runs forward, I was gutted with the one in the first half but it was a great tackle to be fair.
"I joined when we were in League One with three stands. We have been brilliant this season."
United welcomed midfield general Paul Pogba into the side after the three-match suspension he picked up against Arsenal earlier this month and Ibrahimovic,36, made his first start since damaginh knee ligaments in April.
Mourinho said Bristol were lucky but praised them for their performance.
"They played brilliantly, they fought like it was the game of their lives which probably it was," he said. "A beautiful day for football. A team from the lower division won. A big day for them.

John Weaver
Agence France-Presse/London

Birthday Boy Mbappe Stars As PSG Downs Caen

Kylian Mbappe celebrated his 19th birthday on Wednesday with a goal and an assist as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) cruised to a 3-1 victory over Caen in Ligue 1.
The French teenager has enjoyed a stratospheric rise in 2017 and rounded out a memorable year in style by setting up Edinson Cavani to fire PSG ahead on 21 minutes, before adding a goal of his own on the hour.
Spanish left-back Yuri Berchiche netted his first goal for the club since arriving from Real Sociedad as PSG strolled to a 10th straight home league win despite conceding a late Ivan Santini penalty.
Unai Emery's team head into the winter break nine points clear of defending champions Monaco and Lyon, with both of those sides claiming 2-1 wins over Rennes and Toulouse respectively.
"It's a good win to finish with 50 points, but the goal we conceded is something we want to work on after the holidays," Emery said.
"I think the team has had a very good first half of the season," he added. "We've accomplished our goals of being first in out ChampAgeeague group and being top of the league with a sizeable cushion."
Marseille responded to losing their 12-match unbeaten run at the weekend by coming from a goal behind to defeat Troyes 3-1 at the Velodrome to stay within three points of the Champions League spots.
PSG captain Thiago Silva returned from injury at the Parc des Princes to solidify a defense without the suspended Dani Alves and Presnel Kimpembe, while Neymar shrugged off a bout of illness that forced him to miss training on Tuesday.
Mbappe, sporting dyed white hair for his birthday, was instrumental as PSG surged in front midway through the first half, bursting down the right wing before crossing for Cavani to flick majestically beyond Remy Vercoutre.
It was the Uruguayan's league leading 19th goal of the season and drew him to within one of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's club record of 156 - achieved in just four prolific seasons in the French capital.
Giovanni Lo Celso, filling in for the banned Marco Verratti in central midfield, created the hosts' second goal on 57 minutes, getting to the byline and delivering a cross for Mbappe to confidently sweep home.
Neymar went close to adding a third when he broke clear of the Caen defence, but the Brazilian was denied by a terrific low stop from Vercoutre as the veteran goalkeeper tipped the ball onto the post.
Berchiche put the game beyond reach on 81 minutes after collecting a pass from Neymar and hammering low into the far corner, although Croatia striker Santini pulled a goal back from the spot late on after Silva was penalised for a handball.
Radamel Falcao struck for the 15th time this campaign as Monaco won at home to Rennes thanks to an 81st-minute goal from Keita Balde after Wahbi Khazri had levelled for the visitors.
Nabil Fekir converted a first-half penalty and former Manchester United full-back Rafael scored in stoppage time as Lyon beat Toulouse despite a last-gasp spot-kick from Max-Alain Gradel.
"PSG are setting a fairly high pace. For us the main goal is to finish on the podium and to carry on in the second half of the season like we finished the first," Lyon captain Fekir said.
Bryan Pele put Troyes ahead at Marseille, but Rudi Garcia's men roared back with goals from Dimitri Payet, Luiz Gustavo and Valere Germain, while Emiliano Sala grabbed a 92nf-minute winner for Nantes in a 1-0 victory at Amiens.
Nice were held to a 1-1 draw at Lille in the absence of suspended Italian striker Mario Balotelli, the result enough to move the struggling hosts out of the bottom two.

Martyn Wood
Agence France-Presse/Paris

Barca Edges Real On Income But Liga Growth Key To Usurping United

Barcelona head into Saturday's "Clasico" against Real Madrid with a whopping 11-point gap over their bitter rivals in the La Liga title race - and they also have the advantage in financial terms, albeit by a smaller margins.
The two teams are separated by a hair's breadth in the latest edition of the Deloitte Money League, with Barcelona generating €620.2 million (US$736.74 million) in revenue in 2015/2016 compared with Real's 620.1 million.
Barca also sit above Real in the 2017 Forbes Sports Money Index, which ranks clubs according to their estimate value as a brand. The Catalan club is estimated to be worth $3.64 billion and Real 3.58 billion.
However, the two Spanish clubs trail Manchester United in both tables. The 20-times English champions had revenues of 689 billion euros and are estimated to be worth $3.69 billion.
Barcelona also have the heftier wage bill, according to the 2017 Global Sports Salary Survey, paying their squad an average $8,576,750 annually compared with Real's $8,092,283.
According to Timothy Bridge, senior consultant for Deloitte Sports Business Group, Barca's narrow lead over Real in commercial terms is the result of their enduring drive to built revenues, which began when Ferran Soriano, now chief executive at Manchester City, joined the Catalan club in 2003.
Soriano's arrival was accompanied by sustained success on the field, with Barca winning eight Liga titles and four Champions League since 2005.
"There was a concentrated effort in the early 2000s to really capitalize on their branding and grow revenue accordingly," Bridge told Reuters.
"The effort that went into ensuring Barca was a commercially viable was assisted by the fact the team performed so strongly, and the two things go hand in hand.
"The strong performance of the team helps them get more idols in the team, which drives commercial value. People want to be associated with biggest and best brands and you have to pay for that exposure."
Barca earn 58 million euros per year from their four-year shirt sponsorship deal with Japanese retailer Rakuten, which was signed in November 2016, out-stripping the 38 million euros Real receive annually from airline Emirates, although that agreement is up for renewal next year.
The two club's best chance of unseating United as number one in terms of revenues and brand values, however, depends on La Liga catching up with the Premier League in terms of worldwide audience.
"It's about supporting the growth of the league overall to ensure international broadcast rights are maximized," added Bridge.
La Liga signed a record broadcast rights deal worth 1.555 billion euros in 2015 after switching to a model based on collective bargaining. President Javier Tebas has said the next deal, coming into effect from 2019/2020, could be worth 2.3 billion.
The league has made huge strides in building its international audience in the past year and has switched Saturday's game between Real and Barca from its traditional Spanish night-time kickoff to a lunchtime start in a bid to broaden its appeal to viewers in Asia.
The objective is to use the popularity of the flagship fixture to promote the whole league.
"One of our key priorities is to present La Liga as much broader than Real Madrid and Barcelona," said Joris Evers, La Liga's global director of communications.

Richard Martin
Reuters/Barcelona

Arsenal Wasted Oxlade-Chamberlain Says Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has risked Arsene Wenger's wrath ahead of Liverpool's visit to the Emirates Stadium by claiming the Arsenal manager failed to get the best out of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool in August after Wenger decided to cash in before the England midfielder's contract expired.
The 24-year-old never quite lived up to his early promise at Arsenal after his switch from Southampton.
But, after a slow start at Liverpool following his US$46-million move, Oxlade Chamberlain has started to hit his stride in recent weeks - just in time for his first return to Emirates on Friday.
Reds boss Klopp has been impressed by Oxlade-Chamberlain's development at Anfield, saying: "He had to adapt. I know how it is if you're kind of a big signing.
"You have to perform immediately. But it:s difficult.
"I was happy from the first day about his involvement, about his attitude, and since then he became more and more a Liverpool player."
But Klopp believes Oxlade-Chamberlain would already be an even more potent force if he had been instructed to add a goal threat to his game while he was with Arsenal.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has scored just twice in 20 appearances for Liverpool and managed 20 goals in 198 games for Arsenal.
Klopp believes that poor strike rate is down to Wenger prioritizing the talents of Alexis Sanchez and Mezut Ozil.
"I think the biggest improvement, or the biggest potential he still has, is really being involved in goalscoring situations, because he has it in himself," Klopp said.
As if that wasn't enough to irk Wenger, Klopp also made a point of highlighting how the Frenchman, so renowned for his purist principles, he often used a far more rudimentary approach against liverpool based around the aerial ability of Olivier Giroud. With Manchester City running away with the Premier League title race, the focus at the Emirates will on the battle for a top four finish.
It is a crucial clash for both sides as fourth placed Liverpool are one point ahead of fifth Arsenal in the battle to qualify for the Champions League.
Wenger made it clear how important Liverpool's visit is when he made 11 changes for Tuesday's 1-0 League Cup quarter-final win over West Ham.

Steven Griffiths
Agence France-Presse/London