Football

Dest explains why he chose Barcelona over Bayern as USMNT star relishes ‘exciting’ Messi meeting

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The Bundesliga champions crushed their Spanish opponents in the Champions League but Ronald Koeman’s side won the race to sign the right-back

Sergino Dest went with his heart in choosing Barcelona over Bayern Munich and has vowed to do whatever it takes to help Lionel Messi.

Barca beat Bayern to the signature of the United States right-back, who joined from Ajax in a deal that could eventually cost the Catalan club €26 million (£24m/$30m) .

Dest signed a five-year contract with a €400m (£362m/$468m) buyout clause, opting for Barca despite them being thumped 8-2 by Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals last season .

“Bayern are a great club and there was interest from them, but I followed what my heart told me to and for that I signed for Barca. I think it was the right decision,” Dest told a news conference.

“They are a club with so much history and I’ve always wanted to play here.”

Dest is naturally relishing the prospect of playing alongside Messi, who opted to remain at the club for another season after a failed attempt to invoke a clause allowing him to leave for free.

“It’s amazing to play with the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, I looked up to him,” Dest added.

“I will run as much as I have to, I will run for everybody in the team. It will be so exciting to meet the best player in the world.”

Dest is the first American to play for Barca, joining youth-team player Konrad de la Fuente at Camp Nou. Born to a Dutch mother and a Surinamese-American father in Almere, he elected to represent United States over Netherlands.

But he still cited Koeman, who left his post as Netherlands boss to take over Barca following Quique Setien’s exit, as a factor in his decision.

“Koeman of course was an influence, because he’s Dutch and it will be easier to communicate with him,” Dest said.

As for his inspiration, Dest is looking to emulate Dani Alves, who was the right-back for Barca in each of their treble-winning sides under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

Dest, who could make his debut against Sevilla on Sunday, explained: “If I can play this Sunday, it would be great, because I want to start as soon as possible.

“My role model was Dani Alves, a really good player at right-back, same position. Watching his clips on YouTube, I learned a lot from him and I can still learn a lot from him because his team-mates are over here like Lionel Messi and I can ask for advice. I want to be a player similar like him.”

Football

Barcelona deny Dembele talks with Man Utd and expect World Cup winner to stay

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Ramon Planes, technical director of the Liga giants, has sought to bring an end to speculation suggesting that a French winger could head to England

Barcelona have not held any discussions with Manchester United regarding Ousmane Dembele and expect the World Cup winner to remain at Camp Nou, claims Ramon Planes.

The Red Devils are said to have turned their attention towards the France international as the summer transfer deadline approaches.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spent much of the window pursuing a deal for Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho.

No progress has been made there, though, forcing the Premier League heavyweights to consider alternative options.

Dembele, given his injury struggles and lack of impact at Barca, was considered to be an achievable target for United.

Reports have suggested that the 24-year-old would be open to making a move to Old Trafford, but Planes insists no such deal is on the cards.

Barca’s technical director told reporters when quizzed on the latest round of rumours: “First of all, no negotiations with Man United at the moment, completely deny that.

“He’s a player we count on, we know his potential. We hope this year the team sees the best of him.”

While seeking to bring an end to the speculation surrounding one possible outgoing, there is still plenty of talk of Barca bolstering their ranks before the next deadline passes.

Lyon star Memphis Depay has been heavily linked with a switch to Catalunya, and Planes admits every effort will be made to give Ronald Koeman the players he wants and needs.

He added, with the Blaugrana having opened their 2020-21 campaign with back-to-back victories in La Liga: “We have a good squad, who have competed very well.

“There are always teams to reinforce. We are working with the coach. Daily communication.

“On an attacking level there is great potential and, defensively, it is true that it is weaker.

“We will work until the last day to bring the best and, if someone comes, who can be good. We will not sign for the sake of signing someone. Soon there will be another market.”

Barca do have gaps to fill within their squad, with prolific frontman Luis Suarez having been allowed to leave for domestic rivals Atletico Madrid while Portuguese full-back Nelson Semedo has been sold to Wolves.

Football

‘Messi is fired up and working his socks off’ – Sergi Roberto sees ‘desire’ in Barcelona talisman

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A Camp Nou colleague of the mercurial Argentine claims to have seen no dip from the South American on the back of his efforts to leave the club

Lionel Messi may have wanted out of Barcelona over the summer but he is now “fired up” and “working his socks off” for the good of the collective cause at Camp Nou, says Sergi Roberto.

A testing end to the 2019-20 campaign saw the six-time Ballon d’Or winner push for the exits in Catalunya.

Messi had grown disillusioned with life at the only club side he has represented in a remarkable career to date.

A path leading elsewhere was to be blocked off, though, and the decision was ultimately taken to stay put and honour the final year of his contract – with that revelation made in an exclusive interview with Goal.

There was never any danger of Messi downing tools at Barca, with competitive spirit very much part of his makeup.

The 33-year-old has helped the Blaugrana, who are now working under the guidance of Ronald Koeman, to make a positive start to the 2020-21 season, with back-to-back La Liga wins collected from meetings with Villarreal and Celta Vigo.

Roberto sees a talismanic figure giving his all in the pursuit of major honours, telling reporters after a 3-0 victory over Celta: “Leo is really fired up, he ran so much and worked his socks off for the team. It’s important that he’s playing with so much desire.”

Messi was disappointed to see Barca sanction a move to Atletico Madrid for Luis Suarez, but he has found another productive partner in 17-year-old Ansu Fati.

The highly-rated youngster was on target again in his latest outing, with Roberto adding: “Ansu is young, playing, scoring goals and I’m really happy for him, I hope he continues doing that.”

Positivity is starting to flow again at Camp Nou, with Koeman helping to banish the memories of a humbling 8-2 Champions League defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich which brought Barca’s 2019-20 campaign and the reign of Quique Setien to a close.

Roberto said of the current mood: “You can see how united we are. We showed it in the first game and again [versus Celta].

“We couldn’t go into games like we were.

“We worked really hard in pre-season, in every training session and you can see that in the games.”

Barca – who have been drawn alongside Juventus, Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros in the Champions League group stage – will be back in action on Sunday when playing host to Sevilla.

Football

Champions League group stage: Barcelona paired with Juventus, Man United face PSG & draw in full

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will face off for the first time since the latter’s move to Turin from Real Madrid two years ago

Barcelona will face Juventus in the group stage of the Champions League after they were paired together in Group G in the draw, which took place in Geneva on Thursday.

The heavyweight fixture will see Cristiano Ronaldo come up against Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for the first time since his move to Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.

The two men, who have shared 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Or awards between them, enjoyed a historic rivalry in La Liga, and will resume hostilities in Europe’s elite competition next month.

Barca and Juve have been joined in Group G by Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros, the Hungarian outfit who beat Celtic en-route to qualifying for the main draw for the first time in their history.

Meanwhile, Manchester United‘s return to the Champions League has been marked with a draw against last year’s Champions League finalists PSG, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in Group H.

Reigning champions Bayern Munich will play Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow in Group A for a place in the knockout stages, having got their hands on the trophy for the sixth time by beating PSG 1-0 in Lisbon on August 23.

Group D will see 2018 winners Liverpool, who suffered a surprise early exit at the hands of Atletico last term, square off against Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland.

13-time winners Real Madrid have been dealt a tough hand in Group B alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Manchester City were handed a more favourable draw against Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille in Group C, as they bid to win the competition for the first time in their history once again.

The last English side to qualify from the Premier League were Chelsea, who will play Europa League winners Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes, who will be making their first appearance on Europe’s biggest stage, in Group E.

In Group F, Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Club Brugge will do battle, with the 2020-21 edition of the Champions League set to kick off on October 20/21, with fixtures continuing through to early December to decide who will reach the last 16 stage.

Football

‘It’s up to Barcelona & Dembele’ – Koeman responds amid Man Utd links

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Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has issued a response to the rumours linking Ousmane Dembele with a move to Manchester United.

United are reportedly in talks to sign Dembele on a season-long loan, and hope to finalise a deal before the transfer window slams shut on October 5.

Koeman addressed the speculation over the Frenchman’s future at a press conference on Tuesday, telling reporters: “The first thing to say is that it is up to the club and to the player.

“But he is with us and as we’ve seen in recent weeks I am counting on him….he has to wait to play but he is training well, getting fitter.

“I want to say that I am counting on him.”

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