Its a joke.. "We're tidying up Jose Mourinho mess - Benitez's wife"

Montserrat Seara has talked up her husband's passion for football and what made some Liverpool fans so incensed at his approach

Rafa Benitez has joined Real Madrid to tidy up another mess of Jose Mourinho's making, according to the Spanish coach's wife.

The former Napoli boss, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this summer, has now succeeded Mourinho at three different clubs, having previously taken charge at Inter and Chelsea.

And Montserrat Seara believes it seems almost fated that Benitez should continue to join clubs in the Portuguese coach's wake.

"We tidy up his messes," she joked, speaking to La Region. "If you think about it, of course you end up crossing paths. There are only a few world-class clubs out there."

Seara, a law professor from the northern region of Galicia, says her husband's passion for the game remains unabated despite the difficult circumstances of his time with Napoli.

"On our first date, Rafa explained to me what a 4-4-2 was. He finds it hard to stay away from the game," she said. "The year we spent at home he helped coach the local school team. It was hilarious. He stood on the sidelines and shouted at them as if they were first division players, waving his arms about. He doesn't see football as work, it's his passion.

"It was hard to see each other over the winter in Napoli. There were no direct flights and it was complicated. Things will be much easier now in Madrid."

Seara also believes Benitez's infamous tendency to tinker with his starting line-ups left him hugely unpopular with a handful of fans by the end of his spell with Liverpool.

"Even I don't know them," she said of his tactics. "Sometimes I ask him, who's going to play? He says he doesn't know yet. They criticised him at Liverpool for constantly tweaking his starting XI. I thought his two best friends in England were going to kill him."

She does, however, believe Benitez has a long career in the game still to come.

"I don't know if he'll ever retire," she added. "All being well, he has 20 years of football left."

Benteke completes his transfer to Liverpool

Liverpool have completed the £32.5 million signing of Christian Benteke from Aston Villa.

Sources tell ESPN FC the Belgium international striker has signed a five-year contract with the club, which will see Liverpool pay £16 million up front with the remainder of the fee payable over the course of his contract.

Liverpool made their bid for Belgium international Benteke on Friday after confirming to Villa that they were prepared to meet the release clause in his contract.

A structure for payments was then agreed last weekend, allowing the Reds to enter talks with the 24-year-old over personal terms.

Manager Brendan Rodgers is a long-time admirer of the forward, who Villa bought from Belgian club Genk for £7 million in August 2012.

"I'm very happy to be here and I would like to thank the owners, Ian [Ayre, chief executive who pushed the deal through] and of course the manager for their massive effort to bring me here," the striker told liverpoolfc.com.

"I think it was the right club for me because I had a good chat with the manager and I wanted to be part of his project.

"I know Liverpool is a big story. They've won league titles and the Champions League five times and of course the UEFA Cup and a lot of trophies. I know it's a big club.

"I'm very happy to be part of the Liverpool family now and I will do everything to make them happy and work hard for them and my teammates."

Benteke will not meet most of his new teammates until they return after Friday's match against a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur.

He already knows a couple of them -- goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and Divock Origi -- from the Belgian national team and believes the summer recruitment has given the Reds a chance of winning silverware.

"I think there are quality players, a lot of good players with big names of course," he added.

"I'm happy to be part of this team and will [try] to help this team reach its goals.

"I want to be the best and I want to reach the best of myself.

"I came here to win trophies. I came here to reach some great goals with the team."

Benteke missed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with an Achilles injury, and after returning to fitness, had to wait until December to score his first Premier League goal of last season.

He hit form over the closing three months of the campaign, though, scoring 12 goals in his final 13 matches for Villa as they avoided relegation and reached the FA Cup final.

LVG still hopes for De Gea

The manager hopes David De Gea can play against Barcelona on Saturday. "He was still injured tonight." #MUtour


Manchester United beat San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on their U.S. preseason tour, with Memphis Depay getting off the mark. But one key player still isn't ready for Louis van Gaal...

Manchester United legend tips Arsenal title charge if ‘top’ player is signed

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has tipped us to challenge for the Premier League if we manage to sign Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

While addressing all the latest rumours through his Instagram page, Ferdinand holds Benzema in high regard and believes that we’ll “go close” if we land the Frenchman.

According to the latest reports, Arsene Wenger has already contacted Benzema’s representatives to sound out a potential move and inform them of our interest to sign the 27-year-old (via the Metro).

Olivier Giroud has led the line admirably over the past few years but has fallen short of spearheading a realistic title challenge and his limitations are obvious. 

Benzema is one of the most complete strikers in the world and is able to finish off chances while also fashioning opportunities for himself.

Is Consistency what Arsenal need?

If you ask people what Arsenal need to challenge for the Premier League title next season, there are bound to be a variety of answers.

Some will say that the addition of that mythical "world class" striker is the missing piece of the puzzle; for others, that competition for the defensive midfield position currently held by Francis Coquelin is most important; while there will be some whose preference would be for another creative forward, perhaps someone in the mould of Robert Pires, who could add extra goals and assists from the wide areas.

It's certainly true that any one of those additions would help Arsene Wenger's side as they look to make up the gap on champions Chelsea, as well as keep up with the two Manchester clubs who are spending freely (United, it should be said, are trying to play catch-up after the David Moyes era saw them crash out of the top four for the first time in over 20 years).

Those very tangible options aside though, there have been signs in the last two seasons that the Gunners are developing into a team which is ready to fight for the title. In 2013-14 they got off to a dreadful start on the opening day against Aston Villa. The backlash was immense, but good results followed, boosted by the £42.5m signing of Mesut Ozil.

During that 2013-14 season, Arsenal spent more time at the top of the table than any other team -- 128 days in total. Of course it's all about who's there at the finish, but it was a vast improvement on previous years when they fell behind sharply way too early in the campaign. As ever, injuries took their toll, some heavy defeats engendered heavy legs, and in the end they finished fourth, three points behind Chelsea and seven behind winners Manchester City.

Last season saw a return to a familiar failing: the start of the season was so indifferent that the chances of mounting a proper challenge were done and dusted as Chelsea's early form saw them open up an insurmountable gap. Although Arsenal only lost one of their opening 10 games, they drew five, dropping 10 points and leaving themselves with just too much to do over the course of the season.

After a disappointing New Year's Day defeat, results improved dramatically, with just two defeats in the following 18 league games. There were only three draws also, bringing a 42-point haul from the other 14 fixtures. It showed that this current Arsenal side was capable of the kind of form required to win a title -- that is, if they'd managed to do it in the same season.

With that, a combination of the first part of 2013-14 and the second of 2014-15 now has to be the target. Speaking on Tuesday, defender Per Mertesacker outlined the need for a good start: "We need to be at our best," he said. "We have shown in the [FA] Cup that we can be consistent for six games. We want to extend that and show that we are real title contenders from the start, not only in the second half of the season."

The key thing for this Arsenal side now is to find that consistency. Having players fitter and healthier will go a long way to making that happen. It's no coincidence that their best form last season came when the fewest players were missing. The likes of Theo Walcott could barely get a look in due to the form of others in his position.

Not only that, Arsenal's young players no longer have to carry the burden of so many trophy-less years with them. That pressure was intense for so long, but now most of them have two FA Cup winners' medals under their belts. Many of the recent additions have come from clubs with histories of winning (Ozil from Real Madrid, Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, Danny Welbeck from Man United and Petr Cech from Chelsea).

The whole make-up of the squad is radically different than it was just 24 months ago, and that has been evident in the way they've performed in the league. They often say that football is a game of two halves, and while we might think of it over 90 minutes, the Gunners have two pieces of two seasons to put together in one next time around, and if they do, they'll be in with a shout come next May.

Mourinho opens door for Man United to seal super deal for £70 million man

Jose Mourinho has said Chelsea will not be pursuing Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, leaving the door clear for Manchester United to make a possible move.

United Barcelona and PSG are among a number of top European clubs who have been linked with the 22-year-old, but reports claimed Chelsea were leading the chase.

However, Mourinho has come out and revealed that he will not be signing the £70 million rated midfielder.

“I think everybody has an interest in Pogba. But there are things you can do and things you cannot do,” he is quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror.

“I love the Eiffel Tower but I can’t have the Eiffel Tower in my garden. I can’t even have the Eiffel Tower of Las Vegas.”

Soccer Power Index: Daily update

Soccer Power Index (SPI) is a rating system which uses historical data on both the international and club level to predict the outcome of a match. The algorithm uses several years of data, taking into account goals scored and allowed, quality of the lineup fielded, and the location of the match. In addition, SPI weights recent matches more heavily, and also takes into account the importance of the match, so a World Cup match counts much more than a Friendly.

Soccer Power Index Top 25 for July 19. 

Rank	Team	Off Rating	Def Rating	Rating
1	Germany	2.96	0.65	88.6
2	Argentina	2.46	0.35	88.6
3	Brazil	2.93	0.66	88.3
4	Colombia	2.24	0.35	87.2
5	France	2.64	0.63	86.9
6	Spain	2.41	0.59	85.7
7	Chile	2.37	0.59	85.4
8	Netherlands	2.51	0.72	84.9
9	Belgium	2.10	0.56	83.7
10	England	2.26	0.69	83.3
11	Uruguay	2.11	0.64	82.7
12	Croatia	2.28	0.89	81.0
13	Portugal	2.18	0.88	80.2
14	Mexico	1.88	0.71	79.8
15	Ecuador	1.90	0.75	79.4
16	USA	2.15	0.94	79.1
17	Italy	1.80	0.73	78.6
18	Switzerland	2.06	0.94	78.2
19	Senegal	1.87	0.86	77.5
20	Ukraine	1.46	0.59	77.2
21	Austria	1.72	0.79	77.0
22	Ghana	1.89	0.90	77.0
23	Serbia	1.82	0.87	76.8
24	Algeria	2.09	1.08	76.5
25	Costa Rica	1.66	0.80	76.1

Off Rating: Number of goals a team would be expected to score against a league-average team at a neutral site.

Def Rating: Number of goals a team would be expected to allow against a league-average team at a neutral site.

Mario Mandzukic IN.. Carlos Tevez on his way OUT!

Beaten Champions League finalists Juventus have confirmed the signing of Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic from Atletico Madrid on a four-year deal worth 19 million euros to the Spanish club.

With striker Carlos Tevez rumoured to be on his way to Boca Juniors, Juventus have moved quickly to bring in a replacement for the Argentinian, who scored 20 league goals for the league and Cup winners last season.

Juventus released a statement which said: "Juventus Football Club can announce that an agreement has been reached with Atletico Madrid for the services of Mario Mandzukic, who has signed a four-year contract.

"A fee of 19m euros, payable in three separate installments, has been agreed, with a potential extra two million to be added if certain performance-related targets are met."

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said last week he was happy the club had moved to capture Mandzukic, who after a mitigated season at Atletico had been a target for Manchester United.

"We signed Mandzukic because we wanted him. He's a great player and I am very happy he's here," said Allegri, who in his first season in charge of the Old Lady steered Juve to the Champions League final only to suffer a 3-1 defeat to Barcelona.

Mandzukic, who scored his country's opener in a recent 1-1 Euro 2016 qualifying draw against Italy, is one of Europe's top strikers but, having quit Bayern Munich in 2014 due to issues with coach Pep Guardiola's style of play, he then failed to completely convince Diego Simeone last season at Atletico.

With Paulo Dybala (Palermo) and Simone Zaza (Sassuolo) recently added to a Juve front line comprising Alvaro Morata and Fernando Llorente -- who is being linked with a move to Monaco -- Allegri expects Mandzukic to settle quickly.

But the 48-year-old coach said neither player would be a direct replacement for Tevez.

"Mandzukic has scored goals in every league, he has great character, is an international player and will do well," said Allegri.

"It's not like we have to replace Tevez. It's more a case of signing players and evaluating our playing style. Mandzukic is here, we have Simone Zaza, Kingsley Coman, Alvaro Morata and Dybala - all of whom are young, quality players."

Juve also got Sami Khedira from Real Madrid for free, signing the German international midfielder to a four-year deal as they look to strengthen what the club describes as "one of the strongest midfields in world football".

Allegri added last week he expects Paul Pogba to remain for at least one more season despite reported interest in the French international from the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

Mario Mandzukic: Juventus sign £13.6m Atletico Madrid striker

Juventus have signed Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic from Atletico Madrid for £13.6m.

The 29-year-old only joined Atletico last summer from Bayern Munich and scored 20 goals in 43 games for the Spanish side.

He has agreed a four-year deal with the beaten Champions League finalists, who said the fee could rise to £15m.

"I like Juventus and I like the city [Turin]. I hope I will be happy here. I will fight for my new team," he said.

It is the third time in four years Mandzukic has joined a side straight after they lost the Champions League final, following his 2012 move to Bayern and last summer's switch to Atletico.

Juventus striker Carlos Tevez, their top scorer last season with 20 Serie A strikes, has been linked with a move away from the Italian champions.

Argentine legend Diego Maradona hinted recently he could rejoin Boca Juniors.

LIONEL MESSI ASKED FOR A SELFIE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FINAL WHISTLE

The Argentina star did not seem too pleased with his team's 1-0 victory over the Reggae Boyz at the Copa America on Saturday, but his opponents were just happy to be near him.
Lionel Messi must be used to being asked for selfies by now, but maybe not by opposition players on the pitch just moments after the final whistle.

Argentina beat Jamaica 1-0 on Saturday to claim top spot in Group B at the Copa America, but it seems the losers were happier with the result than the winners!

Messi, who had already been asked for his shirt at half-time, did not seem too pleased with the performance as he walked from the field at the end of the match, but still took time out to pose with Deshorn Brown before giving away his second jersey of the night to Jobi McAnuff.

The Reggae Boyz, clearly, were just happy to be near the Barcelona man.


Brown, who also has a selfie with Uruguay's Edinson Cavani on his Instagram account, posted the picture online, accompanied by the message: "Not the result we were looking for, but I get to meet the best player in the world and it was a great feeling to play against him!! Best of luck to Messi and Argentina in the rest tournament!!"

Neymar suspension to be appealed by Brazilian federation

Brazil will appeal theBrazil born star, Neymar four match ban suspension that rules him out of the rest of the Copa America.
Brazil coach Dunga said on Saturday that his confederation's "legal department will file a counterpoint to Neymar's sanction."
Dunga said in a news conference in Santiago that Neymar was of huge importance in football, and therefore the sanctions against him were also huge. Dunga said Brazil was seeking only "what's fair."
A CONMEBOL disciplinary panel on Friday also fined Neymar $10,000 for being sent off after the final whistle of Brazil's 1-0 loss to Colombia on Wednesday.
The Copa America board had originally suspended the Barcelona star for two games early Thursday, then CONMEBOL reduced the ban to a single game before Friday's final ruling.
Neymar kicked a ball at Colombian defender Pablo Armero at the tail end of Brazil's loss to the 2014 World Cup quarterfinalists. As Armero dramatically rolled around on the ground, Colombia's Jeison Murillo confronted Neymar, who then attempted to head-butt the defender, sparking a melee.
Eventually, Neymar and Colombia striker Carlos Bacca were red-carded for their roles in the row.

 


According to the referee's report, Neymar then waited in the tunnel to the team'S dressing room for match official Enrique Osses and verbally abused him -- an act, upon review, that saw his suspension increased on Friday.
Neymar was already set to miss Brazil's final Group C match after receiving a yellow card earlier in the game for what appeared to be an unintentional handball after missing a goal-scoring chance.
"Neymar was hit 20 times during the game. After, he lost control and touched the ball with his hand, and he got a yellow card. Is this fair?" Dunga asked on Saturday. "Just like [Alexis] Sanchez, [Lionel] Messi and [Angel] Di Maria, these players have to be protected from so many fouls."
Neymar on Wednesday also blamed Osses for his yellow.
"In my view the rules are always used against me," Neymar told Brazilian media.
"I was off balance, the ball hit my hand but it was not intentional. They put a weak referee in there to whistle up for all that. The team didn't play well."
Brazil will play Venezuela in their final group stage game on Sunday in Santiago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.