Paul Pogba has no concerns over the huge transfer fee paid for his move to Manchester United but he does get angry when he loses, according to his brother Florentin.
The French midfielder returned to United from Juventus for a world record fee of £89m in August and Florentin believes the hype surrounding the transfer does not concern his brother.
“In terms of being the world’s most expensive player, I think he has put that to one side because it’s more an issue for the media – he is not letting it bother him,” Florentin told reporters.
“Even though everything he does gets three times more attention. He can handle all of that because of the mental strength he has. He is quite irritable though, he doesn’t like to lose.”
Veteran Defoe will not retire just yet
Jermain Defoe has revealed he is not ready to hang up his boots just yet with even his mum in the dark over his future.
The 34-year-old put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal when he arrived on Wearside from Toronto in January 2015, and he signed a 12-month extension last summer.
He said: “My mum keeps asking me: ‘how long are you going to play for? When are you going to do your coaching badges?’ I don’t know, to be honest. It’s just like life, I take each day as it comes.
“I’ve always said that it’s important that players try to play as long as they can. That’s why I’ve always looked after myself, because I love it.”
Arter touched by Guardiola’s gesture
Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter has thanked Pep Guardiola for the “unbelievable touch” of wishing him luck with the birth of his child, which is due this week.
In December 2015, Arter and his partner Rachel’s daughter Renee was delivered stillborn.
The Manchester City manager was seen talking to Arter on the pitch after the visitors’ 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium on Monday, and, asked about the incident.
Arter told the Daily Echo: “He offered his best wishes for me and my partner this week, which was an unbelievable touch.
“For him to offer that to me, I respected it and accepted it with a smile on my face.”
Strugglers Pescara sack coach Oddo
Serie A’s bottom club Pescara have sacked coach Massimo Oddo, they said yesterday.
Pescara, who have won one game all season and are 13 points behind 17th placed Empoli, lost 5-3 at Torino on Sunday.
The club, who were promoted to Serie A at the end of the 2015-2016 campaign, said the decision was made “reluctantly” and in the hope that it will spark an improvement in performances.
Pescara said that they hope to decide on a new coach shortly.
Banega not leaving Inter, says agent
The agent of Ever Banega has denied reports that the Inter midfielder could join China’s Tianjin Quanjian.
The midfielder has struggled to leave his mark at the San Siro, and it has been suggested that he could make a €25m switch to the Chinese Super League.
The Chinese transfer window shuts at the end of this month and Tianjin, who are managed by Fabio Cannavaro, were ready to offer €8m per season in salary to tempt Banega.
However, agent Marcelo Simonian said that the reports were untrue.
“There’s nothing true,” he said.
“These are just classic market rumours, simple chatter.”
‘Maradona cost twice as much as Ronaldo’
Former Napoli president Corrado Ferlaino has said Diego Maradona cost “double what Cristiano Ronaldo would cost today” when he joined from Barcelona for a then world record 13,000 million Italian lira (£5 million) in 1984.
Maradona, who inspired Napoli to the only two Serie A titles in their history and the UEFA Cup, led Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup.
Speaking to AS, Ferlaino said: “He cost double what Cristiano would cost today,” he said.
“The intellectuals criticised me – they said Napoli was a poor city and it was immoral. But it was my money, and I wanted to spend it that way.”
Barcelona looking to replace injured Vidal
Luis Enrique has confirmed that Barcelona are looking into the possibility of signing a new right-back after Aleix Vidal was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Vidal, who had been in good form since the turn of the year, dislocated his ankle in Saturday’s win over Alaves and will be sidelined for five months, leaving converted midfielder Sergi Roberto as Barca’s only fit right-sided full-back.
The transfer window officially closed in January, but rules in Spain would allow Barcelona to make an emergency signing to cover the absence.
“Aleix Vidal has already started the recovery process,” Luis Enrique said.
“Whenever a player’s out long-term and while the rules allow us to bring in a new player, it’s an option we will look at taking.”